Official Review: Dimensions of a New Civilization

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Kibet Hillary
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Official Review: Dimensions of a New Civilization

Post by Kibet Hillary »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dimensions of a New Civilization" by Andrew Masuku.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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What does Christianity really mean? Who is Jesus Christ? What was His mission on earth? What is the New Civilization and why do we need it? How should a believer live then in the wake of the New Civilization? You have to read Dimensions of a New Civilization to find answers to these questions and many more.

‘Christianity requires more than mere social grouping.’ This is one of the remarkable statements in the book that struck me, and I had to pose for a while as the impact of the statement was profound. In Dimensions of a New Civilization, Andrew Masuku elaborates on the concept of New Civilization. The book presents two philosophical ideas- self-centeredness and altruism. This is a nonfiction book that can be placed in the religious category. It is made up of approximately 203 pages and contains eighteen chapters.

Genuine love is the key thing needed in our world today. This calls for altruism that will help to improve human relations across the globe. One thing that the author does in the book is to explain why altruism and not self-centeredness is needed. He does this while pointing to other major factors that lead to confusion and error. His desire is for all people everywhere to focus on adding value to others regardless of their backgrounds. He uses Jesus as the perfect example of a selfless person. Other issues like poverty and wealth are handled from an altruistic perspective as well.

Some things that I liked most in the book included the use of scriptures as well as real-life facts. The author did not just explain what he had in mind but also backed them up with adequate scripture quotations from the Bible. In an era where information can be twisted to fit one’s idea, I believe this was very important. The use of real-life facts also helped to reinforce the author’s opinion. An example was given where a government decided to print excess money. What resulted was not economic growth as anticipated but hyperinflation. The author also handled issues facing almost every facet of life.

The author appreciates that no one holds monopoly over wisdom and knowledge. This is absolutely true. I would not have wanted to give away any spoilers, but there are some statements in the book that I disagree with. One is the question of whether Adam was the first human to be created or not. The author also states the poor widow in Luke chapter 21 gave to appreciate Jesus’ professionalism. These statements do not occupy a major portion of the book, but their effect cannot be underestimated.

The language employed in the book is simple. There were a few grammatical errors though that included the wrong use of question marks. Based on the questionable statements above and the grammatical errors, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I conscientiously recommend it to fans of spiritual books. It will appeal most to Christians although anyone willing to read with an open mind will enjoy it as well.

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Dimensions of a New Civilization
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

Interesting. I'm curious what the author says the New Civilization is. Unless he's talking about the new heavens and the new earth, I'm not sure that's a Biblical concept. It's too bad that the book wasn't really edited either. I don't think this is a book for me. Thanks for the review, though.
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Post by briellejee »

Good to know that some of these ideas were back by real-life events. I do agree with you that things nowadays are easy to be twisted. This book is really intriguing for me as a Christian. I do feel I can agree to what the author wants to convey. However, posing the question of whether Adam was the first human is just taking "ideas" too far. Thanks for this thorough review!
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Post by Wyland »

Thanks for the thorough review. I appreciate the topic on altruism as applied to love, wealth, and poverty. I wonder if altruism can come about outside genuine love.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Wyland wrote: 07 Jun 2019, 06:42 Thanks for the thorough review. I appreciate the topic on altruism as applied to love, wealth, and poverty. I wonder if altruism can come about outside genuine love.
Thanks for the comment on the review too. I appreciate the feedback. I am sure that love must be the bedrock if altruism is to result.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

kandscreeley wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 09:15 Interesting. I'm curious what the author says the New Civilization is. Unless he's talking about the new heavens and the new earth, I'm not sure that's a Biblical concept. It's too bad that the book wasn't really edited either. I don't think this is a book for me. Thanks for the review, though.
The New Civilization is what he is passing across according to the life of Jesus, and is based on altruism. Thanks a lot for the comment.
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

briellejee wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 09:32 Good to know that some of these ideas were back by real-life events. I do agree with you that things nowadays are easy to be twisted. This book is really intriguing for me as a Christian. I do feel I can agree to what the author wants to convey. However, posing the question of whether Adam was the first human is just taking "ideas" too far. Thanks for this thorough review!
I was also happy to see that the author also used real-life events. Thanks for the comment.
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Post by Hiruni Bhagya 81 »

Seems like a good book for fans of religious and spiritual books. When it comes to this sort of books, backing up by the author is required. An author can't just say this is what he thinks and leave it at that. So, it's great to have that aspect covered in this book. Since I'm not a fan of religious books I don't think I'll read it. But thanks for your wonderful review.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Hiruni Bhagya 81 wrote: 07 Jun 2019, 21:51 Seems like a good book for fans of religious and spiritual books. When it comes to this sort of books, backing up by the author is required. An author can't just say this is what he thinks and leave it at that. So, it's great to have that aspect covered in this book. Since I'm not a fan of religious books I don't think I'll read it. But thanks for your wonderful review.
This is very true. This was one of the aspects that I liked. Thanks a lot for your comment on the review. I appreciate it much.
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Post by unamilagra »

I don't tend to read religious books personally, but I like that the author incorporated real-world examples to illustrate his points. It's too bad there were some questionable statements and errors to detract from the book overall. Thanks for an honest review.
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Post by inaramid »

"In an era where information can be twisted to fit one’s idea, I believe this was very important."
Well said! I'm not one for spiritual books, and while this sounds interesting, the errors would be a turn-off. Thanks for an insightful review!
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Post by Bianka Walter »

'Christianity requires more than mere social grouping,' - I love that. I think it says so much in such a simple sentence, and is absolutely spot on.
Thanks for this review - I really enjoyed it!
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Post by Lisa A Rayburn »

I'm not really one for religion-based books. Too bad about the numerous errors though, it sounds as if they would be very distracting. I think I'll give this one a pass. Thanks for the in-depth review!
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Post by Letora »

While this does sound like a good book to pick apart and understand Christianity, I don't think I fall into the target audience. Thank you for reviewing! It does seem to be a great read for those who follow Christianity or are thinking of beginning to follow it.
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Post by Sanju Lali »

A kind of religious book "Dimensions of a New Civilization" by Andrew Masuku, which tries to portray new ideas about religion. When author makes some statement there should be solid evidence to back it, however, the books shows some real practical facts as well.
life is only knowing the unknown, we can do this by reading books easily- Online book club is a great place for this. This is what I believe.
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