Review of St Augustine's Sin
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Stephen Muthini
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Review of St Augustine's Sin
[Following is a volunteer review of "St Augustine's Sin" by Joe Baker.]
The abuses related to religion in the UK's educational system are made public in the book. It establishes a connection between the abuses and St. Augustine's teachings by tracing their origin to those ideas. The book is educational and compels the reader to consider some challenging issues.
This book challenges the reader to think critically about the place of religion in education, particularly in the UK. Such queries include: Should religious education be required in schools for all students? What happens when religion and science disagree? What good is it to educate kids about religious principles they will almost certainly reject? What should religious education cover? Should it be sectarian or should it expose students to a variety of worldviews so they can make educated decisions? Does children's religious education—particularly the Christian religious education that is so common in the UK—promote their mental health and well-being or does it put them in more danger? The book also draws attention to potential risks linked with religious education and promotes open discussion regarding religion's place in the UK educational system. The book has been carefully edited and is error-free.
It's bad because Chapter 1 serves as the book's foundation and was not persuasive. Instead of providing a strong defense of his beliefs and reasoning, I thought the author tried to persuade the reader by making outrageous statements. Additionally, the author has made statements that are untrue or, at the very least, are taken out of context. The sense of guilt and inadequacy that the author attributes to original sin can be adequately explained by Adlerian theory, which would be more convincing given that the same phenomena have been observed in regions that do not follow any Abrahamic faith. Other, more compelling psychological theories can also explain some of the things that the author claims are explained by the teachings of St. Augustine. Also, from his argument, it is not clear if the original sin tenet of the Christian faith originated with Augustine or if it existed before him. It seems to me that the author implied each of the above scenarios when it suited his argument. If the latter is accurate, some of the criticism he leveled at St. Augustine is unjustified as well. I also discovered a discrepancy between the author's assertions and the data he used to support them. For instance, the author claims that the Catholic guilt associated with original sin makes people feel bad about themselves, but he then goes on to say that Catholic adherents feel less guilty than members of other Christian sects. I also identified instances of bias in the way the evidence was presented. For instance, he harshly criticized the research that appeared to support religion and religious education without doing the same for the evidence that supported his position. Readers of this review should be aware that, despite my best efforts, I might have a bias against his points of view.
I give Joe Baker's St. Augustine's Sin a 3 out of 5 stars. This rating can be justified by the fact that the author brought up significant issues that are frequently disregarded regarding the importance and risks of religious education in the UK's educational system, but it strikes me as more of a defense of his beliefs and opinions than an objective examination of the place of religion in the educational system.
The book is a good choice for parents who are thinking about how religion will be incorporated into their children's education. It is unsuitable for Christian book lovers because it has a strong bias against the place of religion in the educational system and considers it to be a risk to children.
******
St Augustine's Sin
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The abuses related to religion in the UK's educational system are made public in the book. It establishes a connection between the abuses and St. Augustine's teachings by tracing their origin to those ideas. The book is educational and compels the reader to consider some challenging issues.
This book challenges the reader to think critically about the place of religion in education, particularly in the UK. Such queries include: Should religious education be required in schools for all students? What happens when religion and science disagree? What good is it to educate kids about religious principles they will almost certainly reject? What should religious education cover? Should it be sectarian or should it expose students to a variety of worldviews so they can make educated decisions? Does children's religious education—particularly the Christian religious education that is so common in the UK—promote their mental health and well-being or does it put them in more danger? The book also draws attention to potential risks linked with religious education and promotes open discussion regarding religion's place in the UK educational system. The book has been carefully edited and is error-free.
It's bad because Chapter 1 serves as the book's foundation and was not persuasive. Instead of providing a strong defense of his beliefs and reasoning, I thought the author tried to persuade the reader by making outrageous statements. Additionally, the author has made statements that are untrue or, at the very least, are taken out of context. The sense of guilt and inadequacy that the author attributes to original sin can be adequately explained by Adlerian theory, which would be more convincing given that the same phenomena have been observed in regions that do not follow any Abrahamic faith. Other, more compelling psychological theories can also explain some of the things that the author claims are explained by the teachings of St. Augustine. Also, from his argument, it is not clear if the original sin tenet of the Christian faith originated with Augustine or if it existed before him. It seems to me that the author implied each of the above scenarios when it suited his argument. If the latter is accurate, some of the criticism he leveled at St. Augustine is unjustified as well. I also discovered a discrepancy between the author's assertions and the data he used to support them. For instance, the author claims that the Catholic guilt associated with original sin makes people feel bad about themselves, but he then goes on to say that Catholic adherents feel less guilty than members of other Christian sects. I also identified instances of bias in the way the evidence was presented. For instance, he harshly criticized the research that appeared to support religion and religious education without doing the same for the evidence that supported his position. Readers of this review should be aware that, despite my best efforts, I might have a bias against his points of view.
I give Joe Baker's St. Augustine's Sin a 3 out of 5 stars. This rating can be justified by the fact that the author brought up significant issues that are frequently disregarded regarding the importance and risks of religious education in the UK's educational system, but it strikes me as more of a defense of his beliefs and opinions than an objective examination of the place of religion in the educational system.
The book is a good choice for parents who are thinking about how religion will be incorporated into their children's education. It is unsuitable for Christian book lovers because it has a strong bias against the place of religion in the educational system and considers it to be a risk to children.
******
St Augustine's Sin
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Like Glass by Sylvia Wilde
