Average customer rating:
- Good start, fair finish
- ENJOYED IT IMMENSELY
- I Read This Book Some Years Ago...
- Sad, Redeeming, True
- Amazing - moving
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Breath, Eyes, Memory (Oprah's Book Club)
Edwidge Danticat
Manufacturer: Vintage
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ASIN: 037570504X
Release Date: 1998-05-18 |
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Oprah Book Club® Selection, May 1998: "I come from a place where breath, eyes and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to." The place is Haiti and the speaker is Sophie, the heroine of Edwidge Danticat's novel, "Breath, Eyes, Memory." Like her protagonist, Danticat is also Haitian; like her, she was raised in Haiti by an aunt until she came to the United States at age 12. Indeed, in her short stories, Danticat has often drawn on her background to fund her fiction, and she continues to do so in her debut novel.
The story begins in Haiti, on Mother's Day, when young Sophie discovers that she is about to leave the only home she has ever known with her Tante Atie in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti, to go live with her mother in New York City. These early chapters in Haiti are lovely, subtly evoking the tender, painful relationship between the motherless child and the childless woman who feels honor bound to guard the natural mother's rights to the girl's affections above her own. Presented with a Mother's Day card, Tante Atie responds: "'It is for a mother, your mother.' She motioned me away with a wave of her hand. 'When it is Aunt's Day, you can make me one.'" Danticat also uses these pages to limn a vibrant portrait of life in Haiti from the cups of ginger tea and baskets of cassava bread served at community potlucks to the folk tales of a "people in Guinea who carry the sky on their heads."
With Sophie's transition from a fairly happy existence with her aunt and grandmother in rural Haiti to life in New York with a mother she has never seen, Danticat's roots as a short-story writer become more evident; "Breath, Eyes, Memory" begins to read more like a collection of connected stories than a seamlessly evolved novel. In a couple of short chapters, Sophie arrives in New York, meets her mother, makes the acquaintance of her mother's new boyfriend, Marc, and discovers that she was the product of a rape when her mother was a teenager in Haiti. The novel then jumps several years ahead to Sophie's graduation from high school and her infatuation with an older man who lives next door. Unfortunately, this is also the point in the novel where Danticat begins to lay her themes on with a trowel instead of a brush: Sophie's mother becomes obsessed with protecting her daughter's virginity, going so far as to administer physical "tests" on a regular basis--testing which leads eventually to a rift in their relationship and to Sophie's struggle with her own sexuality. Soon the litany of victimization is flying thick and fast: female genital mutilation, incest, rape, frigidity, breast cancer, and abortion are the issues that arise in the final third of the novel, eventually drowning both fine writing and perceptive characterization under a deluge of angst.
Still, there is much to admire about "Breath, Eyes, Memory," and if at times the plot becomes overheated, Danticat's lyrical, vivid prose offers some real delight. If nothing else, this novel is sure to entice readers to look for Danticat's short stories--and possibly to sample other fiction from the West Indies as well. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
At an astonishingly young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new novelists, a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti--and the enduring strength of Haiti's women--with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people's suffering and courage.
At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti--to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people.
Customer Reviews:
Good start, fair finish.......2007-07-13
"Breath, Eyes, Memory".....first part was very good. Second part not so good. The rest went downhill.
I thought the story would focus more on Sophie's childhood. If that were the case, maybe I would have understood her and the relationship with her Mother better. Maybe I would have cared about the characters.
ENJOYED IT IMMENSELY.......2007-01-25
This book tells of a girl named Sophie who is raised in Haiti by her aunt Tante Atie, and later goes to New York to spend time with her mother. It is a very moving story and it tells about the culture of Haiti. It tells of Sophie growing up and some parts are sad but I really enjoyed this book, and read it in one day. I would read it again. I donated this one to a local supermarket for Juvenille Diabetes Research and it was gone within the hour. I hope that the next person enjoyed it as much as I did. This book was well-written, moving, and easy to read and understand.
I Read This Book Some Years Ago..........2006-11-25
and while I dont remember every point of the story, I DO remember the emotion that I was flooded with in every chapter. Especially towards the end. This was a very good book and very well worth reading.
Sad, Redeeming, True.......2006-10-01
This first novel adapts a simple, understated tone that is almost too sparse in places and also verges on highly emotional purple prose. But the content delivered is highly charged, narrated by Sophie, the common thread through which is woven the lives of four generations of Haitian women: Sophie's colorful and ancient grandmother, who spends her time in a small village in Haiti preparing for her glorious funeral and telling stories, Sophie's mother and aunt, who suffer from ghosts and irrevocable violence done them, Sophie, who we learn has been traumatized by her mother, and Sophie's baby, Brigitte, who represents the untouched hope of the future. The struggles and lives of these women, except for Brigitte, are permeated with real emotion, heartache, and sorrow, originating with cultural traditions and the violence men have done them, and then self-perpetuated. This is a very interesting portrait, not just of Haiti, but of the lives of damaged people, among which we just about all can count ourselves a part.
Other titles readers of this book might find of interest are "Beasts of No Nation," by Uzodinma Iweala, which portrays the desperate life of a child warrior in an unnamed African country, and "The Comedians," by Graham Greene, which presents Duvalier's Haiti and the horror of the Macoutes, who also haunt this book.
Amazing - moving.......2006-09-13
I am in the midst of reading all of Danticat's work, and this is by far my favorite (so far). I can't remember the last time I cried so hard from a book - it is incredibly moving.
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This digital document is an article from The Mississippi Quarterly, published by Mississippi State University on December 22, 2003. The length of the article is 3685 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: A homeward journey: Edwidge Danticat's fictional landscapes, mindscapes, genescapes, and signscapes in Breath, Eyes, Memory.(Critical Essay)
Author: Patrick S.J. Samway
Publication:
The Mississippi Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2003
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Volume: 57
Issue: 1
Page: 75(10)
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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This digital document is an article from Black Issues Book Review, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1004 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
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Title: Remembering mama: images of mothers, good, bad, real or fictive abound in our literary tradition.(Book Review)
Author: Bernadette Adams Davis
Publication:
Black Issues Book Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 7
Issue: 3
Page: 48(2)
Article Type: Book Review
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Average customer rating:
- Two really good stories, one really bad.
- Good value in an anthology!
- Hero, Come Back
- Lukewarm anthology
- three fine nineteenth century English romances
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Hero, Come Back
Stephanie Laurens ,
Christina Dodd , and
Elizabeth Boyle
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0060564504 |
Book Description
Two superstar New York Times bestsellers, Stephanie Laurens and Christina Dodd, join forces with one exciting rising star, Elizabeth Boyle, to create this sexy anthology with an exciting new theme.
In an innovative new twist for anthologies that first appeared in Where's My Hero, each author is reintroducing a secondary character from a previous book to star in his own story. Revisit your favorite Lost Heros, and see old friends from some of these authors' favorite books.
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Two superstar New York Times bestsellers,
Stephanie Laurens and
Christina Dodd, join forces with one exciting rising star,
Elizabeth Boyle, to create this sexy anthology with an exciting new theme. In an innovative new twist for anthologies, each author is reintroducing a secondary character from a previous book to star in his own story!
Customer Reviews:
Two really good stories, one really bad........2006-08-27
You know, when I buy an anthology I just never know what I will come up with. It's like going to the county fair. You pays your money and you takes your chance. Luckily for me, two out of three was not bad except that the "bad" one was officially called a novella and took up most of the book.
---4.5 stars, Stephanie Laurens, "Lost and Found"
At less than 80 pages this was a very good story. Why this was so short I don't know but it would have done well as a longer offering. Anne Ashford and Reggie Carmarthen were very good lead characters and complimented each other admirably. He seemed to instantly realize how serious she was about finding a solution to Benjamin's parental (or lack of) situation and I liked seeing them work together. A feel good ending all around.
---2 stars, Elizabeth Boyle, "The Matchmaker's Bargain"
This was the novella of the trio and I just can't make out why. Why was this author chosen to write the longest portion of this anthology? Is it mandatory that they be over 370 pages long? Do readers demand quantity instead of quality? For me, it was trite, contrived, unweildy and had very poor dialogue. Try an experiment some time when you are reading. Say the dialogue out loud. This was riddled with lines spoken by our heroine, Amanda Farleigh (masquerading as Miss Smythe to protect her identity) such as, "Sir, I must away", and "Sir, I beseech you to leave" and "Please, sir, unhand me". And our hero. Oh, yes, our hero! Mr James Reyburn (Jemmy to his friends and family) must have said "demmit" either aloud or to himself once on each page (somethimes more than once per page). Gosh how I grew to hate that word! I think the whole thing was drawn out just to make for more pages in the book. I felt that nothing was added to the story by having it that long..over 155 pages.
---4.5 stars, Christina Dodd, "The Third Suitor"
A very good story. Needed to be longer. (Say, what if we take away about half from EB?) It was well thought out, it had wonderful characters who were likeable and realistic and the plot was interesting, tight, and workable. Lady Jessica Macmillian and Edmund Kennard Henry Chamberlain, Earl of Granville (posing as just regular Mr Harry Windberry) have not come to this out-of-the-way place by accident and therein lies this delightful tale. He doesn't remember her, she doesn't recognize him, but they have met before and she is actually the reason his nose was broken all those years ago. A true delight to watch them rediscover each other and fall in love in the process. This one was 112 pages but seemed much shorter because I was so interested in it.
This book also contained 18 pages at the end selling stories available from this publisher which (stupid piled on top of stupid) actually included the three stories included in this very book! (Please, people, is there really not an editor in the house any more????)
I had never read the three books which contained these three heros so they didn't actually "come back" for me but I really enjoyed getting to know two of them. I will probably search out the originals to read just so I can get to know these guys a little better.
Good value in an anthology!.......2005-11-03
Usually there's one author I have to have in these compilations and the other stories are boring or just awful, but all of these stories were fun.
Stephanie Laurens story was good, not as wonderful as her usual books but the format is short and she writes very long books. I haven't read Elizabeth Boyle before. It wass humorous and entertaining, although not up to the caliper of the other two. Christina Dodd's is the best with a real plot. It's packed with action and Jessie, the heroine, is funny and smart. She's a good match for Harry, and there's some steamy scenes.
Hero, Come Back.......2005-10-10
I only bought the book for the Stephanie Laurens story, and I was not disappointed. A sweet little story and very much in character with what we already know about them from the previous Cynster stories. I felt that that the other two authors were not writing at all in the Regency genre - they should have stuck the characters in a modern novel. Although they were quite well written, I would never buy them on their own.
Lukewarm anthology.......2005-05-26
Dodd's story made Hero Come Back worth the read, though the other two selections fell a little flat. As eager as I usually am to read anything by Laurens or Dodd, I might have just waited for this one to appear at my local library.
Laurens' Lost and Found, at well under a hundred pages, could not seem to fit in any conflict at all between the two main characters. Reggie's occasional exasperation at Anne's persistent attempts to harass the family of an abandoned child provide little more than momentary flares (that naturally fuel sexual tension), but the two are almost immediately united in the goal of restoring the child to his birth family. Their romance is also too smooth to hold any suspense or drama. I enjoyed the story for what it was-a very light read, but do not expect more.
In contrast, Boyle's Matchmaker's Bargain was full of conflict, and much more inventive; but the conflict was so contrived it was difficult to get into the story. Amanda unknowingly stumbles onto a matchmaker while in flight from her family, accidentally bargains for a match with her heart's desire, who shows up in the form of war-battered James. From there on it gets sillier-Amanda cannot leave the little village without marrying or being arrested, a ball to attract what must have been every eligible man in England is planned, Amanda's "secret" is rather ridiculous, and I have doubts that even jail cells in tiny hamlets feature removable bars. However, the hi-jinks the two stumble into on the way to the conclusion are entertaining enough to keep your attention, even if the absurdity of the plot's premise is distracting.
Dodd's Third Suitor is the most satisfying of the three stories. Jessie is saddled by her greedy father with a deliberately inattentive duena, and forced to withstand the attentions of two obnoxious suitors until Harry, embittered former spy, steps in to help dodge them. Unbeknownst to Jessie, Harry is candidate number three, and a former girlhood crush. Harry does not remember Jesse as the pest of a girl who broke his nose and ruined at least one good time, but is falling for her anyway. On the cusp of revealing his true name and third suitor status, the romance is interrupted when an old enemy appears. The story was necessarily short, but well developed for its length, the characters were fairly well defined and the twists in the plot kept you guessing enough to keep the pages turning.
three fine nineteenth century English romances .......2005-05-25
"Lost and Found" by Stephanie Laurens. In 1834 London Reggie Carmarthen (see ONE WILD NIGHT) needs a wife and heir. He hopes to be as happy as his friends the Cynster twins are in their recent marriages, but has no one in mind until he assists Anne Ashford as she yells at Lord Elderby that young Benjy is his offspring. Reggie wonders if this passionate woman that he has known for years could become his ardent bride.
"The Third Suitor" by Christina Dodd. In 1847 Dorset, Harry Chamberlain (see IN YOUR ARMS) looks down from his balcony to see a woman hiding in the bushes below. She introduces herself as Lady Jessie McMillan explaining that she is an heiress hiding from a suitor, Marques Jenour-Redmond. Harry agrees to help Jessie avoid her suitors but soon wants to court her too.
"The Matchmaker's Bargain" by Elizabeth Boyle. In 1818 England Amanda Preston visits Esme Maguire hoping she can fix her broken heart. The matchmaker and her cat Lord Nelson are stunned when they realize who the intended is although that is not quite what Amanda has in mind. At Esme's home, once wounded veteran James Reyburn (see ONCE TEMPTED) and Amanda meet, love blossoms, but she has a secret that keeps her from telling her beloved how much she loves him.
These three nineteenth century English romances demonstrate that a hero can come back at least in a well written novella. The male protagonists were secondary characters in previous stories, but show the respective author's skills as each successfully move to top billing. HERO COME BACK is a delightful historical collection
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This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on July 8, 2007. The length of the article is 769 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Winkler hero back with Cup; Sea of admirers comes to greet Ducks' Penner, top NHL trophy.(City)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 8, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: a1
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The oldest Biblical manuscripts in existence, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves near Jerusalem in 1947, only to be kept a tightly held secret for nearly fifty more years, until the Huntington Library unleashed a storm of controversy in 1991 by releasing copies of the Scrolls. In this gripping investigation authors Baigent and Leigh set out to discover how a small coterie of orthodox biblical scholars gained control over the Scrolls, allowing access to no outsiders and issuing a strict "consensus" interpretation. The authors' questions begin in Israel, then lead them to the corridors of the Vatican and into the offices of the Inquisition. With the help of independent scholars, historical research, and careful analysis of available texts, the authors reveal what was at stake for these orthodox guardians: The Scrolls present startling insights into early Christianity -- insights that challenge the Church's version of the "facts." More than just a dramatic exposé of the intrigues surrounding these priceless documents, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception presents nothing less than a new, highly significant perspective on Christianity.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating and pretty well supported.......2007-04-27
This is a fascinating book about two controversial topics. The first one is how the International Team dominated by Roman Catholic Fathers controlled the possession and withheld all information from the Dead Sea Scrolls since their discovery in 1947 until 1991 when the Huntington Library in California released complete set of photos of the Scrolls. The second topic is Pauline Christianity or how this religion was really created by Paul.
There are no valid reasons why a team of Roman Catholic Fathers should have withheld information about the Scrolls for 44 years. By comparison, the Nag Hammadi Scrolls (the Gnostic Gospels) discovered in 1945 had been accessible to outside scholars and nearly completely translated by 1979. Meanwhile, very little published translation regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls occurred prior to 1991. The exceptions were the few published translations from John Allegro regarding the few Scroll sections under his responsibility. Allegro was the only secular member of the International Team. His releasing information caused his being ousted from the Team. The Roman Catholic dominated International Team was adamant in censoring the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their purpose was to distance the history of the related Qumran Judaic community from Jesus times and the onset of Christianity. They wanted to preserve the uniqueness of Jesus as a human being-God founder of a new religion.
The International Team attempted to distance the Dead Sea Scrolls from the New Testament in two ways. First, they conveyed that the Qumranic community was isolated and out of touch with its cultural surrounding. Second, they maintained that the Dead Sea Scrolls dated from much earlier than Jesus time. Thus, this community would have had no interaction with Christian times. However, they had no evidence to support their claims.
Robert Eisenman observed that coins found at the Qumran excavation sites dated from 135 B.C.E. to 132 C.E. This suggested that the Dead Sea Scrolls had been written during a period overlapping Jesus time. Since then, carbon dating of the Scrolls has confirmed comparable dates from 200 B.C.E. to 70 C.E. Eisenman research suggests that far from being isolated, the Qumran community was a cultural, military, and religious Judaic center. He also advances that Jesus was a messiah belonging to the Zealots, one of the Judaic sects of the time.
Chapter 12 is a fascinating analysis of The Acts demonstrating that Christianity was the creation of Paul who never met Jesus. This is referred to as Pauline Christianity. The chapter describes how Paul rebelled against the Judaic law and beliefs, including Jesus original teachings. Paul decides to turn Jesus into a God. To do so, he assigns miracles to Jesus including his birth from a virgin mother, walking on water, multiplying the breads, and the resurrection. None of the miracles have any supporting historical evidence. Paul's splitting from Judaic tradition marks the beginning of a new religion: Christianity. In addition to Eisenman, many other secular historians support Pauline Christianity.
Chapter 7 is most relevant today as it describes the background of the current Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger). He was head of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Their purpose is to impose the traditional Christian faith over any discovery by secular historians that questions Christian dogmas and the history of Jesus as described in the Bible. These organizations serve as tribunals for whoever within the order does not follow the party line on Christian orthodoxy. Many contemporary priests and teachers have been deprived of their posts by these organizations. As the Church is much behind the times (overpopulation vs family planning, banning women from the orders, celibacy, children molestation scandal), the cardinals selected the most dogmatic to become the Pope (Ratzinger).
The authors conclude by hoping that the study of early Christianity will underline the common foundation of all three monotheist religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). In turn, they hope this will breed understanding and tolerance. They observed, however, that all three religions are beset by a resurgent fundamentalism. They wrote this in 1991. It appears that religious fundamentalism has become more intense veering towards fanaticism.
If you like this book, I also recommend other books written by Michael Baigent especially his latest one "The Jesus Papers" where he further studies the Zealots and the history of Jesus. I also strongly recommend "The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels.
torn about this.......2007-03-26
I'm still not sure about the scholarship of this book. Some of the DSS history is accurate and can be authenticated from myriads of other sources. But some of the "deceptions" I don't know about, some seem pretty far fetched. It does at least reveal what scholars already know but Christians seem ignorant of though: that the scrolls do nothing at all to advance biblical scholarship and have nothing whatsoever to do with "New" Testament documents.
Informative but promotes a lame conspiracy theory!.......2007-01-04
According to the Consensus View (Frank Cross; Fr.Devaux;P. Benoit; Milik; Strugnell)Qumran was inhabited by Essenes, who were ascetic, pacifist, reclusive people totally enamoured with the Torah. These people built on the ruins of an abandoned Israelite fortress (first built around 600 B.C.). Major buildings were erected around 100 B.C.. The community was destroyed by a fire caused by an earthquake in 31 B.C. Rebuilt under Herod's son, it flourished as a quietist, politically neutral community until it was destroyed once and for all by the Romans, who garrisoned it until the end of the 1st century. It was inhabited by squatters during the 132 A.D. rebellion. The scrolls that have been found are pre-Christian. C14 predates Christ by almost 300 hundred years. The scrolls were written between 250 BC and 70 A.D.
According to the Alternative View (John Allegro, Robert Eisenman)the Qumran community was the equivalent of the "early Church" based in Jerusalem, of the so-called "Nazoreans" who followed James, the Lord's brother. Qumran was inhabited by Zealots after the Essene community was destroyed by fire on orders of Herod. Rebuilt in 4 B.C. by Archelaus, Herod's son. There are interesting parallels with the early church: p.132-33 (e.g.,baptism, community life, common meal, 12 apostles). Of interest is the military character of Qumran's ruins. Scrolls were written during the Christian era and brought over to Qumran. The militant tone of the scrolls evokes Masada.
Documents:
COPPER SCROLL: A treasure map. 64 sites where gold, silver and precious vessels were hidden.
COMMUNITY RULE: members designated as "keepers of the Covenant," or as "they who have zeal for the Law." Daily baptisms, daily prayers, Meal of Congregation (similar to LastSupper)
WAR SCROLL: against the "Kittim" who have a "King." This cannot be republican Rome which invaded the land of Israel in 63 B.C. under Pompey, but rather imperial Rome, in 66 A.D. This document mentions the "children of light" and the "children of darkness"
TEMPLE SCROLL: The King should not marry his niece (against Herod?)
DAMASCUS DOCUMENT: Where is Damascus? Is it the city in Syria or Qumran?
HABBAKUK COMMENTARY: Members of the community, under instigation of the Liar, break the Covenant and the Law (p. 195)
4QMMT: Letter of the Qumran sect leader to the head of the opponents (160 B.C.) about 22 matters of Jewish Law over which they disagreed.
Some questions are discussed: Who was the Teacher of Righteousness? Who was the Liar? Who was the Wicked Priest? Could the Liar be Paul? In regard to the last question, see the attempt on his life by zealous for the Law (Acts 22:22)and his escort by 200 infantry, 200 spearmen 70 cavalry to Caesarea. Why so many troops for only one prisoner? According to the alternative view, Paul originally joined the community of James the Just, but later rejected its teachings and came to be called a Liar. James the Just believed that Jesus would return as Messiah.
Chapter 7, entitled "The Inquisition Today" lost my respect for and interest in this book.
Was Jesus Last Supper a Passover meal (Mt 26:17-19) or a dinner before Passover (Jn 13:1; 18:28)? It was Passover meal according to Qumran's community which followed a solar calendar as opposed to the lunar calendar of the Temple priesthood.
Interesting reading but not persuasive as far as demonstrating that a plot existed to suppress it.
Dead Sea Scrolls Deception.......2006-11-10
Highly recommended but can take time to read. It involves so much information so make sure you read in it in a quiet and non-invasive environment to get full benefit from it.
A predjudicial, shallow view..........2006-04-21
Early on the authors of this book let us know their extreme disdain for Christianity. This didn't bother me at first, though I am a believer in Yahushua/Jesus. It is always good to get more than one perspective. But the constant sarcastic put downs of Christianity, and the presentation of themselves as understanders of the Gospel and it's impetus in history, got to be annoying really fast. Baigent & Leigh think they are knowledgeable, they present themselves as objective scholars, but they are actually very biased.
It appears to me that their operating principal goes something like this: "The supernatural stories of Jesus Christ are totally mythological [this belief they cannot resist emphasizing over and over, tiresomely] i.e., lies. We know this because we assume a priori that the supernatural as it is presented in Scriptures does not exist and because we are beings who have vastly superior intellect to that of Christians. Therefore...we don't have to be too careful about our understanding of the Gospels, and can with impunity present ourselves as if we are experts on it, even though we are not at all - because you see, it's all nonsense and doesn't matter anyway!"
This type of intellectual dishonesty and sloppy thinking - like for example claiming that Paul was the first one to start worshipping Yahushua (hello, how about the first chapter of John, and the Apostle Thomas bowing before His feet and saying, "My Lord/Adonai and my Elohim/God" - duh) made me realize I couldn't take seriously any "scholarship" these two have to offer. When it comes to the Dead Sea Scrolls there is so much controversy. Why should I trust these sloppy, dishonest thinkers, to tell me the real truth? Answer: I didn't and I don't.
There is some purely objective fact to be found in the book - most of it known very well already. If you haven't heard those parts already, you can find them on the internet and save the money.
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Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
Michael Baigent
Manufacturer: ARROW (RAND)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Dead Sea Scrolls
| Church History
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ASIN: 0099257033 |
Book Description
Described as “the academic scandal of the twentieth century,” this is the story of how and why hundreds of ancient Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts, hidden for some nineteen centuries, and which disclose nothing less than a new account of the origins of Christianity, have, until very recently, remained concealed from the rest of the world.
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Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
Manufacturer: NY: Summit, 1991
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GSOTJ4 |
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The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception.
Michael & Leigh, Richard. Baigent
Manufacturer: Summit Books c
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0224027611 |
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