Friday, January 07, 2005
Books: Armageddon, etc.
Heaven, hell, and other more mundane matters
Like most people who like to read, I select books (fiction and non-fiction) that I think I would enjoy or learn from. The best sellers’ lists are helpful but I rarely use them as guide, especially for fiction.
I have not read “Glorious Appearing”, or any of the “Left Behind” series of books co-authored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I gather that the books are about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and paint a gory scenario about the day when all but Born-again Christians would disappear into a chasm or their bodies torn asunder and they would die painful deaths. After that the Born-Again Christians would ascend to heaven.
Nicholas D. Kristof, the NewYork Times, columnist wrote about this on July 17, 2004. Subsequently,he challenged the authors that if the outlined events happen in the next 10 years he would donate $500.00 to an organization favored by the authors provided that they agree to donate the same amount to a charity of his choice if the events did not take place. His offer was not accepted. (A thought: Easy for Mr. Kristoff to make the offer-----wouldn't he be one of those in the chasm or lying dead with ripped up body ?)
I am not likely to be around but it would be interesting to hear the explanations when the promised day comes and passes just like any other. In the meantime, I am going to pour myself a glass of red and look out of the window at people as they go through the day.....this day.
Going back into history one finds instances of persecution of “heretics”, the most notable being the killing of Jews, Protestants and other non-believers by the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition began in 1478. Its official end was said to be 1834. More than 300,000 people (mostly Jews) were burned to death. The trials were held by the Catholic Church but executions took place under Spanish sovereigns. And so it goes.
"The Spanish Inquisition" by Cecil Roth is a well-researched, informative book on this subject.
**************************
"The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler
Delightful. I think that women readers would enjoy it more than men.
"Lust" by Elfriede Jelinek
Gave up after struggling through half of the book. It was like reading a clinical report. Perhaps it was the translation. Hope that Jelinek's “The Piano Teacher” would be better. I am still on the waiting list.
**************************
It is a wet, blustery morning. The forecast for next few days shows more of the same.
AC and I went foraging for chanterelles yesterday afternoon and struck gold. Our timing was right. We collected more than 5 lbs (2.27 kgs). I am going to make risotto.
****************************
A few photographs:
Village in West Bengal,India
On Dales Way, Yorkshire, UK
Athabasca Falls, Alberta,Canada
**************************
"Some keep the Sabbath going to Church,
I keep it staying at Home -
With a bobolink for a Chorister,
And an Orchard, for a Dome."
----Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Like most people who like to read, I select books (fiction and non-fiction) that I think I would enjoy or learn from. The best sellers’ lists are helpful but I rarely use them as guide, especially for fiction.
I have not read “Glorious Appearing”, or any of the “Left Behind” series of books co-authored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I gather that the books are about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and paint a gory scenario about the day when all but Born-again Christians would disappear into a chasm or their bodies torn asunder and they would die painful deaths. After that the Born-Again Christians would ascend to heaven.
Nicholas D. Kristof, the NewYork Times, columnist wrote about this on July 17, 2004. Subsequently,he challenged the authors that if the outlined events happen in the next 10 years he would donate $500.00 to an organization favored by the authors provided that they agree to donate the same amount to a charity of his choice if the events did not take place. His offer was not accepted. (A thought: Easy for Mr. Kristoff to make the offer-----wouldn't he be one of those in the chasm or lying dead with ripped up body ?)
I am not likely to be around but it would be interesting to hear the explanations when the promised day comes and passes just like any other. In the meantime, I am going to pour myself a glass of red and look out of the window at people as they go through the day.....this day.
Going back into history one finds instances of persecution of “heretics”, the most notable being the killing of Jews, Protestants and other non-believers by the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition began in 1478. Its official end was said to be 1834. More than 300,000 people (mostly Jews) were burned to death. The trials were held by the Catholic Church but executions took place under Spanish sovereigns. And so it goes.
"The Spanish Inquisition" by Cecil Roth is a well-researched, informative book on this subject.
**************************
"The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler
Delightful. I think that women readers would enjoy it more than men.
"Lust" by Elfriede Jelinek
Gave up after struggling through half of the book. It was like reading a clinical report. Perhaps it was the translation. Hope that Jelinek's “The Piano Teacher” would be better. I am still on the waiting list.
**************************
It is a wet, blustery morning. The forecast for next few days shows more of the same.
AC and I went foraging for chanterelles yesterday afternoon and struck gold. Our timing was right. We collected more than 5 lbs (2.27 kgs). I am going to make risotto.
****************************
A few photographs:
Village in West Bengal,India
On Dales Way, Yorkshire, UK
Athabasca Falls, Alberta,Canada
**************************
"Some keep the Sabbath going to Church,
I keep it staying at Home -
With a bobolink for a Chorister,
And an Orchard, for a Dome."
----Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
