History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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Girard at his most brilliant
Won't convince the skeptical
French Egghead Knows His Stuff

I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
Rene Girard
Manufacturer: Orbis Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1570753199

Customer Reviews:

Girard at his most brilliant.......2003-02-11

Over the course of his long career, Girard has moved from literary criticism to anthropology to Biblical exegesis. This work of comparative religion sees him at his clearest and most brilliant as he compares the Gospel readings of violence to mythological interpretations that conceal the role mimetic desire plays in our conflicts. Especially revealing is a late chapter on "the concern for victims," the absolute value of modern culture. But it is in the book's final pages, where Girard finally postulates the existence of a power superior to violent contagion, that I See Satan Fall Like Lightning becomes truly great. This is a work of superb intelligence, among the most powerful and thought-provoking I have ever read.

Won't convince the skeptical.......2002-12-08

Overall, this is an interesting, concise presentation of the anthropological importance of the contents of biblical narratives as contrasted with the the other narratives close in proximity in the general sectarian milieu from which the Bible emerged. Though a certain way of thinking and approaching the texts is explored that is itself dynamic and inspiring, it fails to be more than merely rhetorically convincing. Strangly, Girard claims throughout his text that his observations and interpretations are neither apologetic or biased towards Christian interpretation but, rather, scientific. While it is plausible that the scientific side of his argument has been established in greater detail by those that endorse his theories about mimetic desire culminating violence in human societies and as the foundation of human society, it's not contained in these pages. Nonetheless, this still serves as an interesting introduction to Girard's ideas being both short and straightforward.

French Egghead Knows His Stuff.......2001-06-18

Not an easy book to summarize. Girard is a French egghead and former Stanford professor who believes to understand human behavior, we must first understand something he terms*mimetic desire*. . .with mimetic desire meaning that people only desire what other people have or what other people desire. Simply put, people imitate the desires of other people (role models). Further, this imitation leads to conflict (Girard terms this conflict *scandal*) which turns violent. This violence threatens to tear apart communities, and is only remedied when all rivals of mimetic desire unite against a single victim, and sacrifice that victim (a *scapegoat*). Girard identifies Satan as both the instigator of scandals, which cause the disorder, and the sacrifices of the victims, which then restore order. Hence, Girard answers Christ's famous question "how can Satan cast out Satan?" Satan causes disorder in the world, and then restores order in the world, in order to remain in control of the world. Girard demonstrates in this amazing book that human sacrifice is the very foundation of civilization (similar to The J Man's own theories as outlined in The Cain Theory of Civilization). Of course, the greatest example of the *single victim mechanism* is the crucifixion of Jesus. Jerusalem is on the brink of riot, but the masses imitate the murderous desire of the Jewish hierarchy toward Christ. So powerful is the violent contagion of this mimetic desire, even Jesus' disciples become infected (Peter's denial of Christ being the most famous example). The crucifixion of Christ, sanctioned by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, placates the mob and restores order. Hence, Satan believes once again his *single victim mechanism* will enable him to maintain control of the world, and also to defeat the Son of God. Satan, the Accuser, has accused Christ before the crowd, and the crowd has believed Satan's lie. They call for Christ to be put to death. Girard reveals Satan has used this tactic over and over again throughout human history. It is the cornerstone of the myths and false religions which hold the world in his bondage. But Christ defeats Satan at his own game, through the Resurrection. The Resurrection unmasks Satan as an impostor. Christ's innocence, revealed by the Resurrection, nails Satan's accusation to the cross, and publicly exposes it for the lie it is. Christ's resurrection frees His disciples from the violent contagion of mimetic desire, and they set about to take the Gospel to the world. As Paul wrote, it is the power of the cross "which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (I Corinthians 2:8). This is an academic text, not easy to read and not without its flaws (Girard is foggy on the exact nature of Satan, and is not a Bible literalist), but Girard's understanding of human behavior as the Bible reveals it, and Satan's ability to manipulate human behavior, make this an important book to read in an age when the violent contagion of mimetic desire unites the world again and again in near-planetary acts of *single victim mechanics* (Iraq, Serbia). . .with those acts seeming as test runs for the Apocalypse to come.

The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany

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OUTSTANDING WORK!
How to review this?
Important and useful that a rabbi would write this book
Unbalanced defense
It's a shame it had to be written!

The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany
David G. Dalin
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0895260344

Book Description

In Rabbi David G. Dalin's controversial new book, he explodes the newly resurrected, widely accepted, yet utterly bankrupt smearing of Pope Pius XII, whom Jewish survivors of the Holocaust considered a righteous gentile.

Customer Reviews:

OUTSTANDING WORK!.......2007-09-09

Thank you Rabbi Dalin for telling the true story of Pope Pius XII. I give this book 5 bright stars and would give it more if possible. Pope Pius XII had many Jewish friends, and did much to help save the lives of many Jews before and during the Holocaust. The fact that many have chosen to slander this saintly man's name is a sign of the devil's work.

The cause for beatification of Pope Pius XII took an important step forward on May 8, 2007 when the Congregation for the Causes of Saints voted to approve a decree that the life of the late Pontiff showed "heroic virtue." Although I am sure he is a saint in heaven, hopefully it won't be long before he is declared a saint by the Church.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in the true story of Pius XII. It is a true historical account of the evil of Hitler and the Nazis. Also, chapter 6 includes a great deal of very interesting information about Muslims and their anti-Semitic beliefs and teachings.

How to review this?.......2007-07-30

Call me obtuse if you want. I just can't think of any way of reviewing this without sounding preachy, or as some loving people say: as a bloody Catholic fundamentalist.

My review is simply this: you hate this Pope in particular or Catholicism in general? Then by all means, go buy and read the Harry Potter series. After having read 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I can safely say that Harry Potter is a veritable classic of universal literature. Yes, I used the word 'classic', as in worthy of studying in class - as in school, universities, etc. And and I used 'universal' as in that EVERYONE should read those books.

To those people I prefer to recommend Harry Potter because this book is basically a well-documented book defending the REAL PRO-semitic actions of this late Pope, as well as the historical significance and repercussions, including of course, all the false accusations laid on against him and the reasons behind those. And to top it all off, is written by a jewish Rabbi. So you either take this as it is, or you simply will risk high-pressure problems.

Harry Potter on the other hand is safe, superbly written adventure, and with a real profound study of human nature.

So, off you go then!

Important and useful that a rabbi would write this book.......2007-05-26

We are getting to the place where anti-Catholic bigotry is one of the few forms of group hatred that is still OK. In a society where any other form of bigotry, or even a suspcious of the same, is viewed with implacable oppositon, it is still pretty much OK to spread the grossest lies and distortions of the Church and its long, complex historical record. In the same way that the only fact most recently educated students know about World War II was that the evil Americans interned innocent Japanese civilians, the only fact which most people know about the Church is a grossly exagerrated and distorted view of the Spanish Inquisition.

In this context, it is possible for most absurd lies to get a great deal of traction. Many people, particularly Jews, believe that the Pope during World War II, Pius XII, actively supported Hitler. They think he was a buddy of Hitler's and helped to round up Jews for the gas chambers. Most Americans find nothing implausible in this story, so, since a few lunatic writers have put it out there, they believe it.

This story is, and always has been, an absurd, malicious lie with absolutely nothing behind it but hatred of the Church. Pius XII was always a determined opponent of Hitler. The Church, as an organization -- and the Pope heads the Church -- saved more Jews from the Holaucaust than any other single institution. At a time when every one was sitting on their hands, or looking the other way, the Church acted. Jews at the time, and in the State of Israel, understood that the Church was one of their only friends in ths time of great horror. To turn this record around, and to argue that the Pope was a friend of Hitler's, has as much validity and legitimacy as those who deny that the Holaucaust (but hope that it will happen again), argue that Bush and Mossad were behind 9/11 and who otherwise wear tinfoil on their head while reading the National Inquirer.

That said, it was very helpful that David Dalin wrote this book, because he is a Jewish Rabbi. By its nature, this kind of defense is best done when it is not a Catholic doing it, but a Jew. It is very hard to accuse a rabbi of being biased in favor of the Church or indifferent to the fate of the Jews. It is very good to see people like Rabbi Dalin reach across religious lines, purely and simply to uphold the truth. It makes me think that, maybe despite everything, there is some chance that people of good will really can unite against those who want to use lies to tear down everything that is good and decent in the world.

Unbalanced defense .......2007-05-11

We should be careful that analyses of Pius do not become attacks on the Church. In the last 50 years, the Church has done many wonderful things to help the poor and serve the world; many parishes have kitchens to serve the homeless. That said, this does not excuse Pius or provide a defense. There are a few common arguments.

1. Nothing more could be done.

This is absurd. Obviously if more people protested, the scope and depth of killing would have been reduced. The Nazi killing machine was efficient simply because it enjoyed the support of virtually all of the German Christian population. Protests could have lessened what occurred.

2. But what would happen to us

Some suggest Catholics could have been attacked. Perhaps. But ultimately moral acts do not include torturing and killing others to save your own skin.

3. Some Jews liked him

Most holocaust analysts do not defend Pius- See Abandonement of the Jews. Gilbert, The Holocaust

To simply cobble together a few statements of Jewish statesmen eager for Vatican recognition of Israel shows little.

4. He helped save Italian Jews. Pius did help Italian Jews and should be commended. However, German Catholics tortured, starved, and killed, Jewish men, women, and children. For every Italian Jew saved, there were 10 killed with the aid of German Catholics and other Christians.

5. They wouldn't have listened This is the most specious arguments- suggesting Catholics, who listened to the Pope on matters of all types, raising children, marriage- would have ignored their Pope had he spoken out against murder.

6. He did say some things.

Unfortunately, when the Pope did speak, he made sure to speak in such vague and obligue terms that it accomplished nothing. Stop murdering Jewish women and children would have accomplished something but was never said.

It's a shame it had to be written!.......2007-01-10

The book is a well written and well documented exposition of the truth about Pope Pius XII's official and personal behavior toward the Nazis and those they persecuted. Rabii Dalin has earned the thanks and respect of every Catholic who seeks truth in a world too full of hate and prejudice.

Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church

Average customer rating:

You make the call.
Ambitious work but tedious
Excellent Evolution of a Writer
"Widely considered as the definitive book on Opus Dei"
Lots of information and Lots of Bias

Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church
John L. Allen
Manufacturer: Doubleday Religion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0385514492
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Amazon.com

For readers of The Da Vinci Code, John Allen's book on Opus Dei may be something of a revelation. One opens it expecting to find at the very least GPS coordinates pinpointing albino monk training camps. Or perhaps full disclosure of untold wealth flowing through offshore bank accounts. Instead one finds exhaustive research, interviews and careful analysis that reveal a group alive with ideas and purpose, but a bit short on sinister plans. Removing the sense of mystery surrounding Opus Dei may not serve future thriller writers well, but the journey is fascinating in its own right. Allen's biography of Opus Dei is also necessarily a brief biography of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, born in Spain in 1902, whose vision of the sanctification of work gave birth to Opus Dei, or "The Work" as its members call it. The idea of finding sanctification through work was not original to Escrivá, but the power of his vision certainly brought it to a fuller realization within the Catholic church. Allen explores this central idea that "one can find God through the practice of law, engineering or medicine, by picking up the garbage or by delivering the mail, if one brings to that work the proper Christian spirit." For Escrivá sanctification flowed in equal measure both in and outside the walls of the church. Much of Allen's own work getting to know Opus Dei is done with numerous, wide-ranging personal interviews, from the halls of the Vatican, to Africa, to U.S. suburbs. Allen is also careful to include voices of ex-members. He recognizes the best way to dispel the aura of mystery surrounding Opus Dei is to shine a bright light on it, and with a remarkable degree of cooperation from Opus Dei itself, that is exactly what he does. His aggressiveness in countering conspiracy theory with information reaches its apex in the only slow-going chapter in the entire book, a survey of Opus Dei's financial holdings and activities where a double-shot of cappuccino is recommended before attacking the endless lists detailing financial information. Ultimately, Allen's work comes across as a balanced, perceptive inquiry into a group that, while perhaps not preferring the center stage limelight, does not suffer greatly when exposed to it.--Ed Dobeas

Book Description

The first serious journalistic investigation of the highly secretive, controversial organization Opus Dei provides unique insight about the wild rumors surrounding it and discloses its significant influence in the Vatican and on the politics of the Catholic Church.

Opus Dei (literally “the work of God”) is an international association of Catholics often labeled as conservative who seek personal Christian perfection and strive to implement Christian ideals in their jobs and in society as a whole. Founded in Spain in 1928, it now has 84,000 members (1,600 of whom are priests) in eighty countries. But far from running bingo nights at local parishes, Opus Dei has become a center of controversy and suspicion both within and outside the Church. It has been accused of promoting a right-wing political agenda and of cultlike practices, aggressive recruiting, brainwashing new recruits, and isolating members from their families. Its notoriety escalated with the publication of the runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code (Opus Dei plays an important and sinister role in the novel) and with the previous pope’s much-debated canonization of its founder (often linked with Francisco Franco’s facist regime) and the discovery that convicted FBI spy Robert Hanson was a member of Opus Dei.

With the expert eye of a longtime trusted observer of the Vatican and the skill of an investigative reporter intent on uncovering closely guarded secrets, John Allen finally separates the myths from the facts in Opus Dei. Granted unlimited access to the prelate who heads the organization and to Opus Dei centers throughout the world, Allen draws on a wealth of interviews with current members, as well as with highly critical ex-members, to create an unprecedented portrait of the activities, practices, and intentions behind its veil of secrecy. Allen reveals the remarkable power that Opus Dei commands in shaping Vatican policy and presents a detailed look at the full extent of its network, which includes people in key positions in politics, banking, academia, and other influential arenas. He even describes the arcane rituals—including self-flagellation—performed to preserve and promote a spiritual tradition strange and unsettling to modern sensibilities.

For years, Opus Dei has been the subject of conspiracy theories and dark, uninformed speculation. Opus Dei sets the record straight.

Customer Reviews:

You make the call........2007-08-23

I now know what Opus Dei is and what it is not. John Allen did a very thorough analysis of Opus Dei including the good, the bad and the ugly.
The myths have been debunked. Mr Allen just lays it all out there and you can make your own judgment.

Ambitious work but tedious.......2007-02-09

I'm not sure if it was due to poor organization or an attempt to maximize the information gathered, but I slogged through this book. I found the same quotes/information by the same subjects repeated nearly verbatim and used to fit a variety of contexts. That, and the fact that each chapter was separated into many brief subsections made reading this book a rather tedious enterprise. I found myself skipping pages that presented "more of the same" rather frequently. Chapter 15 promises that it's now time to make conclusions, but these are the same points Allen made (often more than once) in previous chapters.

Is it possible to be objective to the point of irrelevancy? I think so, and this book may approach that line. The presentation of point-counterpoint begins as a fairly balanced exercise, but by the time the reader is about halfway through it, the system becomes annoying. One already knows in reading an experience or opinion that it's going to be refuted on the next page.

What Allen fails to do often enough is ask the question, "Why?" and provide more interesting analysis. He mentions a few times that Opus Dei in the UK grows little and he anemically offers the late Cardinal Hume's reticence as a reason. Sorry, but that doesn't satisfy. Conversely, Allen demonstrates the strength of Opus Dei in Spanish-speaking countries but never probes why this might be. Indeed, readers don't get much of a picture of Opus Dei in the United States. Allen globetrots to interview members in other countries where the movement is popular while not explaining WHY it is popular in Peru and not, apparently, in Peoria. Or is it? We have little idea because of this and many loose threads.

I gave this book 3 stars because it does a good job of explaining what Opus Dei is. However, I was being a bit generous because I think that people buying it expect more analysis and less spoon-fed material. Authors would prefer that people read their books from cover to cover, and serious readers prefer that, too. But because of the repetition, this book disappoints when read from beginning to end. Perhaps skipping around in this case is better. Best would be a thorough edit that reduces the repetition and reorganizes away from the interminable tennis match of point-counterpoint.

Excellent Evolution of a Writer.......2006-08-18

Having finished reading the entire book, I urge any and all to get it and read it. John Allen has transformed himself from a spinner for liberal heterodox points of view into an objective researcher. I predict this book will be a watershed in setting straight the distortions that lack of information and plain old envy have hurled at Opus Dei for decades. I hope that Allen can eventually sever his connection with the heterodox National Catholic Reporter. He can certainly do better than that, and sentimentality is no reason to keep career ties that no longer match his professional evolution from spinner to objective researcher. If he sticks to this pattern, he will regain the credibility he lost in some of his prior writings. I applaud him and tip my scapular to him. I hope I don't have to take back my praise in the future. For more details, see my Catholic Analysis blog post for August 15, 2006.

"Widely considered as the definitive book on Opus Dei" .......2006-08-01

I give this a five! I am a fan of objectivity, and I know one when I see one.

Who else can write with such objectivity over such a controversial topic than John Allen Jr! His objectivity has been called "maddening." He does not take sides. He just tells it as it is. And that is what he did here. That's why he is the Vatican analyst of CNN, NPR and CBS. The guy has authority.

To find out if Opus Dei does aggressive recruitment, what did he do? He asked the students in Opus Dei schools. He asked their parents. He asked Opus Dei members. Did you feel pressured? That's going to the source!

To find out if Opus Dei is extremely wealthy, he went from one school to another, one center to another, got an accountant, and lo and behold. With the figures, the worldwide prelature comes out as nothing more than the usual American mid-size diocese.

And since he got so much information --a plane load, he says--, and since he kept on asking members and they kept on answering, and since he compared Opus Dei with other institutions (Skull and Bones for the example!!), and he stayed in the center to ferret out secrets... well... he finds out there are no secrets.

But he tells Opus Dei, hey guys, open up some more! You had too much zeal in this or that. You made mistakes in the beginning. You have a promising product, but you were savagely attacked. So: Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

No wonder, many people around the world give this book 4 to 5 stars. No wonder, it has received so many favourable reviews, even from Opus Dei critics. No wonder, four time Emmy winner, Martha Teichner of CBS said that John Allen's Opus Dei is "widely considered as the definitive book on Opus Dei."

I cannot but agree on such an objective assessment of an objective book.

Lots of information and Lots of Bias.......2006-07-25

As implied in the title, John Allen has set himself an ambitious goal in his latest book: to give a truly objective examination of a highly controversial group greatly favored by the late Pope John Paul II. Unfortunately, the result of his year's research and labor, while interesting and highly informative, is far from objective. However unintentionally, Allen's book emerges more as an attempt to refute the most strident charges against Opus Dei. One is almost tempted to add another subtitle to it: "Apologia pro Amicibus Suis?"

What is perhaps the most serious flaw of John Allen's examination of Opus Dei is his dependence on his subject itself for almost all his documentary evidence and even many of his other sources of information. Because of Opus Dei's emphasis on secrecy - or, as they prefer to call it, discretion - and its careful guarding of its written documents, even its Statutes, there are no independent archives of Opus Dei's foundational documents, training materials, or internal memos. When Allen wanted to see a document, he asked the information officer (read PR/spokesman) assigned to help him who told him if it was available or not, and if available, gave it to him to read in Opus Dei's offices. Thus, there was no external or independent source for Opus documentation. It could show only what it wished to show. The same was true for the much more frequent instances when Allen wanted to know Opus policy or formation for its members on a particular point: again, his only response was the Opus Dei line as stated by a professional PR person.

Another serious problem with Allen being so much exposed to the Opus line is that, like many or even most people today, he lacks the kind of knowledge of history in general and Catholic and theological history in particular that would provide a counterweight against which to measure OD's claims. The most egregious single example of this is Opus' oft touted claim that in emphasizing the role and sanctification of the laity, Escriva was a prophet foretelling the insight of Vatican II. If Allen knew a bit about the many lay Catholic Action movements that sprang up all over Europe before World War I, inspired by the publication of Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, he might not swallow Opus' inflated claims so blithely. A better knowledge of the history of the spirituality of the Benedictines, Dominicans, and Franciscans and their extensive Third Orders would provide a similar corrective on the Opus "insights" of the sanctification of work or "divine filiation." Instead, Allen gushes what a "riveting historical figure" Escriva was (p.43).

Actually, beneath the hype and exaggerated claims, there are only really two main differences between these traditional Third Orders and The Work: first, the creation of a group of lay consecrated virgins (the numeraries, Opus Dei's shock troops, who constitute 20% of its membership) and secondly, the much tighter rein Opus Dei keeps on its 70% supernumerary membership, "requesting" (read requiring) weekly confession or spiritual direction, whereas the much looser traditional Third Orders have only monthly meetings or events and no specific policy on frequency of confession and spiritual direction. It might in fact be interesting or even instructive to compare the numbers of adherents claimed by Opus Dei to those of the Third Orders of the Franciscans, Dominicans, and the Benedictine Oblates to gain more perspective on this supposedly unique phenomenon of Opus Dei.

The only other external controls" (very partial ones) on Opus Dei's monopoly on information on itself is from disillusioned former members who have written about their experiences, like Maria del Carmen Tapia, Miguel Fisac, and the contributors to ODAN, the Opus Dei Awareness Network. These people can testify verbally or in writing to what they experienced but few if any were ever able to take documentation of their claims out of Opus Dei when they left. Allen seems to have read at least some of their accounts (although his omission of a bibliography or footnotes make it difficult to be sure) and even interviewed a sprinkling of the dissatisfied formers, but then he always appears to have asked his OD "handlers" to respond to their charges. Invariably, in his book, much more space is given to Opus Dei's response or self-justification than to the original charge. Opus Dei also put Allen in contact with former members who left or changed status within OD on good terms, leading Allen to the conclusion that many more have left The Work on good terms than on bad.

Opus Dei's spokespersons also frequently emphasized that The Work is basically decentralized and its local and national centers have a great deal of independence relating to formation and day-to-day administration. Thus, little in writing, few central records or overall statistics and supposedly few or no written records of the running of their local and national centers by their directors, either for the past or the present. One frequent refrain when confronted with horror stories from ex-members is "well, that might have happened in that center with that director back then, but it certainly doesn't happen any more. It was an aberration." Allen doesn't seem to see the incongruity of Opus Dei's claims: if centers are independent and Opus Dei in Rome doesn't have detailed written documentation, how can it claim to know what did or didn't happen in the past or in the present in its centers? If centers are so independent, how can an Opus spokesperson know what is being suggested, taught or allowed relative to its members?

Allen seems to have made a fundamental decision to believe what Opus Dei tells him. He doesn't seems to even entertain the thought that they might give him a less than totally honest answer to his questions or might even bend the truth 'for the good of The Work.' Since Allen's didactic methodology is to take the most extreme and strident criticisms of Opus Dei, ask his Opus 'handlers' to respond to them, and then draw his conclusions, his almost total lack of scepticism relating to what OD tells him is a major weakness of his book.

These are not vain comments made by someone who merely disagrees with Allen's opinions. I am a trained historian with specializations in early modern and modern Europe. I have done research in primary sources from the 16th century French wars of religion to World War II's Vichy government. I also spent 20 years working for a large international law firm and did many 'due diligence' investigations of target companies in multi-million dollar mergers as well as other kinds of legal research. Had I ever made the kind of extrapolations or manifested the kind of naivete that John Allen demonstrates in most of his book, I would have been reprimanded or even shown the door.

None of the above is meant to imply that John Allen's Opus Dei is not a valuable resource. Allen has done a tremendous amount of research and brought together a wealth of materials. This book is a goldmine of well-organized information on Opus Dei, its history, structure and official positions on the controversies to which it has given rise. One can learn a great deal about Opus Dei by reading John Allen's book. One simply has to recognize the bias of which he seems unaware and exercise extreme caution in accepting his conclusions.

Opus Dei, which is almost as media-savvy as the Legionnaires of Christ, has praised Allen's book to the skies. They know good PR when they see it.

Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy

Average customer rating:

Catholic Beliefs
Very interesting!
It's St. Peter, Stupid!
Clearing away the centuries of lies
Pretty good for those who don't care about the details.

Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy
Patrick Madrid
Manufacturer: Basilica Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0964261006
Release Date: 1998-09-01

Book Description

This exciting new apologetics book offers a tour-de-force refutation of 30 major arguments raised against the papacy. Using Scripture, Church history, and common sense (with a dash of wit added for good measure), Patrick Madrid explains why these commonly believed "pope fictions" simply don't hold water.

Fr. Ray Ryland, a former Protestant minister and now a Catholic priest, says, "In a very readable style, Pope Fiction catalogs and refutes those fictions charitably and completely. Had it been available when I first began to be drawn to the Church, my journey home would have been years shorter."

Catholic author and apologist David Hess praises its "amazing clarity and readability."

Former Protestant minister Marcus Grodi (now Catholic and host of the popular EWTN show 'The Journey Home') describes Pope Fiction as "concise and complete with a welcome tinge of humor. I highly recommend this book to all those who are looking for truth. They'll find it here."

The myths and misconceptions about the papacy covered in Pope Fiction include: The persistent "Pope Joan" myth about a ninth-century female pope, the popes' involvement in the Crusades and Spanish Inquizition, what the New Testament reveals about Simon Peter's role in the early Christian Church, the attitude of the early Church toward the bishops of Rome, the scandal of bad popes, the Galileo Affair, the papacy's track record on slavery, the Seventh-Day Adventist myth about the bogus "Vicarius Filii Dei" papal "title," historical issues pertaining to the papacy, specific examples of popes who allegedly taught error, and the facts surrounding Pope Pius XII's attitude toward the Jews during the Holocaust.

Arranged in 30 tightly focused chapters, Pope Fiction provides a balanced, comprehensive overview of the major arguments against the papacy and provides the biblical, historical and commonsense responses to those arguments. Pope Fiction is engaging and charitable, yet challenging and hard-hitting.

Customer Reviews:

Catholic Beliefs.......2007-07-26

This book is an excellent book about the mis-understandings and rumors regarding the Pope. The book is an esay read and full of information including documation.

Very interesting!.......2007-03-09

I found this book to be really helpful in understanding the Papacy. It is very well written and I like the way it is laid out.

It's St. Peter, Stupid!.......2006-05-21

For Catholics dealing with objections to the papacy or any of their doctrinal positions, there are two types of criticisms they will encounter. The first is the carefully worded assertions by those who have researched both Scripture and Church history, are well versed in the history of the debate and its current state, and can rely on accurate and precise theological positions from which an intelligent debate on the issue may begin. This is the bread and butter of many theologians and apologists and is both intellectually stimulating and a means of presenting the true nature of the issues at hand for those who seek it.

While Patrick Madrid might well enjoy that sort of thing, it's not really what he's aiming at in Pope Fiction. You see, there is also another sort of objection - the type that relies on innuendo, paranoia, irrelevant facts, character assassination, and historical fabrication. In what might be called Homer Simpson apologetics, Madrid deals with the objections to the papacy that make you want to say "d-oh!" In this regard, Madird thus joins a tradition of past Catholic apologists such as Francis J. Sheed and contemporaries like Karl Keating in the thankless task of clearing the debris of polemical rhetoric spewed by restorationist sects and atheist opponents alike (is it not ironic how these two are allied in this regard?) and allow men from John Henry Newman in the past to Thomas Howard and Peter Kreeft today to be free to grapple with their counterparts in other traditions without having to trip over every self-proclaimed "bible expert."

Here, Madrid is facing squarely the many misconceptions regarding the papacy and its history and eliminating the residue left from years of modernist skepticism and bigoted "know-nothingism." His point is not to refute the more substantial objections of Protestants like D. A. Carlson or Orthodox theologians like John Meyendorff but to repel the baseless accusations of fundamentalists like Alexander Hislop, Lorraine Boettner, Tim LaHaye, and Dave Hunt. In this he succeeds with ease and also retains a sense of humor, clarity of purpose, and spirit of respect sorely lacking in the purely polemical atmosphere generated by his opponents.

One by one, the straw men go tumbling: the Petra/Petros distinction, the 666 claim, the history of bad popes, the Crusades, Galileo, the anti-popes, and so forth. In touching on more substantial areas of dispute (e.g., Pope Honorius and the Sixth Ecumentical Council), Madrid certainly does not settle the issue but he proves it to be no slam dunk for the other side either.

One of the more relevant for the coming months is that of "Pope Joan" - the legend of a female pope who reigned during the "Dark Ages" that Madrid demonstrates is actually a polemically motivated fantasy created centuries after the alleged fact (Madrid has posted this chapter on his website here). The story is being made into a major film no doubt in time for the next round of calls for women's ordination to the Catholic priesthood. Such efforts underscore the danger of putting forth fabricated evidence for the purpose of attacking ecclesial opponents - if the attacks are accepted into the larger culture, it undermines confidence in the claims of Christianity in general.

It is probably not the most fun in the world countering those with the courage of their derelictions. However, all those in a more historically rooted form of Christianity will find themselves with common ground on many issues with Catholics. As the largest and most identifiable of such churches, the Catholic Church is the target for all those at odds with Christian history. Attacks even upon positions peculiar to Catholicism often lead to more general attacks on the historic Christian faith. Thus an attack on the papacy becomes an attack on the episcopacy becomes an attack on church authority becomes an attack on moral authority. If we are to oppose those in other Christian traditions, we should not base it upon lies. Patrick Madrid has given us in Pope Fiction an essential starting point for debates on the papacy. Then we can deal with the real issues...

Clearing away the centuries of lies.......2006-02-10

Since the beginnings of the Catholic Church (33AD), there have been those who try to undermine her authority in multiple ways. Most of these detractors focus their attention on the person of the Successor of Peter, the Pope.

Patrick presents 30 of the most common misconceptions spread by anti-Catholics (including the secular media) and gives clear and understandable answers to all of them. The intention of these explainations is to educate the average lay reader -- Patrick's writing is very accessable. While it may leave the "scholars" wanting more (many of course would NEVER be satisfied), there is enough here to convince any openminded person that the myths against the Pope are indeed myths without substance.

This is a must have for anyone who is interested in the truth about the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church.

Pretty good for those who don't care about the details........2005-10-30

Ok. This book attempts to present and dispel 30 myths about the Catholic pope. The author does a decent job of not covering up the evils of popes and stick to defending the office of the papacy (analogy, presidents may engage in misdeeds but it does not negatively affect the greatness of our democracy). The book lost two stars for being very superficial. Really the book is a compilation of 30 simple presentations. It would do well to give you a small glimpse of the argument (which is interesting as several of the myths I was not even aware of). This book is good as a simple treatment of the issues, for a teenager, someone who does not want to get involved in more detailed historical accounts and intellectual investigations, or someone who only faces fairly uneducated anti-Catholics. The book will fall far short of desirable for anyone who wants to truly understand any of these issues or an apologist who encounters (the very rare) educated anti-Catholics.

I give this book a B for effort, B+ for subject matter, and C- for overall content (though as stated it would be an A- for a limited audience who desires a superficial treatment). And that's 3 stars.

Cathedral of the Black Madonna: The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres

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Jean Markale is Brilliant
A stunning labyrinth of discovery

Cathedral of the Black Madonna: The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres
Jean Markale
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Druidism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Celtic | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Goddesses | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Feminist | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1594770204
Release Date: 2004-10-27

Book Description

Explores the connection between ancient druidic worship of a virgin at Chartres and the veneration of the Black Madonna

• Examines the Virgin Mary’s origins in the pagan worship of the Mother Goddess

• Identifies Mary with the dominant solar goddess of matriarchal societies

The great cathedral of Chartres is renowned the world over as a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture and for its remarkable stained glass, considered alchemical glass, and its mystical labyrinth. But the sacred foundations of this sanctuary go back to a time long before Christianity when this site was a clearing where druids worshiped a Virgo Paritura: a virgin about to give birth. This ancient meeting place, where all the druids in Gaul gathered once a year, now houses the magnificent Chartres cathedral dedicated both to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and to one of the most venerated Black Madonnas in Europe: Our Lady of the Pillar. Coincidence? Hardly, says Jean Markale, whose exhaustive examination of the site traces Chartres’ roots back to prehistoric times and the appeal of the Black Madonna back to the ancient widespread worship of Mother Goddesses such as Cybele and Isis.

Markale contends that the mother and child depicted by the Black Madonna are descended from the image worshipped by the druids of the Virgin forever giving birth. This image is not merely a representation of maternal love--albeit of a spiritual nature. It is a theological notion of great refinement: the Virgin gives birth ceaselessly to a world, a God, and a humanity in perpetual becoming.

Customer Reviews:

Jean Markale is Brilliant.......2005-10-27

I love this man and wish more of his books were translated into English. His insight is phenonemal as well as his research. A must read 'before' your trip to Chartres. It arrived after I returned last year, but encouraged me to go again this year.

A stunning labyrinth of discovery.......2005-05-07

Jean Markale's books are an amazing journey of discovery through philosophy, gnosis, and the wonderful world of esoterica. He is a mystic and a scholar, he is a teacher and a guide. Markale will never force his conclusions upon you, rather he leads you to them and makes you think and feel for yourself. There is no dogma in his work, only wisdom. While he researches with the thorough tenacity of the most intrepid academic, he is never pendantic or stodgy in his conclusions.

There are layers of fascinating historical information within, the kind of detail that isn't found in a library, but that comes from Markale's lifelong love of his French homeland and the folklore and cultures that he was raised in. This is wisdom firsthand. It is experiential and real.

If you have an interest in ancient cultures, goddess worship, the sacred nature of the cathedrals and those who built them, and the path of Gnosis, there is much to love in this book. But don't expect a linear, typical journey. Markale is a genius, and he would never do anything that obvious.

Read it, put it away and read it a few months later. You will see something within it that you did not see before.

J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion

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Further Up and Further Into Middle Earth
Reading Tolkien, Right and Wrong

J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion
Richard L. Purtill
Manufacturer: Ignatius Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0898709482

Book Description

Here is an in-depth look at the role myth, morality, and religion play in J.R.R. Tolkien's works such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion—including Tolkien's private letters and revealing opinions of his own work. Richard L. Purtill brilliantly argues that Tolkien's extraordinary ability to touch his readers' lives through his storytelling—so unlike much modern literature—accounts for his enormous literary success.

This book demonstrates the moral depth in Tolkien's work and cuts through current subjectivism and cynicism about morality. A careful reader will find a subtle religious dimension to Tolkien's work—all the more potent because it is below the surface. Purtill reveals that Tolkien's fantasy stories creatively incorporate profound religious and ethical ideas. For example, Purtill shows us how hobbits reflect both the pettiness of parochial humanity and unexpected heroism.

Purtill, author of 19 books, effectively addresses larger issues of the place of myth, the relation of religion and morality to literature, the relation of Tolkien's work to traditional mythology, and the lessons Tolkien's work teaches for our own lives.

Customer Reviews:

Further Up and Further Into Middle Earth.......2003-08-15

Before the outstanding films of The Lord of the Rings, readers stumbling across The Hobbit or the trilogy (actually six books in three volumes), came away dazzled, but often with questions. Who was or is J.R.R.Tolkien? Where did these books come from? Why are they so wildly popular? When they first appeared, The Hobbit and the subsequent books were panned by critics on both sides of the Atlantic, but then among the youth they suddenly caught fire. Fifty years later, the films top critics' lists.

But why did the Ballantine paperbacks have a note on the back from Tolkien urging readers to buy the authorized editions (were there bootlegs floating around?). Why did another English professor, C.S.Lewis, devote the preface of his science-fiction novel, Out of the Silent Planet to gaining support for Tolkien's not yet published epic, The Lord of the Rings?

In one of the earliest books on Tolkien's novels, Dr. Richard Purtill, a philosophy professor at Western Washington University, addressed these and other questions. As an author, Dr. Purtill ranged widely, writing textbooks, philosophy books on logic, ethics and religion on the one hand, and fantasy novels, science-fiction and mysteries on the other. For years he taught a popular class on Philosophy and Fantasy; this book, originally published in hardback by Harper and Row in the mid '80s, both follows from and expands on that series.

This book starts in what may seem an odd place, with a discussion of a short story by Tolkien called "Leaf By Niggle." Many addicts of The Lord of the Rings, however, are not even aware the story exists, and with good reason. Originally published as half of a slim hardback called "Tree and Leaf," it now appears in a small paperback called The Tolkien Reader. The other half of "Tree and Leaf" is a famous essay called "On Fairy Stories," which gives Tolkien's views of literature and its connection to life. It's one of the very few places he gives his spiritual views or refers to his faith as a Catholic. Yet, as avid readers of C.S.Lewis know, Lewis was an atheist before talks with Tolkien led to his conversion. Purtill gives three possible interpretations of "Leaf By Niggle" (without ruining the story), and touches lightly on Tolkien's views in "On Fairy Stories."

The rest of these brief essays explore various topics in Tolkienana, such as the real heroes in The Lord of the Rings (this heroism is greatly attractive in the movies), and a topic he often discusses at fantasy conventions: myth, fantasy and science-fiction in The Lord of the Rings. An oft-seen poster used to bear the invitation: "Come to Middle Earth." With the advent of the films, it's once again a popular destination, and exploring is all the more enjoyable with this classic guide.

Reading Tolkien, Right and Wrong.......2003-04-09

This is a new edition of a book published in 1984 that has long been out of print. So far as I can tell, the only change is a new preface of Joseph Pierce. The republication is due in part to the surge of interest in Middle Earth occasioned by the new movies, and in part due to the interest the publisher, Ignatius Press, has in the book's subject matter.

What Tolkien, Purtill, and Ignatius Press all have in common is their Roman Catholicism, and of particular relevance to this book, a common sense of morality stemming from it. Between the Purtill the critic and Tolkien the author are additional commonalities as well: Purtill, like Tolkien, is an academic who is also an author of fantasy.

Given the commonalities between Purtill and Tolkien, it is therefore not surprising that the critic is entirely sympathetic to the author. In explaining, Purtill also defends. There are a few passages where Purtill makes the defense explicit, citing negative comments by others and then arguing against them. For the most part, however, the defense is implicit, inherent in the explanations he gives. The explicit defenses are not fully satisfactory. In terms of tone they come off as, for lack of a better word, defensive. A deeper problem however is that the explicit defenses by their very nature tend to distort that which they defend - points minor in Tolkien can become major in a defense of Tolkien. These defects make Purtill's explicit defenses sufficiently unsatisfactory that the work would have been improved through their omission.

Where Purtill succeeds and succeeds quite well is when he defends Tolkien implicitly. The strength of his book lies in his explanations of Tolkien's moral views, as well as how myth is used as a means to convey them. When Purtill works directly with Tolkien's published writings and with comments he made about them in his letters, Purtill is at his most interesting and his book most worth the time spent with it.

The main works of Tolkien taken up by Purtill are "Leaf by Niggle", "On Fairy Stories", "The Hobbit", "Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion". The attention paid by Purtill to the first of these, "Leaf by Niggle" will surprise some readers, but it is I think justified by the parallels between the character Niggle and Tolkien; to understand how Tolkien saw Niggle is to a considerable extent to understand how Tolkien saw himself. "On Fairy Stories" is similarly self-referential in that Tolkien is writing about a genre in which he himself works. If "Leaf by Niggle" is about the relationship between Tolkien and his writing, "On Fairy Stories" is about the relationship between Tolkien's writing and the world. Together, these works give the reader a sense of how Tolkien saw his writing and it is through these works that Purtill approaches the others.

Tolkien's chief works, "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion" share a common world, and are treated by Purtill in an overlapping fashion. Purtill's main goal is to separate and discuss the works' moral themes. In his discussion of how morality is presented in the three works, Purtill applies the approach developed in his discussion of the previous two: the use of a particular world and a particular story to illuminate the universal and unchanging. What is the nature of good? What is the nature of evil? How do good and evil operate in man? It is simply by explaining what Tolkien has to say about these themes that Purtill's literary defense of Tolkien succeeds; it is when he is least concerned with defending him and most concerned with simply explaining him that Purtill defends Tolkien best.

Tolkien employs multiple methods to make his moral points. First, he often simply makes the moral physical - beauty and ugliness representing good and evil. Second, he facets personality; this character receives this facet while another character receives another. Third, he makes moral choices stark. While it is many other things as well, morally Tolkien's work is one of analysis - he breaks up complexity into simpler parts for study. Given this, an analytical reader is doomed to failure because his work has already been done for him - he can't break up Tolkien's characters into simpler parts because they are simple parts already. Morality in Tolkien becomes interesting not when he is read analytically, but when he is read synthetically - when the reader considers not the parts in themselves but in how the parts relate to each other.

Purtill's book benefits its reader in two ways. First, in his explanation of particular moral points that Tolkien makes that many readers may not have caught, but which enrich the experience once understood. Second, and more importantly, Purtill explains how to read Tolkien - Purtill has by no means exhausted the moral complexities of Tolkien's work; he opens the door but ultimately leaves each reader with the pleasure of crossing through and exploring it for himself.

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Joachim of Fiore and the Myth of the Eternal Evangel in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Warwick Gould , and Marjorie Reeves
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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