HomeShop at BookSurgeEducationStudents & Student LifeThe Plain Truth About God (What the church doesn't want you to know!) |
|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 2 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 About time someone told the truth! Jun 06, 2006
By Allan W. Janssen
"Moses"
The Plain Truth About God -- About this eBook ----
Allan W. Janssen has written a fascinating book about religion and the search for God and meaning throughout human history.
From the earliest burial rituals to the main religions of modern times, he examines what we believe and how these beliefs were formed.
The book is filled with illustrations and wonderful quotes, such as the ending quote from Arthur C. Clarke: "One of my objections to religion is that it prevents the search for God." And that quote pretty well epitomizes what Mr. Janssen has to say about the matter.
The message as I perceive it is that when a religion is written down and a priesthood or other system of leaders is established, then that religion can be used for whatever purpose the leadership decides it should be used for, and true believers will not question it, since to do so would be a sin. And when people do not dare to question, that is where the trouble begins.
The first part of the book, Book I, covers a history of human development and how religion began. It includes a very detailed time line that is very helpful in putting everything into perspective.
The second part of the book , Book II, has to do with how religious leaders emerged and how religion began to be used for various purposes by these leaders.
One part of this section that I found particularly interesting was the section on Memes, those phrases, images, and ideas that become repeated so often that they become a part of our culture and our thoughts.
"Where's the beef?" is an example Mr. Janssen employs.
How do these memes relate to religion and spirituality?
That's an interesting question, which is explored in The Plain Truth About God in detail.
I found this book to be well-researched and filled with intriguing information.
I believe that any open-minded person with an interest in human culture and religion will find it useful and enlightening, as well as entertaining to read.
This is not a dry textbook but a vital exploration of human beings and our search for a bigger meaning, and what the results of that search have and can lead to.
(Personally, I would have liked to have seen my own belief system, Unitarian Universalism, acknowledged as a valid system which is trying to address spirituality in a manner that is more interested in finding truth than propagating dogma, but one cannot have everything.)
The Plain Truth about God is a very good overview of the subject of humanity and religion, and I highly recommend it to all open-minded readers.
The Plain Truth About God!
I have just finished reading the book "The Plain Truth About God" by Allan Janssen.
What a fantastic study!
The entire history of the world and its religions, their creeds and texts, inspirations and dogma are laid bare for all to see.
All those that will open their eyes to see, anyway.
That is the problem with a wonderful work such as this. The people who need to learn the truth about what they espouse so vehemently, won't read it!
If people are so enmeshed in their own delusions that they won't even consider whether their apparent faith is strong enough to let in possibilities other than the conditioning they have so far known as real, for fear they might be suddenly changed in some way, then I feel sorry and afraid for the world.
This new phenom of Fundamentalist (new to this millenia anyway) religious fanatics needs to know that they only have part of the story.
Allan, I congratulate you on your extensive research, and even after deducing the cold hard facts, still have 'belief' in an intelligent Creator amongst it all.
Bravo!
Georgiana Steele-Waller
1 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 What Atheism doesn't want you to know! Dec 18, 2007
By Matt Fretwell
The author, Allan W. Janssen, is seriously deprived of Biblical, historical, and archeological knowledge. God is not mocked, nor subject to personal views. The Dead Sea scrolls though not Christian, do produce a fact, Isaiah was written approx. 700 years before Christ, and are perfectly precise and accurate. Of course anyone who doesn't know, the Qumran(dead sea tribe) scrolls were found in the 1940's and have exact letter for letter manuscripts of Isaiah's prophecy of Christ! This is not, nor could be a "church" cover up. Before one does an undertaking to seriously mislead people as knowledgable, one MUST actually do their homework and make sure what they are stating is fact. The fcats we know are this: Pontius Pilate was a Roman Curator and governor, and did have Jesus from Nazareth crucified (Josephus, The Works of Josephus). Jesus of Nazareth was a human, whom did exist during the reigh of Herod the Tetarch (fact). After the crucifixion of Jesus, he was placed in a sealed tomb with a stone weighing close to 2 tons or more (fact) and placed under Roman elite guard (Josephus). Jesus of Nazareth did compel many, many people with diverse miracles (fact). Fact, the tomb is still empty! And of course one last fact, many many witness saw Jesus after the resurrection, close to 500 witnesses who went to their deaths, being burned alive, eaten alive, or tortured to death for their faith in the only One who can give salvation...why did they do this...fame? (I think not, Rome didn't like that)...legacy (I think not, they're dead)...Riches (no way, you can't take it with you)..then what? perhaps what they said is truth, they saw dead raised, sick healed, blind people see, deaf hear, and prophecies so long ago taught them totally true.
Think again Janssen.
|
| | |
|
|
