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1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 What Atheism doesn't want you to know! Dec 18, 2007
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.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 "Life is what it is!" -Anonymous Jun 06, 2006
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.
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