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However, solid exegesis is somewhat lacking in this work in that many of the interpretations of certain passages lack a research into the cultural, historical background of the contexts. Though mostly sound, controversial issues like the Pentecostal Baptism of (or with) the Spirit and tongues have weak polemics that could be easily refuted based on biblical grounds. A thorough look at all the passages in regard to a doctrine is lacking.
I believe that if scholarship is to be evaluated based on the thoroughness and skill of the exposition and exegesis, the Pentecostal faith stll has a long way to go.
Still, I recommend this book to every Christian interested in the Pentecostal tradition, whether charismatic or not.
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Assuming he can read it -- hopefully, tonight, before his test Monday -- it seems like a good product. We really need to find the name of the file, however.
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One closing comment: Cliffs Notes, however useful, are an aid for the reading of the full text and are no substitute for it.
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Oh, students will find it helpful as well!
I fully recommend "Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (Cliffs Notes)."
Anthony Trendl
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I enjoyed this book because it was really descriptive and its set a picture in my mind. It was interesting and I thought that it was a good topic for a book. It was exciting to see the plot unfold. I really enjoyed it, and I think that anyone who enjoys a good, adventurous book would really enjoy it, too. The beginning was good at preparing you for the rest of the book, and the middle and end was really exciting. It showed me what Native Americans went through, and I thought it was really interesting. Overall, it surprised me at how adventurous it was.
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-The Birthmark
Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer, quoting the Bhagavad-Gita, July 16, 1945, Alamogordo, New Mexico
Eyebrows were raised and feathers ruffled this week, when Leon R. Kass, appointed by George W. Bush to head the President's Council on Bioethics, asked the newly chosen members of the Council to read Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Birthmark, prior to their first meeting. Even the English majors among us were sent scurrying to find this less well known work, which thankfully is available on-line. And what do you find when you track it down? Well, it turns out to be a well turned American Frankenstein tale that obviously appeals to Mr. Kass for its portrayal of a "man of science" with more than his share of hubris. Condescending sniping from libertarians and the Left has already begun.
The scientist, named Aylmer, is married to an almost perfectly beautiful woman, whose one slight imperfection is a birthmark on her cheek. Despite her near flawlessness :
[H]e found this one defect grow more and more intolerable with every moment of their united lives. It was the fatal flaw
of humanity which Nature, in one shape or another, stamps ineffaceably on all her productions, either to imply that they
are temporary and finite, or that their perfection must be wrought by toil and pain. The crimson hand expressed the ineludible
gripe in which mortality clutches the highest and purest of earthly mould, degrading them into kindred with the lowest,
and even with the very brutes, like whom their visible frames return to dust. In this manner, selecting it as the symbol
of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death, Aylmer's sombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark
a frightful object...
Convinced that his mastery of science will surely allow him to remove this blemish and bring her to perfection, Aylmer convinces his wife to allow him to experiment on her, to improve upon nature :
'Aylmer,' resumed Georgiana, solemnly, 'I know not what may be the cost to both of us to rid me of this fatal birthmark.
Perhaps its removal may cause cureless deformity; or it may be the stain goes as deep as life itself. Again: do we know
that there is a possibility, on any terms, of unclasping the firm gripe of this little hand which was laid upon me before
I came into the world?'
'Dearest Georgiana, I have spent much thought upon the subject,' hastily interrupted Aylmer. "I am convinced of the perfect
practicability of its removal.'
'If there be the remotest possibility of it,' continued Georgiana, 'let the attempt be made at whatever risk. Danger is nothing
to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust,--life is a burden which I would fling
down with joy. Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life! You have deep science. All the world bears witness
of it. You have achieved great wonders. Cannot you remove this little, little mark, which I cover with the tips of two small fingers?
Is this beyond your power, for the sake of your own peace, and to save your poor wife from madness?"
'Noblest, dearest, tenderest wife,' cried Aylmer, rapturously, 'doubt not my power. I have already given this matter the
deepest thought--thought which might almost have enlightened me to create a being less perfect than yourself. Georgiana,
you have led me deeper than ever into the heart of science. I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless
as its fellow; and then, most beloved, what will be my triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect
in her fairest work! Even Pygmalion, when his sculptured woman assumed life, felt not greater ecstasy than mine will be.'
'It is resolved, then,' said Georgiana, faintly smiling. 'And, Aylmer, spare me not, though you should find the birthmark
take refuge in my heart at last.'
How perfectly Hawthorne, even 150 years ago, captures the deluded pride of the man of science, certain that this figurative mark of Cain (it is even shaped like a hand) will yield to the ministrations of reason and science and that he will be able to improve on God's work, will be able to make a perfect human. That peremptory "doubt not my power" is particularly devastating.
As Aylmer whips up concoctions that even he doubts the ultimate wisdom of using, Georgiana can't help but be alarmed :
He more than intimated that it was at his option to concoct a liquid that should prolong life for years, perhaps interminably;
but that it would produce a discord in Nature which all the world, and chiefly the quaffer of the immortal nostrum, would
find cause to curse.
'Aylmer, are you in earnest?' asked Georgiana, looking at him with amazement and fear. 'It is terrible to possess such power,
or even to dream of possessing it.'
Note that her warning is not simply about the power of such an elixir, but that the very ambition to possess it is "terrible."
But, of course, having opened Pandora's Box, Aylmer will not be deterred from his course of action, so he foists a goblet of some foul liquid upon her and, sure enough :
The crimson hand, which at first had been strongly visible upon the marble paleness of Georgiana's cheek, now grew more
faintly outlined. She remained not less pale than ever; but the birthmark with every breath that came and went, lost somewhat
of its former distinctness. Its presence had been awful; its departure was more awful still. Watch the stain of the rainbow
fading out the sky, and you will know how that mysterious symbol passed away.
'By Heaven! it is well-nigh gone!' said Aylmer to himself, in almost irrepressible ecstasy. 'I can scarcely trace it now. Success!
success! And now it is like the faintest rose color. The lightest flush of blood across her cheek would overcome it. But she is so pale!'
Ah yes, except for that 'pale' part, well might he be ecstatic. But as the reader will have guessed by now, all is not well :
'My poor Aylmer,' she repeated, with a more than human tenderness, 'you have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent
that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!'
The key here is the "more than human" and its suggestion that such perfection is not compatible with humanity. So did one of the great American authors warn us, at the dawn of the industrial age, of the dangerous allure of science and, more specifically, of the belief that mankind is perfectible by Man's own hand and mind.
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This book expands on the theme of the struggle against Napoleon, plus the new threat from the fledgling United States.
Nathaniel Drinkwater, now Captain, is increasingly involved in espionage and subversion as the Secret Service draws on his special talents to undermine Napoleon's empire-building. It is apparent that Lord Dungarth is grooming Nat as his successor, which lies uneasily on Nat's uneven shoulders.
After a few months R&R, Nat finds himself in command of a crack squadron with a remit to dissuade the US from assisting France. This involves some dissembling on Nat's part - incidentally assisted by an amorous interlude - which causes Nat a torment of conscience, and his colleagues to have doubts about his sanity. The subsequent astounding success of the mission restores his colleages' faith in his uncanny ability to correctly analyse a confusing array of facts and supposition.
This book is in 3 parts, and each could stand alone, but the constant US thread running through them ties it into one story.
As usual, excellent descriptions and tension-building make the pages fly by - and the author's notes fill in the facts behind the tale. A series to read, savour and re-read.*****
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The year is 1811 and the reader, with the benefit of historical hindsight, knows that Napoleon's reign is nearing its end. However, the situation appears far the opposite to Britain. Napoleon's Continental System has severely damaged trade and unemployment in England is rampant. To make matters worse war with the United States of America is looming; a war the embattled Royal Navy neither needs nor wants. As usual the reader can count on Woodman to produce a unique perspective on the times.
The Flying Squadron is constructed in three parts; the first set in 1811 as Drinkwater supports a peace envoy to the USA, the second set in 1812 after war is declared with Drinkwater patrolling the American coast and the third set in 1812-13 where the naval action takes place. It is very much in keeping with the series; covert actions leading to a climactic naval encounter at the conclusion. In my opinion The Flying Squadron is one of the series' best entries.
American readers may find this work difficult to read as the USA is portrayed as the enemy in the novel, especially when the reader sees in the first part that the English envoy is attempting to find a peaceful solution and that London is willing to meet Washington's terms. However, like men of other nationalities who Drinkwater has fought, the Americans are portrayed fairly with one possible exception. Woodman points out that war is a waste and the tragedy of America and Britain fighting while a tyrant rules Europe is subtly made. Perhaps Drinkwater's most effective statement in the first part is his referral to an atrocity from An Eye of the Fleet. I found its reference more shocking in The Flying Squadron than the act was in the original. Woodman savages the idea of a war of gentlemen played out like a schoolyard game.
The first part has a number of lyrical passages where Woodman gets his pen rolling. He can write well and exercises his writing in a number of philosophical areas. A reader expecting more action will be disappointed although there is much dramatic tension. Drinkwater commits an uncharacteristic betrayal and is tortured by his conscience. Perhaps after becoming fond of the Drinkwater character over the last few years, Drinkwater's problems become much more serious than any naval battle. The reader can appreciate the toll on Drinkwater after nearly 20 years spent away from home and family.
In the second part Drinkwater returns to the American coast as the Commodore of a Flying Squadron with open-ended orders. The briefer second section brings to a conclusion some of the events of the first. The action is similar though being more cloak and dagger or cat and mouse. This is the area where Woodman has carved his niche for Drinkwater, in covert actions. There is always more going on than meets the eye and Drinkwater eventually figures it out.
In the third part Drinkwater is off to the South Atlantic fresh with insight from his two previous trips to the USA. In this section we see that his insight has paid off leading to a climactic naval battle. We also get the big picture of the war.
The historical perspective of The Flying Squadron is fascinating and one gets a new angle on that war. However, I don't think a couple of the characters' reflections are accurate. For instance, before war breaks out the view is expressed in the English quarters that they should be able to hold onto Canada for some period of time. I doubt that reflects the realities of the situation at the time. Also, at the novel's conclusion in March 1813 the word from Canada is not good. Historically it was. By March 1813 Fort Michilmackinac had been captured, Detroit had been captured and Americans pursued into Ohio, and the Americans repulsed in Niagara albeit with the loss of the brilliant General Isaac Brock. Woodman might want to consider a revision in any reprinting.
The Flying Squadron may not be to everyone's taste. The vocabulary is such that some of the passages are on the level of O'Brian's in his Aubrey/Maturin series. It could be challenging in a way that one wouldn't expect in this type of historical novel. I'm looking forward to Woodman wrapping up the series if he can maintain his writing at this level.
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The premise is interesting: a snowbound group of friends amuse themselves with a "psychic" game of table-tapping, during which they receive a message from the spirits that a friend has been murdered. And so he has--but Christie does not follow her very original-sounding premise with an equally original story; she instead very blatantly recycles a plot twist from an earlier work that most Christie fans (and probably a lot of newcomers as well) will spot almost immediately.
Moreover, the novel feels leaden, completely lacking in the sense of fun and puzzlement with which Christie endowed her finest works. Fans determined to read everything by their favorite writer will no doubt wish to read it, but others would do better select an entirely different title.
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I'm sure that at some time in my past, I've read The Murder at Hazelmoor, but not recently enough to have given the subsequently-named The Sittaford Mystery a familiar aura. S'wonderful, indeed.
No one captured the thirties quite so eloquently as did Christie, and this book is a prime example of her art. There is no Miss Marple or Hercule Poiret in this episode, however. Rather we have an intrepid young woman named Emily Trefusis, who has the misfortune to be engaged to the nephew of a man who is found murdered, after his death had been exposed by a 'table turning.' This is a version of the Ouija Board, which was enormously popular in the first decades of the 20th century.
Captain Trevelyan, who was rather fond of money, had been prevailed upon to let out his own Sittaford House to a widow and her daughter, apparently just arrived from South Africa. Never married, the Captain had few heirs: one sister and the three children of another, now deceased. It is James Pearson, one of this latter group, who has captured the fair Emily, and finds himself in jail under suspicion of having done in his uncle.
Emily knows better, however, and with the aid and assistance of a live-wire newspaper reporter, Charles Enderby, sets out to prove his innocence. Emily and Charles quite put in me mind of Tommy and Tuppence with their humorous bantering. (Perhaps they were the inspiration for Dame Agatha, as well.)
The prevalence and importance of trains and their schedules take one back to that time when almost no one owned an auto of their own, and walking twelve miles (round-trip, to be sure) for a visit was hardly any kind of bother at all. If one was fit, that is.
Village life along the moors is captured perfectly, along with the various eccentrics who reside there. It's a cracking good puzzle, with all the clues neatly laid out for the intrepid sleuth. A visit to Agatha Christie's England is good for us all every now and then. I'm looking forward to the next one!
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This book reads well and treats a few difficult topics with the simplest examples possible. You need only basic calculus and desire, and possibly more than one reading. I stick this book in my back pocket, just in case a little insight comes my way.
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I would recommend the work to anyone who is interested in a clear overall pentecostal theology. However, the book could be improved by a lot. Opinians are given as 'biblical facts' and hardly any accountance is given for the philosophical, theological and cultural demise of Christianity for the last three centuries.