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McNatt's description of the personal conflict between Michael Servetus and the famous John Calvin and the martyrdom of a heretic at the hands of a Protestant founder intrigued me. As both a member of a UU congregation and a humanities teacher in the public schools, I wanted to learn more about this part of our religious struggle.
The book grabbed my attention right from the prologue, and, except for some detailed and belabored connections near the end, held me. Anyway, I was more interested in first two thirds of the work, the story of Servetus and his conflict with Calvin. The last section of the book follows the history of the surviving books by Servetus after his execution
The life of Servetus and his adventures is portrayed in an exciting fashion, fleshing out the characters, both obscure and famous. The trials and tribulations of this heretic who dared to question the Biblical foundation for the trinity, were captivating. The authors seemed to have a keen sense as to exactly how far they could take me down a path before bringing me back to the main story line, clarifying the importance of what at first may have seemed like an interesting but unimportant detour. With a summarizing statement or a simple declaration, the intrigue was palpable.
I was both saddened and appalled by the intolerance displayed by so many of our religious ancestors. The horrible fate of Servetus seems brought on more by personal enmity than by the disagreement over religious doctrine. But the antitriniatrian position held by Servetus was certainly not popular then and is still widely misunderstood today.
I would strongly recommend this book to all, trinitarians, antitrinitarians and those who are interested in our religious history and are not too apprehensive to encounter some uncomfortable and maybe some unsettling conclusions. To me, this story seems like a very important aspect of Protestant history that was omitted from my Sunday school lessons. I believe this work would make an excellent addition to almost any school or church library. (Our students can use all the support you can give.)
A fascinating tale of Europe at the crossroads of religious orthadoxy and intellectual progression, it has more characters in it than a Tom Clancy novel. And they are all brought together to relate the story of Servetus, his views, and how those views caused him so much grief.
The reader comes away from this with much more than he/she could imagine. I was fascinated with the history of printing, the process and the business. While realizing the book was going to deal with religion, it is mind boggling to see what kind of grip it had on society in those days. (Judging by what is going on in the world today, it still does) Ever fearful of losing their hold on power, religious leaders resorted to whatever tactics were necessary to keep the flock intact and growing. Reminds one of a company wanting to retain a monopoly, but in a much more violent way. Scary.
The tale of Servetus's last book, Christianismi Restitutio,and its survival to modern day is an added bonus to this great revelation about a brilliant man, his contributions to humanity and the cruel, unforgiving world in which he lived. Thank you Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone for the enlightenment.
Throughout the ages, how many individuals have markedly changed the world we live in, yet are not found in most history books? The name Michael Servetus is one that should be known by any serious student of Western Civilization, yet sadly his story has been missed by so many historians.
Kudos to the authors for a job well done.
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Medea has one problem, however. Aside from the fact she is a witch, she is a barbarian, a non-Greek. The Greeks used the word "barbaros" to refer to all people who weren't Greek, because if they didn't speak Greek, it just sounded like "bar bar bar" to the Greeks.
So after Jason and Medea settle in together back in Greece, his homeland, he decides that his interests (and Medea's) are better served if he marries the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. Medea gets jealous, poisons the woman, and then kills her two children in revenge.
Medea is an absolutely riveting character, whose tragic problems are those of all woman who have left their homes and families to follow men to foreign lands, only to be scorned by them in the end. The speeches of Jason and Medea are remarkable point-counterpoint presentations which reflect the deep influence of the sophists of Euripides' day. Medea sounds, at times, like a proto-feminist. She is one of the most enduring dramatic creations of all times, revealing with each line the remarkable genius of Euripides, the most modern of the three great Greek tragedians
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Warlord of the Air: Great introduction to Bastable. I thought Moorcock in the beginning was him, so it was neat to see Bastable actually show up later. The future of 1973 that he goes to is great on the surface, but dark underneath, and the political arguments are anything but one-sided, highlighting both sides. Oh, and Oswald drops a bomb.
The Land Leviatian: This one reminded me of Heinlein's novel Farnham's Freehold, for some reason. The premise of blacks taking over the world in response to the crimes against them by whites is an interesting study of our world. Still, Bastable still feels lousy for helping to destroy the obviously unrepentant whites. Go figure.
The Steel Tsarr: Longest of the three, and probably the most complex, set in a democratic Russia at war with its Cossacks. Poor Bastable finally gets some peace with the help of Mrs Perrson. And is it me, or is the Steel Tsar a dead ringer for Stalin?
I enjoyed reading about Bastable and hopefully Moorcock will include more about him in the later book in the series. In this one, he mentions that Bastable is mentioned in Warriors at the End of Time, so perhaps he's there. I can't wait
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All topics may not be appropriate for most 7 year olds. However, chapters are arranged to start from the most basic topics and progresses to topics that are more sensitive. If the book is read with parent and child together, new chapters can be introduced as the child is ready to learn and understand more. It is also an excellent choice for a child to read alone.
After the experience of learning sex education from the dry, clinical books available that traumitized me when I was growing up, I am very pleased to know that my son's experience will be so very different from my own!
The author explains everything very honestly without being judgmental, although he leaves room for a parent to explain his or her own values to a child. For example, while explaining masturbation he writes, "Every family has its own thoughts and feelings about masturbation...Some people and religions think it's wrong to masturbate."
The book covers a lot of information, but presents it in a fun and simple way. The cartoon illustrations are complete without being terribly graphic, and the small bird and bee throughout the book serve as "tour guides". This book will definitely be on my bookshelf when my daughter starts asking questions.
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Easy to read, but full of messages.
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If you're sick and tired of trying to micro-manage your full swing: right elbow here, left forearm there, head over here, etc., this is a book you must read.
In my case, I literally stopped golfing while I read, understood, and practiced the keys outlined in the book. I would highly recommend that approach.
This is the first golf book I've read that shows you how to develop a full swing with rhythm and timing. Now I swing the club at 75% of my previous effort level and hit the ball 5~10 yards further per club with more accuracy than I can remember. Moreover, I believe that I can "feel" my swing better than I ever have. Oh, and by the way, my handicap is down 8 strokes from a 22 to 14.
Now, just try to wipe the stupid grin off my face as I stand over the ball on a 200 yard Par-3 over water!
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Tony Alessandra's work is a more updated, refined, expanded and user friendly version of the work on social styles by David Merrill. A good companion book with more analytical and theoretical information on this work (for all you Thinker types) is Merrill and Reid's "Personal Styles and Effective Performance".