Official Review: Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion
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Official Review: Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion" by Enrico Degiuli.]
One thing I have always taken offense to as a Christian is that individuals who label themselves as Christian, i.e. identifying themselves as “saved” by Jesus Christ and believing that God is the highest power, tend to be viewed by non-Christians as either simple or ignorant. Why does someone have to be ignorant or simple to believe that there is a diving creator? Isn’t it possible that someone with a higher than average intellect can see the beauty in the world that God has given us? To me, it seems foolish that someone can be so intelligent and discredit God. It just makes more sense that the more someone knows, the more they learn about God’s truth.
Sapere Aude!: A Dialogue on Religion, by Enrico Degiuli, is presented with the assumption that not only non-believers, but also Christians, are individuals of intelligence who can be presented with arguments and draw conclusions based on those truths or untruths, and not operate merely on principle. For this reason, this book is compelling and draws the reader in to a debate of faith. No assumption is made insulting the reader; the reader is merely given an opportunity to agree or disagree.
Degiuli presents a discussion on the matters of The Holy Bible, religion, and Christianity and what common ground can be found among three different individuals with three different belief systems. The three characters come from different backgrounds with different personalities, but all agree that logical, rational arguments should be central to any debated subject. On a challenge they present to each other, they agree to debate the concept of Christianity using logic and rationality. “A” (Andrew) is agnostic, “B” (Bob) is a deist, and “C” (Charles) is Christian.
Each aspect of Christianity is presented and debated in this dialogue: The Bible, God, good, evil, afterlife, the meaning of life, etc. In essence, no stone is left unturned. Degiuli does not the let the reader off easily - he expects the reader to be shocked, surprised, and ultimately, left thinking.
The book is extremely enticing – I would be lying if I said otherwise. For anyone of faith, and anyone not of faith, it is difficult to put down. As a believer, I found myself arguing right along with the characters in the story and finding their fallacies as well as finding their truths. This is definitely a book that someone of faith will have a field day breaking down. For the non-believer, I think it would only break my heart that such a book is available. However, it does appeal to the scholarly side of me, and everyone deserves an opportunity to argue their side on any matter, just as Degiuli’s characters do.
What I found disappointing, though, is that while Degiuli is attempting to provide arguments from a logical and rational perspective, and presenting them in a scholarly manner, he makes two very large mistakes: Wikipedia and a more modern biblical translation.
In his prologue, he does provide a disclaimer as to his use of Wikipedia. However, it is just simply unacceptable for Wikipedia to be used in any sort of logical, rational argument and be accepted as credible. Wikipedia is not based on fact, therefore the arguments supported by Wikipedia cannot be assumed to be fact. With the multitude of contentions presented in this book that rely on Wikipedia, Degiuli should consider conducting more research and finding a more credible source to help support those contentions.
The other concern is Degiuli’s particular translation of choice: The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Degiuli is arguing biblical content based on a translation of The Bible that has only been in existence since the mid-20th century. Considering he is using the text of The Bible as one of his key points of argument, he should consider using the most correct translation as possible, and the oldest translation as possible. The NIV version is obviously not the most appropriate and will never be accepted by any scholar as a valid basis for argument.
Overall, Degiuli’s dialogue is well-written. It is engaging and thought-provoking, and could prove to be very controversial – if he can back up his contentions better. As a Christian, I didn’t like it – but I mean that as a compliment. Degiuli made me angry and questioned my faith, but the only way he was able to do it was to also accept it as a truth to be argued, which shows that he is not merely against Christianity, but rather, he is against untruth – which is a big difference, and I respect his quest for truth. He is talented and could possibly be very successful with this book – again, if he provides more scholarly sources. It could stand to be longer, but it was definitely worth reading. I give this book a 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion" on Amazon
One thing I have always taken offense to as a Christian is that individuals who label themselves as Christian, i.e. identifying themselves as “saved” by Jesus Christ and believing that God is the highest power, tend to be viewed by non-Christians as either simple or ignorant. Why does someone have to be ignorant or simple to believe that there is a diving creator? Isn’t it possible that someone with a higher than average intellect can see the beauty in the world that God has given us? To me, it seems foolish that someone can be so intelligent and discredit God. It just makes more sense that the more someone knows, the more they learn about God’s truth.
Sapere Aude!: A Dialogue on Religion, by Enrico Degiuli, is presented with the assumption that not only non-believers, but also Christians, are individuals of intelligence who can be presented with arguments and draw conclusions based on those truths or untruths, and not operate merely on principle. For this reason, this book is compelling and draws the reader in to a debate of faith. No assumption is made insulting the reader; the reader is merely given an opportunity to agree or disagree.
Degiuli presents a discussion on the matters of The Holy Bible, religion, and Christianity and what common ground can be found among three different individuals with three different belief systems. The three characters come from different backgrounds with different personalities, but all agree that logical, rational arguments should be central to any debated subject. On a challenge they present to each other, they agree to debate the concept of Christianity using logic and rationality. “A” (Andrew) is agnostic, “B” (Bob) is a deist, and “C” (Charles) is Christian.
Each aspect of Christianity is presented and debated in this dialogue: The Bible, God, good, evil, afterlife, the meaning of life, etc. In essence, no stone is left unturned. Degiuli does not the let the reader off easily - he expects the reader to be shocked, surprised, and ultimately, left thinking.
The book is extremely enticing – I would be lying if I said otherwise. For anyone of faith, and anyone not of faith, it is difficult to put down. As a believer, I found myself arguing right along with the characters in the story and finding their fallacies as well as finding their truths. This is definitely a book that someone of faith will have a field day breaking down. For the non-believer, I think it would only break my heart that such a book is available. However, it does appeal to the scholarly side of me, and everyone deserves an opportunity to argue their side on any matter, just as Degiuli’s characters do.
What I found disappointing, though, is that while Degiuli is attempting to provide arguments from a logical and rational perspective, and presenting them in a scholarly manner, he makes two very large mistakes: Wikipedia and a more modern biblical translation.
In his prologue, he does provide a disclaimer as to his use of Wikipedia. However, it is just simply unacceptable for Wikipedia to be used in any sort of logical, rational argument and be accepted as credible. Wikipedia is not based on fact, therefore the arguments supported by Wikipedia cannot be assumed to be fact. With the multitude of contentions presented in this book that rely on Wikipedia, Degiuli should consider conducting more research and finding a more credible source to help support those contentions.
The other concern is Degiuli’s particular translation of choice: The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Degiuli is arguing biblical content based on a translation of The Bible that has only been in existence since the mid-20th century. Considering he is using the text of The Bible as one of his key points of argument, he should consider using the most correct translation as possible, and the oldest translation as possible. The NIV version is obviously not the most appropriate and will never be accepted by any scholar as a valid basis for argument.
Overall, Degiuli’s dialogue is well-written. It is engaging and thought-provoking, and could prove to be very controversial – if he can back up his contentions better. As a Christian, I didn’t like it – but I mean that as a compliment. Degiuli made me angry and questioned my faith, but the only way he was able to do it was to also accept it as a truth to be argued, which shows that he is not merely against Christianity, but rather, he is against untruth – which is a big difference, and I respect his quest for truth. He is talented and could possibly be very successful with this book – again, if he provides more scholarly sources. It could stand to be longer, but it was definitely worth reading. I give this book a 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Sapere Aude! A Dialogue on Religion" on Amazon
Latest Review: "Life is a Circus Run by a Platypus" by Allison Hawn
