Official Review: Seeking Wisdom from God by Thomas H Walker

[Kappy]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Seeking Wisdom from God" by Thomas H Walker.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Seeking Wisdom from God: A Quest for Truth (2012), by Thomas H. Walker, is an intriguing nonfiction book about religion that focuses on Christianity's applications in today's world. The 242-page book is available as an e-book or as a paperback. The author includes some interesting issues and opinions which will upset many people.

There are a couple of huge earthquakes early in the book. The author says that your will must be broken before you can learn God's lessons, and the main reason for our journey of faith is "to learn to rely on God for everything." It is likely that many people will vehemently disagree with these interpretations.

Just in case you skim through the first three chapters too quickly and overlook the author's message, he devotes the entire next chapter to why you should give up your free will, which he calls a "puppet-master" and "the most destructive force in the universe." The author concludes that humans exercising their free will have made a mess of the planet; therefore, free will must be the cause of all this suffering, and the only solution is to abandon free will. Mr. Walker does not consider the possibility that free will is not the cause of these problems.

The concept of free will is rich and fascinating, but the author explores the subject only in his own narrow interpretation. He sidesteps the opportunity for an intriguing discussion of a subject which has been examined by numerous well-known people throughout history, e.g., Zarathustra, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Benjamin Franklin, and Stephen Hawking. Perhaps P.J. O'Rourke summed it up best: "One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on."

Mr. Walker does an excellent job of interweaving his biographical stories with biblical quotations, explanations, and interpretations. He does an especially good job on the chapters focusing on teaching, knowledge versus wisdom, and cause versus effect. He deserves a special commendation for acknowledging that many wars and other brutalities have been committed in the name of Christianity. He also examines Calvinism versus Arminianism, and devotes an entire chapter to rebut the argument that the Jewish Holocaust proves that God is dead.

Some of the author's views will likely anger people of nearly every faith; the author himself admits that many people will be offended by some of his opinions. However, he writes clearly and presents his views in a professional manner, so this book has earned 4 out of 4 stars. The book would have warranted only one or two stars had the author given us a watered-down, politically correct version of his views; this guy doesn't pull his punches.

This captivating book is suitable for readers of all ages, especially if you are interested in how Christian principles are applicable to the present-day world. There is good chance you will find something offensive or infuriating in this book; however, Seeking Wisdom from God won't bore you.

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Seeking Wisdom from God
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[TheMusicalMuse]

Thank you for your review. It's honest and well-written.

I noticed that you used Jehovah's Witness and Christianity interchangeably. For future reference, please note that these two religious groups are NOT the same, and in all honesty, most Christians see Jehovah's Witness as a cult. They both believe in biblically-based principles, but Jehovah's Witnesses tend to define values and beliefs more rigidly, which is why this book will probably offend many different people.

I'll have to look into this book. You've got me intrigued.

[Kappy]

Thanks, MusicalMuse; I'm glad you liked the review.

I used the term Christianity in the general sense, i.e., "the religion that is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ" (Merriam-Webster online dictionary). Of course, there are numerous disagreements regarding who is "correct." The World Christian Database says there are more than 9,000 Christian denominations throughout the world. Some web sites cite the World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) as saying that there have been 34,000 different Christian groups in the world since A.D. 30.

[PashaRu]

Thanks for a fair, insightful, and well-written review. And thanks for the above reply. It seems to me to be painting with a very wide brush with a statement like "most Christians see..." There is disagreement among "Christian" religions on many different subjects - including the true identity and nature of Christ himself - so to find a majority of "Christians" who agree on something so specific is not likely.

[Kappy]

Thanks for the kind words, PashaRu. Mark Twain loved to condemn bloodshed based on different interpretations of the Bible, e.g., man "is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight."

[PashaRu]

Nietzsche described Christianity as “the one immortal blemish of mankind” and “the one great curse, the one enormous and innermost perversion, for which no means are too venomous, too underhand, too underground and too petty.”

While I think that's a little harsh, it must be admitted that "Christianity" (along with other belief systems, of course) has, at best, a somewhat chequered past.

[Amheiser]

This looks like a book that I would like to read from what I can tell about it from the review. I've been reading a bit lately about different religions and I'm interested in learning what other people have to say on the subject. I did a review on a book called, 'The Audacious Human' and I liked the way the author explained things concerning different religions. I think if more people thought about religions like the author of 'The Audacious Human', there would be less religious conflict in the world. Good review.

[Kappy]

Nietzsche described Christianity as “the one immortal blemish of mankind” and “the one great curse, the one enormous and innermost perversion, for which no means are too venomous, too underhand, too underground and too petty.”

While I think that's a little harsh, it must be admitted that "Christianity" (along with other belief systems, of course) has, at best, a somewhat chequered past.

I see the problem as one of excessive power.

Another quote from Mark Twain is appropriate here; he proposed the following solution: "So much blood has been shed by the Church because of an omission from the Gospel: 'Ye shall be indifferent as to what your neighbor's religion is.' Not merely tolerant of it, but indifferent to it. Divinity is claimed for many religions; but no religion is great enough or divine enough to add that new law to its code."

[bookowlie]

Nice, insightful review Kappy! It's interesting that there are several recent book reviews here on religion.

[Kappy]

Nice, insightful review Kappy! It's interesting that there are several recent book reviews here on religion.

Thanks, bookowlie. And I've got another one coming up soon, which will make 3 of my last 5 reviews about books with a religious theme.

[bookowlie]

You can be the Director of Religious Book Reviews.

[Kappy]

Perhaps some reviewers avoid these books for fear of offending the author.