5.0 out of 5 stars A Story that Demands to be Told Honestly – A PAGE TURNER – 5 STARS for Jim Rasenberger
April 10, 2011
It is very strange that a story as important as this one has simply not received either the historical attention or public attention that it deserves. Very simply, President Kennedy's people will tell you that prior to entering office, JFK was briefed in a meeting with Eisenhower about plans for CIA trained Cuban exiles (some 1400 in number) to invade Cuba and foment a revolution against Castro. Eisenhower's people deny that this ever happened. Continue reading “Review (Guest): The Brilliant Disaster–JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs”
Deeper and more Complex of Three Books on Same Topic
April 7, 2011
I tend to read in threes, and this is the deeper and more complex of the three. The first, the one I gave 6+ stars to for its simplicity and coherence, was God and Science: Coming Full Circle?. The second–and also recommended as the second to buy and read if you do two– was Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief. The latter, by John Polkinghorne, perhaps the most prolific and qualified of authors on the subject of science and religion, is with Hans Kung a Nobel-level contributor.
My reading of this book certainly benefited from the reading of the other two first. This is more of a graduate-level book, and the references to many other authors and works “in passing,” as if one were already familiar with them, makes this book one best appreciated by those who have invested time in the topic and the related writings by others.
This is one of three books that I selected to explore the science versus religion or science with religion reflections. Although I awarded the six star ranking to the shortest of three, God and Science: Coming Full Circle?, it must be acknowledged that John Polkinghorne, co author of this book, and Hans Kung, author of the third book I chose, The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion are Nobel-level pioneers on the topics of God's existence and the complementarity of science and religion.
In general all three of the books slam Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion, which my own review found to be sophmoric, but I was too quick to accept God and reject religion. The three books together make a very persuasive case for the value of the spiritual, which I have always accepted, and also for religion as organized emphathy, which I now see as a spectacular offset for uncaring governments and corporations, if, if, if inter-faith collaboration can recognize that secular corruption is the obstacle to creating a prosperous world at peace [see my letter to the Pope at Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog, or tiny URL Assisi-Intelligence.
6 Stars Plus for SImplicity, Coherence, & Importance
April 7, 2011
I tend to read in threes, and read this book together with Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief and The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion. The three books complement each other very nicely, and if you can afford the time and money, all three are recommended. Of the three, this is the six plus, with the other two being solid fives, but with the added comment that Questions of Truth is easily the second recommended book, and for the more general audience, while Beginning of All Things is more of a graduate review. It must be said that John Polkinghorne and Hans Kung are Nobel-level pioneers on this topic, and hence I must emphasize that while their intellects and total published contributions in the aggregate are six plus in every way, in this instance, this particular book by James Molben won by a solid head and neck.
The discussion of science and religion as NOT being in conflict, and as both being complementary and both sharing a focus on finding the truth, has been given recent impetus by Pope Benedict XVI, who has appointed a Protestant to head the Science Academy of the Catholic Church; sponsored an inter-faith summit at Assisi in October 2011 that we hope will focus on the reality that secular corruption and indemnification from the truth are what create war and poverty; and made direct statements to the effect that there is no conflict religion and science, and both strive toward the same end, the truth. As I like to say, the truth at any cost lowers all other costs, it is high time We the People demanded the truth, and nothing but the truth, from what I call the eight tribes of intelligence (academic, civil society including labor and religion), commerce, government, law enforcement, media, military, and non-government/non-profit).
Deeper and more Complex of Three Books on Same Topic
