What Books Are You Reading?

Chapter discussions and book or film reviews of Orthodox Christian and secular books that you have read and found helpful. All Forum Rules apply.


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Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

Anyone else wanna chime in here? :)

I'll add another one that I'm reading, though I realise that by saying what I'm about to say I'm setting myself up for a possible beating! I recently started Twilight Of The Idols; Or, How One Philosophizes With A Hammer by Friedrich Nietzsche. I'm about a third of the way through, and I'm not sure what to say other than 1) Nietzsche is very entertaining, and 2) Nietzsche is a madman. But then most people already knew that about him. :)

I can't really think of much to say other than that... his philosophy is totally the opposite of Christianity, and he seems to love saying so (though at least in this book he is only calling Christianity's ideas--including those expounded in the Sermon on the Mount--stupid, and hasn't started calling us "scum," and other such names, like he does in The Antichrist... boy was that a fun read :roll: ).

I do have a hard time understanding why some "Christians" apologize for Nietzsche, and say things like "well he was just reacting to a distorted version of Christianity which he saw". I can't understand at all where that comes from. It is plain that Nietzsche's philosophy is totally opposite the belief of true Orthodox Christianity, not just the diluted, distorted form of Christianity that he saw around him.

Nietzsche's madness is the philosophical equivalent of Darwin's evolutionary theories (e.g., "survival of the fittest," "preservation of the favored races"--which was part of the title that Darwin used for his book On the Origin of the Species--etc.) and I think the Chesterton's and Fr. Seraphim's of the world are for the most part right in their reaction to him. For just a small sample of his writing, here's a summary paragraph at the end of one section that made me laugh out loud:

"It will be appreciated if I condense so essential and so new an insight into four theses. In that way I facilitate comprehension; in that way I provoke contradiction." - Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, "Reason" in Philosophy, 6

Nietzsche believed that humility was for idiots who were "dying," (the living naturally struggled for power), and he certainly could never be accused of being humble!

Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

physicsgirl,

If you're interested in more quotes, I can dig through the Indiana List archives and probably pull some up... just let me know.

Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

Xenia,

The Search for the Twelve Apostles, by Wm. McBirnie

What do you think of this book? Any good?

Xenia1
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Joined: Thu 6 February 2003 12:31 am

Post by Xenia1 »

Hi Paradosis,

It's pretty good! The author, though Protestant, takes church tradition seriously. Not as seriously as you and I would, but pretty good for a Protestant. He doesn't scoff and sneer at all the old "legends" about who visited where and did what. For what it is, it isn't bad.

-Xenia

rebecca
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Posts: 114
Joined: Sat 19 July 2003 12:21 am

Post by rebecca »

Paradosis wrote:

If you're interested in more quotes, I can dig through the Indiana List archives and probably pull some up... just let me know.

Thanks. That might be helpful. Sometimes I wonder how prayers could help someone who is already deceased; God already knows whether the person is righteous- how could the prayers of the living make him worthy of more than what God has already given him?

Justin Kissel

Post by Justin Kissel »

physicsgirl,

Well, I'm sort of short on time today, you can go to the list yourself and look (search for something like "Prayers for those in hell" ), or if you're in no hurry I'll eventually get to it! :)

rebecca
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Posts: 114
Joined: Sat 19 July 2003 12:21 am

Post by rebecca »

Thanks! :) Will do.

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