BOOK REVIEW: "Boogeymen" (Star Trek: The Next Generation #17) by Mel Gilden

Boogeymen (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 17)

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

 

 

It had been much too long since I had perused the shelves of my Star Trek novels. Of course, my favorite is TNG. I picked "Boogeymen" because it was early in series of novels (#17) and it, according to the back cover, dealt with one of Picard's old friends, and too, it alludes that the setting is the Enterprise itself.

The only setback is that the novel's main antagonist (heheh) is that annoyingly puerile Ensign Wesley Crusher. The thing is, he's not that annoying here—not as much as usual anyway. The prologue gives us a glance into Wesley's personal log, which shows a depth not often seen in his character.

The story itself remained plausible up until around the middle of the book. Things got a little ridiculous, but overall Mel Gilden does a great job of telling an interesting and succinct tale. There were a couple of issues, but I've forgotten them now. I didn't think the end was very plausible—Picard heading to the holodeck to check out a woman in his private detective scenario.

So, "Boogeymen" successfully tickled my nostalgic bone for TNG, and there were lots of little character easter-eggs of sorts for long-time fans.

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala BOOK REVIEW

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala 

 Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

Jim Cymbala was a familiar name to me, as I had read some of his articles in Charisma magazine.  The Charismatic books are the most widely read books in Christendom.  I've not really been impressed with one to date—there is always a running theme under them all which I do not adhere to.

Jim was thrown into the role of Pastor by the hand of his father-in-law.  Jim had no formal ministerial training(and I suspect still hasn't), and make no mistake about it, he takes pride in that fact. 

Preaching the word systematically isn't important to Jim—only giving the Holy Spirit time to work in 2 hour services with no thought put into them is.  This mode of thinking is to say that the Holy Spirit could not inspire man's reason, could not inspire his writing, or a sermon.  This goes against the essence of the Scriptures themselves.  C.S. Lewis argued that reason itself was the supernatural element within nature, and I agree with him.  The Charismatics though have made reason synonymous with the carnal mind.  This is eisegesis and not exegesis.  The carnal mind is not synonymous with the human mind.  The carnal mind is biblically defined as the mind which is sinful, which is unrepentant.  We are transformed by the renewing of our mind—we don't throw our mind out as being hopelessly carnal.

More than anything else, Jesus taught.  The Word opens the way for the Holy Spirit.  Prayer is vital, worship is vital, letting the spiritual gifts operate within the church are vital, and the preaching and teaching of the Word is vital.  If a church comes to only focus on any one of these things, at the expense of the others, they are lacking. 

"The New Beginning" for Pastor Cymbala and his church came when he felt that the Holy Spirit prompted him to begin a prayer service.  The total emphasis of the book is on prayer.  Within the book there are several stories about how prayer brought about action on God's part:  Jim finds a mysterious envelop filled with just enough money so that the church's mortgage payment may be made.  Jim's wayward daughter receives a visitation from the Lord, and returns home repentant, after his prayer team focused on her.  These are impressive stories that I don't believe can be refuted—they show the Holy Spirit working on the heart of man, bringing man to action, to repentance.  I only wonder why there are not more of them, and less railing against what Jim has never been familiar with.  At times Cymbala seems to depolarize, with critiques of the chaotic weirdness which has gone on in the name of the Holy Spirit. He recognizes there is a problem in the Charismatic world, and that the lack of biblical doctrines being taught is the cause.  Then on the next page he says: 

"Does anyone really think that America today is lacking preachers, books, Bible translations, and neat doctinral statements?"

I would answer him, "No, but we are lacking in the use of those good materials, as people are lazy, and want a magical Christianity of expediency, which requires no use of their mind—and to excuse this, they have condemned the mind and head knowledge.

I don't disagree with Pastor Cymbala in that prayer moves the heart of God.  The book is a wonderful testimony to that; however, the underlying theme that condemns learned expository preaching, that would condemn a series of sermons that a Pastor may have labored for months on, and says that because these sermons were not spontaneous, emotional, intuitive, and untaught, that the Holy Spirit could have no part in them—this is simply wrong.  J. Vernon McGee said a man need not be educated to begin preaching; though he should wish to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the Word, and hopefully Seminary is in his future plans.  I believe if a man is proud of his lack of knowledge, something is terribly wrong with his doctrine—or un-doctrine rather.

There is such a bias in the Charismatic world against formal education, against reason, against science, which we call the general revelation of God.  It's so sad.  Pastor Jim Cymbala shows us there is no doubt at all that he is not educated in biblical doctrines by this statement: 

"North American Christians must no longer accept the status quo.  No more neat little meetings, even with the benefit of 100 percent correct doctrine." (153)

This is the underlying Charismatic theme:  Biblical truths and the teachings of Christ inhibit the Holy Spirit.  I would say that when a church is operating outside of biblical doctrines, THIS is what inhibits the Holy Spirit.

As you can tell, this highly irritates me.  I could not enjoy the biblical truths that WERE in this book, for the glaring error in it.  Perhaps someday I will come to the level of maturity where I can eat fish and spit out bones, as my friend Pastor Alex says.  It angers me so, because other people are choking on the bones.  Pray for Jim and I....

BOOK REVIEW: In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

In Our Time

by Ernest Hemingway

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese  

This was my first experience with Hemingway.  I remember reading of how Hemingway and Faulkner fought over writing styles.  I sided with Faulkner, due to word extinction.  I was yet shocked at the simplicity of Hemingway's prose; and yet, I could not deny there was something there, some dark force just under the surface that led you along.

I think people have fun reading Hemingway and adding their own conclusions about that darkness just under the surface.  For instance, in "On the Quai At Smyrna" was it the most humane thing for the Greeks to break the forelegs of all the animals they couldn't take with them and let them drown in shallow water?  Was it a pleasant business?  It was a way of coping with experience.

In "Indian Camp" I found two things of interest:  (1. Nick's father, the doctor, said he doesn't hear screams because the aren't important.  This is not a doctor I'm not sure I would like to be under the care of.  Does empathy play a part in being a good physician?  On the other hand, I rather have a cold but sure hand rather than an empathetic one.  Both would be nice.  Something is lacking in the former.  (2.  Why did the Indian father kill himself when it was that the doctor was there to deliver his baby?  Perhaps his foot-wound was something he felt would not heal properly.  Can we be sure it was suicide?  How many people kill themselves by cutting their own throats?

"The Doctor And The Doctor's Wife" reveals that the doctor isn't keen on fighting, is a thief in denial, and that his wife is a Christian Scientist.  The latter reveals the likely catalyst of much of Nick's problems.

"The End of Something" was the end of Nick's childhood and the beginning of the years of confusion.

"The Three Day Blow" shows us that Nick turns to alcohol for answers.

"The Battler" is Nick's initiation into manhood.

"Cross Country Snow" could be said to be a tale of freedom verses entrapment, which results in resignation.

"My Old Man" is another man not unlike the doctor—a good man, but dishonest—a paradoxical disappointment.

"Big Two Hearted River" was Nick, at home, in his own environment.  It was, I believe, an attempt to disassociate, withdraw, and become self-sufficient.  The swamps will be the undoing of Nick.  It will be his greatest time of learning.

BOOK REVIEW: War on the Saints by Jessie Penn-Lewis w. Evan Roberts

 War on the Saints

by

Jessie Penn-Lewis

with

Evan Roberts

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

"Some More On the Ain'ts" could be an alternative title. 

Let me clarify:  Undoubtedly Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis could be classified as a Pentecostal, yet she is that rare breed, which other Pentecostals despise: a thinking Pentecostal.  I first heard of her in Roberts Liardon's book "God's Generals".  There she was painted as a dubious figure who kidnapped Evan Roberts, who was then held captive in Mr. and Mrs. Penn-Lewis' home. 

Now, I believe this is what happened:  "God's Generals" admits Evan Roberts had some sort of nervous breakdown.  It's not surprising, given his errant theology of non-theology.  He placed experience above all, including the Word of God.  Roberts Liardon painted the picture that Mrs. Penn-Lewis perhaps had an unwholesome relationship with Evan Roberts, and that she took advantage of using his name, to further her own writing career.  Well, it's a blessed thing that she did do the latter.

I consider Mrs. Penn-Lewis an honest critic of the Welsh revival.  She was witness to a great many unscriptural, ridiculous and dangerous things accredited to the Holy Spirit.  In this book, she lays out proper doctrine, side-by-side with the heretical goings-on she witnessed, and which Evan Roberts no doubt facilitated.  The evidence points that what Evan Roberts was doing in her household was being rehabilitated, being educated, being taught the true Gospel of Christ.  Anyone can have an experience.  Without the foundation of the Word beneath us, experience cannot be trusted.  LSD gives an experience.

I don't agree with everything in "War on the Saints" but I do agree with much of it.  Anyone worried by the influx of superstitious heretical mysticism into Pentecostalism, into now what is called the Charismatic movement, would garner much from this read.  Mrs. Penn-Lewis was not a Calvinist, was not a cessationist, nor a skeptic.  She was a Spirit-filled woman on a mission to right what went wrong at the closing of the Welsh Revival.  Many actually blame her for stamping out the revival.  To that I can only shake my head in unbelief.  A person, such as Evan Roberts, running on fumes and gasses will naturally exhaust and collapse.  Mrs. Penn-Lewis was there to pick up the man, and make sense of it all.

Mrs. Penn-Lewis calls for a return of reason and logic into the sphere of Charismata.  It is a call that has gone unheeded.  The consequence is tragic:  doctrines of devils, and no end to deception, delusion, and false prophets.  I firmly believe the Great Falling Away will on one side be liberal theologians who deny the Truth, and on the other, those Charismatics who have twisted the truth, to fit their experiences.  The people in the middle, who balance intellect, emotion, and will, placing not one over the other, walk the narrow path, with the Sword of the Spirit firmly grasped, the belt of Truth holding their trousers up.

This is a warning to the Charismatic Christian:

Matthew 7:22,23:   "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie, A Poirot Mystery

Evil Under the Sun

by Agatha Christie

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

Agatha Christie is thus far the only female author which I read, and indeed the only other woman besides my wife that I return to again and again for pleasure.  Within Christie's writings—such as within "Evil Under the Sun"—we find such unique pleasantries of minutiae as the description of the quality of a man's briar pipe; of the tired old stories of a retired officer—Major Barry—who fought in India; of the dual nature of men; of waxed mustaches...

I first saw, a while back, the Poirot made-for-TV episode, "Evil Under the Sun".  The book was reminiscent, but I still was unsure who the murderer was until the end.  I dislike viewing anything before I have read it, but in the case of Poirot, it was irresistible.  My wife and I too have just acquired the Wii video game, "Evil Under the Sun".

Let it not be said that I am without gripes however.  The character of the Reverend Stephen Lane stands out as rather lame.  The other characters are quite complex; the parson however, simply a fanatic—all too common a fallback in modern fiction, which reveals how misunderstood the Christian religion is.  Then again, with what such real-life scandalous reverends that make the news each month, it is only to be expected, I suppose.

My other gripe is that Captain Kenneth Marshall and Rosamund Darnley's morals are quite disturbing.  The result of their amorality, at least in the case of Marshall's, manifests in his daughter Linda Marshall, who attempted to kill her stepmother by means of witchcraft, and then attempted suicide, believing she indeed succeeded in matricide.  Rather than to face up to the consequences, rather than to talk it out with Poirot, she seeks to kill herself, ending her misery.  Here is why I find Ken and Rosamund to be alarming:  Each suspected the other of murder.  Rather than seeking to allay their suspicions, each swallows them and each tries to protect the other, going to such lengths as to lie to the authorities.  Not only this, but they each plan a future together, never mind each suspecting the other of being a murderer.  Each is also willing to place the girl Linda in this horrid nightmare of a homicidal home.

Evil under the sun, indeed.

I found most fascinating the psychological profile of Arlena Stuart Marshall—the murdered woman— which Poirot propounds upon.  I just happen to be reading C.S. Lewis' "Perelandra" at this time.  Arlena is the Lady of Perelandra—tragically and totally transformed into a self-centered materialist.  Indeed, Arlena was the victim.  We offer ourselves as unknowing Andromeda; as perfumed Jezebels, loath, accursed creatures, blind to our destination of decrepitation.  Reverend Lane here was a nutter—was unlearned, with bad theology—he mistook the Whore of Babylon for a literal person, rather than the personification of a materialist self-centered society.

One Second After, Book Review

One Second After

by

William R. Forstchen

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

  I live in Asheville, a few miles from Black Mountain.  Several of my friends have attended Willam R. Forstchen's public lectures.  From what I gather from hearsay, they are centered on survivalism.  People I talk to either love him as a brilliant man, or despise him as a whacked-out alarmist.  I spoke with a few Black Mountain residents on my honeymoon - which was well spent in The Red Rocker - and all of them, both liberal and conservative, spoke well of Forstchen - all had talked with the man personally.

I have had no interaction with the man Forstchen, other than with his mind, via this singular book.  I can say that I would indeed read another of his books, because he is a local figure who writes not badly.

I am a bit conflicted however.

On the one hand, I am glad Forstchen bothered to write this book, and alert people to a possible future catastrophic scenario — EMP.  Thanks man!  Here is what really alarms me about the novel:  Forstchen unabashedly pours himself into the main character.  Fiction writing is very revealing.  Forstchen has as much guts as Asheville's Thomas Wolfe had.  Wolfe however, never set himself up in any of his books as the local executioner when martial law comes to town.  My Fox News friends were salivating at the mouth when the professor blew the brains out of the thieving drug addict.  My dislike for Fox News is equal to my disdain for all mass media, which is controlled by a total of 6 conglomerates.  I prefer the internet for depolarization.

I am meaning to say that I simply was repulsed by the vision of Forstchen's fantasy.  I realize that it may be a realistic fantasy, and that Montreat College may indeed have need to one day become a boot-camp with Forstchen as General.  God forbid.  Would I feel like this if the main character, History professor John Matherson, was not recognizable as Forstchen? — If the warrior-savior of post-apocalyptic martial law in Black Mountain was a plumber or something?  Maybe.

Mayhaps that is irrelevant.  Forstchen has a legitimate and probable scenario, I am convinced.  He at least has the modesty to be a reluctant warrior-savior.  I must get some more of his books to see if my conflict is resolved.  The man seems obsessed with wars past and wars future.  I simply am not.

1 Agnostic & 3 Metaphysician Space Men + The Mouse Riders

 Ports of Call

Lurulu

by Jack Vance

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

 

These are the voyages of Myron Tany.  "Ports of Call" was my first Jack Vance experience, and I must say that I was impressed.  It's not so much the plot or Myron's adventures that I found to be impressive, but simply Vance's prose alone.  His vocabulary is exquisite, as are his philosophical musings, propounded through the vehicle of his characters.

My only complaint is with the secondary novelette, "Lurulu", which is a sequel to "Ports of Call".  The beginning of it was a bit frustrating.  It was as a rereading of the beginning of "Ports of Call", only not as impressive as one.  I actually suspect Vance started out with "Lurulu", put it aside, started over with "Ports of Call", and then stuck "Lurulu" on the end, using it as a means of resolution. 

I was neither pleased with how Myron's problems with his aunt Hester Lajoie resolved.  It was a bit depressing, though logical.  I could not help but feel the anxiety that Myron himself felt, as did his parents.  How did he deal with it?  He again struck out for the stars.  This brings to mind the "call of the sea" spoken of in so many classic novels of sailing the seas.

I could not help but conclude that Myron's adventuring will eventually lead to his demise.  I'm sure his integrity will erode, and that he will end up murdered or imprisoned.  What is the alternative for Myron?  A mundane career which follows in the footsteps of his estranged father.  What is it that Myron is searching for?  What are his shipmates searching for?  

Myron's philosophy of life remains secret.  He admits that he is both fearful and confused.  He is best friends with an agnostic - Schwatzendale, an aesthete with spiritual yearnings - Wingo, and a seeker - Maloof, who is obsessed with finding Lurulu by means of his ship, the Glicca.  All are intellectuals, and all are cynics who pass the time with beer and vainglorious musings which are witty and entertaining, yet void of meaning.

I do believe they all need to meet women.  It is obvious that all but Schwatzendale pursue the metaphysical, yet this is somewhat of a paradox since his favored company to engage in conversation with are metaphysicians.  He seeks to dominate them with rationalism in the secret hope that they can provide a true challenge to his own faith - which is his faith in rationalism. 

I hope they eventually come upon a convent of neo-Platonist Calvanist shepherdesses who effectively dissolve their appetites for nihilistic adventuring.  Ironically, I believe it would be Schwatzendale who would find the most food for thought in such a place - the Calvanists are great and engaging apologists who would clear the air of their rambling wisps of pluralistic ideological phantasms which blindly deny absolutes.  There would also be tremendous sexual tension between these groups - hermetical nuns and seasoned space men.

Prayer, The Great Adventure

Prayer, The Great Adventure

by

David Jeremiah

 

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

What subject was Jesus concerned with teaching?  What subject were the disciples most interested in learning?  Worship leading?  Preaching?  No!  It was prayer!

I picked this book up because David Jeremiah is my father's favorite preacher.  I've not heard very many of his sermons, though I would definitely be interested to.  I have collected several of Jeremiah's  books, this being the first one now read. 

I realized that I needed instruction on praying.  I felt as though I held nothing but a checklist that I would run through nightly - the last activity before sleeping.

What an eye-opener this book was!  It is a wonderful resource!  One could build a sizable library from the indexes.  David Jeremiah is a very succinct writer, whose prose is very enjoyable.  He is a man who enthusiastically relishes the depths of his subjects.  I hungrily ate and digested every sentence of every page.

Within Jeremiah gives us an outline for prayer.  It is based upon the Lord's prayer.  Sprinkled throughout the book are varied anecdotes of prayers answered as well as excerpts from Jeremiah's own prayer journal.  The anecdotes struck me in such a way that to date I have retold them to several people. 

The latter part of the book takes an in depth look at John 17.  Many have been fascinated with the chapter which allows readers to "listen in on Heaven's conversation".  There is so much here to glean understanding from.  Jeremiah casually takes on such theological topics as Calvinism and Arminianism, drawing upon the differences within the ways each doctrine prays.  He constantly quotes scriptural truths from men such as Tertullian, Augustine, Calvin, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, John Piper, John MacArthur, Bill Hybels - the list goes on and on.

The last chapter calls for us to be journalists.  I've certainly no problem with that.  Jeremiah wishes us to write out our prayers, our thoughts, our concerns, our lives.  He quotes Socrates - "the unexamined life is not worth living".  He speaks of "harvesting" from journals.  I'm definitely picking up Gordon MacDonald's book on journal-keeping, which Jeremiah draws heavily from; also of note Ronald Klug and Steven Covey's books on journaling.  It is no wonder at all the reason it is that David Jeremiah is a superb writer.

Public Speaking - Let's Do It!

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking

by Dale Carnegie

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

Dale Carengie's straightforward down to earth style is refreshing and impressive. His fondness for the anecdotal is reminiscent of that great American which Carnegie so often quotes - Abraham Lincoln. Others of Carnegie's favorite go to men include Jesus and the Word, Professor William James, Franklin Delano Rossevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, Norman Vincent Peale and Confucius. Most illuminating however are the examples of speech given from people of all walks of life who have taken Carnegie's courses, viz., politicians, businessmen, stay-at-home mothers and various reformed introverts.

"Effective Speaking" is exquisitely outlined, from "Acquiring the Basic Skills" all the way through to "Applying What You Have Learned". Carnegie comes across not as some self-help guru with a self-formulated system for success, but rather Carnegie seems a close friend and mentor who shares his intimate knowledge in earnest with the reader; knowledge which is a culmination of common sense and experience, which all see as practicable and of great value.

What is it exactly that I have learned? Begin in medias res - jump into the action, and do so passionately. As Carnegie does, speak from experience. Be excited about your topic. Never attempt to memorize a speech. Always prepare beforehand, amassing much more information than you could possibly use. As Aristotle said, "Think as Wise men do, but speak as common people do.

Carnegie has settled a conundrum I was facing. I had my paper written out in literary form and fashion. How to deliver it? The answer is to NOT READ IT. Become so familiar with it, that you can speak knowledgeably, hitting all points, simply from basic notes. One must be human when speaking publicly, addressing the audience as one would a single conversant.

I read this in preparation for giving my testimony to my church's youth group. That's coming up in 17 days. In that time, I will abide by the rules of this book in the construction of my testimony. I think it will go well. The most important concept Carnegie relays to the reader is to own confidence. One must have the confidence that one will become an effective speaker, and within the contents of this book, success is guaranteed. I cannot fail! If my speech doesn't go over to good, I must seek out the next opportunity and put my heart and mind into it!

ESCHEREHEYE

More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

S.T. Joshi and Peter Cannon

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

I'm neither pleased nor entirely displeased with "More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft". I feel a melancholic listlessness. There was some very insightful annotations, and some which only give the dictionary definition of such words as "cyclopean". That which was insightful, was quite so, and I only wish there were even more. Noteworthy were the notes on Pigafetta's "Regnum Congo", the Symbolists, the pre-Raphaelites, Bauldelaire, Huysmans, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, such artists as Goya, Dore, Angarola, Sime and Fuseli, Lovecraft's family, historical places and pictures, historical names, and excerpts from Lovecraft's letters.

I did notice several spelling errors--they were not archaic spellings, but actual printing errors. This, together with the several seemingly asinine and sometimes redundant annotations, gave the work a sense of being hastily constructed. I believe this would be an very nice introduction for the Lovecraftian neophyte. There is quite a lot of good information here, which has given me a long list of referenced tomes which I would love to add to my shelves, such as Lord Dunsany's "The Book of Wonder" and W. Scott-Elliot's "The Story of Atlantis" and "The Lost Lemuria", Fiske's "Myths and Myth Makers", Miss Murray's "Witch-Cult in Western Europe" and Del Rio's "Disquisitionum Magicarum Libri Sex".

I am fascinated by the fact that Lovecraft, a confessed "mechanist materialist", was totally obsessed with the supernatural. Jack Vance's character, Gartover, in "Ports of Call" said that "'skepticism' is sometimes known as 'dogmatic ignorance'.

I would have to say that my favorite Lovecraft piece within this collection is "Pickman's Model"--"But by God, Eliot, it was a photograph from life"--wheels within wheels, the profound paradoxical. I too cannot get William Blake's "The Ghost of a Flea" out of my mind's eye.

Cynocephaly and GMOs in Atlantis

Diogenes

by 

Carter Kaplan

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

Aroooo!

There is much within Carter Kaplan's "Diogenes" that runs so deep as to escape my intellectual grasp, though this does not at all bog down the reader, nor detract from the, at times, scatological, fun. In fact, I always greatly appreciate the scatological more than anything else. It is essential to shamelessness and mocking, which are profound characteristics for Diogenes and all those dogs who have become angered by what man has become, to the point that they purvey their message to mankind by means of embodying it, exhibiting ill-timed plopping of ejecta publicly.

As I said, there is much Carter Kaplan has laid before us. The following is what sticks out in my strange mind: Diogenes is responsible for the union of Achilles and Chrysis, yet he seems to me to be, at least in part, responsible also for the initial disunion, his seed having been planted in Chrysis' fertile mind early on in the story. Even after Achilles and Chrysis fall in love, I've no doubt that Diogenes would have been quick--that old dirty dog--to plant another seed in Chrysis' nether regions. Hmm... I wonder what her mother, Chloe, looked like? I envision powerful, though comely country thighs...

This is interesting to me: Chrysis, unquestionably a member of the intelligentsia, whom Diogenes initiates, is drawn from her natural reality, or, depending if you are a cynic or not, her unnatural reality--she was drawn into the philosophic world of Diogenes, which fit her rebelliousness, as a key to a lock. What strange and occluded door has been opened to her? In the end, Chrysis embraces the true philosopher--new beginnings. Achilles however, (we last se him mesmerized by Atlantis' prism) seems stuck in immaturity, which may also be the case with Diogenes, though Diogenes' is much more paradoxical and interesting--his immaturity, or perhaps superannuated maturity, not centering around the aesthetic. I suddenly wonder who is more like Diogenes - Achilles or Chrysis. Is the utter rejection of materialism as silly as materialism? Achilles interests lay not in philosophy nor intellectual matters, but in his own body, reflected in the bodies of other men. He states something to the tune that he might enjoy a woman, were there only something to hold onto. Should Achilles and Chrysis have somehow survived the fall of Athens in the destruction of Atlantis, he would have found something to hold onto, viz., her intellectualism, her deep wells of consciousness. As fate would have it, seeing Chrysis dressed as a boy did it for Achilles in the present, which is well, as Diogenes relies on the present for all things.

I've presently been pointed in the direction of Foucault and Derrida. An image haunts me however. I wonder, if on full moons, Diogenes, in his barrel of exotic and pungent odors, does not take on the aspect of Saint Christopher before his baptism? For goodness sakes, Alexander, let the sunlight not dim, let the lantern not extinguish.

I thoroughly enjoyed Carter Kaplan's width and breadth and height within "Diogenes", and certainly plan to read his "Tally-Ho, Cornelius!".

The God Catchers or My Daughter Bumbling About With Coffee

The God Catchers Experiencing The Manifest Presence Of God

by Tommy Tenney

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese 

I could not help but feel frustrated whilst reading "The God Catchers".  I have not read Tenney's earlier "God Chasers", but will, when I come across it.

Tenney says frustration is good.  Brokeness is good.  Emptiness is good.  Tenney hates religion.  He hates church.  Why?  They get in the way of his earnest seeking from religion, from church, that which it proposes to offer — that is, God.  Tenney claims he has experienced, on rare occasion, the "catching of God".  It is, according to Tenney, a transient experience, which ultimately leaves one all the more empty, frustrated, and broken, which, he says is good, because this opens the way for more earnest seeking, which will lead to more transient experiences with the presence of God.

My frustration comes from two things:

1.  Tenney is very good at telling us how to properly seek, the attitudes the Body of Christ should carry — we should be passionate in our quest.  What frustrates me is that Tenney is terrible at relating to his readers what he found in his experience with the manifest presence of God.  The buck stops with him simply relating to us that he has experienced Him, a couple of times, and that it was life-changing.  I can relate to the fact that ethereal experiences are hard to relate in words, much less a personal experience with God.  I think I could have done a bit better job than was shown here.  I would expect some details to come forth from one who has experienced God on a personal basis.  We simply do not find such details here.  Instead, we are rushed along, and told that such an experience will only lead to a greater hunger for another such experience, and that we will be ruined for any lesser experiences.  This is very frustrating — reading an entire book on seeking, with no clear clue as to what it is exactly that is sought.  Will we see God the Father?  Will we be transported into the Spirit?  Will we be aware of our environment?  Will we be capable of holding conversation with God?  Are all experiences with God subjective and unique to the individual?  If so, pray tell, what was Tenney's experience as?  Why did Tenney hold back?  Was he afraid at offending his readers with the Truth of his experience?  Was he afraid at offending God by relating that which was intimate?  Was what he experienced even possible to relate?  If it was an experience, I would say that of course, it is possible, to in some way relate to others, and that there is a duty to relate such an experience.  In this, Tenney failed.

2.  Tenney uses his own children and himself as a father as a metaphor for the Body, and God the father.  I won't say that this was not insightful, but I found it irritating to have to read about his daughter and he playing hide-and-seek, his daughter bringing him coffee, his daughter wanting smooches, him wanting to smooch on his daughter, and her, having grown older, not wanting smooches.  As Parham told Seymour: "God is sick to his stomach!" 

I wouldn't say that I did not enjoy "The God Catchers".  I enjoyed it very much when Tenney waxed scripturally, which was rarely.  I can't help but feel though, that I have come away hungry, having experienced in this book, another shallow and unsatisfying experience.  Tenney may very well be pleased in this.

Miserable Epiphany

Writer's Block

by Vitasta Raina

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

Vitasta Raina's "Writer's Block" was quite a pleasurable experience in prose. I wonder if by some hyper-miraculous working, Ms. Raina has been bestowed a portion of Henry Miller's acerbic virtue. I find the thought highly stimulating.

I juxtapose Raina's Chalet with every sprawling metropolis I know of. I thought back to the American civil unrest portrayed in Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus Trilogy". I see the plans for Chalet manifesting within my own city, Asheville. In the warm season, we see a large migration of parasites, returning from the south, and on public access TV, we see the planners planning the removal of the parasitical herds from the streets. Infestation and extraction are a perpetuality, as is growth for the sake of growth.

Humanity's natural state is dystopic, thus, the dystopian, in my opinion, is a writer's most powerful and most natural tool. As with Raina's character Roma, the poet is often perceived as the cynic. I wouldn't call that a false perception, but I would say that I enjoy well done and justified cynicism.

David Brin has written a piece on why Orwell's "1984" didn't happen (I'll read it one day soon). Orwell said it did happen, in 1948 -- he was not a futurist, nor was his novel speculative. I too believe that Raina's "Writer's Block" is relative to yesterday, today and tomorrow. I really did not expect much from "Writer's Block" (being somewhat cynical), but I received much, and am proud to place Vitasta Raina's novella on my shelves alongside its ideological brothers and sisters. I've actually found myself quoting Raina to friends, which tells me, I truly did enjoy her work, and found much food there for thought.

I love Raina's term "Refined Indignet" -- those who "remain on the fringes of Chalet's sociology." What a fresh voice from the wilderness! I see Ms. Raina as I do the Old Testament's prophets -- those on the fringe, avoiding societal polarization, warning of the destruction to which our path leads us, not because they are doomsday preachers, but because they are witness to the very decay that is ruinous.

I was most thrilled to find within "Writer's Block" Philip K. Dick's works mentioned, along with Robert A. Heinlein (not to forget Thoreau)! I too find it an exquisite synchronicity that Bob Dylan is referenced, his 70th birthday having recently past.

The Spirit Within

 

Living in the Spirit

George O. Wood

 Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese  

I love that Dr Wood drops from his pen an obscure word in to every chapter, which will send the reader running to the dictionary. A very well written and easily understood book on a subject that most believers, not to mention non-believers, have no understanding of.

I admit that I really have no understanding of this subject, though I found "Living in the Spirit" to be thus far the most illuminating work that I have read on the Holy Spirit. I have lain out before me doctrinal teachings, pertaining to the Holy Spirit, which I align myself with. Dr Wood went to great lengths to show why he himself holds these scriptural truths to be self evident. Do you know the difference between Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

I found most interesting the mention of Dean Merrill's article, "The Five Faces of Pentecost" - Retro Pentecost, Prosperity Pentecost, Hyper Pentecost, Nominal Pentecost, and finally, Authentic Pentecost. I believe the majority of Pentecostals fall under Prosperity, followed by Hyper. Do you know under which your favorite TV evangelist falls?

Most fascinating too was Chapter Four's section on "Why God Chose Tongues". This explanation was astounding and most logical! I loved it!

What are the most important things that I took away?

1. Tongues, in scripture, are described as "enthused" speech.

2. Dr. Wood teaches that tongues are functioning with rationality - tongues are not something that spring forth from trance, or the subconscious mind.

3. There are 9 Spiritual Gifts described in I Corinthians 12

4. There are 7 Gifts mentioned in Romans 12:6-8

5. Additional Gifts are mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-13

Let me break these down:

MOTIVATIONAL GIFTS (Romans 12:6-8)
Prophecy
Service
Teaching
Encouragement
Giving
Leadership
Mercy

SPIRITUAL GIFTS (I Corinthians 12:7-11)
Wisdom
Knowledge
Faith
Gifts of Healing
Miracles
Discerning of Spirits
Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues

MINISTRY GIFTS (I Corinthians 12:27-31, Ephesians 4:11-13)
Apostle
Helps
Administration
Evangelist
Pastor

FOUR ADDITIONAL GIFTS (I Corinthians 7:7, 13:3, I Peter 4:9)
Celibacy
Voluntary Poverty
Martyrdom
Hospitality

Have you received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? How many of us have been ask that!? What we should be asking is "Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?"

I'd like to go on to elaborate on the book, but I simply can't. I could quote more things, and give my opinion of them, but what I need is experience. Upon experiencing, I'd like to read this book again, take notes. I may very well come back here and add an update. Look forward to it.

Daydreaming Evangelicals & Charismatic Co-Laboring

 The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind

by Bill Johnson

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

It has been said that Bill Johnson's book picks up where Oral Roberts's thirteen-week devotional, "A DAILY GUIDE TO MIRACLES AND SUCCESSFUL LIVING THROUGH SEED-FAITH" left off.  I don't know—not read that yet.

"The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind" declares that the Christian's life should be a life which experiences the miraculous and the supernatural in day-to-day life. 

The first chapter calls upon Matthew 6:9: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  Johnson proclaims "What is free to operate in heaven—joy, peace, wisdom, health, wholeness, and all the other good promises we read about in the Bible—should be free to operate here, period."  Johnson follows with Romans 12:2, showing us that we are to prove the will of God by miracles and supernatural living.

Johnson also emphasizes the renewing of the mind as an essential tool to bringing about what he calls Kingdom reality.  He goes on to defend the mind, and logic, declaring that earlier Pentecostals threw the mind out.  Repentance is the first step in renewal.  You will need your mind for that.

Johnson reveals to us that "whenever Jesus taught on the Kingdom, he would heal people, not only declaring the Kingdom is at hand, but demonstrating its effects."

The book elaborates on becoming the dwelling place of God.  It is noted that Jesus called himself "the gate", and Johnson proclaims that we are to be a gateway people. 

I must say that Johnson's interspersing of scriptures are succinct, and interpreted in a illuminating way, which I see no error in.  Not everyone agrees.  In another review a person pointed to Hank Hanegraaf's "The Counterfit Revival", John MacArthur's "Charismatic Chaos", and D. R. McConnell's "A Different Gospel" and even John Piper as those men who would show the error in Johnson's theology.  I don't know, I'll have to read them.  I do know that we can exclude John Piper from the list, as he has said "I am one of those Baptist General Conference people who believes that "signs and wonders" and all the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are valid for today and should be "earnestly desired" (1 Corinthians 14:1) for the edification of the church and the spread of the gospel."

Currently, I would agree with Johnson's theology and his interpretation.  At this point I don't know if the aforementioned authors, excluding Piper, are cessationists or not.  I don't put much in the reviewer's claims.  I do know that Hank Hanegraaf's favorite pastime is watch-dogging ministries, to criticizing them.  I call his type "negative naysayers".  They build their egos by destructiveness.  I tried to find a particular Amazon review of Bill Johnson's book, in which the author claimed Johnson has mistranslated scriptures, but it seems to miraculously have disappeared...

I won't try to cover the information in each chapter.  There were many exciting stories of the miraculous within Johnson's church.  I have no reason to believe Johnson is lying.  Were he, surely, his detractors would rise and crush him. 

I will say that Chapter 10, titled "Dreaming with God", was the most pivotal for myself, as well as being the most revealing chapter.  We are servants and friends of God, who co-labor with God.  Johnson wrote that our creativity, our daydreams, our thoughts, our ideas—these are all important to God, and God wishes to use them, to use us.

Glossolalist Historicity in Modernity & Fivefold Continuationism

 God's Generals

by Roberts Liardon

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

I had no idea the church Body had such a colorful historicity.  This book deals with that history in the period of the late 19th century to the late 20th century.  I don't know why we do not reference these people and the movements they were part of more often.  How the past fades, the past fades in our memories.

I am most impressed with the people who have the least flaws.  The people who seemed to truly seek God's will in their life for the entire span of their lives — they ran with patience.

John Alexander Dowie was portrayed as an immensely powerful man, who was also immensely stubborn.  He held Chicago in the palm of his hand, for a season.  His stubbornness was they key to his success and his failure.  How a man could come to believe he was Elijah, then on his death bed reveal with his last words his belief that he was Jesus, is simply beyond me.  Perhaps he had had a stroke—surely he could not become so deluded naturally.  Zion, Illinois is a place I would like to visit one day, simply out of curiosity.  

Marie Woodworth-Etter was portrayed as the most saintly person in the book.  I believe it is for this reason that she held such influence on people—especially future ministers.  The trance phenomenon surrounding her ministry is fascinating.  I would like to find more books—and wow, would I like to find her own rare works which Liardon mentioned he has copies of!

Evan Roberts was a strange man.  He so sought to live in the Spirit that I see him as a man that was lost in a fog in this world.  How bizarre was his relationship with Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis!  Success brings them out of the woodwork.  If only it were not for her, I wonder how Roberts' life would have differed.  I too wonder if the dark poetry found upon his death in his notebook has ever been published.

Charles F. Parham, in my opinion, should have stayed away from Zion, Illinois.  Wilbur Voliva certainly had it in for him with his sodomy accusation.  So many of these men and women seemed to thrive on adversity, seeking it until it finally did them in.  Persecution seems to do very many Christians in.  Here are my thoughts on the matter:  Had Parham's enemies had real proof of his being arrested for sodomy, they would not have posted signed confessions, but the actual police report.
 
William J. Seymour and Azusa Street are probably the most widely circulated nouns in charismatic circles.  This was the first I had really delved into the story.  I am shocked at the ultimate fate of the Azusa Street Mission.  It seemingly all hinged on Seymour's interpretation of sanctification.  I believe the actual consequences that stemmed from his belief, show how his doctrine was flawed.  Here too is a point—padlocking is indirect criticism, with much more severe undertones than direct criticism.  Seymour wasn't quite logical when it came to this.

John G. Lake was one of the most impressive figures here, in my opinion.  It is very sad what took place in Africa.  Out of Africa...

Smith Wigglesworth was a very impressive fellow as well.  His belief that "True faith confronts, and it is ignited by initiative" motivated him to achieve amazing acts.  Faith + Compassion = miracles. 

Aimee Semple McPherson was very strange — Hollywood strange made even more strange by Pentecostal strangeness.  A fascinating life.

Kathryn Kuhlman is contained within my mother's library.  I'll have to investigate.  Poor Kathryn finally rid herself of "man problems".  I did not know that she had risen to such secular realms in the late 20th century.  Those clips too would be interesting to dig up.

William Branham is one of the most intriguing people in the book.  It is the strange lights, the angel beside him, the paranormal picture, the vibrating hand.  The supernatural surrounded this guy; and yet he wanted to teach.  He felt, looking around him, there was not enough substance.  Tragic.  I believe had he gone about being taught in a proper way, God would have given him his heart's desire - to be a teacher.  Unfortunately, in this area Branham was an idiot, from the Greek "idiote" —full of his own foolish thoughts.  The picture with the anomaly over Branham's head is chilling.  I would like to collect more on the life and ministry of Branham.

Jack Coe was quite a guy for God.  I find it very amusing that the US Army kept sticking him in psych wards.  This didn't phase him though!  It was also entertaining, Coe's obsession with tent-size.

My Uncle, The late Reverend Boyd McClaren traveled with A.A. Allen and W.V. Grant.  He was Allen's morning speaker.  He eventually left Allen due to his drinking.  It is my opinion that Liardon does not have very good information pertaining to Allen's drinking.  He downplays it, making it seem to be mostly a conspiracy against his ministry.  Allen had quite a ministry, whether he was a raging alcoholic or no.  

I have not touched upon the true substance of this book.  That is, God's calling, the answer, stepping out in faith, and where that leads to.  By the evidence provided, we can believe that it leads to being filled with the Holy Spirit, and miracles of an amazing variety.  The stories within this volume are priceless.

Think About What You Are Thinking About

The Battlefield of the Mind

by Joyce Meyer

 Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese  

A drawing point for me to this book was that chess pieces were on the front cover.  I find it odd that someone chose to have the white king submitted, while the black king stands victorious over him.  What is this symbolic of?  Before I get lost in this, I'll move on. 

Joyce Meyer is either loved or hated, as are many TV evangelists - there are not many inbetweens.  I guess I fall inbetween.

This book is very simply written.  It is double-spaced and comes in at 278 pages.  The bibliography consists of the "Random House Unabridged Dictionary", "Strong's The New Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible", "Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words", and "Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary".  "Battle Field of the Mind" has sold over 2 million copies.  People are essentially simple-minded.  Isaac Asimov stated that his objective in writing, was to write as simply as possible, being as clear as possible.  Well done then, Joyce, good and faithful servant.

The contents of "Battle Field of the Mind" are broken into three parts:  "The Importance of the Mind", "Conditions of the Mind", and "Wilderness Mentalities".

The main message found here is to "think about what you are thinking about".  Various scriptures taken from the Amplified Bible, as well as King James, are spread throughout the book, validating Meyer's teachings on the mind.

Though I was not impressed with Joyce's writing style, I appreciated her insights, and her knowledge of the Bible.  Certainly, there are things here to think about, and think deeply about. 

Confessing not only covers our sin, but also helps us to recognize and analyze where it is that we are habitually falling into sin.  Socrates tells us "A life unexamined is not worth living."  The writer of Proverbs tells us "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."  By examining our thinking, our minds, we are better able to examine our lives.  As Joyce states more than once:  "The mind is the battlefield."

All was well with Joyce and I until I came to chapter 10, within which she argues that reason is an abnormal way of thinking, and that reason leads to confusion.  I believe she takes Matthew 16.8, James 1:22, Proverbs 3:5, and 1 Corinthians 2:1,2 completely out of context.  Paul said he resolved to know nothing among us except Jesus Christ.  Without reason, we could not recognize Paul as being paradoxical - he is truly one of the most logical and intellectual writers in the bible!  Joyce's book here was written using reason, which, in the image of God, we were gifted with (granted she used a smaller portion of reason in her writing than say, Charles Spurgeon).  So, this chapter, in my opinion, needs to be completely trashed and rewritten.  Reason is not abnormal thinking.  It is a wonderful tool without which we would only have religion. 

Myer Pearlman states that "theology literally means 'a treatise or reasoned discourse about God'.  Theology, or doctrine, may be described as a science which deals with our knowledge of God and His relations to man.  We call theology a science because science is the systematic and logical arrangement of certified facts.  Theology consists of facts relating to God and Divine things, presented in an orderly and logical manner. 

Religion comes from a Latin word meaning 'to bind'; religion represents those activities which bind man to God in a certain relationship.  Theology is knowledge about God.  Thus religion is practice, while theology is knowledge.  Religion and theology should go together in the balanced experience; but in practice they are sometimes separated so that one may be a theologian without being truly religious and on the other hand one may be truly religious without possessing a systematic knowledge of doctrinal truth.  'If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them," is God's message to the theologian.  'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth' (2 Tim. 2:15), is God's message for the spiritual man."

Is that not brilliant?  Bravo!, Mr. Pearlman, Bravo! 

Joyce Meyer, we do not need to fear reason - it will not lead to atheism, unless applied in earnest to atheism (which should then, if the logician is honest, in the very least, lead the atheist to agnosticism). 

We are to apply our Godly ratiocination to his Word.  I don't know how Joyce reasoned herself into such an unreasonable reasoning of reason.  I don't think it's just her.  I think that the Body of Christ is terrified of logic, and sees it as cold and terrible.  This is why they are called "religious folk".

After Chapter 10 of "Battle Field of the Mind" I truly began to appreciate the depth of Meyer, which at first appearance, to me, seemed shallow.  This is the beauty of the book - and the same beauty can be found in the gospel.  It seemed to me too, that by the end of the book, Joyce's vocabulary was expanding, and her prose growing sharper (I realize that she has written over 70 published books). 

There is a lot of information covered in the book that I'd like to get into.  Reading it once seems a shame, therefore, in this case, unlike the cases of many other books, a workbook would be preferable—I'll be keeping my eye out for one. 

Joyce points out many historical facts of the bible, including that it was an 11-day journey the Jews had to cross over into the promised land - God kept them in the wilderness for 40 years; in turn, her "Wilderness Mentalities" section was quite insightful. I think her favorite word at the time of writing this was "exhortative" — she used it much.  I too enjoyed the little tales of trials in her personal life, and the wisdom she gleaned from them.  I hear she is writing fiction now - which I'd be interested in reading.

I might point out another oddity in the book, which I found highly entertaining.  In Chapter 15, under "Meditate and Be Healed", Joyce states that:

 "My appearance has been changed during the past 18 years.  People tell me that I actually look at least 15 years younger today than I did when I first began to diligently study the Word and make it the central focus of my entire life." 

It is quite common knowledge now that Joyce Meyer has gone under the knife (I thought she was hotter before, as a friend told me I was the type that would always choose the before pictures on those infomercials, and he's right)...

Sky Pilot MacDonald @ Westminster

 

 

Getting to Know Jesus

George MacDonald

 

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

 

 

George MacDonald's influence is quite wide - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, L'Engle, Auden, Nesbit, Chesterton - heck, even Mark Twain, allegedly, not to mention innumerous other souls.  He was mentor to Lewis Carroll and well known to the literary luminaries of his day - Tennyson, Dickens, Thackeray, Trollope, Whitman, Longfellow...

This was my introduction to MacDonald - 12 of his sermons.

Sky Pilot MacDonald really excited me.  He was interesting to read.  Each of the twelve sermons was a small masterpiece in prose.  I only wish that the preachers of today had as wide of vocabularies and as deep of intellects as MacDonald.  I turn on AM radio today to hear slavering bulldogs frothing at the mouth, with vain repetitions.  MacDonald wasn't a repeater of popular religious phrases, viz., "Amen, a door is opening, praise God, hallelujah, I feel the anointing" — no, MacDonald was anything but this type of soap-boxed emotional asininity.

Again, I must decry the simple pleasure of reading these sermons - the simplicity of the language complex in of itself, witty, with long well thought out sentences which leave you hungry for the next revelation.  There is too a rich humor.  At one point I actually laughed out loud - which I suspect is a rarity in sermon reading. I can't help but wonder if MacDonald had these sermons memorized or simply read them to his congregation.

I wouldn't want to muck MacDonald's sermons up by critiquing them, or pulling them apart piece by piece.  They are each so complete, so succinct, one should digest them selfishly and relish the insights personally.  Please do - and spread the Word.

Chesterton's Atheists of Paris in Intellectual Transposition

The Innocence of Father Brown

by G.K. Chesterton

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese 

This is the second of Chesterton's works that I've read. I can only describe in as I might Father Brown - quirky genius. Here are 12 short tales of murder and mystery, loosely interwoven.

"The Blue Cross" was one of my favorites. The simple inconspicuous deep cunning of Father Brown was most blatantly exhibited for us here. It was like witnessing a feather render an anvil unto powder. Here we first meet our two most important reoccurring characters - the brilliantly creative criminal Flambeau, and the relatively short lived head of the Paris Police, Valentin. A most satisfying tale. I loved the bizarre market scenes which led us helter skelter to the conclusion.

Next, "The Secret Garden". I liked the quaint closed-house dinner party murder, though this one did spill out on the street for a bit. I was somewhat taken aback by the violent nature of the crime. Chesterton seems to enjoy a bit of light gore. We were just coming to know the atheist intellect of Paris' finest investigator - that of Valentin. Ironically, the fellow falls from his office and Chesterton tells us that "on the blind face of the suicide was more than the pride of Cato".

"The Queer Feet" was one of Chesterton's queerer tales, which is always a good thing. Chesterton seems obsessed with clubs and secret societies. This is a tale of one such fishy society, and their expensive dinner ware. The criminal Monsieur Flambeau is once again at work here. Again, Father Brown so far outwits the witty Flambeau that Flambeau surrenders and repents; whereas in the first story, he only surrendered. This marks the turning point for Flambeau, as the last story marked the dark turning point for Valentin, which is ethically paradoxical.

"The Flying Stars" is a Dickian Christmas tale, as it so proclaims itself. Chesterton must have liked Dickens, as a later story references Mr. Pickwick. Again we are shown the artistic criminal ingenuity of Flambeau; and the greater critical thinking and deductive reasoning of Father Brown. They are like mini-duels. Here Flambeau is shown by Father Brown that crime always creates victimization. Again, Flambeau repents. His sin-nature is now in its death throes; he has seen the Light, and obtained the knowledge of the error of his ways by means of Father Brown - Father Brown saw Flambeau and understood him. Flambeau could not hide from Father Brown, nor could he deceive Father Brown. He does the only logical thing - submits.

"The Invisible Man" finds Flambeau diametrically metamorphosed into, what!, yes!, a detective! It really was his most natural occupational choice as a man who had turned from an ingenious criminal to become a man respectable. The line is thin between the two fields; and as Chesterton has shown us—not only with Flambeau, but also with Valentin—the fields often transpose and become interpolated. Ironically, in one's case this is always good, in the case of the other, always damnable. And yet, here, we do not even encounter Flambeau or Father Brown until nearly the end of the story, which is not a love triangle, but a love trapezoid, having four very unequal sides. Poor Angus. I might note that to find humanoid robots in the story was a delightful surprise.

"The Honour of Israel Gow" was a nice Scottish Gothic tale of honor that I'm not sure I fully understood. It seems there was no crime, though certainly some strangeness in events. I enjoyed the scenery, the piles of snuff, the skull in the potato garden, and the digressions of Father Brown and Flambeau.

"The Wrong Shape" was about an opium addict poet, his poor wife, his live-in Indian guru and his doctor. A surprise ending, very memorable. Don't trust the doc for your health.

"The Sins of Prince Saradine" was highly entertaining. Old bloodlines, dark secrets, duels... It was a bit maddening that Flambeau did no more than fish throughout the story. I really don't see how Prince Saradine could live with himself, much less, laugh at the ending of it all; and gads! how much more of a deranged creature was the woman, the mother, the co-murderer of not only her husband to whom she was unfaithful, but the Prince's brother and her own son who will quietly hang!

"The Hammer of God" was interesting in that it dealt with piety that had to live alongside impiety. The pious Bohun brother didn't handle it too well. Just think of Father Brown - he is the epitomical high man in low places. By the grace of God he is not tainted.

"The Eye of Apollo" was a strange story of paganism and neopaganism, and greed. Blinding is the sun and blind was Miss Pauline. Interesting that here Chesterton referenced another lover of paradox, Nietzsche.

"The Sign of the Broken Sword" was a military story which shows us that what we glorify may not at all be that which is glorious.

"The Three Tools of Death" was fun, because, of course, it took place on a train, mostly!

I'll definitely be searching the bookstores for more of Chesterton and more of Father Brown! Excellent!

THE EGOIST & THE ALTRUISTS & SOME STUPID GIRL

Visions and Venturers

by Theodore Sturgeon

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

This was my first Theodore Sturgeon experience, and what an experience!  I can't wait to get my hands on a full size novel of his, which I thought I had the other day, but it turned out it was missing the first forty-five pages...  He's one of those rare golden authors whose works you just don't see around in used book stores.

This book was intact and contained eight excellent shorts. 

"The Hag Seleen" I found to be a bit disturbing.  Who is creepier—the evil hag or the little girl with mystical understanding and violent nature?

"The Martian and the Moron" was really enjoyable.  The dad and his radio engineering, the son's misadventure, and the tying of the two together by Martian transmissions and a ditzy though well endowed receiver.  Note the mother is present in the beginning of the story, though absent in the ending.  I suspected death, but later learned Sturgeon's parents divorced.  And, hey—at least that girl knew enough to try to feign intelligence.

"The Nail and the Oracle" was pretty neat, in a retro-tech sort of way.  The lesson?  Leave "I" out of the equation.  Psh...  Nobody's going to do that, especially in politics.

"Won't You Walk—" was really awesome.  I let my mom read it and she concurred.  It led somewhere completely unexpected.  I thought in the beginning it was going to be a spy story.  Turns out the recruiter was a pretty good 'ole capitalist feller.  The machine, or the illusion of the machine is still needed.

"Talent" was the one story I didn't care too much for.

 "One Foot and the Grave" was really cool.  Just really cool.

"The Touch of Your Hand" blew my mind.  Major synchronicity on a personal level took place while I was reading it, concerning Ed Walters of Gulf Breeze fame, and Andrew Pang of Star Trek origami fame.  My mouth dropped when the dots were connected.  It's like the story jumped out and grabbed me, at exactly the time it knew it should; which sort of is scary.  The nonhuman telepathic race in the story are the future.  Their logic exists today.  I wonder what influence it has had on our world.  I believe, it is only right, that I choose to be a child-like non-Marxist Osser.  They will wipe all of him out, you know.  

"The Moving Crag" was brilliant, until the end.  I felt a bit let down then, just like Joe Fritch in a few stories back.

Now knowing a bit about Sturgeon from his writings here, and his wiki, I must say that if I ever become so inebriated that I would be delusional enough to think getting a tattoo would be a good idea, I think it would be a "Q--->".