My ten-year-old has taken an interest in my book reviewing for quite some time. She recently expressed interest in becoming a regular reviewer. She’s had a habit of filling notebooks with her writing for at least two years, so I told her I’d let her try it out here on my blog. (I am HIGHLY DELIGHTED by this, in case you wondered.)
What’s going to be REALLY fun for me will be looking back in the archives years from now…
So world, meet Fern (the blog name she chose for herself). This week, she’s reviewing one of her favorite books. – Sarah
Here is my review of one of my favorite books, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer.
I really like this book because it’s just so fun to read! Page after page, it feels like you’re really on an adventure with Alex and Conner.
I have also read the second book, The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns, and it’s just as good.
All of the characters are very funny.
If you like adventure, mystery, and a good laugh, then read this book.
I also hope Chris Colfer keeps writing.
Note from Sarah: to read my review of The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, read my post over at the Register.
Fern, thank you for sharing your great review! I hope to see more of your book reviews this summer.
Fern,
Thank you so much for this excellent review! What do you think I should read next?
Fern, thank you for the review. Now I know what to get my grandchildren!
Reasons to Believe in Jesus
Reasons to believe Jesus is alive in a new life with God can be found in quotes from two prominent atheists and a biology textbook.
Thus the passion of man is the reverse of that of Christ, for man loses himself as man in order that God may be born. But the idea of God is contradictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless passion. (Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, New York: Washington Square Press, p. 784)
Among the traditional candidates for comprehensive understanding of the relation of mind to the physical world, I believe the weight of evidence favors some from of neutral monism over the traditional alternatives of materialism, idealism, and dualism. (Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, location 69 of 1831)
And certain properties of the human brain distinguish our species from all other animals. The human brain is, after all, the only known collection of matter that tries to understand itself. To most biologists, the brain and the mind are one and the same; understand how the brain is organized and how it works, and we’ll understand such mindful functions as abstract thought and feelings. Some philosophers are less comfortable with this mechanistic view of mind, finding Descartes’ concept of a mind-body duality more attractive. (Neil Campbell, Biology, 4th edition, p. 776 )
Sartre speaks of the “passion of man,” not the passion of Christians. He is acknowledging that all religions east and west believe there is a transcendental reality and that perfect fulfillment comes from being united with this reality after we die. He then defines this passion with a reference to Christian doctrine which means he is acknowledging the historical reasons for believing in Jesus. He does not deny God exists. He is only saying the concept of God is contradictory. He then admits that since life ends in the grave, it has no meaning.
From the title of the book, you can see that Nagel understands that humans are embodied sprits and that the humans soul is spiritual. He says, however, that dualism and idealism are “traditional” alternatives to materialism. Dualism and idealism are just bright ideas from Descartes and Berkeley. The traditional alternative to materialism is monism. According to Thomas Aquinas unity is the transcendental property of being. Campbell does not even grasp the concept of monism. The only theories he grasps are dualism and materialism.
If all atheists were like Sartre, it would be an obstacle to faith. An important reason to believe in Jesus is that practically all atheists are like Nagel and Campbell, not like Sartre.
by David Roemer
347-417-4703
David Roemer
http://www.newevangelization.info
Fern, thanks so much for the review. Sounds like a fun book! I think your friend Ruthie might like the book too. Maybe we will read them together 🙂