Book Reviews
This website is pleased to host a section for book reviews. It invites readers to contribute reviews of books that they have read and appreciated on subjects of Jewish interest. It is hoped that it will become a platform for preserving the ethos of the Strathfield Jewish community. Reviews may be emailed to the webmaster at [email protected].
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Micah Goodman: The Philosophic Roots of the Secular-Religious Divide [sic], Dvir, 2019
מיכה גודמן: חזרה בלי תשובה, על חילוניות אחרת ועל דתיות אחרת, דביר, 2019
מיכה גודמן: חזרה בלי תשובה, על חילוניות אחרת ועל דתיות אחרת, דביר, 2019
Sacks, Jonathan: The Great Partnership, Science Religion and the Search for Meaning, Schocken Books, New York, 2011
What, I wondered, would make for good reading during The Ten Days of Repentance. I was looking for something inspirational. Sacks’ 370 page volume proved to be that and more. Coming as it does from the former Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth it speaks clearly to those who grew up in the post-war Australian Jewish community. Its confident thesis sets out a vision in which the sciences and the monotheistic religions come to recognise their mutual relevance and, without seeking preeminence, work towards a greater revealed truth.
Revelation is a word that many are wary of using. Brave is the man who speaks of it in the twenty-first century. He must contend with vitriolic atheists, the authority of evolutionary biology, the unresolved dilemma of evil incarnate and religious movements that deny liberty of conscience to their disciples. All this he does with textual scholarship drawn from his training in philosophy and rabbinic studies. His central argument is that the dichotomy between science and religion stems from the drive to understand the mechanics of the natural world and our need to interpret their metaphysical significance. Society breaks down when it ignores one or the other.
This comprehensive discussion of the crisis of faith in the modern world is supplemented by a letter addressed to a New Atheist, numbered chapter-by-chapter notes, a copious bibliography and an extensive precis of the Jewish sources. An index would also have been welcome in this final section.
Another minor omission from this book is some mention of the demise of churches. One cannot fail to notice the many churches in Australia that have been converted into libraries, museums, restaurants and even private dwellings. The phenomenon is worthy of analysis because it seems to indicate a broad indifference to religion.
Nevertheless, this book remains highly relevant. It identifies the core scientific and theological issues, displays a thorough grasp of their implications and analyzes opposing points of view. In doing so it engages the reader and offers intellectual and emotional stimulus at any time of the year.
Geoff Toister
Succot, 2019
What, I wondered, would make for good reading during The Ten Days of Repentance. I was looking for something inspirational. Sacks’ 370 page volume proved to be that and more. Coming as it does from the former Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth it speaks clearly to those who grew up in the post-war Australian Jewish community. Its confident thesis sets out a vision in which the sciences and the monotheistic religions come to recognise their mutual relevance and, without seeking preeminence, work towards a greater revealed truth.
Revelation is a word that many are wary of using. Brave is the man who speaks of it in the twenty-first century. He must contend with vitriolic atheists, the authority of evolutionary biology, the unresolved dilemma of evil incarnate and religious movements that deny liberty of conscience to their disciples. All this he does with textual scholarship drawn from his training in philosophy and rabbinic studies. His central argument is that the dichotomy between science and religion stems from the drive to understand the mechanics of the natural world and our need to interpret their metaphysical significance. Society breaks down when it ignores one or the other.
This comprehensive discussion of the crisis of faith in the modern world is supplemented by a letter addressed to a New Atheist, numbered chapter-by-chapter notes, a copious bibliography and an extensive precis of the Jewish sources. An index would also have been welcome in this final section.
Another minor omission from this book is some mention of the demise of churches. One cannot fail to notice the many churches in Australia that have been converted into libraries, museums, restaurants and even private dwellings. The phenomenon is worthy of analysis because it seems to indicate a broad indifference to religion.
Nevertheless, this book remains highly relevant. It identifies the core scientific and theological issues, displays a thorough grasp of their implications and analyzes opposing points of view. In doing so it engages the reader and offers intellectual and emotional stimulus at any time of the year.
Geoff Toister
Succot, 2019