Dana Chilton

Worst Ehrman book

Revisado: 04-21-19

Unscholarly repetitive sermonizing

I’ve read or listened to all of Dr. Ehrmans books. I grew up a student of history and have always appreciated when Dr. Erhman has presented clear logical arguments based on substantiated facts. This book, unfortunately, is not based on facts. This book mostly Dr. Erhman giving an account of history based on his admitted “assumptions”. He very frequently sets up straw men so he can immediately tear them down. An example of this is in his attempts to prove that Constantine was a true convert; he gives half hearted, irrational, and contradictory reasons for views that differ from Ehrmans beliefs then quickly discredits them; branding them as unbelievable and false without providing any substantive reasons for doing so. Once the straw man is gone though, We are left only with the view, Ehrmans preferred view and a huge part of the foundation for this book, that politics and power had nothing to do with Constantine’s conversion. To be clear, there is little scholarly research in this book. The book felt to me like a sermon. It took me back to my days as a fundamentalist sitting in a pew listening to what we called “preacher stories”. There’s a basic premise set out in the beginning as fact. That premise is then supported with chapters and chapters of unconvincing stories and baseless assumptions. The whole section on the apostle Paul was needless and would sometimes contradict his previous works on Paul’s life. In all, I got nothing new out of this book. His premise was unoriginal. His scholarship was lacking. And his assumptions were circumspect at best. This was not his best work.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Unintelligible narration

Revisado: 10-19-18

I can’t get past the narrator. The reader sounds like a whispering out-of-breath robot. The written book is good; this narrated Audio version is terrible

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Great book

Revisado: 08-24-17

Love the book but it’s hard to listen to Barker’s narration. Barker is irritatingly slow and the mouth noises (I.e. swallowing, smacking, etc) quickly distracted from the fantastic content.

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Not his best work

Revisado: 08-07-16

This is the 6th Dawkins book i've either read or listened to. I never really understood why Dawkins had a reputation as a racist until I finished "The Ancestor's Tale". At one point, Dawkins excoriates scientists for mixing their personal/political views with their scientific work then rants about affirmative action. This is definitely not his best work

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Simply Amazing

Revisado: 08-05-16

Engaging and beautifully narrated, Malala shares her very personal life story. She invites us to learn about her family, her home, her history, and her struggle for the right of girls everywhere to an education

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he's right but he comes off as a pompous snob

Revisado: 07-25-15

This began as a long review I decided, however, to keep it short. In short, the author comes off as a pompous, arrogant, and snobbish bore. He uses big words just to use them. In fact, his verbose and lordly rhetoric will bring most listeners/readers either to tears or to sleep. It's not easy to listen to. Additionally, he purposes that his own logic is the only valid one. He dismisses out of hand any logic or form of reasoning that doesn't comport to the Beyes Theorem. His reasons for believing that Jesus maybe possibly didn't exist (but maybe he did; the author admits he doesn't know and will switch his position if he reads something later that he thinks sounds good) are really the only ones worth believing in. His entire book is based on the Bayes Theorem, Don't know what that is? You won't like this book. Know what is is but think it's just one of many ways of reaching a conclusion? You won't like this book. The conclusion that a historical jesus, as believed in in modern evangelical christianity, never existed is one that I agree with. Carrier makes a few good points. His logic on many points are valid. His conclusion is right. That said, he comes off as a know-it-all and a man who doesn't even really believe the conclusion he reaches. While there are many easy to understand facts that disprove the biblical Jesus narrative, Carrier is so married to the Bayes Therum as the only true test of truth that he dismisses any other logic as dubious.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Christian sermon disguised as a leadership course

Revisado: 07-24-15

John Maxwell was a leader/minister of the Skyline Church in San Diego California. He discusses his church at length in the book. "Good Leaders ask Great Questions" is not what it purports to be. It is not a general course on leadership. Instead, it is a christian sermon that preaches that one should accept christianity along with many of the teachings of his fundamentalist church; that, he teaches is critical to be a great leader. One his list of top 10 questions,is a question directed toward his god. That declaration is followed by an explanation of how his giving his life to his god was the best decision of his life; a decision that regardless of your own faith you must accept if you want to be a great leader. Many many stories of skyline church follow. Maxwell preaches about humility, he preaches about the greatness of his church, and he preaches about the influence of his faith in his life and how his faith made him a great leader. Skyline is one of the most politically influential conservative churches in the nation. It is known for being homophobic, partisan, and misogynist. If you want a book about leadership that can/will apply to any situation and is free from proselytizing, this book is not it.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Great telling of a classic story

Revisado: 03-22-15

I really enjoyed B.J. Harrison's reading of Alice. He did an excellent job. That said, some lines get very loud. I couldn't tell if it was Harrison yelling in some parts or if it was just a poor recording, but be mindful of the volume when he does some of his voices (ex. the griffin). The story itself isn't one of my favorites but the story has nonetheless had a profound impact on literature and culture and should be a story we all familiarize ourselves with.

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Brilliant evidence

Revisado: 03-16-15

This particular Dawkins book does not address the existence of a god. The purpose, instead, is to lay out basic evidence for the truth of evolution. The performance is very good; It resembles a discussion rather than a reading. The evidence is laid out clearly and the book has a nice flow.

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