What NON-FICTION Are You Reading?

Remove all ads!

"Cults and Faiths"
The biggest surprise was that apparently Jahoba's Witness is a cult.(hope its the right spelling)

 

Alienboy ... right you are. Jehovah's Witness is not "orthodox" at all. They look at the Bible as one of their holy books, and their version has some very bad translations.

For example in John 1 instead of "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God" .... they translate it "in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was a God."

J.W. theology holds that Jesus was a man like us who was holy, and that 144,000 people after him will achieve a similar standing. In fact, they will be given worlds of their own in the next life, and they will be the diety of that world.

On my latest non-Fiction ... I'm reading The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter. It was writting in 1642 (there-abouts) and is an argument for the clergy of England to change their hearts & change their ways.

A great quote ... he is responding to the minsters who say that he should not have corrected their behavior in such a public fashion. They said that if he had to write a book about it, he should have at least written it in Latin, so the normal people couldn't understand it. Baxter's response, "If you had sinned only in Latin, then I would have undertaken to correct you in Latin. However, since you sinned in English, your confession and rebuke should be in English as well."

(Gotta love a clergyman with stones ... this is good stuff!)

 

The D&D manuals. Oh and this forum!

 

The How to Survive Guide. Great book, pretty funny, and manages to help you escape from a swarm of killer bees, tells you how to survive in the jungle, and how to help give birth in a taxicab.

 

C'Jakob, seen the new survival guide to dating and sex? It's just as good as the original (there are intructions on such ventures as determining the gender of your date, fending off rivals for a girl, stopping a wedding, getting rid of BO fast, and how to skip out on a tab at a restaurant).

As for more serious nonfiction, I stick with history and physics, the two most interesting subjects IMO. The more advanced the physics, the better -- I like jumping into something entirely over my head and trying to make sense of it.

 

The Habitant. From the 1800's.

 

The tomorrow of Malaria.

Bleedin' fascinating I can tell you.

 

Fundamentals of the Faith and Prayer for Beginners by Boston College professor of philosophy Peter Kreeft. The first is part of what finally prompted me to convert to Catholicism after years of putting it off. The second is a good basic prayer guide -- all about what prayer is (and isn't) and how to go about it.

I'm also interested in reading this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0944029493/sorcerersplace/

 

You mean Terry Pratchet is writing fake stuff. Whoa.

Actually, I like reading about the medieval times. No specific book, really, but I have seen some interesting ones in the library...

 

Two of the greatest non-fiction books I have read (and I highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in war or joining the military):
Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young by Lt. Col. Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway

 

I'm thinking of getting a book on the history of Islam, one that incorporates political history as well as the evolution of the religion itself. (I'm something of a history buff, but I find a somewhat glaring hole regarding non-European/Asian/American cultures and civilizations.) Any recommendations on a good one?

Similarly, I want a book on pre-colonial African civilizations. Any input on what I could get on either one? (I don't want to miss out on some quintessential book on these topics just because I know nothing about these topics.

 

The last non-fiction book I read was "The Satan-Seller" by Mike Warnke.

The book is about Mike Warnke (the author) and his life experiences when he was part of a satanic cult.

First, he descended into the hell of drug addiction. Then he ascended in the satanic ranks to the position of high priest, with fifteen hundred followers in three cities. He had unlimited wealth and power at his disposal, provided by members of Satanism's highest echelon, the illuminati. And then he converted to Christ.

I thinks he's some kind of Christ Comedian now. Good read nontheless.

[This message has been edited by Frog (edited April 11, 2002).]

 

Frog ... how old is that book ... I think it was published in the early 1970's? In recent news, Mike Warnke was exposed as a fraud ... he dabbled a little in the occult, but never was a high priest or anything. I guess he got good audience from the satanic testimony, so he kept building the story until it got out of hand.

Check this out .... http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/107/42.0.html

Sorry ... the occult is real and Satan is devouring souls, but Mike's biggest sin was lying, not witchcraft

 

I did read the book a heck of a long time ago. Thanks for the wake up call. I had no idea.

[This message has been edited by Frog (edited April 11, 2002).]

 

wow, i really envy you guys/gals. you can really read. in my lifetime i have read only a few books. i find difficulty finishing a novel, so most of what i read are short stories. my favorites books, however, are harper lee's to kill a mockingbird and amy tan's the joy luck club. other author includes fulghum, if you know this guy, you know what i meant by short stories. other non-fictions that i would read to the end are reader's digests.

 

Right now I'm reading The 21 Lessons of Merlyn. Again. It's like therapy for me.

 

Maybe we should get you a therapy book.

 

A therapy book! Whowuddathunkit?!

 

The best non-fiction book I've read lately is 'Rogue Warrior'.

Talk about Comedy-Central. My stomach/side/lungs/heart/liver hurt from laughing...

 

The adventurer is dead, the adventure goes on.

Read about the Thor Heyerdal's travels on the Kon-Tiki raft accross the Pacific if you like travel books. It's an amazing journey.