Book Description
This story of pain, healing, and growth provides insight into how postmodern pilgrims grasp for hope and faith despite frustration and disappointment. This narrative theology aims to help Christian leaders relate the message of Christ to those who feel disenfranchised from the traditional Christian church. Using personal experiences, humor, compelling stories, poetry, and her weblog, author Renee Altson helps readers understand those at the fringes of faith and what motivates them.
Customer Reviews:
Courageous and Warm.......2005-11-15
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the depths of abuse that some children suffer, and the courage and strength of those who survive.
I intended to read this book slowly, because of the intense material. I kept thinking, "Okay, it's time to stop," and getting pulled in one more page and three more pages. I really like the poetry - it's surprising and concrete and deeply true all at once. I like the lines that stand out in larger type. I like that it starts out with a clear statement of abuse - no veiled hints, no way to pretend it wasn't happening.
I felt very engaged, the whole time I was reading. I didn't really expect that, since I'm not Christian and never have been. I've had that same struggle, though, believing I'm bad and worthless and wondering why "God" didn't save me. I had a solid sense of the narrator in the book, and felt like I was in conversation, and kept wanting to say, "What about...?" and "Here's how I..." and "Yeah! Me too!"
An Excellent and Transparent Biopic.......2005-03-10
Renee Altson's book is marvelous! Pastors, youth workers, lay leaders, and counselors NEED to read this book to understand the trauma of sexual abuse, the pitfalls of fundamentalism, and how God can use all things for His glory. The book has an artistic format, which also features Renee's wonderful poems, as well as glimpses of her life. It is poignant, painful, and well worth your time, thoughts, and contemplation.
Warning: this book will mess you up........2005-03-09
Renee Alston has poured out her soul to the world in this provocative life story. She takes the reader on a journey through hidden closets and heavy breathing. All the while searching for justice and shalom, she has learned to wrestle with God in the midnight hour. Although the light of day has come, she is left walking with a limp.
I recommend this book to anyone who dares to read it! I pray it will help to unleash a new sensitivity within the church, and promote honest confessions of doubt and faith.
right under their noses.......2004-09-04
i have avoided writing this review because i would hate to say anything that would keep someone from reading this important book.
the level of abuse and trauma that renee endured at the hands of her father and the church is sickening, and yet she writes with beauty and depth. there are times you wish she'd stop, you can't fathom anyone enduring the horror she did, but you feel a bit braver for having heard her story, shared her journey.
never have i read anyone with the courage and stamina to endure what she has endured. yet her pain is laced with glimpses of hope, beautiful prose and inspiring tender moments of care. it's unlike anything you have ever read.
if you work with children/teens, or in a church or know someone who has been abused this is a MUST READ. never again should this be allowed to happen. renee's abuse had the church's stamp of approval, it must stop, we must hear the child, we must punish the abuser and allow the hurt to grieve at their own pace.
amazingly this is a story of hope, a story of grace and a story of courage. you won't be the same after you read it.
Inspirational and thought provoking.......2004-08-24
This book is a `must read' for all, but particularly for teachers and youth leaders. It is the story of a young girl who endured horrific abuse from those in whom God entrusted her care. Yet it is so much more than that for it is a story of hope and life and love arising out of the chaotic ruins of a childhood gone terribly wrong. It is a hauntingly beautiful narrative told in bits and pieces of both prose and poetry that invites more questions than answers. While she will never be able to recover completely, Renee Altson has allowed herself to be loved, to claim a new life, and to open her heart to search for the God she desperately wants to know. She has found her voice and she delivers a powerful message that cannot be ignored. This is an inspiring and thought provoking book that will leave the reader hungering for more from this exceptionally gifted writer.
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The Book of Matthew: Our Baby Has Down Syndrome
John Breitling
Manufacturer: Loiry Pub. House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0933703945 |
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- The History of America's Forgotten Martial Pioneers
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Dragon and the Tiger, Volume 2: Bruce Lee, The Oakland Years: The Untold Story of Jun Fan Gung-fu and James Yimm Lee
Sid Campbell , and
Greglon Lee
Manufacturer: Frog, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Dragon and the Tiger: The Birth of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, the Oakland Years: Volume 1
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Remembering the Master: Bruce Lee, James Yimm Lee, and the Creation of Jeet Kune Do
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Straight Lead: The Core of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do
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Letters of the Dragon: An Anthology of Bruce Lee's Correspondence With Family, Friends, and Fans 1958-1973 (Bruce Lee Library, Vol 5)
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Bruce Lee: Fighting Words
ASIN: 1583941185
Release Date: 2005-01-20 |
Book Description
Although the time Bruce Lee spent in Oakland, California is often treated as a mere footnote on his path to stardom, these years had a substantial impact on the martial artist and man he would become. After many years of research, authors Sid Campbell and Greglon Yimm Lee (son of James Yimm Lee) continue their fascinating, up-close description of Bruce Lee's early life.
The Dragon and the Tiger, Volume 2 takes up where Volume 1 left off, detailing Bruce Lee's departure from Seattle and his adventure-filled return to Oakland. We follow him as he comes to better know Gung-fu extraordinaire James Lee and his circle of martial arts friends. As Bruce discovers James's numerous talents—as an author, publisher, martial arts equipment inventor, herbal pharmacologist, body builder, and phenomenal 'brick breaker'—he begins to make regular trips from Seattle to Oakland to learn from this exceptional man. Bruce Lee also begins teaching his Jun Fan Gung-fu and elements of chun to his newfound friend.
Bruce Lee and James Yimm Lee were both highly opinionated free thinkers and when Bruce and his new bride Linda Emery Lee moved to Oakland and lived with James Lee's family, they began to share ideas, insights, philosophies, friendship, camaraderie, and a deep respect for one another's special traits and talents. Although James was twenty years Bruce's senior, they forged a bond and became more like brothers than friends- young Greglon Lee even took to calling Bruce and Linda 'Uncle' and 'Aunt.' This rare friendship and further never-before-revealed details from the life of the young Bruce Lee unfold in The Dragon and the Tiger, Volume 2, a story the authors refer to as the 'Fusion of Two Fighters.'
Customer Reviews:
The History of America's Forgotten Martial Pioneers.......2006-03-02
Volume two picks up where the previous issue left off. Plenty of stories here to delight the curious, as featured Bruce Lee and James Yimm Lee interact with Kenpo's Ralph Castro, T.Y. Wong, Al Novak, Wally Jay, etc. While it is probably the name of Bruce Lee that will attract most readers, it is the story of James Yimm Lee that I have been following. The experiences of these men are intertwined as they search for understanding and mastery over themselves. These are the days before Bruce Lee's fame as a screen star, when James Yimm Lee Introduces Bruce Lee to bodybuilding, and Bruce teaches James the Sil Lim Tao form of Wing Chun Kung Fu. James teaches Bruce how to break bricks, and Bruce Lee brings James to a new level in Chi Sao. Bruce is fascinated with a method of breaking whereby James and his student Al Novak are able to break a specified brick out of a stack of many...Bruce wants to know how it is done, and James tells him. One third of the book deals with the effort to write and publish Bruce Lee's first book, "Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense".
One of the faults of this series is that it is written as a long story. There are no footnotes, no bibliography or index at the back. This makes it awfully hard to use as a factual reference. Were there interviews done, and with whom? Who contributed to this book, is entirely based on the memories of James Yimm Lee's son, Greglon Lee? That aside, "The Dragon and The Tiger" series makes for an enjoyable read. More's the pity that so many of the pioneers of physical culture and martial arts from that era remain unknown and unheralded. Perhaps along with James Lee, someday we will have detailed accounts of (or by for those who are still with us) Al Novak, Lau Bun, T.Y. Wong, James Wing Woo and Paul Pung to keep Bruce company on our shelves.
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- Stunning. Without it you don't know WWII
- Stunning book. Best historical read in years!
- How the allies really used the Ultra and Purple codes to win
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Marching Orders: The Untold Story of World War II
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0306810360 |
Book Description
First time in paperback: A myth-shattering book on codes and codebreaking that "no one with the slightest interest in World War II or in the origins of the Cold War can afford to ignore."-Robin W. Winks.
Robert T. Crowley, an intelligence officer in World War II who later became a senior executive at the CIA, has called Marching Orders simply "one of the most important books ever published about World War II." At last available in paperback, the book reveals a host of previously untold stories about codes and codebreaking-including how the American breaking of the Japanese diplomatic Purple ciphers led to the defeat of Germany, as well as why America and England agreed to use nuclear weapons against Japan. Bruce Lee, who had access to 1.5 million pages of U.S. Army documents and 15,000 pages of the sometimes daily top-secret messages sent to Tokyo from Japanese diplomats stationed in Berlin and elsewhere, constructs the most complete history available on American codebreaking activity and its consequences. He concisely documents the extraordinary casualties both American and Japanese forces would have suffered in an invasion and occupation of Japan, demonstrating through intercepted secret communications between Japanese leaders that Tokyo was adamant in its refusal to surrender.
Customer Reviews:
Stunning. Without it you don't know WWII.......1999-05-16
Read it. It takes away the schroud of politics into the reality of a very difficult world situation, with life and death decisions, troubling potential alliances, and knowledge available to only those who could be counted on by the fingers of one hand. A must read.
Stunning book. Best historical read in years!.......1998-06-22
Lee's masterful account draws you in like a spy novel, even though you already know the ending! His book provides the clear reasoning behind why allied leadership made decisions that, until this book was written, looked like blunders. As the reader learns how Marshall and his generals applied the information gained from the routine interception and decryption of high-level enemy communication, his understanding of the grand strategy of WWII will be greatly enhanced. A stunning achievement, this book will become a "must read" for WWII historians and buffs alike. Everyone who has read this book on my recommendation has been equally impressed.
It further provides clear information which soundly debunks the convoluted rationalizations of those "politically correct" Smithsonian historians and their fellow travelers who have been so eager to portray the allied side (or at least America) as the "bad guys" in the war.
How the allies really used the Ultra and Purple codes to win.......1998-06-21
Marching Orders reveals for the first time what the Allies knew about Axis plans and strategies during WW II . The combined information revealed to them by Ultra and Japanese codes is staggering. Throw everything you know about WW II out the window, for this book will teach why events unfolded as they did. Direct quotes from Axis leaders read by the Allies in real time. An amazing fountain of information that must be savored! You will never view Allied generals in the same light again!
Customer Reviews:
If you really want to know how Bruce died - check this out.......1999-05-17
This is a well documented account of Bruce's life - beginning to end. The story gradually unfolds to show why this man was destined to be what everyone regards him to be, " A Great Exponent." Master Lone.
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Romantic French Song 1830-1870/ ( vol 2)
David Tunley
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0815313594 |
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Salons, Singers and Songs: A Background to Romantic French Song 1830-1870
David Tunley
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0754604918 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1059 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Salons, Singers and Songs: A Background to Romantic French Song, 1830-1870. .(Book Review)
Author: James William Sobaskie
Publication:
Notes (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: 59
Issue: 4
Page: 909(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Kasparov Vs. Karpov, 1990 (Cadogan Chess Books)
Garry K. Kasparov
Manufacturer: Cadogan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 008041110X |
Customer Reviews:
Big Disappointment.......2006-02-03
With Kasparov's name on the title page I was looking forward to analysis on par with his other Pergamon/Cadogan books on matches 2 (New World Chess Champion) and 3 (London/Leningrad Championship Games). I was sadly disappointed. The analysis in here is very weak, on the level of what Keene usually provides in his hack jobs. I recommend the book by Karpov's team (ISBN 0812919238) instead.
Book Description
This match book of the last match between Karpov an Kasparov is meant to be easy to go through. The description make the games game to life by being easy to understand. The games themselves are incredible as the whole history of chess was beong played out with the world championship on the line. The book includes background on the mathc and players.
Book Description
Because wealth management encompasses a variety of disciplines--the management of personal risks, prudent investing, reduction of income taxes, and ensuring appropriate estate distribution--traditional performance measures are misleading and ineffective. In this landmark book, Ross Levin presents the Wealth Management Index T M, an innovative tool for financial advisors to quantify their clients' success in financial planning. The index helps financial advisors establish rational goals with their clients and measure their progress toward achieving goals. Wealth Management Index includes: Guidelines and strategies for determining your clients' unique needs; A detailed discussion of each section of the index--asset protection, disability and income protection, debt management, investment and cash flow planning, and estate distribution; Step-by-step procedures on how to implement The Wealth Management Index TuM in a financial planning practice.
Customer Reviews:
Required reading for anyone concerned with enjoying life........1997-03-16
Ross Levin's Wealth Management Index is a paradigm shattering exercise. Almost all investors (and many professionals) keep their eyes glued to the wrong benchmarks (i.e. investment returns). As a result, they significantly increase their risk of failing to achieve their goals. By assisting the reader see the "forest instead of the trees," Mr. Levin provides thoughtful guidance and a detailed process for developing a system of measuring success unique to the needs of the reader. Mr. Levin, Certified Financial Planner, has been one of the nations leading financial planners for the last 20 years. He has served on numerous national professional organizations, the last as President and Chair of the International Association for Financial Planning; the world's largest professional financial planning organization. With this experience, it's not surprising that he has written a book that should be read (and reread) by anyone serious about the quality of the balance of their life
Book Description
An Episcopal priest, a spiritual wilderness, and a couple who shared the fire led to longed-for renewal. This now-classic story tells how the Charismatic movement began and swept into the churches across America. Father Dennis is still hailed as one of the central figures in the early renewal movement. Through Father Dennis' testimony, the reader discovers how God can and will release His power to His people if we allow Him to truly become the King of our lives.
Customer Reviews:
Every Christian should read this book..........2007-01-19
If you want to be encouraged and uplifted this book is a must. God has not left us to do His work without enabling us with His power. This book explains with testiomony what that means...
An account by someone who lives it.......2005-06-23
This book was handed to me, by someone in the prayer group that I was a part of at that time. I think everyone who has serious questions about the full gospel, or charismatic christian experience, should read this book, because this is one informed believer that didn't get into extremes after receiving "it"-namely, the operation of one or several of the manifestations, or gifts of the Holy Sprit.
I have only one cavet about this book. Please understand-the author of this book is A PASTOR. Full gospel believers who are Bible informed, know that a pastor in the christian faith, is an office of our faith-and must be called by, and empowered by-God. You can't twist his arm-he gives to whoever, and however he chooses to.
Dennis saw many manifestations of the Holy Spirit in his life, because he was in the office of a pastor. After reading this book, I was somewhat disappointed that I did not see some the same manifestations in my life, especially that of seeing others healed.
God DID choose to let me have a taste, in ministering to a lady, who I had ministered to for 3 years. She wasn't growing, and wasn't attending church regularly, and I felt that I had done all I could do for her if God didn't majorally intervene. I saw her touched as a result of my laying hands on her. So God did let me see it operate in the life of someone not called into the full time ministry.
I will tell you that I did receive the manifestation of devotional tongues. But I will also tell you, that if you are struggling with surreder to God on several issues at the time that you do receive, you will prob not majorally benefit from
this priviledge until you surrender ongoing, known sin.
Please do not judge your spirituality by what God did in this author's life. Let me say-God wants to move through whosoever will-but he does it his way, not yours, and in his time-not yours.
Changed the way I felt about speaking in tongues........1999-06-24
When I first read this book several years ago, I was very skeptical about the gift of tongues and other physical manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit. This book taught me so much and answered so many questions I had about the Holy Spirit and his importance in a deeper relationship with God the Father and God the Son. I am most grateful for Dennis Bennett's ministry and the willingness he had to share it with us through his wonderful book.
Change You're Life!.......1998-06-30
If you know Jesus then this book is for you. It will change your life. It changed mine in 1982.
IF YOU WANT TO REVITALIZE YOUR FAITH, READ THIS........1998-06-23
FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE WONDERED WHAT FAITH IS ALL ABOUT, THIS BOOK IS A MUST. IN CLEAR, EVERYDAY LANGUAGE IT TELLS WHAT AN ELECTRICAL, AWE INSPIRING EXPERIENCE IT IS TO MEET THE HOLY SPIRIT, FACE TO FACE. YOU GO FORTH WITH A FRESH UNDERSTANDING OF GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. I READ IT WHEN IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AND HAVEN'T LOOKED AT LIFE THE SAME WAY SINCE.
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Nine O'Clock in the Morning
Manufacturer: Bridge Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FCIDP2 |
Product Description
Examines the subject of the modern Pentecost, baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and other gifts of the Spirit.
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Nine O'clock in the Morning
Manufacturer: Logos International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GSOAGQ |
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- A definitive reference work
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Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A. Freeman
Manufacturer: Jane's Information Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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ASIN: 0710600380 |
Customer Reviews:
A definitive reference work.......2000-07-16
Every once in a while an author comes along who establishes themself in their genre as the definitive master.
Roger A Freeman is that man in the mighty eighth. The War diary and his other books on the eighth air force are the best reference anyone could have to research this period of the war.
detailed accounts, eye witness accounts, archive reference, original reports reproduced, period photographs of aircraft, targets etc.
everything you need is here in a large hardback reference.
buy it, cost is not the issue, buy it now
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Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger Freemen
Manufacturer: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0867205601 |
Book Description
Jeffry H. Morrison offers readers the first comprehensive look at the political thought and career of John Witherspoon—a Scottish Presbyterian minister and one of America's most influential and overlooked founding fathers. Witherspoon was an active member of the Continental Congress and was the only clergyman both to sign the Declaration of Independence and to ratify the federal Constitution. During his tenure as president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton, Witherspoon became a mentor to James Madison and influenced many leaders and thinkers of the founding period. He was uniquely positioned at the crossroads of politics, religion, and education during the crucial first decades of the new republic.
Morrison locates Witherspoon in the context of early American political thought and charts the various influences on his thinking. This impressive work of scholarship offers a broad treatment of Witherspoon's constitutionalism, including his contributions to the mediating institutions of religion and education, and to political institutions from the colonial through the early federal periods. This book will be appreciated by anyone with an interest in American political history and thought and in the relation of religion to American politics.
Customer Reviews:
interesting but it didn't really grab me.......2006-03-16
I come to this book by way of personal invitation, in fact scan down to the review labelled:
A significant book on a neglected founder, February 4, 2006
Reviewer: Alex Morden (Tucson, AZ, USA)
it is his copy of the book that i have in hand. and if you haven't read his review, do it now. It is much more interesting and thorough than is mine.
The book is basically a historical monograph, written to professional historians, to convince them to research Witherspoon. The theme of the book is on the next to the last page: "Perhaps more than any other single founder, Witherspoon embodied all of the major intellectual and social elements behind the American founding. This was partly circumstantial: Witherspoon was literally peerless among his founding brothers when it came to combining religious, education, and politics, and seldom in American history have so many key vocations been joined in one man. Witherspoon therefore offers us a chance that is genuinely incomparable, to trace the outlines of the american mind at the foundating..." Essentially i feel like an outsider reading over someone's shoulder with this book, it is addressed to and engages with professional historians. However it is not so dry nor so uninteresting a book that many of us amateurs can not gain from reading what is a short introduction to both the American Revolutionary War themes and Witherspoon, but beware it is not an exciting historical novel set in the same period. *grin*
If you are looking to see if this book ought to be on your shelf, just read the first chapter, it is a read from front to back type of book. Mostly because he does not repeat himself and you'll miss something if you don't read it in this manner. I found myself getting up from my easy reading chair and googling people and writings by name, it is a well researched and documented book, as befits the audience and the purpose, so read with a pen or highlighter in hand. It is not an extensive introduction to Witherspoon, it is a tease, a hint of what could be done if Witherspoon got more academic attention, it is not the last word, it is the first word.
So What? should i drop everything and study to become a Witherspoon expert? Maybe someone with the right outlook and right experience might very well read this book and do so, but i am not encouraged to do so. This book is enough Witherspoon for me, i pulled perhaps 50 quotes out of the book. Had a few nice thoughts about how theology and in particular, reformed and Presbyterian theology was influential beyond its numbers in both the lead up to the Revolutionary War and it its aftermath and constitution writing period. But this is not my major interest in history just an aside, if it is your interest this may rate an important read.
The one big idea that i will take away is "the great effect of Scottish Philosophy especially in its Common Sense forms and its in particular it's effect on moral philosophy, and the rejection of divine right of kings, and religious liberty for dissenters" see: pg 127, this way the book firms up a few things i've read in Mark Noll and George Marsden and now i have the name Witherspoon to research more throughly if i desire. Plus because of the extensive apparatus of the book, it becomes an entry point into the literature, certainly a reason not only to own the book but to keep it in mind. So i don't feel that i wasted my time on the book, but it did not strike me like it did the person i borrowed it from, as a book worth recommending and pursuing. However i would like to write better reviews and i will take the one referred to above as an excellent example of how to write a book review.
A significant book on a neglected founder.......2006-02-05
Among the American Founding Fathers, it is unlikely that there is a man more influential and yet less well known and studied than Dr. John Witherspoon. Prof. Morrison seeks to help correct this neglect in this brief volume. Dr. John Witherspoon was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who came to America in the late 1760s to become the President of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), where he played an active and influential role in American politics, religion and education in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. He was the only minister to sign both the Declaration of Independence and to ratify the Constitution. He was probably Madison's most influential teacher, and, despite his staunch Christian orthodoxy, appears to have enjoyed universally high regard by the other founders, even those such as Franklin and Jefferson who had little use for Biblical Christianity. This book gives an excellent account of a number of interesting aspects of Witherspoon's life and thought.
Chapter 1 gives an overview of the importance of Witherspoon's career in America, including excerpts referring to him from the writings of many of his contemporaries on both sides of the Atlantic. It discusses the significance of his religious alignment, which was orthodox, Reformed, Biblical, Presbyterian Christianity, and how Witherspoon's stature in the colonies influenced the major role that Presbyterians played in the independence movement (King George III called the American Revolution the "Presbyterian rebellion"). The chapter closes by discussing some reasons why Witherspoon has been largely ignored by scholars, such as a scarcity of surviving material, and the fact that most modern scholars will feel very uncomfortable being reminded of a prominent Christian minister who played such an active and influential role in early American politics and who saw no distinction between his religious and his political activities (Witherspoon always insisted on wearing his clerical robes when he attended the Continental Congress).
Chapter 2 examines Witherspoon's religious views, and especially the role that he saw religion playing in the new United States. Witherspoon believed in political freedom of conscience, following the framers of the Westminster Confession, who say that "God alone is lord of the conscience." Nevertheless, he also shared the view common to the founders, that liberty, virtue and faith were equally indispensable in the foundation of a happy society. Witherspoon wrote that "Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." Despite his belief in personal religious liberty, Witherspoon could write that "those who are vested with civil authority ought also, with much care, to promote religion and good morals among all under their government" and that "Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction."
Chapter 3 discusses Witherspoon's influence as an educator, and the central place that education had in his day, when its importance for the prosperity and happiness of a nation was viewed as second only to religion. It examines his moral and philosophical teachings, which were drawn largely from Scottish common sense philosophy, and tended strongly toward pragmatism, which became a hallmark not only of early American politics, but also of American life and culture in general.
Chapter 4 considers Witherspoon's role in the American revolution, in terms of both his activities and his theological and philosophical views of liberty and resistance theory. Witherspoon saw little or no distinction between religious and civil tyranny. As a result, his idea of revolution was founded on John Calvin's right of resistance outlined in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, but was also influenced heavily by Locke's generalization of Calvin's idea to civil resistance.
Chapter 5 investigates Witherspoon's activity surrounding the development of the founding documents, including his vocal role at the Continental Congress and his advocacy of a strong and lasting union of the states. It discusses parallels between Witherspoon's writings and The Federalist Papers, his positions on economic questions, and his active role in the formation of the national Presbyterian Church in the United States and the drafting of the Presbyterian Constitution in 1787. In this context, Morrison discusses many of the parallels between the U.S. federal government and Presbyterian government, and he talks about Witherspoon's view of the very limited role that the federal government ought to play (he considered that the scope of the federal government was so limited that a permanent federal city was not a question of pressing importance).
The sixth and final chapter of Morrison's book explores Witherspoon's relation to early American political thinking. It compares his ideas with those of other founders, and it looks at his influence on thinkers such as Madison. In particular, one idea central to Witherspoon's thought that was shared by many of the founders and influential in the framing of the Constitution was the Calvinistic idea of the sinfulness of human nature. The final chapter also considers the influence of various political theorists in early American politics, and discusses the strong pragmatic and empirical spirit that characterized the political views of Witherspoon and the other founders.
If, as Morrison writes, "perhaps more than any other single founder, Witherspoon embodied all of the major intellectual and social elements behind the American founding", it is only to be hoped that we may soon have available a thorough biography of this "forgotten founder" to go along with Morrison's fine volume covering his political and social importance. However, in this oppressive age of political correctness, it is doubtful that a conservative Presbyterian minister will receive too much attention, however influential he may have been. This is an excellent book, and Morrison's rigorous scholarship is consistently obvious in the thorough footnotes (nearly 100 pages of the brief 220 page volume are devoted to appendices, footnotes, bibliography, and index). If you are serious about understanding the early development of the United States, this book will not disappoint you.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Weekly Standard, published by Thomson Gale on November 28, 2005. The length of the article is 2563 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Church, State, and John Witherspoon; Scholar, cleric, philosopher of independence.(John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic)(Book review)
Author: James M., Jr. Banner
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The Weekly Standard (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 28, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 11
Issue: 11
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Article Type: Book review
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John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic.(Book review) : An article from: Journal of Church and State
Thomas S. Kidd
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Title: John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic.(Book review)
Author: Thomas S. Kidd
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Journal of Church and State (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 48
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This digital document is an article from Church History, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1079 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
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Title: John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic.(Book review)
Author: Mark A. Noll
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Church History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2006
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Volume: 75
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George W. Bush's Healthy Forests: Reframing the Environmental Debate
Jacqueline Vaughn , and
Hanna J. Cortner
Manufacturer: University Press of Colorado
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ASIN: 0870818171 |
Book Description
In George W. Bush's Healthy Forests, Jacqueline Vaughn and Hanna J. Cortner detail how the Bush administration, by changing the terms and processes of debate, sidestepped opposition and put in place policies that restrict public and scientific involvement in environmental decisions. Their groundbreaking study analyzes the context and legal effects of the Healthy Forests Initiative, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, and related regulatory changes.
The authors show how the administration used news events such as wildfires to propel legislation through Congress. Focusing blame for wildfires on environmentalists' use of appeals to challenge fuel-reduction projects, the administration restricted opportunities for environmental analysis, administrative appeals, and litigation. The authors argue that these tools have a history of use by diverse interests and have long protected Americans' right to question government decisions. This readable study identifies the players, events, and strategies that expedited the policy shift and contextualizes it in the president's career and in legislative and administrative history.
Revealing a policy change with major implications for the future of public lands and public process, George W. Bush's Healthy Forests will fascinate readers interested in the environment, politics, the Bush administration, and current affairs.
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