Sunday, September 29, 2013

Apostate by Kevin Swanson - Book Review



This is essential reading for the Christian or those with nagging questions about faith and reason.  I am still working on reading it, but have read about half so far and have found it to be insightful and thought-provoking. 

Kevin Swanson writes about many influential men who apostatized from the faith, either in their own lifetimes or in their lineage.  The first part--called The Nephilim--covers Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Fredrich Nietzsche, John Dewey, and Jean-Paul Sartre. 

The second part--called The Literary Nephilim--covers William Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck.

The third part--The Cultural Nephilim--covers the influence of musicians and the church, and sums up with a call to follow Christ.

You will most likely learn much from this book, perhaps some surprising things and some disturbing things, but you will also see the futility and destructiveness of man-centered thinking.  I highly recommend this book, and see it as very important for anyone in our day.

Almost a 5-star read for me. It's just a bit depressing overall, though it ends on a more positive note.

I received this book from www.crossfocusedreviews.com in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

1 comment:

Diwakar said...

Hello Malissa. So good to know you through your comment on Emily and Aubrey's blog post in the month of August 2013. I am also glad to stop by your blog "Clothed with Scarlet" andyour post on it Apostate by Kevin Swanson- Book review" I am more impressed by what your profile says that you want to be a woman of virtue which is depected in Proverbs 31. So encouraging for other young ladies who also should strive to be a woman of Proverbs 31. Well I just want to share with you the opportunity you can avail of coming to Mumbai, India on a short/ long term missions trip to work with us inthe slums of Mumbai amongst poorest of poor to give new uope, purpose and future to them. well I am in the Pastoral ministry for last 34yrs in this great city of contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the broken hearted. We also encourage young people like you as well as adults from the West to come to Mumbai to work with us in the slums of Mumbai during their summer vacationa. We would love to have you come with your friends to work with us. Iam sure you will never be the same. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon.