M. Scott Peck, “Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption”

The author of The Road Less Traveled and People of the Lie gives a straightforward account here of two exorcisms he did.  There’s no proof the devil here, exactly, but pretty good evidence. I’ll note here a piece in the Washington Post‘s Outlook section, “As a Psychiatrist, I Diagnose Mental Illness/Also, I Help Spot Demonic … [Read more…]

Rosalie F. & Charles F. Baker III, “Ancient Romans: Expanding the Classical Tradition”

I noted a couple of passages in this young-readers book.  First (178), “And, as Christianity spread across the Roman world, Christian writers and teachers drew upon Seneca’s essays.”  Second (199): Unlike other fields of literature, in which the Roman imitated their Greek predecessors, letter writing was a uniquely Roman pursuit.  For the Greeks, who traditionally … [Read more…]

Chris Scarre, “Chronicle of the Roman Emperors”

This is sort of a slightly undersized coffee-table book (lots of white space, sidebars, illustrations), but the author is a real academic. Anyway, here’s a thought:  After reading about these bloodthirsty, sex-crazed tyrants, it occurs to me that  perhaps all that would have given Christianity some reactive appeal.  (Also, it should caution us Westerners from … [Read more…]

Elizabeth Powers, “Nero”

This young-adult book discusses the special status the Jews had under the Romans (91).  It’s interesting that they lost that status, with a vengeance, in the period when Jerusalem was destroyed, so I wonder if their fall made Christian persecution more likely, with it being viewed as just another Jewish sect (Nero’s reign was A.D. … [Read more…]

David B. Ruderman, “Between Cross and Crescent: Jewish Civilization from Mohammed to Spinoza” (audio lectures, parts 1 & 2)

These lectures were okay, focusing as you would expect on Jewish history, mostly in Europe, during this time period; few insights into Christianity.  He notes that Judaism was not static/established but was evolving, just as Christianity was.  Also:  Old Testament is to New Testament as Old Testament written is to Old Testament oral (I don’t … [Read more…]

A Good Point by William Gladstone

I plucked this nugget from the Weekly Standard (Wray Herbert, “Faith of Their Fathers,” December 7, 2015, reviewing Private Doubt, Public Dilemma:  Religion and Science Since Jefferson and Darwin by Keith Stewart Thomson):  William Gladstone, the longtime British prime minister, responded to the emerging fossil record by noting that “the order of origins was identical … [Read more…]

Hermann Diem, “Kierkegaard: An Introduction”

This 1966 book is only 124 pages; the author — a bravely anti-Nazi Protestant pastor, by the way — acknowledges (89-90) that Kierkegaard is hard to summarize (and I bet not all that easy to understand in the first place).  Some notes: Kierkegaard is extremely Protestant and un-Catholic in his insistence on individual grappling and … [Read more…]