Audacity of Hope, comment 1

I'm going to jump ahead and correct one of the many things I will have to address since it's such a patent misunderstanding of God, the Bible and faith.

Page 218 "Would we go with Leviticus, which suggests that slavery is all right and eating shellfish is an abomination?"

Um, it helps to know a little human history. Slavery existed among humans before God gave the Law, "the Bible," to the Israelites. God was not saying that "slavery is all right." God was laying down laws for the decent treatment of slaves, a concept which was unheard of previously.

Second, any Jew will explain to you that the foundation for certain food being abomination traces back to health prohibitions. Pork is prohibited not only because pigs are "unclean," but "unclean" means, in part, that in the poor cooking of those days trichinosis was spread. Today with conditions such as mad cow disease (spread by cows being fed infected brain matter of other animals), Chinese shellfish contamination, and the probability that HIV jumped to humans as the result of eating monkeys, one should have a more sophisticated understanding of God's prohibitions about "unclean" and "abomination" consuming of animals. I mean, duh. God in the Bible and later in the Koran was giving food prohibitions that would later be demonstrated by the wonderful "science" to be ahead of its time, not ignorant or behind the time. I wish people thought eating monkeys and other bushmeat was an abomination. Don't you?

I've addressed this before in my blogging. But I can tell I'm going to cringe through this entire chapter because there's a real problem when "lawyers lecture on faith history."

I like reading about someone's faith journey, including those raised with no faith, or happy slappy "new religion per week" cafeteria approaches. But this chapter dives right into lecturing like a school marm on a subject that there is lack of any scholarly foundation. Ugh.

*Disappointment*

I purchased "The Audacity of Hope"

I want to read Chapter Six: Faith (pages 195-226).

Also, like looking up one's own name in books, I look forward to seeing what if anything he says about Catholics.

I always skim books by Protestants to find mentions of Catholics. Usually it is a quick and fruitless search, all too often disparaging or a mean spirited ignoring of omission. I, therefore, form my opinions in return accordingly!

To answer a question from a cruel "boss"

I was desperate for work and a paycheck, since I was trying to keep my home. And so I interviewed with a man who ran a small software company in the health services industry. He was arrogant and a real putz. He was Jewish and spent all day on the computer looking up Holocaust information so that he could continue to seethe about it, even though he was a young, well off man and one who had a company who depended on him for guidance. He exuded a miasma of hate about what had happened in Germany, and it hung around him like a hateful and angry cloud.

When I first went to his office for my job interview, he asked strange questions. One was "What is your favorite book?" I was totally silent in that matter, somewhat surprised, and I answered honestly that I do not have "a favorite book."

Needless to say he sneered about that and thought all sorts of bad things about me. I got the job but was tortured throughout for several weeks, until being fired, despite my being as humble as possible (I had even dumbed down my resume as much as possible without lying).

He's one of the few people I've encountered that I have spared a few thoughts of wishing that not very nice things would befall him. I saw how the hardworking people in that company were abused, and the customers delayed in receiving their product, all so he could sit in the office and drudge through the Internet, looking for Holocaust information that would maintain his seething and his anger. It apparently was a "family" interest, as a relative of his wrote a book that had much of the same purpose, I guess, from what I read in the book reviews. So he would ignore the business decisions that were needed so that he could sit on this throne and seethe and judge. I could tell he especially enjoyed hurting me, for being a Christian I think, and for other very unwell reasons. God will punish him, no doubt, in his own time.

I wonder what he expected me to answer regarding the "favorite book." Did he expect me to say the Bible? The Bible is not my "favorite book" like some sort of Ellery Queen novel. The Bible is life. It is the Word of God. It is not my "favorite book." Rather, I can attest to the Bible's full authority, as a living witness. And so I could not demean the Bible by calling it my "favorite book."

And if not the Bible then what? Is a favorite book not one that you turn to for constant comfort and enjoyment, one that helps in the search for answers? But again, I do not have a favorite book. At the time I owned thousands of books and enjoyed them all! I consider a book a "good read" if I get even one thing out of it, a beautiful or moving scene, great dialogue, interesting plot, useful information and best of all, ideas for creativity. Having to choose "one book" for me is impossible, as it is for a mom to pick one child over the other. Even more so, being asked what is my favorite book is like if a mom was asked "which of your children mothers you the best?" It is backwards and makes no sense. Isn't a first aid manual your favorite book if you need it during a medical emergency? When you are hungry don't you enjoy your cook book? And sure, Lord of the Rings was reliable escapism reading, and could be turned to frequently when in that mood. But what is a "favorite book?" A crutch? Who needs a crutch, and who needs a "sound byte" interview answer?

And so, mister Holocaust obsessed man, my favorite book is the book of humans being humans, living in God's created world. And who can do better than that? Let me remind you that the holiest humans lived before the printing press was even invented, when no one even owned a scroll of their own, say nothing of a "selection." People were better before they had "shortcuts" to being told how to behave and what to think. People really need nothing more than to live "within" the Word of God, whether Torah/Talmud, Bible or Qur'an.

Speaking of rare book collecting

Look at this story from the Albuquerque Journal:

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/11110151134newsmetro10-11-08.htm

snip

Saturday, October 11, 2008
Century-Old Book Found; Man Charged

Albuquerque
Journal-->By Jeff Proctor
Journal Staff Writer

Police have found Sheryl Hill's century-old book. It was in the 1999 Buick LeSabre she was trying to sell when, on Aug. 24, Joseph Gabaldon allegedly took the car for a test drive and never came back.

In the trunk was an original copy of the collected works of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first black poet to win national acclaim around the turn of the last century. It had belonged to Hill's grandmother, who for years had been reading poems from it at churches all over the country.

***
I can imagine that Hill's grandmother treasured that book!

I like Paul Laurence Dunbar and have at least one copy of his works.

Read about him here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lawrence_Dunbar

snip

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life, one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia.

Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio to parents who had escaped from slavery; his father was a veteran of the American Civil War, having served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry Regiment. His parents instilled in him a love of learning and history. He was the only black student at Dayton Central High School and he participated actively as a student. During college, he was both the editor of the school newspaper and class president, as well as the president of the school literary society. Dunbar had also started the first African-American newsletter in Dayton.

He wrote his first poem at age 6 and gave his first public recital at age 9. Dunbar's first published work came in a newspaper put out by his high school friends Wilbur and Orville Wright, who owned a printing plant. The Wright Brothers later invested in the Dayton Tattler, a newspaper aimed at the black community, edited and published by Dunbar.

Another case study of debunking cults

Here's another incident from my own life, so I can help those of you who are detoxing from exposure to cults. By the way, to me, I define a cult as any 'belief' that places human "abilities" and "gifts" over God, including both idolatry and supposedly believing "personalities" (such as so called Christians who insert themselves into salvation history).

When I was earning a paycheck and had money to spend, one of my favorite hobbies was collecting books. I had built up quite an interesting and extensive personal library. I tended to seek friendships with those who shared my interest, and thus I was open to being friends with book dealers, especially rare and used book dealers. That is typical and understandable, because all normal humans tend to form friendships over shared hobbies and interests, whether it is fishing, sports, knitting or, in my case, a love of books.

I became close to one book dealer and author in particular, and his family. Now, one thing you need to know about me is that I do not edit friends according to their beliefs or politics, even if I find them bizarre, unhelpful, and in fact, even cultish. My history of friends have included many people who have very different beliefs from me, and I do not edit them from my list of friends. That does not mean that I am not concerned that one day God will edit them from his book of eternal life, of those who are saved at death. For example, throughout my youth I was concerned about my best friend who, though born and baptized, had no connection with God at all. That did not stop me from being her friend, far from it. (What did eventually end our friendship was her open election to enable the cultists who stalked me).

Back to the book dealer friend and his family. I really, really liked them, even though their beliefs were extremely cringe worthy. I spent wonderful quality time with them and their beliefs were not a problem because they rarely talked about them. There was so many other wonderful things to talk about, books, of course, but also history and art. However, one day something happened that while it did not end the relationship, I was alerted to the knowledge that they had a hidden agenda. Regular readers know that while I was not aware for many years that I was consciously being stalked, I was aware of being stalked, which I attributed to the unconscious ability of those who are "out of sync" with God to detect those who serve God, even if that service is kept hidden or secret. It's the way cats seem to instinctively seek out people who don't like cats, and then proceed to annoy them. So I led a wary life (even to the point of having to marry someone I considered a bodyguard) because I was well aware that I was being unconsciously stalked, but did not realize that I was being deliberately harassed and that worse, this harassment was based on cruel and sickening misidentification of not only me, but of many people (due to belief in that bogus concept of "past lives," which do not, in fact, exist at all).

I bought a pair of candlesticks as a gift, on my way to visiting them. When I arrived the candlesticks were broken. I was startled and disconcerted, of course, but I am always alert to the Holy Spirit's guidance and I knew this was a warning for me. Candlesticks are very important to Catholics, by the way, just to give you background information. They adorn the altar in Catholic churches that retain their traditional furnishings, which is what I am accustomed to and what I expect. This is why candlesticks is a favorite decoration of mine and I often choose them for gifts, although I do not select particularly Christian motifs. In fact, these candlesticks were Greek column style, since I knew they enjoyed that form of art. And so when we unwrapped them and found them broken, I immediately knew that the Holy Spirit was warning me to be cautious, that there was a deliberate cultist effect afoot. Like I said, though, I still did not think in terms of being targeted and stalked, so I just thought of them as being, how shall I put it, "more at spiritual risk" than I had realized they were.

This incident had its second part months later when I visited them again, when they had moved to a different home in a different state. I really enjoyed the beauty of that area and of course seeing all of them again (there were five, two related couples and a son). But what was hidden became overt, though they did not realize it, and that ruined my relationship with one couple from that point onward. The relationship with the other couple, with the son, lingered on longer, and I had enormous affection for them, until they did the thing that cultists do when they do not "succeed" with me, which is to "disappear." Here is what happened.

The first couple informed me that they had become very involved in volunteering at a hospice. I was surprised, but that in and of itself was not unexpected because normal humans are always surprised when their friends veer off into a new interest and thus become enthusiastic and somewhat "over the top" about their new hobby or avocation. But here's what did disconcert me. They immediately put pressure on me to become involved in hospice, and they made it very clear that there was something "lacking" in me that I "needed" to be "in service" to the dying. While they were subtle in their words, I read expressions on the face and also, not to go into a lengthy explanation, but the "expressions" on the soul. I thus "heard" and "saw" expressions that were looking at me with disapproval and implying that I had no compassion or understanding for the dying.

That is quite a corker of an accusation. First of all, anyone who knows me knows that I suffered many family losses as a child. My paternal grandmother, who I adored, died when I was five. My father died when I was eight. My maternal grandmother died when I was twelve. When I was seven or eight my best friend was thrown face first through the windshield of a car in a terrible accident and could have died, but did not. So far from being insensitive to death and dying, I set an example in the family, even as a child, for persevering through difficult loss, and in trusting in God and his goodness and mercy, no matter what.

But here is the second layer of why this was such an astonishing accusation. What people did not know, of course, is that if they truly knew me, as I authentically am, in my fullness, I have attended many, many, many deathbeds, administering love, compassion and comfort, even when I was a child. And on the flip side of that coin, I have witnessed many, many, many expressions of doom and dismay on the faces of the newly departed who realize, in their personal judgement before God, that they denied and defied him throughout their lives, and are being cast into hell. So far from needing some human "diagnosed" "tutorial" on developing compassion (and the hidden agenda, which was to "get me thinking about death"), I've already seen and known more about compassionate dying and unfortunately, the all too often consequence of many people's choices, the terrible eternal outcome of punishment in hell because of unbelieving, cultist and cruel life choices, including negligence toward doing good (which is nearly as bad as actually doing evil). The Bible explains that quite clearly.

So I kept an interested but impassive face as they, casually, so they thought, pushed doing "hospice" work on me. Therefore they had no idea that I had, to use an old fashioned private detective term, "made them" (identified an undercover operative). I let the relationship with that couple "peter out" (gradually diminish) and that was not difficult, because as I've explained, when the stalking cultists "fail" at trying to hook me into some agenda of theirs (usually their agenda is to "get me to remember" things and beliefs that never existed), they tend to disappear of their own accord. They do pop up once in a while, through mailings and so forth, at the behest of their cultist handlers, usually in sync with some astrological movement. (This is why I continue to check astrology charts each day. They are bogus and crap but people do plant traps and do things according to them, especially aimed at me).

By the way, in case you are curious, these cultists have like a "United Nations" of freaky beliefs. In other words, they have alliances and coalitions, but do not necessarily share the same "belief." My trouble is mostly with "New Agers" who are obsessed with the pharaohs and Egyptology. I first "made" one of their operatives when she told me she knew "Anubis" and that "he's lonely." That is when I realized she was not just a scatty elderly lady who I loved as a friend even though she had a bit loony beliefs and interests, but that she was an operative for erroneous and anti-God beliefs. But these people who I describe in this story did not show any of the clues that this lady did of being of the New Age Egypt freaks. This is my way of cautioning you that it's not like you can "watch out" for one cult belief in particular. They are all interconnected and work together, united by three profane "beliefs:" 1) reincarnation or alien possession 2) idolatry and its accompanying occult tools and 3) denial of the God of Abraham and denial of the words of the one God's revealed word, except for selective manipulation. They have all hooked up, even though they undoubtedly among themselves probably mutter and murmur against each other, especially as they try to figure out "who the real 'reincarnated savior'" is, each vying through their narcissistic and drug fueled stupors to be "the one." If you are curious, here is the flavor of cult that my ex-book friends followed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff

(Boy was Gurdjieff surprised to find out how wrong he was, when it was too late). Just a personal comment.

And here you can read about "lonely Anubis" boy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis

(It's hard to be lonely when you never existed, but hey, cultists are nothing if not self deluding, inflated and narcissistic).

I've not had much luck in finding sane friends with wholesome interests, so I've pretty much dropped the whole "friend" seeking initiative. Their loss.

I hope you find this helpful. Young people, don't fall for these old loons. Regain your senses and cling to your Torah/Talmud, Bible (all of it) or Qur'an. I don't want to see any of you be the ones I see on the ultimate "bummer trip" (to use a favorite expression) to the unbearable torment of hell for all eternity. Lots of people there, lots and lots of them.

Another example to help analysis/clear thinking

What can you tell about the type of book a person owns? Here is another quick lesson in faith and reason and ability to think through a problem or question accurately. The answer to this question is not as easy and obvious as it seems. Again, I present this example in good faith open dialogue, not as hidden message/anagram or words that perverts who have porn, for example, can derive comfort from. The reason I am raising this as our next intellectual and reasoning skills question is that the shooter in the UU church had certain conservative books that made the headlines as people looked for reasons as to why he committed his horrible acts. I realized right away this is a great case study topic in general, and from this point on I am no longer referring to the UU church shooter and his books. I just got the idea for this topic from that subject. OK? OK.

Let’s start by understanding that there is never an obvious reason why someone has a book because by definition there are two equally plausible totally opposite scenarios. One is that a person owns a book because they want to learn about the topic and they know nothing about it. The opposite equally plausible explanation is that the person is an expert in that subject and collects books on that subject.

Think about it. Use even the example of the Bible. A person visits another person’s home and notices a Bible. They immediately jump to a conclusion based on their own narrow mindedness and prejudices. They assume the person is a “Bible thumper.” But what if the person grew up with no religion at all, and in some forum, such as an AA meeting, decided to get one and see what it is all about, in case it helps them with recovery? So there are two equally plausible opposite end of the spectrum reasons about why someone might have a Bible. And if those are the two ends of the spectrum (expert on book subject and wants more vs. knows nothing about the subject and may be having first look which may or may not develop into liking it at all), obviously logical indicates there are a multitude of reasons in between. What if the person is a rare book collector, but not a believer? What if the person is a believer and does collect various editions? What if one denomination is checking out the Bible of another denomination? What if it is just a sentimental family artifact, inherited from the grandparents, for example. What if it doesn’t belong to the person but was left there by someone else? What if the child in the family is going through religious instructions but the parents are not? What if someone is taking a literature course and the Bible is being studied as originator of much of Western literature during certain eras? What if the person is an artist and wanted the art work in the Bible for aesthetic reasons? What if the person is an editor, scholar or book reviewer, and planning to do a review of that Bible edition? What if it was a gift and an opinion has not yet been formed? What if it is going to be a gift to someone, or a donation? What if the person had it because they stole it from a hotel because they are anti-Christian, and they had not yet disposed of it yet? What if the person had bought a garage sale grab bag and the Bible was in it? What if, what if, what if? How do you ever know the answer?

Well, duh, jumping to an unspoken conclusion based on a negative agenda is never enlightening. So the first way to find out is to ask the person about the Bible. Nothing like opening one’s mouth to actually ask a question rather than jump to a conclusion. So never jump to a conclusion about why someone has a book, especially before you even have a dialogue.

The second consideration is the age and stage of life of a person. Do you buy or read the same types of books that you did ten years ago or twenty years ago? Usually the answer to that is yes and no. For example, a person may be a lifelong fan of certain types of fiction, such as fantasy, science fiction, westerns, murder mysteries, romance novels etc. So while not always true, since tastes change, it is not unusual that a person who is a steady reader of books will have a certain type of literature or “escapist” novels that they will gravitate toward for long periods in their life. But often people change their taste as they just become sick of a type of book, the quality goes down, or a more interesting alternative arises. Self help books are an example of a genre of “nonfiction” (though most of them are fiction if people were being honest and ethical about it) that people tend to read during a phase in their life. An obvious example is that contently retired people tend not to read self help books, while younger people who are churning in some part of life tend to read self help books.

But when it comes to nonfiction books, tastes really do change with age. First of all, there are fads, such as the ever popular cookbooks, where a personality stimulates an interest in some topic, or new interest in food, or a type of nutrition or diet plan, develops. Second, though, there is a shift that takes place in many people as they age, though much less than it used to be (since so much of the population tries to stay juvenile in their self interest). But a very common phenomenon used to be that young people would be very interested in adventurous, counter cultural topics, only to find as they aged, had families, and were further in their careers, they did a flip and started exploring more conservative topics. The psychoanalyst Jung wrote quite a bit about that, likening it to developing an interest in the parts of your life you had to suppress before, so it's kind of your "B side," to use a record term (since I don't want to get into a whole psych discussion here). People who are counter cultural as young people often become interested in more conservative topics later in life, while the reverse is also true (though less so if conservative activities, such as raising a family, predominate). Again, this is not a value judgment, but explaining that all humans tend to have one or more shifts in interest conforming to their stages and circumstances in their life's cycle.

And here is the other problem with jumping to a conclusion. What if the person is reading those books not for their own needs or benefits, but to learn what works and does not work in helping others? Ah ha. Is the person who reads a book about a particular political stance, religious belief, or self help technique reading it because they are “searching” (yuck to that term, but that’s how the bloated new age squishy mindset views any intellectual or social query) or is the person reading that book because they have to relate to and get along with people who have those beliefs? Much of the library I used to have belonged to that category. I owned MANY books that had nothing to do with my personal beliefs, but were informative in understanding people who had those beliefs. I often had to hold my nose and I rarely actually read those books; they usually occupied space as reference. For example, I had a collection of books about ancient Egypt. Why? Not because I considered the belief of the pharaohs to be anything other than a steaming pile of crap. But one reason I had them is because there’s such a manic interest in pharaoh occult as part of the New Age disease. Even that would not have been enough of a reason for me to actually buy the books (and for many years I had only one book about Egypt in my collection at all) but I had second aesthetic reasons. I was very interested in their art color palette (especially for certain images such as the lotus, palm and so forth) and I also was going through a phase of being very interested in linguistics, and they plugged a gap in my survey of that topic. So the cultists morons who snooped in my house regularly jumped to an orgasm of conclusions about my having a lot of Egyptology books, without once ever asking me a single question about a single book.

So remember, it’s not like I’m really more mysterious and complicated than other folks. If I have a book for a reason that has to do with others rather than myself, then many other people have nuanced reasons for having certain reading books too, and they deserve to be understood honestly and openly.

Here is another thing that is kind of an old fashioned era thing that many cultists did not understand. I grew up poor and only had a few hardcover books as a teenager. The wealthy and elite belonged to “book clubs.” So when I earned a good salary I really enjoyed being able to buy hardcover books and build a library. I enjoyed belonging to book clubs. And more important, I liked patronizing certain book dealers, especially if they were individuals trying to stay in business. I bought from one of the finest traditional shops of antiquarian books in London, but I also bought from struggling artist sorts who sold books on the side and hand produced their catalogues. I deliberately placed regular orders with them in order to provide my support for their business, making myself choose from the books they had. Sometimes the books were “my cup of tea” and sometimes they weren’t. I often bought books just because I liked the cover, or enjoyed the illustrations, especially if it were wood block engravings of some skill. I cannot tell you how much it has hurt that I spent my money on people I thought were amiable colleagues who shared an interest in books (often spending way too much and going into debt) only to find out that they were part of the cultist spying and demonizing me based on “what books I selected.” I will never regain the trust that has been destroyed.

So this is an example of how one must be especially careful about drawing conclusions about another person’s mindset and stance based on very thin evidence such as taste in reading books. Of course that’s not so much a problem when one is going along with the crowd on pure mass media entertainment, such as reading the “Harry Potter” books. No one would jump to a conclusion that the person believed in magic just because he, she or their children were reading the Harry Potter books. The same with the phenomenal sales some years ago of the inspirational nonfiction book “The Purpose Driven Life.” That is an example where you will find the entire spectrum of readers and cannot jump to conclusions based on if, for example, you saw that book in a person’s home. The person may or may not be Christian, or active or believing in any way. They may or may not be looking for a “self help inspirational book,” or they may or may not want to read it so they can help others, or understand what others who struggle are saying or experiencing. They may read it for any of the reasons I listed above about the Bible (except I guess the grandparents would not have an antique edition, it’s too new for that!) It’s ironic that in an age when everyone is “seeking,” the owning of a book is immediately seen as “agreement with the topic of that book.” I mean, if a person already feels that way, do they need to read the book? One of the big conflicts in logic of modern thinking is to assume that everyone is 1) looking for “the answer” while at the same time believing the opposite which is 2) the person “agrees with” whatever they are reading at the time and must have a sympathy for the stance of the author, because otherwise, why buy the book? That’s an example of an inherent conflict in logic.

That’s all I really want to say for now on this topic. I hope you found this helpful, especially you young people who are reading (and who worry more about the cost of textbooks than some of these topics, but I use the topics as way to help you preserve and develop your best reasoning facilities!)

HIGHLY recommend John McCain's book

I read Senator John McCain's book "Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir" and I absolutely recommend it for everyone to read. It is not a religious book; it is about this extraordinary family of grandfather, father and son (McCain) and their dedication to country, family and service. I read it several years ago and found it to be wonderful. It's important for anyone who wants to understand more about the man (without reading a political book) but also about a family that served during this past century of incredible American history. McCain details what his detention as a POW in Vietnam was like, including how he passed up chances to be released early (refusing to use his rank and connection) and the extraordinary encounter he had with a Vietnamese Christian who was a guard at the camp. I avoid political books because they are propaganda. But this is so far from being a political book that it should not be on the shelf of politics at the bookstore. It is truly a family memoir and also a memoir of America. Do check it out and have a great read. I'd read my copy again if it wasn't in storage ha.

My Book Mene

I was tagged by my friend tiber jumper from www.crossed-the-tiber.blogspot.com just about a month ago and am finally getting around to responding!

Three non-fiction books everyone should read:

The Catholic Bible, for completeness of the books included within. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament should be read, as the Gospel is Jesus Christ's leading of all to God, and a complete understanding of God's will really involves understanding the Old and the New Covenants. In the OT the Prophetic books and the Wisdom books in particular can be of great consolation and aide even with modern day problems. And I'd add "The Catechism of the Catholic Church" as a supplementary text so that one can cross reference.

The Qur'an (Koran). Oddly, with all of the "politically correct" and liberal education our children have been receiving, including "comparative religion" and all sorts of "cultural" and "lifestyle" information, I think people have had wisdom sucked out of their heads instead of being informed by wisdom. If we are to survive on earth our collective faith in the God of Abraham must be well informed and understood. The Qur'an is essential reading, even if one is disturbed by where our faiths differ, because ultimately it is a book of great faith and true comprehension of it only adds to one's faith, rather than deters.

Any great and comprehensive biography of George Washington. I have quite a library of books about him, including my favorite, first edition (in the 1790's) publication of his letters to Congress during the Revolutionary War. It is an amazing experience to read the letters of the father of our country as he struggles to get the basics for his troops as we fought the greatest military power in the world. While he was "upper class" George Washington is the ultimate man who had to rise up beyond belief into the role of Commander in Chief and President, and knowing his true story inspires anyone in any place in their life. Don't read an analysis, read an actual chronological biography, because only then do you get the true understanding of the progression of this great man and birth of this great country. I see Amazon has tons of books... mine are in storage and are the classics about Washington written in the mid-1950's so I can't give author and purchase info. Use discernment about reading revisionist works that minimize his faith. My all time favorite, beside reading Washington's own letters, is the six volume work by Freeman, published in the 1950's (Freeman died as he was finishing this series,) which is considered the definitive biography of Washington. The American journalist Douglas Southall Freeman (1886-1953) was one of the major biographers in the United States during the 20th century. There is also an out of print one volume edition of Freeman's works.

Three books of fiction everyone should read:

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. The movie, while a worthy effort, is no substitute for reading this monumental work.

Carl Sandburg's poetry. I see that a volume of the complete poems is available so that would be the best investment. I bought his individual books of poetry in used book stores, back when used book stores existed, sigh. I loved "Cornhuskers" and "Smoke and Steel."

"The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" by Herman Wouk. Sheer brilliance and illuminating. I loved the miniseries too.

Three authors everyone should read:

Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. Especially his Memoirs, and one can include the Peter Seewald series of interviews.

Somerset Maugham. "The Painted Veil" is my favorite. or Joseph Conrad. Both represent when literature really was "fine."

Gladys A. Reichard for any of her wonderful classic books about the Navajo. Frank Waters. "Book of the Hopi" is extraordinary and a treasure. Both for their tour de force non-fiction and fiction books of Native Americans.

Three books no one should read:

Left Behind by Tim LaHaye. I read the whole series, knowing that it was written over a period of like ten years, thinking that maybe some reality would dawn on the authors and they'd feel some shame over their cartoonish treatment of God and the faithful. Nope.

Anything by Sylvia Browne and her ilk. In my "open mind phase" I read her books to see if she had a clue. Her stuff is so bad I would not let my dog vomit on it, the vomit being more realistic of course.

Other Lives, Other Selves by Roger Woolger and any other "self help reincarnation" book. People aren't crazy enough? Irresponsible garbage. How to really mess up someone's mind, lead them away from Christ, and leave them feeling victimized by an imaginary life they never led. And I know people who do this to children.

New Book: The Reagan Diaries

Edited by Douglas Brinkley, published by HarperCollins. I just bought it today and leafing through it, love it. It's organized by date (obviously, being a diary :-) and it is great fun to look at what Reagan was doing on your and your "loved ones" birthdays!

However, my favorite so far is a beautiful photograph on June 26, 1984 (which is a wedding anniversary in my family btw.) It shows President Reagan kneeling next to "Elizabeth Dawn Alford, Muscular Dystrophy poster child for the state of Georgia" in the Oval Office during her visit to Washington, D.C. It is a sublimely kind and beautiful photograph.

I just also noticed this January 12, 1984 entry: "Bill Wilson & Archbishop Pio Laghi came by. His Eminence will be Papal Nuncio now that we have diplomatic relations."

He was a great man and President, with great integrity, though being human, he did get some pretty bad advice sometimes. Thank God we overcame that!