God Is a Symbol of Something True
Jack Call offers a way of understanding religion that gets to the heart of spiritual dilemmas facing modern man, by rejecting the false predicament of choosing between believing in a literal creator God or a blind, indifferent universe. This warm and sincere book helps readers deal with existential problems by thinking through controversial claims, such as, that the Bible’s account of God’s personality is a symbol of the personal significance of how we each feel the ways in which we are helpless yet safe. Call also argues that we have good reasons to hope that life is as astonishing at the end as it is at the beginning and, with the help of this inspiring book, we learn how the meaningfulness of life depends on how we control some important issues and accept that we have no control of others.
Jack Call has been recognized as an outstanding educator in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and his essays have been published numerous times. He has been teaching introductory philosophy to students in southern California for many years. A clergyman in a psychedelic church in his earlier years, he has personally ‘walked the talk,’ making him a captivating guest speaker - people want to hear what Jack Call has to say. Visit Jack at his website at: http://www.godisasymbol.com/
ENDORSEMENTS:
Kurt Smith, Ph.D., author of Matter Matters: “In God is a Symbol of Something True, Jack Call takes the proverbial baton from Alan Watts and argues…how religion, or “true religion” as he calls it, must be understood as that which underwrites the very possibility of meaning…True religion, Call argues, arises from something akin to reverence, the insight that there are incomprehensible forces at work beyond one’s control…Call looks carefully at several important philosophical problems – for example, the mind-body problem, free will and determinism, and personal identity – showing how true religion has dealt with each. Although perfect for the general reader (which is why I make the connection to the great Alan Watts), Call’s book is a scholarly work…No doubt, whether novice or expert, readers will enjoy this insightful and clearly written book!”
Janice Daurio, Ph.D., author of “Is It Good To Be Bad? Immoralism in Narnia” in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: “Others have tried and failed to do what Jack Call succeeds in doing in this book…to suggest thought-provoking answers to the most important of life’s questions, in a way accessible and appealing to those who describe themselves as nonreligious, as well as those who consider themselves religious. Because of the compelling objections he gives to the standard version of Christianity, this book is just as … valuable to thoughtful committed Christians as it is to the nonreligious. I don’t think there has been a better stimulus to my own thinking recently than this book. Reading it provides meaningful joy.”
Dale Salwak, Ph.D., author of Teaching Life: Letters from a Life in Literature (2008), Wonders of Solitude, Anne Tyler as Novelist, Living with a Writer, Faith in the Family: “With its firmness of thought and modesty of tone, God is a Symbol of Something True is a captivating meditation on some of the dilemmas of the modern mind and spirit. If this is any indication of how the author seeks to nourish and stimulate the thoughts of his students in the classroom, then they are fortunate indeed. I came away from it both comforted and enlightened.”
Ordering Information:
ISBN 978-1-84694-
$24.95
Order from NBN
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About Jack Call: Jack Call teaches philosophy at Citrus College in southern California. He has been recognized as an outstanding educator in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. He has a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University, is the author of numerous articles published in the National Social Science Journal and the entry "Cloning Human Beings" in the Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
