Thursday, November 26, 2009

Is Life After Death A Trivial Matter Or Is It Important? I Think You Know My Take On It.


Review of the book: Life After Death, Dinesh D'Souza

I have read a number of Dinesh D’Souza’s books and I like his writing style, he always seems to present his ideas in ways that I find interesting.  Also, his reasoning is clear and coherent.  There’s even a little bit of playful humor here and there—I appreciate that.

In “Life After Death”, D’Souza asks the reader to sit in judgment while he presents a case for the truth and reality of life after death.  Although D’Souza is a Christian, he does not argue his case from the standpoint of biblical revelation, he presents his case for life after death from three areas: neuroscience; philosophy; and morality.  He says about his presentation, “If we think of this as a courtroom trial, I do not claim to have met the criminal standard; I will not prove life after death beyond a reasonable doubt.  I do, however, claim to have met the civil standard, and proven my case by a preponderance of the evidence.”

His tone is: Read carefully, think about it, and then, you decide. It’s very similar to the attitude that I adopt when I’m reading a Taco Bell menu.

One of issues that is addressed in the book is whether or not the subject of life after death is even important, or not.  It’s hard for me to imagine that anyone would not understand that this issue is of supreme importance.  How can this NOT be important?  But I realize that, apparently, for some people it is not.

I think reading this book would be helpful to the convinced and the unconvinced.  But I think a particularly worthwhile benefit is that it might help an unconvinced person understand why this issue is worthy of his/her time, thought, and careful consideration.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL

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