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saigegub04's review against another edition
3.0
a very solid and canonical account of its subject, well researched and often a bit funny, but not whimsical or curious enough for my taste. but I'm happy this book exists
ronan_palmer's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
From the initial essays which seem like explorations of the history of angels, the book morphs into meditative lists and vignettes
dylanblok's review against another edition
Despite having sat through countless sermons throughout my life, I can't really remember anything covering in any depth the nature of angels. This may be due to the CRC giving relatively little airtime to these issues in favor of focusing on the higher priority issues, but maybe it's because nobody really knows what to do with angels. Weinberger traces the history of Christian thinkers, from the early church fathers to Aquinas and Martin Luther, trying to come to some sort of understanding re: this whole angel issue. Some of the questions addressed include "Can angels lie?", "What are angels made of?", and "Can angels eat?"
The second part of the book is like a "Lives of the Saints" with a focus on the more obscure and idiosyncratic among them. Among many gems, I remember a story about a saint who was friends with a carp as particularly good. It's all fascinating stuff, and Weinberger's extremely dry delivery works in the best way possible.
The second part of the book is like a "Lives of the Saints" with a focus on the more obscure and idiosyncratic among them. Among many gems, I remember a story about a saint who was friends with a carp as particularly good. It's all fascinating stuff, and Weinberger's extremely dry delivery works in the best way possible.
odd_duck's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
As someone who was raised Catholic, I loved this book. It reminded me of a John Stewart segment where he would play clips of politicians talking out of both sides of their mouths to highlight their ridiculousness. I guess if you're a believer you'd have a different reaction, but the lengths theologians and the church went to to perpetuate their myth reads like a sci-fi story or satire. The "facts" about angels and brief lives of saints are wonderful reading. Quite creative and somewhat inspiring. Even though I don't believe anything in it, I loved reading it. Weinberger is genuis in just letting these alleged accounts speak for themselves. And the afterlife story is a perfect, lighthearted way to end the book. Beautiful illustrations and book design too. Loved it!
westonheartswords's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
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