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The Bear and the Nightingale
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.4 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
A beautiful, magical fairy tale
Written as a 'grown up' fairy tale, set in Russia, this is the story of Vasilisa and her connection with the house spirits and eventually, the Frost Demon. She has magic, and this sets her apart from the others in her village, in a time where Christianity is flexing its muscles. Her stepmother is a devout Christian and won't allow her to worship the spirits. Eventually a city priest comes, unwillingly, to be their village priest, which is when things really start to go wrong for not just Vasilisa, but the whole village.
A brilliant story!
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated Pearl in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
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Pearl
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one Medieval story that I wasn't a big fan of. The wording was confusing along with the story line itself. It was one of the more religious texts that I have had to read for my Medieval Literature class, and since I'm not the biggest fan of that kind of story, it obviously wasn't my favorite. This is possibly the same poet as the "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" poet, but I enjoyed that one more.

I recommend this to people who like Medieval Literature that has heavy ties to Christianity and convoluted plots.
  
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    To advance the work of God through the proclamation of the Word and will of God as led by the Holy...

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The Satanic Bible
2
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
LaVey echoes a view of man's value and of non-materialist religion which can be easily found in the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche (especially Antichrist) and Ayn Rand. He is incredibly inconsistent on the subject of morality and shows only a cursory understanding of Christian history, doctrines, and the Bible.

LaVey does not view Satan as a person (nor does he view God that way), but as a representation of what man really is in his primal nature-- a violent and lustful nature which LaVey calls good, though he simultaneously argues that certain parts of it (that which would harm children or rape, for instance) are not good-- a dichotomy that he calls hypocritical in righthand path religions such as Christianity. Beyond this tension, he elsewhere seems to argue for moral relativism, creating a vicious circle of nonsense. Because good and evil are falsehoods and God and Satan are non-persons, the spells and rituals he creates are only symbols meant to harness our primal energies, sending them out to accomplish our goals (much like in the Hicks' Law of Attraction books or in The Secret).

A mix of equal parts tongue-in-cheek symbolism and outright charlatanism.

I suspect that this book's teachings would appeal primarily to two types of people: narcissists who want to seem edgy and angry people who have been harmed by institutional religion. In regard to the former, there are more thoughtful ways to be counter-cultural. In regard to the latter, an assessment of the intellectual weaknesses of this philosophy won't remove the hurt or pain they've been through, but hopefully an understanding that the kind of Christianity spoken of by LaVey is not genuine Christianity can remove some of the hatred they feel toward it due to the immoral actions performed by its claimed representatives.

Totally off-topic, but Lavey looks like a bald version of Evil Spock.