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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Will it end? The madness of end of the world books, that is., April 12, 2010
This review is from: Will the World End in 2012?: A Christian Guide to the Question Everyone's Asking (Paperback)
The world will end!!! We're all going to die!!! Ack! Panic in the streets, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!!
If you listen to certain circles in the world right now, you'll hear many things of this sort. It's the current end of the world prediction. The last time I recall such a widespread cataclysmic prediction was when we were approaching Y2K, although there was some in 2006-2008.
Upon the panicked public and curious Christian then is thrust this book: Will the World End in 2012? by Raymond C. Hundley, Ph.D.
Some thoughts on the book:
1. It's a paperback. Which makes sense, because if we live past 2012, it will have no lasting value.
2. Dr. Hundley spends a chapter on each of 10 topics that people have suggested as either reasons the world will soon end or how it will happen.
These chapters are, by need, short. As such, there isn't a lot of information in them. It's more than a summary statement, but it's not really a lot of detail.
3. There are a couple of concluding chapters that address how to respond to the idea that 2012 could be the end of the world.
A few things that this book lacks:
1. A clear explanation of Dr. Hundley's qualification to speak to this issue. While being as fair to his education as possible, he does not report having specialized in end-of-the-world studies or the specific astronomical or physics studies referenced in a few chapters.
2. I was hoping for more information about other seasons in history that have been overloaded with end-of-the-world predictions. There's a brief reference in the introduction to over 149 end of the world predictions in the last 2000 years, but that's all there is there.
3. A definite statement. There's no definite take whether the author accepts the 2012 concept. This is certainly due to a reticence on the part of Biblical interpreters to fix dates. If you fix one and miss it, your credibility is shot, but if you dismiss one, you risk being sidelined until it has passed.
In all, the book's conclusion, though, of how we ought to live our lives realizing the temporary nature of life on this earth and the brevity of life. That without the hope of Christ, we'll be unprepared for the end of the world, whenever it may come.
If you miss out on this book, you won't be miss out on much. It's not a waste of your time, but it's not something to go to much trouble to add to your library.
By the way, per the FCC, you should know this book was provided free from Booksneeze in exchange for a free book. If you need more info than that, check Disclosures! for the information.
Doug
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
if we all die, it may be out of frustration..., June 21, 2010
This review is from: Will the World End in 2012?: A Christian Guide to the Question Everyone's Asking (Paperback)
my first thoughts in response to seeing this title were probably standoffish... i immediately wondered why anyone would write a book asking such a question... secondly, i was a bit irritated because it's not the right question to be asking... and finally, i thought, "I've got to read this" perhaps harkening back to the collegiate instincts that caused me to try random (and often disgusting) combinations of food based on dares or boredom...
It's a quick book to read, i'll give it that much... it does seem to address all the major sources of speculation that the world is somehow scheduled to vanish in the final month of 2012, but it's written at an incredibly high level so nothing is ever fully developed... and, with the high amounts of repetition, it feels somewhat like a bloated pamphlet, a feeling that is realized by the last two chapters... i was glad that Hundley reframed the question from "Will the world end?" to "What if it does?"... however, the method he chose - a glorified altar call to close out the book - left much to be desired...
i know it takes all kinds of people, and everyone responds to different approaches, but this made the book feel a bit like a bait-and-switch... regardless, it was pretty interesting at times, perhaps it would've been interesting at all times had it not been about 50 pages longer than it needed to be...
-from TRudATmusic[dot]com[slash]raw
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An analytical, investigative work? Not so much., May 24, 2010
This review is from: Will the World End in 2012?: A Christian Guide to the Question Everyone's Asking (Paperback)
Over the course of ten chapters, Hundley outlines 10 theories held to by so-called "2012 Doomsday theorists". Providing their main point, occasionally with a counterpoint, and a summary. The summary of this book itself sets you up to believe that Hundley "analyzes the predictions...", "investigates the claims...", and "takes a close look..." at each of these theories.
My contention? The book is full of crazy theories (they are what they are...nothing Hundley can co about that) fleshed out by half-baked research.
At one point, a theory is outlined and Hundley writes that it is "confirmed by [...]". I checked out the site - it's some random blogger's Web site that hasn't been updated in a year and a half. This is what we would consider to be analytical investigation?
The subtitle to this book is "A Christian guide to the question everyone's asking". I was pleased to note that for a "Christian guide", we finally got to see some Scripture buried in Chapter 10 -- only alongside other religious predictions held by Hindus, Muslims, Hopi Indians, and others. And, quite frankly, this section simply outlined the verses of end-times prophecy we all read in our Bibles anyway. No additional analysis or understanding provided.
The last two chapters, I think, try to sum up the point that Hundley wants to make. Here, he provides his "Final Evaluations" and "Preparation for the End of the World". His final summary:
So the answer to the question in the title of this book, Will the World End in 2012?, is: it could but it might not. (p. 133)
Well, thank you Dr. Hundley. He continues here to flesh out his personal opinions based on the previous ten chapters. And, of course, ends up with the exact same point that we all knew from the beginning -- it could, but it might not.
Hundley rightfully points out the fact that Jesus Himself said He didn't know the day or the hour, and follows up with providing a mediocre outline of the gospel and a challenge to be prepared for this time. But even here, his attempt to substantiate and verify the truths of Scripture and the gospel message are par-baked and fall flat.
While I leave this book feeling like I understand a few of the points that doomsday theorists hold on to, I'm most grateful that it was a quick read. Now I can get back to living my life -- living passionately as if the world will end on May 25, 2010 - but preparing that it might not end until 2013...or later. After all, if Jesus Himself didn't know when the end would come, why would I spend any time trying to figure it out?
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