Many visitors to this webpage are going to start yapping immediately THIS POST IS TOO LONG!! Very true, that it is, but if the reader can't stand loooong posts, then just SKIP IT. Don't read what I have to offer here. That's all you need do. No need to get your blood pressure jacked up to the danger level. This preserves your happiness and my right to offer a comment that I feel does justice to the book in question. After all, this book is not a 10 page pamphlet. It runs to a couple hundred pages. How does one even remotely appraise such a title with one short paragraph?
I read the existing reviews here before making my purchase back in March of 2012, and having now read the book, I cannot escape the feeling that every one of the previous posts failed in describing the focus as well as the theme of this title. This is my attempt to do better. Maybe it's not better, and just my imagination but I will TRY to do better, more thorough.
And try to remember, I'm not getting paid for this. Amazon is the one that makes money when customers decide to place an order, and Mrs. Ellerbe, but they are not giving me a cut off the sales. There's a COMMENT link at the bottom. Cuss me out there if you like. It could also be pointed out there are reviews here at Amazon for books written by Acharya S (aka "D.M. Murdock") relating to this same subject which are three times longer, and considerably more grumpy than what I present here. Therefore, comparatively speaking, one actually has nothing to complain about. Thank you. On with the show...... (of this book ye wish to know).
First impression, second impression and yet more assessment of this publication tugged me towards giving this book one or two stars but I eventually decided it was unfair to lower the star count because of what may be merely my own prejudicial point of view, near and dear my favorite curmudgeon-istic outlook on life. Thus I decided to go with 4 or 5 stars because once done, it can't be reversed.
But there are some complaints worth noting, and naturally, it's the COMPLAINTS that motivate the prospective customer to even bother with the Reviews page, no? I make note of this early because having already given the book 4 or 5 stars, this may suggest a blanket approval for this book, which would not be an accurate conclusion to assume.
There are some interesting revelations brought out in this book, and considering it's not an expensive title, the prospective customer really can't feel like his pocket has been picked no matter what reaction the book may generate. I guess it should be pointed out there would be ONE EXCEPTION to this view--- those of the strictly orthodox Christian groups that find no failing whatever with the dogma of their faith, see no errors and/or contradictions in their Bible, etc. Yes, these persons will not like this book and that's a shame because the Faithful would benefit MOST from reading it. More directly, if mainstream Christians don't purchase and read this book, then the whole project is nothing but a big waste of time, paper and ink. Preaching to the choir: cui bono?
Yet this is the dilemma presented by this book. Customers like myself don't really need this book. For me, it's pretty much old hat. Long ago I realized Christianity was (and is) a fractured doctrine; that same has simply become a lucrative business venture where preachers can rake in huge piles of $$$$$ and PAY NO TAXES along the way. No, the people who REALLY NEED to read this book are the ones that WILL NOT read it. What a shame.
Every Christian minister that has a church, however small, should order this book, digest and understand the horror stories of what has occurred in Gawd's name
over the past centuries and then realize that the brutality of the past has simply shape-shifted into the present. Said ministers should then come back here to Amazon and order another 100 copies to pass around to their parishioners. Surely they could afford it. They have NO TAXES to pay! Who has more money than preachers, other than Microsoft and Apple?
All that has happened (more recently) is Christianity has changed partners in its pursuit of death and destruction, always, of course, in Gawd's name. Love Gawd, amen bruddas--- but smash your fellow human to bits if he fails to accept the tenets of the church's doctrine, no matter which Christian branch it be. This book throws some light on this very concept during centuries long ago, where much mischief has been completely ignored by all the Christian groups/factions/branches/denominations.
Nevertheless, I am somewhat critical of this book because the author leaves the unattentive reader with the feeling that Christianity has come a long way towards cleaning up it's warmongering act. Well, in some respects, depending on how you look at things, this may be true. A woman today who disagrees with church doctrine is simply kicked out of the organization, rather than being condemned as a witch and then burned at the stake. Or stoned to death, or hung.
Indeed, how many women realize how brutal the church was towards their gender just a few hundred years ago? Ladies, you ought to find out. This book, though hardly the first, middle or last word on the subject, is one small step in that direction. Perhaps the Church's accommodation of women today simply makes good business sense (and CENTS)???
But what about the overall picture? Rather than fighting against the Jews, as in centuries past, now the Christians and Jews are on the same team when it comes to spreading death and destruction. Just read your favorite newspaper or Internet blog, or open the valve of your preferred electronic sewer channel (aka, tee-vee) and therein you will find all the proof anyone could desire. Tell me I'm wrong all you like, but what's on the tee-vee news PROVES differently, doesn't it? Listen to those Sunday morning preachers down near the bottom of the FM radio band (88-108mc) and you'll hear endless appeals for Christians to DO MORE FOR ISRAEL, no? Absolutely you will, endlessly begging the Congressmen to do more for Israel-- ad infinitum, ad nauseam!!!
And one particular preacher who I'd love to name here but Amazon would go ballistic if I typed in his name (and his half-baked female accomplice) who just can't wait to get World War Three going aginst all things Islam, from the start of his show right up to the end highlighting all the previous weeks nasties by any follower of Islamic tradition, while overlooking any and all Christian mischief.
Author Ellerbe, however, fails to educate her reader of this sorrowful reality, but it may perhaps simply be the result of her awareness that there are certain prohibitions these days one dares not cross, if one wishes to find a publisher for their manuscript. Insightful and well documented criticism of Jewish mischief is one of those prohibitions. Criticize Christians, this you can do with some measure of latitude, but once you start in on Gawd's Chosen, then you run straight into a stone wall, or worse. Even the celebrated Jewish author, historian, Middle East expert, Alfred Lilienthal, whom I admired greatly, could not get a publisher to reprint his most revealing title, The Zionist Connection. But if one understood what is contained in Jewish Dr. Lilienthal's book, one will understand immediately. Even a Jew cannot criticize joooos publically. Perhaps Mrs. Ellerbe is aware of such realities.
Nevertheless, warmongering, Twenty First Century style, cannot be accurately assessed without examining how Christianity is the powerhouse that keeps the Israeli tigers operational. Yes, it is the CHRISTIANS who keep their congressmen scared of their own shadow should they fail to do more for Israel.
Is this not Twenty First Century warmongering? Sure it is. Christianity is warmongering today, just as they have in centuries past, but because their ally and foes are different it's not supposed to matter. No doubt all this violates the Internal Revenue Service code that grants the churches their tax exempt status as they are not allowed to use the pulpit to pontificate politically, but they're doing it bigtime all across the radio dial. Anyone can hear this should they take time to listen. And more they do, no matter which political party holds a majority in either house of Congress, no matter which stooge lives in the White House (er, Crime House).
The result is always the same, keep funding Israel and Israel will continue to bulldoze the homes of indigenous Arab people, ALL OF WHICH Christians can trace back to their Jewish-inspired (certainly not God inspired) allegedly authentic scriptural texts which leads the Christian to believe Jesus cannot return until that cursed little patch of ground has been claimed for the Good Guys. Mrs. Ellerbe is STONE SILENT on this, most regrettably. Why bother to ignore in the present the crimes she writes about from the past when same are still ongoing? What's the point? What value is there in this?
Thus the murder and mayhem continues, just without the witch trials, stonings and hangings. Now the aggressors just spray their enemies with napalm, which one must applaud as this method definitely requires no cutting of trees with which to build a toasty bonfire to roast the target victims. Indeed, indeed-- Christianity is improving-- kill more unbelievers with fewer resources. Who dares to deny this is progress?
Yet Mrs. Ellerbe fails to crown her horror stories of the past with the revelations of modern brutality, which would have been a nice touch for the last chapter, but it's not there. It should be, though, as Christianity has never given up on barbarity in the name of their Biblical Gawd. What good does it do to tell us about the past when the present displays the same vehemence and dedication for war, merely with new tools and repolished arguments? But isn't the Bible itself a continuous tale of war, after war, after war, which supposedly Gawd helped the ancient Israelites through their seemingly endless struggles? Sure it is. That's nearly ALL of what the Bible contains.
Christianity still advocates war, supports nearly all of America's Department of Defense excursions into foreign lands even though such actions are NOT in the best interests of our own U.S. of A. Were I to include here specific examples for a few of those Sunday morning preachers I continuously hear CLAMORING FOR WAR against the indigenous Middle East peoples and/or nations, my post would no doubt be removed, and no doubt, my account closed, so I'll have to avoid specifics but just turn on that tee-vee Sunday morning and you will hear the CALL FOR WAR yourself. Then you will know to whom I refer and then you will know, first-hand, from their own mouths, that Christianity is still an energetic advocate for war, par excellence. Lots of money to made out of war, whether you're a Man of the Cloth or a Man of the Munitions.
Furthermore, I object to the title of this book. It is misleading. Based NOT on what other posters have said, but my own hands-on examination of the text, Ellerbe would have more accurately described her text had she slapped on a title such as:
THE CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF ABUSE TOWARDS WOMEN.
A title like this would hit the target bulls-eye dead center, as THIS is the crux of the book; the sum; the substance; the first, middle and last of the entire publication.
And I take the time to hammer away at this for a reason. Amazon is good in lots of ways, we all agree on that. Such is why we're here now, no? But Amazon is selfish in that they delete references to other websites, so I won't bother saying where I go to occasionally check on Personal Ads placed by ladies wishing to meet a man, but most Internet surfers know the ropes so it doesn't matter I suppose.
This is significant. Readers will screech "what is this idiot doing now, telling us about PERSONAL ADS???" Oh, dear reader, this is a marvelous educational tool so please bear with me for just a couple paragraphs as you'll see where I'm going with this, and it's not off into the ditch. After all, the entire crux of this book is about the PERSECUTION OF WOMEN at the hand of Christianity, no? Sure, the book title doesn't say that, but THE TEXT DOES!! This book squeaks and squeals endlessly concerning the abuse of WOMEN at the hands of the Christianity. Shalt we not explore a tad further, just from a different direction? Let's do it!!
Any gentleman (or lady as well) can prove to himself in a very short time who is responsible for keeping the rails of Christianity well greased and perhaps more noteworthy, financially prosperous. The answer is--- WOMAN!! Very sorry Madam Ellerbe, your objection is overruled! Please retake your seat. Thank you.
I no longer take Personal Ads seriously. Nevertheless, whatever be ones' motive, just prowl the ads at your favorite Personal website, and reply to a few ads that catch your attention, but before you tie a knot on your message and click that SEND button, include a little zinger like the following:
"Oh, BTW madam, just wondering, are you one of those ladies that votes early and votes often for Jesus? Are you one of those ladies BUYING THAT STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN?"
And I may perhaps include in such a message a reference to one of my favorite chapters in Leviticus (15 actually) and ask the target lady I'm writing to what she thinks of such God-inspired instruction; if she faithfully followed Leviticus Chapter 15 in her younger days, blah blah blah. And then I send the message.
Before one checks the IN box on their email account the following day, they will want to put on some heavy construction-worker shoes, army-style steel helmet, protective eyeglasses, bullet-proof vest, et al, because you're gonna a bashing and thrashing like you've never encountered in your life. And it doesn't happen just now-n-then. It happens EVERY TIME. Don't waste your time coming back here and posting something in the COMMENTS section of this post that I'm insane (already know that), don't know what I'm talking about, etc. Skip the arguing-- Just go DO IT, try it for yourself and see what you get. The proof is in the DOING, not the arguing!
You would think from the mean-spirited nature of the reply that you had not written a woman at all but a retired army drill sergeant, or worse. Yes, worse. My army sergeants were never as nasty as the replies I've received from some of these women. But usually you just don't get any reply at all. Replies are few, but when they are received, they are nasty, where the lady makes it very plain that she does not have any desire to meet a man in league with the devil, that hates Gawd, is on the path to hell, is a social degenerate, that they would not dream of allowing their children to be in the company of one such as me, etc etc.
And on and on it goes. You will receive quite an entertaining string of nasty vindictive insults, and you will be instructed NOT to ever contact her again or she will summon the Internet Police to have your email address deleted or frozen (or at least attempt as much).
And that is Christianity-in-action today. Just a little sly crack about buying that Stairway To Heaven is all it takes to render yourself persona non grata!! That woman wants NOTHING to do with me, not because I suggest there is nothing wrong with sex on the first date, or that we should split the tab at the restaurant, or use her Volvo on our first outing. Oh no. You don't need to toss in any promiscuous off-the-wall comments. I don't do that. I tell them just what they want to hear: friends first, sex later, if ever; I buy, she spends; walks in the park, candles in the dark, fun fun fun!! Wooopieee. But just let it be known you are NOT A GOOD CHRISTIAN MAN and buster, you are toast!!!
And this is my major complaint with this book and with Mrs. Ellerbe because she completely ignores the easily provable fact that through all the centuries of abuse and discord, and mistreatment of women generally (and in particular) which this text is focused upon--- it is still WOMAN HERSELF that keeps the Christian choo-choo (or is it koo-koo) train chugging on down the tracks, with all it's provable corruption, bias, bigotry and convoluted theological dogma.
Mrs. Ellerbe does indeed document very well WHAT has happened, WHERE it happened, WHEN it happened, and many of the instigators of such uncivilized brutality towards non-believers generally and the ladies in particular. Good. That's why I gave 4 or 5 stars at the top of this review.
But she falls down on the job as for the WHY and HOW, never throwing any light on the sad reality that it has been WOMAN HERSELF who has marched through the centuries, shooting herself in the foot all along the way, dancing to the flute and fiddle of Christianity, the very same institution that has denied her the priesthood, denied her the respect she has sought, denied her a per diem on par with man (which is not feminist, but merely equality), denied her the right to think her own thoughts, denied her the right to find God in her own soul--BY HER OWN METHODS!!
Just as the big Israeli war machine would collapse overnight without the backing of America, Christianity would collapse as well if woman pulled her mind out of the intellectual compost heap of Bible Buffoonery.
Oh, one last little observation. Mrs. Ellerbe might leave the unattentive reader with the feeling that Christianity was born in a vacuum, or should I say, a creation of its very own cosmic dust. I certainly felt this way having read this book. I have personally encountered Christians that are NOT AWARE that several of the "books" of the Bible are nothing more and nothing less than direct transplants from the ancient Hebrew teachings.
Some prefer the use of the word "Torah", others opt for "Pentateuch", with Penta referring to "five", and "teuch", from the ancient Hebrew translating into English as "book". Thus, "the five books". No no, the Bible, and Christianity which same defines, is the Child of Judaism. Lacking the Hebrew traditions, there would never have been Christianity. And without Christianity, there would never have been Islam, the 7th Century interpretation of all things spiritual from the quill of Muhammad, who believed Allah was a more luminary divinity that the Hebrew or Christian Gawd.
And they A L L have been fighting and killing each other (and the non-believers) ever since, and naturally, ALL in Gawd's name, whether it be Jehovah, Allah, Jesus, God the Father, God the Spirit, makes no difference. "My Gawd's more powerful than YOUR Gawd,"; "My Gawd gets more ANGRY than YOUR Gawd", the Faithful will tell you, and I refer here to the Faithful of all faiths, not just the Christians. Mrs. Ellerbe could have constructed her final chapter around this theme and in so doing, would have raised this book to the next level, perhaps to the point where it would have become worth the paper and ink used to print same.
Nevertheless, I suppose it's worth the purchase. Not expensive. I have learned several new tips and tricks from Mrs. Ellerbe's pen. No, don't cheat and simply borrow this book from the library. BUY THIS BOOK, keep it on the coffee table 'cause you'll want to re-read several sections a second and a third time, especially Chapter 8, "The Witch Hunts"; best chapter in the book, for sure. Maybe buy a couple extrie copies for your favorite minister and parish priest. Just don't let them see the license plate on your car as you drive away.
All books of this type and stripe, and being substantially controversial, make for frustrating reading, but such is the price one must be prepared to pay in order to learn. Parts of this book are painful to absorb because the reader will also recognize that the causes underlying the effects Madam Ellerbe describes are still at work, still in place. The effects in our current timeframe are certainly different and less savage yet the brainwashing apparatus that gave birth to the abuses which Ellerbe describes are still in full force, and there appears nothing Ellerbe (nor anyone else) can do to change it, other than vent her personal rage by writing her book.
Thus, after you've finished reading her text, what has changed? Will it move the Christian to rise beyond his narrowly interpreted vision of God? Will it move the politicians to such enlightenment that they can bring themselves to divorce religion from politics, thus bringing an end to God-inspired wars? Not likely.... But if one just wishes to know a few juicy tidbits about the mean-spiritedness of Christianity from centuries past, many details are here, not that one can do anything with it when you've finished reading. The book also contains lots of links to other similar works for those that wish to explore the subject in greater detail. Ellerbe's Dance of the Footnotes is reasonably well done.
It should also be pointed out there are 38 illustrations (reproductions of artwork from centuries past) that waste considerable space in this book, nearly all of which take up the entire page. Quickly thumbing through my copy purchased here from Amazon, I notice only the illustrations on pages 73 and 130 have a small amount of text along with the silly and useless artwork. ALL the other illustrations are completely void of any text, except that which is included to describe the illustration. They take up the entire page. Terribly wasteful.
The book ends on Page 188 (P189 begins the Notes... aka footnotes). Thus if you subtract these 38 pages of useless illustrations, you have only 150 pages. Fortunately the margins are wide, the way books used to be decades ago, and the print size is ideal for old scutters who can't read the micro-miniature type so often encountered these days to save paper.
Unfortunately, the final two chapters, Alienation From Nature (9) and A World Without God (10) don't contribute a thing, at least they didn't for me. In these final chapters, Mrs. Ellerbe takes her best shot at philosopher, professor of quantum mechanics, astrophysicist, et al. She even resurrects Darwin for a spin or two around the cosmic block. Ellerbe does a better job of complaining about the witch hunts than waxing wastefully over quantum mechanics. Ridiculous.
Nor do I understand her remark found on Page 173, 2nd paragraph from the bottom, where she states the following:
"Both orthodox Christianity and modern thinkers, while willing to dispense with the belief in magic and miracles..........[snipped]"
What???? Wait just a minute! Dispense with the belief in magic? No no, I don't think so. I've never met a Christian who has given up on magic and miracles. Just tune across the lower end of the FM broadcast radio dial as this is where the bible broadcasters hang out. I have never heard one of these radio preachers give the slightest indication that magic and miracles have been dispensed with. If they did THAT, then the whole program would come crashing down.
No, magic and miracles are ESSENTIAL to the health and wellbeing of Christian dogma. Though I'm certainly not qualified to conjecture about Christianity's engagement with magic and miracles a thousand years ago (I'm more than happy to leave that to Madam Ellerbe), I am more than qualified to say, and with considerable experience, that Christianity in the year 2012 suffers no deficiency whatsoever in its belief in miracles and magic. I would even go so far as to suggest that Christianity and Voodoo (a major religious institution of the Caribbean Islands, spelled "Vodou" by its advocates) have a great deal in common, and even more so relative to the ancient Hebrew scriptures out of which Christianity germinated. Where Madam Ellerbe comes up with this assertion I cannot begin to imagine.
But then after this blunder (or so I consider same-- just my opinion), Madam Ellerbe is back in sparkling form on the final two pages (183 + 184-- before the "Conclusion") of the last chapter where she informs her reader "...democratic principles established in the U.S. were created in spite of orthodox Christianity, not because of it."
Also found on Pg.183, Madam Ellerbe writes: "Orthodox Christians repeatedly opposed religious freedom in America. The Puritan John Norton expressed the orthodox view of liberty of worship as-- "a liberty to blaspheme, a liberty to seduce others from the true God. A liberty to tell lies in the name of the Lord." (unfortunately there is no footnote given to vouchsafe her source for this quote).
If the reader really wants to ratchet-up his/her studies towards that masters degree in Unorthodox Christian Studies, you certainly will not be able to pursue same at M.I.T., nor C.I.T. (Christian Institute of Technology-- or is it Theology???) as neither has such a program, but you can do it right here at Amazon.
There are so many titles out there on this same subject it's enough to make one dizzy, but one which I have some experience with is Kenneth Humphreys' "Jesus Never Existed". The book may or may not be available here at Amazon at the time I post this review, as it seems to sell out rather quickly, but just use the expression "Jesus Never Existed" at your favorite search engine and you'll have no trouble finding Humphreys website, which offers all the information contained in this book, just broken up into dozens of individual webpages, where each web page contains its own unique bibliography for the material contained therein.
I was going to recommend some of the books by the author that writes with the "nom de plume" of "Acharya S"-- Dorothy Murdock being her proper name, but after having purchased her "Christ Conspiracy- Greatest Story Ever Sold" here at Amazon, I can no longer recommend Madam Murdock/Acharya S. But that is a separate discussion and not appropriate to jump into here.
Whatever, one step at a time, one book at a time. Madam Ellerbe is one such step down a long and bedeviling path of discovery.
"Bedeviling" I say because, though the devil IS often in the details, one doesn't expect to find same in the nucleus (and historical record) of any philosophical teaching that reserves God for both capstone and cornerstone.
Yet, in this detail, there definitely is a devil, but it is not God, whereas God could not possibly be God were God angry, vengeful, has tantrums, runs out of patience with reprobate humans, suffers from attention deficit disorder, seeks revenge, regrets even creating mankind, needs the love of humans, plays favorites with one little tribe of miscreants over all other human miscreants, can't find Adam hiding in the Garden of Eden, CUTS DEALS -- like Monty Hall on tee-vee (Let's Make A Deal), requires blood sacrifices, suffers hurt feelings if ignored and becomes jealous if those slimy humans worship some "other" God, needed 6 days to create the Cosmos (why not ONE day, or ONE HOUR??), and certainly-- needed to rest, so exhausted after all that Creation. All this certainly explains why I'm always tired-- God gets tired, too.
No, this is nonsense!! How can God be God, while vexed with such an embarrassing litany of human failings? Mustn't God be perfect, in every manner imaginable (and beyond what can be imagined) to be God? If not, then we're not speaking about God-- all we have is a despot. But as the Great Sage of Sassafras once said in the misty fog of antiquity; "You know you're worshiping a Despot when your God hates the same people you do."
And therein lies the enigma of Christianity, wrapped in an unresolvable mystery, stretching across thousands of years and billions of lives, each searching for that spark of light that hides at the core of everyone's being.
If only we could find the message without having to do business with the messenger, since as this book from Madam Ellerbe illustrates, the Christian messenger cannot be trusted with either spiritual truth nor historical accuracy, which makes sense as in order to corrupt the former, one must just as thoroughly subvert the latter, no?
Respectfully submitted...
Amazon.com customer John Wiesenmeyer
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