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The Religion War
by
Scott Adams
In this frenetically paced sequel to Adams' best-selling "thought experiment," God's Debris, the smartest man in the world is on a mission to stop a cataclysmic war between Christian and Muslim forces and save civilization. The brilliantly crafted, thought-provoking fable raises questions about the nature of reality and just where our delusions are taking us.With publicati...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
September 1st 2004
by Andrews McMeel Publishing
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First three-quarters is okay and interesting, albeit simplistic. The ending is bound to cause eye-rolling.
Adams's writing is geared toward trying to prove a point to such an extent that he breezes lazily through much of his narrative, especially in a too-rapid climax that attempts to provide a few emotional moments, but barrels toward them so quickly that it doesn't give you a chance to get emotionally involved in what's going on.
The whole conclusion is lazy logic and a preachy ending, concludin...more
Adams's writing is geared toward trying to prove a point to such an extent that he breezes lazily through much of his narrative, especially in a too-rapid climax that attempts to provide a few emotional moments, but barrels toward them so quickly that it doesn't give you a chance to get emotionally involved in what's going on.
The whole conclusion is lazy logic and a preachy ending, concludin...more
Nearly halfway through, I am getting blown away by this one!
The ending was, after all, a bit of a letdown. But, having said that, this is a remarkable little book that attempts to approach the ever-widening religious divide in our world with clear, logical thinking, an interesting apocalyptic premise, and a healthy dose of the humor we have come to expect from Scott Adams. On the brink of an all-out religious war that threatens to kill billions of people, one man dares to walk into the respectiv...more
The ending was, after all, a bit of a letdown. But, having said that, this is a remarkable little book that attempts to approach the ever-widening religious divide in our world with clear, logical thinking, an interesting apocalyptic premise, and a healthy dose of the humor we have come to expect from Scott Adams. On the brink of an all-out religious war that threatens to kill billions of people, one man dares to walk into the respectiv...more
Now this book was EXCELLENT. I read it prior to the earlier book - God's Debris and I loved it without the background. Having read God's Debris, I can see that Adams built on the foundation he created in the earlier book. However, I feel that, while the original foundation was somewhat shaky, the follow up solidifies it, while creating a believable future based on our current conflict.
The discussion of religion is, arguably, a more touchy subject than politics, but when the two become inherently...more
The discussion of religion is, arguably, a more touchy subject than politics, but when the two become inherently...more
Introduced some very interesting concepts about religion and how people view theirs as being right. This is a fictional story about what would happen if Christians and Muslims went to war, dividing the world (other religions pretty much choose sides). While this was a very enjoyable read, it lacked the punch that God's Debris had on me. Adam's narrative was a little sparse, but he is excellent at dialog. Could have been a bit longer and the ending seemed a little rushed. I read a lot of complain...more
Not as original or thought provoking as the previous book in the series. The previous book, Gods Debris, was more of a thought provoking work than is the sequel, The Religion War. It was ok in its own right, but does not have the same thought provoking impact and is more or less a fairly pedestrian work. It was a pretty short book and a quick read that is ideal for a day at the beach. But, this one will not leave much of an impact on you and you will pretty much forget about it within a few days...more
Feb 01, 2009
Bill Glover
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who needs an antidote to "Illusions" or "Johnathan Livingston Seagull"
This is the sequel to "God's Debris" by Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. With these two books he claims to be Up To Something(tm). He's deliberately coy about what, but he insists the books are not what they seem. I suspect he's noticed how broadly Dilbert memes have spread and is trying his hand at deliberate memetic engineering. It's a fun, very quick read and entertaining regardless. I read both books in a day.
Not as good as God's Debris. Whereas Adams declares in the beginning of God's Debris that you won't be able to figure out his personal opinion, it may be obvious in this book. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the book less able to be universally accepted and more divisive and opinionated. You must be open-minded to appreciate God's Debris and REALLY open-minded (or already agree with Adams) to appreciate the message in The Religion War.
As expected from Scott Adams, the book is a flow of simple and lucid logics and reasoning.
The Christians and the Muslims are at the verge of a war. The war will have devastating effects on the entire world and is expected to threaten the very existent of humanity. AVATAR, the central character of the book tries to identify the combination of matters and emptiness, events and non-events to trace the patterns. The patterns will lead him to the Prime Influencer who can stop the war.
The way Avatar...more
The Christians and the Muslims are at the verge of a war. The war will have devastating effects on the entire world and is expected to threaten the very existent of humanity. AVATAR, the central character of the book tries to identify the combination of matters and emptiness, events and non-events to trace the patterns. The patterns will lead him to the Prime Influencer who can stop the war.
The way Avatar...more
An excellent philosophical exercise in a thought experiment on the nature of religion in the history of the world. Very well done, would recommend to anyone, religious or not. I would not expect it would be offensive to those who hold religion dear, but would still be thought provoking.
I expected this one to be more profound, and a lot of points were already made in the previous book "God's Debris".
It had some ups and downs, it was fun to read, but it didn't offer much.
The plot was a bit weak, at times it seemed forced, sometimes the conversations were just dull.
All in all it was average or little bit more.
It had some ups and downs, it was fun to read, but it didn't offer much.
The plot was a bit weak, at times it seemed forced, sometimes the conversations were just dull.
All in all it was average or little bit more.
This is the sequel to God's Debris, at first I didn't enjoy it quite as much but in the end I found it compelling. It's fiction design that buy design tries to force you to question yourself - always a good thing.
A quick read from a thought-provoking author. Set in the not-too-distant future, this book follows the efforts of a somewhat omniscient, highly intelligent protagonist who tries to avert an all-out war between conflicting ideologies. In the era in which the book is set, the leaders of Christianity and Islam are about to clash, and bring down the rest of the world with them. Our protagonist uses his uncanny ability to read people and predict the outcome of world events to help prevent another Wor...more
After God's Debris, this is Scott Adams' another master piece. Written with fiction-like language, but ideas, message well communicated. But end could have been better told, looked like a part of chain was missing....above all, a book that can change perceptions (delusions in Scott Adams' words)...
This is another thought provoking book from Adams. He tackles a taboo topic in an interesting "what if" scenario. It is a quick read but has a lingerling impact!
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Dec 09, 2007
Srikanth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fictional and Philosophical
Shelves:
philosophical
I really wondered Scott matches my perception of matter and space. It says, infinitestimal element of body is just a matter like any other solids, liquids - Only the combination differs the being. Anyway, as this involves explaining the world with respect to software / hardware - it synched with me much. This is one of the books which I read without keeping it down, it take me almost 3hrs to complete. the good thing is, Scott defining the God which atheist and priest can accept commonly. Thats t...more
To be honest I dont remember specifics but I do remember liking it.
Aug 15, 2011
Michael R
added it
wow what a surprise from the guy who created dilbert
Nice thought experiments written in an amusing way.
Scott Adams is interesting as he is provocative!
That was interesting!!!!! Most Weird too!!
A possible insight to the future.....
Good one, but it seems that it has been ended abruptly, unlike the first part - God's Debris, which was thought provoking. Some of the characters were exceptionally good, but still it missed the final punch...
This wasn't as good as _God's Debris_, which this is the sequel of. Nevertheless, it was written in the same fun and easy-to-read style, and it's a quick read.
This book was god-awful
Sep 13, 2010
Dlove soolo
is currently reading it
read it all
Some ideas that stood out to me...
"The most basic need of any human being is the need to communicate. If you shut down the nonviolent channels of communication, people will find alternate channels. Terrorism is communication disguised as warfare."
"The dictionary defines 'faith' as belief without evidence. It defines 'stupidity' as unreasoned thinking. Is belief without evidence a form of unreasoned thinking?"
"The most basic need of any human being is the need to communicate. If you shut down the nonviolent channels of communication, people will find alternate channels. Terrorism is communication disguised as warfare."
"The dictionary defines 'faith' as belief without evidence. It defines 'stupidity' as unreasoned thinking. Is belief without evidence a form of unreasoned thinking?"
So, Scott Adams gave another shot at the whole philosophy thing but didn't fare too well this time. It read more like a high school creative writing assignment than a serious look at our world. That said, amidst the cutesy story there are some interesting thoughts, but seem to take the passenger seat to the storyline.
This is the sequel to God's Debris. Like its predacessor, this book is an easy read that inspires thought regarding the role of religion in society. This book is especially interesting in light of the demonization of Islamic religions due to terrorism. I would suggest this book to anyone with an open mind!
Mar 26, 2008
Andrea Djunaidy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
atheists and theists (with adequate intellectual)
Shelves:
must-read
the story only a smokescreen.
all the chain of arguments, question is the core. overlooked question to ponder.
but i love the future prediction in the story and the story itself :)
and again like the prequel, the beauty of simplicity.
Mr Adams is a God of simplicity :D
all the chain of arguments, question is the core. overlooked question to ponder.
but i love the future prediction in the story and the story itself :)
and again like the prequel, the beauty of simplicity.
Mr Adams is a God of simplicity :D
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.
He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Ada...more
More about Scott Adams...
Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979.
He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
In recent years, Ada...more
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“Sometimes what seems to be a difference in opinions is in fact just a difference in definitions.”
—
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