Due to scheduling issues and general Busyness we didn't select a new book for the month of August, which is perfectly OK since we wanted this group to be somewhat casual.
Jeremy has picked our next book for September called "The Question of God" by Armand Nicholi. We'll try to arrange a meet up to discuss this one around the end of September, or the beginning of October. The book has been out for a few years so you should have no problem finding it used at either half.com or at used book stores such as half price books which has locations all around the KC metro area. The Johnson County Library also has copies available to check out.
A little bit of background about the book. Nicholi is a psychiatrist who teaches at Harvard, for several years now he has taught a class which compares and contrasts the views of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud, in particular their views on God. These two thinkers both lived and wrote in the time surrounding World War II (though Freud died just as WWII was beginning in 1939), they both lived through and witnessed similar world events such as the First World War, the Great Depression, and the rise of Facism. Both came to different conclusions about God. Lewis is best known for his allegorical 'Chronicles of Narnia' series of children's fantasy novels, but he also wrote a great deal of theologically inspired Christian apologetics (i.e., 'The problem of Pain', 'Mere Christianity', 'Miracles') and parables (i.e., 'The Screwtape Letters', 'The Great Divorce').
Freud, on the other hand, was an Athiest. He's best known for founding of the psychoanalytic school of psychology along with his various ideas about the subconcious human mind and it's influence on our conscious behavior. While many of his ideas are based on anecdotal evidence and innacurate presumptions, many have been useful in modern psychology as they have provided insights in areas as diverse as the treatment of psychological disorders to offering testable hypotheses for the scientific understanding of 'normal' human behavior. Freud also wrote a handful of books examining religion (i.e., 'Totem and Taboo', 'The Future of An Illusion', 'Civilization and It's Discontents', 'Moses and Monotheism') in which he discusses religion as a natural phenomenon that results from our most basic human desires and urges, coupled with intentional control mechanisms put in place by a Marxian Bourgeois Class in order to maintain societal order.
From what I understand Nicholi approaches his book as if observing a dialogue between the two authors and their divergent ideas. PBS also aired a special a few years ago in which they had a round table discussion, moderated by Nicholi, about the ideas of Lewis and Freud. I've watched about half of it and found it to be a very interesting discussion (also available at the Johnson County Library). I'd encourage each of you to watch the video as well, at some poitn. This book sounds it should be a very interesting read and ought to provide great discussion. Thanks for the pick Jeremy, I'm looking forward to reading it.
