Is this book equally suitable for anyone with any religious beliefs?

Use this forum to discuss the December 2020 Book of the month, "Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe" by Hilary L Hunt M.D.
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Is this book equally suitable for anyone with any religious beliefs?

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Though the author is a Catholic, she has studied about Hinduism and Buddhism as well. And this book does not directly talks about Catholic teachings, but the true meaning of the universe and a supreme being via quantum physics and philosophical studies.

Considering that context, is this book suitable for anyone? Or would this be targeted to a particular audience with particular religious beliefs?
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Post by Luluwa79 »

I think it will be suitable for everyone since the approach was science (quantum physics) and philosophical studies.
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Luluwa79 wrote: 01 Dec 2020, 03:26 I think it will be suitable for everyone since the approach was science (quantum physics) and philosophical studies.
It is true that the approach is science and philosophy, but the author's aim is to show the presence of a supreme being, which is not equally accepted in all the religions. In that case will the book will be accepted by all
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Post by Maddie Atkinson »

I think it suits everyone, because if you're Catholic/Christian, it allows you to see a different point of view to your religion, and if you're not, it allows you to see the different sides and opinions in this religion from and outside perspective. I think when it comes to God in general, the ideas can be applied to all religion, it's just in this context it is being applied to Catholicism. So yeah, I think it is suitable for anyone, it's a very interesting read!
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Post by Sou Hi »

I don't think it's inappropriate for the author to study other religions. One is free to choose what they want to believe in, so even if he placed his trust in some deities other than God, it would be his freedom. Besides, I'm not pointing fingers, but there's no guarantee that one religion is perfect, so it's alright if one wants to learn about the other religions' teaching.

In terms of philosophy, I think this book can be read by everyone who has an interest. Quantum physics may be hard, so laymen may not be able to fully comprehend. And one who isn't a Catholic may not understand his points about the Bible. So, in these aspects, I deem the book unsuitable for everyone.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Maddie Atkinson wrote: 01 Dec 2020, 18:02 I think it suits everyone, because if you're Catholic/Christian, it allows you to see a different point of view to your religion, and if you're not, it allows you to see the different sides and opinions in this religion from and outside perspective. I think when it comes to God in general, the ideas can be applied to all religion, it's just in this context it is being applied to Catholicism. So yeah, I think it is suitable for anyone, it's a very interesting read!
Yes, the author being a Catholic, the book is mainly based on Catholicism. Yet, since it generally discuss about a true meaning of the god and universe, people who are from other religions too can apply this book accordingly to themselves
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

I think the scientific and philosophical approaches used in this book render it a suitable read for the various faiths.
As long as all the elements are tackled neutrally and respectfully, I see no reason why the author cannot touch upon such an interesting subject matter. I myself found it to be an intriguing read.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Sou Hi wrote: 01 Dec 2020, 21:41 I don't think it's inappropriate for the author to study other religions. One is free to choose what they want to believe in, so even if he placed his trust in some deities other than God, it would be his freedom. Besides, I'm not pointing fingers, but there's no guarantee that one religion is perfect, so it's alright if one wants to learn about the other religions' teaching.

In terms of philosophy, I think this book can be read by everyone who has an interest. Quantum physics may be hard, so laymen may not be able to fully comprehend. And one who isn't a Catholic may not understand his points about the Bible. So, in these aspects, I deem the book unsuitable for everyone.
That is a quite insightful thought. Yes, philosophy and physics can be digestible for many, yet not for all. And the biblical teachings won't be known by all the non-Catholics. So there are limitations for the audience to which this book can be given to
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Ruba Abu Ali wrote: 02 Dec 2020, 02:06 I think the scientific and philosophical approaches used in this book render it a suitable read for the various faiths.
As long as all the elements are tackled neutrally and respectfully, I see no reason why the author cannot touch upon such an interesting subject matter. I myself found it to be an intriguing read.
Philosophy and physics can be considered as common stuff. Yet it might not be for all since it needs a certain level of knowledge. But I feel that this book is more towards Catholicism, rather than being common to all religions
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Post by Kaye_Bo2020 »

I believe this book is great for any one with an open mind on religion. If you are closed minded this book is not for you. I also believe it would be wonderful for those of a non religious or scientific mindset.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Kaye_Bo2020 wrote: 02 Dec 2020, 20:20 I believe this book is great for any one with an open mind on religion. If you are closed minded this book is not for you. I also believe it would be wonderful for those of a non religious or scientific mindset.
Agreed. Any religious person who is reading this should have a open mind if not want to felt like his/her beliefs are being opposed, since it is quite possible. Even a science based mind will tolerate because the author has not given any conclusions for or against scientific facts
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Post by Dominik_G »

I think the book is suitable for anyone, regardless of their particular religious beliefs. Especially because it's based on scientific ideas and not the author's Catholic roots, it seems approachable (even if not necessarily acceptable) for anyone.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Dominik_G wrote: 03 Dec 2020, 05:48 I think the book is suitable for anyone, regardless of their particular religious beliefs. Especially because it's based on scientific ideas and not the author's Catholic roots, it seems approachable (even if not necessarily acceptable) for anyone.
Accepting or declining the book is upto the reader. Yes, because of the scientific and philosophical nature of the book, it is approachable for a pretty larger crowd. But I will not say for all, since author has not shed her Catholic beliefs totally when she wrote this
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Post by Eareeves99 »

In light of the author's lack of belief in much besides his own opinion, this book would be appropriate for anyone desiring to read opinion with some science mixed in. However, the author makes many of his arguments against Catholic practices. To understand what he is protesting, the reader must either have knowledge of the Bible & the Catholic church or simply accept what he claims as the foundation of his argument to be true. I have little knowledge of the Catholic church, but enough knowledge of the Bible to understand that his evidence and line of reasoning isn't strong enough to disprove centuries of research in 120 pages.
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Post by Twylla »

I think this book has a target audience of Christians with belief systems based on the Bible. I don't think it would appeal to students of Eastern religions, for example. The specific concepts of deity would probably not transfer.
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