Y.S. Stephen - Reader | Casual Observer

The Path emphasises the relevance of Chinese ancient teachings to our present world, imploring us to study and live them as best as we can.

Spiritual Sobriety illuminates the dangers of religious addiction. The book defines religious addiction as "the state of being dependent on a spiritually mood-altering system" . It says that the aim of religious addicts is "not to worship God but to alter their perception of reality. (Such addicts) ... are religious junkies, obsessed with mood alteration and a quick fix to face life." The book listed few characteristics of religious addicts as: Attending church to feel significant and secure. Using prayer as a medium to feel good. Taking pride in the number of hours spent in prayer. Transactional use of God, which is paying God with zeal and commitment while expecting good feelings, financial rewards and other blessings in return. The book also highlights the issue of emotional manipulation by churches, as well as religious doctrines that borders on paganism. The author, who went through similar experiences, summarises the kind of teachings she was...

There is the faith that raised up the dead. The faith that opened up a closed womb. The faith that opened the sight of the blind. The faith that recovered what was lost. On the other hand, there is the faith that did not raise up the dead. The faith that did not open a closed womb. The faith that was powerless against the onslaught of evil. And the faith that got your butt kicked all over the place. Both faiths are one and the same. For many generations, we have heard about the miraculous things done by faith. In the process, we have drowned out the voice of other credible witnesses who tell us the other side of faith - the shells of broken promises and husks of unfulfilled hopes - the ironical signs of a covenant on its way to fulfillment. The triumphant side of faith brings lots of benefits to its teachers... and a little less to the hearers. But we do no one any favours by obsessing about that side of faith. There are ordinary men and women like you and me who died whil...

Giganto Maxia will be big. There is no doubt about it.

How do you know, within the first 10 pages of a book, if it was written by a feminist? First, you’ll notice signs of self-flagellation - with a hint of oversharing . Afterwards, you are likely to witness an intense session of self-love, followed by unabashed self- bigging - up in form of grandiose statements . Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on which side of the table you are sitting), " Real Artists Have Day Jobs " by Sara Benincasa ticks these boxes. " Real Artists Have Day Jobs " is a collection of essays on issues such as mental illness, creativity, relationships, work, etc. The book reads like a series of light blog posts - you will find no in-depth analysis or intellectual discussion here. Most of the articles in the book are based on the author's past experiences and how she overcame her situation and moved on. " Real Artists Have Day Jobs "sometimes feels like reading the lost-but-found letters of your weird but interesting aunt. ...