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One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference
One or Two describes as "One-ism" and "Two-ism," the two ways of being spiritual. One-ism believes that everything that exists is of one substance and that the goal of theology, spirituality and even sexuality is to destroy all distinctions, and bring all things together. Two-ism believes that there is a God outside creation who made all that is not God and has structured creation for the good of humanity. Two-ism has implications in our theology, spirituality and sexuality. The book is based on the argumentation of the apostle Paul in Romans 1. Peter Jones analyzes the current cultural expressions of spirituality in light of these two approaches.
Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2010
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About the author
Peter R. Jones
23 books14 followersPeter Jones (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is the author of many books, including One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference, The God of Sex: How Spirituality Defines Your Sexuality, and The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age. He is the executive director of truthXchange and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 20, 2016
Perhaps this is a 3.5-star book. It presents a very, very important insight, but the book's execution is problematic.
Here is the major insight: There are essentially two different worldviews. The true worldview is "Two-ism," the belief that there are two realities: God and his creation. This is the Christian/biblical worldview. All other worldviews are false and collapse into "One-ism," the idea that there is essentially one reality. There are different flavors of One-ism that tend to fall either to the belief that all is matter (material naturalism, or atheism) or divine (pantheism). When people deny Two-ism, or the Creator-creation distinction, they also fail to make other distinctions, such as between men and women. (Jones's primary biblical text is Romans 1:18-32.) I think this is a basic and profound insight that deserves a better treatment.
Despite the wisdom of Jones's insight, his book has a number of problems. One is that the book seems to be more or less self-published. He really should have had an editor (other than his wife, Rebecca Clowney Jones, daughter of Edmund Clowney). There are several typographical errors and Jones sometimes fails to cite sources. (This happens quite a bit, actually, and that bugs me. It takes away from the author's credibility.)
Another problem is Jones seems to waste a lot of time bringing up fringe characters who represent One-ism. Yes, there are people with strange beliefs and practices everywhere. He should have spent more time discussing how One-ism has made huge inroads into mainstream thought.
A third problem is Jones's tone. Sometimes he comes off as a bit of a crank. It's not that the tone is pervasively negative. It's that he's a bit stuffy. I suppose this is related to the previous point. It seems he doesn't understand some of the things he criticizes. For example, he says that in 2009, Jack Black invited the audience at the MTV Music Awards to pray to Satan. I'm sure that Black was doing this in jest, as part of his Tenacious D persona or something along those lines. I don't find it funny and I'm sure he was mocking the very idea that Satan exists. But Jones seems to think he was serious.
I hope that someone else can take Jones's ideas and provide a more comprehensive and accurate analysis of recent Western civilization through the Two-ism vs. One-ism lens. This basic concept deserves a better, and more credible, treatment.
On the plus side, Jones believes passionately in the gospel of Jesus Christ and he is sincerely concerned about people being deceived. There are a number of good worldview books out there, and it almost seems like more than enough. But the fact remains that most people haven't examined their own worldviews, and until that happens, we need plenty of books that draw attention to the right and wrong views of God, the world, and everything in it.
Here is the major insight: There are essentially two different worldviews. The true worldview is "Two-ism," the belief that there are two realities: God and his creation. This is the Christian/biblical worldview. All other worldviews are false and collapse into "One-ism," the idea that there is essentially one reality. There are different flavors of One-ism that tend to fall either to the belief that all is matter (material naturalism, or atheism) or divine (pantheism). When people deny Two-ism, or the Creator-creation distinction, they also fail to make other distinctions, such as between men and women. (Jones's primary biblical text is Romans 1:18-32.) I think this is a basic and profound insight that deserves a better treatment.
Despite the wisdom of Jones's insight, his book has a number of problems. One is that the book seems to be more or less self-published. He really should have had an editor (other than his wife, Rebecca Clowney Jones, daughter of Edmund Clowney). There are several typographical errors and Jones sometimes fails to cite sources. (This happens quite a bit, actually, and that bugs me. It takes away from the author's credibility.)
Another problem is Jones seems to waste a lot of time bringing up fringe characters who represent One-ism. Yes, there are people with strange beliefs and practices everywhere. He should have spent more time discussing how One-ism has made huge inroads into mainstream thought.
A third problem is Jones's tone. Sometimes he comes off as a bit of a crank. It's not that the tone is pervasively negative. It's that he's a bit stuffy. I suppose this is related to the previous point. It seems he doesn't understand some of the things he criticizes. For example, he says that in 2009, Jack Black invited the audience at the MTV Music Awards to pray to Satan. I'm sure that Black was doing this in jest, as part of his Tenacious D persona or something along those lines. I don't find it funny and I'm sure he was mocking the very idea that Satan exists. But Jones seems to think he was serious.
I hope that someone else can take Jones's ideas and provide a more comprehensive and accurate analysis of recent Western civilization through the Two-ism vs. One-ism lens. This basic concept deserves a better, and more credible, treatment.
On the plus side, Jones believes passionately in the gospel of Jesus Christ and he is sincerely concerned about people being deceived. There are a number of good worldview books out there, and it almost seems like more than enough. But the fact remains that most people haven't examined their own worldviews, and until that happens, we need plenty of books that draw attention to the right and wrong views of God, the world, and everything in it.
December 29, 2021
It's not just his clarity in exposing the differences between modern paganism and Christianity that is excellent, it's also the historical roots that he traces that make his work so valuable. The inroads of Gnosticism into the church is a phenomenon we generally fail to notice, but Jones points them out with incisive accuracy.
Notes:
In 1997, some of Timothy O'Leary's disciples, the Heaven's Gate cult, sought to join his ashes, already in space, to get to the Hale Bopp comet. (p22)
Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, became an expert in collective mind control. He believed the true masters of society are not politicians but those who control information. (p23)
Mikhail Gorbachev has called for a "new synthesis" to incorporate democratic, Christian and Buddhist values in a new version of the Ten Commandments that affirms "the sense of oneness with nature and each other for the future planetary community." However "democratic" for him means "humanistic socialism".
Robert Müller, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN under U Thant, Kurt Waldheim and Javier Perez de Cuellar, is an "earth spiritualist". He promoted the holistic worldview of Aztec, Incan and Mayan civilisations. Such worldviews continue to dominate UN and NGO international gatherings. (p100)
Definition of a shaman (p129)
The New Atheism does not threaten the gods of the New Spirituality, just the God of the Bible. Shown to be irrational and ignorant, atheism is in decline worldwide but spirituality has taken its place. (p131)
Marcus Toole says that the purpose of the sun-dance is to sacrifice one's body to the spirit world for the purpose of receiving answers to prayer, spirit power and cleansing from wrong done. (p135)
Present mysticism is highly reliant on medieval spirituality which was influenced by the pagan mysticism of Pseudo Dionysius. (p141)
Notes:
In 1997, some of Timothy O'Leary's disciples, the Heaven's Gate cult, sought to join his ashes, already in space, to get to the Hale Bopp comet. (p22)
Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, became an expert in collective mind control. He believed the true masters of society are not politicians but those who control information. (p23)
Mikhail Gorbachev has called for a "new synthesis" to incorporate democratic, Christian and Buddhist values in a new version of the Ten Commandments that affirms "the sense of oneness with nature and each other for the future planetary community." However "democratic" for him means "humanistic socialism".
Robert Müller, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN under U Thant, Kurt Waldheim and Javier Perez de Cuellar, is an "earth spiritualist". He promoted the holistic worldview of Aztec, Incan and Mayan civilisations. Such worldviews continue to dominate UN and NGO international gatherings. (p100)
Definition of a shaman (p129)
The New Atheism does not threaten the gods of the New Spirituality, just the God of the Bible. Shown to be irrational and ignorant, atheism is in decline worldwide but spirituality has taken its place. (p131)
Marcus Toole says that the purpose of the sun-dance is to sacrifice one's body to the spirit world for the purpose of receiving answers to prayer, spirit power and cleansing from wrong done. (p135)
Present mysticism is highly reliant on medieval spirituality which was influenced by the pagan mysticism of Pseudo Dionysius. (p141)
February 1, 2016
This was a really, really good book. It sheds new light on the real dichotomy between religious/spiritual systems of thought... there are those who believe all is One, and those who believe in the fundamental distinction of Two (as exemplified primarily in the division between the Creator and all of creation).
Jones draws most of his Scriptural exegesis from the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans, focusing with laser-like precision on verse 25: "[They] exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (NKJV)
A great point this book has driven home for me is the underlying worldview difference between One-ism and Two-ism. Talking with others about Christ is complicated by this distinction, as the reality of God cannot be comprehended within an "all is one, truth is relative" viewpoint. (For a good, scholarly take on the failures of relativism, see A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Interviews with an Absolutist.)
My next theological read, to which Dr. Jones refers near the end of this volume, will be Christianity and Liberalism, a treatise from 1923 on virtually the same topic.
Jones draws most of his Scriptural exegesis from the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans, focusing with laser-like precision on verse 25: "[They] exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (NKJV)
A great point this book has driven home for me is the underlying worldview difference between One-ism and Two-ism. Talking with others about Christ is complicated by this distinction, as the reality of God cannot be comprehended within an "all is one, truth is relative" viewpoint. (For a good, scholarly take on the failures of relativism, see A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Interviews with an Absolutist.)
My next theological read, to which Dr. Jones refers near the end of this volume, will be Christianity and Liberalism, a treatise from 1923 on virtually the same topic.
May 25, 2011
This is essentially an extended meditation on Romans 1 with application for our modern world and its move toward one-ist religion--pantheism. Jones shows how there are essentially two worldview options: one-ist pantheism and two-ist distinction between creator and creature.
Jones uses most of the book to show the implications of one-ist and two-ist thought--how it impacts our interaction with the world, one another, and our understanding of God.
It is slow and repetitive in many places, but overall it is a strong effort that articulates the moral and philosophical superiority of the creator/creature distinction. I found it especially helpful on the pivotal issue of sex and the one-ist tendency toward homosexuality and androgyny versus the two-ist demand for monogamous hetersexuality.
Jones uses most of the book to show the implications of one-ist and two-ist thought--how it impacts our interaction with the world, one another, and our understanding of God.
It is slow and repetitive in many places, but overall it is a strong effort that articulates the moral and philosophical superiority of the creator/creature distinction. I found it especially helpful on the pivotal issue of sex and the one-ist tendency toward homosexuality and androgyny versus the two-ist demand for monogamous hetersexuality.
January 17, 2013
This is my first read of Peter Jones. I've got to respect a guy who reads as much gobbledygook as him. Overall, the book had some helpful big picture ideas. Where the book is unsatisfactory is: it's pessimistic tone, it's lack of citations, it's unclear structure.
The Big Picture: there are two religions in the world--Oneism or Twoism. Either God is everything or God is distinct from His creation. In Part 1, Jones charts what he sees as the rise of neo-Paganism in current culture. This prepares the reader for his analysis of Paul's argument in Romans. We have believed The Lie which affects our theology (what we think about God), then our spirituality (how we worship), and in consequence our behavior (specifically, our relationships and sexuality). Undiscerning minds leads to worship of creation which leads to dishonoring of bodies. Discerning minds leads to spiritual worship which results in offering holy bodies (Rom 1 v. Rom 12). A thought exchange results in a worship exchange which results in a sexual exchange. There's some helpful stuff here, especially on Paul's context and his argument.
That said, there are some things I disliked about the book. First, the book is pretty pessimistic. Every time I sat down to read it, I got depressed. Jones offers some hope in the end, hope in the gospel, but the barrage of bad news almost drowns out the good. Also, I sometimes wonder if too much of the world is seen through the neo-pagan, pansexual, gnostic cultural texts that Jones chooses. Second, this book lacks citations. Jones often offers personal anecdotes and some websites, but the book is largely devoid of citing other work that either agrees or disagrees with his conclusions. That's a problem for me, especially since the book doesn't appear to be peer-reviewed. Lastly, there is a clear structure to the book as a whole, but each individual chapter felt sort of hodgepodge.
I will have to follow up on this book with some reading in this area (neo-paganism, Jungian psychology, etc.), but the book felt like a big conspiracy theory: this transcendental psychologist knew this person who knew this person who met Hilary Clinton....ooooh. There's some awesome big picture stuff here, but this book should only be one tool in your apologetic toolbox.
The Big Picture: there are two religions in the world--Oneism or Twoism. Either God is everything or God is distinct from His creation. In Part 1, Jones charts what he sees as the rise of neo-Paganism in current culture. This prepares the reader for his analysis of Paul's argument in Romans. We have believed The Lie which affects our theology (what we think about God), then our spirituality (how we worship), and in consequence our behavior (specifically, our relationships and sexuality). Undiscerning minds leads to worship of creation which leads to dishonoring of bodies. Discerning minds leads to spiritual worship which results in offering holy bodies (Rom 1 v. Rom 12). A thought exchange results in a worship exchange which results in a sexual exchange. There's some helpful stuff here, especially on Paul's context and his argument.
That said, there are some things I disliked about the book. First, the book is pretty pessimistic. Every time I sat down to read it, I got depressed. Jones offers some hope in the end, hope in the gospel, but the barrage of bad news almost drowns out the good. Also, I sometimes wonder if too much of the world is seen through the neo-pagan, pansexual, gnostic cultural texts that Jones chooses. Second, this book lacks citations. Jones often offers personal anecdotes and some websites, but the book is largely devoid of citing other work that either agrees or disagrees with his conclusions. That's a problem for me, especially since the book doesn't appear to be peer-reviewed. Lastly, there is a clear structure to the book as a whole, but each individual chapter felt sort of hodgepodge.
I will have to follow up on this book with some reading in this area (neo-paganism, Jungian psychology, etc.), but the book felt like a big conspiracy theory: this transcendental psychologist knew this person who knew this person who met Hilary Clinton....ooooh. There's some awesome big picture stuff here, but this book should only be one tool in your apologetic toolbox.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2016
A solid book describing the underlying pagan assumptions of so much that is going on in our world. Dr. Jones uses Romans 1 as paradigm. I found it a bit disjointed at places and unclear in some others. But his ability to connect sexual diversity with religious diversity was helpful.
My Rating System
1 Star-Terrible book and dangerous. Burn it in the streets.
2 Stars-Really bad book, would not recommend, probably has some dangerous ideas in it. Few books I read are 1 or 2 stars because I am careful about what I read.
3 Stars-Either I disagree with it at too many points to recommend it or it is just not a good book on the subject or for the genre. Would not read it again, reference it, or recommend it. But it is not necessarily dangerous except as a time waster.
4 Stars-Solid book on the subject or for the genre. I would recommend this book to others and would probably read it again or reference it. Most books fall in this category because I try not to read books I don’t think will be good. There is a variety here. 4.1 is quite different from 4.9.
5 Stars-Excellent book. Classic in the genre or top of the line for the subject. I might also put a book in here that impacted me personally at the time I read it. I would highly recommend this book, even if I do not agree with all that it says. Few books fall in this category. Over time I have put less in this category.
My Rating System
1 Star-Terrible book and dangerous. Burn it in the streets.
2 Stars-Really bad book, would not recommend, probably has some dangerous ideas in it. Few books I read are 1 or 2 stars because I am careful about what I read.
3 Stars-Either I disagree with it at too many points to recommend it or it is just not a good book on the subject or for the genre. Would not read it again, reference it, or recommend it. But it is not necessarily dangerous except as a time waster.
4 Stars-Solid book on the subject or for the genre. I would recommend this book to others and would probably read it again or reference it. Most books fall in this category because I try not to read books I don’t think will be good. There is a variety here. 4.1 is quite different from 4.9.
5 Stars-Excellent book. Classic in the genre or top of the line for the subject. I might also put a book in here that impacted me personally at the time I read it. I would highly recommend this book, even if I do not agree with all that it says. Few books fall in this category. Over time I have put less in this category.
April 6, 2016
One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference (written in 2010), by Peter R Jones is pretty good, however there is no need to read it. Instead get his book “The Other Worldview: Exposing Christianity's Greatest Threat” (written in 2015), it covers the same material but he does a better job as well as expanding & developing his ideas.
May 21, 2020
Some very good, and very important insights here. Things get a little repetitive. It’s also pretty dated now. I also wonder if Jones’s conceptualization is a bit too reductionistic. I agree basically that the antithesis of Romans 1 is sharp, and the basic division of “oneism” and “twoism” is right. Either Creator is eternal and there’s a sharp creator-creature distinction, or creation is eternal and no such distinction exists. Totally agree. But Jones’s description makes things sound like unbelievers (and philosophically inconsistent believers) are all walking around with a self-conscious, cohesive and coherent “oneist” worldview. I don’t think it’s crazy to attribute that kind of intentional cohesion between paganism and secularism to demonic and satanic influence (Lewis’s idea of the sorcerer-scientist), but I think most oneists aren’t refusing to identify themselves to Christians because they are secretly trying to get Christianity to drop their pesky twoism. Rather, they are probably ignorant of the fact that they are oneists at all.
Overall, though, Jones on this topic is very good. If you want to know what he’s all about with this “oneism” and “twoism,” read the first couple chapters of this book, or just find some lectures on YouTube. He makes a pretty convincing case that what we’re dealing with today (especially with all the intersectionality shenanigans) isn’t materialistic secularism, but is rather neo-paganism.
Overall, though, Jones on this topic is very good. If you want to know what he’s all about with this “oneism” and “twoism,” read the first couple chapters of this book, or just find some lectures on YouTube. He makes a pretty convincing case that what we’re dealing with today (especially with all the intersectionality shenanigans) isn’t materialistic secularism, but is rather neo-paganism.
February 12, 2017
One-ism vs. Two-ism. A consideration on two fundamental principles of worldview.
Two-ism presents a strong distinction between Creator (God, specifically the God of the Bible) and Creation. Definitions on spirituality, sexuality, and the whole order of things are handed down to man by God.
One-ism, on the other hand, does not acknowledge a distinction between Creator and Creation. Creation is the highest authority and humans are the highest authors. Man gets to decide what spirituality, sexuality, and the direction of the world ought to take, and as such we see a consistent breakdown of definition (for example, the progression from strict heterosexuality to an unbridled pansexuality).
The most crucial piece of this book, so far as I'm concerned, was the author's linking 'One-ism' to the spiritual practices of pagan, pre-Christian eras. Specifically, Peter Jones analyzes the religious and sexual practices of a pagan Roman Empire and demonstrates how the lifestyles of the elite in those times directly reflect the progression of mores we see in today's culture wars.
All in all, I would highly recommend this read to anyone who needs a fresh perspective on the spiritual practices of the world we live in today. Though perhaps needing some further editing and a reprint, the content is quite timely.
Two-ism presents a strong distinction between Creator (God, specifically the God of the Bible) and Creation. Definitions on spirituality, sexuality, and the whole order of things are handed down to man by God.
One-ism, on the other hand, does not acknowledge a distinction between Creator and Creation. Creation is the highest authority and humans are the highest authors. Man gets to decide what spirituality, sexuality, and the direction of the world ought to take, and as such we see a consistent breakdown of definition (for example, the progression from strict heterosexuality to an unbridled pansexuality).
The most crucial piece of this book, so far as I'm concerned, was the author's linking 'One-ism' to the spiritual practices of pagan, pre-Christian eras. Specifically, Peter Jones analyzes the religious and sexual practices of a pagan Roman Empire and demonstrates how the lifestyles of the elite in those times directly reflect the progression of mores we see in today's culture wars.
All in all, I would highly recommend this read to anyone who needs a fresh perspective on the spiritual practices of the world we live in today. Though perhaps needing some further editing and a reprint, the content is quite timely.
December 6, 2018
Not sure whether to give this three stars or four... Good material, and an important main point, but not all that well edited.
Some reviewers have complained about the lack of documentation of sources. Having read a number of Peter Jones' other books, with their hundreds of endnotes ("Capturing the Pagan Mind", for example, has 1288), I found it quite a relief to have so few notes. "One or Two" is obviously aimed at a more popular level.
This is not an easy book to get hold of in the UK, and it has been suggested by another reviewer that Jones' later book, "The Other Worldview" (which I haven't read yet), does a better job. So it might be better to begin with that. (And if you want documentation of sources, that one has hundreds of endnotes.)
Some reviewers have complained about the lack of documentation of sources. Having read a number of Peter Jones' other books, with their hundreds of endnotes ("Capturing the Pagan Mind", for example, has 1288), I found it quite a relief to have so few notes. "One or Two" is obviously aimed at a more popular level.
This is not an easy book to get hold of in the UK, and it has been suggested by another reviewer that Jones' later book, "The Other Worldview" (which I haven't read yet), does a better job. So it might be better to begin with that. (And if you want documentation of sources, that one has hundreds of endnotes.)
July 28, 2020
Although this book contains pertinent and exceedingly timely information, it is incredibly disorganized, repetitive, and filled with what the reader is supposed to regard as high profile examples of adherents to the "Oneist" or Pagan worldview, most of whom I have never heard. I'm not sure the author knows who his audience is, as the writing is unfocused and somewhat meandering. The information could have been condensed to a pamphlet. Involving a good editor might have resulted in a much more organized and useful work. Having said that, I did benefit from much of the author's observations and comparisons to Romans, chapter 1, and do recognize a correlation between what is stated therein and the general progression of the thinking of many people in our society.
March 30, 2020
4.5 stars. A basic explanation of worldview and how to make sense of the world.
There are parts of this book that were truly prophetic. Wow the predictions he made about the direction of one-ism, as he calls it, was amazing.
While there were parts of this book that were more basic than his overall point it was still a well done book and one that makes a lot of sense of the world.
Recommended
There are parts of this book that were truly prophetic. Wow the predictions he made about the direction of one-ism, as he calls it, was amazing.
While there were parts of this book that were more basic than his overall point it was still a well done book and one that makes a lot of sense of the world.
Recommended
April 27, 2021
An insightful way to view the world with a Pauline lens. The literary organization was a bit confusing but in the end, it all came together succinctly. Well done!
August 20, 2022
I agree with the overall substance and arguments of the book. But I was hoping for something a little more scholarly. Too often the author employs polemical comedic zingers. The snark is a bit much.
Read
March 10, 2013My full review is available at Blogging Theologically:
When it comes to worldviews, belief systems and religious practice, we live in an age of seemingly unparalleled and unlimited options. North Americans today enjoy meditation, practice yoga, and dabble in a variety of different religious practices as they seek to find something that brings meaning, purpose and fulfillment to their lives.
But according to Peter Jones, the choice is really much more simple: There’s the Truth and the Lie. And in One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference, Jones explains how our worldview affects our understanding of God, what we worship and our sexuality…
When it comes to worldviews, belief systems and religious practice, we live in an age of seemingly unparalleled and unlimited options. North Americans today enjoy meditation, practice yoga, and dabble in a variety of different religious practices as they seek to find something that brings meaning, purpose and fulfillment to their lives.
But according to Peter Jones, the choice is really much more simple: There’s the Truth and the Lie. And in One or Two: Seeing a World of Difference, Jones explains how our worldview affects our understanding of God, what we worship and our sexuality…
July 14, 2015
This book is probably the most important book I've read in years. A superb exposition as well as cultural application of Romans 1:18-32. He presents paganism as one-ism versus the two-ism of Christian theism. He applies the implications of these incompatible world views to all spheres of human behavior, especially the area of human sexuality. Didactic and prophetic. His, or rather Paul's, logic is inescapable. It is as inescapable as one's decision as to which "ism" he takes.
March 24, 2013
An exposition on Romans 1 and the resurgence of ancient paganism repackaged as the new spirituality. Eye opening and a message the church needs to hear and understand.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews