Bold in its premise and masterful in its execution, MisGod'ed by author and physician Laurence B. Brown teases common threads in the complex world of organized religion from the tangled mass of religious misdirection. An earnest search for truth, this text unveils both the corruptions and commonalities of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to fill the current void of intellectual discourse on the subject. For those readers who are intrigued but skeptical of organized religion, especially strict, literal interpretation of the Bible, this book articulates many of the questions readers have about religion, and poses others of its own. It provides a comprehensive, historically based analysis of documents, traditions and institutions. The central theme is to examine Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for truth in revelation, and trace the chain of revelation to its logical conclusion. Solicitous and precise, this text captures the essence of what it means to be a person of God.
A product of Christian-American ancestry dating back to the year 1677, up until his conversion to Islam in April of 1994, Dr. Brown easily could have passed as an example of a man who lived the stereotypical American dream. A graduate from two Ivy League universities with subspecialty training in ophthalmology, Dr. Brown served as a respected ophthalmologist in the U.S. Air Force for a period of eight years.
Midway through his Air Force career, Dr. Brown's ideal American family' included a wife, two children, and the requisite two cars and a dog. His country home was crowded with the full array of comforts and toys which clutter the lives of those preoccupied with materialism. Yet Dr. Brown ended up sacrificing virtually everything he had worked for when he faced a religious conviction that overturned his lifelong priorities.
Following a personal miracle through which the life of his daughter was saved, Dr. Brown redirected his focus to religious study in an attempt to make good on a promise made to God. In the process, Dr. Brown followed the chain of revelation through the Abrahamic religions from Judaism to Christianity and, in the end, to Islam. It is the result of that study that he relates in this series of thought-provoking books. In the same manner that Dr. Brown's choice of religion confronted his slice of the American dream, so too do his religious conclusions challenge the Western religous establishment.
Laurence Brown received his B.A. from Cornell University, his MD from Brown University Medical School, and his ophthalmology residency training at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. His immediate family presently consists of his wife, three daughters, and an ever changing assortment of parrots and hamsters.
This book is a bit of a tough pill to swallow for the Christian reader. Though I wonder how it is for a Muslim in the western world to grapple with the stagmatism and abundant misunderstandings about thier religion. That musing aside, the book is well researched and highly engaging, regardelss of one's personal religious beliefs. The author takes a look at the commonalities between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although the author does take a close look at the scriptual basis for Christianity, pointing out contradictions, I found the work to be non-confrontational and very interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in compartive religion.
The casual writing style made the book a little easier to read through. I don't feel people should get offended by anything Brown wrote because he proves his point with MANY quotes and citations. Citing the MANY different sources was impressive and goes to show how much work the author put into researching this topic.
In addition, I liked how Brown introduced the next chapter's topic perfectly in the end of the previous one. One part that I loved in particular was a list (starting on pg. 149) of Jesus' teachings that compared Christians and Muslims claim to practice. Finally, I loved the bits of humor/sarcasm scattered throughout MisGoded, such as on pg. 170.
One minor issue I had was having to look up something myself. No big deal, but since everything else was explained with great details and citations, I wish the one word I didn't know and others who aren't familiar with "the Bible", was also explained. Since this book is very detailed, all the information can get confusing and might require a break ;)
I enjoyed MisGod'ed overall and highly recommend it to people of other faiths, especially Christians, Jews, and Muslims. If you are also interested in religion, specifically the 3 "monotheistic" religions of the world, read this :)
يدور محور هذا الكتاب حول المقارنة بين الديانات الإبراهيمية الثلاث وموضوعه الرئيسي هو الديانة المسيحية.. يقدّم الكاتب مجموعة من الحقائق والتحليلات حول التغيّرات التي طرأت علىٰ هذه الديانة سواء من ناحية كتابة وترجمة العهدين (القديم والجديد) أو من ناحية العقائد التي تمّ ترسيخها في أذهان المسيحيين
أسلوب سهل وموضوعي يشدّ القارئ ليفكّر ويحلل معه ليستنتج ويعرف أكثر..
I really think this book is a piece of art, research well done by the author, and all the points he make are connecting perfectly. when you read this book keep your bible next to you just to be sure he's not making things up. this book compares the three Abrahamic religions and explains some of the contradictions. I recommend this book for everyone that believes in God and want to be sure about the right faith and the true God.
I have mixed feelings on this book, as both someone who was raised and educated thoroughly as a Christian and who has studied comparative religions in a formal, academic setting. While the entire book is well researched and most of the arguments hold water, I noticed quite a few "facts" that either were blatantly wrong, and parts of the writing style that just did not sit well with me.
There were multiple instances of circular reasoning, and nearly the entire premise of the book is a bit disconcerting. This is what I heard, multiple times: "I'll prove the Bible points to Islam even though I believe the Bible to be corrupted and untrustworthy."
There is quite a bit of immaturity shown in the writing style, something that definitely drives me away from recommending this book to other people. Under the ruse of a well-researched, academic book, we are exposed to repeated quotes from Alice in Wonderland, "ehem", "uh - no", and "like, total" scattered throughout the explanations.
The glaring mistake that had me throw up my hands in defeat was the two page spread where Brown was speaking of the Catholic idea of the infallibility of the Pope. As someone educated in comparative religions, the author should not fall into the common misconception that EVERYTHING the Catholic Pope does is considered infallible. The Pope is still fully considered human and is prone to human error, and even when speaking as the Pope, there have only been a large handful of times when those teachings have been declared "infallible".
On a positive note, I did enjoy the book enough through the consistent listing of multiple scriptural stories, drawing attention to various inconsistencies, contradictions, and confirmations of stories throughout Abrahamic scriptures. I will be reading the sequel, God'ed, soon.
This book was intimidating but the way it was written wasn't boring. It was pretty cool and had lots of insights into religions and their histories. Kind of earth-shattering, too, at times. And a little tough to swallow. But I couldn't stop until I was done, so it was good.
Like I said, the topics in this book can be difficult, and I know it was difficult for me, but it was worth it.
It went into a lot of detail about everything. Well researched. I think it is capable of acting as an intellectual proof for the validity of Islam and a proof against Christianity and Judaism.
One of the best books I've read on comparative religion. The author style of writing is very enjoyable and eye-opening. He approaches sensitive ideas and ask questions without confrontation and in a calm respectful manner. Looking forward to reading his next book : Goded.
Highly recommend everyone to read this book. Regardless of your faith. It's an easy read, but with amazing academic references and research. Dr. Brown used facts to make the reader think, rather than biased opinions built upon emotional arguments. Due to this book I found very good ways to debate with Christians and make them scrutinise their own opinions.
An absolute gem of a book, which cannot be missed in your library, especially if you are like me, a person who always seeks academic evidences.
Next in line will be God'ed? I hope it to be as promising as this one.
This is like a deep research on Islam , quran, bible and turah or the Old Testament. It really gives a very detailed description of all the reliable information that you may need about the 3 relegions and gives you an open minded thinking about the creation and the spiritual life that most of the people live nowadays. The author is a well known American Ophthalmologist Surgeon who had a very interesting story in his life that changed his life and his way of looking at relegions.... I am trying to read all his books....
Read on phone as pdf. An engaging walk through the many logic fallacies and blatant contradictions within the Christian doctrine and philosophy in an easy to read style.
Full disclosure, I was already inclined to the conclusion that the author arrives at before reading, but it is very difficult to dismiss the evidences he brings forth that pose serious questions as to the veracity of both the Old and New Testament; to put it mildly, as well as the tenets of mainstream Christian creed.
This book is mainly aimed at Christians and to a lesser extent, Jews, to prompt them into further investigation of not only their own scriptures, but of the scripture adhered to by those that came afterwards in the Abrahamic chronology.
It is not a difficult read, and I would recommend this to anyone interested in the historicity of The Bible and The Church. I'm looking forward to reading "God'ed", the sequel to this book that claims to resolve the issues presented in this book to the sincere truth-seeker.
Awesome book. Very neat, good writing. Really enjoyed this book. There is a sequel to this book called goded. Good read. A must read for jews, Christians and muslims.