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bibliomaniac33's review
3.0
This one is a bit tricky to review.
I should probably preface this by saying that I do believe in spiritual battles and that demons are real.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12
I simultaneously believe in human nature and free will.
This book was a good reminder that The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Eccles 1:9
There were many new to me concepts here, particularly the origination of many of the gods of antiquity. I've got a degree in anthropology and read quite a bit of history, yet I was completely ignorant that the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses had their roots reaching all the way back to Mesopotamia. I honestly kept pausing and googling because I couldn't believe so many of the things I was reading..........but they all panned out as fact. On face at least.
That is where the stars get shaved off. This book is a case in point of, "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."
I say that not to be dismissive, but rather, cases made became a little heavy handed and seemingly forced as the book wore on.
The parallels presented between antiquity and present day are striking enough on their own. The repetitive cycles of human nature, specific sins, and yes, demonic influence, become quite obvious.
It isn't necessary to stretch to the level that Cahn does as the book goes on.
By the end I was ready to hear "altars to Ishtar were constructed of wood, and Pride floats are sometimes constructed of wood, therefore Pride floats are providing a portal for a return of the goddess. Behold." This was particularly the case for everything that occurs in the modern month of June.
Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a demon is a demon.
But pretty much always, subtlety is better than a hammer when it comes to long form writing.
Don't shy away from this book if you find the premise interesting, as it seems like a basic enough introduction to the concept that ancient ills don't stay buried, and perhaps ancient demons don't either. Just be prepared for that fact to be hammered home.
Nails abound, and you may feel a bit clobbered yourself by the end chapter.
I should probably preface this by saying that I do believe in spiritual battles and that demons are real.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12
I simultaneously believe in human nature and free will.
This book was a good reminder that The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Eccles 1:9
There were many new to me concepts here, particularly the origination of many of the gods of antiquity. I've got a degree in anthropology and read quite a bit of history, yet I was completely ignorant that the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses had their roots reaching all the way back to Mesopotamia. I honestly kept pausing and googling because I couldn't believe so many of the things I was reading..........but they all panned out as fact. On face at least.
That is where the stars get shaved off. This book is a case in point of, "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."
I say that not to be dismissive, but rather, cases made became a little heavy handed and seemingly forced as the book wore on.
The parallels presented between antiquity and present day are striking enough on their own. The repetitive cycles of human nature, specific sins, and yes, demonic influence, become quite obvious.
It isn't necessary to stretch to the level that Cahn does as the book goes on.
By the end I was ready to hear "altars to Ishtar were constructed of wood, and Pride floats are sometimes constructed of wood, therefore Pride floats are providing a portal for a return of the goddess. Behold." This was particularly the case for everything that occurs in the modern month of June.
Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a demon is a demon.
But pretty much always, subtlety is better than a hammer when it comes to long form writing.
Don't shy away from this book if you find the premise interesting, as it seems like a basic enough introduction to the concept that ancient ills don't stay buried, and perhaps ancient demons don't either. Just be prepared for that fact to be hammered home.
Nails abound, and you may feel a bit clobbered yourself by the end chapter.
jerseyfemme's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
This requires the eyes and ears of the spirit when reading this book.
mnkeemagick's review
sad
slow-paced
0.25
What a truly abhorrent excuse for a book. It's a genuine travesty that trees had to die only to have their remains made into paper for this to be published. At best it is wildly misinformed, at worst it's wholly dangerous in conception and messaging.Â
From the very beginning it's misuse and abuse of biblical text references range from being miscontextualized to pure fabrication. Largely ignoring sections of the Bible and referencing them as acts of evil ancient gods that are portrayed as literally overtaking our world. There's nothing of substance here, just poorly cited (if cited at all) bad takes on history, hate, and Christian fear mongering. I don't even know how to grasp the concept of a seemingly Christo-Fascist Rabbi wanting to return America to its pristine "Christian Nation" of the 1950s because ancient gods are overthrowing the Christian God without the active knowledg of the people to promote homosexuality, feminism, and abortion.Â
Judgements on the "loss of Christian America" beginning with Civil Rights movements in the 60s, branching into the evils of women's empowerment, gay Rights, and general social progress. Framing the issues in Christian "equality" and stating there is no us versus them while casually railing against the lack of women's subjugation in the modern age and the legalization of not only gay marriage, but the legality of homosexuality itself. All ending with a warning of impending Christian extermination and a call to arms against the other.Â
The book touches on bad numerology, a fundamental misunderstanding of ancient calendars, the fragility of a God being overthrown with no active effort, astrology, and raw conspiracy nonsense, this book has left me with a headache and a set of crossed eyes. A poor mishmash of various mythologies presented as a single conspiracy to destroy the world, damning women, gay people, non-believers, ancient and modern Israelites, and generally anything left of the most extremely Orthodox Christian movement while also completely ignoring valid sections and laws of the Bible itself.Â
From the disregard of God's creation of the rainbow (favoring instead that one of the old gods made it and wields it as a weapon) to the laws and rites of the old testament, this book is full of holes filled with random dates and events coalescing in a conspiracy board Alex Jones wouldn't even dream up.Â
Even the technical aspects of the book were bad. It comes across as a teenager trying to meet a minimum word count for class, as the book would be less than a quarter of its already short length had he not spent so much of it writing in circles. I counted how many instances this happened on a single section of a single page to find he had repeated himself as many as 7 times. Though if he sold it as the essay length it actually is he couldn't charg $30/piece for them regardless of his talk about the evils of seeking prosperity.Â
His (poorly) cited sources are done in the format of footnotes that are completely absent save for the small bibliography at the end, which itself is full of religious websites, old Christian doctrine, single sources stretched for effect (of 8 sources for abortion "sanctity" advocated, 7 of them were from the same single person) and generally nothing academic or scientific in the least to support his claims that literal gods have returned to enslave humanity.Â
Even his page numbering isn't consistent with some being in the middle and others to the side. Just the saddest excuse for an essay turned book that I've seen in a very long time.Â
I'd be leary of anyone who finds this to be their favorite book. Hell, I'd be leary of anyone who enjoyed it, even for the trashiness of it, for I couldn't even enjoy how bad it was when considering how dangerous it is that real people genuinely believe this.Â
From the very beginning it's misuse and abuse of biblical text references range from being miscontextualized to pure fabrication. Largely ignoring sections of the Bible and referencing them as acts of evil ancient gods that are portrayed as literally overtaking our world. There's nothing of substance here, just poorly cited (if cited at all) bad takes on history, hate, and Christian fear mongering. I don't even know how to grasp the concept of a seemingly Christo-Fascist Rabbi wanting to return America to its pristine "Christian Nation" of the 1950s because ancient gods are overthrowing the Christian God without the active knowledg of the people to promote homosexuality, feminism, and abortion.Â
Judgements on the "loss of Christian America" beginning with Civil Rights movements in the 60s, branching into the evils of women's empowerment, gay Rights, and general social progress. Framing the issues in Christian "equality" and stating there is no us versus them while casually railing against the lack of women's subjugation in the modern age and the legalization of not only gay marriage, but the legality of homosexuality itself. All ending with a warning of impending Christian extermination and a call to arms against the other.Â
The book touches on bad numerology, a fundamental misunderstanding of ancient calendars, the fragility of a God being overthrown with no active effort, astrology, and raw conspiracy nonsense, this book has left me with a headache and a set of crossed eyes. A poor mishmash of various mythologies presented as a single conspiracy to destroy the world, damning women, gay people, non-believers, ancient and modern Israelites, and generally anything left of the most extremely Orthodox Christian movement while also completely ignoring valid sections and laws of the Bible itself.Â
From the disregard of God's creation of the rainbow (favoring instead that one of the old gods made it and wields it as a weapon) to the laws and rites of the old testament, this book is full of holes filled with random dates and events coalescing in a conspiracy board Alex Jones wouldn't even dream up.Â
Even the technical aspects of the book were bad. It comes across as a teenager trying to meet a minimum word count for class, as the book would be less than a quarter of its already short length had he not spent so much of it writing in circles. I counted how many instances this happened on a single section of a single page to find he had repeated himself as many as 7 times. Though if he sold it as the essay length it actually is he couldn't charg $30/piece for them regardless of his talk about the evils of seeking prosperity.Â
His (poorly) cited sources are done in the format of footnotes that are completely absent save for the small bibliography at the end, which itself is full of religious websites, old Christian doctrine, single sources stretched for effect (of 8 sources for abortion "sanctity" advocated, 7 of them were from the same single person) and generally nothing academic or scientific in the least to support his claims that literal gods have returned to enslave humanity.Â
Even his page numbering isn't consistent with some being in the middle and others to the side. Just the saddest excuse for an essay turned book that I've seen in a very long time.Â
I'd be leary of anyone who finds this to be their favorite book. Hell, I'd be leary of anyone who enjoyed it, even for the trashiness of it, for I couldn't even enjoy how bad it was when considering how dangerous it is that real people genuinely believe this.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Antisemitism, Abortion, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Violence, War, Deadnaming, Death, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
sarahunsaker's review
3.0
I agree with another reviewer in that his writing style is very repetitive. It didn’t bother me as much in previous books, but did in this one for some reason. However, this was very eye-opening and I feel like I agree heartily with the author.
periwinkledragon's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
5.0
It's difficult to write a book review for a book such as this. What do I mean? I mean that it's difficult to reduce a work about delivering you facts into something that is only as good as your opinion. However, I shall try.
I would put this book in the same camp as The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. But where Lewis' book was fiction based on spiritual principles, The Return of the Gods is an account of the results that evil has on this planet and its people.
It's chilling, it's concerning, it's disturbing. It explains the times we're living in though. We live in an age like no other and before I read this I threw up my hands like the rest of you saying, "what is going on? where is this craziness coming from?" Well, now I know.
I can't really get into the detail of this book in this review though, because Rabbi Cahn deftly weaved the text together in such a way as to connect multiple points while traveling back and forth through the ages. Each section builds on the next and as it progresses it starts to connect with multiple past points. So if I tried to give you a little teaser it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to you.
What I can tell you is if you've wondered what is going on, and not specifically "why are my groceries more expensive," but you've wondered why the world is going to pieces, why people are so miserable, and why the government is crumbling, you will find the answers in this book. It is no book to pull you into a false sense of security but a book to pull you into the truth. After all, it is only when you know the truth that you can actually begin to make a difference.Â
I would put this book in the same camp as The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. But where Lewis' book was fiction based on spiritual principles, The Return of the Gods is an account of the results that evil has on this planet and its people.
It's chilling, it's concerning, it's disturbing. It explains the times we're living in though. We live in an age like no other and before I read this I threw up my hands like the rest of you saying, "what is going on? where is this craziness coming from?" Well, now I know.
I can't really get into the detail of this book in this review though, because Rabbi Cahn deftly weaved the text together in such a way as to connect multiple points while traveling back and forth through the ages. Each section builds on the next and as it progresses it starts to connect with multiple past points. So if I tried to give you a little teaser it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to you.
What I can tell you is if you've wondered what is going on, and not specifically "why are my groceries more expensive," but you've wondered why the world is going to pieces, why people are so miserable, and why the government is crumbling, you will find the answers in this book. It is no book to pull you into a false sense of security but a book to pull you into the truth. After all, it is only when you know the truth that you can actually begin to make a difference.Â
Content Warnings
I would say that I do not think children should read this because of the nature of the content, it would be too heavy for a kid