The Great Divorce leaves me hoping some future generations don't happen upon it and mistake it for anything but allegory.

It must provide some measure of joy to those who spend their lives hoping for an afterlife for which I still see no reason to believe. Sort of Dante lite.

You will not have the opportunity to make a difference after death, so be someone's guardian angel now. ~ David Smalley

If you aren't familiar with David Smalley, he is a Humanist with a successful podcast. What I enjoy most about his style is his ability to interview seemingly anyone, regardless of their worldview, and allow them to be heard and respected, even if he completely disagrees with them.

If you have any kind of a commute, his podcasts are supported by Christians and Atheists alike, because he is so very fair and lives every day to make the world a better place.

He devoted his young life to trying to believe in the Baptist god of his childhood, and still wants to believe. For now the best he, and I, can do is try to listen with open minds and hearts to believers and non-believers alike and give them our best selves we have to offer today, because every day could be our last chance to lessen someones burden and do whatever we can to promote human flourishing.

This interaction Im having with you in this review, could be the last chance I have to leave a positive impression, so why not be as honest and kind as possible, while speaking the truth as I see it?

He seems like the perfect target for mockery by CS Lewis, because his goodness is lacking as he doesnt pay homage to a god who, even by Lewis account has the power to become small enough to enter the human realm and save all 7+ billion humans but chooses instead to give them slim evidence on which to believe in him then claims they freely choose not to - and therefore deserve an eternity of Hell.

Im sorry, but although my opinion is likely of little concern to any fundamentalist Christian reading my review, this updated version of the afterlife leaves me feeling even more pity for the poor kids who find themselves being cared for by mothers who put love for an imaginary god above that of their own child. Ive seen this thinking play out in real life and its never proven to result in a positive situation for anyone involved.

The sanctimony of many fundamentalists Ive encountered still makes absolutely no sense to me, but at least I have a bit more understanding of where it comes from after reading this - recommended highly by a fundamentalist apologist/author/teacher.

I spent a year studying Kabbalah for reasons irrelevant here, and found it startling how many of the concepts their teachers employ are represented in this book (i.e. light illuminating darkness, but darkness having no power over the light, unless the student chooses darkness - defeating the ego in order to allow room for spiritual growth, etc.)

David Koresh and the Branch Davidians came to mind also. If one believes strongly enough in what they are told by those in the know, why not drink the Kool-aide?

Im not a fan of fantasy, so perhaps my dislike for this book stems partly from my general dislike for the genre
The Great Divorce leaves me hoping some future generations don't happen upon it and mistake it for anything but allegory. It must provide some measure of joy to those who spend their lives hoping for an afterlife for which I still see no reason to believe. Sort of Dante lite. You will not have the opportunity to make a difference after death, so be someone's guardian angel now. ~ David Smalley

If you aren't familiar with David Smalley, he is a Humanist with a successful podcast. What I enjoy most about his style is his ability to interview seemingly anyone, regardless of their worldview, and allow them to be heard and respected, even if he completely disagrees with them. If you have any kind of a commute, his podcasts are supported by Christians and Atheists alike, because he is so very fair and lives every day to make the world a better place. He devoted his young life to trying to believe in the Baptist god of his childhood, and still wants to believe. For now the best he, and I, can do is try to listen with open minds and hearts to believers and non-believers alike and give them our best selves we have to offer today, because every day could be our last chance to lessen someones burden and do whatever we can to promote human flourishing. This interaction Im having with you in this review, could be the last chance I have to leave a positive impression, so why not be as honest and kind as possible, while speaking the truth as I see it? He seems like the perfect target for mockery by CS Lewis, because his goodness is lacking as he doesnt pay homage to a god who, even by Lewis account has the power to become small enough to enter the human realm and save all 7+ billion humans but chooses instead to give them slim evidence on which to believe in him then claims they freely choose not to - and therefore deserve an eternity of Hell. Im sorry, but although my opinion is likely of little concern to any fundamentalist Christian reading my review, this updated version of the afterlife leaves me feeling even more pity for the poor kids who find themselves being cared for by mothers who put love for an imaginary god above that of their own child. Ive seen this thinking play out in real life and its never proven to result in a positive situation for anyone involved. The sanctimony of many fundamentalists Ive encountered still makes absolutely no sense to me, but at least I have a bit more understanding of where it comes from after reading this - recommended highly by a fundamentalist apologist/author/teacher. I spent a year studying Kabbalah for reasons irrelevant here, and found it startling how many of the concepts their teachers employ are represented in this book (i. e. light illuminating darkness, but darkness having no power over the light, unless the student chooses darkness - defeating the ego in order to allow room for spiritual growth, etc. )

David Koresh and the Branch Davidians came to mind also. If one believes strongly enough in what they are told by those in the know, why not drink the Kool-aide? Im not a fan of fantasy, so perhaps my dislike for this book stems partly from my general dislike for the genre