Category: Book reviews – fiction

Michael C Newman, Cracking the Bible Code, (Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 2012)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8715394615

One wacky mathematical formula

This is all about numerology, and in that way lies madness. Nevertheless, numerology systems called gematria were extensively used in the composition of both the Old Testament and the New, so any comprehensive exegesis must involve taking a look at them.

Pythagoras in the 6^th C BCE used isopsephy, and believed everything in the universe has a numerical value. Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Yosei HaGelili codified Jewish gematria systems, and the 2^nd C Kabbalah was greatly based on gematria. The writers of the Books of Matthew and Revelation used gematria extensively.

Trouble is, being numbers, which you could rearrange in any configuration you desire, you could make them mean anything you wanted them to mean. Is 72 60+12 or 7×10? Are we looking at numerical values of words or letters? In Hebrew or Greek? Do we consider the spaces between words or the Hebrew vowel points? Bear in mind that vowel points are flexible. Bk in English could be read either ‘book, back’ or ‘bike’. The vowels ‘oo’, ‘a’ and ‘I’ would have differing numerical values. Or do only certain ‘code words’ (as determined by whom?) have import?

To conduct this research without going crazy, I suggest we look at a) what the author probably intended b) what readers at the time probably believed.

As an atheist I reject the idea that ‘God has given us a secret message’ as well as any promises of predicting future events. Having said that, it is not crazy, and is accepted by many serous scholars, that Biblical writings had several layers of meaning. We are familiar with Jesus implying that his parables, on top of their literal meanings, had further esoteric meanings to be understood more clearly by those who ‘had eyes to see and ears to hear’.

This author has used a computer to come up with one wacky mathematical formula for finding ‘secret meanings’ in, say, the Gettysburg Address or the Bible. Of course, you could just as easily use a different mathematical formula. To preserve my sanity, I skipped over a lot.

I think the best way of using gematria for exegesis in a scholarly manner is to consult ancient writers and look at how they interpreted the numbers. We can expect more meaning from these ancient interpretations, as those writers were trying to convey a specific religious message. Why would I care if Abraham Lincoln apparently secretly predicted the assassination of JFK (someone he didn’t even know would in the future exist)?

I was immensely disappointed to discover that this book does not include any discussion whatsoever of hidden meaning in the Bible. It only talks about the Gettysburg Address. Checking out other offerings on Amazon using the search ‘Bible code’, the one at the top is The Bible Code by Michael Drosnin, and there are numerous others. They all cost around £12, so I’ve decided to save my eyes and ears for Irenaeus or Rabbi Eliezer.

James Romm, Dying Every Day, Seneca at the Court of Nero, (2014)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8712932284

Courage in the face of lunacy

Ancient Rome’s great philosopher Seneca returns from political exile to tutor the boy Nero, hopefully as a rector (steersman) shaping Nero’s rule. Nero becomes increasingly vain, paranoid and tyrannical, and Seneca finds it more difficult to wield his moral influence. Finally, his erstwhile pupil forces him to commit suicide.

Looking at evidence from his day, namely the first century drama Octavia, Seneca’s own writings, and those of historians Cassius Dio and Tacitus, we can’t work out whether Seneca was a Stoic philosopher or a Machiavellian conspirator. Tacitus found him a riddle, living a righteous, upright life, yet amassing great personal wealth.

49 CE, and the emperor Claudius is failing. It seems the empire will either fall to 12-year-old Domitius, renamed Nero, or 9-year old Britannicus. Nero’s power-hungry mother Agrippina, now married to Claudius, is determined to use her wiles to shove him into the position. Herself recalled from exile under Caligula, she recalls Seneca from exile in Corsica to tutor the boy.

One can’t help but sympathise with the man. He has to walk the tightrope between his ideals and his utter subservience to an absolute lunatic. He is forced into a direct role in the matricide of Agrippina and even dares (cautiously) to allude to it in his plays.

It’s easy for us, in hindsight, to point out his inconsistencies and his hypocrisies. I’d much rather see someone who, having already lived through the insanity of Caligula and the despotism of Claudius, now has to live through it all over again and, despite his intelligence and erudition, finds himself powerless to stop it. Considering that the swords of the Proletarian Guard could have fallen upon him at any moment, such courageous writings as The Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius are positively heroic.

No, he was not a proto-Christian. His brother Gallio washed his hands at St Paul’s trial in Greece like Pontius Pilate.

Did he collude with the Pisonian Conspiracy against Nero? We could hardly blame him if he did.

As we watch another powerful leader wreak havoc on the world while surrounding himself with sycophants, we ever more admire the courage of Seneca. Nero left the Roman Empire in a state of chaos. Is the current state of the Middle East sowing the seeds of the end for America?

Manjul Tewari, Stop Overthinking for High Achievers, (2026)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8703832527

How to stop ‘looping’ and start acting

How do you stop your mind from the ‘noise’ that keeps you stuck in inactivity, especially if you are used to asking a lot of yourself? This book is not a recipe about ‘thinking less’ but rather ‘thinking more effectively’. Each chapter finishes with a ‘workshop’ section to aid you in training the new skills.

Some bullet points to stick on my bulletin board:

• Don’t wait for clarity before acting. You become ready by acting.
• Sometimes one decision is all it takes to change everything.
• Making a decision is not about choosing the right option. It’s about trusting yourself enough to choose.
• Momentum doesn’t come from confidence, it creates it.
• Perfection is not excellence; it’s avoiding the discomfort of imperfection, and it comes at a cost.
• You don’t need to do more; you need to do it daily.
• Focus on the next step, not the entire outcome.

To make the list of worthy aphorisms a more enjoyable experience, we follow the journey of ‘Ethan’, a senior strategy manager. His presentation is just ‘missing something’, and he can’t figure out what. He is stuck in indecision, an endless loop of ‘what if’s running through his head. It’s not his business ability that is eroding, it’s his confidence. ‘He has lost the ability to trust the moment he needed to choose.’ 23 minutes before the big meeting, he is still looping.

Then, Mark is chosen over him as project leader. The team still listen to Ethan’s input, but they no longer wait for his decision. At home, he spends hours replaying conversations, reviewing emails.

A wise old man on a park bench points out, ‘Endlessly repeating the same old what ifs is not thinking, it’s repetition.’ Tewari calls this ‘the Action-Clarity Loop’. He recommends the ‘Two-Minute Action Rule’. Pick the smallest possible action. Start within two minutes. Don’t think beyond that.

There’s an element of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy here. When you find yourself in a loop of repetitive thoughts, give it a name (eg ‘this is just a self-doubt thought’) and by doing so, step out of it and move on to action.

Books like this are inevitably a list of worthy aphorisms, and as is usual, I am quite familiar in theory with a lot of them, without being able to claim that I have implemented them in practice.

The whole book is pretty much devoted to one central concept, yet it’s worth reading a whole book about it in order to drum it in, as the wisdom is counter-intuitive. We think we need clarity in order to act. In fact, we become clear in the process of acting.

There are not a lot of unnecessary words here. In fact, it’s 17800 words in 251 pages, a lot of 4-5 word sentences, one-sentence paragraphs. No matter how busy you are, it won’t take you long to read.

At the back there are 15 exercises designed to help you implement this ‘reset’.

Scott Matthews, Superstitions, Folklore, Myths & Legends, (2022)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8684750657

Charming origin explanations for popular superstitions

What is the difference between a superstition and a fact? What is the difference between a myth and a memory? Matthews examines the origins of superstitions and old wives’ tales.

Do you knock on wood, look for four-leaf clovers, cross your fingers when making a wish, cover your mouth when you yawn, spit when you see something bad, say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes, jump when the wind starts a rocking chair rocking, avoid black cats or killing spiders or walking under ladders or letting milk boil over? You are under the spell of a well-worn lie, but you won’t be alone. Despite our modern education, don’t we all still enjoy consulting horoscopes?

Matthews also includes modern variations on ancient themes. For example, superstitious beliefs around clocks chiming have morphed in modern horror films into alarms ringing in the dead of night. Fear of the number three is so persistent it has a name – triaphilia. Fear of Friday the 13^th is called triskaidekaphobia.

Some of these will surprise you. The belief that horseshoes bring good luck comes from a story about St Dunstan nailing the Devil to a wall, while shoeing his hooved feet. The prohibition against turning a loaf of bread upside down may have evolved in mediaeval France when upside down bread was left out for executioners.

Pirates (and other sailors) really did wear eye-patches so one eye could always be adjusted to the darkness below deck. It has been proven to be false that spicy food causes ulcers. ‘Feed a cold, starve a fever’ is bad advice; starving is bad for your illness whether it’s bacterial or viral. Bats do not want to nest in women’s hair. Lightning does, sometimes, strike in the same place.

Some widely held lore:

• When a stopped clock chimes, there will be a death in the house.
• Never kill a swallow, open an umbrella indoors, bring an old broom into a new house, spill the salt or break a mirror.
• If a portrait falls off the wall, that person will die.
• Elder and hawthorn trees and branches mean death.
• A full moon beckons werewolves and can induce insanity.
• The gift of a purse should always include money.
• Yule logs and acorns prevent lightning.
• Babies should not see themselves in a mirror before the christening.
• Spitting, a rabbit’s foot, salt on a doorstep ward off evil.
• A knife under the bed of a woman giving birth will ease her pain.

I’m a passionate student of mythology, and in my historical novels always try to work in the ‘lore’ of a culture as well as the history. I enjoyed reading the charming origin explanations of these popular superstitions.

The explanations are not heavily historical. They are more charming factoids than serious sociology. Each myth is illustrated by a cute cartoon.

Clifton Wilcox, The Heresy of Time, (CWW Publishing, 2026)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8703814123

A riveting story of time travel and the meaning of witnessing

1936 A strange craft crashes in Germany’s Black Forest. Nazi scientists rush to harness the new alien technology. They call it Die Glocke (The Bell). Their fear of it ‘can be directed,’ says SS Gen. Kammler, who leads the investigation.

It has strange properties – it can manipulate time. The time travellers discover that their very observation shapes the events.

Like all time travel experimenters, especially if they’re ruthless Nazis, Kammler wants to control the variables, catalogue the contradictions, bring back evidence from the future, harness the technology for the Reich. If only he can figure out how it works. If the evidence changes upon observation, who is the observer?

Seeking metaphysical clarity for the science they are witnessing being defied, Kammler turns to – the Pope – who challenges his arrogance masterfully. The Holy Father wants ‘proof’ – proof of the central tenet of Christianity. Introducing the Vatican into the story is genius. It took me by surprise, as hitherto, Kammler’s team were just considering the sci-fi aspects of Die Glocke (how does it work? etc). Once they turned to more metaphysical questions, turning to the Pope for answers makes sense.

Even though Kammler is supposed to be an evil Nazi, I liked him. I liked how masterfully he led the investigation team. I thought ‘the technician’, ‘the physicist’ etc should have had names and personalities. I really felt the men’s apprehension around Die Glocke.

I just love this story’s Concept. Though at times I found the philosophical dialogues a bit too cryptic, it did give the narrative a kind of dreamy quality. I was riveted by the excellence of the writing. The dialogue is natural-sounding; the repartee is sharp. The metaphysical discussion is intelligent; the science bits are great, too.

Candida Moss, God’s Ghostwriters, (William Collins, 2024)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8703796999

Democratising the history of the New Testament

As we all know, there were many slaves and ex-slaves in the Roman empire. Some of them – tabellarii or tahydrómoi (letter carriers), angelos (messengers), nomenclatores (memorisers of names and texts), lectores (readers out loud, often children), notarii (shorthand writers), grammatici (grammarians), librarioli (library specialists) – were engaged in the business of writing. The people whose hands wrote down the gospels probably included these enslaved workers. Even booksellers tended to be freedmen, probably having begun their careers as enslaved copyists. The apostles themselves were called messengers (apostoloi).

When I selected this book to read (recommended by a friend) I was expecting it to be of the Jesus-never-existed conspiracy theory corpus. Instead, I found a sober and thoroughly scholarly work.

The book’s main argument is that many more than has generally been recognised of the people in the Roman Empire whose existence we can infer from evidence in the New Testament were slaves. Furthermore, these enslaved people were often highly literate, and this group probably included some of the authors or copyists of the Gospels. This is a credible and well referenced premise.

Moss draws our attention away from our former focus, inviting us to notice the servants enabling an activity. ‘People have translated and interpreted the New Testament without enslavement in mind.’ For example, in the story of Jesus healing the paralytic in Capernaum, she discusses not the patient but the four ‘friends’ who lowered him down through the roof. Jesus commends the four for their ‘loyalty’, and his healing is framed in terms of enabling the man now to do his own work (carry his own bed).

Pauline conceptions of the Christian’s relationship to Christ and to God can be seen to be modelled upon conceptions of the slave’s relationship to their master (eg 1 Cor. 6:12, 7:23).

We owe the preservation, and sometimes creation, of these wonders of literature to these workers. Moreover, the story of Christianity was spread not just by the written gospels but orally, by word of mouth, ‘the unauthored gossip of the masses, of women and of enslaved people’, the slaves attending at the high priest’s house who heard Peter denying Jesus three times, kitchen workers who heard Jesus calling for more wine at the Wedding of Cana, etc. Early believers were used to reciting from scriptures in synagogues and carried on this tradition.

There is so much to say about the history of the New Testament and how it was written. I appreciated that this book stayed ‘on topic’ and didn’t try to go into discussion that was not related to the subject.

Refocussing on these sometimes anonymous agents is an important contribution towards democratising the history of the New Testament.