Against the New Gods and Other Essays on Writers of Imaginative Fiction

Against the New Gods and Other Essays on Writers of Imaginative Fiction

Author: Brian Stableford

Publisher: Wildside Press LLC

Published: 2009-10-01

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1434457435

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Eight highly-readable essays on science fiction and fantasy writers, including David Brin, Jonathan Carroll, Samuel R. Delany, Joe Haldeman, Robert Irwin, Graham Joyce, Michael Shea, plus a major piece, "Against the New Gods," on British SF and crime writer Sydney Fowler Wright. Complete with Bibliography and Index.


The 66 Books

The 66 Books

Author: Barry Bowen

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2011-06-29

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 1462849512

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It is reasonable to think that if God is God, and he wrote a book about what he has done, he would be able to prove it is his book beyond any reasonable doubt. This would involve making it clear that only God could write it the way it has been written. The purpose of these pages is to show he has done this, and to explain how it proves it is from God. This is about the prophecy of Isaiah in the Bible, and its 66 chapters, as they introduce the 66 books of God. What we have here is the most exciting and fascinating information available to man. All I have to do is convince you of that. I have set up the hypothesis for this study as follows: “The chapters of Isaiah's prophecy give a summary of each of the books of the Bible.” If this is so, then the purpose of Isaiah would be to bind the 66 books of the Bible together as the inspired writings of God. For the hypothesis to be true, each verse of each chapter of Isaiah must relate to the book in question. To explain this it is necessary to cite each verse and show the relevance to the book. The key that unlocks this message involves the first verse of the chapter with the last verse of the chapter, that points you to the book to which it refers. The subject of the book is in the middle verse or verses of the Isaiah chapter. I will give you 66 examples of this as we progress. There are several reasons for developing this hypothesis: 1. There are 66 chapters in Isaiah and 66 books in the Bible. 2. It has long been recognized there is a division of the book of Isaiah at chapter 40. This would make thirty nine chapters for the Old Testament books, and twenty six for the New Testament. 3. Every chapter (except two groups of four) deal with different subjects, which shows we are not dealing with a particular history or argument, so we are entitled to ask why the chapters do not connect. The two groups are interesting, they are chapters 36, 37, 38 and 39 that speak of Hezekiah, and chapters 52, 53, 54 and 55 that speak of Messiah. 4. Isaiah is a difficult book to understand, unlike any other in scripture. 5. The New Testament writers used Isaiah to prove what they wanted to say about Gentiles. There are or verses about one hundred and fifty direct quotations or allusions from Isaiah in the New Testament. So it is reasonable to suspect that Isaiah is the proof of all things. The rules that apply for examining this hypothesis are: 1. The issue in the chapter and the issue in the book must match, and this must be explained in such a way there is no doubt they are linked. 2. The first verse of the chapter in Isaiah should define the issue in the chapter and the issue in the book. And the last verse of the chapter, make a similar obvious connection. 3. The middle verse, or verses of the chapter, will give the subject matter of the book. 4. The size of the chapter is usually in proportion to the size of the book. This can vary with the size of the subject. If it is a small book with a large subject, it could be a large chapter. 3. There should be a significant list of connections between the chapter of Isaiah and the book to which it refers. 4. Each verse of the chapter must make sense in relation to the book. A connection must be a quotation or allusion or an argument on the same subject. Some will have difficulty with the parables of the Old Testament, because they may not have met them before. We need to keep in mind this information in the parables is not for everyone. Usually it is preserved for certain people at a special time and place. For instance it may be for convincing Jews of the twenty second century that Jesus is Messiah. That will involve showing how their own scripture, the Old Testament, spoke of the things outlined in The New Testament. The lord used parables to withhold information from those for whom it was not intended, and deliver it to those who were to know these things. So the idea there is mor