Book Reviewed: The Hope and Vision of J Robert Oppenheimer by Michael A Day

Distilling the mind of Robert Oppenheimer (two stars) This book reconstructs what Oppenheimer wrote about his life using ideas of contemporary philosophers. The author analyzes his views using international relations theory with a special emphasis on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. Oppenheimer insisted that the U.S. government practice less secrecy and more openness towards the American people about the realities of nuclear warfare. Robert Oppenheimer was a brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan project to build the first atomic bomb and then found himself confronting the morality of using such a destructive weapon during a war. He was deeply influenced by the metaphysics of Bhagavadgita, the holy scripture of Hinduism. Spiritually, he found solace in the teachings of Lord Krishna to prince Arjuna: He found himself in the shoes of Arjuna who was fighting an army consisting of his teachers and his close family members. By distilling these teachings of Krishna to Arjuna, Oppenheimer found that Gita’s teaching directly applied to his situation. He came to believe that he was a physicist, and his job was to serve his country without any fruits for his work, and therefore not responsible for the devastating effects of a nuclear weapon. One of the main problems in Oppenheimer’s conception of the Hindu holy book was that he read only Bhagavadgita and did not familiarize with the vast Hindu literature or the major schools of Hindu philosophy, especially Sankhya, Yoga, and Vedanta philosophies that plays a large role in Gita’s teachings. He understood the sacred book like a Christian understanding the New Testament, like for example, John 3:16. It is plain and simple and puts one’s mind at ease thinking that becoming a new-born Christian by accepting Jesus as the savior is sure to reward a believer with a guaranteed passage to heaven! But Oppenheimer got lost, equating New Testament with Hindu scripture like Bhagavadgita is a serious mistake many Western scholars do! There is no such equivalent scripture. Hindu teachings run from Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavadgita that are sublimed in the esoteric of six Hindu philosophical systems. Erwin Schrodinger, the founding father of wave mechanics became deeply interested in Hindu teachings and studied Upanishads and the Hindu philosophy. He was lifelong Vedanta philosopher according Schrodinger’s biographer, Walter J. Moore. But Oppenheimer stayed away from Hindu philosophy. The most famous thoughts of him were when he witnessed the first testing of atomic bomb in New Mexico. The burst of lights emanating from nuclear fission was magnificent. He remembered the hymn of Bhagavadgita 11:12 in which it said, A thousand simultaneous suns Arising in the sky Might equal that great radiance, Of the Supreme Lord in the universal form He later said on television quoting Bhagavadgita 11:32 “Now I become death, destroyer of world (translated by Arthur W. Ryder). This translation is misleading, the hymn refers to time and not death per se according to many Hindu scholars, Now I am the mighty world-destroying time Here made the manifest for the purpose of infolding the world. Even without thee none of the warriors arrayed in the hostile army shall live The two major philosophical systems; Sankhya and Vedanta simplify what Hinduism believes in, in the former school, the cosmos is created by two entities, Purusha (soul) and Prakriti (matter), later this idea evolved in the Vedanta school that postulated that there is only one creating entity called Brahman (also referred to as Pure Consciousness or the Supreme Soul). The reality we see, and experience in this world originates because of Maya (illusion). So, in essence the creating entity is not only responsible for the creation but also for sustenance and the destruction of the cosmos, everything is in the hands of the divine. Pure Consciousness pervades in the universe that holds spacetime in which matter and energy play according to the laws of physics, but when spacetime unfolds, matter and energy becomes crunched creating a quantum vacuum in a sea of Pure Consciousness. Everything begins and ends in Pure Consciousness. In essence, Krishna states in Bhagavadgita that Arjuna has an obligation to understand and perform his duty (dharma), because everything is connected by the law of cause and effect. Cause produces the corresponding effect, but those who act selfishly create the cause (Karma) and are thereby bound to that effect that may produce either good or bad. Those who act selflessly and do their duty of dharma without desiring for fruits are free from the effects of karma, because the results never motivated them. Since there is no cause, and obviously there is no effect in this act. In effect nothing created or destroyed, it is all in the grand plan of the divine that everything in the cosmos is preordained as quantum physics tries to teach us. The book does not devote much to the philosophical ideas that influenced Robert Oppenheimer but choose to discuss about his political philosophy and the nuclear disarmament.

Book Reviewed: Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America by William H. Frey

Is diversity necessary for prosperity? This book examines the demographics of the United States and discusses its implications in terms of racial and cultural diversity as a positive influence on the health of American society. The author expresses hope that the nation will experience continuing conflicts over its growing diversity. And American citizens understand the significance of new diversity for its economic future and embrace the change. He points out that the political impact of the nation's new diversity surge was evident in the election of Barrack Obama as the first Black president. But he is too quick to make a positive assessment in ignoring key issues. For example, European leaders have accepted cultural transformation of parts of their countries into Muslim territories, there is a demographic disaster taking place. They know that in two or three decades, Europe will be ruled by significant number of Islamic politicians. This is already clear in United Kingdom where hijab-wearing women have become political leaders at both the national and local governments. Muslim leaders relentlessly fight for the operation of Sharia laws in U.K. that is largely built on human right violations. Historian Walter Laqueur said that European civilization is dying, and only old monuments and museums would survive. He was too optimistic, because the old monuments and museums might well be blown up as they signify Christian culture. We have been seen the rise of “Antifa” — an “anti-fascist” movement whose actions are extreme in its demand for police defunding and Marxist ideologies. The 9/11 terrorist attack in New York and other large-scale terrorist attacks in Europe received the same reaction as others: tears, prayers, flowers, candles, teddy bears, and proclamations that Islam means peace. Mainstream media call these errors of the past committed by the Western countries. West European leaders treat Islamic terrorism as a fact that we must get used to as some kind of aberration unrelated to Islam. This shift has occurred in less than half a century. Before then, asking them to integrate became unthinkable. They consider themselves as Muslim first. Many European leaders, especially on the left have given up defending their own civilization. Social-housing neighborhoods suddenly became Muslim neighborhoods. Young Muslim hoods patrol the areas making it hostile to non-Muslims, especially women. They became breeding grounds for the recruitment of Islamic terrorists. Western governments passed laws restricting freedom of speech. In most European countries, even questioning Islam is branded as "Islamophobia". It leads to heavy fines, if not criminal trials and prison time. The Biden administration is seriously considering such laws and even going as far as creating Islamophobia czar for Department of Homeland Security, with strong vocal support from Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and not to mention strong support from democratic outfit. Western leaders have neither the will nor the means to oppose the incoming waves of millions of Muslim migrants from Africa and the Middle East when no Islamic country would welcome them. There is a demographic disaster taking place in Europe, and if the United States does not act to stop Muslim migration, we will see a Western culture devoid of freedom of expression. The author of this book is too optimistic in his analysis and does not examine the social and political climate created by a rapidly changing demographics by Islamists from Africa and the Middle East.

Book Reviewed: When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors and Asha Bandele

BLM: How does this revolution ends? In this memoir that largely reflects on the experience of Patrice Cullors narrates her traumatic battles with poverty, police brutality, incarceration, her brother’s mental illness, her father’s drug addiction and his homelessness. She explains how it is like to be growing up as a Black woman in America. Teamed up with Asha Bandele, the author of the best-selling memoir, The Prisoner's Wife, is known in the literary world for her writing and social activism. The story of Black Lives Matter (BLM) is combined with love and bouts of pain. The most touching part of her life is about her father which is best described in Chapter 7, entitled “All the Bones We Could Find.” She recalls, “My father was part of a generation of Black men who spent a lifetime watching hope and dreams shoved just out of their reach until it seemed normal. She considers him to be spiritual who demonstrated to her as how Black life mattered. She struggles to understand and connect with him even though he spent more time away in prison than with her. It is equally gripping to read the misfortunes of her brother Monte and his bouts with mental illness, police brutality and his time in prison. Throughout her brother’s incarcerations, Cullors never failed to show him of love and humanity. The author details about the injustices done to the Black population in great length citing specific cases and how it empowered the Black movement. Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It gained national prominence in 2014, after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. But the idea was conceived in 2013 when the jury in Florida found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter experienced a steady growth, but during a BLM protest in Dallas in July 2016, five white police officers were slain by a BLM supporter named Micah Xavier Johnson. President Obama spoke sympathetically about the Black movement which infuriated the law enforcing officers. During the trial of Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the political pressure and the level of anarchy was so high in this country that officer Chauvin never had a chance for not guilty verdict. BLM, ANTIFA and the rest of the anarchists were in full attack mode to direct their anger against the jury and their family members had they found officer not guilty. No politician or the media would have dared to criticize BLM if such an event had occurred. If Black community could accept O.J. Simpson verdict, why not that of George Zimmerman? There were 12,000 demonstrations and 633 related riots that followed George Floyd’s death. Most BLM supporters and members of ANTIFA are confirmed Marxists, and they want to dismantle American way of life. Along with like-minded activists, they make savvy use of social media to spread their gospel of total and complete socialism and defund-police activism. The acts of riots and brazen robberies in many cities in Northwest indicates how much muscle BLM and ANTIFA has. The BLM, regarded as a steward of a revolution took over $90 million in donation in 2020 alone, and Patrisse Cullors bought four high-end homes for $3.2 million in 2021. In Feb 2022, a Black activist named Quintez Brown charged with the attempted murder of mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg in a Louisville, Kentucky was bailed out after the bond amount of $100,000 was posted by BLM. As we understand more about BLM as an organization, I wonder if everything Cullors say about police actions is true or some it could be hearsay? Despite all the reservations I have about BLM movement, I like this book, it is beautifully written, and Cullors’ personal life will have lasting impact on human compassion and emotions that challenges us in everyday life.

Book Reviewed: The Other Gospels: Accounts of Jesus from Outside the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman and Zlatko Plese

Shadows on canonical gospels Gnosticism is a collection of beliefs and practices among early Christian sects which emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (Gnosis) above the orthodox teachings and authority of established institutions. According to the Gnostic belief system, material existence is flawed, and it proposes that there is a higher Supreme Being that is responsible for creating the cosmos. Gnostics believed that achieving salvation from materialism is to seek knowledge of the supreme divinity through the mystical insight. Most Gnostic texts do not believe in the concepts of sin and repentance that is dominant in the canonical gospels and the New Testament, but acquiring knowledge is essential for the emancipation of human miseries. According to the Gospel of Mary Magdalene 4:26, “The Savior said There is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery.” Then Mary goes on to say in the same chapter verse 30, “Matter gave birth to a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body.” The infancy gospels like the Gospel of James, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Syriac Infancy Gospel describes many miraculous incidents from the life of Mary and the childhood of Jesus not found in the canons. They also include extensive narratives of the birth and upbringing of Jesus’ mother Mary. The History of Joseph the Carpenter is a compilation of traditions of Mary, Joseph, and the "holy family.” The Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian literary work of allegorical language describes five visions granted to Hermas. This is followed by twelve commandments, and ten parables. This allegorical language continues through this work that suggests that Jesus is God and not a human. The remarks of Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria, the leadership in the early days of the church offers a sense of resistance to the teachings of the Shepherd. But Pope Callixtus I said it as an authority and deserved to be included in the Divine Instrument. Borborites another Gnostic sect had sacred scriptures revolved around the figure of Mary Magdalene. The elements of sexual sacramental practices formed an important role in their rituals. This sect engaged in a version of the Eucharist in which they would smear their hands with menstrual blood and semen and consume them as the blood and body of Christ, respectively. The Gospel of Peter suggests that Jesus did not actually die. This, together with the claim that on the cross Jesus "remained silent, as though he felt no pain", has led many early Christian leaders to accuse this text of Docetism. Christ was so divine that he could not have been human, since God lacked a material body, therefore could not feel physical pain that is completely contrary to the teachings in the church today. The Gospel of Nicodemus, also called the Acts of Pilate describes the Harrowing of Hell episode where St. Dismas accompanies Jesus in a descent to hell, and the deliverance of the righteous Old Testament patriarchs. Church's synods of Carthage and Rome which established the New Testament canon rejected Gnostic gospels as apocryphal and ordered for a massive destruction of the ancient scriptures. A major question in scholarly research now is the qualification of Gnosticism as a phenomenon that may have the influence of other belief systems of that time. Sankhya and Vedanta school of Hindu philosophical system were known throughout the Indian subcontinent during the times of Jesus, and Buddha knew the principles of Sankhya philosophy. The Gnostic belief system is reminiscent of Sankhya school of thought. The English translations of over forty noncanonical texts presented in this book is helpful to readers who are interested in Gnostic Christianity that dominated the early church. This is a good reference books even for students at Divinity schools, Christian seminaries and church pastors who are more open to Gnosticism.