Review: Questioning and Seeking
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 13, 2014
The title of the book is bold, and the content follows through; Klaus E. Berger examines Christian teachings and beliefs, contending 90% of Jesus’s teachings have been suppressed and seeking to kindle curiosity in the reader to find truth. Rather than tearing down Christianity, he says right at the beginning of his book that it is his “hope that the light will be kindled in many hearts.”Before taking readers through the “hidden” knowledge, Berger creates a convincing argument for the need for people to seek for themselves. Without the journey and the breakthroughs, truth cannot be known. Initially when I began reading, I was concerned Berger was a run of the mill conspiracy theorist, but instead, he seems genuinely interested in encouraging people to find and learn truth, not swallow his idea of truth. The path of discovery he describes is old-school mythic, and it makes a lot of sense; people must work for illumination, not see by other people’s light.As the book progresses, tackles various of the “secrets,” but also explores how religious institutions have used the knowledge for their own power and control, rather than for the illumination and salvation of their adherents. It’s bold stuff. Originally this book was written in Danish in 1988, but the ideas and approach still stand, and it’s great to see more works from other cultures and languages appearing in English now. I think anyone interested in theology will find it interesting, as will anyone suspicious of religious institutions but still wanting to follow the Gospels.