This Book Review Tuesday we are going in a slightly more serious direction than usual. The topic today: religion. I was asked to review Santa Claus, Flying Saucers, and God (Is Anybody Up There?) by the author, Donald Grey Barnhouse, Jr. He did not tell me anything about the book – just gave me the title and asked if I would be interested in reviewing it. The title immediately intrigued me, because it resonated with me as a reader, constant questioner, and college philosophy major. Plus, there was the fact that he was the second person to ask for a review of his own accord – I continue to find it extremely flattering that strangers want my opinion, I must confess. When I asked him how he managed to find me he said, and I quote, “I can’t tell you how I found your website; it was serendipity at its most anonymous.”

He went on to mention that he has a regular newspaper column and peruses the Internet with an eye for “information and ideas”, and that it was possibly through the good fortunes of Google that he found me. Well now, all that was well and good, and combined with the title of his book, would likely have been enough to draw me in and get me to agree to the review. But it was really the mention of serendipity that hooked me. I am a huge believer in the value of serendipity. I think it deserves more credit for spontaneous good things than it ever gets. Plus it’s fun to say. (teehee)

So serendipitous event that it was, Mr. Barnhouse asked me for a review and I am pleased to be able to deliver it.
Continue reading On Serendipity, God and Religion, and Asking Big Questions (includes book review of “Santa Claus, Flying Saucers, and God (Is Anybody Up There?)”)