Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

Meeting Jesus Again       for the First Time   By   Marcus J. Borg   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   Borg begins his re-introduction of Jesus by telling us he is writing from the perspective of two worlds—the world of a religious scholar and the world of a Christian. Chapter 1 Images of Jesus are important. As children, Christians learn about Jesus as divine savior and teacher, but there’s more. He then tells us of his stressful spiritual struggle as a teenager. In my early teens, I began to have doubts about the existence of God. It was an experience filled with anxiety, guilt, and fear. I still believed enough to be afraid of going to hell because of my doubts. I felt that they were wrong, and in my prayers I would ask for forgiveness. But I couldn’t stop doubting, and so my requests for forgiveness seemed to me not to be genuine. (p.32) As many have before, Marcus prayed for help. “Every night for several years, I prayed with considerable anguish, “Lord,

THE WISDOM OF CROWDS   By    James Surowiecki Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton The next time you are part of a large group or crowd, have a look around. Would you trust them to make a wise decision on your behalf? How about guessing the weight of an ox after it has been slaughtered and dressed? James Surowiecki, staff writer for The New Yorker , begins his foray into collective intelligence by taking us back to century old findings by Sir Francis Galton. The crowd of 787 that Galton observed weighed in with an average ox weight guess of 1,197 pounds. The actual weight was 1,198. Not bad! Surowiecki’s thesis is that under certain conditions,  a crowd is smarter than an individual is. The author divided the book into two parts. In the first part, readers will learn three types of problems that appear amenable to solutions by the wisdom of crowds followed by four important conditions. Part two contains examples of situations where collective wisdom has made a difference. The