The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin - L. Jagi Lamplighter

Overall: 8/10

Characters: 8.5/10

Plot: 8/10

Pacing: 6/10

Message: 8/10

It's been a while since I posted, and even longer since I posted a book review, so I wanted to treat you all to the most recent notch on my Kindle: L. Jagi Lamplighter's The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin. While not quite a "Young Adult" any more, I found Ms. Lamplighter's writing more than engrossing enough for any age. Drawn in by the preview, I ponied up my $2.99 and dove right in! I was not at all disappointed in that decision - Unexpected Enlightenment  was well worth it!

In going to write my review, I found that Ms. Lamplighter's husband, John C. Wright (also an author), had posted a link to another review of this book by Pierce T. Oka at Dogma & Dragons. Reading it, I found I agreed with many of Mr. Oka's points, and thus recommend you read his take along with my own to get a fuller picture. That said, let's dive right in!

Idolatry: Hidden but not Harmless

Possibly the most pervasive and dangerous sin in today's world is idolatry. Other sins may be bolder, more in our faces, more glamorous, but it is idolatry that saps the majority of our spiritual strength away right from the heart. If you think yourself immune, then you, more than anyone else, need to read on.

The primary pitfall of idolatry is how easily it slips our notice. Of all of our sins, it is the one we are most likely to justify: to consider to be simply a priority or a preference and not the paramount spiritual danger which it is. We make excuses for the worldly things that eclipse God in our devotion, seeing nothing wrong at all with the way we push Him to the sidelines.

Cowardice

Apparently both the First and Second Amendments no longer apply so long as its utilization is "insensitive." Yes folks, so long as someone "feels threatened," expulsion is on the table. Does that sound like the "Home of Brave" to you?

Now it is true that the US Supreme Court held in San Antonio Independent School Dist. v. Rodriguez  that, "Public education is not a "right" granted to individuals by the Constitution." (Plyler v. Doe, 457 US 202 at 221) Yet, as Brown v. Board of Education states, "Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." (347 US 483 at 493) As such, even without a positive right to an education, we can still see that educational access is an issue that the Supreme Court doesn't hold lightly.

The Left Eats its Own

Bill Maher continues to face the fallout from expressing his view of Islam. This view, of course, being similar to those held almost unanimously throughout the west prior to the modern era. Coincidentally, this view is also that required to make a serious attempt at a sustainable leftist society. Burkas and beheadings most assuredly don't respect the feminist imperative!

However, these views, while time honored, and useful to the goals of his class, are not the views of Islam sent down by diktat from the high command. As such, Maher is now persona non grata to some of whom he would otherwise be a rockstar. To think, Bill Maher protested against at Berkeley!

The War on Truth

In today's edition of the war on truth, the term "chickenshit" has now been redefined as unwilling to sell out one's own country for the plaudits of foreigners. On the other hand, non-"aspergery" people show their amazing social savvy by ignoring the will of their own people in order to serve the supposed best interests of another people, thousands of miles away.

As President Obama said just recently,

"We have to keep in mind that if we're discouraging our health care workers, who are prepared to make these sacrifices, from traveling to these places in need, then we're not doing our job in terms of looking after our own public health and safety,"

Democracy

"Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like." #FergusonOctober pic.twitter.com/hJ8DrO0tU5
— ABS (@ABSWashU) October 22, 2014

A bunch of people milling about in other peoples' business? An attempt to overrule the moral law by sheer numbers? An ineffectual and empty gesture that will either be ignored or subverted by the entrenched elites? Yup, that's democracy all right...

Phyla

There has long been an unfortunate confusion between making distinctions of phylum and performing science. Science, of course, is the practice of determining natural laws via testable, falsifiable hypotheses. Science says that a bear has x number of chromosomes.

Making phylum, on the other hand, is a means of characterizing and speaking about our discoveries. It does not discriminate between true and false, testable or not testable, and falsifiable or not falsifiable, it merely shows that a distinction is conceivable. Thus the phylum "bear" is distinguished from others by a set of common characteristics not shared by outsiders. In turn, differences between individuals in the phylum "bear" are conceptually deemphasized.