Quitting Books

When I was trying to give up smoking I read a lot of books. this was one of them. this was one of the beter ones. The one that did it for me though was The Voice of Tobacco. Good book, great idea, stopped me and made me laugh as well.

To successfully stop smoking you need to do 2 things: beat your addiction to nicotine and break your smoking habits. (quitting smoking is about skills not willpower - if you had willpower, would you be smoking?). Quitting Smoking for Dummies shows you how to do both. Brizer reviews the medicines out there that can help you quit, so you can select what is best for you. He then goes through how to break your smoking habit, how to select a support group if you need one, and how to stay clean (prevent the relapse). The book is well written, engaging, and the clever/witty in the usual Dummies way. The book is comprehensive -- now this is a requirement I guess for a mainstream/book-for-everyone, but it is too long for the average smoker? For example, are you pregnant? Do you chew? Etc. If not, don't read those sections. I would recommend reading over the Table of Contents and finding the information you need to help you quit. In short, this book is well written, correct, and comprehensive information. Good luck.

Although I don't personally smoke, three of my co-workers do and they've created a pact to quit smoking, and I am SO TIRED of listening to their constant complaining all the time about how hard it is to quit. I don't know if this book will help them or not, but I bought each of them a copy, and hopefully the personal stories will both help them to quit and give me some PEACE and QUIET around the office. Sheesh!

This book deals specifically with Knipfel's attempted suicide and the resulting time he spent in the booby hatch. While still a very good book, it's not up to the standards of that first, solid writing effort he created in SLACKJAW. While on some levels NAIROBI is a more mature book, it lacks the emotional power of the initial memoir by him. Still and all, it's worth the time to pursue, and as it's only available remaindered these days, you have no excuse at all for not picking up a copy and giving it a whirl.

I mean that title ironically of course. This is not a confessional book. Nor is it one of those incredibly dated "there is no thing as mental illness" tripe like Ken Keesey or R.D. Laing. Knipfel is not so much a participant as an observer. I can tell you, from experience, this is exactly what mental hospitals are like. The everyday boredom from the drug lines to the bland meals served with plastic utensils to the patients zoning out in front of the tv, everything is captured perfectly. And not to give too much away but it made me want to check out some Ernie Kovacs skits. The experience in this book is at once mundane and awe inspiring.

A mad book by a level head. Jim Knipfel gives you a ground zero tour of a locked down psych ward where he spent 6 months (in his early 20's) after trying to off himself with pills and cheap scotch (not that a $20 bottle would've necessarily done the job). He would be the first to admit that he is inept at suicide, this being one (the slam dunk) in a long line of self-inflicted attempts on his life. Writing from the perspective of an older person, one who may not have exorcised all his demons but at least has figured out what to feed them so that he can focus on his writing, Knipfel has drawn an evocative sketch of a milieu most people only see dramatized in films.

There is a cast of "Cuckoo's Nest" characters, each with their own quirks, but Knipfel shoots for empathy, or at least understanding, rather than condescension in his writing. It's the doctors and one particular orderly that make him leery; this orderly makes it a point to give him a guided tour of the electroshock therapy room and the straitjacket closet because he thinks of Knipfel as someone on the "outside". In fact, when he is eventually moved upstairs to the "open" ward (a case of false advertising, it turns out), he begins to miss his former community: the man on the stationary bike who pauses only to yell a bunch of four letter non sequitors and the woman whose makeup is applied in such a way that every day is Halloween for her. It is these descriptions, along with Knipfel's own psychedelic hallucinations that keep you engrossed. Despite having studied philosophy in grad school, thankfully he spins his tales with a layman's vocabulary.

In two books, this one and the earlier "Slackjaw", another painful/funny memoir, Knipfel, if he doesn't quite make the case for suffering as a crucible on the path towards a more tranquil frame of mind, at least allows you to laugh about it in a way that doesn't make you feel bad about doing so. The story has one foot in Purgatory and the other in Hell, and over there, in the toll booth taking your quarters is Beckett. And the author is wearing a Residents T-shirt in the jacket photo, so what are you waiting for?

In the tradition of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

This is a great memoir for those leary of "therapy" and various psychiatric treatments, hospitals, and institutions. Knifel, from my home state, was institutionalized after a rather colorful suicide attempt. He summarized the whole experience in the preface, by asking, "Did it to me any good?" "
No, he answered, again, colorfully.

Was he sane? I'm not sure that that means. (Though he was reading and rereading a book by Jacques Lacan, that post modernist loon who he admitted is incomprehensible....I don't know if anyone "sane" would put himself through that ordeal!)

I love Knipfel's talent at describing all he sees...the strange patients, the wonders as to whether they're any less sane than the staff. Sure, they were a bit strange, idiosyncratic, as were the self-commited characters in "Cuckoo's Nest." But any need for an institution? Something to think about...

By the way, the "Nairobi Trio" came from an old TV skit of Ernie Kovacs, and it became a metaphor for sanity or lack thereof. Wonderful.

The only thing I didn't like was the last few pages. It was the narrative of a dream. Perhaps it meant something. He's such a talented writer that it doubtless did. But I find the whole dream analysis thing to be so ridiculous that I don't take it seriously at all and it turns me off. But until then I recommend this book particularly for those who are suspicious of present day psychiatric "treatment" or even interested in a little entertainment through some great writing.

" Pure Imagination"

Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination

We'll begin with a spin
Trav'ling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world, there's nothing to it

There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world, there's nothing to it

There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be

-Anthony Newley (1931-1999), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Here's exhibit A in the case for not judging a book by its cover, or, for that matter, its title. I first saw
the book in a discount bin, spine out, and wondered how come I'd never heard of the Nairobi Trio.
Intrigued enough to at least check it out, I was greeted by one of the most frightening images I've ever
seen on a book jacket : a derby wearing, cigar smoking, guy in a gorilla mask, the whole thing tinted
blue. Check out the author info on the back flap and there's a picture of a long-haired guy in a top hat
who looks like a cross between Stevie Ray Vaughn and the actor David Warner. The book is
eminently putdownable.

But then I read a couple decent reviews and realized that the author is a columnist for the consistently
diverting NY Press, so I figured it was worth a shot. Well, from the opening pages, where he analyzes
Gene Wilder singing Pure Imagination as an endorsement of a schizophrenic world view, Jim Knipfel's
memoir of a six month stay in a Minneapolis psych ward is at least wryly amusing, and often laugh out
loud funny.

Particularly funny, though it obviously should not be, is his account of how he ended up there,
following a series of attempts to kill himself. In order to save his family the pain of dealing with his
action, Knipfel, who at the time was a graduate student and teaching assistant in philosophy at the
University of Minnesota, decided to try framing a student who'd been sending him love notes. In
order to make it look like she had stalked and killed him, he tried slashing his back with a steak knife,
with predictably feeble results. Then, having experimented previously with self-asphyxiation, he
decided to hang himself, but found the experience much less pleasurable this time. So finally, he tried
sleeping pills and whiskey, but somehow managed to stumble out into the hallway of his apartment
building, but not before seriously damaging his liver.

Taken to the hospital, he awoke screaming quotations from Nietzsche in rhymed German, and was
diagnosed as suffering a "mixed-personality disorder." He was thought to have undergone some kind
of "psychotic break" and was placed in a locked psychiatric ward to determine if he posed a further
danger to himself or the general public. But he was not really given any therapy, nor treatments, his
stay basically consisted of sitting around the ward, reading the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan,
and then a ten minute session with a doctor once a week. Even these brief visits though seem to have
been less about providing care than simply assessing his condition. Finally, with no warning and no
apparent change in his mental status, Knipfel was moved to an open ward and then released, mostly
because he reached the maximum stay allowed by state law.

It would be easy enough for Knipfel to rail against the complete inadequacy of the care he received,
and he'd be justified, but that's not what he's after here, mercifully. Instead he offers a rather calm and
dispassionate account of his experience, of the folks he met, and of the process by which he decided he
didn't want to kill himself anymore. This last is where the "Nairobi Trio" comes in. I'll not ruin it for
prospective readers; suffice it to say that they were characters who dressed up as gorillas for a musical
act in an old Ernie Kovacs skit, whose nearly Sisyphiphean plight Knipfel came to identify with.

This is a minor but worthwhile book, less concerned with milking mental illness for sympathy or
drama than with telling an interesting story and telling it with great humor. Knipfel uses an interesting
technique in that he never actually tells the reader whether he thinks he was insane during this period
of time, but all of the folks around him react to him in ways that suggest he was. Unfortunately, the
one part of the story that does not work well is his extended recreation of various hallucinations he
endured. These are fairly tedious. But I suppose if they made sense to us then we'd be in trouble,
which maybe provides the answer to the sanity question.

GRADE : B+

I joined a quit smoking group and tonight was our quit night to throw away our cigarettes, etc. Someone in our group brought this book and read it out loud. It had numerous AHA moments and several things that are really inspiring about quitting. I was hesitant on whether I'd be able to do it but after hearing some of the stuff in this book I now know - I CAN BE A NONSMOKER TOO!

This book works best when you purchase Allen Car's "The Easy Way To Quit Smoking." You have to really want to quit smoking, and if you do, these books will make it much easier for you. I have not had a cigarette in one month, and I have not used any nicotine patches, gum, or lozengers to help. You are just continuing the addiction to nicotine by using those items. It is best to just put out that last cigarette and say "I am a nonsmoker!"

If you don't already believe the fundamentals of this book you aren't ready to quit. The continuous "I AM A NONSMOKER" was annoying. Although admittedly, I'm not a big fan of the Cheerleader type self help books. I still can't fathom how this book ever got 5 stars based on quality and price. If you're committed to quiting talk to your doctor and join a group or try replacement therapy and skip this money waster.

I quit smoking for the first time in my life using the easyway a year and six months ago. It was the easiest and most enjoyable way to quit smoking, no lie. You can't describe the feeling of the "Magic Button" being pushed untill you experience it yourself.

Six months ago, I started smoking again. I read the book again and it didn't work. The button just wasn't there. I was too filled with self-disgust, fear and foolishness to let the book work for me. With the added tedious nature of reading the full length book for the second, third and forth time (without the elated "Magic Button" feeling), it just wasn't working.

This morning I read The Little Book of Quitting and I felt that button pushed in my mind. I know I have quit smoking again, once and for all. It sounds crazy, but I just know.

I think the big difference is that on my second and subsequent attempts I expected the book to work magic without really letting the content sink in. My advice would be to read with no expectations. Don't think about how it's going to work, just let it work.

I would reccomend The Little Book of Quitting for people who were in my situation. If you have read the original book and need a refresher following relapse, I would highly reccomend this book. If you have never read The Easy Way To Stop Smoking, I would suggest you pick that book up first.

Good luck!

I appreciate that most people are understandably skeptical of anonymous online reviews. If you're one of those, Google this book and find the video clips of credible and/or celebrity folks giving a ringing endorsement. Here's mine.

I have literally not had a single cigarette since I read this book. In fact, as I started to read it, I told myself that I would finish the pack I had just bought and then try to stop smoking for a week or so. Then, as I neared the end of the book, I threw the pack away. I was literally anxious to become a non-smoker. I know that sounds overly dramatic, but it's the absolute truth (and why I was moved to write a review). The six dollars I spent on this book was very probably the best money I've ever spent.

Frankly, as I type this, I wish I were a better writer. I wish that I could figure out how to convey absolute endorsement of this book without sounding grand or generic or like every other advertisement.

Here is the best endorsement I can muster: This book is one of my most prized possessions. If you want to become a non-smoker, buy it right now.

Does quitting mean running away from your house, your loved ones, your job - into a dense forest with sticks, stones and only left with a conversation about yourself that will break your bones. It would seem that this is not the game. It would seem that if we were to "try quitting" and sitting, whether on a beach or the woods, we would be chased by ghosts of fear, perhaps hatred or even envy, perhaps even more. Who knows? You know I guess, since you may have been you for a while, if you are lucky.
No, sitting somewhere distant might not mean that you have really been quitting - THAT WOULD BE TOO EASY!
Could you quit and still live a life. Love and live in ecstacy. This is the message I am reading from this book.
I might be way off, but how ingrained are some "stuff of our lives" DO YOU DARE FIND OUT?!?
If so....read on and read the book.

I liked the book and thought it had some good ideas. I would strongly recommend reading it.

But I would like to know how the author kept his family housed and fed when he "quit" the culture.

I agree that there are many games we play that are not necessary and drain the living daylights out of us. And unfortunately there are a lot of games we play that we are required to play and they also drain the living daylights -- and even the life -- out of us.

Perhaps we don't need to play "Thou Shalt Work" and other games. But I am emmeshed in something called "Thou Shalt Eat Or Thou Shalt Die of Starvation" and "Thou Shalt House Thyself or Thou Shalt End Your Life Years Ahead Of Time."

Maybe I'm being too pragmatic? I guess I'm still addicted to being alive, silly me.

I received a 'junk mail' offer for this book several years ago, and couldn't resist. I can't comment too specifically, since it's been a while, but it caused me to ponder the book publishing business I'd been running for 15 years, and realize I really wasn't very excited about it anymore. At the same time I realized that I DID like sending royalty checks to authors - so I didn't want to quit the business; I just stopped pretending to work all day long at it, or even particularly care about parts of it I didn't care about, but did because I *should*. Within a couple years, our sales volume had doubled, and I've never had any doubt it was largely because of my letting go, inspired by this book.

Meanwhile, I found myself with time and energy to enter a period of intense personal growth, exploring, adventuring, and mentoring emotionally needy young adults...instead of worrying about being busy with my job all day long.

I recommend this book to people willing to question the necessity of their present reality - perhaps for fun and profit. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Quite succinctly, Jerry exposes the games, rituals and numbing mind loops that are so pervasive in society. He allows you to almost see what isnt seen to reveal the many ways our minds, society and customs shape us with and without our permission.

When you can wake each day (not by being perfect) and be more cognizant to the various ways we move about and interract and have the choice to quit playing many of these "games" for lack of a better word, then we start playing ones of our own choosing and allowing ourselves to even let go of those.

How to win by quitting opened up my eyes to things I may have known a little bit about before, but it did it in such a way as it now allows me to take action sooner and see things for what they are for me now...

Thank you Jerry

This book is really all about games and, in my opinion, it's one of the most important books written. There are basically three levels at which one can approach games: 1)unconsciously, in which case you are like a robot with no choice; 2) consciously, in which case you can make up your own rules; and most winners usually operate on this level; or 3) you can decide not to play. And you really can do that. Someone on the unconscious level can never understand that you can quit games, so if you're not ready for that, then perhaps this is not the book for you.

However, if you're ready for the next step in your life, a step toward waking up, then this is a great book with which to begin.

I have not yet completed reading this book but find I can only absorb a small amount at one time and some of the concepts are way over my head. This would probably be a better read for someone who has been or is currently a member of AA.

This is an excellent book. It is full of highlights and dog-eared pages for me to go back to.

This book was the next logical step in the pursuit of long term recovery and the work necessary for the individuals seeking a deeper understanding of alcoholism and it's relation to daily living once sobriety is underway. Dr Paul O. sights many additioinal resources that the reader may find helpful and enlightening for their own personal journey. Many of us will realize in a very short period of time that there IS more to quitting drinking than just the physical aspects of being sober or not taking that next drink. You will find that here.

This book clearly explains the sickness of alchoholism and how to deal with someone who suffers from this disease. It assisted me in making some very important decisions and changes in my life.

I think it would be good supplemental reading for folks early into their recovery. It's OK reading for old timers.

Full of facts and recearch on smoking cessation. A ton of useful hints to help you give up those smokes. It was recomended to me as a beg,borrow or steal for its comprehensive content. Very Useful.

I have been a Smoking Cessation facilitator for 15 years. I have led classes for several hospitals. Much of the most effective teaching I share comes from Dr. Ferguson's book. Excellent reference for facilitators or participants. I recommend it in my classes.
Thank You, Joyce R. Hinkle

this book is dated now. it would be nice if there was an updated version with the advent of patches now in use.
i found some of the statistics very illuminating and provided me with a strategy on quitting smoking which i am attempting to implement. for instance only half of all people who stopped smoking did so cold turkey. the other half had a well thought out plan of gradual cessation. which makes sense to me. we did not become smokers overnight so it's logical that we don't become non-smokers overnight.
there is a useful appendix on the brands of cigarettes and their tar and nicotine level to guide you to weaning you off nicotine if you prefer to attempt to quit that way.
at the price this book sells for it is a good value in my opinion

I have accumulated 5 or 6 books on quitting smoking.

Finally (via Zyban) I have been successful - this book was the most useful and helpful of all

This book is an excellent guide for anyone thinking about cutting down or quitting smoking. It was THE most important thing I read before I quit smoking. Haven't had a cigarette since July 3, 1989!

This book provides some information and a vague guideline on the treatment of addiction; good as a self help tool for individuals.

The workbook allows one to view his/her compulsion to drink and/or use drugs from multiple perspectives, to better realize the consequences and to make a reasoned choice about whether or not to embrace sobriety. It then gently guides one into early recovery, giving tips and support for making important changes in life so as not to return to alcohol and/or drugs. Fanning writes in short, clear sentences so that the book is very easy to understand, and shows great compassion for those who are burdened by the terrible compulsion that is addiction.

Bought it for my grown son...along with AA, prof. treatment, the workbook has been a good support for him.

This book has the basis information a person needs to quit their addiction. Is the same basic principles that rehabilitation programs used. Except that in the rehab you have a team a people that help you and the AA/NA meetings are all day.

Zender makes some interesting and telling points about mainstream evangelicalism and Catholicism, but he writes in such a cynical, self-righteous way, causing the book to lose much of its power and credibility. Its message is like so many other books of the same genre: "I'm better than you, and understand God better than you, and I'm not going to have anything to do with you any more!" (Sigh....)

Martin Zender's book, How to Quit Church without Quitting God is an examination of the church as a religious institution and how it often exchanges the bondage of sin for the bondage of the church. While he does cover several important areas and cover them well, I have two areas where I thought the text either belabored a point far beyond what was necessary or left out a point that was very important.

The belabored point was on the definition of a cult. Zender discusses the fact that the very activities that many Christian groups use to define a cult are the same activities that they engage in. While his points are well made on this front some of them also suffer from problems with his analysis. For example, he accuses the Christian religion of meeting several of the aspects of the definition of a cult as espoused by Bob Larson in his book. The problem is that Zender applies these to point out that the Christian religion as practiced today meets these traits of a cult. For example, he accuses the church of meeting item two of Larson's definition which states that cults alter the diet of those who follow it. They do this by "depriving one of essential nutrients and enforcing a low-protein diet" which "can lead to disorientation and emotional susceptibility". He then points out that they use dozens of cookies at Vacation Bible School and so meet this criteria. Well, so does a typical day care center, many Grandparents offer cookies, ice cream and other items to the grandchildren, etc. As a matter of fact the typical parent would fit just about every factor for definition as a cult according to Larson's book. I felt that Zender wasted my time with Chapter Six on the discussion of how the church today fits the bill as a cult when the problem is the definition of a cult as espoused by Larson would make almost all families cults. The definition itself is defective so why use it?

For the most part, the rest of the book was excellent and points out many of the problems of the church as it practices religion today. Accurate and filled with Biblically based arguments, it is a very good read.

On the other hand, it misses one of the best reasons to quit church (while not quitting God). That reason is the perfection expected from the church. I find it very hard to swallow that so many churches would forgive and accept anyone as a member if they would ask for forgiveness and join their church. On the other hand, if someone who is a member of the church makes a mistake then they are much slower to forgive and much more likely not to forget. For example, I once attended a church where a young, unmarried girl wanted to find new direction in her life and join the church. She was welcomed into the youth group and encouraged to join other activities with the youth. Then one of the young ladies who was already a member of the church and youth group became pregnant. She was told that she could no longer be part of the youth and since she had made an adult decision she would be included on the role of the adult classes and was no longer to have any involvement with the youth activities. With that sort of perfection expected if you join a church then why would anyone want to? Once you are in then you must be perfect, something that even Apostle Paul was unable to attain.

Don't get me wrong, I like the book and would recommend it. The chapters on God does not live in Boxes, the Church digs People into Spiritual Ruts, and the Church binds People to clocks and Buildings are insightful and excellently argued. Taken as a whole it is a good read and can cause the reader to see things in a different light that is based on truth instead of institution. An excellent book that is part of what are probably the three best books on the problems of the church today. The other two books would be "Messy Spirituality" and "When Bad Christians happen to Good People". Every Christian who realizes that something isn't quite right about the way the Christian religion is practiced today should read these three books.

I loved this book. Zender hits the problem of today's churches square on and holds nothing back. Zender also points out that "going" to church has nothing to do with the measure of our faith. A must read, especially for anyone struggling with today's concept of church attendance.

As one who has followed Christ for over twenty years, I can vouch for the fact that church can be, well, bad. I've certainly had enough spiritual abuse, backstabbing, arrogant leadership, and bogus doctrines to last an eternity. And as a 40-year-old singleton, I feel pretty marginalized at a typical couples-oriented church service. So it was with interest that I picked up "How To Quit Church Without Quitting God." Is it possible to sleep in on Sunday and still be a good Christian? Martin Zender thinks so.

Mr. Zender grew up in a legalistic Catholic environment. Eventually, he became disillusioned and broke with what he calls "organized church." However, he still claims to follow Christ, and is much happier in his faith now that he's freed himself from bondage to Sunday meetings. Here, he provides "seven good reasons to escape the box." They include, "Church digs people into spiritual ruts," and "The Christian religion fits its own definition of a cult." These are fightin' words for some, to be sure. But Mr. Zander writes in a rough, humorous style, and I found myself identifying and sympathizing with many of his conclusions.

Even so, I struggled with some of them. Despite the fact that church often sucks, it's the only game in town for many believers. Indeed, its suckiness may be part of God's plan for sharpening, hard as it is (Prov. 27:17; Rom. 5:3-4). Tough or not, Christians are Scripturally required to maintain fellowship for ultimately positive reasons (Heb. 10:24-25). And unless you feel called to the mission field, the church is often the best place to hang with the brethren. But if a church service feels like detention hall, the doctrines are wacky, or abuse is occurring, then I agree with the author that alternatives such as a good small group or fulfilling para-church ministry are just fine (full disclosure: these two venues are my current primary means of fellowship, although I do attend my church's services when I usher.).

In addition, I'm a bit skeptical about his universalist leanings. I would certainly like it if everyone wound up in heaven, and perhaps God continues salvation after death, a la C. S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce." However, the Bible has too many passages that deal with the consequences of rejecting God to dismiss altogether. As Christians, we need to confront the hard parts of Scripture, be wary of feelings-based theology, and acknowledge that God may be up to things that are tough to bear (to be fair, perhaps Mr. Zender presents a more thorough Biblical exegesis on the subject in his book "Martin Zender Goes To Hell," but I haven't read that one yet. Nice title, though.).

At any rate, I recommend "How To Quit Church Without Quitting God" to anyone who is questioning their involvement in organized Christianity. You may decide not to "escape the box," but reading this book will cause you to think outside of it. He also has a self-named website if you want more info on him and his beliefs. Some other books that might help you deal with your church struggles are: "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse," by Johnson and VanVonderen, and "Twisted Scriptures," by Mary Alice Chrnalogar.

Zender has a unique way of bringing to the table "reality" of which the institutionilized Churches ignore. After reading about some of his experiences, I found them not at all dissimilar to my own.

I recall years ago when I was a member of a Baptist church discussing "baptism" with the pastor there. I was convinced that water baptism has no place in this present "dispensation of the grace of God". Rather than sitting down with Bible in hand to discuss this issue, the pastor instead said that our "church" doesn't teach this and he recommended that I find another church. He would not take the opportunity to show me the "error" of my way. Had I gone into Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses I am sure that they would have come with Bible in hand to rescue me from my heresy. But because my error was in this case "dispensationalism" they were the ones afraid lest I should seek them out.

Zender's courage, conviction and knowledge of the Bible is most refreshing though I don't agree with his version of choice and his opinions of the KJV. I have come to similar doctrinal convictions as his from just my KJV and Youngs Analytical Concordance. The Concordant Version is based on Westcott and Hort's nefarious Greek Text. All one has to do in my opinion is read most any verse in the Concordant Version and compare with the KJV and any unbiased person will see the superiority of the KJV. (Especially John 3:16) The Concordant Version doesn't even take a shot at translating a lot of words but rather transliterates them. That is not translation. The KJV may have translated "aionios" as "everlasting" in this passage but leaving the ambigious transliteration the CLNT does is inexusable. However, what Zender says about Hell, Hades, Sheol is most accurate (Especially in his other book "Martin Zender goes to Hell"). And what he points out about the translation of the KJV in certain places is definitely true. But this is easily discernable through a careful study of Youngs or Strongs Concordance.

All in all, Zender has challenging points to consider if you happen to be in the "rut" of church. And his style of writing, humor, and keen understanding of Scripture will help and challenge and uplift as well.

Also, in regards to his view on Universal Salvation, this seems to me more wishful thinking rather than careful Scriptural exegesis. Zender pulls out the usual "proof texts" that most any Universalist would use (though Zender is a BIBLE BELIEVER not a Universalist, that is, Zender doesn't subscribe to the Universalist denomination's statement of faith if I understand him correctly. He doesn't want to be labeled with them since they don't regard the Scriptures as the final authority for faith and practice and he does. Fair enough).

However, you don't take a few verses out of the Bible to prove that the rest of the Bible is not true. It is also true that the rest of the Bible is true. You don't produce 5 verses from Paul to make a liar out of God.

For a Scriptural view on the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (Not Eternal Torment) see Edward Fudge's "The Fire That Consumes". However, after saying this, this doesn't distract from Zender's point about leaving Church one bit. Zender's points are all valid and his conclusions are well founded.

Zender is a very talented writer and speaker.