Is organized religion a force for good or a means to control the masses? How can it promote peace and justify war? Faith and its paradoxical nature are analyzed in The Puzzle of Life and the Missing Peace. There are no easy answers here, but the book raises solid questions and challenges the reader to think broadly.
Told as a series of dialogues between a student and Master, Puzzle theorizes that religion is used to separate us, when we are all really Spirit Beings with no true barriers, and that the Bible is intentionally misinterpreted to enforce this view and keep people on a treadmill fueled by faith and doubt. Clarity comes when we embrace our free will and use it for the good of all. “Life is perfect, and in perfect balance. It is up to you to not make it more difficult for yourself, or others.”
Author Oliver Morgen may ruffle a few feathers when he (or “Master”) calls The Bible “the so-called “Word of God,” but his arguments are nothing a well-rounded reader will find shocking. He uses the dialogue structure of the book to good effect, including a second conversation that addresses the attacks on September 11, 2001; the Master challenges the student to remove the label “terrorist” and see the attackers as part of humanity despite their actions. A reader can agree or disagree, but the argument is persuasive and easily the best part of the book.
Some may find the author’s dialogue approach rather contrived, but readers who enjoy a good religious argument, and those who like probing the big questions about life and our place in the universe will appreciate The Puzzle of Life. It’s provocative and challenging.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
