The question posed by Douglas F. Kelly in "If God already knows, Why Pray?" is answered, in its most basic form, as that of what religious leaders have instructed for millenia and is nothing new or plot revealing - prayer is commanded of us by God and it changes us. For most people that hold any religious beliefs, this is probably fundamental. However, Kelly's attempt to support his thesis from a purely Biblical standpoint is fragmented as he frequently defends his arguments by subjective experiences and pointless allegory. Kelly's writing is superfluous at times and adds little to the real content of his strongest arguments which are found in quotes from theological stalwarts including John Calvin, A.W. Pink, and Charles Spurgeon. Indeed, for an author who attempts to support his arguments with Biblical proofs, Kelly's scriptural references are sparse and debatable.

Kelly writes from a Protestant viewpoint, albeit from a more moderate position than conservative as he asserts that a Christian's prayer can bind Satan and have power over demons, and he refers to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life.

The work is by no means an exhaustive theology of prayer (nor does the author intend for it to be), but it does provide the basics for prayer in the life of a Christian and attempts to tackle some of the more puzzling questions Christians have including: How should we pray?, What/who should we pray for?, When should fasting be enjoined with prayer?, and What if God answers "No"?

Personally, I anticipated much more from a book with such a formidible title. Though its simplicity in reading is seasoned with practical advice, I found it lacking in depth and in the argumentative support that I supposed would be found in such an endeavor as this. A good book, but not great.

The actual title of this volume is, "Two Treatises of Proclus the Neoplatonic Philosopher" which are, "Ten Doubts Concerning Providence and a Solution of those Doubts" and "On the Subsistence of Evil", translated by Thomas Taylor, presumably in the 1920's, but no original copyright for this reprint is given. The book itself reminds me of a workbook for school, since it is 8"x10.5", and the pages seem to be enlargements of a smaller old edition.I bought this as a companion for Pseudo-Dionysius, but at least as far as this edition goes, I'm in over my head. Not only is the translation done in an antique style, but the relatively sparse notes presume a knowledge of Latin and Greek, and are not geared to the general reader. Editorially, the reader is not given much help, in that the text is not subdivided except by occasional numbers, and no headings or other structural clues are given.All that being said, this difficult book let's me peek into a remote mind, struggling with concerns that are likewise remote from me, and wonder. It will definitely not be most readers' cup of tea, and it could be done better, but I'll keep it all the same.

My interest in Gersonides was because he felt that the perfection of mathematics proved the existence of God. Although this book is well written, Gersonides comes off as a real [...]. The arrangement of the subject material makes it a complete waste of time.

Levi ben Gershom, better known as Gersonides, or the Ralbag, isn't an easy philosopher to read. Very few of his works have modern translations, and those that do exist are of little help to those without a background in medieval philosophy.

For those of us who are interested in the radical theological innovators of the medieval era, such as Gersonides and Maimonides, it is helpful to have a guide such as Eisen's book to guide us through Gersonide's sophisticated arguments. It is concise, well written, helpful, and does not make the mistake of talking down to the reader. A certain amount of intellectual sophistication is assumed on the part of the reader - but I assume that this would be true of anyone who wishes to read Gersonides to begin with!

For further reading, I would suggest any of the many journal articles by Menachem Kellner.

Kitab al-Tawhid wa al-Tawakkul is a significant part of al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din, so I purchased it the first time I saw its translation. Unfortunately, it is my humble opinion that the translation is a little disappointing in that it is hardly acceptable by scholarly standards, which does not allow the reader to enjoy what the author has to say about the subject matter of the book. In many places, the meanings of the original Arabic statements were not reflected in the English interpretation at all, and this seems to have led the translator to be too liberal at times in interpreting those statements. The English rendition of certain crucial statements appear to be far-fetched interpretations and hardly make sense, at least to me. I do not think al-Ghazali actually says, in many places, what the translator claims he says. Readers who do not know Arabic to check the Arabic original must be very careful and cautious in reading it. I am just wondering if the Arabic-knowing people listed in the acknowledgments have really read and checked the translation at all. This work seems to be the result of a perfunctory effort and needs a total revision. It is just not fair to al-Ghazali, nor to the reader.

Though I have serveal issues with Imam al Ghazali I really enjoyed his personal insight into the reality of tawhid. People generally love or hate Imam al Ghazali, but I have read his works from time to time convinced he has something important to say. While he doesn't have all of the answers (who does), and his opinions about women leave much to be desires, his deeper spiritual insights are quite complex and interesting. He articulates the intricacies of tawid and explains its operative fucntion. The operative function of tawhid as a state of being is that the multiplicities of Allah's creation are understood to be an extension of that One to whom all worship is due. In such a state the slave of Allah is interacting with Allah on a personal level through the medium of His creation (when the slave gives charity to someone in need, he is actually giving it to Allah). Much more can be said about the merits of this manuscript, but I dont wish to overemphasize to the extent of redundancy. If you really want to untangle this business of tawhid and have run into the narrow and over-simplistic explanations given in the numerous wahabi publications of today- then this is a good book for you.