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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 813 EAN: 9781401036072 ISBN: 1401036074 Label: Xlibris Corporation Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: January 01, 2002 Publisher: Xlibris Corporation Studio: Xlibris Corporation Editorial Review: Product Description: There's only one real taboo left in 21st Century America, and Jack Kassel's got it bad. He doesn't believe in God. And even that might be all right if he didn't teach at the College of Saint Bernadette, but he does. Nothing is more important to Jack than reason, the triumph of truth over comforting fantasies, but Saint Bernie's is the land of created realities, where critical thoughts go to die. When his oldest partner in disbelief shows up as the campus priest, Jack edges nearer the abyss, finally plunging over when his ex-wife enrolls their brilliant young son in a Lutheran school and the boy begins quoting Scripture in response to Jack's questions. Back against the wall, Jack starts to "come out" as a non-believer at what turns out to be the worst possible time --- as a Marian apparition turns the college into a holy pilgrimage site. Average Rating:
 Rating: - A thoughtful and enjoyable novel for freethinkersCalling Bernadette's Bluff "Calling Bernadette's Bluff," though it's a novel, presents a telling argument against religion and belief in God. It does so, however, in the context of its story line and through the dialog and thoughts of its characters. The setting is St. Bernadette's, a small Catholic women's college in Minnesota-- the kind of school at which McGowan had been a faculty member for fifteen years when he wrote the book. The characters portray a spectrum of responses both ... Read More Rating: - One of the Best I've Ever ReadI can't say enough good things about this book. I've read it so many times (and loaned it out to so many friends) that the entire book is falling apart and I have to keep it together with a rubber band. It's literally a laugh-out-loud read coupled with re-evaluate-my-conceptions-and-presuppositions. It's a MUST read for any college student, especially one at a Catholic college; although Christians alike have adored this book as well. Have an open mind (be at least remotely ... Read More Rating:  - Pleasantly SurprisedI ordered this book because everyone told me to ... despite some misgivings. I thought this would be a novel dripping with good ideas, but [I feared] poorly written. But that was not the case! This book is both chock-full of good ideas, and surprisingly funny, complex, and well-crafted. The author is obviously a fan of Vonnegut and Keillor, both of whom I can see in his style. And his philosophy is all freethinking humanism, a refreshing philosophy in modern fiction. While it is not perfect, it ... Read More Rating: - A refreshing combination of intellect and humorThis book is not only fun to read (I actually laughed out loud a number of times), but it really makes you think, and not about anything less trivial than the meaning of life, the origins of the universe, and the ignorance of the masses. McGowan's character names never ceased to make me smile (Robert Frapples was one of my favorites) and the dialog was very convincing. At some points I really felt as though I was sitting in a college bar with the author debating the intricacies of Faith vs. Reason over ... Read More Rating: - A find for the mindNot a beach read, this one --- it's something much more wonderful and rare, a smorgasbord for the intellect. Rich and funny and clever situations and characters. Not to be missed. |
