Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Trial of Paris


For a period of five years, beginning some time in 2006, I have worked occasionally on a book entitled The Trial of Paris. In that time I have written much of it; the first part is complete, the second and final part is missing only one section. Unfortunately, the missing section is especially difficult to write and I have put it off while I completed books like The Temple of Hanuman, The Island of Amodhai, and begun work on my edited version of The Bhagavad Gita. In this regard, my procrastination has been productive, and I’ve drafted nearly three books in the intervening years. However, it was never my expectation to abandon The Trial of Paris. It is one branch from my work The End of Reason (The Temple of Hanuman representing another branch).

The Trial of Paris is divided into two parts. The first is an exploration of the existence of God as argued by an atheist and by one who subscribes to the Perennial Philosophy (made famous by Aldous Huxley). The first chapter of the first part provides a rational basis to disbelieve in God, as I armed the atheist with powerful arguments against both revealed and natural religion. The second chapter, however, is refutation of disbelief, and argues from analogy that the underlying assumption of any rational understanding of God, whether leading to conclusions of belief or disbelief, is inherently faulty. The second chapter provides an antidote to the first. At this point, the first part of the work concludes and the second part begins.

I have posted the first part of The Trial of Paris, and the first chapter of the second part. To the right, you will see the cover of the book. By clicking on the cover, you will open or download the work. It can be saved and read in Acrobat Reader version 8, 9, or 10. Since I am still only partly done with The Bhagavad Gita, I do not expect to have completed The Trial of Paris, with its remaining three chapters, for another year.

When I have finished the book, The Trial of Paris will represent my last major work. The End of Reason, with its dangerous second part, is the most popular and controversial. The Temple of Hanuman is the most important. The Trial of Paris is the last city on this road, and within it you will find something of me. In its last page, it is the most self-revelatory.

I won’t pretend that I will never write again. I fully expect I will, even until the day I die. But like The Ninth Hour and The Island of Amodhai they will be small works of little consequence, baubles and trinkets. Where I leave off with The Trial of Paris, I will either have reached my destination, or discovered that I will never reach it.

1 comment:

  1. Your works inspired and encouraged me in so many ways. God bless you always, Sir

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