Seeds of Turmoil - Review

Seeds of Turmoil Review
Author – Bryant Wright

This book gave me a lot of food for contemplation. I have not devoted a lot of research time into understanding the trouble in the Middle East and wanted to have more depth in my understanding of the turmoil and its roots.

Wright does a convincing job of showing the genealogical impact brought on by Abraham and Sarah’s choice to “take matters into their own hands.” Sarah’s urging of Abraham to father a child with her servant Hagar, it is asserted, is what began the lineage that leads to the Muslim stronghold of in the Middle East. It is reasonable, the way it is presented, to see that Abraham’s son Ishmael is the line that leads to Muhammad while Isaac’s line leads to Israel.

I also found the historical background on the struggle of the Jews in Israel and their ‘miraculous’ victories despite incredible odds compelling . These are God’s own people and surely His hand has been present in assuring their continued presence and victory.

What I didn’t love about this book was the writing style. Repetition is a device used throughout that I found to be unnecessary. Once a scriptural story has been presented, I didn’t see the need to repeat its telling for each new point. Additionally, while I appreciate the love that the author has for the Jewish people, his emphasis on the reader not having anti-Semitic feelings seemed out of place. Perhaps this is naiveté on my part, but I didn’t feel the need to be reminded several times that I shouldn’t feel hostility towards the Jewish people because I never have. Historically, they have been persecuted, so, perhaps, I am more in the minority on this concept than I realize.

Overall, however, I’m glad I read this book. It did bring to light several biblical, scriptural and historical facts that I would not have considered on my own. Additionally, when I doubted the efficacy of the author’s statements (like the Muslim’s belief that it was Ishmael and not Isaac that Abraham was ordered by God to slay), I was able to find sources to corroborate the statements. This gave me greater faith in the remainder of Wright’s assertions.

If you are interested in the historical lineage of Christians, Muslims and Jews from a Christian perspective, I would recommend this text.

***This book was provided to me free of charge by BookSneeze for my honest review…