Please take the time to read this book review request - I doubt
you receive many letters like this. I'm not an academic - just a
rural Indiana library clerk - but after my wife's suicide in
1985, I spent 10 years exploring the world's thoughts on the
afterlife, and then wrote a book on life after death that
academics both in America and overseas are now calling
"fascinating", "ingenious", "exhilarating", "revolutionary", and
"the most important book in its field".
My thesis argues that (A) the "reincarnation" and "heaven/hell"
hypotheses can be reconciled by factoring the dissimilar
qualities and functions of the conscious and unconscious minds
into the equation, and that (B) the Nag Hammadi scriptures (along
with many other scriptural traditions) reflect just such a
divided, "binary-soul" vision of the afterlife.
I'm hoping you might be interested in reviewing this work; I especially
need academics with expertise in theology and/or
psychology to submit reviews to various academic journals.
Sincerely,
Peter Novak
*********************************************
Is There a Scientific Basis to Humanity's Afterlife Beliefs?
AN INTRIGUING NEW BOOK suggests that such a basis does exist.
_The Division of Consciousness_ [Hampton Roads Publishing, 1997]
introduces a scientifically grounded hypothesis which appears to
account for a great number of the afterlife phenomena found in
humanity's cultural traditions:
"Novak's answers comprise a whole new theory of the human
soul and its journey through the afterlife. [This book]
contains much food for thought, and succeeds in providing at
least the suggestion of an answer to a surprisingly large
number of questions."
- "Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions"
"Fascinating. DivisionTheory would explain a great deal.
The whole theory is quite an ingenious development of Jung &
others in the direction of 'explaining' the afterlife
beliefs of so many peoples."
- Tamar Frankiel, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies
UC at Riverside
"Novak's conceptual resolution of apparently differing views
of the afterlife ... gives Christian theologians a new and
powerful insight into both the mystery of death and what
"resurrection" might in fact be."
- "Dialogos: An Interactive Journal of the
Sciences, Philosophy, and Theology"
"I think it deserves attention that this 'Division Theory'
is able to pull different concepts into a unity. What I
found interesting was the consistency the theory developed
with regard to traditional Christian theological concepts...
[This] new concept of the double soul ... helps to explain,
and in some cases even simplifies, traditional Christian
theological tenets."
- Bill Lanning, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Religion,
Butler College, Andover, Kansas
THIS IS THE FIRST WORK to present a scientifically grounded
hypothesis that anticipates the traditional afterlife
descriptions of both East and West, while also speaking to the
ancient beliefs of a great many other cultures, and even
addressing such topical phenomena as Past-Life Memories, Near-
Death Experiences, ghosts, possession, and more:
"This interpretation of the afterlife is pregnant with
meaning. The traditions of the underworld, heaven, hell and
reincarnation all come alive and mean so much more.
Swedenborg's descriptions of heaven and hell become
surprising poignant, as does the gloomy afterlife of the
Sumerians and Israelites ... [and t]he Egyptian initiatory
system ... takes on a new relevance."
- "New Dawn" Magazine
"You realize that the secret of the afterlife is staring us
right in the face and we don't realize it - that the
supposed conflict between reincarnation and "heaven and
hell" can be resolved.... If we apply this divided [human]
consciousness to the afterlife [equation], a truly momentous
understanding results - reincarnation and the heaven/hell
model are both true. This division of the afterlife [also]
explains many of the descriptions that arise of wandering
ghosts, spirits, and the like."
- "Independent Review" Magazine
TEN YEARS OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH uncovered extensive data from
both scientific and scriptural sources pointing to the same
promising yet highly disturbing conclusion - that the human
psyche does survive physical death, but often divides entirely
apart in the process into separate conscious and unconscious
components. Not only do elements of both classic psychology and
modern sociological research lend support to such a hypothesis,
but eerily similar concepts appearing in Biblical, Persian,
Egyptian, Gnostic, Greek, Hindu, Hawaiian, Chinese, Native
American, Swedenborgian, and many other traditions raise the
intriguing possibility that this peculiar and unfamiliar
"Division Theory" may actually be a millennia-old case of deja-
vu:
"...For ten years Novak studied the world's literature on
death. Unwilling, and perhaps unable, to accept reassuring
answers, he asked the Great Questions all over again: Why is
God seemingly absent from His pain-wracked creation? Why are
the two great families of religion seemingly at loggerheads
over the question of life after death, the East believing in
reincarnation and the West in eternal salvation or
damnation? Why is there death at all, and what is the nature
of death's realm?
- "Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions"
"Peter Novak began a serious search into the sacred
writings of various world religions (past and present),
Freudian and Jungian psychology, Swedenborgianism, near
death experiences, past-life regressions, contemporary
science, and the recent discoveries at Nag Hammadi and an
increased understanding of Christian Gnosticism. After he
collected and sifted extensive data from these studies, his
theory of the division of consciousness emerged ... taking
additional cues from the Native American ni and nagi, the
Egyptian Ba and Ka, and the ancient Chinese hun and p'o
concepts, [and] what he believes to be a 'division'
understanding in ancient Zoroastrianism, classical Greek,
Swedenborg's visions, [and] various philosophers and
psychologists.... Novak not only writes from the heart but
also from extensive research into areas not normally
conquered by lay people or a non-academician student of
religion. Though his research emerged as a result of
personal experiences, his scholarship is evident as he
interprets data from an eclectic, widely varied wealth of
information. His book is an exhaustive compilation of the
thoughts of many upon the timeless questions of life and
death."
- Bill Lanning, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Religion,
Butler College, Andover, Kansas
"Novak's collection of anthropological data of similar
beliefs is impressive, and his psychological insights are
exhilarating.... [His] interpretations of "The Gospel of
Thomas" and the other Nag Hammadi manuscripts seem to make
considerable sense."
- "Dialogos: An Interactive Journal of the
Sciences, Philosophy, and Theology"
IF THIS EXTRAORDINARY HYPOTHESIS HOLDS WATER, it stands ready to
revolutionize the entire field of religion. A number of respected
academics, theologians, and philosophers already seem convinced
that this book, _The Division of Consciousness_, may do just
that:
"Thrilling - original and insightful.
This is a work of great significance."
- New Dawn
"This is too important of a work to be dismissed. It
will definitely be looked back upon as a turning point in
the scholar's collection of ideas, as one of those hinges
that opens the field of vision to possibilities of
thoughts that were not possible before this point."
- Thomas Ragland, Ph.D.
Nag Hammadi Scholar,
Nashville, Tennessee
"Some of the conclusions drawn may make casual Christians
uncomfortable, but serious Christian scholars will either
feel vindicated, be intrigued, or both. It is, quite
frankly, the most important book in its field since Elaine
Pagel's _The Gnostic Gospels_ in 1978, and takes Pagel's
conclusions light years further. Division Theory is such an
ingenious concept I'm amazed nobody had been able to think
of it in this way before."
- Christopher Coolidge, Ph.D.
Burlington, Vermont
"It gives a breath of fresh air to theology and yet remains
within the broad scope of Christian theology. Any seeker of
truth should read Novak."
- Bill Lanning, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Religion,
Butler College, Andover, Kansas
"If this book becomes ignored we will be the poorer for it.
Novak may have given Christian theologians a new and
powerful insight into both the mystery of death and what
'resurrection' might in fact be. And for this Novak deserves
our thanks."
- "Dialogos: An Interactive Journal of the
Sciences, Philosophy, and Theology"
"Provocative and unsettling. This investigation of the
binary-soul doctrine is worthy of serious consideration by
anyone interested in New Age spirituality, and encourages
all of us to reflect further on the meaning of life and
death."
- Michael York, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies,
Bath Spa University College, UK
"This is a strange, disturbing, and brilliant book."
- "Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions"
***************************************
Look for reviews of _The Division of Consciousness_ to appear in
upcoming issues of popular magazines and academic journals,
including:
* "The Journal of Contemporary Religion"
* "Religious Studies Review"
* "Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and
Emergent Religions"
* "Reincarnation International Magazine"
***************************************
Please take a few moments to look through the material at the
DivisionTheory website -
http://www.geocities.com/~divisiontheory
wherein you will find a more extensive presentation of Division
Theory, the full texts of the reviews quoted above, and numerous
supplementary articles that outline some of the scientific,
historical, and theological relevancies of this extraordinary
discovery.
***************************************
To obtain a review copy of
The Division of Consciousness,
please contact:
Peter Novak phone 219-325-0862
1428 Illinois Ave.
LaPorte IN 46350 email division@csinet.net
OR
Hampton Roads Publishing Company
134 Burgess Lane
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
804-296-2772
FAX 804-296-5096
email HRPC's Publicist Kathy Cooper at
kcooper@hrpub.com
email HRPC's Marketing Director Ken Eagle Feather at
eagle.eye@hrpub.com