From Darkness to Light is a very strange book by Berdj Kenadjian. It is an attempt to combine religion and economics while retelling the journey he took along that path.

While it does tell the journey, the results are a far cry from the aim, and the logic of the book is incredibly difficult to follow at times. If I were restricted to praise, I'd say nothing at all but to comment on a couple of the prints at the back.

The book is very pro-American (Anglo-Saxon American, that is) and insists the best souls are reincarnated in the United States. It goes as far as saying that at one point they were the only souls advanced enough for self-government. And it is up to them to lead a worldwide change to the economic system that will add religious morality into the system. This is their duty and inheritance as they are the reincarnation of the tribe of Manasseh. Part of the proof of this boils down to the belief that the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

This wonderful dream of a new economic system has enemies, of course -- satanic souls who work behind the scenes for a New World Order. They work in the background of the financial scenes and pull the strings to cause wars (from World War I on); communisim, socialism and desegregation were also parts of their attacks. Socialism, he will tell you, is evil, and Karl Marx was a satanic soul.

There is very little proof offered for any of his claims, and what arguments are given to back claims are sketchy and can be very hard to follow. For instance, what we perceive as impossible to do points to reincarnation because it would obviously take many lifetimes to achieve.

There are probably books out there that take religion into the marketplace and show how those principles can change the way you do business. There may even be other books that tell the authors journey to discovering that path. If that is the type of book you are after, look elsewhere. From Darkness to Light is a very frustrating read and I can not recommend it on any point.

by Paul de Bruijn
Rambles.NET
3 March 2007