Opera Nut

Hi, I'm posting this to put my 2 cents worth out and find out what everybody else thinks.

World Religion books are the reference works with a chapter explaining the origin and beliefs of the major religions. These books do not argue in favor of one religion or another; they simply explain.

I have a copy of the Illustration Religions of the World, by Huston Smith. It is pretty good but kinda sketchy for my taste.

I also have a british one called Atlas of the World's Religions, which has lots of colored arrows showing historical migrations.

when I was little I read lots of Time Life books. I just rediscovered my old copies of some of the big ones -- The Epic of Man, The Wonders of Life on Earth, World Atlas, as well as the smaller ones in series, Nature Library, Science Library, World Library, Great Ages of Man and This Fabulous Century.

My favorite was called The World's Great Religions.
Each section had a bunch of color pictures illustrating practices and people, like Life magazine, and a parchment like section with black & white printing of excerpts from the scriptures of that religion, along with pictures of important symbols.

I think The World's Great Religions is the best world religions book I've ever seen and it was printed in the late 50s. I am rereading stuff in it I haven't seen since the 1960s and am still impressed with it.

Anyone else familiar with it?
Comments?

Secular Pinoy

I think this would be a better fit in the Media and Populat Culture forum. I haven't heard of the books you mentioned so I can't help you there. But I have a book titled The World's Religions edited by Norman Anderson. It's published by Inter-Vasity Press, the publishing arm of UCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship). It's pretty neutral and informative (except the last chapter - A Christian approach to comparative religion, which is apologetic in tone). There are no pictures here, just some diagrams. I bought it outside the church along with a book by <ahem>Pat Robertson! It was way back in my churchin' days.

Eric H

Hello Opera Nut,

I suppose a book on world religions could be compared to a book on the countries of the world. Both will give you some information, and if one country or one religion took your fancy you could buy more books on that particular one.

You could visit a country based on what you had read, and it may, or may not live up to your expectations. You may see it very differently to the way the author of the book saw it.

From memory I seem to remember reading in another thread that you had a very bad experience with religion, and sadly there are people who do exploit religion for their own purpose.

Hopefully there are more ministers who serve the community, who work for the good of others, the sick, homeless, disabled and poor. There are ministers who do more for others then they do for themselves, and there are ministers of many faiths who seem to do this. But this information may not be found in books.


peace

Eric

Opera Nut

Eric, thanks for the kind words. What you say is entirely true.

I have never been insulted and abused in any house of worship other than in the fundie Xtian type, nor have I been verbally abused and insulted on a prsonal level by any one other than fundies. Liberal Christians don't do that kind of tearing down of peoples' spirits.

I have been treated with humanity and respect at Jewish synagogues and Hindu and Buddhist temples.

That's why I go to a large Chinese Buddhist temple occasionally and listen to the lectures in English that they have.

I assume that if fundies, or Christians in general are so incurious about other belief systems, because of the superiority of Christianity [[snort-sarcasm alert]] then they would not be reading the kinds of books i'm talking about.

I remember one of my conservative methodist cousins talking about somebody who came to her church and explained about the creator, the preserver and the destroyer (brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and she made some lukewarm comment about it being interesting.

When I was in high school and going to a liberal Presby church, a Jewish friend of my parents (who were Democrats) came and talked to our Sunday School class. Later he talked to my parents and me, and he told them I asked the most intelligent question of any of the kids. My question was "What is the Jewish idea of heaven?".

We were pleased, and I later got seriously involved with Judaism and came within a hair of converting to Classical Reform twice.

Eric H

Hello Opera Nut

I hope you find peace for yourself, whichever direction you choose.

In the end if God exists then it makes more sense that we all share the same God.

The notion seems to be, that so many religions have an exclusive path to God, and that does not seem right to me.

Peace

eric

Bluenose

1=John Bowker: GOD a brief history, DK 2002
Great range of historical religions and their subdivisions, with illustrations and extensive bibliography. You might still be able to get it from BOMC or History BC.

2= Jaroslav Pelikan, editor: The World Treasury of Modern Religious Thought, Little Brown 1990
No illus. or biblio. but has vast array of good selections including Emerson, Einstein, Gandhi and M.L.King to "Buddhism in the Modern World" or "Foundations of Islamic Thought"; may be out of print but may be in library.

3=William James [1842-1910]: The Varieties of Religious Experience
It's a classic on psychology and religion and should be easy to find in many different paperback reprints.

Sarpedon

The New Funk and Wagnalls Standardized Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore and Legend.

It does not provide big articles on major religions, but is an invaluable source on folklore and apocryphal beliefs. Also, it is a good source on various saints, and obscure religious rites.