This volume outlines the approaches to human rights and responsibilities within the different world religions. Featuring contributions from over 15 scholars, the book covers such key issues as women's rights, the role of international law, and responsibility for the environment. It also includes a "Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World's Religions", presented at the third Parliament of the World Religions.
Grand in its sweep, this survey of the sacred writings of the major religions of the world offers a thoughtful introduction to the ideas and beliefs upon which great faiths are built. Under the expert guidance of John Bowker, a religious scholar and author of international stature, readers explore the key texts of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Confucian, Daoist, and Shinto traditions. The author discusses some 400 books, among them such well-known sacred texts as the Bible and the Quran, but also spiritual writings by theologians, philosophers, poets, and others. Bowker provides clear and illuminating commentary on each text, describing the content and core tenets of the work and quoting pertinent passages. He also sets the writings in religious and historical contexts, showing how they have influenced—and in many cases continue to influence—artistic, musical, literary, and political traditions. The Message and the Book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the meaning and the deep significance of primary religious texts of civilizations around the globe.
This work argues that there is a universal message that can be found in the study of religions. It offers a comprehensive examination of religions and their meaning, bound by the hope and affirmation that in some way they are universally connected. It affirms a universalism by wisdom, which contends that a moral and spiritual wisdom can be found in many of the world's religions.
Excerpt from The Secret of Progress Buckle1 regarded it as clear that militarism and high intellectual development were not compatible: till recently, many people were prepared to believe that warfare was alien to the interest of civilised peoples and could only occur among half civilised or backward races. But this war has shown that these hopes were vain, and that the last result of civilisation was not to render war impossible, but to give the means of carrying it out on a vastly extended scale. The increase of knowledge and of power over nature, and the sense of the benefits of intercourse and inter-communication have not sufficed to give us any immunity from war. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
With an emphaisis on communities of faith, this accessible book will introduce students to the classic texts, important events, key figures, defining rituals, essential creeds and symbols of world religions. Contents: Introduction by William Scott Green Judaism A. Judaism: Beginnings: Religion of Ancient Israel by Baruch A. Levine B. Judaism: The Formation by Jacob Neusner C. Judaism in Modern Times: Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative Judaism, Zionism by Jacob Neusner 2. Christianity A. Christianity: Beginnings by Bruce Chilton B. Christianity: Roman Catholicism by Lawrence S. Cunningham C. Orthodox Christianity by J. A. McGuckin D. Christianity: Protestantism by Martin E. Marty 3. Islam A. Islam: Beginnings by Th. Emil Homerin B. Islam: The Shiite Tradition by Liyakat Takim C. Islam: The Sunni Tradition by Th. Emil Homerin 4. Hinduism by Douglas Brooks 5. Buddhism A. Buddhism: Beginnings by Mario Poceski B. Buddhism: The Theravada Tradition by Kristen Scheible C. Buddhism: The Mahayana Tradition by Mark L. Blum 6. Daoism by Mark Meulenbled 7. Confucianism by Mark A. Csikszentmihalyi 8. Shinto by James L. Ford 9. Indigenous Religions A. Indigenous Religious Tradition by Jualynne E. Dodson and Soyna Maria Johnson B. African Indigenous Religions by Jacob Olupona 10. New 19th Century American Religions by Danny L. Jorgensen 11. New 20th Century American Religions by Dell deChant
Wilfred Cantwell Smith, maintained in this vastly important work that Westerners have misperceived religious life by making "religion" into one thing. He shows the inadequacy of "religion" to capture the living, endlessly variable ways and traditions in which religious faith presents itself in the world.
This book has seven basic chapters: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. These he calls the "Major Historical Religions." They all have sacred texts. This book was intended to be a brief survey without an in-depth analysis. A new section was added to The World's Religions. It is entitled "The Primal Religions." It describes a broad sweep of religions such as those practiced by the Australian Aborigines, by the Native American Indians of North and South America and the religions of the interior of Africa. Huston Smith's masterpiece explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the native traditions of Australia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Emphasizing the inner--rather than the institutional--dimension of these religions, Smith devotes special attention to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, and the teachings of Jesus. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.
Philosophically Thinking about World Religions is different from other works in the discipline today. It deviates from the typical approaches used for the study of world religions. Its goal is to engage readers in thinking hard about world religions, not about the data surrounding those traditions. By focusing on philosophical questions, each reader should be challenged to do their own investigations that may reveal the heart of these traditions. Another stance that this project takes that distinguishes it from other texts in the discipline is that it advocates an inclusivist perspective regarding the world religions. Pluralism, which is the predominate assumption today, ends either in contradiction or in the development of a metatheory that dismisses crucial distinctions between the various traditions or eliminates some ancient religions because they do not fit the metatheory. By taking an open inclusivist approach, all religious traditions may engage at the table of dialogue. The final essay is about justice and social affairs. While that discussion is couched within the context of a particular tradition, each religious tradition must have the discussion. But it must be more than an intrareligious dialogue; it must become an interreligious dialogue.
Backstreet Boys were the biggest band in the world for a short while and that period is documented on their first hits compilation, 2001's The Hits: Chapter One. Twelve years later came Essential Backstreet Boys, a double-disc set that has all 13 songs from The Hits, along with another 16 songs -- generally, songs that came after 2001, when BSB started to slide down the charts. There were hits -- 2005's "Incomplete," 2007's "Inconsolable" -- that just showed up on the Adult Contemporary charts; a fair approximation of where the group wound up in their second decade. Essential Backstreet Boys traces this evolution, filling in a few more details of those early hit-making years, which makes this worthwhile for the dedicated fan, but many listeners may find either The Hits, or the variety of budget-line collections released since, to be a better bet as they contain the hits and nothing but. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine