Revised 1991 Edition, The Worldâs Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. Here are some quotations from the book, that I found interesting: The divine principle of unity has ever been that of an inner relationship. When we help others, we help Christ.Matthew 25:40 Huston Smith makes the difficult concepts of world religions easy to understand. In Indian philosophy: 19th- and 20th-century philosophy in India and Pakistan. Excellent synopsis of the modern world's major religions. They all are similar in that they believe in a single god, but the nature of that god is very different, ranging from a sort of animism, to worship of an ancient hero, to worship of the sun or moon, to belief in a single omnipotent, ineffable god. by The New American Library. This was a great textbook written by someone who really had a deep respect and comprehensive knowledge of all religions. The Religions of Man is a thoroughly researched, informative, fascinating presentation of both the differences and the similarities in the major religious traditions. I. I found this book - published in the 1950s - on a shelf at the back of the school library. It is not a history; it is not a critique. The book further reinforced my observation that Hinduism is nothing but Spiritual Humanism packaged in a form that can be practiced by the masses. Personal religion â man's intuitive grasp of his relationship with God â is full of warmth, vitality, and significance, and is experienced in the here and now. According to Islamic tradition, all decrees of God are written in al-Lawh al-MahfÅ«z, the "Preserved Tablet". The book further reinforced my observation that Hinduism is nothing but Spiritual Humanism packaged in a form that can be practiced by the masses. Your email address will not be published. That version of the book is no longer in print; there's an updated version under the title "The World Religions." 1791 Life 6:101--6 . The last chapter on Christianity read more like a thoughtful essay than a breakdown of the religion, maybe because he assumes most people are familiar with the basics. A wonderful introduction to the different religions of mankind. It starts with Chapter One Point of Departure and ended with Chapter Nine- A Final Examination. God created Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, and placed them in a perfect home, the Garden of Eden. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown without contest into a supporting role.". His multicellular body is born and it dies; his multi-personal humanity is immortal. As the author writes in the first chapter, "This is a book about religion that exists...not as a dull habit but as an acute fever. Author Huston Smith discusses each religion not by breaking down its practices and specifics. Author Huston Smith discusses each religion not by breaking down its practices and specifics. Huston Smith did this work from the mid-20th century and dedicated his life to teaching about the "wisdom traditions" of. As Pi comes of age, he discovers spirituality. "The true Vedantic spirit does not start out with a system of preconceived ideas…. He is one of the great, rare souls to humbly live as he seeks, to pray and hope for all of humanity, every day, in all ways. His summation of each faith is the very best you can find in a 1 volume read. Sixty-eight years later, in the spring of 1735, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), whose mother Susanna had commended it to her sons, gave a copy of this little book to his friend George Whitefield (1714-1770). It is easy to read. ; Jesus gave the word "neighbor" a new meaning: anyone in need. 'The Religions of Man' is the seminal work in the scholarship of world spiritual traditions, by the eminent and beloved Huston Smith, who was born to a Christian Missionary family in China and raised among books and humanity to embody a life of nearly a century questing for the meaning of our souls, hearts, and language of seeking, of faith, and of shared purpose. However, some of the author's information about my religion was incorrect. (p. 11, on Isha Upanishad verse 1), Man has taken centuries to discuss the question of his own true nature and has not yet come to a conclusion. I recently read some parts of the book âThe Religion of Manâ by Rabindranath Tagore. anyone interested in comparative religion. Wonderfully written. This was assigned reading either in high school or in the first year of college. His great distinction dwells in the indefinite margin of life in him which affords a boundless background for his dreams and creations. Dr. Smith is tremendous! Buy this book for your own library - you will want to refer to it over and over. The man is praised or blamed only according to his use of his free will. Kant demystifies the Christian doctrine of original sin. A Brahmo playwright and poet of global renown, Tagore deals with the universal themes of God, divine experience, illumination, and spirituality. Smith was born in Suzhou, China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. The Religion of Man. Prof. Smith's, The Religions of Man, opens up through Comparative Religion an opportunity to see the greats faiths of this globe in ways that engage and show respect and honor to all people. He does not claim to have covered all aspects of all religions, instead he just wants to build a small yet valid foundation, for those individuals interested in such an explosive and insidious topic. This is revealed in some of its earliest stages in the evolution of multicellular life on this planet. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. America: I. 1906. Written not only by an obviously enlightened person - written by a poet and a true humanitarian. Tagore is unequivocal in his faith. And it is in this realm of freedom that he realizes his divine dignity, his great human truth, and is pleased when I as a poet sing victory to him, to Man the self-revealer, who goes on exploring ages of creation to find himself in perfection. Chapter VIII: The Music Maker The objectivity with which each religion is presented is refreshing and most welcome to the inquisitive mind seeking information in the absence of judgemental preconceptions. Summary. For those people who wish to try and understand as opposed to merely criticize. He misses himself when he is isolated; he finds his own larger and truer self in his wide human relationship. Summary . This is his religion, which is working in the heart of all his religions in various names and forms. Does a great job of showing the similarities of religions without coming off as hokey or new agey. This book should be required reading in every high school around the country. I'm fortunate to have traveled with him as part of a large group in 1984. It was first published in 1958 by Harper & Row. The most perfect inward expression has been attained by man in his own body. The medicine man, a person who was in charge of providing cures for ailing followers, was more of a creator of voodoo. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses his own free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, pt. It was one of Marx's first attempts to develop what would later be called the materialist conception of history.. He does not take a stand. Here is a unique study of the world's great religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I show the date-started & the date-ended 2009-2016 because I keep re-reading part of this terrific book. Religion is indeed the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself or has already lost himself again. Therefore, the Buddha is the "enlightened one", or the "awakened one". In this ideal of unity he realizes the eternal in his life and the boundless in his love. The main theme of The Religion of Man is the divinity of humanity and the humanity of God. He quotes extensively from the Upanishads and the folk songs of the Bauls. A Short Summary of Islamic Beliefs and Eschatology. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Whatever name may be given to it, and whatever form it symbolizes, the consciousness of this unity is spiritual, and our effort to be true to it is our religion. Points of Interest from the Story . ... 7 - CHARLES DARWIN, The Descent of Man (1871), Chapter 21, âGeneral Summary and Conclusionâ ... Huxley's Man's Place in Nature and Lyell's Antiquity of Man both came out in 1863. In fact, everything about Earth was perfect at that moment in time. I had the great good fortune in taking Professor Smith's comparative religion course up at UC Berkeley and then saw him interview the Dalai Lama at a one day conference at UCLA. Chapter III, Buddhism, "The Man Who Woke Up," Summary and Analysis When bewildered people approached Buddha, asking him who he was, his answer was, "I am awake". Science and Religion in the 19th Century - by Cosslett January 1984. Smith was a well-known professor of religious studies, and he wrote this book as a teaching aid. This is not a history book about world religions but a brief run on the tenets of each belief and its structure. After 9-11, I was grateful to have this book on my shelf. It probably fed my inclination to borrow ideas that seemed useful rather than adopting a single belief system. The reader is begins to see the beauty in each faith. (1761â1837). Before reading this, I knew very little about the fundamental beliefs of Hinduism, other than what had filtered through in my readings of Alan Watts. "On the Jewish Question" is a work by Karl Marx, written in 1843, and first published in Paris in 1844 under the German title "Zur Judenfrage" in the DeutschâFranzösische Jahrbücher. People of Samaria, an area sandwiched between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, were hated by Jews because they intermarried with non-Jews and did not strictly observe Mosaic law. The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Dr. Huston Smith is an expert on the history, content, and sociological impact of religions throughout history. One of the most useful books I've ever read. I haven't actually finished this book yet, but I've been fascinated by the chapters I've read so far. highly recommend it to any one - for learning AND for pleasure, for it really is a mesmerizing writing, See 1 question about The Religions of Man…, Readers’ Top Histories and Biographies of the Last 5 Years. It was very well well-written and seemed to be fairly-presented. 'The Religions of Man' is the seminal work in the scholarship of world spiritual traditions, by the eminent and beloved Huston Smith, who was born to a Christian Missionary family in China and raised among books and humanity to embody a life of nearly a century questing for the meaning of our souls, hearts, and language of seeking, of faith, and of shared purpose. The effect this wonderful book had on this agnostic, is that it opened a large bright window of curiosity and led me to further reading on religions that I am not exposed to very much in the cultural zeitgeist of the U.S. Start by marking “The Religions of Man” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Man was created from clay and jinn was created from fire. A Brahmo playwright and poet of global renown, Tagore deals with largely universal themes of God, divine experience, illumination, and spirituality. Still refer to it when I'm baffled by some aspect of a faith tradition with which I am unfamiliar. In his Religion of Man, Tagore sought to give a philosophy of man in which human nature is characterized by a concept of surplus energy that finds expression in creative art. Buy this book for your own library - you will. The Worldâs Famous Orations. And whenever religion comes to life it displays a startling quality; it takes over. Amazing comparative religion book. The description given here focuses on the core beliefs of each religion. This is a good overview of the basic tenets and flavor of world's major religions. The individual's religious understanding â his "insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul" â constitutes a grasp of universal absolutes that transcend time, space, and temporal circumstance. Several people have written books about the world's religions. Winner: 2010 Nautilus Book Award in the category of Memoir/Personal Journey.. Huston Smith, the man who brought the world's religions to the West, was born almost a century ago to missionary parents in China during the perilous rise of the Communist Party. I first read this book in my high school humanities class. The Sanskrit root of the word Buddha literally means, "to wake up and know" (p. 82). If we are in a "global" time, then we need to open ourselves not only to the "markets" of the world's people, but to the spiritual beliefs and wisdom traditions, the customs and the practices of the world's people. Instead, he gets at the soul of the religion. Why is this book so wonderful? Instead it explains, simply and sympathetically, the basic tenets of each religion and the reasons why it attracts millions of devout followers. A brief conversation between him and Albert Einstein, "Note ⦠... man and jinn. Amendment I (Religion) Document 57. Still have my copy from High School. I thought it was really interesting and I wholly recommend this to every person out there. I recently read some parts of the book “The Religion of Man” by Rabindranath Tagore. (p. 4,5), Creation has been made possible through the continual self-surrender of the unit to the universe. The Fall of Man: Bible Story Summary . This is a classic in the study of world religions! 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