World Religions

There's an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith's book The World's Religions or (new) The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Religions. Here's why:

There’s an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions (known in earlier editions as The Religions of Man), and preferably the whole thing. Here’s why:

It’s a good book–fair, readable, and full of fascinating information. In a word, Muselike.
It’s a topic that most people care about but don’t know much about.
It’s something they don’t teach in school.

Suggestion: read the introduction, then skip to the chapter about your own religion, if any. See if Smith gets it right. Then read the rest. You’ll want to.

*** NOTE (22 May): Some MBers say they’re having trouble finding Smith’s book. For them (and others who find Smith’s book hard to follow), we’ll accept The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions as a substitute.

It may take a while for discussion to get started on this thread, but that’s fine. What are summers for?

Other possibly useful sources of information: The Cartoon History of the Universe; and Wikipedia, for example,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends (Quakers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

Date: May 20, 2006

Author: Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Categories: Life, The Universe

Comments RSS TrackBack 57 comments

1

Purple Panda

in May 20th, 2006 @ 12:05

I got it from the library…but it doesn’t have my religion. But I did read several chapters, so I am qualified to post on this thread.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 20th, 2006 @ 12:20

Brilliant! You’re the first. I’m curious: what is your religion, and which chapters have you read?

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Sweet Melpomene

in May 20th, 2006 @ 12:34

I just got it from my library…actually, I only found the illustrated version, but that’s better than nothing!

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4

Otzi

in May 20th, 2006 @ 13:08

God is black.

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5

100% cotton

in May 20th, 2006 @ 13:11

i have a copy on request from the library and will pick it up at the naext opportunity. (i was going to yesterday but i had to work until they closed.)

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Purple Panda

in May 20th, 2006 @ 14:07

I’m Quaker…I read the chapter about Islam and Judaism.

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7

Axa

in May 20th, 2006 @ 16:46

I will certainly look into this; I need to be more informed so as to inform more.

-waits to post-

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 20th, 2006 @ 17:47

That’s as worthy a motivation as any. See you later!

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Eccentric the Afterthought

in May 20th, 2006 @ 19:41

I just requested it from the library, so it’ll be a few days before I get a chance to read it. It sounds really interesting!

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kiki_the_great

in May 20th, 2006 @ 20:15

6- wow, that’s really interesting!! I’ve never met a Quaker person before.

I havent read it yet, but I pinky pwomise I will.

I’m Jewish.

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11

Achoo, son of Asneeze (Sphinx)

in May 20th, 2006 @ 20:59

I am too. I’ll look for it in the library next time I go, but I doubt they’ll have it. My library sucks.

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12

Veralidaine

in May 20th, 2006 @ 22:00

Mine does too. Maybe I’ll just buy it off ebay and save myself the effort.

I”m LDS. The slang term is Mormon.

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elassÃ«~adael

in May 20th, 2006 @ 22:20

Mine might and I’ll get it when I get around to it. My mother is a librarian so maybe I’ll ask her to request it. I will definately read it though.

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The Skipper Nancy

in May 21st, 2006 @ 01:40

I was at B&N for a different reason and I looked for it but could not find. I have a sneaking suspision that it may already be lurking at the back of some dusty shelf in the parents’ office, so I’ll check. But I did read the first couple pages on Amazon. I thought it looked very well written.

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15

defcon pilot

in May 21st, 2006 @ 03:07

I’ve never heard of the book, but I might look into reading it.
I’m not very much into the subject because you can never really prove anything. So, in that case… I’m out of here before anyone starts a debate.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 21st, 2006 @ 07:29

It’s still important to understand what other people believe. Even if they’re all wrong, it helps you to understand what they do. A lot of history is wrapped up in religion.

By the way, the book is college-level, so reading it will take a bit of work. It might help for us to “translate” chapters on the blog.

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Taiwan Hippo Fan

in May 21st, 2006 @ 08:03

GAPA, you can zap this post if you want, (I haven’t read it), but I wanted to say that I think that religions are cool, and that I know nothing about them. And that I had no idea that I was Quaker. I knew that my mom was “raised Quaker”, but I didn’t know that I was. Oh, well, you learn some things about yourself that you don’t even know you’re learning.

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18

Taiwan Hippo Fan

in May 21st, 2006 @ 08:04

“it” being the book, of course.

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Taiwan Hippo Fan

in May 21st, 2006 @ 08:04

“It” sounds interesting. I’ll try to find it.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 21st, 2006 @ 08:28

THF (17),

Great! My undergraduate college was founded by Quakers. Maybe you can do a special report on them after the discussion gets underway.

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21

kiki_the_great

in May 21st, 2006 @ 08:53

uuh, me so tired

but, today is sunday, and

NO MORE STUPID SUNDAY SCHOOL!!

yahroo!

man, sunday school is weird. You have to learn, but they don’t make you remember. They let you take your socks off and sit on the desks when the cantor comes in. Well, at least you don’t have to wake up at nine like at my previous sunday school.

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22

FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever.

in May 21st, 2006 @ 09:21

is the book by ninian smart? there are something like 8 reswults and iwant to get the right one. I’m Muslim.

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FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever.

in May 21st, 2006 @ 09:24

okay, now im getting the right 1. *waits*

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 21st, 2006 @ 10:16

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions looks pretty good, too, and could help make Smith’s book easier to follow. (He can be a little wordy sometimes.) The inimitable Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Universe also gives a lot of space to the origins of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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25

elassÃ«~adael

in May 21st, 2006 @ 11:36

I’ve read a book called My Friends Beliefs by Hiley H. Ward that I found sitting on a bookshelf in our house one day. I read parts of it anyways.

I’m Catholic technically but I consider myself Jewish.

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Dragon Eye

in May 21st, 2006 @ 11:53

I haven’t read my chapter, but I promis I will. I’ll request The complete idiots guide to the worlds religion as well as the worlds religions. I don’t have a religion, I guese. I mean I celebrate Christmas and Most of the other Cristian holidays, but I don’t go to church and I can’t tell myself I believe in god or Jesus without lying to myself. It’s very difficult to lie to yourself

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27

Dragon Eye

in May 21st, 2006 @ 11:55

Hey, could someone tell me what the Muslim and Morman religion is?? I’m curious.

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28

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 21st, 2006 @ 12:06

You can find articles on Islam (the Muslim religion) and Mormonism on Wikipedia. This thread is for discussing world religions after you’ve already done some reading about them.

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Eccentric the Afterthought

in May 21st, 2006 @ 12:40

Ack…still waiting for the book to come in at the library. I’m a Christian. My family is half Catholic and half Baptist, but I’m not loyal to any particular denomination myself.

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Der Wachtelschlag (Queenie's short name)

in May 21st, 2006 @ 13:30

I’m waiting to get to the library. While we’re waiting, will someone please explain to me the differences between the various Christian sub-denominations? I always get really mixed up. Are there even subtle diffs,or are they all basically similar?

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31

elassÃ«~adael

in May 21st, 2006 @ 13:33

26- you might be Athiest, someone who does not beleive in God.Or agnostic.

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Purple Panda

in May 21st, 2006 @ 14:30

Last year, at meeting, we learned about lots of different religions. It was really interesting….we went to all sorts of places of worship, etc.

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33

Brave Sir Robbin

in May 21st, 2006 @ 18:03

I haven’t read it, but I think we have it around somewhere. Probably.

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34

â™¥ shriya siolashrwa jeffica â™¥

in May 21st, 2006 @ 18:26

OOOh im hindu!! but i actually haven’t reaaaaaa……………………………….oops.

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35

Otzi

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 00:10

^.^

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36

book_addict

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 08:17

i go to a christian church but i’m not sure what i consider myself right now… i definately believe in god, but ……who knows.

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37

book_addict

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 08:18

oh right, sorry. i haven’t read the book, but since i saw other people posting who hadn’t read it i figured i was safe…

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38

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 09:21

I’ll allow it. The discussion hasn’t started yet; so far it’s just preliminaries.

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39

elassÃ«~adael

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 14:53

36- me too! I go to Catholic church at Easter and Christmas. I never really go otherwise. I do believe in God. I feel that I am Jewish and have for about 8 months now.

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40

Purple Panda

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 15:11

we don’t really go to meeting very often either.

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41

Taiwan Hippo Fan

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 15:26

Yep, I’m Quaker. Who knew.
I’m really interested in the Christian saints. There’s a patron saint of television!

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42

The Stalking Torch Singer of Knottingham (formerly The stalking Yeti of knoggtingham)

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 16:19

My Bat Mitzvah has been postponed due to my being sick. it is now on memorial day 2007.

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43

Purple Panda

in May 22nd, 2006 @ 16:40

are you ok?

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44

FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever

in May 30th, 2006 @ 13:17

i read the, book, but where is everybody?

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45

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in May 30th, 2006 @ 13:20

They took the shortcut on the “MBers’ Religions” thread by just talking about their own religions. But I’ll bet we can draw them back here.

Congratulations on finishing the book! For starters, what did you think about the chapter on Islam?

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The Skipper Nancy

in May 31st, 2006 @ 18:57

I got the book today! I read the intro and preface. I’m going away to Portland tomarrow, so hopefully I’ll put a good dent in it on the plane. I’ll post what I think when I get back next toosdi.

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47

dark lord of darkness

in June 1st, 2006 @ 17:41

are there any books on agnosticism?
ill try to get the book, but anyhoo im off to the real thread!
well sorta

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in June 1st, 2006 @ 18:01

There must be, but I don’t know of any offhand. Bertrand Russell wrote some essays about it. Further back, you might check what Wikipedia has to say about the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus.

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49

Purple Panda

in June 1st, 2006 @ 20:27

I’ve read several chapters, but nobody has posted on this thread, so I didn’t know what to say…

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50

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in June 1st, 2006 @ 20:52

Well, it doesn’t talk about the Society of Friends, so you can’t start with your own religion. In that case, I don’t think it matters where you start.

The book tries to give an idea of what a religion feels like to the people who believe in it and practice it. Would you like to pick a chapter and discuss how well it succeeded in doing that? You and FantasyFan could start with the section on Islam, if you’ve read it.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in June 2nd, 2006 @ 09:00

Better idea: Let’s cover religions in the order Huston Smith does:

Hinduism (and Sikhs)
Buddhism
Confucianism
Taoism
Islam
Judaism
Christianity
“Primal Religions”

It seems strange to cover Islam before Judaism and Christianity, though, because historically it’s the most recent one on the list and was based on them in a way. Also, Confucianism isn’t exactly a religion, and Taoism isn’t really a living religion nowadays, but they’re still worth knowing about. How does that sound?

So… Hinduism. I think most people know that it comes from India and has something to do with yoga and reincarnation and gods with animal heads and extra arms. But what is it really about? Anyone like to take the plunge? (I’ll help, and I’m sure other Musers will, too.)

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52

Eccentric the Afterthought

in June 4th, 2006 @ 21:47

I finally got the book! Yay! Now I need to get offline to go read it…

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53

The Skipper Nancy

in June 7th, 2006 @ 02:25

Perfect! I was just reading the section on Hinduism on the plane.
I had no idea about any of that stuff about Hinduism. It made sense to me, though. At least, it did after the first reading. I’m not sure I understood all of it.
Trying to seperate yourself from your Self, and the different types of yoga, that all made a lot of sense to me. It made me think about my own atheist beliefs. I think I could apply certian ideas of hinduism to my own beliefs, even if I don’t believe in a god. I liked the different steps of happiness and such.

Ahhh, this is frusterating. I had all these ideas to post when I was reading it, but I can’t remember any of it! I think I’m going to go re-read the section.

But, just to try and actually make this post at least halfway meaningful, I’ll put what is still in my travel-frozen brain.

To me, Hinduism seemed to be about enjoying life to it’s fullest extent, and enjoying it in every single way possible, emotional, physical, intellectual. But it is also about balance, and finding harmony with the world/god.

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54

Purple Panda

in June 13th, 2006 @ 14:06

I read the Hinduism too! It’s really interesting.

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55

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in June 13th, 2006 @ 14:27

Great! I’ll get a discussion rolling soon.

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56

Purple Panda

in June 18th, 2006 @ 18:37

Soon, as in….

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57

Yup

in August 7th, 2006 @ 00:28

O Great and Powerful GAPA, you did say you’d start this thread up again…

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Comments RSS TrackBack 57 comments

Purple Panda

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Sweet Melpomene

Otzi

100% cotton

Purple Panda

Axa

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Eccentric the Afterthought

kiki_the_great

Achoo, son of Asneeze (Sphinx)

Veralidaine

elassÃ«~adael

The Skipper Nancy

defcon pilot

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Taiwan Hippo Fan

Taiwan Hippo Fan

Taiwan Hippo Fan

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

kiki_the_great

FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever.

FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever.

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

elassÃ«~adael

Dragon Eye

Dragon Eye

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Eccentric the Afterthought

Der Wachtelschlag (Queenie's short name)

elassÃ«~adael

Purple Panda

Brave Sir Robbin

â™¥ shriya siolashrwa jeffica â™¥

Otzi

book_addict

book_addict

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

elassÃ«~adael

Purple Panda

Taiwan Hippo Fan

The Stalking Torch Singer of Knottingham (formerly The stalking Yeti of knoggtingham)

Purple Panda

FantasyFan?!?! PWL forever

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

The Skipper Nancy

dark lord of darkness

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Purple Panda

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Eccentric the Afterthought

The Skipper Nancy

Purple Panda

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Purple Panda

Yup