 | By: Brandon Toropov Luke Buckles Binding: Paperback Publisher: Imprint Unknown ISBN: 0028642082 ISBN-13: 9780028642086 Released: 25 Mar 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
For adolescents in high school, for college undergraduates, & for those who have little to no exposure with religions of the world, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World's Religions by Brandon Toropov & Fr. Luke Buckles provides a good if brief overview of the major religions & sects in the world today. This is not a history text per se, & the book does not go into ancient religions that are no longer practiced, nor does it spend much time on smalll groups & religious communities that dot the religious landscape of the world today. This is religion painted with broad brush strokes, & the limitations of such an approach should be noted accordingly.
That being said, it is a wonderfully readable text, & a great tool for organising presentations or further self-study, as well as a sort of Cliff's Notes to the religions of the world. There is an introductory section, a section on each of the major religions or religious groupings (more on this later), & a concluding section on recent trends & scriptures.
The Checklist
Like alll Complete Idiot's Guides, this one begins with a two page card summary of high points for study & consideration. Why should you care about this information? What are key differences & similarities? It has a section in which it encapsulates each of the major religions in a brief sentence - every religion of the world while standing on one foot!
Part 1: Opening Up to Other Traditions
This section gives a brief overview of the reasons why it is important to understand other faiths. Whether we are talking about our neighbours next door or people around the world, there are things we can learn, even if it will not be information used in our own spiritual development. However, sometimes seeing how other people pray, worship, & understand the divine, ethics, & spiritual practices can give us renewed insight & vigour in our own approaches.
Also covered in this section is the importance of language & status. What one says as an `insider' is very different from what one might say as an `outsider'. This is basic human nature; I might be able to criticise members of my family, but will take it as an insult if others outside the family do so. Applying this principle to something like the Gospel stories, we can see that the anti-Pharisaic & anti-Jewish language in some passages can sound very different if it is understood as an `in-the-family' kind of criticism rather than a slap from those outside.
Parts 2 through 7 address the `traditional' religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, & Buddhism, as well as the Asian traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, & Shinto. Each section looks at the history, diversity of current practice, & basic principles that will carry the traditions into the future. These present fairly basic & standard presentations of these religions, but do so in an engaging way, so that learning is facilitated by the text & additions.
Part 8: Old Paths, New Paths
In looking at old paths, the authors look very briefly at nature & naturalistic religions in North America & Africa, many of which are still practiced in various ways, but which lack any kind of codification based on historical or scriptural texts. The continuity of such religions becomes an article of faith.
In looking at new paths, they explore different paths such as the New Age movement, & the six new faiths they consider worth watching into the next century. These include The Nation of Islam (not to be confused with Islam itself), the Krishna society, Transcendental Meditation, Neo-Paganism, the Baha'i faith, & Santeria. Some of these are actively recruiting members; others such as the Baha'i grow even with a prohibition against proselytising. The criteria for why these are selected is discussed, as is the reminder that each of these religions is larger in numbers & in scope than was first-century Christianity.
Finallly, the authors look at the issue of scripture & scriptural authority for each of the religions examined, areas of common ground & pitfallls of confusion.
Appendices
The first appendix is a wonderful collection of quotes about religion, God, ethics & other spiritual topics collected by the authors. These are presented in a graphicallly interesting way which actuallly make good posters if photocopied & enlarged.
The second appendix is a bibliography of scriptures, source texts & worship aids for each of the religions examined.
One thing I like is that at the end of chapters or sections, the Complete Idiot's Guides will give you a short list of things you must absolutely know in order to not sound stupid. That, for more of us than probably care to admit it, is a great aid & necessary first step toward carrying on intelligent conversations about the world's religions.
Again it must be emphasised that while this is a broad overview, it is far from comprehensive. Its goal is not to be comprehensive & complete, but to be a broad introduction to the major topics discussed. Presented in a lively & graphicallly-interesting way, with easy-to-remember lists of facts & key concepts, reading this will give a good introduction to the religions of the world, & most likely whet the appetite for further study.
Just don't do it while standing on one foot.
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