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The Religions of Man, by Huston Smith
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Here is a unique study of all the world's great religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. This book is neither a history or a critique. Instead it explains, simply and sympathetically, the basic tenants of each religion and the reasons why it attracts millions of devout followers. As the author explains in the first chapter, “This is a book about religion that exists . . . . not as a dull habit but as an acute fever. It is about religion alive. And whenever religion comes to life it displays a startling quality; it takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown without contest into a supporting role. The Religions of Man is a thoroughly researched, informative, fascinating presentation of both the differences and the similarities in the major religious traditions. It is essential reading for anyone who would understand peoples of other lands, other cultures, other religions.
- Sales Rank: #778858 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Ishi Press
- Published on: 2013-01-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .78" w x 5.50" l, .96 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 342 pages
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition
About the Author
Huston Cummings Smith born on May 31, 1919 in China where his parents were Methodist Religious Missionaries. He spent the first 17 years of his life in China. Upon reaching the United States to continue his eduction at Central Methodist College, he soon drifted away and took up other religions. He even experimented with drugs, meeting Timothy Leary in the process. I first met him in Berkeley while I was a student at the University of California at Berkeley. Ofter the course of many years, Huston Smith traveled widely especially to India and tried just about every major religion and most of the minor ones, including even drug based religions of the American Indians based on peyote. Most of his early life was spent in the various branches of Hinduism, studying under different swamis. All this made him an expert in just about every religion. A TV station that evolved into the Public Broadcasting System asked him to give a television series on the world's religions. His director reminded him repeatedly to keep his lectures exciting and attention grabbing. “This is not a classroom where you have a captive audience”, he said. “If you lose their attention for thirty seconds they will switch channels and you won't get them back. So, make your points if you must – you're a professor so you have to make your points. But illustrate them immediately, with an example, something that will connect them to things your audience can relate to.” Huston Smith believed that this is the key to this book's success. There are other, perhaps technically better, books out there, but none have enjoyed the wide spread popularity of this book.
Most helpful customer reviews
114 of 117 people found the following review helpful.
Brilliant synopsis of the best of the world's religions
By A Customer
Mr. Smith extracts from the world's great religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity - that which is ideal. He intentionally does not delve into the minutiae of religious history or the many ways in which religion has been used as a vehicle for evil. As he explains, "The empowering theological and metaphysical truths of the world's religions are . . . inspired. Institutions - religious institutions emphatically included - are another story. . . ."
The book thus sets forth in careful, clear prose and clever detail the very best of seven influential world religions - their core beliefs, their inherent beauty. Mr. Smith is a genius with an analogy, and unfamiliar, or arguably bizarre, religious abstractions are summed up and made concrete in the stroke of a pen. Take, for example, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. "It holds that while God is fully one, God is also three. The latter half of this claim leads Jews and Muslims to wonder if Christians are truly monotheists, but Christians are confident that they are. As water, ice, and steam, H2O ssumes states that are liquid, solid, and gaseous while retaining its chemical identity."
This brilliant book is a "must read" for everyone, of every religious persuasion. The respect it instills for diverse religious beliefs, and the manner in which the reader slowly comes to realize how much seemingly incompatable religious systems have in common, is nothing less than profound.
-- Christine Klein
71 of 78 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful read, but hard to understand
By Matt Morrissette
This is the text book used at the high school I currently attend for the World Religion class. It is much too complex for the average high school junior so I don't know why the school chose it. I however found the book to be a remarkable literary masterpiece. It uses vivid language and broad ideas to portray many of the worlds great religions. It does not give a full detail of all the religions but only a general description and some highlight of dogma. The author limits the book to the main sect of each religion and does not go into small segregations (i.e. Christianity not Baptist). This 17 y/o high school junior believes that this book is a must read for any person looking for a faith to fit your beliefs or just anyone curious about the beliefs of other people in the world.
161 of 190 people found the following review helpful.
Good to know about the good side and wisdom of religions.
By Spiff
Being at a stage of agnosticism, I found myself curious and needing to know more about all the religions, and decided to try Houston Smith's "The World's Religions". Smith includes the world's predominant faiths: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and the native traditions several continents. If this is your first contact with many of these religions, you will for sure feel lost. Even in the engaging way Smith writes, there is just too much information that is left out, and I often found myself wondering about certain subjects that were mentioned but not explained. My main problem with this book was perhaps the lack of more historical facts, a clear exposure of the main differences between religions, and a better index, which is essential not only for reference but also for people who are having their first contact with religion (For instance, Torah, now what's that anyway? Hmm, no, it's not in the index...hmm).
Not even Smith's summaries at the end of each chapter will leave you with the feeling you finally understand it all, and I wouldn't mind having some graphics clarifying things out a bit better instead of having to take notes all the time - A broader view on the subject. I am perhaps spoiled with my engineering degree in college where complex matters are usually explained with the help of some diagrams, so some people might not miss this aspect.
But don't get me wrong. This book does deliver most of what it promises, and attempts to cover extremely complex matters of heart that are simply impossible to fully present in a book, much of it you will have to feel, not read. It is poor on history, but it's not supposed to have much more on that field (I would prefer a bit more), and also, what might annoy some people is that it is not a balanced account of its subject. You will only get to know about values, attention will be given only to the good parts. If you want a balanced account on religions, including fanaticism, persecution, and those sides that are more of a curse than a blessing, but still are part of it, you will have to find another book. If you want to learn about the main values, (many of which they all share) it's here, but keep in mind that you are not seeing the dark side of the moon.
My objective was precisely learning about the values of each religion, and how they compare to each other. (This book is better with the first problem than with the second). Smith apparently did not want to go too deep into the comparative religions waters, as comparisons probably always end up comparing their worth and are sometimes odious. The price for not showing one religion as superior to others is that you will not get comparisons, or you will get very little of it.
Finally, the differences are sometimes minimal, but sometimes huge. Smith explains most of it clearly, and if you are ready to look at those religions through other's eyes you will understand it better. I found interesting the thoughts on how religions are all basically alike
This book was somewhat of a failure to me, but I guess that it is ultimately impossible to find a book on this issue that will please me or give me the fully clear knowledge I would like, as it is very hard to understand religions, and even more when they are not our own (no matter if you are theist, atheist or agnostic).
Lacking more history, and a clearer explanation of the institutional dimensions of those religions, along with some other subjects, it is still a great book and most of all a good intro to the wisdom those religions share. You will probably find yourself wanting more information, but Houston Smith's work is a good place to start.
Overall, you might end up still a bit confused, but you can still benefit from the wisdom Smith managed to gather in those few pages. I recommend it, it's worth your money.
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