The following books set forth the basic tenets of their
respective religions:
Bhagavad Gita: part of the epic poem Mahabharata, this Sanskrit
dialog between Krishna and Prince Arjuna poetically describes a
path to spiritual wisdom and unity with God. Action, devotion,
and knowledge guide on this path.
Torah: the books of Moses (also known as the Pentateuch); for
Chistians, the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. These describe the
origin of the world, the covenant between God and the people of
Israel, the Exodus from Egypt and return to the Promised Land,
and rules for religious and social behavior. Together with the
books labeled Prophets and Writings, they make up the entire
Old Testament. The controversy among Jews, Roman Catholics,
Eastern Christians, and Protestants about the acceptance of some
books, the order of books, and translations reflect the
different perspectives adopted within these religions.
New Testament: the Christian addition to the Bible comprises 27
books. They contain sayings attributed to Jesus, his life story
(death and resurrection included), the writings of the apostles,
rules for conversion and baptism, and the Apocalypse (the end of
this world and the beginning of a new one).
Koran (al Qur'an): the holy book of the Moslems, is composed of
114 chapters (called suras). Belief in Allah, descriptions of
rules for religious and social life, calls to moral life, and
vivid descriptions of hell make up most of the text. According
to Moslem tradition, Mohammed ascended the mount an illiterate.
He came down with the Koran, which Allah had taught him to
write.
I-Ching: attributed to Confucius, composed of five books,
containing a history of his native district, a system for
divining the future (Book of Changes), a description of
ceremonies and the ideal government (Book of Rites), and a
collection of poetry. In their unity, all these books affirm
principles of cooperation, reciprocal respect, and describe
etiquette and ritual rules.
Mircea Eliade, Editor-in-Chief.The Encyclopedia of Religion ().
New York: Macmillan, 1987.
Mircea Eliade (with I. P. Couliano and H.S. Wiesner). The Eliade
Guide to World Religions. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.
Eliot Alexander. The Universal Myths: Heroes, Gods, Tricksters,
and Others. New York: New American Library, 1990.
P. K. Meagher, T.C. O'Brien, Sister Consuelo Maria Aherne.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion. 3 Vols. Corpus City
Publications, 1979.
In regard to the multiplicity of religions, the following works
provide a good reference:
John Ferguson. Gods Many and Lords Many: A Study in Primal
Religions. Guildford, Surrey: Lutterworth Educational, 1982.
Suan Imm Tan. Many Races, Many Religions. Singapore: Educational
Publications Bureau, 1971-72.
H. Byron Earhart. Religions of Japan: Many Traditions within One
Sacred Way. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984.
John M. Reid. Doomed Religions. A Series of Essays on Great
Religions of the World. New York: Phillips & Hunt, 1884.
Although no precise statistics are available, it is assumed that
ca. three billion people acknowledge religion in our days. The
numbers are misleading, though. For instance, only 2.4% of the
population in England attends religious services; in Germany,
the percentage is 9%; in some Moslem countries, service
attendance is close to 100%. The "3-day Jews" (two days of Rosh
Hashana and 1 day of Yom Kippur, also known as "revolving door"
Jews, in for New Year and out after Atonement Day), the Christian
Orthodox and Catholics of Christmas and Easter, and the
Buddhists of funeral ceremonials belong to the vast majority
that refers to religion as a cultural identifier. Many priests
and higher order ecumenical workers recite their prayers as epic
poetry.
Atheism. The "doctrine that God does not exist, that existence of
God is a false belief" (cf. M. Eliade, Encyclopedia of Religion,
vol. 1, pp 479-480). Literature on atheism continuously
increases. A selection showing the many angles of atheism can
serve as a guide:
The American Atheist (periodical). Austin TX: American Atheists.
Gordon Stein, Editor. An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism.
Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books, 1980.
Michael Martin. Atheism: A Philosophical Analysis. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 1990.
Jacques J. Natanson. La Mort de Dieu: Essai sur l'Athéisme
Moderne. Paris: Presses Univérstaires de France, 1975.
Robert A. Morey. The New Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom.
Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1986.
James Thrower. A Short History of Western Atheism. London:
Pemberton Books, 1971.
Robert Eno. The Confucian Creation of Heaven. Philosophy and the
Defense of Ritual Mastery. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1990.
Ronald L. Grimes. Research in Ritual Studies. A Programmatic
Essay and Bibliography. Chicago: American Theological Library
Association; Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1985.
Evan M. Zuesse. Ritual Cosmos. The Sanctification of Life in
African Religions. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1979.
Godfrey and Monica Wilson. The Analysis of Social Change. Based
on observations in Central Africa. Cambridge: The University
Press, 1968.
"A pagan Najakunsa believes himself to be dependent upon his
deceased father for health and fertility; he acts as if he were,
and expresses his sense of dependence in rituals" (p. 41).
References for the study of myths are as follows:
Eliot Alexander. The Universal Myths: Heroes, Gods, Tricksters,
and Others. New York: New American Library, 1990.
Jane Ellen Harrison. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion.
New York: Arno Press, 1975.
Walter Burkert. Ancient Mystery Cults. Cambridge MA: Harvard
University Press, 1987.
John Ferguson. Greek and Roman Religion: A Source Book. Park
Ridge NJ: Noyes Press, 1980.
Arcadio Schwade. Shinto-Bibliography in Western Languages.
Leiden: Brill, 1986.
Japanese Shintoism began before writing.
Hinduism: With one of the highest number of followers (ca. 650
million), Hinduism is an eclectic religion. Indigenous elements
and Aryan religions, codified around 1500 BCE in the Rig Veda,
Sama Veda, Yajor Veda, Atharva Veda, Aranyakas, Upanishads,
result in an amalgam of practices and beliefs dominating
religious and social life in Indiat The caste system classifies
members of society in four groups: priests (Brahmins), rulers,
farmers, and merchants, laborers (on farms or in industry).
Devotion to a guru, adherence to the Vedic scriptures, the
practice of yoga are the forms of religious action. The divine
Trinity of Hinduism unites Brahma (the creator), Vishna (the
preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer).
Taoism: In the Tao Te Ching (Book of the Way and Its Virtue), one
reads: "The Tao of origin gives birth to the One. The One gives
birth to the Two. The Two gives birth to the Three. The Three
produces the Ten Thousand Things." With some background in Tao,
the poetry becomes explicit: The One is the Supreme Void,
primordial Breath. This engenders Two, Yin and Yang, the duality
from which everything sprung once a ternary relation is
established. Tao is poetic ontology.
Confucianism: Stressing the relationship among individuals,
families, and society, Confucianism is based on two percepts: li
(proper behavior) and jen (cooperative attitude). Confucius
expressed the philosophy on which this religion is based on
sayings and dialogues during the 6th-5th century BCE. Challenged
by the mysticism of religions (Taoism, Buddhism) in the area of
its inception, some followers incorporated their spirit in
new-Confucianism (during the period known as the Sung dynasty,
960-1279).
Judaism: Centered on the belief in one God, Judaism is the
religion of the Book (the Torah), established at around 2000 BCE
by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judaism promotes the idea of human
improvement, as well as the Messianic thought. Strong
dedication to community and sense of family are part of the
religious practice.
Islam: The contemporary religion with the highest number of
adherents (almost 9000 million Muslims on record), and growing
fast, Islam celebrates Mohammed, who received the Koran from
Allah. Acknowledged at 610, Islam (which means "submission to
God") places its prophet in the line started with Abraham,
continued with Moses, and redirected by Jesus. The five pillars
of Islam are: Allah is the only God, prayer (facing Mecca) five
times a day, giving of alms, fast of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to
Mecca.
Christianity: in its very many denominations (Roman Catholic,
Greek Orthodox, Protestant, which split further into various
sects, such as Baptist, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Lutheran, Mormon,
Unitarian, Quakers), claims to have its origin in Jesus Christ
and completes the Old Testament of the Hebrews with the New
Testament of the apostles. It is impossible to capture the many
varieties of Christianity in characteristics unanimously
accepted. Probably the major celebrations of Christianity (some
originating in pre-Christian pagan rituals related to natural
cycles), i.e., Christmas and Easter, better reflect elements of
unity. Christianity promotes respect for moral values, dedication
to the family, and faith in one God composed of three elements
(the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
Bahai of Bahá'i: ascertains the unity of all religious doctrines
as these embody ideals of spiritual truth. The name comes from
Baha Ullah (Glory of God), adopted by its founder Mirza Husain
Ali Nuri, in 1863, in extension of the al-Bab religion.
Universal education, equality between male and female, and world
order and peace are its goals. The religion is estimated to have
5 million adherents world-wide.
Richard Wilhelm. I Ging; Das Buch der Wandlungen.
Düsseldorf/Köln: Diedrichs, 1982.
Wilhelm states that, in the context described, Fuh-Hi emerged:
"He reunited man and woman, ordered the five elements and set
the laws of mankind. He drew eight signs in order to dominate the
world." The eight signs are the eight basic trigrams of I Ging,
the Book of Changes (which attracted Leibniz's attention).
King Frederick Barbarossa (Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire,
1123-1190). Well known for challenging the authority of the Pope
and for attempting to establish German supremacy in religious
matters.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431). A plowman's daughter who, as the story
goes, listened to the voices of saints Michael, Catherine, and
Margaret. Thus inspiring the French to victory over British
invaders, she made possible the coronation of Charles II at
Reims. Captured by the English, she was declared a heretic and
burned at the stake. In 1920, Pope Benedict XV declared her a
saint.
Jan Hus (1372-1415). Religious reformer whose writings exercised
influence over all the Catholic world. In De Ecclesia, he set
forth that scripture is the sole source of Christian doctrine.
Martin Luther (1483-1546). A priest from Saxony, a scholar of
Scripture, and a linguist, who is famous for having attacked
clerical abuses. Through his writings (The 95 Theses), he
precipitated the Reformation.
Moslem armies defeated the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led
by Charles Martel, at Poitiers (cf. J.H. Roy, La Bataille de
Poitiers, Octobre 733, Paris: Gallimard, 1966).
Crusades: a series of military expeditions taking place from 1095
to 1270) intent on reclaiming Jerusalem and the holy Christian
shrines from Turkish control.
David Kirsch poses the questions: Is 97% of human activity
concept-free, driven by control mechanisms we share not only
with our simian forebears, but with insects? (Today the Earwig,
Tomorrow the Man? in Artificial Intelligence, 47:1-3, Jan. 1991,
p. 161).
The Bible on CD-ROM is a publication of Nimbus Information
Systems (1989). The CD-Word Interactive Biblical Library (1990),
published by the CD-Word Library, Inc. offers 16 of the world's
most used Bible texts and reference sources (two Greek texts,
four English versions).
Secular god-building in the Soviet Union: Ob ateizme i religii.
Sbornik Statei, Pisem i drughich materialov (About atheism and
religion. Collected articles, letters, and other materials) by
Anatoli Vasilevich Lunacharskii (1875-1933), Moscow: Mysl, 1972.
This is a collection of articles on atheism and religion, part
of the scientific-atheistic library. See also Maxim Gorky,
Untimely Thoughts (translated by Herman Erolaev). New York: P.S.
Ericksson, 1966.
Ernest Gellner, Scale and Nation, in Scale and Social
Organization (F. Barth, editor).
"Max Weber stressed the significance of the way in which
Protestantism made every man his own priest" (p. 143).
Glen Tinder. Can we be good without God? in Atlantic Monthly,
December, 1989.
Michael Lewis. God is in the Packaging, in The New York Times
Magazine, July 21, 1996, pp. 14 and 16.
Lewis describes pastors using marketing techniques to form
congregations. The success of the method has led to branch
congregations all over the USA.
Tademan Isobe, author of The Japanese and Religion, states: "The
general religious awareness of the Japanese does not include an
ultimate God with human attributes, as the God of Christianity.
Instead, Japanese sense the mystery of life from all events and
natural phenomena around them in their daily lives. They have
what might be called a sense of pathos" (cf. Web positing of
August, 1996, http://www.ariadne.knee.kioto-u.ac.jp).