John Bowker (1) (1935–)

Wow. An encyclopedia to the sacred books of the world. Arranged by major religious group, this work contains short articles on the types of sacred books used by that religion, with descriptions/summaries of the major works. There is an extensive bibliography of English translations.

This is not really a book to sit down and read, more one to refer to when investigating a particular religion.

Two quirks: The bibliography is strangely redundant with entries that merely refer to other entries. show more Also there is no attempt to list all English translations on any given work or to evaluate them in any way.

Another quirk found later: In the section on Christianity the author takes a very complicated argument about New Testament origins and reduces in to the point where, if you don't already know what's being argued about, you would think that the people making the argument were simply idiots (I'm not saying they're not, but I don't think it's for the reasons Bowker gives). It looks possible that he reduced the argument in the way that he did because it causes problems for his own beliefs. I think an introductory book meant for non co-religionists to read is not the place to be hashing out questions like this. It also made me wonder what he's glossing over in the sections I know nothing about. Caveat lector. show less

Another entry into my Read Your Library list. Since I've been focusing on World History, religion was a natural inclusion since it has been one of the main drives behind humanity from the very beginning.

This book is a nice overview of the more recognizable religions of the world, starting with the ancient religions such as the Greek, Egyptian, and Celtic traditions, and moving on through time to cover Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even touching on smaller native show more religions around the world.

My one complaint with this one is that I wish they had spent more time on the ancient religions. Plus, there is no mention of the Sumerian religious tradition of the Mesopotamian area, even though it had a strong influence on Judaism (since the Semites, the early Jewish people, were slaves to the Babylonians and indoctrinated in their faith, borrowed almost entirely from early Sumer). Since there is such a focus on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; it would have been nice to take a look at one of the early religions that held many of the original stories that became a major part of those three.

Of course, the author does include a section on further reading in the back, so I now have a list of additional books to look for regarding each of the religions covered here. show less

An enjoyable read about the many world cultures. It does; however, have a biased view towards Christianity, which is apparent in some passages. I thought the book was well rounded and informative! I do wish there was more on the ancient religions though!

The place for which the main world of religions accord the problem of suffering provides an important key to an understanding of the religions themselves. It highlights their similarities and their differences and it reveals very clearly what their different religions conceive the purpose of human existence to be.