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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

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Print Price: $173.99

Format:
Paperback
560 pp.
11 halftones, 231 mm x 163 mm

ISBN-13:
9780195118353

Copyright Year:
1999

Imprint: OUP US


The Ways of Religion

An Introduction to the Major Traditions, Third Edition

Edited by Roger Eastman

Revised and updated, the third edition of this highly acclaimed anthology surveys all the major religious traditions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and African religions--and also covers Zen Buddhism, Shinto, and the religious experience in America. Ideal for courses in world religions and comparative religion, it introduces the unique claims, hopes, and wisdom of each tradition in its own voice, through substantial excerpts from its scriptures, prophets, and authors. "I have tried to pay heed," Eastman writes in his Preface, "to A. C. Bouquet's warning of many years ago that the study of religion may sink to the level of collecting dead insects or pressed flowers, which in the process lose all their color and reality. There is not much excuse for a dreary book about a subject as inherently interesting and provocative as the world's religions."
The following selections are new to the third edition: Diana L. Eck's "Frontiers of Encounter," Barbara Stoler Miller on Yoga, R. K. Narayan's story "Chudala," Julia Ching's "Confucianism in Perspective," Thomas Merton on Chuang Tzu, Joseph M. Kitagawa's "The Way of the Kami," Ian Reader on Shinto, Vincent Mulago on African Religions, and "A Personal Note" by John Hick.

Readership : Introductory courses in world religions and comparative religion; general readers

Reviews

  • "A very rich source to enable students to get a 'taste' of influential traditions."--Mary Anne Foley, University of Scranton
  • "A very creative, interesting introduction to world religions--a hybrid text."--Gaston Espinosa, Westmont College
  • "An outstanding anthology and clear expositions."--Allen Howard Podet, Buffalo State College
  • "An excellent supplementary book for World Religions courses because it quotes primary sources."--Marianne Ferguson, Buffalo State College
  • "Excellent selection from recent studies of religion from the original texts. Eastman covers a great deal of ground in 500 pages and does it carefully and intelligently."--Dan O'Bryan, Sierra Nevada College
  • "An excellent survey for use in introductory level courses at the seminary level. It helps to bring students into the world of religion beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition."--Philip Wickari, San Francisco Theological Seminary/Graduate Theological Union
  • "A thorough, comprehensive book with a variety of presentations to meet different kinds of audiences."--Ralph R. Covell, Denver Seminary
  • "The Ways of Religion was just what I was looking for. It provides substantial sections of writings (including Scripture) from various traditions without being overwhelming to students. Its inclusion of contemporary writings adds to it relevancy as well."--Joel J. Heim, Carroll College
  • Praise for the previous edition (first 4 quotes): "In my twenty-five years of teaching world religions this is the first book on the subject that I have liked, with the sole exception of Huston Smith's World Religions. Unlike the latter, this is an anthology and a very excellent one at that. Eastman's book will be a boon to students."--Ramesh Patel, Antioch College
  • "An excellent mixture of restrained but clear commentary with multiple selections of primary texts from the great traditions of humankind. The sense and sentiment, taste and feel emerge from the stories and sacred texts."--Michael Barnes, University of Dayton
  • "A most useful introduction."--Randall Balmer, Barnard College, Columbia University
  • "An excellent anthology...thoroughly recommended for study and general interest."--Geoffrey Parrinder

Preface
PROLOGUE
Introduction
Diana L. Eck: Frontiers of Encounter
I. HINDUISM: Himalayas of the Soul
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: The Hindu View of Life
Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (translator): Hymns from the Rig Veda
Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester (translators): Selections, The Upanishads
Barbara Stoler Miller (translator): Selections, Bhagavad-Gita
Barbara Stoler Miller: Yoga: The Discipline of Freedom
R. K. Narayan: Chudala
Mahatma Gandhi: I Am But a Seeker After Truth
II. BUDDHISM: Enlightenment, Compassion, Nirvana
Heinrich Zimmer (translator): The Roar of Awakening
Heinrich Zimmer: Buddhahood
Edward Conze (translator): Selections, Buddhist Scriptures,
Selections, The Dhammapada
Edward Conze (translator): Buddhaghosa on the Recollection of Death
Ananda Coomaraswamy: The Mahayana and the Ideal of Bodhisattva
Walpola Rahula: Buddhism As a Way of Life
The Dalai Lama: Holder of the White Lotus
III. ZEN BUDDHISM: The Sound of One Hand
D.T. Suzuki: The Essence of Zen
Ruth Fuller Sasaki: Zen Dust: The Koan
Gary Snyder (translator): Han-shan and Cold Mountain
Philip B. Yampolsky (translator): Hakuin: Poor Hole-Dwelling Devil
Shunryu Suzuki: Be Like a Frog
IV. CONFUCIANISM: An Ideal of Moral Order
Confucius and the Struggle for Human Happiness
Arthur Waley (translator): Selections, The Analects
W.A.C.H. Dobson (translator): Selections, The Book of Mencius
Tu Wei-ming: Confucian Self-Realization
Julia Ching: Confucianism in Perspective
Herbert Fingarette: A Confucian Metaphor--The Holy Vessel
V. Taoism: The Way to Do Is to Be
Frederic Spiegelberg: The Old Master and His Book
Gia-fu Feng and Jane English (translators): Selections, Tao Te Ching
Thomas Merton: Selections, Chuang Tzu
Lin Tung-chi: The Chinese Mind: Its Taoist Substratum
Huston Smith: Tao Now
VI. SHINTO: The Way of the Kami
Edwin O. Reischauer: Shinto and Japan: An Overview
Joseph M. Kitagawa: The Way of the Kami
Motoori Norinaga: The True Way
Ian Reader: Beginnings, Births, Fertility, and Festivals
Lafcadio Hearn: Glimpses of Shinto
VII. JUDAISM: The Sanctification of Life
Nicholas de Lange: What Is Judaism?
Louis Finkelstein: Nothing Is Ordinary
The Jewish Publication Society: Selections, The Holy Scriptures
Adin Steinsaltz: The Essential Talmud
Howard Schwartz: Jewish Mystical Tales
Emil L. Fackenheim: Holocaust
VIII. CHRISTIANITY: Taking Up The Cross
Norman Perrin: Ways of Being Religious in the New Testament
New Revised Standard Version: Selections, The New Testament
Thomas O. Lambdin (translator): The Gospel of Thomas
St. Augustine: Selections, The Confessions
Soren Kierkegaard: The Anguish of Being a Christian
Thomas Merton: Seeds of Contemplation
Rita Dove: On the Road to Damascus
IX. ISLAM: The Straight Path
John L. Esposito: Muhammad, Prophet of God
A. J. Arberry (translator): Selections, The Koran
Fazlur Rahman: The Qur'anic Teaching
Al-Ghazali: Deliverance from Error
Isma'il R. Farugi: Moments of the Religious Life
Seyyed Hossein Nasr: Male and Female in Islamic Perspective
X. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS: The Dawn of All Things
E. Bolaji Idowu: Errors of Terminology
Vincent Mulago: Traditional African Religion
E. Geoffrey Parrinder: God in African Belief
Marcel Griaule: Ogotemmeli and the Dawn of All Things
John S. Mbiti: Divinities, Spirits, and the Living Dead
XI. RELIGION IN AMERICA: A Sampler
Peter Cartwright: Frontier Preacher
Joseph Smith: The Faith of the Latter-day Saints
Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Science
The Souls of Black Folk
Joseph Epes Brown: The Spiritual Values of Native Americans
EPILOGUE
Introduction
John Hick: A Personal Note

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Roger Eastman is at Reedley College.

Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin

Special Features

  • Allows each religious tradition to speak in its own voice, with excerpts from scriptures and distinguished authors
  • Covers not only the major religious traditions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, but also Zen Buddhism, Shinto, and African religions
  • Includes introductions to each religious tradition