anyone here study religion ?

[Modelworks]

Yesterday I picked up a book at the local library titled"The Cambridge companion to the quran"

I knew nothing of the quran , islam or anything other than that we were in iraq fighting people that believed it was ok to blow yourself up and kill our troops and there own children.

I got to say that I didn't expect to read what I did.
I was raised in a baptist family and taught the 10 commandments , Jesus dying on the cross, etc.

I learned today that the quran also talks about, adam and eve, the garden of eden, abraham, moses, jesus and mary . It was an eye opener to read how different the quran actually is from what is going on in the middle east. Its like its been perverted or warped to fit political views, I guess not quite unlike the bible at times.

That said I posted this because I would like to find some resources or books that detail the different religions in the world. I think its time I really learned what the other religions are about versus just what I have heard in the media or from my local pastor. I tried google searches but its very hard to find a site thats not trying to put down one religion and promote another.

So if anyone has any links or book suggestions I would appreciate it.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Dunno. I recently read a book called "The Last 2 Million Years" published by reader's digest that had a large section on religion and pretty much covered all the major religions. You're probably looking for more in-depth stuff than that, but it's still worth a read because the entire book is beautifully illustrated and highly edifying in a number of different areas, particularly world history.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last...on-Years/dp/B000BZ6QWU

 

[Atif]

EXCELLENT book on all the major world religions:

The Illustrated World's Religions by Huston Smith

Some valuable resources on Islam:

WhyIslam (Free Literature and Toll-Free Information Line)
IslamiCity - Introductory Material

Peace

 

[jimmyj68]

Go to http://www.teach12.com

They have a course, "Great World Religions" in five areas;

Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. You can get the entirew package on DVD's with accompanying written course guides for each subject. These courses are taught by university professors.

The entire five course package is currently going for $625.00 or you can get just Islam or any of the others for $200.00 a piece. I know this sounds way expensive but if you think about college tuition costs this is a bargain. They use only top notch professors and each religion is covered in twelve 30 - 45 minute lectures.

Here's the professors:

Isaiah M. Gafni of Hebrew University does Judaism

Luke Timothy Johnson of Emory University does Christianity

Mark W. Muesse of Rhodes College does Hinduism

John L. Esposito of Georgetown University does Islam

Malcolm David Eckel of Boston University does Buddhism.

Google any of these guys and see the quality you are getting. This company sells nothing but such courses in just about all subject areas and everything is taught by a noted professor. Keep your eye on the site or let them send you periodic catalogs and you can catch these courses on sale and save a bucketful of dough. I got all five courses for a little over $200.

 

[PrinceofWands]

You might want to expand your reading to include some general history. You'll learn a LOT about religions by studying the times that they were invented, flourished, and faded. You should especially focus on cradle of civilization (fertile crescent and Mediterranean), and India.

I would also strongly recommend a minor foray into anthropology and psychology in order to understand more about religion in general. In psychology you're looking for higher cognitive and developmental functions, 'needs' theories, groupthink/susceptibility to influence & pressure, etc. In anthro you'll want to spend a fair amount of time in myths (Joseph Campbell here you come).

 

[Modelworks]

Thanks for all the info everyone.

I've studied history quite a bit, my main areas of interest have been around the time of the crusades.
But that period of history is more slanted toward killing off other religions, so I don't think thats a good fit, going to broaden the field a bit.

Going to start with the books suggested, the dvd's look good but a bit too much for me to spend right now.

 

[mrkun]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I got to say that I didn't expect to read what I did.
I was raised in a baptist family and taught the 10 commandments , Jesus dying on the cross, etc.

I learned today that the quran also talks about, adam and eve, the garden of eden, abraham, moses, jesus and mary . It was an eye opener to read how different the quran actually is from what is going on in the middle east. Its like its been perverted or warped to fit political views, I guess not quite unlike the bible at times.

Out of curiosity, what were you expecting?

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I think its time I really learned what the other religions are about versus just what I have heard in the media or from my local pastor.

What did your pastor tell you?