Cut-and-dried comparisons of the world's great religions. Despite her misleading title, Eck (Comparative Religion/Harvard; Banaras, 1982) gives an account that's far more academic than personal. As a student of religion at Smith in the mid-60's, Eck jumped on the bandwagon and headed East—in every possible sense. Eventually she found herself in Banaras, one of the great shrines of India, where she spent several years studying the sacred texts and rituals of Hinduism. There, Eck suffered the usual confusions that beset Western Christians upon their first exposure to a coherent polytheistic culture, and—in an attempt to displace the ``true/false'' dichotomy that had been erected in her mind as much by Christian claims of universality as by Western ideas of rationalism—she seized upon the ecumenical movement then underway: ``The ecumenical movement became a new Pentecostal movement, gathering from a hundred countries, speaking dozens of languages, and miraculously experiencing the uniting energy of the Holy Spirit.'' Here, in that spirit of ecumenism, Eck gives us a little bit of everything—Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc.—and tells us not so much what each religion is as what it resembles. But this approach can succeed only if guided by an originality and prescience that can highlight the unexpected patterns of familiar subjects—and, in this respect, Eck falls flat. No creed is examined in any depth; no belief is taken at face value; and every contradiction (between and within each religion) is explained away. There are some interesting historical asides, particularly in regard to the formation of the World Council of Churches, but these get swallowed up in platitudes. Intellectual meandering that eventually falls off the map. Eck, in the best ecumenical style, tries to reconcile contradictory beliefs by reducing them to their lowest common denominator- -seemingly without realizing that this robs them of imaginative force.
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 1993
ISBN: 0-8070-7302-4
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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