Religion : Comparative Religion

Recent interest in Buddhist thought has grown dramatically, and with it the desire to understand where Buddhism stands on a range of contemporary ethical questions, which have not been traditionally addressed. In this engrossing and lucid VSI, seen as a companion to the VSI to Buddhism, Damien Keown examines issues including animal rights, the environment, abortion, and cloning, from a Buddhist perspective. - ;The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. Numerous introductory books have appeared in recent years to cater for this growing interest, but almost none devotes attention to the specifically ethical dimension of the tradition. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West, and publications on the subject are few and far between. Here, Damien Keown, author of Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction , illustrates how Buddhism might approach a range of fascinating moral issues ranging from abortion and suicide to cloning. - more...

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Explores various religious explanations of natural tragedies through interviews with prominent religious leaders across the religious spectrum more...

Price: $43.95

Loving God – loving His people. That’s what being a minister, priest or rabbi is all about. You’re with people at the turning points in their lives and assuring them of God’s care and compassion. You’re helping them be better followers of their faith, and that in turn helps make the world a better place. Being a member of the clergy is one of the most satisfying careers anyone can have. No two days are ever alike. You are using all of your creativity and energy to bring hope and inspiration. Those are qualities that were needed in Biblical times, and they’re still needed today. more...

Price: $15.00

Covers the complex interaction of science and the Catholic Church from the beginnings of the church until the present day. more...

Price: $71.50

The Copts of Egypt are the largest Christian minority in the Middle East. In recent years they have often figured in the news as victims of bloody attacks by Islamic militants. Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt is the first study of Christian identity politics in contemporary Egypt. S.S. Hasan begins by looking at how the Coptic generation of the 1940s and 1950s remembered, recovered, and imagined the ancient history of Christianity in Egypt in order to weld the Copts into a unified nation, resistant to the growing encroachments of Islam. She argues that this interpretation of history, in which Egyptian martyrs figure prominently, made possible the rebirth of the Coptic church and community-in much the same way as the preservation of Hebrew and the historical memory of Jewish tribulations served the purpose of national reconstruction of the state of Israel. The bulk of the book focuses on the period beginning with the consecration of Pope Shenuda in 1971. Drawing on extensive interviews with church leaders, clergy, and others Hasan finds that during this period the responsibilities of the church for the welfare of the Coptic community grew immeasurably. Church leaders arrogated to themselves the exclusive right to the political representation of their community and reconceived their role from the narrow care of souls to the promotion of economic and cultural efflorescence of the entire Coptic community. The leaders of this revival, she shows, have nurtured a potent and distinctive religious culture with a sense of communal pride and identity in an environment in which they were increasingly exposed to discrimination and outright hostility. more...

Price: $70.00