E-raamat: Role of Religion in History [Taylor & Francis e-raamat]

Interpreting religious phenomena in the light of Objectivism, Walsh looks at the rise of the two major forms of religion from the perspectives of the nature of religion and primitive religions, religions of the Indian tradition, Judaism and Christianity, and Islam. Then he considers the ethos of the Judeo-Christian tradition in terms of Judaism and its world outlook; Christianity and its world outlook; the ethical, political, and economic teaching of the Judeo-Christian tradition; and the sexual ethics of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

This comprehensive survey of religion and its profound effects on history provides a historical context for in-depth analysis of theological, social, and political themes in which religion plays a major role

This comprehensive survey of religion and its profound effects on history provides a historical context for in-depth analysis of theological, social, and political themes in which religion plays a major role.

George Walsh first traces the rise and impact of primitive religions. He looks at Indian traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and analyzes the Semitic tradition of Judaism and Christianity and the evolving conception of a personal God. He discusses the history and chief doctrines of Islam as well, with its fundamental respect for desert tribal values and its emphasis on both the authority of God and the brotherhood of believers. Walsh then compares Judaism and Christianity. He sees Judaism as marked by a profound ambivalence between the values of tribal, nomadic desert life and the values of urban civilization, individualism, and collectivism. Judaism is "this-worldly," but the Christian worldview is "other-wordly."

Walsh closes with a timely discussion of the ethical, political, and economic teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, focusing specifically on their differing attitudes toward sex, reproduction, and marriage; their basic views of mind and body; and man's relation to God.