A History of Religious Ideas, Vol. 3: From Muhammad to the Age of Reforms

Description

This volume completes the immensely learned three-volume A History of Religious Ideas . Eliade examines the movement of Jewish thought out of ancient Eurasia, the Christian transformation of the Mediterranean area and Europe, and the rise and diffusion of Islam from approximately the sixth through the seventeenth centuries. Eliade's vast knowledge of past and present scholarship provides a synthesis that is unparalleled. In addition to reviewing recent interpretations of the individual traditions, he explores the interactions of the three religions and shows their continuing mutual influence to be subtle but unmistakable. As in his previous work, Eliade pays particular attention to heresies, folk beliefs, and cults of secret wisdom, such as alchemy and sorcery, and continues the discussion, begun in earlier volumes, of pre-Christian shamanistic practices in northern Europe and the syncretistic tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These subcultures, he maintains, are as important as the better-known orthodoxies to a full understanding of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Review: Best and simple way to understand - Good to understand the other religions Review: Great. - These compilations on the History of Religions around the world are great and very easy to read. They are a must for anyone interested in the subject of comparative religion and mythology and the discovery of the psychological archetypes that are universally found around the world and in all ages. A History of Religious Ideas is written in a very friendly manner and exposes the universal principles of religion in the history of humanity. We will add as a notice that we encountered the 4th volume to this set. The 3rd Volume of this series ends with section 318 which deals with Tibetan Religions. The 4th volume which is originally Geschite der religiosen Ideen, III/2 (and that we have the Spanish translation) goes from Chapter XL to L and continues the 3 Vol. series with the section number of 319. The 4th part of this series deals with religion in Center-America, Taoism, Indonesia, Oceania, Australia, West Africa, East and Central Africa, South American Shamanism, North American Sioux-Oglala religion, Japanese religion, and the secularization in Europe until our times. It seems the original work of Eliade was 440 sections of which the 3 volumes cover 318. There is also the work that is an extension of this compendium which is titled From Primitives to Zen: A Thematic Sourcebook on the History of Religions. These works revolutionize the way we see religion. Eliade, with a historical worldview of religion shows us the reality of "homo religiosus" as Eliade says.