World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts

By Andrew Willson

Book Overview

World Scripture is an extraordinary journey through the sacred writings of the world's great religions. Organized by subject, the quotations, passages, and excerpts presented here provide readers with easy access to teachings on several hundred subjects, with quotes from different religious traditions. This unusual anthology provides a new, holistic approach to understanding religion-stressing what unites us rather than what divides us. Among the religious texts represented are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Baha'i, Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints, and Zoroastrianism. Also featured are the oral traditions of various religions of Africa, Native America, Asia, and Oceania along with their recorded prayers and proverbs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557787239
• ISBN13: 9781557787231
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Paragon House Publishers
• Length: 882 Pages
• Weight: 3.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Incredible / Great / Wonderful

So much religious energy is spent emphasizing the differences between schools of thought instead of focusing on the foundation which is the same. This book allows one to see what he/she has in common with others whose religious tradition may be different from their own.

Absolutely Outstanding

I have looked for and read many similar books to this, and I must say that this is the best of the best. These editors really went all out to put together a quality product. World Scripture contains a vast variety of selections from various religious scriptures and sources, and groups them together by category, with background information before each category. I believe the best hing about the book is the tremendous variety of source subjects. Almost everything is in here, including Judaism, Chritianity, Islam, Shinto, Sikhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, African Religions, Native American Religions and more; plus some schools of thought that are bordlerine religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, etc. If you are into learning about religions, this book is an absolute MUST. And for such a lengthy book, it sells at a very reasonable price. I also recommend The World's Wisdom, Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life (Bible Quotes), Bounty of Allah (Qu'ran quotes and various Islamic / Sufi quotes), and Pearls of Jaina Wisdom (teachings / aphorisms from the scriptures of Jainism). ALso be sure to check out my book A Collection of Wisdom, which contains wisdom from the world's religions and many other sources.

Buy this book!!

This is a theology students dream. It must have taken one many years of serious study and labor to compile scripture references in this way. Passages from the holy books of every major and most minor religions are represented here and grouped side by side by topic for quick comparison. On almost every subject the harmony of thought is staggering! It makes one wonder why religious leaders ever quarrel with one another. It's a great book for study and even better to browse. I started reading it in my doctor's waiting room and got hooked. I found myself actualy looking forward to going to the doctor! If you'd like to sample divine wisdom from many cultures and ages. Buy this book and you'll refer to and enjoy it for a lifetime!

Fascinating

I received this book as a graduation present from my Unitarian Universalist church and I immediately starting flipping through it. The length is intimidating, but it's all quotes or short text, so there is no pressure to read it all. The beauty of the book is that it contains texts from so many religions that cover every area of life in such philosophical detail. It has answers, but leaves you with questions that you must answer yourself. I found this book especially useful for a Theory of Knowledge class I had last year. This book was constantly at hand and continually provided me with support for my arguments. This book is fascinating and thorough, and I encourage everyone to buy it regardless of your religious background.

A testament to the brotherhood of man.

This book takes different topics such as faith, dealing with adversity etc. and quotes various sacred text that discuss that topic. This book is a wonderful testament to the fact that we all believe in the same God even though we may call him by a different name and that we are all brothers and sisters. This book opened my eyes and introduced me to some sacred texts that I had never heard of and would like to learn more about.