The Origin And The Overcoming Of Evil And Suffering In The World Religions

All religions face the challenge of explaining, in view of God's goodness, the existence of evil and suffering in the world. They must develop theories of the origin and the overcoming of evil and suffering. The explanations in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism of evil and suffering and their origin, as well as these world religions' theories of how to overcome evil and suffering, differ from one another, but are also similar in many respects. The human person is always considered to be the origin of evil, and also to be the focus of aspirations to be able to overcome it. The conviction that evil and suffering are not original and can be overcome is characteristic of and common to the religions. The explanations of the origin of evil are closely related to the explanations of the continuation and propagation of evil in human persons, in nature, and in our technology and culture that have been developed in the religions - in Christianity, for example, as the doctrine of original sin. Finally, the world religions are concerned with how to cope with suffering and offer guidance for overcoming evil and suffering. Leading scholars of five world religions, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism, have created with this volume a first-hand source of information, which enables the reader to gain a better understanding of these religions' central teachings about the origin and the overcoming of evil and suffering.

Do Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and Muslims tend to experience pain in fundamentally different ways? Are suffering and human evil equally difficult problems in these particular religious traditions? How is each person to deal with or overcome suffering? In Evil and Suffering, acknowledged experts in each religion offer clear answers to these and similar questions. Through their discussions, the history and diversity of the traditions are also revealed. In this volume, editor Jacob Neusner address the topic from the standpoint of Judaism, Bruce Chilton presents the perspective of Christianity. Jonathan Brockopp discusses Islam, Brian K. Smith presents Hinduism, and Charles Hallisley discusses Buddhism.

All religions make statements about God or the Absolute and about "the beginning": about the beginning of the world and the beginning and nature of the human person. Propositions about God, the human person, and the world, statements about God's eternity or process of becoming, about the status and nature of the human person as the "image of God", and about the beginning of the world are woven into "religious speculations about the beginning". The theology, anthropology, and cosmology of the world religions determine the image of the human person and the image of the world in the world cultures shaped by the different religions. They stand in a tense relationship with the anthropologies and cosmologies of modern science, which in turn challenge the religions to deepen their image of the human person. With this volume leading thinkers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam provide the reader with a first-hand source for understanding the five world religions and their teaching about God, the human person, and the origin of the world.

Evil in World Religions is an authoritative examination of the similarities and differences in how many of the world's religions respond to the issues of evil and suffering in the world. After proposing definitions of "religion," "evil" and other useful religious concepts, this study begins with the world's oldest religions - Hinduism, Judaism and the dualistic faiths of Zoroastrianism, Mithraism and Manichaeism. The study continues on to an analysis of the beliefs of four Asian faiths-Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto. Finally, the book examines Christianity and Islam, which arose in the ancient Near East in Israel and the Arabian Peninsula, and then traditional African religions, particularly of the Yoruba and Igbo people. Evil in World Religions is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of comparative religion and theodicy.

A History of the World's Religions bridges the interval between the founding of religions and their present state, and gives students an accurate look at the religions of the world by including descriptive and interpretive details from the original source materials. Refined by over forty years of dialogue and correspondence with religious experts and practitioners around the world, A History of the World's Religions is widely regarded as the hallmark of scholarship, fairness, and accuracy in its field. It is also the most thorough yet manageable history of world religion available in a single volume, treating many subjects largely neglected in other texts.

This book chronologically documents the rise and fall of the major religions of the world and explores the role that various cultural factors such as dance, trance, music, song, and language have played in this evolution. The role that leaders play in the evolution of religion is also discussed. Starting from the primitive religions of hunter-gatherer societies in which religion was not part of any institution, the next stages of human life from the agricultural revolution to the modern religions of today are discussed. Among the modern religions discussed are Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Scientology, and numerous others. The reader is further provided with a unique perspective on the potential good and evil aspects of religion and the very reality of the existence of a God or gods, and the possible downfalls of the religious belief system.

Kwabena ASAMOAH-GYADU: Conquering Satan, Demons, Principalities, and Powers: Ghanaian Traditional and Christian Perspectives on Religion, Evil,

Apart from the work of God in creation, it’s notoriously difficult to explain the presence of beauty in the world and man’s appreciation for it. Indeed, the aesthetic realm (with its array of phenomena which engage the senses, the mind, and the heart) not only suits the biblical account of the universe, but also points toward it. In making this case, sixteen writers address the shortcomings of naturalistic narratives, the virtues of theistic accounts (particularly those grounded in Christ), and the manner in which the various arts resonate with Scripture. Along the way, readers will encounter the peacock’s tail and Farnsworth House; a Schubert piano sonata and “chopsticks”; Kintsugi and Kitsch; Hugh of St. Victor and Hans Urs von Balthasar; Kandinsky and Eisenstein; the Lydian and Phrygian modes; eucatastrophe and liminal space; McDonald’s and Don Quixote; Sméagol and the Blobfish; Stockhausen and Begbie; Adorno and Kinkade; Mount Auburn Cemetery and Narnia; Fujimura and Schopenhauer.

THE BOOK: The book is an open-eyed journey through the mystic world of faith. It is an intellectually stimulating account of the birth of religions. As animal, for definite, have no religions and intelligence is the dividing line between man and animal, it should be amply clear that religions have risen out the thinking faculty of man. These are about God and His creation alright, but not from God, though human brain itself is a gift from God. The book traces the story of religions from the earliest times and tries to reach to the core of all major belief systems of the world. Towards the end, it draws a sort of balance-sheet of the religions to form an idea what good and bad these have done to the mankind. An effort has also been made to have a peep into their future.