This comprehensive survey of the religions of India and the Far East offers writings by noted scholars; coverage of the role of religion in everyday life; information on what it is like to be an adherant to each religion; and discussion of religion's influence on gender roles.
#301481 in Books HarperCollins Christian Pub. 1996-12-01 1996-11-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.49 x 1.18 x 7.48l; 2.35 #File Name: 0310208122560 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great introductory overview of how the Christian churches developedBy AndreaWI found this book to be a really great introduction to the history of Christianity since the early church days post-crucifixion. For someone entirely unfamiliar with Christianity's roots in Judaism since creation; this book will not fill that gap; but it doesn't claim to. It's just an important note for those who may not realize that Christianity is the continuation of a faith in God that started long before Christ. Cairns does a good job presenting all the primary influences on the development of the formal church organization(s) as well as the informal spiritual perspectives. All viewpoints and interpretations seemed to be handled objectively (i.e. Roman Catholic vs. Reformation) "most" of the time. It's very informative for those who question why there are so many different denominations of Christianity.The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five deals with the chronology. Although the book generally moves steadily through the centuries; chapter by chapter; I found the breakdown within the chapters to be more topical than chronological. My personal preference while learning history is to move year by year; aware of all the things happening concurrently with each other. Cairns deals more topically; whether about events or historical person; so I felt like we were jumping around in time a lot making it difficult for me to keep all events in sequence. Admittedly; this is a personal problem; but it was frustrating enough for me to subtract one star. Hope this helps.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An excellent book.By Yankee_BA very informative book both for the historian and religious scholar.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I mostly dislike history. HoweverBy Joseph R. C.Become knowledgeable about the past. I'm not a history buff. In fact; I mostly dislike history. However; this book is probably the first history book I've ever picked up and enjoyed reading and learning. Their is a plethora of information so it is impossible to remember everything. But; this book is a must read for the intellectual.
