Comparative Religious Ethics: A Narrative Approach

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Summary: Exceptional classroom textbook and personal reference!
Review: As a member of the Religious Studies Department at a liberal arts college, I found this book to be invaluable as a textbook for my Comparative Religious Ethics course, and as a personal reference for the history of ethics as expressed through the world's major religious traditions. The narrative approach utilized by the authors provides a wonderfully compelling and unique methodological alternative to what might otherwise have been a dry and prosaic treatment. The ancient "stories" of each tradition, ie., Krisna and Arjuna, Job, Jesus, Siddhartha Gautama, Muhammad, are presented as foundational for the ethical development within each tradition and are subsequently juxtaposed against a "modern" story of a figure, ie., Gandhi, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosemary Reuther, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Malcolm X, who utilized the ethical foundations of that tradition within the contexts of their lives. The underlying thesis of the book, that within the field of comparative religious ethics there is common ethical ground is furthered by the profound insight and scholarship of the authors who posit that common ground as a worldview which sees the universe not in terms of sacred/profane but in terms of a holy whole. Readers walk away with an understanding of the common ethical strains within the world's major religious traditions, as they have all been grounded in an ethic of inclusivity, of "welcoming the stranger", of compassion and universal love. A wonderful book, for the scholar or any interested reader. A timely book for the 21st century as the world confronts pressures and misunderstandings which continue to prevail as a result of humanity's religious diversity. This book offers a vision of unity and common ground relative and relevant to each tradition. My students and I were deeply affected and enlightened by this book and its vision. I have students who, though in dire need of finances, made the decision NOT to sell this book back to the college bookstore because it is a book they wanted always to own. There is perhaps no higher praise, nor greater recommendation than that!

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Summary: From a Student of Fasching
Review: This book, in conjunction with the suggested movies (A Long Walk Home, Wall Street, etc), should be used in high school religion classes. Having had World Religions in high school, I expected to delve further into the Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, the Bhagavad Gita, etc. and instead learned no more than I already knew. If it comes as a surprise to you that world ethics can be traced to roots in religions, then maybe this book will be of use to you. If you understand the teachings of religions other than Christianity, seek a different title.

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Summary: Invaluable for any college student regardless of major!
Review: What is the goal of this book? To teach the reader and the student that in the world there exists more than one way to examine an ethical issue. This book does a fabulous job of presenting the reader with a cornucopia of ancient stories that allowed modern day civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Thich Nhat Hanh to come to their conclusions. The authors present the ancient stories of the Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus to allow the reader a broad perspective on the major religious movements throughout time. These stories start with the most ancient of stories, the story of Gilgamesh. Through the use of this narrative the authors present their views on ethics and religion and how it affects us today. The ever pervasive shift in modern human identity is one of the major "working issues" that all religions worldwide are facing today. Most importantly this book will help to clarify some of the misconceptions of the Muslim faith. The authors' narrative on the stories of both the Jewish and Islamic faiths can serve to enlighten the ignorant. This is very important as ignorance can turn out to be as dangerous as a loaded gun. This book is invaluable to every student of ethics and history. The stories within are concise and can be used outside of a religious studies class. Not only will this book continue to serve as a religious reference but it will also serve a moral guidepost to everyone that reads this text. I found this book to be highly invaluable both inside and outside the classroom. It is well worth the cost to purchase this book.