The Religions Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas) Paperback – Illustrated, November 13, 2018

This is already my fourth, after Philosphy, Politics and Economics. And I hope, not the last. Mathematics is already waiting, whatever still... The DK-concept, manner, genre of straightforward presenting of big ideas in ordinary language greatly pleases me. The secret weapon is the huge amount, myriad, thousands of links, with which the contents of the book is tied together to a tight and compact bundle of knowledge in a way completely inimaginable in a paperbook. This is a true revolution in textbooks. As an old text book author, my fingers are itching for transforming one or why not all of my several text book texts to this format, particularly as none of them has been published as ebook, yet.In this book all the big religions Buddhism, Hindjism, Christianism, Islam are thoroughly presented as well as essentially perhaps hundred smaller variants, all in a matter of fact spirit without praising or mitigating any higher or less than others. Valuation is left to reader. I really made a list of my three top favorites and one disfavorite, one of them not known to me at all before reading this book. Very, very many aspects are considered, moral, practical, historical, social and others. It is astonishing how small details may be decisive in the essence of a religion. On the other hand, some keep a watertight, airtight hardcore of doctrine, some are dynamic and as such a chain of deliberate changes of doctrines and practice. Think about the Christianity from war-fighting past to the peaceful present. Or about the relationship of the religion to human scientific knowledge. The history is full of abrupt or gradual upsidedowns. Interesting pilgrimages, largely descripted in this book.No question of other than full five stars.

It’s a broad overview of the development and impact of religion on various cultures. My husband and I don’t practice religion, but I wanted my son to have an understanding of the different religions he may encounter. It does have elements related to rituals and sacrifices, so be aware. My son is nine. He’s a strong reader, but I read it with him so we can discuss aspects of the cultures he might not fully grasp— like why people sacrificed other people for their beliefs. I don’t understand myself, honestly.

I truly love this kind of book. I have the 'Philosophy' and 'Psychology' book both by the same author (DK Publishing). This book takes each major religion and really breaks it down to its essential beliefs. This book is also an easy read and almost a short story format. People who love to learn but do not have the time to read a whole book would really benefit from books like this by DK. This book in particular really answered a lot of questions I have had on other religions without being bias. It is so difficult these days to find a book on religions that is not bias and to me that's yet another reason to love DK publishing. Something else that this book covered which I really appreciated was it went into the different kinds of Christians.This book is theology so there is interpenetration and points of view which the reader must decide on. This book is a great resource to have for any questions you may have on religion. If you are looking for a book that has all of the major religions in the world with clear information that is not bias then look no further.

Just received the book, “The Religions Book”, “ Big ideas Simply Explained”, and after a cursory review I would give the book a B-. The book gives a synopsis of various religions both past and present. The actual issue that I ran into was on page 334. While the paragraph at the beginning of the page appears concise, the material afterwards about The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches is a bit misleading because of the language/grammar used. The author(s) state that the Roman Catholic Church originates during the 1st century CE, and that the Eastern Orthodox Churches originate from 1054. Not so. This is technically not correct. Both Churches stem from Christ and His Apostles during the 1st century. In the beginning there was only one Church and that was the Christian Church. The Churches were; the Church of the West (Substantially centered in Rome) and the Church of the East centered in Constantinople. But even before we can speak of “centers”, of the entire Christian Church, the Church was united through Faith and the Ecumenical Counsels until the Great Schism of 1054. Until that time the Christian Church was fully Catholic (Catholic means Universal), which the Church was considered universal as to one teaching. Why was there a Schism? Various reasons developed between the East and Western Church. One was the use of statues used within the Western Church. The other was the use of Icons by the Eastern Church. The Schism also developed over the use of the Church of the West (Rome) adding the Filioque to the “Creed”. The Creed is and still remains within the Eastern Orthodox Church unchanged and a statement of Faith. The term Filioque meaning “and through the Son” was not used in the original Creed developed during the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Counsels but added by the Church of the West. One my wonder why would simply changing a single short line in the Creed be so important? The answer is more important than just a few simple words. Adding the Filioque to the Creed posed a very real problem. The Filioque, and the part of the Creed where it was inserted, addresses the how the Holy Spirit proceeds from within the Triune God head of Christianity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In inserting the Filioque stating the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Son) causes a major problem within the Christian Church. The issue stems from the baptism of Christ, by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ, in the form of a dove, while he was being baptized in the Jordan River by John The Baptist. If the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son”, this would mean that Christ sent the Holy Spirit unto Himself, which would negate the baptism of Christ. Additionally the first two Holy Ecumenical Councils of the ENTIRE Christian Church composed the Creed and it was agreed by the entire Christian Church, both Eastern and Western, that the Creed would not be changed under any circumstance. The Creed is a statement of Christian Faith for the Entire Christian Church.Getting back to the differentiation on page 334. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have the same origins within the time line beginning with Christ and His Apostles. So I feel that the book overall may be in question, or slanted one way or the other, for the different religions that are addressed. I will attempt to update this review in the future.