Stephen Prothero is the New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy and God Is Not One and a professor of religion at Boston University. Nintendo switch pro controller. His work has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, NPR, and other top national media outlets. Pc games download windows 7.
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Preview — God Is Not One by Stephen R. Prothero
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, dizzying scientific and technological advancements, interconnected globalized economies, and even the so-called New Atheists have done nothing to change one thing: our world remains furiously religious. For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic sy..more
Published April 20th 2010 by HarperOne
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Stephen R. Prothero's God is Not One compares eight of the 'greatest' religions in the world. Who made the cut? In descending order of greatness, the religions Prothero discusses are: Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba Religion, Judaism, and Daoism. This 'ranking' of religions might wrinkle some readers' noses, but it primarily serves to justify stopping this overview at the eight most influential religions. It is not a 'best' to 'worst' list. Sep 01, 2010Terence rated it liked it
Still, it's worth asking w..more
Shelves: religion-general
I am not going to spend much time discussing the bulk of this book – the nine chapters that introduce you to “the eight rival religions that run the world” (in Prothero’s estimation) and atheism – because that turns out not to be the important part. I’ve had a difficult time writing this review because I didn’t know where to start but then it hit me as I was desultorily leafing through the book that the most important section is the author’s introduction, where he sets out why “god is not one” a..more
Jan 21, 2016Caidyn (SEMI-HIATUS; BW Reviews; he/him/his) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Recommends it for: Anyone who is interested in religion and wants a new viewpoint.
Recommended to Caidyn (SEMI-HIATUS; BW Reviews; he/him/his) by: My professor
Shelves: read-for-school, religion, favorites-all-time
This book, and the class I read it for, sparked a lot in me this semester. One, it's made me far more open minded and understanding about religions. While I was never an angry atheist, I was very skeptical and a bit against religion. I would never tell someone to stop believing what they do, but it wasn't for me. Then, I became agnostic. And now.. well, I am somewhat religious. More spiritual, but I know what religion I would pick for myself to be labeled under. Second, this book prompted me to..more
After reading Stephen Prothero’s “God Is Not One” I have a deeper and less judgmental understanding of religious differences and the religious experience. I feel we are all on a journey in this life to find a perfect love and we find it in different ways: through the love of God, or Allah; through meditation and the love of self; through the love of a mate, parent, sibling, or child. Regardless of where this perfect love is found, once you find it, you realize that life is something incredible a..more
Prothero does a good job summarizing major religious systems. Left here, this would be an excellent book.
In emphasizing diversity of religious beliefs and practices, the author directly challenges those who claim that differences are superficial and that God is really One. That's a 'lovely sentiment,' he writes, but it's 'dangerous, disrespectful and untrue.' As becomes clearer at the end of the book, Prothero is also criticizing the New Atheists (Harris, Dawkins and others) who, he argues, pai..more
Jun 04, 2019Paul rated it liked it
I found Stephen Prothero's book on the eight great religious traditions utterly convincing – for the argument his book opposes.
Although, to be fair, the book's argument is more nuanced than the title, subtitle and even the author's own introduction claims it is. OK, this review is getting off the rails a bit. Let me set aside the snark and say, first, that as an easy-to-read sketch of the eight most influential world religions – the three western monotheisms, four eastern humanisms and African Y..more
Sep 23, 2010David rated it liked it
Prothero gives us an easy-to-read primer on the most eight influential religions in the world today. He orders them according to their influence, putting Islam first. Some could argue with the religions included or the order, and Prothero briefly addresses such objections.
This book would be helpful for those interested in world religions and how these religions influence the world. Islam and Christianity are obvious and come first, together holding over half of the world population as adherents...more
May 08, 2010Rod Hilton rated it liked it
In Stephen Prothero's last book, Religious Literacy, Prothero made the case that the level of understanding about the major world religions is dangerously low. Apparently many people reacted to this book by telling Prothero the same thing I thought when I finished reading that book: 'I see that our cultural knowledge of religion is poor, I know I'm a part of that, and I want a single book to read to educate myself.' God Is Not One is that book.
God Is Not One offers a high-level look at the eight..more
Aug 13, 2012Sarah rated it really liked it
Having abandoned this book to gather dust on my ‘to-read’ shelf for over six months, I’m now a bit upset with myself at not having read it sooner. I am no stranger to Dawkins-esque New Atheism, which Mr. Prothero (not unjustly) describes as “angry” and “self-righteous.” After reading through an endless (and repetitive) collection of New Atheist books, though, I felt utterly drained of anger and in dire need of a long religious study hiatus.
Six months and a few epic novels later, I find myself cl..more
This is an interesting take on comparative religions which introduces the reader into eight 'great religions', in order: Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba, Judaism and Daoism. By 'great' the author means those which he considers most influential in the modern world. Sometimes this also means those with the largest numbers, but this is not necessarily always the case. Prothero himself admits much is missing from his choices — some examples: Shinto, Jainism, Zoroastrian..more
Jul 06, 2010Glen Engel-Cox rated it really liked it
A few weeks ago I read an interview with the author of this book and that intrigued me enough to make this the first purchase through Apple's iBooks application on my iPhone. During this last weekend's dive trip, and I had enough free time to spend educating (and re-educating) myself on the world's greatest religions. Prothero is a religious studies professor, and this book comes across as a basic college 101 survey course, albeit one that does have a thesis: that it is a mistake for people to c..more
The other reviews of this book are hilarious and make me wonder if anyone read the book at all--'comparative religion makes me see that we're all about love!'. Prothero's point, aided by cogent summaries of the world's major diaspora religions, is that while there is some overlap about goodness and an ideal world, there are specific reasons why religions emerged the way they did for very different purposes (his sports analogy is a good one--most sports have a score-keeping system, but runs are v..more
Oct 14, 2017Justin Tapp rated it really liked it
Shelves: islam, history, psychology, philosophy, international, spiritual
God is Not One: The Eight Ancient Religions that Run the World
The author (a Boston U. professor) is making what is, apparently, a radical statement in modern American academia-- all religions are not the same. The goal of the book is to provide a simple summary of major religions; stating the primary problem posed and solved in each religion. He is primarily mindful of New Atheists who label all religionss as equally harmful, but also is concerned about those advocating simple solutions to religi..more
Aug 03, 2013Chad Bearden rated it really liked it · review of another edition
To begin with, the bizarre coda about atheism that many reviewers have cited as the reason for a low rating does, to be sure, leave one with a bad taste in the mouth. For all his seeming knowledge of the religions he explains, he doesn't appear to have a firm grasp on what atheism is. After carefully reading the coda, I think I can see where Prothero is coming from, but he does a poor job in writing an objective account of what atheism, represents. More on that later in the review. Anyway, yes,..more
This book does not quite live up to its promise, particularly in the subtitle, but it still serves as a tremendous 'intro' to the religions of the world.
Prothero seems like a brilliant teacher, and his writing is clear, compact, and breezy. For a subject as potentially unwieldy as 'world religions,' this book is surprisingly easy to understand. The reader gains a 'zoomed out' view of the major belief systems that influence world cultures, and for someone who is interested in the subject, without..more
Oct 21, 2010Sistermagpie rated it it was amazing
God Is Not One Stephen Prothero Pdf Files
I saw the author of this book interviews on TV, wanted to read it, and promptly forgot his name and the name of the book. But I finally tracked it down--go me!
God is Not One challenges an idea that's become synonymous with religious tolerance, the idea that all religions are just 'the same' underneath. It's not about saying one religion is better than another, but looking at how each of the 8 most popular religions approach the problem of life and what solutions they offer. For instance, submiss..more
Dec 04, 2010Laurie rated it really liked it
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, found it measured, respectful, fascinating, and satisfying---until I came to the chapter on atheism. There I was bitterly disappointed. Prothero spends the majority of his coverage of atheism on the 'New Atheists'---Hitchens, Dawkins, et. al., with all their bombastic diatribes and argumentative ways. He shows very little effort and even less interest (or respect) for the more average atheist, the one who, to paraphrase Carl Sagan, 'has not yet been convinced by t..more
Prothero's thesis that religions are not different paths to the same goal, but systems that address different problems by offering different solutions is compelling. Unfortunately, this book is not a defense of its own thesis. Rather, it's a survey of Prothero's somewhat arbitrary selection of the most influential religions in the world, and not a very good one either. His introduction to each religion does little to inform a newcomer to religious study about its particular beliefs and practices..more
This is an excellent book for lining up the eight major religions (in terms of numbers and influence, the latter a more subjective assessment) and setting out their basic components. Obviously, it's not going to be a book that goes into much detail on these religions, and there are bound to be some generalities that a reader might quibble with, especially if he is a member of one of these religions. But without such a compilation who can even easily name the eight religions?
Prothero lists them..more
Jan 07, 2019Alice Lemon rated it it was amazing
I was quite impressed with this book when I finally got around to reading it. While it is (intentionally) fairly basic and introductory, it does provide a good introduction to Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba religion, Judaism, and Daoism. In particular, I liked the author's approach of focusing on the differences in the spiritual focuses--what problem they try to solve--of different religions: this seems like an important consideration for my worldbuilding projects.
God is Not One is a fascinating look at the fundamental differences between eight of the world's major religions. Written from a secular perspective, this book is refreshing in its respectful explanations of each religion described as it encourages us to focus on how each is intended to address and solve a different problem (e.g. overcoming sin vs attaining enlightenment), the role of faith and works in each, the existence of any higher power, God, or gods.
At the suggestion of a colleague, I’ve been enjoying this as the main text for my “World Religions” course. I’m excited to see what students have been thinking, but I don’t want to go back to a traditional textbook. I like them thinking comparatively from the jump.
I've always been fascinated by different religious faiths and traditions. 'God Is Not One: Eight Rival Religions That Run The World' is a fascinating book on how they are the same and how they differ.
Oct 25, 2014John rated it liked it · review of another edition
I'm not sure that Professor Prothero actually does what he sets out to do. What he tries to do is show that, unlike Huston Smith and his cohort who emphasize the unity of religions, religions are so diverse and their practical effects so contradictory with each other that they could never meaningfully have any kind of unity. Maybe I overstate the case, but that's basically it. When we think of all religions as one we come close to asserting ours is the only one or somehow forget the crucial diff..more
Feb 15, 2018Drick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
In this book BU Religion scholar Stephen Prothero outlines the basic beliefs and practices of 8 world religions plus a short chapter on atheism to make the point that all religions are not basically the same or heading toward the same God. He takes on the Perennial tradition first noted by Aldous Huxley and continued to day by Huston Smith, Richard Rohr and Ken Wilbur. Prothero goes in great detail to describe each religion, but in the process somewhat undermines his thesis by often comparing be..more
I wish I hadn't wasted my time.
I picked up this book because of this particular bit in the description: 'Stephen Prothero argues that persistent attempts to portray all religions as different paths to the same God overlook the distinct problem that each tradition seeks to solve.' Religious belief intrigues me and I was interested in learning more about belief systems that I knew little about; particularly Confucianism, Daoism, and Yoruba Religion. Prothero doesn't waste time taking swipes at ath..more
Feb 20, 2015Gary Beauregard Bottomley rated it liked it
There are two kinds of variability with in all categories, a between and a within. Except for well designed experiments it is not possible to separate the variability because of confounding (the mixing up). This book looks at mostly the within differences (variability) for each of the major religions he writes about. Each major religion understudy has larger difference within its subgroups than they often seem to have between categories. I wish he would have analyzed the between also.
The author..more
Oct 20, 2010Kerfe rated it really liked it
A recent well-publicized survey of Americans revealed that those who know the most about the world's religions call themselves atheist or agnostic. 50% of self-professed Christians don't even know basic information about their own faith. Stephen Prothereo's mission is to correct ignorance about religion.
Prothero thinks that too many people try to smooth over the differences in religious belief and practice in the hopes that this will result in peaceful co-existence. But how can you accept and/or..more
There is a LOT of material in here. May 28, 2013Manami rated it did not like it
'The Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century popularized the idea of religious tolerance, and we are doubtless better for it,' he writes. 'But the idea of religious unity is wishful thinking nonetheless, and it has not made the world a safer place. In fact, this naive theological groupthink — call it Godthink — has made the world more dangerous by blinding us to the clashes of religions that threaten us worldwide.' Lumped into the Godthink category are the 'New..more
Shelves: non-fiction-sociology, religion, india-related, asia-related
Yikes. Fuzzy logic and bad facts. First and foremost, no one ever said all religions are the same. As a hindu, the religion where this thought originated, I will be quick to point out all PATHS lead to God. This is not a fuzzy warm-hearted feeling that we have, it's a true belief that all paths, even the ones that are not very savory filled with not very good people will lead us in our ultimate quest to be one with God, that not just every religion, but every PATH, every life, every cycle of rei..more
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Stephen Prothero is a professor in the Department of Religion at Boston University and the author of numerous books, most recently Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn't and American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Idol. He has commented on religion on dozens of National Public Radio programs and on television on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, MSNBC and Comedy Cent..more
“Widespread criticisms of jihad in Islam and the so-called sword verses in the Quran have unearthed for fair-minded Christians difficult questions about Christianity's own traditions of holy war and 'texts of terror.' Like Hinduism's Mahabharata epic, the Bible devotes entire books to war and rumors thereof. Unlike the Quran, however, it contains hardly any rules for how to conduct a just war.”
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“On the ethics of war the Quran and the New Testament are worlds apart. Whereas Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, the Quran tells us, 'Whoso commits aggression against you, do you commit aggression against him' (2:194). The New Testament says nothing about how to wage war. The Quran, by contrast, is filled with just-war precepts. Here war is allowed in self-defense (2:190; 22:39), but hell is the punishment for killing other Muslims (4:93), and the execution of prisoners of war is explicitly condemned (47:4). Whether in the abstract is is better to rely on a scripture that regulates war or a scripture that hopes war away is an open question, but no Muslim-majority country has yet dropped an atomic bomb in war.”
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