Sacred Texts of the World

by Grant Hardy

With few exceptions, the world's religions are anchored in their sacred texts-core writings that express the ideals and vision of the faiths, forming a basis for belief and action. Humanity's library of sacred writings is a huge canon that includes many of the most influential books ever written. In addition to the Hebrew and Christian bibles and the Quran of Islam, major sacred writings include the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Sutras, Daoism's Daodejing, and the Analects of Confucius, as well as the beloved texts of religions such as Zoroastrianism and Jainism, and modern faiths such as Baha'i.

These are texts that people live by and, at times, are willing to die for.

In these 36 lectures, Professor Hardy takes you deeply into the body of sacred writings that have played a fundamental role in human culture and history. Discussing a broad range of texts, the course examines the scriptures of seven major religions, as well as nine lesser known or smaller faiths, including texts from the ancient Egyptian and Mayan societies. In addition to studying the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds, you'll discover religious texts from vastly differing cultures around the world.

These richly insightful lectures highlight a global legacy of faith, thought, and spirituality.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Audiobook, Spirituality, Mythology

18 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. Grant Hardy received a Ph.D. from Yale University in Chinese Language and Literature and a B.A. from Brigham Young University where he studied Ancient Greek.

He is Professor of History and Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Ashville. Below is a quote by Dr. Hardy taken from the "Faces of UNC" web page:

“I am interested in how people use literature to make sense of their experience, whether that be historical, personal or religious."

Reviews

[Kiekiat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little wary of ordering this course, for rather ridiculous reasons. Professor Hardy teaches at the University of North Carolina--Asheville, one of the many branches of the Univ. of North Carolina here in my state. I have a local friend who is now a professor and she attended there and described her education as "rigorous but uninspiring." Not knowing anything about the course, I decided to chance it and hope that Professor Hardy was one of UNC-Asheville's more "inspiring" teachers.

I was heartened when I went on The Great Courses web site and saw that this course has a 96% recommendation rating. This is a phenomenal rating and one of the highest I had ever seen. I ordered the course because of my interest in sacred texts and learned why this course is so highly-rated. It is similarly praised here in the reviews from Goodreads readers.

Think back to the years you spent in school, assuming you weren't home-schooled and never attended a university--and consider how many of your teachers/professors were truly memorable and inspired you with their combination of erudition, enthusiasm and love of the subject they were teaching. I'm guessing, unless you were lucky, that most of you could name, at best, 2-3 teachers whose teaching and guidance left a lasting impression on you that left you viewing education as a lifelong process rather than a slog to get through so you could land a good job.

Professor Grant Hardy is one of those inspiring professors with an infectious enthusiasm and broad knowledge of his topic. I have long had an interest in various sacred texts and listening to this course has fueled that interest and I credit Professor Hardy for creating this introductory course which gives an overview of some texts the professor sees as "sacred."

The course covers sacred texts ranging from Hinduism and the Vedas to the Torah and Mishnah, Zoroastrian writings, all the major sects of Buddhism, including various sutras. There are lectures on Taoism and Confucianism and the Christian testaments and apocryphal texts. A lengthy section on Islamic texts, a lecture on the Book of Mormon, Jain scripture and even the Bahai faith.

What makes this course special is that Professor Hardy has an obvious enthusiasm for his subject matter and a vast knowledge of every text he discusses. He is a sinologist (Chinese scholar) by training but is clearly versed in a number of ancient languages and notes that while preparing for the course he reread all of the sacred texts of China in the Ancient Chinese, and read the entire Bible in Greek. It is evident that he has more than a passing knowledge of Sanskrit and Pali, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese.

The course is presented with an impressive impartiality and it is evident that Dr. Hardy cares deeply about the texts he discusses. He mentions for example, that Zoroastrianism may be a religion that fades from existence, and notes much will be lost should this happen. He also notes the influence of Zoroastrianism on the Christian Bible. The course is filled with interesting asides. One I found particularly compelling was the speculation that Chuang Tzu, known as being a disciple of Lao Tzu (author of Tao Te Ching), probably wasn't even a Taoist and possibly predates the writings of Lao Tzu. Despite being a storehouse of erudition, Professor Hardy is humble and never comes across as dogmatic or sententious. If he is expounding on a topic that is an issue of debate, he is quick to tell the listener all sides of the argument and note the controversy.

There is really no downside to this set of 36 lectures, except for the obvious fact that a great many of these sacred texts could warrant full 36-48 lectures just on their own. There is obviously not enough time to give more than an overview, and Professor Hardy does just this but his passion for the texts inspires the listener to learn more.

What is perhaps most impressive about Professor Hardy's impartiality is that he is a practicing Mormon and is, in fact, the author of a "revised" version of the Book of Mormon which purports to be a more user-friendly text of the book Mark Twain once quipped was "chloroform in print." Professor Hardy does devote one lecture to the Book of Mormon as a legitimate sacred text, but he is in no manner partial to it and I did not discover he was a Mormon scholar until I did some research on him after listening to his course.

If you have any interest in sacred texts and want a course that gives a clear overview taught by an outstanding lecturer, Sacred Texts of the World is far and away the best course on this subject I have EVER listened to and has to rank in the top 5 of any Great Courses class I've ever watched or listened to. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I own 127 Great Courses lecture classes and have watched another 100 or so when subscribed to their channel on Amazon Prime. I'd like to think, and I could be mistaken, lol, that after so many courses, though my feeble mind has forgotten much of their content, I'm a pretty decent judge of determining what makes a course outstanding.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am impressed - soooo impressed - with Professor Grant Hardy's lectures on Sacred Texts of the World. It's one of Audible's The Great Courses and it is fascinating! It covers ancient texts as well as modern, and everything in between.

Why am I so impressed? Because he gives us 36 faith specific chapters worth of lectures (each about 30 minutes long) and even though he can't possibly have lived each of these religions, he shares informed, impartial, compassionate insights. He talks about the text's level of importance to each faith, and not once did he mock, make light, snicker, or disrespect those that he might disagree with. Nor could I even tell if he disagreed with any of them!

Sacred Texts of the World has easily become one of my favorite of The Great Courses.

Blurb

With few exceptions, the world's religions are anchored in their sacred texts-core writings that express the ideals and vision of the faiths, forming a basis for belief and action. Humanity's library of sacred writings is a huge canon that includes many of the most influential books ever written. In addition to the Hebrew and Christian bibles and the Quran of Islam, major sacred writings include the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Sutras, Daoism's Daodejing, and the Analects of Confucius, as well as the beloved texts of religions such as Zoroastrianism and Jainism, and modern faiths such as Baha'i.

These are texts that people live by and, at times, are willing to die for.

In these 36 lectures, Professor Hardy takes you deeply into the body of sacred writings that have played a fundamental role in human culture and history. Discussing a broad range of texts, the course examines the scriptures of seven major religions, as well as nine lesser known or smaller faiths, including texts from the ancient Egyptian and Mayan societies. In addition to studying the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds, you'll discover religious texts from vastly differing cultures around the world.

These richly insightful lectures highlight a global legacy of faith, thought, and spirituality.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down to three. I became interested in this course after I finished listening to the incredible course "Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition" by Professor Hardy, which is one of the very best Great Courses that I have listened to. Since that course thrilled me, I cast around for another course by Professor Hardy. While this 36 lecture course is not as accomplished, in my opinion, it is still a worthy listen. One of its strengths is the course guidebook which goes with the lecture series. The Guidebook is very detailed and does a great job of providing further readings on each of the lecture topics. Professor Hardy is well spoken and very enthusiastic about his subject. Also, he seems to know well when the material is getting dense and so he is able to simplify and review, so the subject matter is more comprehensible.

The lower scoring for this course compared to "Eastern Intellectual Tradition" is that this course is more focused on written texts, while the other course focuses on people and their accomplishments, which I either found more compelling or easier to grasp. Professor Hardy devotes at least three lectures to the six major religions of the world-Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism/Daoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Then he gives one lecture to some religions which he labels "Related Traditions", such as Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, and Baha'i. One of the best lectures in the series was towards the end, when he looks at the US Constitution as a type of secular scripture. I also enjoyed the lecture on the Mayan and Egyptian religions and why those religions are not practiced anymore.

The main difficulty for me was I had difficulty making connections when Professor Hardy was talking about the Eastern religions. I listened to these lectures usually while on my walks. If I had the course guidebook with me while I was listening, so I could see the names of the texts, I think I would have done better remembering them. I do have a background on these religions, so I was surprised that I was a little bored by this section. Overall, a worthy course, it just compares a little unfavorably to his other, superior, course.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

36 lectures as introduction to and comparison of the world's sacred texts. Of course this easily could have been double the length and still not dipped more than a toe into the materials, but I think it did a good job of laying out the critical points And 36 lectures for a Great Course is a lot of listening. (I think the longest GC I've seen is 48 lectures, and there are very few over 24.).

The course covers the main texts of major world religions (Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity) in multiple lectures, then splits those up with some lesser known groups (Zoroastrianism, Sikh, Jain, Shinto, Tenrikye, Latter Day Saints, Baha'i, Mayan, and Egyptian texts) There is one lecture on the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence as "secular sacred text," which still sounds oxymoronic to me, although the professor made a good argument.

I think the professor lost his objectivity when he covered the LDS material. It's only one lecture in the series, but I admit chuckling when he neither called out the lack of historical proof for the claims made (as he did with the other religions and groups), and then glided over some of the more controversial topics. But I doubt anyone is really objective about their own religion, so I expected the BYU grad to stick to the official script on that topic.

Still, it was interesting, and his course notes have tons of interesting books and websites for further study.

[Brianna Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much from this. Now I have a long list of sacred texts from around the world I'm planning to read.

[Jamie Clegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, lecture-style introduction to some of the world's major religions, Sacred Texts doesn't pretend to be exhaustive or complete, but rather gives you enough information to indulge your curiosity and catalyze a self-directed study.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Review: A broadly helpful look at religious texts from a wide variety of religions. It is hard to understand how there ever was a movement that thought that all religions were basically the same. The way different texts are used by different religions is so different that it is hard to even know what it means to be a sacred text. Hardy's presentation of the Protestant Bias, the idea that other religions use their sacred texts in basically the same way as Protestants use scripture, is very helpful.

The final lecture looks at the US constitution and similar documents as if they were sacred texts to work through the ideas of what it means to be a sacred text. That was a helpful method to understand the many different ways that sacred texts work.

My fuller review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/sacred-texts/

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I was hoping for...a series that treats both the content of sacred books and their historical origins. Prof Hardy does an admirable job of balancing obviously sincere respect for the beliefs of those who revere these books with a willingness to state forthrightly that this was written before that, or based on that, or not written by the advertised author. Quoted extracts are very brief--he prefers to paraphrase--but part of the last lecture is what he considers to be a digestible list of the most cogent texts. He's truly easy to listen to, yet not at all superficial in his observations and insights. Warmly recommended.

[Innastholiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so much more boring than I had anticipated. I don’t think this in any way the lecturer’s fault, though, I think I just massively overestimated my interest in religious texts. Regardless, I did learn some things, and I’ll maybe listen to parts of this course again in the future if my interest in organised religion should ever flare up again. I will say, however, that the inclusion of the US Constitution is just odd. But I’m not American, so what do I know.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

FYI... the Professor is LDS and that does color his lecture on the Book of Mormon. Good series of lectures, but it is always best to know the bias of the lecturer.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Great Courses series, this is an audiobook recording of 36 lectures given by Grant Hardy, Professor of History and Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. The course covers the main texts of currently active religions Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaisim, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam and Baha’i. It also discusses the scriptures of the ancient Egyptians and Mayans as examples from religions no longer followed. The penultimate lecture is on the U.S. Constitution, a secular text often revered like a sacred scripture. The course ends by suggesting that the scriptures of different faiths can complement each other with their own cultures, mythologies and life wisdom, and that we still have much to learn from sacred texts in today’s world.

Growing up in a Christian environment, I am of course familiar with the Bible, and I knew about some of the other material from documentaries, podcasts and reading over the years, while this programme filled in a few of the blanks. Professor Hardy provides an interesting and insightful course, and his enthusiasm for his topic is infectious. However, I do have two complaints. First, in his attempt to be comprehensive, each text is barely touched. This is a double-edged sword, because it’s frustrating to miss out on the content, while these lectures are also a taster that encourages readers to go out and read the texts that interest them in their entirety. Second, while Professor Hardy is clearly knowledgeable and his reading style engaging, he has a tendency to unnecessarily repeat things and develop a sudden stutter when he goes off-script. This makes him sound nervous, so he loses some of his authority in his special subject, and it’s a little grating to listen to that repeatedly across the 18 hours’ running time. Fortunately, both of these irritating quirks can be easily fixed with a little focused speaker training.

Overall, I feel that I used my time well and learned something new about sacred texts around the world. Even if you don’t agree with what they say, it’s well worth examining diverse ways of thinking, how mythology feeds into culture, and a commentary that goes beyond popular memes to a more nuanced view of universal human wisdom from which we can all benefit.

[Kurt Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardy’s knowledge of the texts and the history and traditions surrounding them is impressive, but what makes this course so enjoyable is Hardy’s infectious enthusiasm for the subject. He is the kind of teacher that effortlessly inspires his students because he is so sincere. In every lecture, he shares his favorite quotes or stories from a particular text, or how it affected him in some way. In one poignant anecdote, he relates how an essay on the book of Ruth convinced him and his wife to adopt a baby. In all my years in academia, I have never heard a professor share something so moving and personal. In the audio, you can hear him choking up as he talks about it.

Hardy has the greatest respect for the texts and the religions they belong to. As a scholar, he examines them critically, but unlike many modern academics, he does not ruthlessly deconstruct, demythologize, or discredit them; nor does he attempt to disabuse those who believe in them. Sadly, that is a rarity these days. He reminds me of my medieval studies professor from grad school, and I wish there were more professors like them. After taking this course, I not only want to read or reread all of the texts he lectured on (a library worth of books – LOL), but to read his books and listen to his other Great Courses series. And I will be listening to this again – it’s too rich to take in all at once.

Each lecture is a good balance of general and specific information - they are comprehensive without being overwhelming. By the end, you feel you can talk intelligently about the texts covered, even though you’ve only learned a little about them. For those who are interested in learning more, Grant provides ample recommendations for reading and research.

Without a doubt one of the best introductory college courses I’ve ever taken. I would love to attend it in person.

[Baylor Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

"To know one [religion] is to know none."

So says Max Muller, translator of the Great Books of the East which introduced the West to many sacred texts for the first time. There's certainly something to that. Sure, its a modern invention to gather up the disparate spiritual phenomenons of human history and group them all under the restrictive title "religion" as if they could all be contained under such a banner, and yet, if it that insufficient invention allows us access to these many rich traditions and texts, it might be worth it.

This was my first of The Great Courses (yes, a series of audio lectures may be cheating to log on Goodreads), and wow am I impressed! Professor Grant Hardy takes listeners on a exciting tour through Hinduism's Vedas, Upanishads, Epics, Sikh's Scriptures, Judaism's Torah (written and oral, including the Talmud and Mishnah), Prophets, Writings, Apocryphal books and Dead Sea Scrolls, Buddhism's Vinaya, Jataka, Theravada Sutras, Mahayana Sutras, Zen Buddhist books like Mumonkan (Gateless Gate), Tibetan Vajrayana, Confucian classics and books of Neo-Confucianism, Daoism's Daodejing, Chuang Tzu, Christianity's Gospels, Acts, Letters, Apocalypses, Aprocryhal (or Gnostic) Gospels, Mormonism's (you guessed it) Book of Mormon, Islam's Holy Qur'an, Hadith, Sufism's writings, several smaller religion's texts like Zoroastrian Scriptures, Jain Scriptures, Baha'i Scriptures, then "abandoned Scriptures" of the Egyptian (Book of the Dead) and Mayan (The Popol Vuh), and finally "secular scriptures" like the US Constitution. So you can see, Hardy covers a lot of ground and with a lot of grace and respect for each of these sacred texts. I've now read some of the notable ones here but I'm excited to continue on and definitely continuing on with more of The Great Courses.

[John Mendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this lecture series as much as others. While it was very comprehensive, I didn't learn much new information from it. That said, I will not dock stars from this because it didn't give me any new info. This series discusses the scripture of the following religions

This lecture series discussed the written history of the various religions. When viewed from that perspective, the lecturer accomplished exactly what he set out to do. He often delved into the nitty-gritty of what these religions were written upon- such as silk scrolls, or palm leaves, or carved in stone. As a result, the lecturer provides a very unique angle on the perspective of world religions. I thought this was a good angle, and more than justified it's own creation.

My main problem was that by only viewing the written history of these religions, you leave out a good deal of the unwritten traditions and histories and rituals- and you don't even mention all of the religions which DON"T have a written history. I suggest you start with the 'Great Courses' lecture 'Cultural Literacy for Religion' by Mark Bergson, and then you listen to this one. This lecture series about 'Sacred Texts' was worth listening to, but it doesn't stand on it's own. You need a bit of a background on the religions first.

[Aaron Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lectures:
1. Reading Other People's Scriptures
2. Hinduism and the Vedas
3. What Is Heard - Upanishads
4. What Is Remembered - Epics
5. Laws of Manu and Bhagavad Gita
6. Related Traditions - Sikh Scriptures
7. Judaism - People of the Book
8. Five Books of Torah
9. Prophets and Writings
10. Apocrypha and Dead Sea Scrolls
11. Oral Torah - Mishnah and Talmud
12. Related Traditions - Zoroastrian Scriptures
13. The Three Baskets of Buddhism
14. Vinaya and Jataka
15. Theravada Sutras
16. Mahayana Sutras
17. Pure Land Buddhism and Zen
18. Tibetan Vajrayana
19. Related Traditions - Jain Scriptures
20. Five Confucian Classics
21. Four Books of Neo-Confucianism
22. Daoism and the Daodejing
23. The Three Caverns of Daoist Scriptures
24. Related Traditions - Shinto and Tenrikyo
25. Christian Testaments Old and New
26. Gospels and Acts
27. Letters and Apocalypse
28. Apocryphal Gospels
29. Related Traditions - Mormon Scriptures
30. Islam and Scriptural Recitation
31. Holy Qur'an
32. Hadith and Sufism
33. Related Traditions - Baha'i Scriptures
34. Abandoned Scriptures - Egyptian and Mayan
35. Secular Scripture - U.S. Constitution
36. Heavenly Books, Earthly Connections

[Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting, and yet there is SO MUCH material to cover. And this isn't a deep dive on them by any stretch. You can read (or listen to) a section on a text you're familiar with, and see how you feel he did, and I'm guessing he did similarly for others. Dr. Grant goes through so many texts representing such a variety of religions. I was glad to have some clue of them, but admittedly by the end, I was struggling to keep all of them straight. After the fact, I feel like I need a summary guidebook that I can reference. As it is, I took notes out of the final section on some highlighted reading or ways to potentially experience smaller aspects of these texts. His focus wasn't on the religions themselves, but on the texts - so if you're looking for a comparative religion book, this probably isn't the one.

[Gebo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting series and the author mostly does a really good job with the material. My major beef is with the last few lectures where he sets up rules he doesn't exactly follow for deciding what is and isn't a religious text before going onto a whole lecture about how the US constitution is a spiritual text, a move that basically undermines his whole thesis as he opens it up that basically any old text that people see as telling them how to live is a spiritual text and for those of us in religious traditions that meet his criteria but we're skipped, it's rather annoying. Otherwise, really fascinating text for those interested in a holistic look at religions.

[Declan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted out of this course. The professor leans more into history, content, and context over religious feeling, but I was perfectly happy with that. It's hard to get emotion across in a lecture format. And he did a reasonable job of asking us to imagine the spirituality of other faiths. I only wish that he had done a bit more of a survey for the antepenultimate and penultimate lectures rather than case studies. It's so cool to think about abandoned and especially new scriptures. I mean, come on—XENU!

[Nicolas Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m trying to decide what to rate this, it sits out to do what it accomplishes quite well. It is an introduction of several world sacred texts and describes how they fit into a broader team. It doesn’t go into enough debt for me, but that’s the point it is an introduction to several text. I would recommend this to almost everyone before you do a deeper dive, but just understand that each section is going to leave you wantingat least in the last lecture he gives a list of where to start if you want to read on your own, several of which I have done.

[Kathy Nealen · Rating 4 out of 5]

36 part DVD course on the sacred texts of major religions and a few prominent but not major religions. Interesting to see how the sacred texts of these religions are preserved, interpreted and circulated and what that tells us about the religion itself. Professor Grant Hardy teaches at UNC-Asheville.

[David Pulliam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed it, but there were a couple of lectures that I thought were filler, particularly at the end. He is pretty obvious in his universalism and it effects his interpretations of the various religions. At the same time, it makes him much more empathetic and open to what different religions have to say.

[Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent coverage of sacred texts. I was particularly interested in the lectures on Christian, Muslim, Hebrew, Hindi and Mormon texts. Professor Hardy exhibits not only his broad understanding, but his deep appreciation of such texts with his enthusiastic discussions. Highly recommended.

[De · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent series of lectures! I liked it so much that I had to find my own copy. This series will help you if you are taking religious classes in college. It gives you insight of what you will learn in class. It has helped me with my class. Thank you Grant Hardy for these lectures!!!❤️📚

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Cyril Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio book was a pleasure to listen.

[Karlena · Rating 3 out of 5]

audiobook. very long. not sure what i was expecting, but not as interesting as i thought it would be.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Aaron Eichler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this lecture. it was interesting to learn about other religions and to know more about my own.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and I have a much better understanding of my own tradition and those of others.

[Ahdom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing set of lectures that have broadened my understanding on several sacred texts. While these can only cover so much, there was so much great information in this lecture series to help launch my intention to read about religious ideas in antiquity. Grant Hardy does a great job at presenting each lecture. I really like how these were structured. This may be the most informative religious learning I have ever done so far. This comes HIGHLY recommended if you are interested in learning different beliefs and understanding sacred texts from around the world. This course, complete with booklet, has given me so many books to read via "recommended texts" and I am so glad!