Religion 101: From Allah to Zen Buddhism, an Exploration of the Key People, Practices, and Beliefs that Have Shaped the Religions of the World

Adams 101

by Peter Archer

Discover the origins and traditions of world religions!With so many religions in the world, it isn't always easy to recall each faith's key influences, spiritual figures, and dogmas. Written in easy-to-understand language, Religion 101 offers a fascinating--and memorable--glimpse at the sacred stories, traditions, and doctrines that have influenced today's most popular religions.From Jesus and the Four Noble Truths to the Buddhist Wheel of Existence, this book provides you with thought-provoking insight into the customs and beliefs of common faiths like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Inside, you will also discover hundreds of important religious facts, illustrations, and thought puzzles that you won't be able to find anywhere else.So whether you're looking to unravel the mysteries of existence and meaning, or just want to find out what Kabbalah is all about, Religion 101 has all the answers--even the ones you didn't know you were looking for.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, History, Reference, Spirituality, Occult, Theology

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2013

Reviews

[Cristina Purcar-Reis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing. The book focuses very much on the writings the religions are based on and misses a lot of other important and more interesting aspects. Doesn't take into account orthodoxism or baptism at all for example. Also, highly subjective narration.

[zeyneb · Rating 2 out of 5]

ramazan yaklaşırken büyük ailenin seküler küçük kızı olarak canım ailemin huzurunu BİLİYOR MUYDUNUZ segmentlerimle kaçırmak için gerekli araştırmaları yapıyorum.

ancak elim boş çıkıyorum.

2025te çok çok zeki bir kız olacağım serimizde bugün teolojiye giriş yaptık ve orada kaldık çünkü bu kitap sadece bir giriş mahiyetinde.

inanç durumları beni büyülüyor arkadaşlar.

en popüler dinlerle ilgili en temel şeyleri ve sadece en temel şeyleri bilmek isterseniz, buyrun

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read in English but this review is in Bahasa Indonesia

Serial 101 sudah jelas memajang "Crash Course" yang artinya adalah sekilas tentang suatu hal yang menjadi topik utamanya. Kali ini berkaitan dengan agama. Aku terdorong membaca Religion 101 karena penasaran dengan kebersinggungan beberapa agama dalam serial Netflix yang berjudul Messiah. Aku yang merasa belum banyak tahu tentang perkembangan agama merasa dengan membaca Religion 101 bisa membuatku memahami serial itu.

Religion 101 membahas topiknya berdasarkan agama. Itu pun dirunutkan dari agama yang paling sering diperbincangkan dan menjadi sorotan dalam beragam media: Yahudi, Katolik - Kristen, dan Islam. Barulah setelah itu, dibahas agama Hindu dan Buddha.

Informasi yang diberikan di dalam buku ini sesungguhnya mudah dicerna. Dibahas secara umum dan sebagai pemantik agar pembaca bersedia menggali lebih lanjut melalui sumebr bacaan yang lain.

Bukunya yang tidak terlalu tebal sangat mungkin dihabiskan dalam sekali duduk. Sayangnya, aku terlanjut memasang ekspektasi yang aku kira, buku ini akan membahas agama sesuai dengan urutan waktu.

Tetapi, kalau ingin mendapat informasi secara umum tentang agama (besar) yang ada di dunia, Religion 101 bisa menjadi opsi.

[Medea · Rating 2 out of 5]

birçok şey anlatılmış ama hepsi o kadar yüzeysel anlatılmış ki her bölüm sonunda aklımda en iyi ihtimalle 1-2 genel bilgi dışında hiçbir şey kalmadı. ne kadar öğretici olduğu da sorgulanır bence. dinlerin daha çok özünü anlatmasını beklerdim. bunun yerine kısa kısa bölümlerde çoğu zaman ilginç olmayan şeyler okudum. hiç okumasam da bir şey değişmezmiş.

[Dolunay Çörek Akyıldız · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinler hakkında kısa ve net bilgiler edinmek isteyenler için uygun. Ancak bu kısa bilgilerde aktarım açısından umduğumu bulamadığımı belirtmeliyim. Bazı dinler çok üstünkörü anlatılmışken, bazı dinlerin de bana göre gereksiz ayrıntıları verilmiş. Bunlarla birlikte toparlayıcılığı bakımından iyi bir çalışma olmuş.

[เนติวิทย์ โชติภัทร์ไพศาล · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but it is not deep, usual information.

[Coryann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very dry.

[Dilek · Rating 5 out of 5]

•Yunan tanrıları:

Zeus-Şimşek, Apollo-Güneş, Artemis-Ay, Poseidon-Okyanuslar ve Deniz, Afrodit-Aşk, Ares-Savaş, Demeter-Mahsül, Athena-Bilgelik, Pestia-Aile Ocağı, Dionisos-Şarap ve Sarhoşluk.

•Mısır tanrıları:

Osiris- Tanrıların oğlu (Nil taşkınlarını yönetir), Yeraltı tanrıları.

•Roma tanrıları:

Venüs, Vulkan, Sold, Juno, Mars, Herkül, Diana, Merkür, Minerva, Vesta, Satürn, Gamenae, Seres, Ulyses, Bakus, Fonus, Aurora, Roserfin, Discordia, Neptün, Küpit, Ops, Jüpiter, Plüton.

•Yahudilik:

Sadece din değil, ırk-kavim olarak da değerlendirilir.
*"Tanımlamak sınır koymaktır ama tanrı sınırsızdır."

•Taoizm(Konfüçyusçülük)

•Hristiyanlık

•İslam:

*Dünya nüfusunun %20'si inanır.

•Hinduizm

•Budizm

[Jeff Ragan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very readable, reasonably clear perspective on the major religions of the world. The author occasionally makes a false assertion, as on p. 102 when he says, "None of the gospel writers were contemporaries of Jesus, so a lot of details about him are murky." In fact, Matthew and John were his personal disciples and traveled with him throughout his earthly ministry. John was considered to be Jesus' best friend. Nonetheless, an interested novice can get a good, basic overview of the religions of the world from this book.

[Radrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book is just meant to be the tip of the ice berg as an introduction to world religions, some of the descriptions are oddly organized and several sections (particularly the parts on Hinduism and Buddhism) had me scratching my head with a lack of understanding what the author was trying to say.

Overall an easy read. Somewhat satisfying to read especially if you’re interested in the subject.

[wafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can be your cup of tea if you want to learn about all the religions listed on the book basically. I repeat, BASICally. It mainly focuses on the religion history, when actually the writer could dig so much deeper than that. The way the author wrote the book is also quite biased. Still enjoyed reading this, though. But, basic—I mean, the title says it all!

[Gavin Spillane · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title might suggest, this is a very useful read for anyone with a tenuous grasp on religion (myself included). Archer breaks down Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam in a concise way. The concluding chapter, explaining the more left field faiths like Scientology and Wicca, adds a lot of colour to the book.

[B Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fun book to read in small spurts. It was very informative and interesting. I believe all people should have to learn about all worldly religions, it would cut back on ignorance and religious discrimination I think.

[Furkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genel bilgiler içeren, genel kültüre hitabet eden, konuları yüzeysel geçen bir kitap olmuş. Giriş niteliğini taşıdığı için çok fazla beklenti ile okunması gerekmez ancak kabaca öğrenmek için gayet ideal.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect much depth as the title suggests yet I found it succinct enough to spark an interest to read more on the religious views that I wasn't exposed to growing up (i.e., Pentecostalism, Islam, Wicca, etc.)!

[Cagla · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're thinking of studying a specific religion in detail and looking for the most general recap of all of them before deciding which one you become most interested in, then this book is suitable for you.

[Nattapon Chotsisuparat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Religion 101: From Allah to Zen Buddhism, an Exploration of the Key People, Practices, and Beliefs that Have Shaped the Religions of the World by Peter Archer. As a man of science, I love to explore other fields too, and religion is one of them. This book explores every major religion, starting with Chapter 1 on religion in early history, followed by Judaism, Chinese religion, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It was a fun read. Some information is basic, while some was new to me. It’s like taking a comparative religion course at university.

[Wodin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative on some points, but lets his biases show through too much.

[Sameer Alshenawi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty informative for people in a hurry.

[Serkan Polat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tercume cok basarili degil. Dinler icin verilen bilgi derinligi birbirinden farkli ve yeterli degil .

[İrem Türkkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ugur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eğer dinler hakkında genel ve çok da organize olmayan bilgiler edineyim, genel kültür olsun diyorsanız bu kitap tam size göre.

[Kemal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinler hakkında kulak doygunluğu yaratacak kadar bilgiye sahip bir kitap. Gerçi kitabın vaad ettiği bundan fazlası değil. O yüzden kötülemek gereksiz. Beklentiniz yüksek olmasın.

[g clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good overview

It's just an overview, but very basic I studied world religions and this book does not wrestle with religious text nor does it critically examine religious text.

[Hulya Inci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Son derece zayıf, herhangi bir metadolijisi olmayan, oradan oraya atlayan bir kitap. Bu seriden okuduğum ilk kitap, tamamen maddi kazanç amacıyla yazılmış gibi duruyor. Bence zaman kaybı

[Serhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seri içinde okuduğum/dinlediğim en iyi derlenmiş kitap.

[Antonio Youssif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and mind blowing!

Loved the book, such an interesting way to explain religions, traditions and myths. Totally recommend for a cultural broadening of your mind.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

[patrick mouligne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fascinating book. Representing all major religions as what they are…A total fraud invented by men for purpose of power and or financial greed…

[Adli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that there is a series of these 101 books that covers quite a range of diverse topics, obviously with different authors too. My first venture into these Crash Course series was about Psychology, and I can tell you that it was boring. I know that at the end of the day, the book was only an introduction, but the Psychology 101 is just too boring and too basic. So, when I picked this book up, I'm not entirely sure why. Knowing that the first experience was not to my advantage, I can only assume the second one was not going to be that much different. But, I thought, hey the author is different, the topic is different, so surely the experience is going to be different too, right? Well, yeah, kind of.

When you spend all your life being a Moslem, or a Christian, or a Buddhist, or , it's obviously not recommended for you to be judging about other people's beliefs. You have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to say that their certain practices aren't logical (I have a friend who told me that religions aren't suppose to be logical all the time, because it is not science), or wrong or whatever; heck, you yourself might not know a lot about your own religion. So, going from there I decided to hit myself with a crash course on religion. You have to start somewhere before you delve deeper into topics (or in this case a religion) of your interest. Other than that, it's always interesting to see what other people (who I assume is not a Moslem) wrote about Islam.

Well, if ever you have an interest like I do, this book is not a bad place to start. This was well written (and I mean, written simply so as not to deter you from reading further because the lingo is just too confusing) and it gives you the basic initial information you needed to know about the five major religions. Granted that this book did not cover ALL beliefs, but hey it's not like you're pretty stock up on your knowledge of the five major religions already, so why complain, right? I think it would even be interesting to have read this book while having a friend who actually practice the religion itself for you to ask questions or just simply to ask your friend to elaborate further on the things that you didn't quite understand.

Overall, this was quite an okay book. I think for the most part, it is something that you can actually google yourself without having to own this book, but if you're lazy, wouldn't it be better to have it all in one book than to have to google it one by one?