This volume presents a comprehensive survey of the origins, developments, beliefs and distribution of the world's religions. Full-colour maps, pictures and a comprehensive and accessible text combine to form a global overview of human faith and a key to understanding its role in the modern world. In the 21st century religion retains its power to move: from the devotion felt for religious leaders such as the Pope and the Dalai Lama, to the more sinister role faith plays at the heart of many of today's conflicts, in the Middle East to India, in Kosovo and Chechenia. Yet the evolution and history, the beliefs and practices of today's world faiths are often poorly understood. The book's coverage ranges from faiths such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism to cover issues such as secularism, less well-known belief systems such as Pacific Cargo Cults and includes a section on religion in the ancient world.

The "Times" World Religions

Martin Palmer

Times Books

In 1907, explorers discovered a vast treasure trove of ancient scrolls, silk paintings, and artifacts dating from the 5th to 11th centuries A.D. in a long-sealed cave in a remote region of China. Among them, written in Chinese, were scrolls that recounted a history of Jesus' life and teachings in beautiful Taoist concepts and imagery that were unknown in the West. These writings told a story of Christianity that was by turns unique and disturbing, hopeful and uplifting. The best way to describe them is collectively, with a term they themselves use: The Jesus Sutras. The origins of Christianity seem rooted in Western civilization, but amazingly, an ancient, largely unknown branch of Christian belief evolved in the East. Eminent theologian and Chinese scholar Martin Palmer provides the first popular history and translation of the sect's long-lost scriptures--all of them more than a thousand years old and comparable in significance to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Gathered, deciphered, and interpreted by a team of expert linguists and scholars, these sacred texts present an inspiring use of Jesus' teachings and life within Eastern practices and meditations--and provide an extraordinary window into an intriguing, profoundly gentler, more spiritual Christianity than existed in Europe or Asia at the time, or, indeed, even today. Palmer has devoted more than a decade to seeking the extant writings and other evidence of this lost religion. His search was triggered by an encounter with an immense, mysterious carved (stele) stone from the 8th century that resides in a Chinese museum collection called the Forest of Stones. The Chinese text on this stone commemorates the founding of a "religion of light" in China by a great Western teacher and features a unique cross that merges Taoist symbolism with the Christian cross. The scrolls, the stone, and a strange map of the area around a hallowed temple (where Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching before disappearing forever) gave Palmer enough information to rediscover one of the earliest Christian monasteries. At the site was an 8th century pagoda still intact, and within it, in 1998, Palmer and his team found more evidence, including statues, underground passageways, and artifacts, that helped them uncover and recreate the era and rituals of the Taoist Christians. The Taoist Christians, who wrote the Jesus Sutras recognized equality of the sexes, preached against slavery, and practiced nonviolence toward all forms of life. In particular, this tradition offered its followers a more hopeful vision of life on earth and after death than the dominant Eastern religions, teaching that Jesus had broken the wheel of karma and its consequent punishing, endless reincarnations. Vividly re-creating the turbulence of a distant age that is remarkably evocative of our own times, Palmer reveals an extraordinary evolution of spiritual thought that spans centuries. A thrilling modern quest that is also an ancient religious odyssey, The Jesus Sutras shares a revolutionary discovery with profound historical implications--imparting timeless messages and lessons for men and women of all backgrounds and faiths.

The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Wellspring/Ballantine

The State of Religion Atlas

Joanne O'Brien

Reference

SIMON SCHUSTER (TRADE DIVISION)

Written in conjunction with the Sacred Land Project, this book looks at the history and development of gardens and their relevance to religious beliefs. It looks at the Christian tradition and its garden themes, as well as the Taoist Yin and Yang garden, and Zen aspects from Japan.

Sacred Gardens: Inspirational and Practical Ideas for Creating Peaceful and Tranquil Spaces

Arts & Photography

David Manning

Architecture

Piatkus

The Feng Shui Workbook : A Room by Room Guide to Effective Feng Shui in Your Home and Workplace

Religion & Spirituality

Xiaomin, Zhao

Eva Wong

New Age & Spirituality

London, Piatkus, 1998

In 1907 in China, explorers discovered ancient scrolls dating from the 5th to 11th centuries, recounting a history of Jesus' life and teachings in Taoist concepts unknown in the West. This book provides a popular history and translation of these texts. It recounts the story of the first Christian missions to China and explains how the Church of the East blended Eastern and Western spiritual principles, and how Jesus became a Buddha Christ. The contents of each of the sutras are detailed and Martin Palmer also tells the story of the Taoist Christians and their teachings as well as his own rediscovery of one of the earliest Taoist Christian monasteries, an intact 8th-century pagoda, and its amazing statues and artefacts.

The Jesus Sutras : Rediscovering the Lost Religion of Taoist Christianity

Buddhism

Piatkus Books

In 1907, in a remote region of China, explorers discovered a vast treasure trove of ancient scrolls. Dating from the 5th to 11th centuries AD, they recounted a Taoist interpretation of Jesus's life and teachings. In this volume, theologist Martin Palmer provides a history and translation of these sacred texts. The work: recounts the story of the first Christian missions to China; explains how the Church of the East blended Eastern and Western spiritual principles, and how Jesus became a Buddha Christ; details the contents of each of the sutras; tells the story of the Taoist Christians and their teachings; and recounts Martin Palmer's rediscovery of one of the earliest Taoist Christian monasteries, an intact 8th-century pagoda, and its amazing statues and artefacts.

The Jesus Sutras

Judy Piatkus(publishers) Ltd

Genesis or Nemesis: Belief, Meaning and Ecology (Compass of mind)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Dryad P.

Argues that the face, body shape, posture, and hands reveal hidden facts about one's personality, character, and destiny

Lines of Destiny: How to Read Faces and Hands the Chinese Way

Self-Help

Kwok, Man-Ho

Personal Transformation

Shambhala

The Elements of Taoism

Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts

Harper Collins, UK

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Books by Martin Palmer