A History of Religious Ideas, Volume 3: From Muhammad to the Age of Reforms

"No one has done so much as Mr. Eliade to inform literature students in the West about 'primitive' and Oriental religions. . . . Everyone who cares about the human adventure will find new information and new angles of vision."—Martin E. Marty, New York Times Book Review

this Volume Completes The Immensely Learned Three-volume a History Of Religious Ideas. Eliade Examines The Movement Of Jewish Thought Out Of Ancient Eurasia, The Christian Transformation Of The Mediterranean Area And Europe, And The Rise And Diffusion Of Islam From Approximately The Sixth Through The Seventeenth Centuries. Eliade's Vast Knowledge Of Past And Present Scholarship Provides A Synthesis That Is Unparalleled. In Addition To Reviewing Recent Interpretations Of The Individual Traditions, He Explores The Interactions Of The Three Religions And Shows Their Continuing Mutual Influence To Be Subtle But Unmistakable.

as In His Previous Work, Eliade Pays Particular Attention To Heresies, Folk Beliefs, And Cults Of Secret Wisdom, Such As Alchemy And Sorcery, And Continues The Discussion, Begun In Earlier Volumes, Of Pre-christian Shamanistic Practices In Northern Europe And The Syncretistic Tradition Of Tibetan Buddhism. These Subcultures, He Maintains, Are As Important As The Better-known Orthodoxies To A Full Understanding Of Judaism, Christianity, And Islam.

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this Third Volume By The Preeminent Historian Of Religions, Who Died In April 1986, Concludes His Masterly Survey Of The Field. The Arrangement Of The Volumes Is Roughly Chronological. This Volume Examines The Later Developments Of Jewish Thought, The Spread Of Christianity, And The Rise And Diffusion Of Islam. Like The Other Two Volumes, It Reflects The Author's Interest In Folk Beliefs, Heresies, And Cults Of Secret Wisdom. It Concludes With A Long And Extremely Useful Bibliographical Analysis, ``present Position Of Studies.'' As The Crowning Achievement To An Unparalleled Scholarly Career This Series Of Books Represents A Valuable Synthesis For Specialists And Generalists Alike. Paul E. Muller-ortega, Religious Studies Dept., Michigan State Univ., East Lansing

This volume completes the immensely learned three-volume A History of Religious Ideas . Eliade examines the movement of Jewish thought out of ancient Eurasia, the Christian transformation of the Mediterranean area and Europe, and the rise and diffusion of Islam from approximately the sixth through the seventeenth centuries. Eliade's vast knowledge of past and present scholarship provides a synthesis that is unparalleled. In addition to reviewing recent interpretations of the individual traditions, he explores the interactions of the three religions and shows their continuing mutual influence to be subtle but unmistakable. As in his previous work, Eliade pays particular attention to heresies, folk beliefs, and cults of secret wisdom, such as alchemy and sorcery, and continues the discussion, begun in earlier volumes, of pre-Christian shamanistic practices in northern Europe and the syncretistic tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These subcultures, he maintains, are as important as the better-known orthodoxies to a full understanding of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. anthropology,mythology,nonfiction,philosophy,religion Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- A HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS -- 1. In the Beginning. . . : Magico-Religious Behavior of the Paleanthropians -- 2. The Longest Revolution: The Discovery of Agriculture- Mesolithic and Neolithic -- 3. The Mesopotamian Religions -- 4. Religious Ideas and Political Crises in Ancient Egypt -- 5. Megaliths, Temples, Ceremonial Centers: Occident, Mediterranean, Indus Valley -- 6. The Religions of the Hittites and the Canaanites -- 7. "When Israel Was a Child" -- 8. The Religion of the Indo-Europeans. The Vedic Gods -- 9. India before Gautama Buddha: From the Cosmic Sacrifice to the Supreme Identity Atman-Brahman -- 10. Zeus and the Greek Religion -- 11. The Olympians and the Heroes -- 12. The Eleusinian Mysteries -- 13. Zarathustra and the Iranian Religion -- 14. The Religion of Israel in the Period of the Kings and the Prophets -- 15. Dionysus, or Bliss Recovered -- Abbreviations -- Present Position of Studies: Problems and Progress. Critical Bibliographies -- Index Examines The Religions Of Ancient China, Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Celtic And German Religions, Judaism, And Christianity, And Explores Each One's Philosophical Concepts. 1. From The Stone Age To The Eleusinian Mysteries--2. From Gautama Buddha To The Triumph Of Christianity--3. From Muhammad To The Age Of Reforms. Mircea Eliade ; Translated From The French By Willard R. Trask. Translation Of Histoire Des Croyances Et Des Idées Religieuses. Includes Index. Bibliography: V. 1, P. [376]-479. In volume 2 of this monumental work, Mircea Eliade continues his magisterial progress through the history of religious ideas. The religions of ancient China, Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddha and his contemporaries, Roman religion, Celtic and German religions, Judaism, the Hellenistic period, the Iranian syntheses, and the birth of Christianity—all are encompassed in this volume. In volume 2 of this monumental work, Mircea Eliade continues his magisterial progress through the history of religous ideas. The religions of ancient China, Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddha and his contemporaries, Roman religion, Celtic and German religion, Judaism, the Hellenistic period, the Iranian syntheses, and the birth of Christianity - all are encompassed in this volume. v.1. From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian mysteries v.2. From Gautama Buddha to the triumph of Christianity - v.3. From Muhammad to the age of reforms.