Judaism » (New Edition)

Judaism is one of the world's oldest religions. It began in the Middle East when a man named Abraham was commanded by God to leave his home and migrate to a new country. Today's Jewish people consider themselves the spiritual descendants of Abraham, who was the first person to worship the one God instead of the many gods common in ancient religions. For thousands of years, the Jewish community has survived many persecutions. Even after they lost their country and their Temple in Jerusalem, the Jewish people managed to meet the challenges of both the ancient and modern world. Judaism is a faith of continuity, one that maintains its identity by telling its history. One interesting characteristics of Judaism is its inclusion of other peoples: Both Christians and Muslims base their faith in the same Scriptures and God that Jews worship. This connection makes the Jewish story very unique. This book by Kenneth Atkinson, a professor of religion and respected writer of scholarly works on biblical literature, tells that story.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-These titles discuss the foundations, scriptures, buildings, cultural expressions, holidays, and life experiences of their respective religions. Judaism suffers from serious repetition and redundancy. The chapter on cultural expressions is ridiculously superficial and focuses on the U.S., while over half the color reproductions are by Christian artists. The lack of visuals is a major drawback in the chapter on synagogue worship, which cries out for accompanying photos and diagrams. Christianity is poorly written: complex, difficult to follow, ponderous, and often irrelevant. There are major omissions, including marriage and death; B.C. and A.D. (despite two sections on dates and calendars); biblical books and the meaning of the Bible and New Testament; and religions out of the mainstream. Worst of all, rather than writing clearly to readers of various (or no) religious backgrounds, Bahr presumes a basic understanding of Christianity, thus defeating the series' educational objectives. Both books have a few charts; otherwise, the only illustrations are in a seven-page section of color photos depicting art and architecture. There are no glossaries, which is a major problem in Christianity (Judaism does a better job of interpreting things in context). Neither book indicates the scriptural translation being used or explains scriptural references (book, chapter, verse). Stick with Stephen Brown's Protestantism and Catholicism & Orthodox Christianity and Martha Morrison and Stephen Brown's Judaism (all 2002, Facts On File) instead of these volumes; while not perfect, they're concise and thorough.-Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.