50 Great Myths About Religions

50 Great Myths about Religions is an intriguing, informative, and often humorous introduction to some of the long standing myths that surround religious belief. This engaging book will get its readers thinking about how and why certain myths have arisen, and their continuing influence on our personal and collective view of religion. Offers a lively, informative, and thought-provoking introduction to some of the common misbeliefs surrounding religions <ul>
<li>Discusses myths about religious belief in general, as well as specific ideas that surround Judaism, Christianity, Islam, atheism, and agnosticism</li> <li>Covers a wide range of myths, from ancient legends such as the Bible forbidding pork being eaten because it causes illness, to modern urban fables, such as Barack Obama being a Muslim</li> <li>Unpacks each myth in turn, explaining why it arose, how it spread, and why the beliefs that stem from it are questionable</li> <li>Includes a fascinating discussion about human nature, and the main characteristics that predispose us to create and circulate myths to begin with</li> <li>Underpinned by a wide knowledge of academic research, it is written by two respected religion scholars and experienced authors</li> </ul>

Sonn, Tamara

Morreall, John

Religion & Spirituality

Wiley/Blackwell

50 Great Myths about Religions is an intriguing, informative, and often humorous introduction to some of the long standing myths that surround religious belief. This engaging book will get its readers thinking about how and why certain myths have arisen, and their continuing influence on our personal and collective view of religion.  Offers a lively, informative, and thought-provoking  introduction to some of the common misbeliefs surrounding religions  Discusses myths about religious belief in general, as well as specific ideas that surround Judaism, Christianity, Islam, atheism, and agnosticism Covers a wide range of myths, from ancient legends such as the Bible forbidding pork being eaten because it causes illness, to modern urban fables, such as Barack Obama being a Muslim Unpacks each myth in turn, explaining why it arose, how it spread, and why the beliefs that stem from it are questionable Includes a fascinating discussion about human nature, and the main characteristics that predispose us to create and circulate myths to begin with Underpinned by a wide knowledge of academic research, it is written by two respected religion scholars and experienced authors

Explicates the worldviews of comedy and tragedy, and analyzes world religions, finding some to be more comic, others more tragic. Comedy, tragedy, and religion have been intertwined since ancient Greece, where comedy and tragedy arose as religious rituals. This groundbreaking book analyzes the worldviews of tragedy and comedy, and compares each with the world’s major religions. Morreall contrasts the tragic and comic along twenty psychological and social dimensions and uses these to analyze both Eastern and Western traditions. Although no religion embodies a purely tragic or comic vision of life, some are mostly tragic and others mostly comic. In Eastern religions, Morreall finds no robust tragic vision but does find significant comic features, especially in Taoism and Zen Buddhism. In the Western monotheistic tradition, there are some comic features in the early Bible, but by the late Hebrew Bible, the tragic vision dominates. Two millennia have done little to reverse that tragic vision in Judaism. Christianity, on the other hand, has shown both tragic and comic features―Morreall writes of the Calvinist vision and the Franciscan vision―but in the contemporary era comic features have come to dominate. The author also explores Islam, and finds it has neither a comic nor a tragic vision. And, among new religions, those which emphasize the personal self come close to having an exclusively comic vision of life.

Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

State Univ of New York Pr

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

State University of New York Press

Taking Laughter Seriously

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

"There has never been a time in Western history that humor and laughter were not topics of intellectual debate and interest. That is still true. John Morreall's broad-ranging concerns in Taking Laughter Seriously make it a book that will interest those in the social and behavioral sciences, philosophy, English literature and criticism, drama, and folklore. Morreall has done an admirable job of analyzing earlier theories. His discussions of humor as aesthetic experience, social lubricant, and valuable human feature are original and provocative." -- Jeffrey H. Goldstein, Professor of Psychology, Temple University "The attempt at providing a theoretical framework which will include all forms of laughter and humor and will accommodate the main types of theories previously advanced, is the principal thrust and success of Taking Laughter Seriously. The topic is important and is one which philosophers have tended to ignore, as have most disciplines. It needs periodic philosophical reflection. The book is clearly written, well organized, and well illustrated. Morreall's style, sometimes almost conversational, fits the subject matter. One would hope that a book on laughter and humor, even a scholarly one, would not be so ponderous and officious that it evidenced little relationship to its announced topic. Taking Laughter Seriously avoids that contradiction and strikes a good balance." -- Conrad Hyers, Professor of Religion, Gustavus Adolphus College, author of The Comic Vision and the Christian Faith. "The book's qualities are, first, its scope and persuasiveness. The whole book demonstrates the seriousness of humor and its central place in human life. I know of no comparable work. The second quality of Taking Laughter Seriously is its clarity and its engaging style. It knocks out previous theories of laughter (including Freud's) and replaces them with a comprehensive one of its own. It is bloody funny. It will be enjoyed by philosophers, psychologists, teachers, and anyone who can read." -- G. J. Barker-Benfield, Associate Professor of History, State University of New York at Albany

The Religion Toolkit: Understanding Religion in the World Today

The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies

This complete overview of religious studies provides students with the essential knowledge and tools they need to explore and understand the nature of religion. 
<ul>
<li>Covers the early development of religion, with overviews of major and minor religions from Islam to Scientology</li> <li>Considers recent developments including secularization; the relationship between religion and science; and scientific studies on religion, health, and mystical experience</li> <li>Uses humor throughout, allowing students to remain open-minded to the subject</li> <li>Explains what it means to study religion academically, and considers the impact of the study of religion on religion itself</li> <li>Contains numerous student-friendly features including photos, maps, time lines, side bars, historical profiles, and population distribution figures</li> <li>Provides classroom users with a lively website,www.wiley.com/go/religiontoolkit, including questions, quizzes, extra material, and helpful primary and secondary sources</li> </ul>

Questions for Christians: The Surprising Truths behind Basic Beliefs asks whether or not Christians today have gotten Jesus’ message right, drawing on the Bible and the history of Christianity for answers. From the gender of God to what happens when we die, Questions for Christians digs into some of the thorniest points of the Christian faith—questions that many people would rather ignore.Most Christians today believe in “just wars,” but how do we reconcile this belief with Jesus’ saying “Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also,” or the pacifism of most early Christians? Protestants and Catholics today generally believe that Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins, but most Orthodox Christians don’t believe this, and neither did most Western churches before 1100. What is the truth?Drawing on sources both ancient and modern, John Morreall explores these issues while identifying points of controversy. Some of the answers are surprising, while others provide a more complete understanding of common beliefs.

Questions for Christians: The Surprising Truths behind Basic Beliefs

History

World

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

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Books by Morreall, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Morreall, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

50 Great Myths About Religions

50 Great Myths About Religions

Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion

Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion

Taking Laughter Seriously

Taking Laughter Seriously

The Religion Toolkit: Understanding Religion in the World Today

The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies

The Religion Toolkit: A Complete Guide to Religious Studies

Questions for Christians: The Surprising Truths behind Basic Beliefs