Background
Smith, Huston was born on May 31, 1919 in Soochow, China. Son of Wesley Moreland and Alice (Longden) Smith. (parents American citizens).
( "I have tried to describe a Christianity which is fully...)
"I have tried to describe a Christianity which is fully compatible with everything we now know, and to indicate why Christians feel privileged to give their lives to it." —Huston Smith In his most personal and passionate book on the spiritual life, renowned author, scholar, and teacher of world religions Huston Smith turns to his own life-long religion, Christianity. With stories and personal anecdotes, Smith not only presents the basic beliefs and essential teachings of Christianity, but argues why religious belief matters in today's secular world. Though there is a wide variety of contemporary interpretations of Christianity—some of them conflicting—Smith cuts through these to describe Christianity's "Great Tradition," the common faith of the first millennium of believers, which is the trunk of the tree from which Christianity's many branches, twigs, and leaves have grown. This is not the exclusivist Christianity of strict fundamentalists, nor the liberal, watered-down Christianity practiced by many contemporary churchgoers. In exposing biblical literalism as unworkable as well as enumerating the mistakes of modern secularists, Smith presents the very soul of a real and substantive faith, one still relevant and worth believing in. Smith rails against the hijacked Christianity of politicians who exploit it for their own needs. He decries the exercise of business that widens the gap between rich and poor, and fears education has lost its sense of direction. For Smith, the media has become a business that sensationalizes news rather than broadening our understanding, and art and music have become commercial and shocking rather than enlightening. Smith reserves his harshest condemnation, however, for secular modernity, which has stemmed from the misreading of science—the mistake of assuming that "absence of evidence" of a scientific nature is "evidence of absence." These mistakes have all but banished faith in transcendence and the Divine from mainstream culture and pushed it to the margins. Though the situation is grave, these modern misapprehensions can be corrected, says Smith, by reexamining the great tradition of Christianity's first millennium and reaping the lessons it holds for us today. This fresh examination of the Christian worldview, its history, and its major branches provides the deepest, most authentic vision of Christianity—one that is both tolerant and substantial, traditional and relevant.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060858354/?tag=2022091-20
(Here is a unique study of all the world's great religions...)
Here is a unique study of all the world's great religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. This book is neither a history or a critique. Instead it explains, simply and sympathetically, the basic tenants of each religion and the reasons why it attracts millions of devout followers. As the author explains in the first chapter, “This is a book about religion that exists . . . . not as a dull habit but as an acute fever. It is about religion alive. And whenever religion comes to life it displays a startling quality; it takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown without contest into a supporting role. The Religions of Man is a thoroughly researched, informative, fascinating presentation of both the differences and the similarities in the major religious traditions. It is essential reading for anyone who would understand peoples of other lands, other cultures, other religions.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4871872238/?tag=2022091-20
(This new edition of acclaimed essays explores sea changes...)
This new edition of acclaimed essays explores sea changes in the relationship between religion and science over the course of Western culture and suggest possible breakthroughs toward reaching an enlightened consciousness.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0824504577/?tag=2022091-20
( This classic companion to The World's Religions articul...)
This classic companion to The World's Religions articulates the remarkable unity that underlies the world's religious traditions
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062507877/?tag=2022091-20
Smith, Huston was born on May 31, 1919 in Soochow, China. Son of Wesley Moreland and Alice (Longden) Smith. (parents American citizens).
AB, Center Methodist College, Fayette, Missouri, 1940. Degrees (honorary); Doctor of Philosophy, University Chicago, 1945. Degree (honorary), Franklin College, 1964.
Degree (honorary), Lake Forest College, 1965. Degree (honorary), Alaska Pacific University, 1983. Degree (honorary), Hamline University, 1988.
Professor philosophical and religious studies, Washington University, St. Louis, 1947-1958; professor philosophical and religious studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1958-1973; professor philosophical and religious studies, Syracuse University, 1973-1983; professor philosophical and religious studies, University of California, Berkeley, since 1990.
(This new edition of acclaimed essays explores sea changes...)
( "I have tried to describe a Christianity which is fully...)
(Here is a unique study of all the world's great religions...)
( This classic companion to The World's Religions articul...)
(Beyond The Post-Modern Mind by Huston Smith)
(Forgotten Truth by Huston Smith)
Son of; married E. Kendra Wieman, September 15, 1943. Children: Karen, Gael, Kimberly.