A review of “Skepticism and Religious Relativism” (audiobook)

I was expecting something very different from this audiobook. Specifically, I was expecting to get an overview of agnostics, atheists, and other like-minded groups (including “secularists”). And these groups are certainly covered therein. But it is really a treatment of religious skepticism, including within the religious community. This audiobook also talks about the different kinds of skepticism, and the responses to it from within the believing community. And it finally talks about religious relativism – the idea that all religions are just a “state of mind,” and that none of them is more valid than any other. (More about that later.)

A review of “Protestant Christianity” (audiobook)

In 1517, Martin Luther wrote the “Ninety-Five Theses,” a written attack on the Catholic Church. Luther may or may not have pinned this document onto the door of All Saints’ Church. Regardless, this is often dated as the beginning of the “Protestant Reformation.” You could argue that there were other proto-Protestant groups before that. However, this audiobook basically begins in the sixteenth century. That is, it begins at the traditional date of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. It then gives a brief overview of some of the major branches of Protestant Christianity. Incidentally, the name “Protestant” comes from past protests against the Catholic Church. Today, relations between Catholics and Protestants tend to be somewhat better than they were in previous centuries. That is, they no longer tend to be violent.

A review of “St. Thomas Aquinas” (audiobook)

The Italian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas is appreciated by more than just Catholics. He is also venerated by some Protestant groups, such as Lutherans and Anglicans. Thomas Aquinas wrote before the Protestant religion had come to be. This may help to explain why a number of later Protestants felt comfortable with quoting him. And, of course, he is lionized by Catholics, who give him the coveted title of “St. Thomas Aquinas.”

A review of “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity” (audiobook)

The Scottish philosopher Duns Scotus got a bad rap after his death. The English word “dunce” comes from the name of “Duns Scotus.” By extension, so does the English phrase “dunce cap.” But there’s a lot to learn about with Duns Scotus, and from the other medieval Christian philosophers. This audiobook is marketed as “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity,” but the introductory narration for this audiobook calls it “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christian Philosophy.” To me, this sounds like a more appropriate title, since the focus of the audiobook is on philosophy – and, more specifically, religious philosophy.

A review of “Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Philosophy” (audiobook)

Moses ben Maimon (better known as Maimonides) was one of the most important philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was a Jewish philosopher, but he also had a great effect on Christians and Muslims. Nonetheless, he was quite controversial in his own time, even amongst his fellow Jews. He criticized certain aspects of the era’s Jewish religion, and made many enemies by so doing. He was controversial enough that his books were burned by the authorities, sometimes at the request of his fellow Jews. This was ironic, because he lived in the Muslim Almoravid Empire, which was then fairly tolerant of the Jewish religion. Nonetheless, the Muslims would grant some of the requests to have his books burned, and some of those who had requested this burning later saw their own books burned as well. Such is the irony of censorship, then and now.

A review of “St. Augustine” (audiobook)

In the fourth century CE, the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, causing many of his subjects to follow his lead in this regard. Thus, the Roman Empire had become Christian earlier in the century in which Augustine was born. They had also adopted the Nicene Creed, and its Trinitarian view of Godhood. At that time, the Roman Empire controlled North Africa, including a town called Hippo Regius. It was in this town that a woman named Monica (possibly a Berber) gave birth to him, raising him in the Catholic faith. Her very name “Monica” is often believed to be Berber, although Augustine’s father had a more Latin name which may indicate some degree of Romanization. It is unknown whether either one was a Berber or an Italian Roman.

A review of “Avicenna and Medieval Muslim Philosophy” (audiobook)

During the Middle Ages, the Muslim world helped to keep Greek philosophy alive. In the wake of the Roman Empire’s fall in the fifth century, the West was rapidly forgetting Greek learning. In particular, the works of Aristotle were temporarily lost in the West. But in the Middle East, they were kept alive in Arabic translation, long before the West would rediscover their original Greek during the Renaissance.

A review of “Islam” (audiobook)

“Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. He has the Most Beautiful Names.”

– English translation of The Quran, Surah 20:8

Islam is the youngest of the world’s major religions. The others all began in antiquity, while Islam did not begin until the Early Middle Ages. But despite the head start of these other major religions, Islam has grown to be the second-largest religion in the world today. It is surpassed only by Christianity, and surpasses even those who consider themselves “non-religious” (such as atheists, agnostics, and self-described “secularists”). Thus, there is good reason to learn about what Muslims believe, from sources such as this audiobook. I do not know if the author himself was a Muslim, and note that he did not have a Muslim-culture name. (His name was Charles Adams.) Nonetheless, it is one of the best introductions to their faith that I have ever heard, and the author may well be a Muslim of a more Western background.

A review of “Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity” (audiobook)

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

– Closing lines of the “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed” (381 CE), a modified version of the “Nicene Creed” (325 CE) – as translated by the 1975 ecumenical version from the “International Consultation on English Texts” (or ICET)

In the eleventh century, Christianity was split into two groups: the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. These churches are the subjects of this audiobook.

A review of “Classical Religions and Myths of the Mediterranean Basin” (audiobook)

“Declare, O Muse! in what ill-fated hour

Sprung the fierce strife, from what offended power

Latona’s son a dire contagion spread,

And heap’d the camp with mountains of the dead …”

– Homer’s “Iliad,” Book 1 (as translated by Alexander Pope) – which thus dedicates the “Iliad” to Greek goddesses known as “Muses”

So I recently listened to a three-hour audiobook called “Classical Religions and Myths of the Mediterranean Basin.” When I took a comparative world religions class some years ago, it was focused almost exclusively on modern religions. Therefore, it didn't really cover these older religions that are mostly gone today.

It was thus good to hear from these people about the early religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor, Canaan, Greece, and Rome. It was also good to hear from them about how the literature and culture of these religions may have influenced the world in which the Hebrew and Christian scriptures took place. I thought that they may have carried their argument a bit too far at times, when they argued that the stories of this prior mythology may have influenced the stories of Judaism and Christianity, as found in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Nonetheless, I thought that they were much more solid on handling the beliefs of these other religions, as this was clearly written by people who had studied the subject in some detail.

Ra-Horakhty, a combined Ancient Egyptian deity of Horus and Ra

A review of “Judaism” (audiobook)

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee [Abraham] and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”

– The Hebrew Bible, “The First Book of Moses Called Genesis,” Chapter 17, Verse 7 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

So I recently finished listening to a three-hour audiobook called “Judaism.” It seemed like an excellent introduction to the history and philosophy of the Jewish faith. It talked about the scriptures, beliefs, and holy days and festivals of the faith.