A collection of essays in honor of a retiring professor of religious studies, organized in sections on theory of religion, comparative religion, Christianity, and religion and the imagination. Topics include Tyler's theory of myth as primitive science, Qumran and the implications of historical sociology, the three doctrines of the 1933 Methodist hymn book, and the reflection of Zoroastrianism in modern Parsi secular literature. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Nathan Siderblom and the Study of Religion"

"How are Christians, with their claims of a definitive gospel, salvation once for all achieved by Jesus, to regard the beliefs of other religions? Many different answers have been given, particularly during this century, when greater mobility and social change have made the questions of local and practical, as well as theoretical and international interest. The problems and the issues involved are well illustrated in Christian attitudes to Hinduism, and it is these that Professor Sharpe discusses in his book. After looking at the older 'orthodox' views of the relationships between religions, he considers the argument, popular at the beginning of this century, that Christ fulfils all religions, the criticism of this thesis and the view that other religions, whatever their merits, are morally deficient. Then after studying Hindu views of Christianity, he follows development through the period between the wars and post-war developments in Protestantism and in relation to Vatican II to the positive attitudes which are to be found today among adherents of both religions." - Publisher

The Bhagavad Gita influenced Western writers like Southey, Emerson and Thoreau and as a result of these interpretations, became popularized in India. This book analyzes this Westernized Hinduism and examines such groups as the Hare Krishna movement and German National Socialists.