Enticement of Religion

ISBN: 026802765X

Author: Bolle, Kees W.

Condition: New

Bolles passion for hermeneutics and his conviction that the study of religion becomes really interesting when students confront not only the fascinating data of religion, but also the demanding methodological and epistemological questions of the discipline, make this book an inspiration to read. -Jess Hollenback, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse"In The Enticement of Religion, Kees W. Bolle has written an accessible and informative introduction to the basic facts of religion and to the ways scholars and other people have dealt with religion over the centuries. Bolles central purpose is to provide a serious, in-depth study that will introduce students and other general readers to religion and religious events in the world. Part 1 of the book focuses on the facts of religion, and covers such topics as the object and task of the historian of religions, the correct usage of words like faith and tradition, modes of religious expression, and the social and political impact of religion. Bolle raises basic, yet not often discussed, questions such as What is Religion? and What are the Religions of the World? The second part of the book provides a historical survey of Western intellectual approaches to religion. Starting with the Greeks and progressing all the way to the twentieth century, Bolle explores how writers and scholars such as David Hume, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Soren Kierkegaard, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Joseph Conrad, Charles Péguy, and many others have influenced our judgments on religion. The Enticement of Religion is the product of Kees Bolles lifelong quest for understanding of religion. As a sustained essay on hermeneutics (he prefers epistemology), it is, indeed, an enticing alternative to the post-modernist studies in critical discourse so pervasive in todays intellectual world-a refreshingly innovative approach free of subservience to current fashion. -William W. Malandra, University of MinnesotaThis book will serve well undergraduate majors in religious studies, students commencing graduate study in the field, and anyone interested in religion and religions who wishes to be introduced to the major issues, problems, and thinkers emergent in the context of western intellectual history. Bolles probings are worthy of the careful attention of all who are open to being seriously engaged in the data of religions. -Stanley Lusby, University of Tennessee, Knoxville