Description
Book SynopsisThis book presents a new examination of ethical dictum 'The Golden Rule' exploring its formulation and significance in relation to the world's major religions. The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This ethical dictum is a part of most of the world's religions and has been considered by numerous religious figures and philosophers over the centuries. This new collection contains specially commissioned essays which take a fresh look at this guiding principle from a comparative perspective. Participants examine the formulation and significance of the Golden Rule in the world's major religions by applying four questions to the tradition they consider: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it work? How does it matter?Freshly examining the Golden Rule in broad comparative context provides a fascinating account of its uses and meaning, and allows us to assess if, how and why it matters in human cultures and societies.
Trade ReviewReview in Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol.25, no.2, 2010.
Neusner, Chilton, and their colleagues maintain a focused discipline on opening the conversation, entering the exploration, and generating questions for further study. One exits a reading of The Golden Rule with an expansive awareness of how the golden Rule starts with and extends beyond concern for self-dignity, invites expansive application beyond local kith and kin, invokes anticipatory action over simple reactive reciprocity, and urges people toward honor of the other and unitive human care. -- Anglican Theological Review
"After reading this collection, there can be little doubt that this powerful rule has had an enormous influence in shaping religious beliefs throughout the centuries and around the world. This study lends credence to the principle that religions have at their core certain overarching concepts that emphasize basic ethical teachings and that instruct believers to act morally and honorably." --Jewish Book World, Winter 2009 * Jewish Book World Quarterly Review *
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction: Parsing Reciprocity: Questions for the Golden Rule, William Scott Green (University of Miami, USA); 2. The Golden Rule in Ancient Israelite Scripture, Baruch A. Levine (New York University, USA); 3. Alternatives to the Golden Rule: Social Reciprocity and Altruism in Early Archaic Greece, Carolyn Dewald (Bard College, USA); 4. The Golden Rule in Graeco-Roman Religion and Philosophy, Robert Berchman (Dowling College, USA). 5. The Golden Rule in Classical Judaism, Jacob Neusner (Bard College, USA); 6. The Golden Rule in Zoroastrianism, Mahnaz Moazami (Columbia University, USA); 7. The Golden Rule in Earliest Christianity, Bruce D. Chilton (Bard College, USA); 8. The Golden Rule as the Law of Nature, from Origen to Martin Luther, Olivier du Roy (French National Center for Scientific Research, Paris); 9. The Golden Rule in Islam, Emil Homerin (University of Rochester, USA); 10. The Golden Rule in Buddhism [I], Kristen Scheible (Bard College, USA); 11. The Golden Rule in Buddhism [II], Charles Hallisey (University of Wisconsin, USA); 12. A Hindu Golden Rule in Context, Richard Davis (Bard College, USA); 13. The Golden Rule in Confucianism, Mark A. Csikszentmihalyi (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA); 14. Conclusion, William Scott Green (University of Miami, USA).
