World Religions. Western Traditions ed. by Willard G. Oxtoby (review)

HUMANITIES 127 Willard G. Oxtoby, editor. World Religions. Western Traditions Oxford University Press. vi, 598. $40.95 This is the "western' half of a two-volume set on world religions, and is eminently suitable for general reading and as a univerSity-level text. The editor was the first director of Toronto's Graduate Centre for Religious Studies when it started twenty years ago, and has a sophisticated grasp of method and theory in the study of religion. He is also a seasoned teacher , and scholar whose mind is exceedingly well stocked with infonnation. Three chapters on the Abrahamic traditions- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - form the larger part of this volume. Each is written by a practising believer, namely, Alan Segal, Oxtoby himself, and Mahmoud Ayoub, all of whom have been associated with the University of Toronto (although only Oxtoby is now there). All three scholars display that finest mastery of their material which allows them to write with both authority and simplicity. This shows itself in attentiveness to the needs of the beginning student, but also in expert handling of the long history of each tradition, with sensible periodization, judicious selection, and crisp epitomizing. The chapter on Christianity includes the church in the ancientLevant, a place and period easy to skimp. Each writer discusses differences within the tradition, but the tone is fair and descriptive. The treatments corne down to the present, e.g., Rabbi Schneerson, and Islamic 'revivalist movements.' It is a mark of the book's sympathetic perspective that the authors have used the 'historic present' (rather than the past) tense in retelling stories from their various scriptures, thus Signalling a certain suspension of the historicalquestion; thus also allowing the story to stand without rationalistic cavil. The other chapters are shorter, and are all written by Oxtoby. Of particular importance is one on Zoroastrianism, ranging from early Iranian religion to contemporary Parsi groups. This has long been one of Oxtoby's special interests; the chapter is proportionally very full, with much firsthand information. The chapter 'Rivals, Survivals, and Revivals' treats movements that find no easy billet in conventional classification. The ancient Mesopotamian tradition is here, as is Baha'i; so also contemporary African, and pre-ChristianNew World religions; and Wiccan and New Age movements. Many expositions are broken by sections of primary sources (such as quotations from the rabbis, from Jesus, from the Quran, highlighted separately on the page), and there are many photographs. Documentation is by in-text reference to the bibliographies. The book is printed in what I should call gray rather than black ink, with fine wide margins. (STANLEY D. WALTERS) ...