Presenting scripture readings in the context of their usage within the major religious traditions themselves and taking account of recent scholarship on the role of scriptures in religion, this anthology allows students to encounter world religions in a direct and meaningful way. ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES is a collection of the most notable and instructive scriptures of the major living religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Also included are the most important scriptures of the new religious movements: Baha'i, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Christian Science Church, the Unification Church, and the Church of Scientology. Supported by introductions to the readings by the editor, this anthology provides the most comprehensive and pedagogically sound access to the sacred literature of the world available in a single volume.
Ordained as a minister in the Reformed Church in America, Robert Van Voorst was the pastor of Rochester Reformed Church in Accord, New York, while he pursued doctoral study in religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1989 he became a professor of religion at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania. In 1997 he was a visiting professor in the University of Oxford, where he researched and lectured on the relationship of early Christianity and Judaism.
Now a professor at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, Dr. Van Voorst researches and teaches primarily in the New Testament, and secondarily on world religions. He writes frequently in a variety of scholarly journals and contributes articles to leading reference works. In 2012, he will be featured in a Discovery Channel documentary on Jesus. He is the author or co-author of eleven books, including textbooks in religious studies drawing on his teaching experience.
His "Anthology of World Scriptures," soon to go into its eighth edition, is the most widely-used anthology in religious studies classes in the United States. One of his research monographs, "Jesus Outside the New Testament," examines traditions about Jesus from pagan, Jewish, and Christian documents before and after the New Testament and has been published in Italian. His "Reading the New Testament Today" textbook has been published in Chinese, where it will be used in Chinese universities that have newly-founded programs in religious studies. He recently authored a new college and university textbook introducing world religions with the 4LTR Press imprint of Cengage Learning, entitled "RELG: World."
Dr. Van Voorst is a member of the Tyndale Fellowship, an international association of researchers based in Cambridge, England. He has been named for more than fifteen years to "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who in the World" (both Marquis publications) for his contributions to the field of religious studies and to the Christian ministry.
