Diet For Transcendence: Vegetarianism and the World Religions [Paperback]

Steven Rosen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

"Steven Rosen takes us on a fascinating journey back in time to explore the essential and often misunderstood roots of the world's major religious traditions, to discover how vegetarianism was a cherished part of their philosophy and practice." Nathaniel Altman, Author, Animal Liberation

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

For the past 25 years, Steven Rosen has been both a devout vegetarian and an eloquent advocate of the vegetarian ideal. His articles and books have appeared in several languages and he is a frequent contributor to such publications as Vegetarian Times, The Minaret and Back to Godhead. Steve is a freelance writer and author of 11 books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Torchlight Publishing; Revised edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887089055
• ISBN-13: 978-1887089050
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I agree with premise, but some faulty research, August 20, 2001

By 

Paul Doland (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diet For Transcendence: Vegetarianism and the World Religions (Paperback)

Several years ago, I read the original version, when it was titled _Food for the Spirit_. I recently picked up this, the current version. There is a new transcript of a radio interview with the auther. Not much else seems different. Possibly some small revisions were made elsewhere in the book, but it is not a substantal revision. I had hoped that the author would have revised more of the material.

Basically, I agree with the premise, that modern treatment of animals cannot be justified by any system of morality. Unfortunatly, some of the author's research was faulty. He relies too much on extra-biblical works of very questionable validity. For Christianity, the author spends an inordinate amount of time discussing "The Gospel of the Holy Twelve" which has about zero evidence for its being genuine. To someone who is not already convinced to be in favor of vegetarianism would suspect that if the author needs to spend so much time on disreputable sources then he can't have a very good case.

Likewise, for Buddhism, much of the pro-vegetarian sutra is not considered to be genuine.

A better tact for the author to have taken might have been to address more how modern inventions such as the factory farm are far different than historical animal husbandry. For Christians, I'd recommend _Is God a Vegetarian?_ The author of that book concludes that Jesus was NOT vegetarian, but Jesus didn't live today either.

For Jews, I'd recommend, _Judaism and Vegetarianism_. Both of these are available here at amazon.com.

Don't get me wrong, there is some good stuff here. But it seems that in an effort to prove his point, the author did not always use due-diligence to verify all the information, and as such weakens his case substantially.

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendental diet, June 25, 2011

By 

Daniel Swanson (Tulsa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Food for the spirit: Vegetarianism and the world religions (Hardcover)

What a fascinating book! Highly recommend for anyone who wants to educate themselves on diet from a religious point of view.

4.0 out of 5 stars Glad the author took the time to write this...., August 29, 2009

By 

George L. Ray (Cape Fear, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diet For Transcendence: Vegetarianism and the World Religions (Paperback)

I feel that important points are made by the author. The sources are not all mainstream accepted texts but it seems that he groups and qualifies the sources so the reader can add his/her own 'pinch of salt' where needed. It will be an important reference for me for some time to come.