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Forgotten Truth: The Common Vision of the World's Religions

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As Huston Smith writes in his introduction to this valuable work, it was some twenty years after he wrote _The World's Religions_ (originally entitled _The Religions of Man_) that he came to understand the "core" worldview common to all religions. That was in 1972, when this book was first published.

It is that "core" view which he presents here. Essentially it is this: there are "levels of being" such that the more real is also the more valuable; these levels appear in both the "external" and the "internal" worlds, "higher" levels of reality without corresponding to "deeper" levels of reality within. On the very lowest level is the material/physical world, which depends for its existence on the higher levels. On the very highest/deepest level is the Infinite or Absolute -- that is, God.

Basically this volume is an attempt to recover this view of reality from materialism, scientism, and "postmodernism." It does not attempt to adjudicate among religions (or philosophies), it does not spell out any of the important _differences_ between world faiths, and it is not intended to substitute a "new" religion for the specific faiths which already exist.

Nor should any such project be expected from a work that expressly focuses on what religions have in common. Far from showing that all religions are somehow "the same," Smith in fact shows that religions have a "common" core only at a sufficiently general level. What he shows, therefore, is not that there is really just one religion, but that the various religions of the world are actually agreeing _and_ disagreeing about something real, something about which there is an objective matter of fact, on the fundamentals of which most religions tend to concur while differing in numerous points of detail (including practice).

Of course any two religions therefore have much more in common than any single religion has with "materialism". In fact one way to state the "common core" of the world's religions is simply to say that they agree about the falsehood of "materialism."

The volume stands well enough in its own right, of course, but it also makes an excellent companion to _The World's Religions_. (And if you are looking for an introductory overview of what the great world religions believe and teach, that other work is highly recommended.)

It also contains a critique of Darwinism which, as Smith notes in his introduction, has since found some gratifying confirmation in the writings of others. Smith, writing in 1991, mentions Phillip Johnson's _Darwin On Trial_; since that time a number of other critiques have been published, including a few more by Johnson.

The reader of this book might therefore also wish to look into Johnson's books as well as some or all of the following: Lee Spetner's _Not By Chance!_, Michael Denton's _Evolution: A Theory in Crisis_ and _Nature's Destiny_, William Dembski's _Intelligent Design_ and _The Design Inference_, and Michael Behe's _Darwin's Black Box_. (On the "pro" side, one of the best positive accounts of Darwinian evolutionary theory is still John Maynard Smith's _The Theory of Evolution_.)

This is a great little book for people that are searching for meaning in a modern world. It looks at the common core of the world's wisdom traditions in a very thoughtful and sometimes even poetic way. It is not really a comprehensive, academic exploration of the world's wisdom traditions, but rather a summary with personal reflections from a man who studied religions all of his life.

The power of this little book is revealed in the language that the author uses to express his points so beautifully. It sheds light on the interiority of the universe in a way that the average person can relate to. In other words, it's not written like a philosophical treatise.

There are some criticisms below that indicate that this book is dated. There is some truth to that if what you are looking for is the most up-to-date, factual and well-referenced book on the subject. However, if you are new to this area, you will find an enjoyable, educational, fascinating and thought provoking journey into the very heart of the world's religions.

Because of the nature of the subject matter, Huston Smith is sharing a lot of his own personal viewpoints. However, as someone who has been exploring this territory for his entire 80+ year life with a best seller on world religions under his belt, he is a quite a credible tour guide in this subject. That is not to say there aren't shortcomings to the book, but he writes from his heart and years of experience, which to me is well worth listening to.

I like Huston Smith's reflections on the shortcomings of science and I think most people will find them good food for thought. Science holds such a place of prominence in our culture that alternatives to the modern and post-modern worldviews are not often entertained. This book certainly raises the right questions in the area, but some of the criticism about not touching on quantum physics, living system theory, etc. is warranted. This would have given the book more punch in these chapters.

I still give Huston Smith a 5 for his power to use words that touch the heart and provoke responses from people's depths. It is very difficult to write a book that is all things to all people, but for its length, this is a wonderful read and introduction to the perrenial philosophy.

Huston Smith doesn't seem like the type to write a subversive book. A highly respected academic and scholar of religion, Smith comes off, in his other works, as the soul of moderation (and by all accounts, he is). Here we see a different side of Dr. Smith, however- for 167 all-too-brief pages, he takes the gloves off.

In "Forgotten Truth", Smith goes on the warpath. His target? All the "sacred cows" of modernity. Neo-Darwinism? Smash. Materialist ontology? Bash. Progress? Crash. In their place, Smith creates a syncretic view of spiritual realities throughout history, and their basic structure- the psychic plane of the shamanistic "spirit world", the celestial realm of angels and archetypes, all the way up to absolute spirit- the Godhead, Sunyata, Brahma. Contesting modernity's "reign of quantity", Smith insists on the superiority of hierarchies of quality.

Smith isn't always entirely convincing, but he does present a daring critique of materialism and neo-darwinism. The appendix, on Stan Grof's LSD research, is also a worthwhile addition.

The second semester of my senior year @ Villanova University; I was blessed to have Professor Emeritus Huston Smith for an honor's class: Philosophy and Religion. This book was one of the texts that we read and discussed. It helped me put my Catholic upbringing in perspective and further understand the age old calling of deep unto deep. As above so below. Microcosm mirrors Macrocosm. Ten years later I am learning these same truths over and over again on a daily basis. Thank you Huston Smith.

This book clearly explains how the many divergent religious traditions are indeed referring to the same ultimate reality. If there is an infinite being, then it can be described in infinite ways. If there is an infinite being, then there is nowhere else for another infinite being to exist. This book is an extremely cogent argument for pluralism.

if you are lloking for an introduction to world religions, look further; His book "religions of Man" is the "intro" the atlanta review would want. this is far more involved and is even better for you if you have a general idea of the religions involved. Fabulous, have purchased it for friends. Pay attention to the authors who are footnoted so extensively (Guenon, Coomaraswamy, schuon, Burckhardt).

Huston Smith probes deep into the ideas that underlie all religion. He does not solely restrict himself to the 'major' religions, but rather examines the frame work, the ideas on which all religion and spirituality rest. He even allows himself to delve into science as he ventures to show how some recent (when the book was written) scientific evidence only furthers the case that there is 'Something' else to this universe than our simple existence. The questions that he seeks to answer through the frameowrk he develops in the early chapters, and in my opinion answers as well as any human can, are: Who is 'God'; Who are 'we'; What is our relationship with 'God'; And what does this relationship imply for our earthly life.
This book is not written for the beginner, but if you are bold enough to take it on it will bring your understanding of religion to an entirely new level.

This book surprised me. I expected a seasoned synthesis of the world's religions from one of the foremost experts in that field. I hoped that Smith might make a persuasive presentation of the foundation upon which they all were founded. Instead, this book more closely approximates a polemic against the Western scientific perspective.

Chapter one denounces science as merely quantitative, and therefore unable to speak to the qualitative concerns of religion and humanity. Science is concerned with objectivity, predictability, control and number. Religion with values, purpose, meanings and quality. Science corrupted becomes scientism, the reduction of all reality to the material.

In chapters two and three Smith begins to present his alternative. Reading more like a personal ideology than a research synthesis, he amends the ancient two-story universe (natural and supernatural) by adding an inner level (psychic or psychological) and by splitting the supernatural into celestial and infinite levels. This four-story, hierarchical model of reality is Smith's personal explanation of the construct underlying all world religions, but those looking for documentation to support his view will be disappointed. Smith does jazz up his perspective by allusion to quantum physics, but this material is quite dated (originally published in 1976).

Chapter four is the longest chapter in the book. In it Smith likens his four-story model to levels of selfhood: body, mind, soul and spirit. Inexplicably, he spends eleven pages arguing that the mind is not equivalent to the brain. The inclusion of an appendix on Stanislav Grof's experiments with LSD is a strange way of supporting Smith's views.

Chapters five and six return to his critique of science. The first focusing on his view that science, in its proper place, supports the "common vision" of religion. Essentially, this common vision is the assertion that "things are not as they seem." Tables appear solid, but quantum physics says they are largely composed of space. In the second Smith rejects evolutionary progress. He claims that the evidence for evolution would not be persuasive for science were it not for the predisposition for material, rather than transcendent, explanations. He also argues that there has been no human progress. His preference for the hunter/gatherer, as opposed to technological man, seems romantic, if not absurd.

Smith presents his personal interpretation of the "common vision" of world religions as a top-down explanation for reality. Human conceptualizations for the ideal and infinite are essential, in his view, to understanding all aspects of human existence. Western science takes a bottom-up approach, with hypothetical constructs resting upon material facts. Smith's view is really quite simple - science will never penetrate the infinite by working with the finite.

Unless you are looking for insight into the personal beliefs of Huston Smith, I do not recommend this book.

While Forgotten Truth may be a highly personal reflection on the world's reliigons by a man who may know more about them than anybody else alive, it still touches on themes that can be found, if not specifically, then at least generally in historical world religions. The book reflects Smith's specific philosophical interests, as its main thesis is based on the old Greek idea of a chain of being stretching from matter to spirit, but this framework can at least approximate the viewpoints of other religions and religious philosophies the world over.

While the book decries the perceived elevation of science to a standard of values and ultimately the only legitimate way to acquire knowledge about reality, it has a genuinely positive view of science as a way to gain knowledge about the material world and a glimpse of that which is "beyond the material." At the same time, I worry that Smith has too much faith in the research of psychedelics to back up the formulations of the primordial tradition. Even in the 1970's this faith was unwarranted.

Overall, I appreciate that Smith has offered us a glimpse into his personal philosophy and that he argues that traditional religious worldviews have a more integral, fluid, and trans-historical vision of reality than the modern worldviews with their basis in notions of historical progress, the hope offered by advancements in science and technology, and the pervasive attitude that the physical universe and life on this earth are the only reality that we will ever know, even if Smith's argument sounds highly Neoplatonic and so non-universal at times.

Therefore I recommend this book, even though I am not sure it really uncovers the common vision of the world's religions as much as it interprets these religions in light of a Western, highly Platonic worldview. Still, it is a commendable presentation of the primordial tradition.

If one is wishing for a list of comparative shared beliefs, especially those at the surface, or simple dogmatic ideas among the current world's religions, this book will not live up to their expectations. However, it does something quite well that Doctor Smith has been arguing for years; why science and religion cannot explain one another, with the profound and timely explanation that when attempted, this will corrupt not only science, but religion as well.

It is important to understand that Doctor Smith has taught for years at MIT. Therefore, the audience of most concern is that of the scientific community and its' extremist self-congratulatory idea of some that science is the only answer, other tools of contemplation are not only unnecessary, but irrelevant. The problem of extreme "Scientific" incursion into religion, with the formers' necessary concern only with the quantitative methods and the latter with qualitative, can only result with science corrupted to the point of becoming a religion itself. What is strongly implied, but not addressed as much (and which is a serious problem that is getting worse) is the problem of self descried "Christians" so-called "religious" incursion into science, with disastrous results.

Because of Smith's years at MIT, dealing with what is essentially the corruption of science into the religion of scientism, the opposite problem is not thoroughly examined, nor seen as dangerous a situation. At that time this may not have alarmed Doctor Smith; however, the rise of a Neo-Christian Nationalism with the unscientific belief that science can "prove" the error of evolution, with the alternative of "Creationism" or its updated denotation of "Intelligent Design", has resulted in the fact of thousands if not millions of young adults and school-aged children, not being taught true science; in fact, taught science without any explanation of its actual definition, the use and process of the Scientific Method.

Wi scientists such as Dawkins, with his "Scientism" book, The God Delusion do contribute in making the problem worse, the divisive fundamentalist vow that one cannot be a Christian and "Believe" the evolutionary process, together with the egregious disruption of the United States public education, seems much more serious.

Doctor Smith explains the problem of science and religious potential, and actual destruction so that we can understand that this knowledge is essential in any question, examination, etc. of either of the two.

The examination of the core principles of all religions must go quite deep and is not for one seeking an easy explanation. Refreshingly, Dr. Smith grants us the respect of allowing that each of use wish to delve not into superficial dogma, but to ideas that require much understanding and thought on the notion of faith. Although the book is quite thin, one (at least one such as myself) will find that much time will be used by the contemplation of faith in ways in which we may not be previously familiar. Thus, a short book, becomes a time-consuming, but rewarding read.