FROM OUR EDITORS

According to religion scholar Karen Armstrong, something extraordinary happened in the ninth century B.C.E. During this relatively brief period, people in four regions of the civilized world created religious and philosophical traditions that continue to nourish humanity to the present day: Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek philosophical rationalism, and monotheism in Israel. Armstrong believes that the central spiritual lessons of this Axial Age are often lost in modern interpretations of these seminal teachings.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From one of the world's leading writers on religion and the highly acclaimed author of the bestselling A History of God, The Battle for God and The Spiral Staircase, comes a major new work: a chronicle of one of the most important intellectual revolutions in world history and its relevance to our own time.

In one astonishing, short period - the ninth century BCE - the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity into the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Historians call this the Axial Age because of its central importance to humanity's spiritual development. Now, Karen Armstrong traces the rise and development of this
transformative moment in history, examining the brilliant contributions to these traditions made by such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Ezekiel.

Armstrong makes clear that despite some differences of emphasis, there was remarkable consensus among these religions and philosophies: each insisted on the primacy of compassion over hatred and violence. She illuminates what this "family" resemblance reveals about the religious impulse and quest of humankind. And she goes beyond spiritual archaeology, delving into the ways in which these Axial Age beliefs can present an instructive and thought-provoking challenge to the ways we think about and practice religion today.

A revelation of humankind's early shared imperatives, yearnings and inspired solutions - as salutary as it
is fascinating.

Excerptfrom The Great Transformation:

In our global world, we can no longer afford a parochial or exclusive vision. We must learn to live and behave as though people in remote parts of the globe were as important as ourselves. The sages of the Axial Age did not create their compassionate ethic in idyllic circumstances. Each tradition developed in societies like our own that were torn apart by violence and warfare as never before; indeed, the first catalyst of religious change was usually a visceral rejection of the aggression that the sages witnessed all around them. . . .

All the great traditions that were created at this time are in agreement about the supreme importance of charity and benevolence, and this tells us something important about our humanity.


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Having already recounted "a history of God," the redoubtable Armstrong here narrates the evolution of the religious traditions of the world from their births to their maturity. In her typical magisterial fashion, she chronicles these tales in dazzling prose with remarkable depth and judicious breadth. Taking the Axial Age, which spans roughly 900 B.C.E. to 200 B.C.E., as her focal point, Armstrong examines the ways that specific religious traditions from Buddhism and Confucianism to Taoism and Judaism responded to the various cultural forces they faced during this period. Overall, Armstrong observes, violence, political disruption and religious intolerance dominated Axial Age societies, so Axial religions responded by exalting compassion, love and justice over selfishness and hatred. Thus, the central Buddhist and Jain practice of ahimsa, doing no harm, developed in India in reaction to the self-centeredness of Hindu ritual, and Hebrew prophets such as Amos proclaimed that justice and mercy toward neighbors offered the only correct way of walking with God. Accounts of the world's religions often present them as discrete entities developing apart from each other in a vacuum. Armstrong's magnificent accomplishment offers us an account of a violent time much like ours, when religious impulses in various locations developed practices of justice and love. (Apr. 3) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This could very possibly be one of the greatest intellectual histories ever written. An intensely revealing and enlightening spiritual and philosophical history, it chronicles the Axial period (1600-220 B.C.E.) and hopes for a transfiguration of our current dangerous and violent world into one of compassion, ahimsa, and love. It may seem nearly impossible to chronicle and contrast the religions of India, China, Israel, and Greece, but Armstrong (Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World) pulls it off by weaving a careful counterpoint of commonalities inherent in this planet's religions. She points out, for example, that Ezekiel, Socrates, Confucius, and the Buddha all seem to espouse similar "spiritual technologies" in humankind's quest to allay cosmic loneliness through knowledge, empathy, and mutual concern and to enhance its understanding of the meaning of life through others' perspectives. Both liberals and conservatives in all the world's religious and political camps could benefit from the historical insights gathered in this eminently significant volume. Strongly recommended for all libraries and readers. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/05.]-Gary P. Gillum, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews