MARC Record from marc_columbia

LEADER: 03172pam a22003974a 4500
001 6324251
005 20221122022827.0
008 071023t20072007nyuab b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2007018576
019 $a170057365
020 $a9780061173899
020 $a0061173894
024 8 $aR2-669611
035 $a(OCoLC)OCN124162844
035 $a(OCoLC)124162844$z(OCoLC)170057365
035 $a(NNC)6324251
035 $a6324251
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dBAKER$dBTCTA$dC#P$dOrLoB-B
050 00 $aBL80.3$b.S73 2007
082 00 $a200$222
100 1 $aStark, Rodney.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79003359
245 10 $aDiscovering God :$bthe origins of the great religions and the evolution of belief /$cRodney Stark.
250 $a1st ed.
260 $aNew York :$bHarperOne,$c[2007], ©2007.
300 $aviii, 484 pages :$billustrations, maps ;$c24 cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [447]-471) and index.
505 00 $tIntroduction: Revelation and Cultural Evolution -- $g1.$tGods in Primitive Societies -- $g2.$tTemple Religions of Ancient Civilizations -- $g3.$tRome: An Ancient Religious Marketplace -- $g4.$tThe "Rebirth" of Monotheism -- $g5.$tIndian Inspirations -- $g6.$tChinese Gods and "Godless" Faiths -- $g7.$tThe Rise of Christianity -- $g8.$tIslam: God and State -- $tConclusion: Discovering God? -- $tAncient Religious History Timeline.
520 1 $a"Discovering God is a monumental history of the origins of the great religions from the Stone Age to the Modern Age. Sociologist Rodney Stark surveys the birth and growth of religions around the world - from the prehistoric era of primal beliefs; the history of the pyramids found in Iraq, Egypt, Mexico, and Cambodia; and the great "Axial Age" of Plato, Zoroaster, Confucius, and the Buddha, to the modern Christian missions and the global spread of Islam. He argues for a free-market theory of religion and for the controversial thesis that under the best, unimpeded conditions, the true, most authentic religions will survive and thrive." "Most people believe in the existence of God (or Gods), and this has apparently been so throughout human history. Many modern biologists and psychologists reject these spiritual ideas, especially those about the existence of God, as delusional. They claim that religion is a primitive survival mechanism that should have been discarded as humans evolved beyond the stage where belief in God served any useful purpose - that in modern societies, faith is a misleading crutch and an impediment to reason. In Discovering God, award-winning sociologist Rodney Stark responds to this position, arguing that it is our capacity to understand God that has evolved - that humans now know much more about God than they did in ancient times."--BOOK JACKET.
650 0 $aReligions.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85112599
856 41 $3Table of contents only$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0717/2007018576.html
852 00 $buts$hBL80.3$i.S73 2007
852 0 $bsho
852 00 $bglx$hBL80.3$i.S73 2007
852 00 $bbar$hBL80.3$i.S73 2007