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Across the World: Beliefs Recent Picks

By Joanne

This edition has an international flavour, featuring accounts and tracing histories across Asia and the Middle East, Brazil, Vanuatu and the Pacific, as well as mythologies across the world.

  • Pacific well-being : (is)lands, theologies, worldviews, edited by Jione Havea.
    With contributors drawn from Aotearoa, Fiji, Kioa, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu (but many more Pasifika voices represented), this is a key new addition which aims to influence our thinking about wellbeing. The essays are placed into three clusters: well-being of bodies and (is)lands, traditions and theologies, and imaginations and worldviews.
  • And mankind created the gods : a graphic novel adaptation of Pascal Boyer's Religion explained, by Joseph Béhé.
    Béhé, a comics professor at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin, examines religion through the lenses of cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology.
  • Fire on the island : fear, hope and a Christian revival in Vanuatu, by Tom Bratrud.
    Read more about events surrounding the startling Christian revival movement on the island of Ahamb, Vanuatu, in 2014.
  • The illustrated encyclopedia of mythology of the world : a comprehensive A to Z of the myths and legends of the ancient worlds, by Arthur Cotterrell.
    Profusely illustrated with more than 1500 photographs and works of art, this comprehensive guide to the myths and legends of the world is both interesting and informative. Mythologies extending back to ancient worlds are brought to life. Special features focus on unifying themes such as Creation and the Universe, Death and Sacrifice, and Prophecies.
  • Ritual : how seemingly senseless acts make life worth living, by Dēmētrēs Xygalatas.
    Researchers have often dismissed the concept of ritual as an oddity even while noting that every culture has its ceremonial practices, from handshakes to athletes' lucky charms to liturgies. The author observed a huge number of rituals, supplementing his findings with lab studies, and interviews with numerous participants. Xygalatas concludes, there are benefits in social cohesion, individual purpose, helping us connect, find meaning and discover who we are.
  • The Caliph and the Imam : the making of Sunnism and Shiism, by Toby Matthiesen.
    This is an authoritative account of Islam's schism that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world. Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins (after 632 CE) to the present day. His book traces how over the time Sunnism and Shiism became Islam's two main branches.
  • Maktub : an inspirational companion to The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.
    Novelist Coelho (The Pilgrimage) gathers up parables, musings, and ephemera he published in a daily column for the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo. Coelho meditates on creative and spiritual quests, the power of a disciplined mind, and how unconditional love for others “transforms the Universe around us.” "This collection of short, inspirational pieces will engage seekers of all ages and backgrounds." (book jacket).
  • Sikhs : the story of a people, their faith and culture.
    Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world with over 30 million Sikhs across the globe. The book explores the gurus, the scriptures, the philosophy, and stories and legends. A very accessible account on this faith community.