Projects

A comparative world history of religion, philosophy, and science. Organized by thematic chapters such as the nature of reality or the purpose of life, according to each belief/thought system. The unique aspects of this work are in the broad inclusiveness of traditions and thought systems covered, and in the fine-grained focus on the often significantly different beliefs of sub-traditions. For example, rather than compare “Christianity” against “Buddhism” in regards to beliefs on the afterlife, I compare medieval Catholic Christian beliefs on purgatory with Pure Land Buddhist beliefs on pre-nirvana higher worlds of rebirth, then compare those with Mormon (Latter Day Saints) beliefs in afterlife Spirit Prison. I gather numerous such specific comparisons, teasing out their differences and similarities, until I build up a category of a type of belief: in this instance, the belief in an afterlife world of preparation and perfecting before the ultimate goal of heaven/nirvana/paradise is reached. A similar strategy of comparison is used throughout the book’s thematic chapters. See the Human Believing page for more details (under construction).