LastKing Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Since rejecting Christianty I have bin collecting books on other world religons in secret. So for I have For Islam. The Koran and two note books one about Islam and the other about women in Islam. For Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita and The Upanishads (I dont own it but I did read the Complete Idoits Guide to Hinduism and did enjoy it.) For Taoism The Tao Te Ching and The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff For Buddhism The Book of the Dead, The Dhammapada, The Teaching of the Buddha By Jack Kornfield(A pocket book) and Awkening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Dus. Others. Hagakure and The Art of War (I am not sure if that last one would count but I found it in the religon section of my book store.) So whats is in your collection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shantonu Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Why in secret? I've read the Dhammapada, the Bhaghavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching as well as a selection of the Koran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastKing Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 Why in secret? I am currently living with my stepfather who is a major ass hole when it comes to religon. When I was Christain he herassed me dailly in my own house becasue he lebal off as a fundametanist Christain (Which I was not). Then after I finaly rejected the religon he started to the same thing again about me being an atheist. (He makes it quite clear he is not sorry about it and enjoys it) So I now I cant openly explore anything becasue I am living with a control freak bigoted jerk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 A partial listing with some of the better ones... Buddhism: The Dhammapada (Gil Fronsdal) The Vimalakirti Sutra The Diamond Sutra (Red Pine) The Heart Sutra (Red Pine) The Sutra of Hui-Neng The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way - Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma A Truthful Heart- by Jeffrey Hopkins Meditation on Emptiness - Jeffrey Hopkins The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones - by Dilgo Kyentse Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism - Rebecca McClen Novick Inner Revolution - Robert Thurman What the Buddha Taught - Walpola Rahula The Wholehearted Way - Dogen Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism - Chogyam Trungpa These all by Kenchen Palden Sherab &/or Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal: Illuminating the Path Opening to our Primordial Nature Door to Inconceivable Wisdom and Compassion Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom By Thich Nhat Hahn: The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion Peace is Every Step Living Buddha Living Christ No Death, No Fear Anger Advaita Vedanta & Hinduism: The Upanishads The Bhagavad Gita (2 translations) Back to the Truth 5000 years of Advaita-Dennis Waite Vasistha's Yoga - Swami Venkatesananda Talks with Ramana Maharshi Consciousness Speaks - Ramesh Balsekar by Nisargadatta Maharaj: I Am That The Nectar of Immortality The Experience of Nothingness Prior to Consciousness The Ultimate Medicine Seeds of Consciousness Master of Self-Realization - by Siddharameshwar Maharaj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I bought a Book of Mormon at a library sale for the sake of curiosity. Have a copy of "God is not Great" and "The God Delusion". The first I never finished and the second I never cracked the binding of. It was more of a declaration of independence to buy them I think...and conversation pieces to have on the shelf... I don't like reading philosophical volumes all that much anyway. Fiction is definitely my thing. My library is nearing 300 books and will continue to grow until I'm dead. I do buy a lot of supernatural-based fiction now. Generally stuff with a lot of violence, blood, horror, and sex. Stuff that my ex would never let me read and/or I was too afraid to read when a Xian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 So I now I cant openly explore anything becasue I am living with a control freak bigoted jerk. I am so sorry to hear it. I hope things change where you can be free to explore all your interests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I have a ton of books from my Christian days, including several foreign language Bibles. I am trying to decide whether to toss them and protect others from the lies they contain, or hang on to them as reference material. I'd like the shelf space, but I'll wait a year or so to decide. Lately I've been looking at pagan sites on the Internet just to learn what they really believe as opposed to the Christian view of what they believe. I'm not really interested in pursuing it, other than to understand and maybe get a different perspective on what may be true about spirituality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Depravity Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I have a ton of books from my Christian days, including several foreign language Bibles. I am trying to decide whether to toss them and protect others from the lies they contain, or hang on to them as reference material. I'd like the shelf space, but I'll wait a year or so to decide. Lately I've been looking at pagan sites on the Internet just to learn what they really believe as opposed to the Christian view of what they believe. I'm not really interested in pursuing it, other than to understand and maybe get a different perspective on what may be true about spirituality. Never destroy book in fear of the content, that leads to worse things. I would keep said books and put them in a place on a book shelf that is not normally looked at or out of the way... Out of site, out of mind. I have started to collect religious texts myself but only have a select few Christian bibles and the Bahavad Gita. Right now I am in the middle of reading "Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam" by Michel Onfray. I believe it is a French translation and deals a lot with the philosophical side of the debate towards rationality. Good read although if you do not have an extended and confident understanding of the English language, you may find difficulty in reading this book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I have a ton of books from my Christian days, including several foreign language Bibles. I am trying to decide whether to toss them and protect others from the lies they contain, or hang on to them as reference material. I'd like the shelf space, but I'll wait a year or so to decide. Lately I've been looking at pagan sites on the Internet just to learn what they really believe as opposed to the Christian view of what they believe. I'm not really interested in pursuing it, other than to understand and maybe get a different perspective on what may be true about spirituality. Never destroy book in fear of the content, that leads to worse things. I would keep said books and put them in a place on a book shelf that is not normally looked at or out of the way... Out of site, out of mind. I have started to collect religious texts myself but only have a select few Christian bibles and the Bahavad Gita. Right now I am in the middle of reading "Atheist Manifesto: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam" by Michel Onfray. I believe it is a French translation and deals a lot with the philosophical side of the debate towards rationality. Good read although if you do not have an extended and confident understanding of the English language, you may find difficulty in reading this book. Oh, I wouldn't really destroy them, I'd sell them to get back something useful - cash. The thoughts they represent are so common in our culture now that tossing them would accomplish nothing. But we have moved several times in the past few years, and I don't want to lug them around anymore. I'll hang on to them until it looks like we might move again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueGiant Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I've got the Tao Te Ching, also. Among the pagan-related books I've collected, my favorties at the moment are by A.O. Spare and Peter Caroll, kind of the grandaddy and daddy, respectively, of Chaos Magic (or Magick if you spell it that way), insofar as it has those things. For more martial philosophy, I agree the Art of War has a lot of lessons. I'd also recommend the Book of Five Rings by Myamoto Musashi. Strangely, I found the Complete Idiot's guide to Eastern Philosophy to be a reasonable crash-course, so one could at least have a starting point to start reading up on Eastern systems. While it is by no means a thorough exploration of the topic, it helps you figure out which end is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaturalSelection Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I've got a lot of wicca/witchcraft/new age type books. I was always interested in paganism but was too scared to read anything on it when I was a christian. My daughter-in-law introduced me to these type books a few years ago. Wicca, the Solitary practicioner by Scott Cunningham is highly recommended but it puts me to sleep. I've got The Encyclopedia of 5000 spells and that one is interesting but I've never been interested in trying one. I love the book, "A Woman's Encycloped of Myths and Secrets" by Barbara Walker.....I love this book and recently I discovered that Ms Walker is an atheist; she was also interviewed on Freethought Radio. Pagans, Witchs, Druids in America....tried but can't get into it. An Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Practical Magic...beautiful book, lots of history and nice pictures. Talks about meditation and things like that too. (If I tried to meditate I'd end up thinking about that sock in the dryer like on the commercial) Tarot Made Easy....not easy for me to read....I drift off when reading it and can't focus I've read some things on divination and even got a little crystal ball....but the one time I thought I'd try it I realized there was nothing I wanted to ask; nothing I wanted to know and figured my time would be better spent watching a good movie or reading a good fictionalized book. I do like this book, "Classical Living" by Frances Bernstein, Phd because it describes how the ancient pagan Romans worshipped, lived, and what goddesses and deities were what. I did read the Egyptian Book of the Dead and often go back to that online. Once on a Christian radio program they were warning us christians not to ever read that. Now I know why....you can see how much of the bye-bull was "lifted" from that; not something they'd want the flock to see of course. I've been meaning to get some books on Buddism but haven't gotten around to it yet. That's the only religion, what little I know of it, that makes any sense at all. (about ghosts, good and evil, etc) I just really don't believe there are any gods or goddesses or CEOs in the sky. If anything, I guess I think if we really have souls then it'd be a lot like human beings, with nobody in charge and you wouldn't know anymore than you know now.....plus it wouldn't be as good as being human because you wouldn't be able to eat, drink, or anything "fleshy" that makes life enjoyable. I do enjoy the freedom to read any darn thing I want that used to be "off limits". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadouKen24 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 This is an incomplete list, and it doesn't include books I managed to read electronically or borrow from the library. Magic/Occult: Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig The Tree of Life by Israel Regardie The Middle Pillar Ritual by Israel Regardie Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter Carroll The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune Paganism: De Natura Deorum by Marcus Tullius Cicero Metamorphoses by Ovid Hammer of the Gods by Swain Wodening Beowulf (trans. Seamus Heaney) The Republic by Plato (Along with several of his dialogues... somewhere) Greek Mythology by Robert Graves The Iliad by Homer (trans. Robert Fagles) The Odyssey by Homer (trans. Robert Fagles) The Last Pagan by Adrian Murdoch The Discourses and the Enchiridion by Epictetus (trans... I forget who) The Poetic Edda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysealclubber Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I just finished 'Blue-Jean Buddha' It's a collection of essays from youngish buddhists living in N. America. It's not for serious study, but it was interesting. I also have 'The Religions of Man' and a book on Judaism. I tried reading 'The Anti-christ' once, but didn't enjoy it enough to finish it. Kind of a boring collection, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbobrob Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Not at home right now to give a list, but I have been reading a very diverse selection of world religion books for more than a decade, ever since my college roommate let me read his copy of "The Tao of Pooh". off the top of my head: God is a Verb (jewish mysticism) The Illuminati Trilogy (if you only stick to "serious" religions, you lose a lot of great mystical material) The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Tao Teh Ching, The Art of War, the Tao of Sex, The Tao of Politics, the Taoist I Ching, the Tao of Leadership..... The Jew in the Lotus (Jewish/Buddhist) The Way of the Peaceful Warrior Illusions: The Adventures of the Relunctant Messiah Koran Book of Mormon The Unvarnished New Testament Pathway to Bliss (and any other book written by Joseph Campbell....Hero of a Thousand Faces, etc) And countless books on Wicca, Magick, Aleister Crowley, Satanic Bible, Celtic Shamanism, American Indian folktales, most of the works of Neil Gaiman..... Everyone I have found nuggets of wisdom....although too many covered their nuggets in loads of crap....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage Nabooru Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Oh man, I've got a lot. I view it as essential both to my inner being and to my intellectual development/career to learn as much as possible about the spiritual and religious beliefs and practices of the ancient and modern world. Also good for my spiritual path, of course! Off-hand, I can think of...... A few by Pema Chodron The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism The New American Bible (Catholic version, since it contains the Protestant version within it - two Bibles in one!) The Glorious Qur'an A Manual of Hadith Classics of Indian Spirituality (Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads) The Egyptian Book of the Dead Buddhist Scriptures (Penguin Collection) How to Practice by the Dalai Lama The Guide to Happiness by the Dalai Lama The Tara Book (with statue) Guan Yin (with statue) Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (my favorite spiritual book ever - lifts me up just reading it) Wine of the Mystic by PY (same as above) Metaphysical Meditations by PY How You Can Talk with God by PY Shakti Mantras by Thomas Ashley-Farrand The Book of the Vedas Practical Meditation with Buddhist Principles The Tibetan Book of the Dead The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Conversations with God, Book 1, by NDW (I consider the rest of the trilogy crap) Miracles Made Possible by William Thomas Tucket Yoga Body, Buddha Mind by Cyndi Lee The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exploring God Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks What God Wants by NDW The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran I Ching The Buddhist Perspective on Compassion by Venerable Master Hsing Yun (booklet) God's Creatures Great and Small by Judith A. Bauer Tantra by Osho A Course in Miracles What Would Buddha Do? by Franz Metcalf, PH.D. The Essential Rumi The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life by Swami Janakananda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I bought a Book of Mormon at a library sale for the sake of curiosity. Have a copy of "God is not Great" and "The God Delusion". The first I never finished and the second I never cracked the binding of. It was more of a declaration of independence to buy them I think...and conversation pieces to have on the shelf... I don't like reading philosophical volumes all that much anyway. Fiction is definitely my thing. My library is nearing 300 books and will continue to grow until I'm dead. I do buy a lot of supernatural-based fiction now. Generally stuff with a lot of violence, blood, horror, and sex. Stuff that my ex would never let me read and/or I was too afraid to read when a Xian. I have around 500 fiction books. I read to relax mainly. I've read most of the The God Delusion and Godless. But mainly I stick with fiction for the fun of it. I have a ton of books from my Christian days, including several foreign language Bibles. I am trying to decide whether to toss them and protect others from the lies they contain, or hang on to them as reference material. I'd like the shelf space, but I'll wait a year or so to decide. Lately I've been looking at pagan sites on the Internet just to learn what they really believe as opposed to the Christian view of what they believe. I'm not really interested in pursuing it, other than to understand and maybe get a different perspective on what may be true about spirituality. Sounds like what I'm doing. Now that my mind is free. I enjoy reading about other beliefs in an objective light. paganism is very interesting to me, and I want to read more. I find it amusing how the xtians have "claimed" holidays that have pagan origins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Apodioxis Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hello. This is my first post at exch.net. I read the Koran and some tafsir, the Bible and many commentaries, the Book of Mormon. My favorite Scriptures are the Tao, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Korean Dojeong of Ahnsahnghong and Divine Principle of Sun Myung Moon. I'm also getting into Confucius' Analects, but sometimes he's a bit strict and formal for me. Maybe the world needs more formality; if it does, someone needs to help me with that. I read Jehovah's Witness literature (the articles on the Bible, which they have less of now), and some Mormon literature (I'm very critical about this). I rather like the Oahspe in a fictional sort of way. Adi Granth Sahib, "Scholastic Metaphysics", Eusebius, a book on yoga , the Nag Hammadi library and all the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha I can find. I read the Enuma Elish and various other Sumerian and post-sumerian (Akkadian, Babylonian, Egyptian) writings. Gilgamesh now that I realize it is more than an heroic adventure story. I have a lovely statue of Kuan Yin, and a very small one of Saraswoti (co-creator with Brahma), and another of Vishnu. There are more, but some aren't so important to me at present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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