Sacred Texts of the World

By: Grant Hardy, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Grant Hardy

Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

With few exceptions, the world's religions are anchored in their sacred texts-core writings that express the ideals and vision of the faiths, forming a basis for belief and action. Humanity's library of sacred writings is a huge canon that includes many of the most influential books ever written. In addition to the Hebrew and Christian bibles and the Quran of Islam, major sacred writings include the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Sutras, Daoism's Daodejing, and the Analects of Confucius, as well as the beloved texts of religions such as Zoroastrianism and Jainism, and modern faiths such as Baha'i.

These are texts that people live by and, at times, are willing to die for.

In these 36 lectures, Professor Hardy takes you deeply into the body of sacred writings that have played a fundamental role in human culture and history. Discussing a broad range of texts, the course examines the scriptures of seven major religions, as well as nine lesser known or smaller faiths, including texts from the ancient Egyptian and Mayan societies. In addition to studying the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds, you'll discover religious texts from vastly differing cultures around the world.

These richly insightful lectures highlight a global legacy of faith, thought, and spirituality.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Great Courses (P)2014 The Teaching Company, LLC

Best Great Lecture Course So Far

Hardy’s knowledge of the texts and the history and traditions surrounding them is impressive, but what makes this course so enjoyable is Hardy’s infectious enthusiasm for the subject. He is the kind of teacher that effortlessly inspires his students because he is so sincere. In every lecture, he shares his favorite quotes or stories from a particular text, or how it affected him in some way. In one poignant anecdote, he relates how an essay on the book of Ruth convinced him and his wife to adopt a baby. In all my years in academia, I have never heard a professor share something so moving and personal. In the audio, you can hear him choking up as he talks about it.

Hardy has the greatest respect for the texts and the religions they belong to. As a scholar, he examines them critically, but unlike many modern academics, he does not ruthlessly deconstruct, demythologize, or discredit them; nor does he attempt to disabuse those who believe in them. Sadly, that is a rarity these days. He reminds me of my medieval studies professor from grad school, and I wish there were more professors like them. After taking this course, I not only want to read or reread all of the texts he lectured on (a library worth of books – LOL), but to read his books and listen to his other Great Courses series. And I will be listening to this again – it’s too rich to take in all at once.

Each lecture is a good balance of general and specific information so that they seem comprehensive without being overwhelming. By the end, you feel you can talk intelligently about the texts covered, even though you’ve only learned a little about them. For those who are interested in learning more, Grant provides ample recommendations for reading and research.

Without a doubt one of the best introductory college courses I’ve ever taken. I would love to attend it in person.

Engaging, informative and well delivered

This series is one of the most engaging of the Great Courses that I have listened to to date. And that's no mean feat - GC are good quality but I feel this one surpasses previous courses.

The lectures cover great ground in short time, so kudos to GC for finding a comprehensive series of lectures that get to the point, and include the most important details.

By far the most outstanding element is Professor Hardy's delivery and obvious deep passion and expertise. He reports at the end just how many sacred texts he actually read in entirety and frankly I am not surprised.

I will likely listen to this again - something I have done only once with the many GC's I have downloaded.

Primer for understanding

Approaching the foundational beliefs of the varied cultures of the world is a great exercise in coming to understand the perspectives of the world. Prof. Hardy does a great job in creating a journey through many of the texts that serve as these beliefs and guiding the reader through the basic contents and avenues for further personal exploration as well as providing philosophical discussion on the implication of these types of texts in modern settings.

Great Introduction to Many World Religions

I started this lecture series as an interested layman who wanted to learn more about the belief structure of the many different world religions that I was not familiar with in the western world. I had the very stereotypical thought process that religions were dictated by their sacred texts. Oh boy, was that wrong. Professor Hardy did a stellar job with breaking me of that stereotype without leaving me feeling left behind.

Very Nurturing

This course fed my mind and soul in many different ways. Thank you for sharing

To understand is better than ignorance

I loved this lecture. it was interesting to learn about other religions and to know more about my own.

Amazing Course on Important Texts

Whether you are Religious or not, sacred texts are very definitives in their affects in the world. While horrible things have been done in religions name, there have been many great things done too. Reading the texts of these and other religions provide insight into the people and why they act the way they do. Sacred Texts are interesting to read and these lectures discuss what some say, what the mean, and what they can mean to the general population.
He covers portions of major Sacred Texts and then covers smaller texts between the major sects. Obviously there is to much to cover but I thought Professor Hardy covered them will and prescribes vital sections of different texts to read so that you can get a first hand account of the texts.
I have only read a hand full of Sacred Texts but this one made me want to go get a copy of the Dao De King and other texts. This one is well worth your time.

Loved it

Much better than I thought it was going to be. very informative. loved it. thanks

very good overview.

honestly, my only complaint is how long the Instructor pauses. I listen at 2x and several times I thought the recording stopped.

Comprehensive and Insightful

My father is from Arsoun, Lebanon. That meant he took an education in world religion seriously - a parental responsibility. “If you have read the book, you won’t fall prey to nonsense.” Can hear him now. Grateful he never saw the words “Lebanese Terrorists” on a television screen. As Maronite Catholics are almost the original conscientious objectors, that misunderstanding would have hurt his soul. I still have my textbooks from those lessons. My father would have considered Dr. Hardy’s lectures foundational - a syllabus already completed for him. This course is excellent. And, this content is powerfully necessary now.