This response paper aims to explore and discuss Christianity readings: The World’s Religions by Huston Smith and Mary Pat Fischer Living Religions: Western Traditions. Although the two works have a different scope of content – one encompasses the religions of the entire world concerning contemporary values, and the other focuses on western traditions – both of them dedicate significant parts to the study and analysis of Christianity in the modern world.
In his book The World’s Religions, Huston Smith looks at the traditions of Christianity in the context of the contemporary world, its principles, and values. Although the description of Christianity is selective, it is performed in a very comprehensive and eloquent manner focusing on the points relevant and important in the world of nowadays.
The author contemplates the principles, prospects, and contributions into the history of the world’s largest faith. His interpretation of the shared faith in Christianity before it separated into Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Churches is considered to be a very advanced and modern interpretation of this period of Christianity.
Not all of the statements made by Smith, however, could be regarded as a progressive point of view. His work implies that the future of Christianity – and any religion – is dependent upon taming the science and controlling its progress (Cousineau, 2003).
Additionally, Smith also acts as an opponent of the evangelical churches for their interpretation of the Bible and involvement in politics.
Finally, his religious views combine both liberal attitude to the Bible and other religions and quite an orthodox opinion that Jesus Christ was “fully God and fully man”.
In her book “Living Religions: Western Traditions”, Mary Pat Fisher also devotes a substantial part to the aspects of Christianity, its origins, central teaching, and practices in the context of the Western world. These issues are discussed concerning common experiences of human existence: love, evil, compassion, wisdom, death, etc.
The work is based on the understanding of the doctrines of the largest religions of the world, including Christianity. Additionally, Mary Pat Fisher focuses on how the religions and their doctrines intertwine in contemporary Western society, and how they were influenced by the non-religious world, pop culture, and scientific progress.
The author highlights that although the general belief is that the popularity of Christian religion is now decreasing, the future of today’s Western society still depends and in many ways is predetermined by the development and progress of the Christian religion.
Overall, both authors are faithful Christian believers and their beliefs find their reflection in their works. Although both concentrate on a variety of religions other than Christianity, it is the highlight of both works, although the work of Huston Smith concentrates on general concepts of the doctrine and the history of Christianity, while Mary Pat Fisher focused her research on the peculiarities of the Western traditions and religious developments.
References
Cousineau, Phil, ed. The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
Wilson, Brian. Christianity. London: Routledge, 1999.