Sacred Texts of the World (The Great Courses #6160) by Professor Grant Hardy

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.

I am impressed - soooo impressed - with Professor Grant Hardy's lectures on Sacred Texts of the World. It's one of Audible's The Great Courses and it is fascinating! It covers ancient texts as well as modern, and everything in between.

Why am I so impressed? Because he gives us 36 faith specific chapters worth of lectures (each about 30 minutes long) and even though he can't possibly have lived each of these religions, he shares informed, impartial, compassionate insights. He talks about the text's level of importance to each faith, and not once did he mock, make light, snicker, or disrespect those that he might disagree with. Nor could I even tell if he disagreed with any of them!

Sacred Texts of the World has easily become one of my favorite of The Great Courses.

The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Narrator)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is absolutely brilliant narrating this set of lectures in Audible's The Great Courses series. His excitement for these unsolved mysteries is apparent and that made me even more fascinated by what I was learning. It was nice to be able listen to a single lecture, then not have to recap when I started listening again because these lectures are topic-unrelated to each other.

Overall, my favorite part of The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries, is getting the behind the scenes scoop on how some of our greatest discoveries were made, and why some of our most thought provoking questions remain unanswered.

This is a must listen for anyone who finds themselves looking at the world around them and wondering...

Blurb...

Everything we now know about the universe - from the behavior of quarks to the birth of galaxies - has come from people who've been willing to ponder the unanswerable. And with the advent of modern science, great minds have turned to testing and experimentation rather than mere thought as a way of grappling with some of the universe's most vexing dilemmas.

So what is our latest picture of some of the most inexplicable features of the universe? What still remains to be uncovered and explored by today's scientists?

"We know a lot about the universe. But there's even more that we don't know," says astrophysicist and professor Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, an award-winning lecturer, and one of the world's foremost experts on the secrets of the universe. This course, which has been honored with a 2013 Telly Award for Outstanding Educational Program, features six self-contained lectures that transport you on a marvelous journey to the frontiers of the known (and unknown) universe and introduce you to tantalizing questions being addressed by the world's top scientists. Engaging and fascinating, this lecture series is a wonderful entrée to scientific pursuits that lie at the very heart of the history and nature of our universe.

Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.