God and Mankind: Comparative Religions

By: Robert Oden, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Oden

How do the major religions answer unanswerable questions? What can we gain from their answers? Why are we here? Will we ever discover the source of the mystery? Each of these questions raises countless more, and these eight eye-opening lectures are an ideal starting point for gaining some progress in considering them.

Professor Oden's lectures approach religious belief and ritual as possible answers to these most difficult and enduring questions, which have occupied humanity from the beginning. They underscore both the unity and the diversity of religious approaches to life in a sweeping conceptual grasp. And they treat the study of religion as both a matter of faith and as an appropriate subject of intellectual and academic pursuit. Throughout these lectures, you'll examine the four traditional views of religion; ponder the best ways to understand and compare religious beliefs; investigate the problem of the existence of evil in a world created by a benevolent deity; compare the birth narratives of several important religious figures including Moses, Jesus, and the Buddha; probe the secrets of rituals and their ramifications for the religious communities of sect and church; see how the United States is the perfect case study for learning about the religious nature of a particular society; and much more.

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

©1991 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1991 The Great Courses

Really good

I really liked and appreciated Professor Oden’s style and the content and hope to find more by him. The examples were excellent and original.

Another good one from the great courses

I really enjoyed this lecture and found it very informative, but I also would have liked to have heard a little more on some of the non Abrahamic religions. But, it is a review on “god” and mankind after all, and that’s what it was. Not the gods of mankind. Still, I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone seeking to further their understanding of religions and spirituality.

Great understanding of topic

Any additional comments?

The writer/reader has a great understanding about his subject. There were a few places where his humor came through which I enjoyed! But, isn't there always...his manner of lecturing was difficult for me because of his Uhs, and uh"s and uh's.
He knows his topic extremely well, but yet his stammering made me crazy. But that's only me. It also made me crazy in college and medical school, and I even do it at times when lecturing...but. And that's all I can say.
If none of the above bother you, then it's well worth a listen. The subject matter is right on. There are a could of terms I wasn't familiar with and am enlightened.
These courses are a great asset to Audible!

Don't hesitate. If you want to know more about this subject get the lectures. Also try Science vs Religion. Pleasantly surprised with that one!

A closed mind

This man is not neutral when it comes to comparing religions, he presents his Christian beliefs as truth & eastern religions as myths.
However I will say I learned a lot for a six hour course though the sound quality was poor compared to other great courses iv listen to.

Interesting, but a bit disparaging of peers

An hour of why "useless do" is in our language was a bit of overkill, but I learned several things from this book.

Heavy focus on Judeo-Christian tradition

A brief but well informed review of major religions. I would have appreciated more depth and equal time spent on Eastern traditions and more than just Buddhism and Hinduism.

Well presented and researched, however, and enjoyed it nonetheless.

Not Very Comparative

Well thought out and executed. But majority of the lecture is centered around Christianity. I purchased these to learn more about other religions. So this lecture left me disappointed

good but not among the best

The series of lectures by the great courses was good but it is not among the best by far. if you try this one and don't enjoy it, definitely try another as this one is under performed. I would guess it's one of the originals.

Excellent and Stimulating Course

Would you consider the audio edition of God and Mankind: Comparative Religions to be better than the print version?

I downloaded the accompanying pdf for this course and found it to be exceptionally useful. I am currently undertaking a course in Nursing Leadership and the content of this audio was very enlightening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had never heard of Gilgamesh before and the use of his character to explain the theories around 'liminal' was very enlightening.

Which character – as performed by Professor Robert Oden – was your favorite?

Understanding how the jewish faith differentiates itself from others made a lot of sense to me and helped me to understand one of the reasons they have such an exceptionally successful culture that has endured over many centuries despite significant hardships.

Any additional comments?

I found Professor Odens educational style very engaging. He made complex concepts easy to understand. My journey in the car to work has been very rich and rewarding despite sitting in traffic jams. That surely is an achievement! Thank you. This was money well spent.

Disappointing and disrespectful

I find "God and Mankind" disappointing and disrespectful. In the first chapter the author makes a joke about one religion only - Buddhism. He laughs and gets the class to laugh about how Budhas mother actions are problematic. Laughing at only one religion indicates that it is something not to be taken seriously. All other religions like Christianity and Islam did not have a joking manner linked to them. This is not something I expect from an academic who is also offering an audiobook. I have many audiobooks and have listened to many on Audible about reflection and information linked to different religions that I have enjoyed. This is the first time I have ever been incredibly disappointed. After the first chapter I stopped listening and am left wondering why this was acceptable.