The Golden Rule: The Ethics of Reciprocity in World Religions

Description

The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This ethical dictum is a part of most of the world's religions and has been considered by numerous religious figures and philosophers over the centuries. This new collection contains specially commissioned essays which take a fresh look at this guiding principle from a comparative perspective. Participants examine the formulation and significance of the Golden Rule in the world's major religions by applying four questions to the tradition they consider: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it work? How does it matter? Freshly examining the Golden Rule in broad comparative context provides a fascinating account of its uses and meaning, and allows us to assess if, how and why it matters in human cultures and societies.

Jacob Neusner is the author or editor of over 700 books including The Incarnation of God: The Character of Divinity in Formative Judaism. Bruce Chilton, New Testament and Judaic scholar, is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. He is a co-author of The Body of Faith (Trinity), God in the World (Trinity), and Comparing Spiritualities (Trinity).

Review in Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol.25, no.2, 2010. Neusner, Chilton, and their colleagues maintain a focused discipline on opening the conversation, entering the exploration, and generating questions for further study. One exits a reading of The Golden Rule with an expansive awareness of how the golden Rule starts with and extends beyond concern for self-dignity, invites expansive application beyond local kith and kin, invokes anticipatory action over simple reactive reciprocity, and urges people toward honor of the other and unitive human care. -- Anglican Theological Review "After reading this collection, there can be little doubt that this powerful rule has had an enormous influence in shaping religious beliefs throughout the centuries and around the world. This study lends credence to the principle that religions have at their core certain overarching concepts that emphasize basic ethical teachings and that instruct believers to act morally and honorably." --Jewish Book World, Winter 2009 * Jewish Book World Quarterly Review *