"The work of religion," according to Richard Rohr, "is to open our eyes to see a world where everything swirls with meaning." There are over 4 1/2 billion adherents to the world's religions. Joseph Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, the editors of this first volume in One World's Library of Global Ethics and Religion, have gathered together 16 essays on the multiple dimensions of meaning in religion. Together, these selections offer a mix of historical understanding and comparative analysis, as well as a smorgasbord of insights into the nature of reality and the human predicament.
In "A Hindu View of Life," Julius Lipner delves into the polycentrism of this religion and its multiple centers of meaning. Joseph Runzo argues persuasively in another essay that relationality is the fundamental ground of morality, religion, and meaning. In "Life Force in Jainism and Yoga," Christopher Key Chapple explores the theme of respect for life as an essential one for the twenty-first century. The last three essays by Huston Smith, John Hick, and Sallie McFague find in the world's religions a deep well of wisdom offering hope, intentionality, and value to life.