LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,MUNICH, AND DELHIDK LONDONSENIOR EDITORSGareth Jones, Georgina PalffyPROJECT ART EDITORKatie CavanaghUS SENIOR EDITORRebecca WarrenUS EDITORKate JohnsenJACKET DESIGNERLaura BrimJACKET EDITORManisha MajithiaJACKET DESIGNDEVELOPMENT MANAGERSophia MTTMANAGING ART EDITORLee GriffithsMANAGING EDITORStephanie FarrowILLUSTRATIONSJames GrahamPRODUCTION EDITORLucy SimsPRODUCTION CONTROLLERMandy Innessoriginal styling bySTUDIO8 DESIGNproduced for DK byCOBALT IDART EDITORSDarren Bland, Paul ReidEDITORSLouise Abbott, Diana Loxley,Alison Sturgeon, Sarah Tomley,Marek WalisiewiczDK DELHIMANAGING EDITORPakshalika JayaprakashSENIOR EDITORMonica SaigalEDITORTanya DesaiMANAGING ART EDITORArunesh TalapatraSENIOR ART EDITORAnis SayyedART EDITORNeha WahiASSISTANT ART EDITORSAstha Singh, Namita Bansal,Gazal Roongta, Ankita MukherjeePICTURE RESEARCHERSurya Sankash SarangiDTP MANAGER/CTSBalwant SinghDTP DESIGNERSBimlesh Tiwary, Rajesh SinghFirst American Edition, 2013Published in the United States byDK Publishing375 Hudson StreetNew York, New York 1001411 12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1001 - 192329 - Aug/2013Copyright © 2013Dorling Kindersley LimitedAll rights reservedWithout limiting the rights under copyrightreserved above, no part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in or introducedinto a retrieval system, or transmitted, in anyform, or by any means (electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording,or otherwise), without the prior writtenpermission of both the copyright ownerand the above publisher of this book.Published in Great Britain byDorling Kindersley Limited.A catalog record for this book isavailable from the Library of Congress.ISBN: 978-1-4654-0843-3Printed and bound in Hong Kongby Hung HingDiscover more atwww.dk.com SHULAMIT AMBALURabbi Shulamit Ambalu MA studied at Leo Baeck College, London,where she was ordained in 2004 and now lectures in Pastoral Careand Rabbinic Literature.MICHAEL COOGANOne of the leading biblical scholars in the United States, MichaelCoogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard SemiticMuseum and Lecturer on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible atHarvard Divinity School. Among his many works are The OldTestament: A Historical and Literary Introduction and TheIllustrated Guide to World Religions.EVE LEVAVI FEINSTEINDr. Eve Levavi Feinstein is a writer, editor, and tutor in Palo Alto,California. She holds a PhD on the Hebrew Bible from HarvardUniversity, and is the author of Sexual Pollution in the Hebrew Bibleas well as articles for Jewish Ideas Daily and other publications.PAUL FREEDMANRabbi Paul Freedman studied Physics at Bristol University andEducation at Cambridge. Following a career in teaching, he gainedrabbinic ordination and an MA in Hebrew and Jewish studies atLeo Baeck College, London.NEIL PHILIPNeil Philip is the author of numerous books on mythology andfolklore, including the Dorling Kindersley Companion Guide toMythology (with Philip Wilkinson), The Great Mystery: Mythsof Native America, and the Penguin Book of English Folktales.Dr. Philip studied at the universities of Oxford and London,and is currently an independent writer and scholar.ANDREW STOBARTThe Rev. Dr. Andrew Stobart is a Methodist minister. He studiedChristian theology to the doctoral level at the London School ofTheology and Durham and Aberdeen universities, and has taughtand written in the areas of theology, church history, and the Bible,contributing to Dorling Kindersley’s The Illustrated Bible.MEL THOMPSONDr. Mel Thompson BD, M.Phil, PhD, AKC was formerly a teacher,lecturer, and examiner in Religious Studies, and now writes onphilosophy, religion, and ethics. Author of more than 30 books,including Understand Eastern Philosophy, he blogs on issues ofreligious belief, and runs the “Philosophy and Ethics” website atwww.philosophyandethics.com.CHARLES TIESZENDr. Charles Tieszen completed his doctorate at the University ofBirmingham, where he focused on medieval encounters betweenMuslims and Christians. He is currently a researcher and adjunctprofessor of Islamic studies, specializing in topics related to Islam,Christian–Muslim relations, and religious freedom.MARCUS WEEKSA writer and musician, Marcus Weeks studied philosophyand worked as a teacher before embarking on a career as anauthor. He has contributed to many books on the arts, popularsciences, and ideas, including the Dorling Kindersley titleThe Philosophy Book.CONTRIBUTORS 10 INTRODUCTIONPRIMAL BELIEFSFROM PREHISTORY20 Unseen forces are at workMaking sense of the world24 Even a rock has a spiritAnimism in early societies26 Special people can visitother worldsThe power of the shaman32 Why are we here?Created for a purpose33 Why do we die?The origin of death34 Eternity is nowThe Dreaming60 The triumph of good overevil depends on humankindThe battle between goodand evil66 Accept the way ofthe universeAligning the self with the dao68 The Five Great VowsSelf-denial leads tospiritual liberation72 Virtue is not sentfrom heavenWisdom lies with thesuperior man78 A divine child is bornThe assimilation of myth79 The oracles reveal thewill of the godsDivining the future80 The gods are just like usBeliefs that mirror society82 Ritual links us to our pastLiving the Way of the Gods86 The gods will dieThe end of the world as weknow it36 Our ancestors willguide usThe spirits of the dead live on38 We should be goodLiving in harmony39 Everything is connectedA lifelong bond with the gods40 The gods desire bloodSacrifice and bloodofferings46 We can build asacred spaceSymbolism made real48 We are in rhythm withthe universeMan and the cosmos50 We exist to serve the godsThe burden of observance51 Our rituals sustainthe worldRenewing life through ritualANCIENT ANDCLASSICAL BELIEFSFROM 3000 BCE56 There is a hierarchyof gods and menBeliefs for new societies58 The good live forever inthe kingdom of OsirisPreparing for the afterlifeCONTENTS
