Judaism

Review also includes:

Christianity, Philip Wilkinson, photographs by Steve Teague, 978-1405316033

The ‘Eyewitness’ encyclopedic range continues to grow with two additional titles on religions of the world. These complement existing titles on Religion and Islam, while a future volume on Buddhism is planned. Both books provide rich visual resources of artefacts and symbols, augmented by quotations from the scriptures, holy books and writers such as Anne Frank. Judaism explores traditions and festivals celebrated by Jewish communities around the world, explaining differences between cultures such as Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. It traces the history of the Jewish religion from its birth nearly 4,000 years ago to the Holocaust and the rise of Zionism in its aftermath. The book also looks at the intellectual and artistic legacy of prominent Jews, from artists and writers such as Chagall, Menuhin and Freud to scientists and engineers such as Salk and Citroën. Christianity too is richly illustrated with tangible objects to explain abstract ideas, from the medieval concept of heaven and hell to the central role of the crucifixion and resurrection. The significance for Christians of the Old Testament in foretelling later events in the New Testament is explored, together with Jesus’ teachings and the spread of the Christian church. Catholicism, the Orthodox church, Protestantism and the monastic orders are clearly described and the celebration of the sacraments are set out within the Christian calendar. The final spread comes back to Earth with rather a bump: in celebrating Christian culture we have barely a glimpse of Renaissance painting, no room for Dante or Milton or even Bunyan – instead we have Cecil B de Mille Hollywood epics, Jesus Christ Superstar, Elvis and gospel singers.