I enjoyed your class on World Religions in Orlando in 2003, and would now like to read the scriptures of the following world religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Judaism. I’d like to read versions that are (1) respected by adherents of these religions; (2) accurate; (3) reasonably easy to read; and (4) readily accessible. What are your recommendations?”—Jeff Stingle (Miami)

[Reply from Joey Harris]I would suggest that you visit the respective religion sections in any large bookstores near you (Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc.) and browse through the books, looking at the publisher's blurbs on the back and inside jacket covers to get an idea of whether the translations are respected by the adherents or not, and read random sections to see whether they are easy to read. I will make some specific recommendations, where I have them:

1. Islam—Qur‘an: Unfortunately, no translation of the Qur‘an is fully respected by the adherents. Yet the above suggestion will still be helpful.
2. Hinduism—Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita: the Penguin paperback versions of these works fulfill all of your specifications.
3. Buddhism—Tripitaka: Penguin, Basic Books, and Modern Books all have good versions. And use the above suggestions.
4. Zoroastrianism—Avesta: I have no clue as to an analog book, but the Avesta is available online.
5. Taoism—Tao Te Ching: many excellent versions... browse as above. Also see here.
6. Judaism—just read our Old Testament? Yes, but I would especially recommend reading the TaNaKh published by the Jewish Publication Society (respected by Jewish adherents) and The Schocken Bible, Volume 1: The Five Books of Moses, translated from the Hebrew by Everett Fox. This is one of the closest approximations to the feel and flavor of the Hebrew of any translation I have every read. It is superb! All of these should be available from any large bookstore.

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