本书是美国著名人类学家武雅士等有关中国社会宗教与仪式主题的论文集。作者在实地调查基础上，对华南民间信仰做了具体而细致的研究，构建了汉族民间“神灵”的人类学解释模式，总结了汉民族的民间信仰的三种模式：官僚模式、个人模式、异端模式。所收论文16篇，如“一个台湾城镇历史中的宗教组织”、“香港的乡庙”、“台湾的建筑与超自然”、“广东的萨满信仰”、“道教仪式中的正统与异端”、“祖先崇拜和丧葬实践”、“神、鬼和祖先”等等。所论主题包括台湾、香港等地区的民间宗教信仰以及各种仪式，如道教、萨满教、祖先崇拜、鬼神信仰、丧葬仪式等等，分析潜藏在这些信仰和仪式背后的深层的社会、文化因素，揭示中国传统文化与当代社会的碰撞与交融。

Amazon.com The World's Religions, by Huston Smith, has been a standard introduction to its eponymous subject since its first publication in 1958. Smith writes humbly, forswearing judgment on the validity of world religions. His introduction asks, "How does it all sound from above? Like bedlam, or do the strains blend in strange, ethereal harmony? ... We cannot know. All we can do is try to listen carefully and with full attention to each voice in turn as it addresses the divine. Such listening defines the purpose of this book." His criteria for inclusion and analysis of religions in this book are "relevance to the modern mind" and "universality," and his interest in each religion is more concerned with its principles than its context. Therefore, he avoids cataloging the horrors and crimes of which religions have been accused, and he attempts to show each "at their best." Yet The World's Religions is no pollyannaish romp: "It is about religion alive," Huston writes. "It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit. The call is to confront reality." And by translating the voices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Christianity, and Judaism, among others, Smith has amplified the divine call for generations of readers. --Michael Joseph Gross

路透达拉斯9月14日电（记者 Ed Stoddard）---美国作家罗伯特・赖特（Robert Wright）在新书中追溯了上帝的历史，并指出这可能揭开神学的面纱，但有宗教信仰的人不一定会认同他的观点。 在他的新书《上帝的演化》（The Evolution of God）中，探讨的话题从我们祖先的精神信仰，到亚伯拉罕诸教信仰——犹太教、基督教和伊斯兰教——发展历程。 书中从两个方面讲述信仰的历史，一是物质层面，即“经教的解释如何受限于客观事实，” 另一方面则将信仰发展的历史与达尔文的进化论作比较，得出的说法是，我们的历史是道德进化的一种体现，这意味着“神圣”也可能是一个演进的过程。 赖特接受了路透的采访，他的观点想必会引来很多争议。 问：你所提出的一个问题——这似乎是你的书中的主题——是，如果历史能自然而然地推动我们提高道德水平，也许这就是神圣意图的一种迹象。你能为我们的读者具体阐释一下吗？ 答：自狩猎时期以来，社会组织的规模如今已经扩大至全球化这样一个阶段了。与此同时，我们不得不将“邻居”的道德定义扩大再扩大，直至包括不同的种族、国家。 所以在美国，如今我们把所有美国人当成邻居，我认为这种如此有包容性的观点是道德进步的一个表现，如果和两千年或两千五百年之前相比，当时一个希腊城邦会把另一个城邦的人视作低等人类。而如今我们扩大了自己的道德界限，如果不这样做，就会导致社会混乱。 我们现在处于全球化时期……我们又一次扩大了自己的道德想象力。我认为，历史发展一直挑战我们的道德观至少说明有这样一种可能性，那就是背後有一个更宏大的目的在推动，这个目的则通过自然运作表现出来。” 问：您不信仰亚伯拉罕诸教，虽然您幼时在德州的艾尔帕索曾作为南方浸信会的成员参加过基督教的活动。您也不参加新无神论运动。那麽您怎麽定位您自己呢？ 答：我认为我自己是看到神迹的人，这神迹背後有更宏大目的，所以我不是无神论者。我认为这些目的当中是有道德维度的，这意味着不论多抽象，都有神圣的一面。（完）

《圣经的故事(插图本)》是美国著名通俗作家房龙的名著之一，自出版以来，一直广受赞誉，传读不衰。房龙对人生和事物有着积极、深刻的理解。《圣经的故事(插图本)》就是既忠实于原典，又有自己朴素的声音。虽是以《圣经》为蓝本讲述故事，却并不拘泥于原著，而是将所谓的神迹、民族传说、历史故事与近代历史、考古发现相观照，以客观、冷静的视野探本溯源，时时让读者感受到一种摒弃无知、偏执、倡导宽容、善良的健全理性。

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

"The God Delusion" caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic, with Dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. His argument could hardly be more topical. While Europe is becoming increasingly secularized, the rise of religious fundamentalism, whether in the Middle East or Middle America, is dramatically and dangerously dividing opinion around the world. In America, and elsewhere, a vigorous dispute between 'intelligent design' and Darwinism is seriously undermining and restricting the teaching of science. In many countries religious dogma from medieval times still serves to abuse basic human rights such as women's and gay rights. And all from a belief in a God whose existence lacks evidence of any kind. Dawkins attacks God in all his forms. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children. "The God Delusion" is a brilliantly argued, fascinating polemic that will be required reading for anyone interested in this most emotional and important subject.