In The Enticement of Religion, Kees W. Bolle has written an accessible and informative introduction to the basic facts of religion and to the ways scholars and other people have dealt with religion over the centuries. Bolle's central purpose is to provide a serious, in-depth study that will introduce students and other general readers in a way that makes sense of religion and religious events in the world. Part one of the book focuses on the facts of religion and covers such topics as the object and task of the historian of religions, the correct usage of words like faith and tradition, modes...

"The real history of man is the history of religion." The truth of the famous dictum of Max Muller, the father of the History of Religions, is nowhere so obvious as in Tibet. Western students have observed that religion and magic pervade not only the forms of Tibetan art, politics, and society, but also every detail of ordinary human existence. And what is the all-pervading religion of Tibet? The Buddhism of that country has been described to us, of course, but that does not mean the question has been answered. The unique importance of Stephan BeyerIs work is that it presents the vital...

Myth is not a remote subject, restricted to the limited intellect of ""pre-logical"" man. The question ""What is man?"" is an ancient one. It is also a recent one, still unanswered in the impasse of our sciences. Wherever and whenever human beings are alive, there are creators of myth among them. Kees Bolle singles out one group as having the most significant ""say"" in the formation of myths: the mystics, who epitomize the common urge for a simplicity beyond the whirlpool of personal existences. And, surprisingly, the author finds that the study of humor provides a great deal of insight into...