Top 7 Recently Reviewed Books from Oneworld Publications

Antisemitism has been an unfortunate and destructive aspect of Western culture for millennia. Of course, every culture has had its hatreds and despised groups, but antisemitism differs from most in the sense that it not only dehumanizes Jews, but also demonizes them. In addition to being separated from the rest of society, they are also made the worst enemies of society. How has this particular hatred evolved in Western society, from ancient Greece down through today?

A dominant view of Islam is that it is conservative if not reactionary, opposed to everything that might qualify as "modern" and therefore necessarily hostile to the modern West, with all of this liberal ideas about society and humanity. Is this view, shared by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, actually justified? Some argue that it is not.

Terrorism today is rarely just about politics - often, it is at least as much about religion. Because such terrible acts of violence stem in so many ways from religious roots, they also raise uniquely religious questions about things like the nature of faith and the role of religion in society. How such questions are answered provides insight into religious traditions and religious attitudes.

Few people are unaware of the violence which keeps occurring between Israelis and Palestinians. Why is this happening - what are the causes, and are there any solutions? If you want to learn more but simply don't know where to start, a recent book from Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Dawoud El-Alami the place.

Does God exist? If so, is it possible for God to be male or female? Do we survive our physical deaths? What is religion and what purpose does it serve? Does life have any sort of meaning? All of these questions and more are topics in the philosophy of religion, the subject of the recent and worthwhile book "Global Philosophy of Religion" by Joseph Runzo.

Jean-Paul Sartre was acclaimed by the people of France in ways normally reserved for rock stars in other countries. When he died in 1980, fifty thousand people lined the streets of Paris to watch his coffin go by. What did he do to merit such respect and attention?

Does God exist? If so, what is "God," what does God want and how do we know? If not, why do so many people believe anyway? The search for God - or at least the roots of belief in God - is one of the most divisive and perplexing projects in human culture. Is there any hope at it being resolved?