William P. Lazarus - Comparative Religion For Dummies

by William P. Lazarus and Mark Sullivan

Comparative Religion For Dummies

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2008924946

ISBN: 978-0-470-23065-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

A native of Maine who grew up in northeast Ohio, William Paul Lazarus began studying religious history as a child and has never stopped. By age 13, he was teaching Sunday school. After moving to Florida in 1986, he branched out by teaching at various institutions, including Daytona Beach Community College and Stetson University. A professional writer and high school English teacher, he regularly speaks at churches and synagogues around Florida, and had a successful radio show on 1340-AM, WROD, in Daytona Beach. This is his ninth book on various aspects of religious history. He and his wife live in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Mark Sullivan was born in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, and grew up in a traveling, academic family, something like a fantastic traveling circus. He returned to NYC for college, at Columbia University, where he studied Comparative Literature and European Languages. He later attended the Juilliard School of Music for studies in composition.

He has worked in book publishing, in various roles, and as an author, for the past 17 years. His interests include languages, music, swimming, and travel. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Mariko.

Dedication

Bills dedication:

This book is dedicated to all the people who encouraged me both professionally and academically from the first time I decided to write and to learn about religious history: my wife, Kathleen; daughter, Maia; my parents; my three brothers, all of whom write and are published, although no one knows where the writing gene came from; and friends like Cynthia Schuster-Eakin, Jon Swebilius, Michael Silverstein, Tom Nimen, and Susan Cerbone.

Marks dedication:

To my mother, Maureen, and my father, Art, whose love of all things interesting opened my mind from the very beginning of my life. And to my wife, Mariko.

Authors Acknowledgments

Bills acknowledgments:

This book could not have been written without the witting efforts of editors and colleagues, and the unwitting efforts of educators like Arthur Tirson, Herbert Mermelstein, and Rabbi Dov Pikelny. They devoted so much effort to helping a young boy learn about faith, even when they realized the knowledge would eventually carry him far away from their beliefs. I couldnt be more grateful for their unselfish and given my attention span, often heroic work. I also want to thank Mark Sullivan, who suggested this book and has been unflinchingly encouraging in our collaboration.

Marks acknowledgments:

Many thanks, first, to Amine Bouchentouf for leading the way at Wiley. His hard work and desire for excellence in his own writing were exemplary.

My appreciation and thanks, also, to Tim Gallan and Vicki Adang for their editorial skills that made this a better book, and to Lindsay Lefevere for getting it all started.

And to my teachers my parents, Ed Tolk, Edward Said, Michel Riffaterre, Frank Camper, and others thank you so much for helping me become a better thinker and more appreciative of art and ideas.

To Bill Lazarus, the most industrious writer I know it was a real pleasure working on this book with you and learning from your prodigious knowledge of these religions.

Finally, to my beloved wife, Mariko, thanks for putting up with the process one more time!

Publishers Acknowledgments

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