Recommended Reading
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Bibles, Sacred Texts, and Religious History
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• The New Oxford Annotated Bible : With Apocrypha 

New Revised Standard Version, paperback version. For over 40 years this has been the best Bible for scholars and serious students. With notes from top Biblical scholars and the most faithful translation from original sources, this is an excellent choice for adult study.

• Good News Today English Version 

This is a good selection for children. It continues to be revised to reflect modern English usage, making it easy to read. Yet, it remains faithful to the original languages.

• Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations, Michael Sells, translator 

This is the book that caused so much controversy at the University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when incoming freshmen were asked to read it. A group of Christians sued the University to stop the assignment. The book is an excellent introduction to Islam and the Qur'an.

• The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong

In the 9th century BCE, the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world each discovered a path out of the way of violence and destruction that was endemic in their worlds. These axial age movements laid the groundwork for our current religious traditions and their insights still speak. A very readable history of religions text.