A New Myth for the World - New Book by James Hilgendorf

EL CERRITO, Calif. - July 2, 2015 - PRLog -- PRESS RELEASE

A NEW MYTH FOR THE WORLD

Casting a glance over the landscapes of the Middle East, it seems that whole identities and nations are unraveling before our very eyes.  And the malaise seems to be infecting and spreading to the rest of the world.

At the heart of all the disarray is religion.  Christians, Muslims, Jews - all tracing back to common roots - are at each other’s throats.

The dreams of the ages - peace, love and brotherhood -  still wave aloft in banners bold; yet reality tells a different story.

What is it about our religions that - while espousing great ideals - seem to be disconnected from our daily lives, and are without the power to affect a truly meaningful transformation in the lives of ordinary people and nations?

It is - as author James Hilgendorf, in his new book, “A New Myth for the World”, writes - an incorrect view of ourselves and our relation to reality.

“Religion is a worldview”, Hilgendorf writes, “a way of shaping and perceiving reality.  Atheism is a religion as much as Catholicism.  Each structures the way we perceive ourselves and others, and our relationship to the stars; and this has consequences.  For as we believe, so do we act; and as we act, so do we create our destinies and the happiness or unhappiness not only of ourselves, but of the world.”

We need a new story, a new myth for our lives.

Hilgendorf finds this new myth and direction most clearly expressed in the rapidly expanding movement of the Soka Gakkai International a movement that has grown to become the largest Buddhist lay organization in the world now, with 12,000,000 members in 192 countries around the globe.

The Soka Gakkai has been called the most dynamic and empowering Buddhist movement in history - one that is changing our very ideas about religion itself.

"A New Myth for the World" is now available through bookstores and online in either paperback or e-book format.

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James Hilgendorf is a filmmaker and the author of ten non-fiction books.  His website is at http://www.jameshilgendorf.org.