Audible at its best

Where does Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top five. The course was perfect for me. I subscribe to Audible mainly for the non-fiction. The new Great Courses section is now my favorite.I fell short of an AA degree after the Army because I had to return to work. With the Great Courses option, I can now get up to speed on what I am most interested in, and be in a much better place when I return to school. This course - Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad was an excellent way to begin Great Courses. It was Taught and Narrated so well. There were very few - if any - areas that I wanted to speed threw. In-fact I hit my 30 sec. back button hundreds of times. The subject matter was perfect. It was taught in such a way that I can return to this course over and over, without the dread. We are lucky and blessed to now live in a time that a common laborer can continue to labor at his or her job, yet be able to study these Great Courses at the same time,satisfying our minds while at the same time satisfying our work ethic.I will now keep my eye on any and all of Professor Mark W. Muesse's courses.

124 people found this helpful

Great Job...on 3 of Them...

...but if you’re looking for an objective historical account of Jesus, please look elsewhere. It’s not that Professor Muesse shouldn’t have opinions about the divinity of Jesus—we all have them, and to be sure, any historical figure claiming to be GOD probably should be subject to firmer scrutiny by a historian. My complaint is that he should have acknowledged the arguments on both sides of the debate and, like a good historian, stick to the FACTS rather than to opinions.

What really set me off was that he went out of his way to present his own speculations about Jesus as though they were fact (e.g., Jesus “probably” didn’t consider himself God...how can anyone KNOW that? I mean, I don’t presume to know what went on in Jesus’s mind). BUT he did not take the same approach with the other 3 sages.

At one point, Professor Muesse addresses some historians’ claims that Mohammed’s revelations were mere epileptic seizures. He goes on to assure believers that it’s still possible in such a scenario to believe that Mohammed’s seizures yielded revelations from a divine source...which is fine...

...but then he couldn’t make similar assurances about the 4 Gospels in the Christian Bible?? Even though there actually are historians with arguments along this line?

I’m not saying he should be a believer in Christianity to comment on the historical Jesus. But I am saying that he glosses over the utter lack of consensus among historians regarding whether Jesus was God and presents his own views as ultimate fact.

If you want an anti-Jesus skeptic’s view of the man, then you might enjoy this. If you want a Christian view of the historical Jesus, try NT Wright, William Lane Craig, Richard Swinburne and Richard Bauckham. If you want an objective, non-biased account of Jesus, which is what I was hoping for, well ...I’m at a loss here.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the rest of the lectures, so it wasn’t a total waste of an Audible credit.

89 people found this helpful

Wasn't what I had in mind.

I wanted to learn the teachings of these famous prophets; however, the course was more about their personal lives and how those lives shaped the teachings--each teacher's perspective--than the teachings themselves.

87 people found this helpful

Brilliant introduction to those 4 great teachers

Any additional comments?

This book's content is really interesting and the author's narration is great. It's a perfect introduction to comparative religion. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to my friends. It might be better to choose another title if you are already advanced in the study of those historical figures though.

35 people found this helpful

A good overview of 4 sages

Where does Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book covers a massive subject matter which is presented from a secular perspective. This audiobook does a capable job at presenting the main themes and historical background for each of Confucius, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad from the author's academic perspective - I am certain that theologians from any of the 4 religions will find many areas / points to disagree with! The book is controversial in places (when compared to mainstream theological understandings, e.g. the deity of Christ and Muhammad's use of war). It does offer an excellent opportunity to expand one's understanding of the 4 "sages" (the author's term) and to understand commonalities and differences between them. I truly enjoyed the audiobook, listened to its entirety, and learned a lot of things I didn't know. I took it for what it is - an academic, historical and sectarian view of the 4 "sages"; so, do not purchase this book if you are looking for a theology course.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All 4 "sages" were pretty interesting to learn about.

What does Professor Mark W. Muesse bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The spoken word reveals emotion and interest in a way a book can't portray.

Any additional comments?

The audiobook was well narrated.

18 people found this helpful

Great overview

What made the experience of listening to Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad the most enjoyable?

Prof Muesse placed the ideas of the 4 in good context. He relayed a lot of historical information.

What other book might you compare Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad to and why?

A history book. Can not think of a good example right now.

Which character – as performed by Professor Mark W. Muesse – was your favorite?

I thought he description of the life and works of Confucius was the most in depth and interesting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

To much info for that

Any additional comments?

One of my favorite "Great Courses" books.

14 people found this helpful

Was Expecting More

it was interesting, however I did sense the author's bias to Jesus which at the end he stated was based on early childhood recollections from Sunday school. He did not spent the time he spent with the other three describing Jesus's teachings and parables. I also felt with the Buddha he could of spent more time with the techniques used for meditation. I was expecting a more unbiased view which delved into the sages teachings and the effect the have in today's current world and was disappointed that did not occur

13 people found this helpful

Informative and well organized

This is my second series of lectures by Professor Mark W. Muesse. Both have been a pleasure to hear. I would classify this series as freshman- or introductory-level. It probably would not benefit any but the most casual religious scholar.

I feel that I came away with a good basic understanding of the historical facts, as they can be determined, and the teachings of these four individuals. Great care was taken to provide historical and cultural context for each. The work avoids any judgement about the validity of any religious doctrine.

When we experience deeds performed in the name of a doctrine, the obvious question is whether or not the actions reflect a rational interpretation of the originator's intention or are simply extremist excuses for the actions. An impartial scholar would be the ideal individual to examine this question; however, Professor Muesse makes no attempts in this area. Perhaps this issue was just not the focus of the series, but since the atrocities committed in the name of various religions are a part of their history, he loses one star for political correctness.

13 people found this helpful

Intelligent entertaining and unbiased

Intelligent entertaining and unbiased. Highly recommend it. Probably the best audio book I've listened to date.

11 people found this helpful

Worth sticking with

This series seemed to get off to a slow start. I struggled with the lecturer's formality in words and in tone. But once he started talking about the Buddha, I started to appreciate his approach. By the end of the series, I was very happy to have listened.

6 people found this helpful