Since there is much that appears as exotic and esoteric to the uninitiated these courses serve as an initiation into the mysteries of the scientific study of religion as well as an invitation to self-scrutiny and personal quest. As I said, my teaching philosophy is quite simple, it's my work ethic that makes the demands. As a former editor of a scholarly journal I have a keen appreciation for the well-expressed article and hope to see many more of mine in print. I have often benefited from the creativity, industry, and insights of my budding young historians of religions. Naturally, I would love to be at CSUN where the reputation of the Religious Studies Department and its students holds the promise of some gifted research partners.
Gifted students are second only to gifted colleagues in the research reservoirs of a scholar.
In addition and supplemental to my course preparation has been my Doctoral Dissertation, the major project of the decade. The dissertation, Access to Revelation and the Quest for Meaning , deals with models of revelation in the world's religions and their relevance within the contemporary hermeneutical horizon. In it I deal with such religious phenomena as shamanism, mysticism, prophecy, divination, oracles, inspiration, visions, ecstatic modes, meditation, dreams, mediumship, and spirit possession. Both traditions however, are viewed within the context of their origins and the encounters engendered by their transmissions. Thus, I look at Buddhism in its origins in India as well as in its encounter with the indigenous religions of China and Japan.