91 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Excited about this initially, but disappointed, May 9, 2006
This review is from: The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences (Paperback)
I was really looking forward to this book. A book that discusses the aspects of each of the congregations in the US or world is a great reference tool in understanding what others believe. Is this book the one to choose for that purpose? First, I will discuss its contents, pros and cons before giving my final opinion.
Rhodes' book begins with a very short history of the church (4 pages). He then defines 'denomination,' 'protestant' and gives a description of how to use the book.
The books covers the following churches:
Adventists
Baptists
Brethren
Catholic
Christian
Congregational
Episcopalian and Anglican
Friends (Quaker)
Fundamentalist and Bible
Holiness
Lutheran
Mennonite
Methodist
Orthodox
Pentecostal
Presbyterian
Reformed
With each congregation, Rhodes begins with a date of origin for the church, census of members and number of congregations. He then describes their beliefs and gives a chart of fast facts for the church. There are several added "fast fact" charts that detail theologies such as Calvinist and Arminian. Each congregation gets 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pages (except the Roman Catholic Church where 10 pages are written.) Some congregations have a robust history leading into discussion of the divisions within, such as the Orthodox church.
Pros:
--A large swath of churches is covered.
--A good index aids in finding churches. For instance, I wanted to find out what the Nazarene church was like, and the index pointed me to the Holiness section, which I was not aware they were part of.
--There is an index of persons that helps in determining which authors are from which church.
--Rhodes speaks from an unbiased viewpoint. One could not tell he is conservative dispensational Protestant from this writing.
Cons:
--Rhodes left out a couple of churches I have wanted to learn about in my town, namely Unitarian. Granted, many do not consider the Unitarian church to be strictly Christian, but it is a prominent congregation that would be helpful to have in the book.
--The book is VERY vague about church beliefs. Many of the churches described deny the inerrancy of Scripture, but that can not be determined by the wording used, as the writing makes little distinction between those that call the Scriptures inerrant and those that do not. One must read between the lines or have some knowledge of the church to discern Rhodes' writing. Views of Scripture is only one of the vagueries, but is the most prominent.
--The book does NOT discuss the issues that set the churches apart. Worship is spoken about, again, in vague terms. Is Christ present in the Eucharist of the Lutheran churches? One cannot tell from this book. (Some Lutheran churches do teach this and some don't.) Which churches put high focus on speaking in tongues? One cannot tell from this book.
My greatest critique is vagueness. Granted, Rhodes could not have been very specific without relying on some theological bias. But, more specifics could be told. From this book, it is very hard to tell why there are divisions. What divides the American Baptists from the Southern Baptists? Episcopalian from Anglican? Greek Orthodox from Orthodox Church in America? Volumes could be written, but little of it could be found out in this writing.
Is this book the one to choose for the purpose of understanding other congregations? I have to give a resounding no. The breadth of this book is a blessing and a curse. He doesn't leave many out, but the book would have to be much longer to give any insight into the differences between the congregations discussed.
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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Errors, Errors, Errors, April 8, 2006
This review is from: The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences (Paperback)
Being a retired Congregational (UCC) minister the first thing I took a look at, in a Christian bookstore, was Rhodes' account of the people later to be known as the Pilgrims who traveled to these shore on the Mayflower. I was very surprised to read that they were led here by their pastor, John Robinson. In fact, John Robinson stayed behind in Leiden, Holland and died there in 1625. His wife who succeeded him once made plans to travel to America but for reasons unknown canceled them. As the assembly which had met at the "green gate" dwindled, she later joined the Dutch Church.
John Robinson is rememberd for having said, "God hath yet more truth to bring forth from His holy word."
Unfortunately, Rhodes doesn't seem as scholarly as others who have written about denominations, such as Mead, Hill and Atwood in the Handbook of Denominations, which is what I reccommend.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too many embarrassing errors and omissions., January 14, 2006
This review is from: The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences (Paperback)
Ron Rhodes does not seem to possess the scholarship and background knowledge needed to produce an accurate guide to the Christian denominations in North America. His accounts of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are especially poor. A frankly embarrassing level of ignorance leads Rhodes to make numerous historical, theological, and terminological errors of fact. One despairs of an author of a "complete guide" who can write concerning the First Vatican Council (1869/70):"More than 800 Roman Catholic priests (sic) from around the world attended." Forty years ago a Jesuit priest, the late Father John Hardon, S.J., published "The Protestant Churches of America", a work of such impartial, objective, and deep scholarship that it was set as a textbook in many Protestant seminaries. So the task is not impossible!
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