The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exploring God [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeffrey B. Webb (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Who is God?

Today, with religion being talked about more than ever in the United States, and most Americans professing their belief in God, the time is ripe for an exploration of what God means, and has meant, throughout history. In this fascinating guide, Jeffrey Webb explores humanity’s ideas of God, from the days of Pantheism through the Hebrew Scriptures and rabbinic tradition, to Christian Trinity and the New Testament, to the Qur’an and God in the Sunni and Shi’ite traditions, to present-day metaphysics and beyond.

-The religion category is hugely successful

-According to a 2003 Harris Poll, while only a quarter of Americans attend a religious service every week, 79% believe there is a God, and 66% are absolutely certain this is true

-The unbiased tone and coverage makes this book a perfect primer

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeffrey B. Webb, Ph.D., is a historian and professor at Huntington College, where he teaches advanced courses in the history of Christianity and American religious history. The author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Christianity, he’s a co-editor of the Newsletter of the Conference on Faith and History, and his written work on topics in Christianity and Christian history has appeared in numerous academic journals and reference collections.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592574297
• ISBN-13: 978-1592574292
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Everything from Protestant Christianity's viewpoint., February 2, 2006

By 

Stephanie A. Reinheimer "Sage" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exploring God (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book at a bookstore in my mall, because I was always interested to see the different religions' view and experience of God. I was struck right away with the seeming veiled conscension, or at least a marked coolness, with which the author referred to non-Christian ideas of God. Throughout the book, but most noticeably in the last two chapters, only the Christian version of God and His attributes are referred to. The author is a professor at a college where he teaches Christian History and American Religious History. He is an "active Elder" within the Presbyterian Church, and as such is a liasion to the Wabash Presbytery's Committee on the Preparation of the Ministry. He is an education facilitator in the Presbyerian Church of the United States, a co-editor of the Newsletter of the Conference of Faith and History and also the author of the Complete Idiot's Guide to Christianity. This information is written on the back cover of the book.

Basically, the book seems to be written from the viewpoint of a fervent Christian who thought it might be interesting to dally around in learning about other religions. I really don't recognize an unbiased or objective review in this exploration of Divinity.

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-balance, theologically-slanted exposition, December 8, 2010

By 

William D. Bailey "Feanor" (London, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exploring God (Mass Market Paperback)

I see that the preceding reviewer has retracted her review in which she described the book as Protestant-Christian biased. In my opinion the author reveals no such biases at all. Indeed, the book is a remarkably comprehensive -- and well-balanced -- review of the major religions of the world and their prominent variations. He also deals with appropriate length and fairness with Atheism and Agnosticism.

The reader should be aware that the focus of the book is with theology, albeit in very clear, layman's term. It deals with in reasonable detailed & rigorous way with the each religion's theological issues and their historic evolution. But this book isn't the place to look for much discussion of the incidental cultural traditions of the people of the various religions. Also - an likely for the better - it definitely doesn't deal with political issues, e.g. political Islam (Islamism), or the the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.