God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church [Paperback]

Gerald R. McDermott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

In the providence of God, why are there other religions? Was the God of the Bible wise in allowing for them? Can they serve any purpose? Gerald R. McDermott explores reflection on teaching from the Old and New Testaments and from a number of key teachers from the early church to suggest an answer to this perplexing but intriguing question. In the end McDermott provides considerable insight into the troubling clash of world religions and offers a helpful Christian response.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gerald McDermott's God's Rivals makes a substantive contribution toward a Christian theology of religions. His appeal to the patristic use of the New Testament's category of 'powers and principalities' is exemplary retrieval from our own tradition to address a contemporary issue. The result is a proposal that guards Christ's primacy while it espouses charity and sensitivity. I commend the book both for classes and for scholars in the field." (George Sumner, Principal, Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada )

"God's Rivals brings vividly to life religions and divine providence at work in our world, as explored and debated in the Bible and early church. McDermott compellingly brings home to us the importance of taking gods and goddesses very seriously; we are engaged in a continuing drama of divine action in our midst, and must be on watch to avoid reducing it to vague concepts and placid words. Whether we agree or not with McDermott's conclusions on today's religions, we must be grateful to him for reminding us so clearly what is at stake." (Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School )

"While in recent years the theology of religions has risen to the center of theological reflection and there is a steady flow of publications on various aspects of the topic, McDermott is writing about an issue so crucial that it can be easily missed, namely, Why has God allowed religions? This is the first major work on the topic essential to all interested in the relation of Christian faith to other faiths. Building on a careful scrutiny of biblical and some patristic sources, McDermott has produced an intriguing book meant not only for specialists but for everyone wanting to know more about religion's role in a Christian perspective." (Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Docent of Ecumenics, University of Helsinki )

"God's Rivals continues Gerry McDermott's fascinating exploration of the theology of religions in his characteristic style: erudition without ostentation, courage balanced with prudence, and faithfulness to tradition tethering an eagerness to explore. This is a significant book that will alter the conversation." (John G. Stackhouse Jr., Ph.D., Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada )

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830825649
• ISBN-13: 978-0830825646
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves a wide reading., April 12, 2007

By 

Alan Pieratt (Highlands Ranch, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church (Paperback)

This is an important work that deserves a wide reading for two reasons. First, it does a good job treating the key issues that surround the question of the Christian understanding of salvation and world religions. The author condenses a lot of material on this subject and offers it up in an easily readable fashion. Secondly, and I think more importantly, this book deserves a reading because it re-examines the worldviews of both the Old and New Testaments for their understanding of the existence of a "middle realm" of gods and powers and spirits. There is in the Bible "a whole class of intermediate beings between the high God and his human creatures" (p. 45). For the biblical authors at least, such entities play an important role in the lives of men, cultures, nations and world religions. Can this be true? If it is, it demands a substantial rethinking of the world religions and our modern, Christian worldview. [Disclosure: This reviewer is a personal friend of the author.]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good food for thought !!, May 11, 2007

By 

David Stump - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church (Paperback)

Provides plausible thoughts on the subject from a biblical/christian perspective. While not meant to be a definitive treatment on the subject by any means, this work does a fine job of exploring it's subject matter and is a good read to help christians think in more widely aware ways in relation to biblical content and "non-christian religions". I personally have a few disagreements with some things in the book, but still, I think it's a great read to get one thinking. Also worth checking out is his other book, Can Evangelical Learn From World Religions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A follow up to Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions?, September 10, 2007

By 

Rodney Wilson (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church (Paperback)

This book presents an evangelical-Christian take on why religions flourish in light of the evangelical view that the only completely true religion is the one of the Christian's. God's Rivals is a follow up of sorts to McDermott's Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions, published seven years earlier. In God's Rivals, McDermott takes what was one chapter in Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions and writes an entire book on the attitudes of the church fathers concerning the world's religions. He expounds on the "scandal of particularity"; the biblical tradition of God among the nations (Gentiles); the Israelite understanding of the gods of its neighbors; the NT (particularly Pauline) understanding of the powers of darkness that some say may have manifest themselves in other gods; and finally the heart of the book -- a chapter each on Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and their understanding of the other-than-Christian religions.