Handbook of Today's Religions [Hardcover]

Josh McDowell (Author), Don Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 1996

Don't rely on news stories or a one-sided defense of cults, the occult, or secular and non-Christian religions. This handbook provides authoritative, evangelical perspectives on alternative religions. It includes thorough, accurate information for analyzing and measuring these groups' claims and beliefs against God's Word.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Revised edition (February 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785212191
• ISBN-13: 978-0785212195
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent evaluation of a wide variety of belief systems, June 26, 2001

By 

Gary F. Zeolla "Director of Darkness to Light... (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handbook of Today's Religions (Hardcover)

This book has four major sections: Understanding the Cults, Understanding the Occult, Understanding Non-Christian Religions, and Understanding Secular Religions. It closes with an article by Norman Anderson on "A Christian Approach to Comparative Religions."

I read this book years ago when I first became a Christian. It helped to settle in my mind the uniqueness of true Christianity. It also helped to answer lingering questions I had about other belief systems. So it helped to solidify my belief that the Christian faith was true and that other belief systems were false.

In the first section on cults the authors first discuss "What is a Cult?" They then present the basic characteristics of cults and the beliefs of orthodox Christianity. The beliefs are present via quotes from important Christian creeds, with supporting Biblical references. It's not a thorough Biblical study of such doctrines, but adequate for presenting the orthodox view. For a more thorough study on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, see my "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible."

The first section of this book then looks at individual groups like JWs and Mormons. For each group it presents a very short history of the group. For a more detailed history of each group, one would have to consult books like Walter Martin's "Kingdom of the Cults" or Ruth Tucker's "Another Gospel."

But what this book does provide is a detailed Biblical discussion of each group's teachings. The book first documents the group's doctrines through extended quotes from it's own literature. The authors then provide extensive Biblical refutations of these doctrines.

The tone of the book is one of presenting an exegesis of the relevant Scriptures. It is not strongly judgmental, just strongly Biblical. And my "Scripture Workbook" provides additional Biblical refutations of claims of groups discussed in this book.

The second section of this book gets into an area that I find rather uncomfortable to study: the occult. I never was attracted to the occult, and it just gives me the creeps studying about it. But the Bible does say not be ignorant of Satan's devices, so at least a cursory knowledge of occult practices can be helpful.

This sections looks at occult practices like astrology, fortune telling, and parapsychology. For each practice, a basic explanation is provided, then a logical and/ or Biblical refutation.

The third section looks at non-Christian religions like Hinduism and Islam. When I first read this book I found this section particularly interesting. I had never really considered becoming a Mormon or JW, but before becoming a Christian I did investigate other world religions. And again, this book confirmed my previous studies that Christianity was to be preferred over these other religions.

The discussions in this section are similar to the ones in the section on cults. A very short history of the religion is presented and then a much more in-depth discussion and Biblical refutation of its teachings.

The last section looks at atheism and related belief systems. Again, a basic history is provided of each system, then logical refutations of their teachings. The authors are smart enough to focus on logical arguments as Biblical arguments would hardly hold much sway with atheists.

So overall, this is a very helpful book due to the breadth of belief systems it covers. But with such a variety of views discussed, it doesn't provide as much detail on each group as some other books might. But for someone who was in the position I was of still having questions about competing worldviews to Christianity, this book can be very helpful. And it will provide the Christian with a basic knowledge of each of the systems discussed along with providing much material for Biblical studies. And for more Biblical study on many of the topics discussed in this book, see my "Scripture Workbook."

58 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enormously valuable overview of major religions. Buy it!, September 23, 2000

By 

Archimedes Tritium - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Today's Religions (Hardcover)

This 567 page book examines many religious beliefs, outlining their history, practice and basic nature, along with why they are not compatible with reality and biblical Christianity.

The current trend is to assert all religions are interchangeable. This book puts the idea to rest with extensive scholarship and clear-thinking. It draws on the consensus teachings of each religion and it's leading thinkers (the founders, for example), along with extensive quotes from more specialized works in comparative religion.

I looked over 3 other comparative religion books. They seemed to dance around the essential, core understanding. Not so with this book. You will find yourself reaching for this volume time after time. It's a great purchase!

Most of it was written in 1982. I hope there is a revision in which the authors bring to bear their insights and learning gained over the last 20 years.

The work could be clarified in spots so that non-Christians could appreciate it. That is, the authors fall short of making some of the analysis unanswerable, but I think they could make it so (and a book like this needs to be) with revision.

These are the topics covered. Each has at least several pages -- and often more -- devoted to it:

Non-Christian: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism.

Secular religions: Atheism, Agnosticism, Skepticism, Marxism, Secular Humanism, Existentialism

Cults: Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism, TM, Theosophy, EST, Children of God, Unification Church, The Way International, Worldwide Church of God, Christian Science, Unity

Occult: Astrology, Black Mass, Edgar Cayce, Demons, Jeane Dixon, Dowsing, Fire Walking, Fortune Telling, Ghosts, Hypnotism, Magic, Ouija Board, Parapsychology, Psychic Surgery, Rosicrucianism, Satanism, Necromancy, Superstition, Witchcraft.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, December 1, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Today's Religions (Hardcover)

I have been searching for a book like this one for years and now I've found it. This book is quite enlightening. It quotes scripture but isn't too deep. The average lay person can understand. I have recommended this book to several friends. In a world with so many views, it's nice to find a source that is based in christianity, which compares and gives insight. Fantastic source of information.