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Handbook of Today's Religions

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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."

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.

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.

I found this book to be one of the best and most simply written reference books for the spectrum of today's religions. I think that it can be very helpful in conquering the wide-spread ignorance that surrounds different religious beliefs. However, before buying this book, one must realize that it is writtin from a bible-believing christian standpoint and therefore the ideas could most certianly be considered bias. However, in reading the book i think that you will find most of the information to be very factual. There is very little opinion and what opinion can be found is well presented by McDowell and Stewart. This is a must-buy for Christians.

This book is a good, basic reference edition for pastors, missionaries, and world Christians. It gives the reader a good understanding of what many of the world's major religions believe, and how evangelical Christians can view them. Every church library needs a copy of this book. The one downside is that it only covers the major religious groupings. If you are looking for information on a more abscure group, you probably won't find it here.

McDowell's and Stewart's *Handbook of Today's Religions* is a compilation of their series on the cults, world religions and secular religions, under one title. The work provides a systematic survey of the core beliefs, philosophical characteristics and significant writers within each religious viewpoint, and offers a critique from the foundation of a historic, Biblical Christian worldview.

The book is copiously documented from the primary sources and significant secondary materials, and is clearly written in a friendly and personable style. The documentation contained in this book alone is worth the price of the book. The religious views treated, while held to be in error by the authors, are treated with an irenic tone and intelligent manner.

This is a book that has helped me understand the tenants of the major world religions as well as the earmarks of what makes a cult a cult. It has been a great resource for me over the years. I highly recommend it.

This book is an important resource for anyone interested in the religions of today. It covers not only Orthodox Christianity but also Judism, Islam, various cults, and even satanism. It make a valuable reference book when studying religion, culture, belief systems, and values just to name a few. The authors are frank with their information and present each religion fairly.

Josh McDowell is a former atheist who set out to prove that the Bible was false. He sought manuscript, archaeological, and historical evidence that would show that it was full of errors and could not be trusted. To his surprise, the evidence that he found convinced him of the opposite: that manuscripts, archaeology, and history supported the accuracy of the Bible. He made a confession of faith, was baptized, became a Christian, attended seminary, and became a Christian minister.

This book is written from the perspective of a Christian, comparing the beliefs of Christianity to other world religions and cults. Most books on comparative religion in the U.S. are written by atheist university professors who believe that all religions are simply old myths from different cultures. Those who are used to this approach may have a problem with McDowell's Christian perspective.

However, McDowell is very fair. Although he is a unapologetically Protestant, he treats Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity as coequal Christian faiths. He does not engage in a denominational struggles, but focuses on what all three have in common as historic core Christain beliefs.

He treats other religions and cults with the same respect, pointing out how they differ from Christianity in their beliefs without making subjective or judgmental statements about them. At the end of the book he even tells the reader what he admires about many non Christian religions, such as Mormons' committment to evangelism and Muslims' committment to prayer and fasting; he encourages Christians to emulate such committment in the practice of their own faith.

Josh McDowell is a scholar and a gentleman; he treats others are he wishes to be treated. He disagrees with other religions and cults, but he shows great respect toward those who practice them. He seeks intellectual and theological dialogue with everyone about the greater issues of life without disparaging their beliefs.

Christians of all denominations will find this book to be very informative, easily understood, fair to their particular denomination, and respectful toward non Christians. Non Christians can benefit from the clear presentation of Christian beliefs from a practicing Christian and also from McDowell's clear summaries of the basic beliefs of other religions. Some non Christians may be offended by McDowell's Christian perspective, but should consider that religious people feel the same way when atheist university professors teach about their particular religions as a "cultural myths."

This book presents an opportunity to learn how a Christian thinks and sees the world, providing balance the more common atheistic perspective in the study of comparative religions. The old proverb that one should "walk a mile in another man's mocassins before judging him" applies well to this book. Read the book with an open mind and let McDowell explain Christian beliefs and how they differ from the beliefs of other religions or cults. Josh McDowell may disagree with them, but he is never "disagreeable."

This book is written from a Christian point of view. If you are a Christian and want an overview of other religions, you may enjot this. I did.