Customer Reviews

Jesus and the Religions of Man

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After carefully working my way through this book, I wanted to give it a five star rating for the following reasons: a)Fairness - the author is not out to bamboozle the reader with sleight-of-hand tricks that act as an apologetic for the Christian faith. He respects the faiths of others, carefully evaluating both the strengths and weaknesses of his own faith and of others. b)Insight - His worldview is not that of an ivory tower academic, divorced from the realities of the real world, but a combination of study, travel, rumination, and interaction with many others of differing faiths. Because of this, he often comes up with insightful commentary and revelatory remarks. e.g. traveling in Taiwan, the author saw how Buddhism and Taoism have both been used to further childhood prostitution, drug abuse, and gang activity. "Religion does not always increase the stock of the world's justice, mercy, and humility. . . Spirituality is power - a power that has more potential both to save and to harm than any other human force." c) Learned - the author has done a lot of reading in the fifteen years spent in the making of this book, and his knowledge base is what one would wish for in someone comparing the world's religions. d) Discernment - At last: An author who can differentiate between tolerance and truth! The author is able to acknowledge that which is good in other faiths (tolerance) and yet still talk about Christianity as being the uncompromising fulfillment of that which the other faiths long for (truth). Truth implies discrimination, and while respecting the beliefs of others, he's not afraid to disagree with their conclusions. e) Documentation - the author doesn't just spout assertions. He carefully footnotes the information so the reader can look up items if so inclined. The authorities he cites are widely recognized and accepted in their fields of belief.

However, I refrain from giving this book five stars for three reasons: a) Occasional incoherency of style (making it difficult to follow his line of reasoning) b) Occasional glossing over of topics or yielding conclusions insufficiently supported by the facts of his case, and c) Inadequacy of addressing the two other great monotheistic faiths, Judaism and Islam. (This was the biggest limitation of the book.) A Jew or Muslim asking, "Why should I leave my faith and become a Christian?" could read through this book and feel that this question had not been adequately answered.

The author covers the oriental faiths and western philosophies with great thoroughness. (He divides his time between Japan and the U.S. and is well versed in addressing these East/West issues.) Aboriginal religions of Africa and Australia receive very little discussion, though the apologetics he uses for the oriental faiths do adequately address these aboriginal religions as well. The coverage given to Islam and Judaism, however, is not really adequate enough to invoke a convincing apologetic. (These two faiths almost require separate books for dialogue, e.g. Josh McDowell's The Islam Debate, featuring both discussion and a debate with Ahmed Deedat.) As an afterthought, I would also add that I, too, noticed a surprising frequency of spelling and grammatical errors. The book needed better proofreading before going to the printing press; but that doesn't affect the quality of the book's arguments.

I think that Shintoists, Taoists, Buddhists, followers of Confucius, Lao Zi, Marx, or agnostics would find this book challenging and fair. Those searching for truth will find a fellow pilgrim who is kind enough to shed light on the subject, saying, "I respect the path you are taking up the mountain, but only one road leads all the way to the top. Come over here and walk along with me." I can easily recommend this book to their attention.

This book provides an excellent explanation of how Christianity can be reconciled with Asian religions and culture. I am a recent Christian and one of the problems I always had with Christianity was the exclusiveness of its claim to truth. When I became Christian, it was very important for me to deal with that issue.
David Marshall's book does this very thing with subtle reasoning, uncompromising principles, and a true sensitivity to the mind and culture of Asian peoples gained from real life experience in the region. It is instructive to mention the main points of this book as I saw them.
One: there is much that anticipates and supports Christian revelation in the traditions and religions of Asia. As a result, many Asians are very receptive to the Christian message, if only they live in a society where they are allowed the freedom to consider such things.
Two: Westerners tend to romanticize Asian religions as being somehow more pure and wise than Christianity. This is a view that patently ignores some significant flaws in Asian religious doctrine and practice and such things must be honestly recognized in order to substantially compare Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Asian traditions.
Three: These flaws have led to injustices and crimes against humanity in various Asian societies. In almost every case, Christianity provides an ethical and moral framework with which to address and solve these injustices. (Christianity provides this same framework for dealing with injustices in the Western world, by the way.)
Four: one can simultaneously assert core Christian doctrines while respecting Asian religious and cultural values. Just because we believe Jesus to be the only true Son of God, does not mean that we regard any person or religion who does not hold that same belief to be beneath contempt. There is much beauty and truth to be found in Asian culture and religion, much that complements and expresses Christian values. Where Christianity and those same traditions part company, we must be courageous enough to state the differences honestly and with love, and to work towards obtaining truth, no matter what the cost to our pre-conceived ideals.
I ramble, but basically this book was both a joy to read and incredibly illuminating. As someone who lived in Japan, this book proved an invaluabe resource in providing a way and a method to understand how Christianity can be integrated into the Asian world view without violating its core principles.

Jesus and the Religions of Man (JATROM) is a wonderful apologetic that examines the core of our humanity in the context of our modern society. The major intellectual, political and social revolutions of the 20th century, that has formed the basis of our society in the 3rd millennium, are critically examined in the light of history. The author¡¦s reflective insights of the problems of Marxism, sexuality and eastern mysticism are drawn from a deep intellectual well that never runs dry. He is constantly comparing thought forms and ways of life to the life, thoughts and ways of Christ. He compellingly concludes that all (including the Church) fall short of the glory and the abundance of life that is offered in Christ. Anecdotal references to the authors own experiences travelling through Asia adds character and personality to a book that is filled with arguments that defends the Gospel of Christ in a new, appealing and refreshing way.

This is a great book. I especially enjoyed the chapter on how Jesus has changed the world. Marshall does not shy away from the crusades and the ¡§bad¡¨ things done in the ¡§name¡¨ of Christianity. Instead he shows that the world was not changed by the ¡§ecumenical authority of the Church¡¨ but rather the every day man and woman who accepted Christ into their lives. The people on the ground who allowed the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to work through them, conform them to Christ and allowed them to change the world. Marshall constantly appeals to the humanity of man and persuasively shows how man has tried to set himself up as a god. He calls us to a life of worship and submission to God for, as he shows by examining modern psychological evidence, the inward looking man will implode.

If you are an atheist, read this book and try to refute it¡¦s research and claims. If you are a seeker, JATROM will answer many of the questions that you are probably asking. If you are Christian, read this book and be inspired to continue to seeking the will of God, for as David Marshall repeats constantly, Jesus came to give us abundant life. If you are a Buddhist, Hindu or eastern Mystic, confront this apologetic on it¡¦s own terms. I am sure it will shed new light on your beliefs and who you are. Written with astounding clarity, occasional wit, amazing insight and compassionate persuasiveness, JATROM is certainly worthy enough to find a place next to Moreland, Schaeffer, and McDowell on any bookshelf.

In my opinion, this book is an entirely fitting successor to Chesterton's _Everlasting Man_. With both passion and compassion, Mr. Marshall blends rigorous research with touches of poignantly poetic flair, in a forceful tour of incisive probing into what could be called the 'practical guts' of very many religious traditions. Mr. Marshall is not an ivory tower academic who speculates and hypothesizes on how religions ought to compare; but a mud-on-his-boots social worker who is willing to put his heart and life where his mind leads him.

Like many authors before him (including Chesterton and Lewis), Mr. Marshall promotes the idea that the most self-consistently sensible and noble aspects of competitive philosophies and religions (whether instituted before or after Jesus' ministry) not only are fulfilled by Jesus but often cry out (or even implicitly predict) that God would act as traditional Christians say He has in Jesus.

This does not mean that Mr. Marshall obscures the differences between religious strands. Nor does it mean that he blindly rejects what they have to say. He lets them speak on their own terms. Nor is he merely shilling for the institution of the 'church', for he often calls the churches to account for failing to measure up to the idea and the Person upon Whom they claim to be founded. But one central thrust to his book (though I don't remember if he says so in so many words) is that parallel failures in other religions and philosophies can be traced to the implications of their foundational roots; while the failures of the Christian churches can be traced, certainly to the root of their fundamental doctrines, but not to the actual doctrines expressed in the Christian scriptures.

There are so many clearly articulated principles put into play in this book for truly useful comparison of religions, that I cannot possibly summarize them here. Let me present merely one chapter's topic as an example.

Modern sceptics of religion-in-general have said (with admittedly some historical justification) that 'miracles' are what 'we' do, and 'magic' is what 'they' do. Yet it is possible to stand outside the traditions and still identify five important quality-sets by which a useful distinction between 'miracle' and 'magic' could be grounded, whether or not the scholar lends the account of the event any credence as history. Did the original proposers of the event invite verification; or did they propose it in such a way that the event could never even in principle be verified? Did the event, however large or small, fulfill a practical need in a person's life; or did it take place mainly for the sake of 'show'? Did the event enhance the distinctiveness of a person as a person; or did it tend to obliterate the personality? Was the event presented humbly, in such a fashion that the presenter sought to focus attention away from his own glory; or was it presented primarily as an ego-trip self-justification for the glory of the presenter? And did the event come as a request; or did the event come through demand? Rather than merely proposing these distinctions, Mr. Marshall gives numerous tactile examples, drawn from religious traditions both ancient and modern, to help the reader understand the principle behind the distinctions. And he is careful to qualify himself in the process.

Indeed, Mr. Marshall always works hard to qualify how far his arguments and proposals can and cannot go. He is entirely willing to grant credit, both logically and ethically, wherever he can. And (most impressively to me) he is willing to face the responsibility of his own shortcomings as a person and put himself in the unflattering position of an example in order to make a point he believes is worth making. On top of all this, I found his arguments to be internally self-consistent, as far as they go.

Although I can vouch for the systemic integrity of his work, someone else shall have to vouch for the integrity of the raw data--but for what it is worth, the little bit I _could_ check was on the mark, and he provides numerous quotes and references for cross-checking to ensure he isn't taking remarks out of context. On the other hand, meticulous readers may be slightly annoyed by the higher-than-usual incidence (about once every five pages) of the grammatic-spelling errors which are the hallmark of computer assisted spell-checking. (e.g. the word "on" instead of the word "one".) None of these few errors, though (and my mere mention of them makes them sound more pervasive than they are), undercuts his arguments or proposals in any way--it is always possible to figure out almost instantly what word should have been printed instead. (More than anything, their existence is mainly a warning to other modern authors: read out loud the final draft of everything you write at least once _after_ the computer has had its way with your manuscript!<g>)

Otherwise, I can easily recommend this book with the highest compliment any reader of any stripe can give a work: I wish I had written it myself. Mr. Marshall deserves to be supported as an author (including trenchant criticism where applicable, which he himself invites for further polishing of his argument), and I look forward to the next book (if any) he shall publish.

Two chapters in this book "The pursuit of Happiness" and "the non-history of God" compelled me to abandon my holiday guests to finish it. From a Christian perspective, the writing here is as good as it gets in this genre, which may loosely (and respectfully) be described as the-poor-man's-C S Lewis. I found the book to be a refreshing combination of a gentle broadmindedness towards other faiths, and a dogged attachment to the person of Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Gospels. This represents the true spirit of Evangelical Christianity; to acknowledge that God is the primary seeker of all men, unrestricted by our expectations and cultural prejudices, and that Jesus is indeed "the joy of man's desire". It is the spirit of the great missionaries like James Hudson Taylor and, more recently, Bruce Olson.

Both the merely nominal church-goer and the settled atheist will find much here that will disrupt the little pond of comfort. Like the Pharisees and Scribes the former will be scandalized by the unreserved "goodwill to all men" implicit in the argument, while the latter will no doubt be irked by the suggestion that some other force than blind chance operates in human history. This dismay is abundantly evident in the invective employed by most of the reviewers of this ilk. Yet any objective reader will come to the conclusion that there exists in the hearts of men an universal desire for a figure precisely like Jesus Christ, to the extent that it, at the very least, has to be typified (in the words of Jung) as a dominant archetype of the collective subconscious.

The author shows how the highest ideals & deepest yearnings of all the world's religious & cultural traditions converge in Jesus Christ & are fulfilled in Him. He argues that Jesus is, as He claimed to be, "the Way, the Truth, & the Life," the unique salvation God has prepared for ALL peoples. A brilliant demonstration of how God's general revelation in nature & human conscience, while never in itself redemptive, functions as a vital foundation for understanding & appreciating God's special revelation -- the Gospel message of salvation contained in the Bible. Marshall's book is thus -- perhaps unintentionally -- a powerful antidote to the folly of the presuppositionalist school of apologetics. One of the finest classical apologetics books of the last century, & one that deserves to be better known. Marshall writes in the tradition of C. S. Lewis & G. K. Chesterton, & is every bit as good. Thoughtful Christians should read this fine book, & then give away as many copies as they can to their skeptical friends & relatives.

I found this book to be less an exposition and analysis of Christ or Christianity in comparison to other religions, than an exposition of the author's conservative view of Christianity. The book in general argues for the superiority of Christianity to the other religions mentioned in the book without any meaningful analysis of other religions.

In the chapter titled "Why tolerance is not a Christian virtue" the author takes the view that Christians have a special obligation to involve themselves in other people's lives,thereby betraying a particular point of view, with which other Christians may not agree.

In dealing with the topic of sexual mores, the author makes the blanket statement that Jesus reaffirmed Old Testament sexual mores, with no specific references to Scripture, implying a legalism which is antithetical to the heart of the message of Jesus.

While I agree with the author's assertion that Jesus' strong views regarding monogamy represented a significant advance for the status of women, his usage of the fact that certain strains of other religions allow poligamy and even prostitution in order to discredit other religions is a questionable tactic on the road to proving Christianity's moral superiority.

Certainly practitioners of those religions could point out anomolous practices among certain Christian groups that do not represent the heart of the Gospel .

If you are interested in reading an exposition of conservative Christian views, this book should be right up your alley. If you are expecting some insightful analysis comparing the religions of man to Christianity, you'll be disappointed.

There's something to be said for obvious nonsense, be it Ann Coulter or Creationism: anybody with a standard set of neurons and a bit of intellectual honesty can pretty well figure out for themselves that they're utter rubbish.

Unfortunately, this sort of book is far more dangerous because it's far more eloquently written and ostensibly appeals to the sensibilities of a somewhat more educated reader. The arguments here are more refined and the rhetoric is more polished. Alas, it's also complete and utter nonsense that simply preaches to the choir - albeit a more demanding, educated one.

Marshall's thesis is disturbing in its fundamental dishonesty: Christianity is a good (in fact, comparatively 'the best') system, he claims, therefore we should regard it as true and become Christians. Because the very existence of Marshall's book gives evidence to the idea that some people don't see what's so very very wrong with this line of thinking, let me make it quite clear: even if christianity were the best of all possible religions (which is itself highly, HIGHLY, *** HIGHLY *** dubious premise, despite marshall's paper mache mangling of history and theology to arrive at that conclusion), that doesn't argue for the fact that we should regard it as true any more than your doctor should lie to you about the terminal illness you have because he wants your last days to be less stressful. We should "believe" in things not beause we want them to be true, but because they ARE true and are supported by actual evidence. Marshall doesn't even attmept to pretend that he has actual evidence that Christianity is in some way true - he simply wants to assrt that we should act as if were true because he personally thinks its the best alternative. While doubtlessly few non-believers would be convinced by this, unfortunately, there are a heck of a lot of believers who find this reasoning persuasive.

This book pretends to attempt to show that christianity is superior by contrasting it with other faiths. The result is predictable, given that this book is an apologetic. The obstacle course of criteria of what makes a religion superior is carefully set-up with Jesus-friendly hurdles, and, whaddya know, Jesus wins!

It's for men of reason and intellect like Marshall to realize that if you start with a premise, assume it to be true, and then base everything on this, then you are being fundamentally dishonest. Clearly, he has the brains to recognize that his argument is basically what psychologists call 'rationalization' - the question is whether he has the guts to confront this.