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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Marketing misleading, great resource for Christians, September 20, 2008
This review is from: What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?: Answering the Questions About Their Beliefs and Practices (Paperback)
What's the Big Deal About Other Religions provides an introduction to the study of comparative religions through an evangelical Christian lens. Examining Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Wicca, Buddhism, Taosim, Agnosticism, Atheism and other faiths, the authors contrast them with the core doctrines of faith that is based upon the Bible alone, sola scriptura. Not an ecumenical title by any stretch of the imagination, the authors contrast not only widely divergent belief systems such as Shinto and Hinduism with Christianity, but also other Christian-like faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholicism. Indeed, the authors coming from a seemingly Calvinistic perspective nearly decry any with Armenian beliefs as following a false gospel.
Each chapter outlines a general overview of the religion being discussed and a comparison chart that clearly condenses the explanation the chapter contained. The chart compares belief in: God, Holy Book, Sin, Jesus Christ and Salvation between the specific religion and the biblical perspective. While this is a very clear-cut way to illustrate differences, I did find the biblical perspective side of the chart repetitive. The answers on that side were the same nearly every time, with some slight changes if specific differences in that area needed to be focused upon.
Due to the wide array of religions explored, each chapter covers only the major points and differences. A scholarly examination of each faith cannot be provided in a work of this scope, but the amount of detail provided is at times surprising. I have counted myself as an atheist for several years before coming to Christ, but I was never aware of the five major types that atheists fall into. Who would have known there was such rich variety within atheism?
I found What's the Big Deal About Other Religions the most accessible introductory work on comparative religions written for an evangelical audience that I've ever read. I've never read a work on apologetics as rapidly as I did this title. The easy to read writing style allows any reader interested in exploring religious differences to get their toes wet in a short period of time. I can see this book being used widely in Christian churches as the foundation for group studies and to equip evangelists.
The average believer would also do well to take the time to read this work to acquire the basic beliefs of a variety of religions. Since becoming a Christian I've been surprised with the insularity of our faith, how little we know about the world around us. It is vitally important for Christians to know what those unfamiliar with Jesus believe. How difficult it is to reach the world for Christ if we won't come out of our shells. Let me allay your fears - the authors do not make other religions seem appealing, learning about them should not lead a believer to stumble in their walk. Perhaps readers of this book will feel the Lord leading them to pursue further studies in apolgetics, focusing on a specific religious group; enabling them to effectively reach it's adherents with the message of hope to be found in Jesus.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential tool for understanding the major religions, July 14, 2008
This review is from: What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?: Answering the Questions About Their Beliefs and Practices (Paperback)
Ankerberg and Burroughs have developed a wonderful writing relationship with their series What's the Big Deal About... In this book they tackle the major world religions discussing the origins, tenets, and holy books, as well as how they view Jesus. This book is a direct rebuttal to the idea that all religions are the same and all will take you to God. Without attacking these beliefs, they explain how they are different from Christianity and how the beliefs are not compatible. Buddhism, Hinduism, Wicca, New Age, Islam, Judaism, and more are all handled. I've read other books in this genre, but this one truly stands out, especially in their description of agnostics and atheists. I had no idea that there were 9 different types of the first and 5 different of the latter. This book is an essential reference guide for churches.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A valuable tool, June 26, 2008
This review is from: What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?: Answering the Questions About Their Beliefs and Practices (Paperback)
John Ankerberg and Dillon Burroughs compare Christianity to other religions in this non-fiction title, "What's The Big Deal About Other Religions?" This educational book is filled with statistics and quotes and comparisons of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Wicca, Kabbalah, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, New Age, Agnosticism, and Atheism, providing a taste of each belief system.
I highly recommend this book as a source to learn about other faiths so that we, as Christians, can learn to witness more effectively. Of course, this book merely scratches the surface of the groups mentioned. But it is a good starting point for broadening your knowledge. This book also contains a discussion guide of questions and a terrific set of endnotes as well as a list of the authors' other works on the subject.
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