So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity [Paperback]

Fritz Ridenour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2001

So What’s the Difference has been revised and updated for the 21st Century to help Christians better understand their own beliefs. A classic first released in 1967, this revision takes a current look at the answer to the question, “How does orthodox biblical Christianity differ from other faiths?”  In a straightforward, non-critical comparison, Fritz Ridenour explores and explains the basic tenets of 20 worldviews, religions and faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, New Age and Mormonism. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

FRITZ RIDENOUR is a favorite writer of readers around the world, with more than four million copies of his books in circulation. His books include How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious and How to Be a Christian and Still Enjoy Life. Ridenour and his wife Jackie, live in Santa Barbara, California. They have three children and ten grandchildren.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regal; 2nd edition (March 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830718982
• ISBN-13: 978-0830718986
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
  • #66 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Ministry

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Of course it's biased! What do you expect, November 6, 2005

By 

J. Rast "Contender" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity (Paperback)

A very good book if you're looking for an introduction to religions with a basic comparison to the teachings found in the Bible.

I'm always amused by comments on Christian books written by Christian authors. Non-Christians complain that the book is biased and the author actually had the nerve to believe that his faith is correct. What did you expect? Should this Christian author have to change his beliefs and tell the reader that the Bible's claim that no one can come to the father but through Jesus Christ is a lie, even though he believes that? Muslims believe you only get to heaven by being Muslim, Catholics believe you need the Cahtolic sacraments, and hundreds of other religions believe they are correct in their beliefs. It seems only Christian claims to exclusive knowledge are unacceptable to these people though.

My favorite was the person who whined that the book was filled with the author's opinions. Don't most non-fiction books contain the author's opinions? I'm guessing, if the book had been written by someone he agreed with, it would have been fine for the author to include his opinions. The problem is not the book in these cases. The problem is that many readers believe any book that does not present the world view they prefer is poorly written and the writer should have consulted them before writing his ideas on paper. These commenters are the ones who are narrow minded. Unless people believe that all paths lead to God, and humanism is the correct world view, they don't believe you should be allowed to express your opinons and beliefs.

Then there are those who claim the book is intolerant. Intolerance is believing that is someone doesn't agree with you they shouldn't be allowed to express their views and opinions. Intolerance is demanding that Christian beliefs not be written about because non-Christians don't like their beliefs. Nowhere in the book does the author preach intolerance of other religions. He simply states what he believes and presents the evidence for those beliefs in comparison to other religions. If you don't like reading that Christians believe their religion is actually true and the Bible is right about the way to salvation, read a book about humanism. Practice what you preach. Tolerance is a two way street.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contains Helpful Charts, June 21, 2000

By 

Bethany McKinney (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: So What's the Difference? (Paperback)

This book is very short, and because of its length it really isn't able to go into depth on any one of the religions discussed. It does cover a lot of territory though, and if you're just looking for a good overview of the main differences between Evangelical Christianity and other religions, then this book is really helpful. Especially helpful are the charts included for each religion which lay out the main things the religion believes about Jesus, the resurrection, salvation, etc. It covers many of the ways other religions intersect or blatantly disagree with Evangelical Christianity, but it leaves out everything about the religions that do not have something to do with their relation to Evangelicalism. So this book is definitely helpful to gain a little bit of knowledge on a wide range, but much more research would be required in order to be able to have a full understanding of the main world religions.

48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward analysis from a Christian Perspective, July 11, 2001

By 

Mark Bullard "Frugal Early Adopter" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity (Paperback)

Given the other reviews, I'll preface by saying this book barely scratchs the surface of answering the question the title poses. However, given that most Americans don't even take the time to scratch the surface of anything more than a mosquito bite, this book is a great, if simple, introduction to the answer. I always wondered the answer to the question this book approaches. Mr. Ridenour does a fantastic job of explaining these differences from a clearly Christian perspective. He starts with a clear identification of the Baseline for comparison (that is Protestant Christianity). He then proceeds to distinguish that baseline from Catholism, then on to other major world religions. I think every high school student should read this book before college. If you've missed that mark, go ahead and read it now! If this spurs your interest, and you really want to know more about other religions, read the writings that are central to those religions. IE. the Bible, the Koran, the Books of Mormon, etc. See for yourself what they say about themselves.