13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Be wary of accuracy of provided information, June 10, 2008
This review is from: Why So Many Gods? (Paperback)
I was looking briefly at this book while at the grocery store and looked at the entry for my own religion. The information provided was not just biased, it was inaccurate. The publisher asserted that Mormons believed Jesus was the son of Joseph. This is not our belief. We believe that He is divine - literally the Son of God. If the book's publisher misrepresents a fundamental belief of my religion, I am left to wonder how it treats other religions that do not adhere to the Christian premise of the book. If you are looking for an academic overview of world religions, I suggest
Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't. If you are looking for spiritual enlightenment, I suggest you go directly to the source of the religion(s) you are interested in. Most religions have an official website where you can get non-biased theological information.
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18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Deliberately Misleading..., May 12, 2006
This review is from: Why So Many Gods? (Paperback)
After reading this book which I borrowed from a friend, I frequently found myself growing frustrated with it. As my frustration grew, so did my concern; if people are reading this book looking for information supported by facts, then they are in serious trouble.
My first problem with this book is its format: Although it is intended for Teen readers, remember that many teens are capable of reading the Bible itself, and so a book such as 'Why so Many Gods' which claims to make things easy for teens is doing so needlessly. If teens can read the Bible, and all the difficulties inherant in such an endeavor, then why would an introductory book of world religions need to dumb itself down in order to be understood? Give young people more credit.
A second major problem lies in the distinct lack of citation. Where does the source material come from? How are people supposed to check this book against its research material if no citations of research material are forthcoming? How are the readers to effectively ascertain the 'facts' of the book from the opinions of the author? If they didn't want to include all of their sources in the book, then they could easily have supplied a web address which could contain all the relevant material.
A third concern: Many of the 'reviews' of world religions are erroneous, misleading, or outright false. For example: in the Christian section, the 'Protestant' faith is lumped all together as a single coherent faith, overlooking the fact that it is formed of Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, etc. It also states that the geographic center of the faith is 'the Holy Land, Israel'. But if Martin Luther was the instigator of the Reformation - as is common knowledge to anyone with the tiniest bit of education in religious history - then wouldn't one have to put the geographic center of 'Protestantism' in Germany - or at least Europe? That's where it all began for the Protestan Reformation, right?
Another gem: Under Occult Practices: Parapsychology. The book claims that Parapsychologists actively seek to gain paranormal abilities and other 'tricks to impress people at parties', when in fact, Parapsychologists seek to use the scientific method to explore these phenomena - frequently parapsychologists are skeptics. Although the book does mention the use of science by parapsychologists, it also appears to confuse the object of study for the actual beliefs of the observers. Additionally, in the 'rituals, rites, and sacraments' section of Parapsychology, the book mentions Chinese ACUPUNCTURE as though it were of some occult significance! The two things are entirely unrelated - one deals with supernatural phenomena, the other with healing the body through the use of manipulation of the body's nervous system - something generally acccepted by medical and scientific communities!
It seems to me that a person with a mature and developed faith would be able to handle reading material which deals with religions and movments that are different, and in some cases, antithetical to their own, and not have to worry about their faith crashing down around their ears. Part of a mature faith includes being able to look at your faith and others full in the metaphysical face and recognize all the good AND the bad in each one. This book fails to allow Christians to do that. It deliberatly distorts the beliefs of other faiths, mocks their historical roots through the use of stereotypes, colloquialisms, and poorly used slang, and seeks to 'disprove' other faiths in one or two sentances, some of which include 'it just doesn't make much sense'. Really? Why not? Qualify that argument please, so that I am able to see how alternative faiths hold up to strong criticism.
This book would have been much better if it had tried to take other religions - and its own - more seriously. If it is meant to provide teens with tools to recognize other faiths, then it is going to fail horribly. In the next edition, perhaps the authors should cut out all the flashy little bits, add at least another 500 words or so to each section, qualify their arguments, cite their sources, write the material as though it wasn't meant to be read by toddlers, and in general aim for making their work more book-like, less child-like.
I am a Christian, but I don't believe that 'Christian' should be synonymous with 'Ignorant'. Do not buy this book if you are seeking an education.
Here's a better book:
Religion in Society : A Sociology of Religion (8th Edition) (Paperback)by Ronald L. Johnstone
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