What's the Big Deal About Other Religions?
A Review of the Book by John Ankerberg & Dillon Burroughs
Have you ever wondered what the big deal is about other religions? Maybe you wanted to discover more but didn’t know where to begin. Whether you seek information about the basics or desire a starting point for research, What’s the Big Deal About Other Religions? is the perfect place to start.
Fundamentals of Sixteen Religions
Five sections take the reader through the history and beliefs of the major religions. We meet the founders of each, glimpse the holy books that guide them and compare them to Biblical Christianity.
The first section establishes a control group of sorts with an introduction to Jesus, a definition of biblical Christianity and a description of its unique nature. Six foundational areas are established and utilized throughout the book for comparison to other religions. The next chapter discusses Roman Catholicism and what makes it different from biblical Christianity. Though they “share a common origin and some overlapping beliefs,” the book states. “[T]hey are ultimately two separate faiths under the broad umbrella of Christianity.”
Section two discusses the other one-God religions, Judaism and Islam, while the third focuses on the four of the most popular alternative religions, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Wicca and Kabbalah. Next, readers learn about Eastern religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism. The final section discusses multi-god and anti-God religions, the New Age movement, Agnosticism and Atheism.
Clear, Concise and Understandable
The foundations used for comparison are God, holy book, sin, Jesus, salvation and afterlife. Discussion about each religion ends with a comparison to Christianity using a chart of the foundational areas. For instance: salvation from the Roman Catholicism perspective – “Justification is obtained by doing meritorious works that cooperate with God’s grace, with focus upon the seven sacraments.” In contrast, the biblical Christianity perspective is, “Justification is obtained only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by human effort or a result of cooperating with God’s grace."
For those who want to better understand belief systems different from their own, this book shares adequate information. While it doesn’t go in-depth, it presents the basics in clear terms.
Useful Resource
Overall, this book is an excellent resource. Students of world religions could easily use this text as a beginning point for research. It provides basic information and includes an extensive list of additional resources. A discussion guide is located in the back of the book as a study tool for further comprehension.
What’s the Big Deal About Other Religions? won’t sit unforgotten on a dusty bookshelf. The information contained within its pages provides an easy reference to help understand the world around us and owners will consult it often.
Book Details:
List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (March 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736921222
ISBN-13: 978-0736921220
