World Religions and Cults 101 – A Guide to Spiritual Beliefs
World Religions and Cults 101 A Guide to Spiritual Beliefs Christianity 101
Why are there so many religions? Do they basically teach the same thing? Bruce and Stan address these questions and more as they take a close look at some of the world's major religions and belief systems. From Islam to Jehovah's Witnesses and from New Age Spirituality to Atheism, Darwinism, and Naturalism, World Religions and Cults 101 features —
- key teachings of each religion
- quick–glance belief charts
- brief biographies of leaders
- study questions for group or individual use
- suggested reading
Readers will also discover why spiritual searching is universal, how each religion compares to Christianity, the characteristics of cults, and what makes Christianity unique.
Formerly titled Bruce & Stan's ® Guide to Cults, Religions, and Spiritual Beliefs
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars If you can look past the bias…
It's a pretty good book. Gave me the information I was looking for but it's significantly biased toward Christianity. At the very beginning, they say they want to present an "objective" view of all the religions, then immediately after, they say Christianity is the only religion that is completely true. And how do we know this? Well, because God said so, of course! It's right there in the Bible!! Then they go on to discuss the other religions and at the end of each, they compare them to Christianity and to each other (which is good), but then they say "here are all the reasons why this religion is wrong."
1 Star Not Good for Serious Study
Although I appreciate the candor in the Authors Note that they are Christians and they were not going to try to hide that, they also put that we do not want to read another one-sided, intolerant, discriminatory tirade against other faiths. With that said, they bagin each chapter with a Bible Scripture in the attempt to discredit the faith you are about to read. I have to agree with another reviewer who said they tried to be funny but it really just came off as judgemental and insulting.
I had to laugh out loud in the section on Hinduism. The questions for review in the back I found to be the most insulting because they were a clear ploy to push their own agenda. Page 168, question number 6. It said, Is reincarnation defensible from a rational standpoint? My answer to that was,"Is Mary giving birth to Jesus as a Virgin rational?"
My guess is that these particular Christians have never read, The Gnostic Gospels, Nag Hammadi, The Gospel of Mary Magdeline, The Unknown Life of Jesus (Issa,) or the lost book of John which is the same guy in the Bible, only the story is a lot different with that missing link. He states the name of the God of the Bible and guess what…It is not the Supreme God. You cannot accept a mans testimony in one book because it made it into the Bible and then ignore the full gospel of his writings when it is found later in a desert with other gospels from that time period. I would gather they also never read Holy Blood Holy Grail. I recommend anyone who is intersted in researching religion to do so with an open mind and study them all before making your conclusion.
This book is very biased and although it has some good information, it is hard to find it through all the sarcasm and insults. I have to agree with the other reviewer when he said the cover says it all. The Narrow Road Leads to Christianity? Whatever! You've got to hand it to the Publishers though. They new this book would cause some outrage and that is what sends the books flying off the shelves. As an Author myself, who has studied and continues to study world religions, this biased and sometimes ignorant book has given me another chapter to write on. Thank you for that.
5 Stars World Religion and Cults
These two authors are outstanding in presenting information to an individual just starting to study the world's religions and their basic doctrines. It is easy reading and despite the title has a bit of humor interspersed – far from boring!! It will lead a reader to more of their published books.
3 Stars one of the few…
B&S outlines ive been able to read through. also read their, 'guide to bible prophecy' their masterpiece that's sadly out of publication.
2 Stars Too biased for my taste.
After reading this book and then looking at the image on the cover I realized I should have known this was a biased book on world religions. Hmm…where does the road lead? Right to Christianity. Perhaps it is my fault this book did not live up to my expectations.
With that said, here are my reasons for not liking this book. First of all, the authors tried to bring humor to this book but the humor came off as more insulting to the other religions than funny. Also, I did not like that towards the end of most chapters on religions other than Christianity the authors felt they needed to thrown in a few arguments on why this reglion was not as good as their faith. The first chapter of the book is on Christianity, I really didn't need a recap after each chapter after that. Lastly, the last chapter of the book is on how to practice your religion (if you are a Christian, that is).
I really was just looking for an open-minded book with good information on the many religions found in our world. While this book did break those religions down I also felt they were talking down about them.
If you are looking for a really informative and unbiased book on world religions I recommend The World's Religions by Huston Smith. Smith gives very detailed accounts on religions and is very good about leaving his personal beliefs out of the text. In fact, I ended up reading both of these books together. First, I read a chapter (with gritted teeth) of the Bickel & Jantz book and followed it with a corresponding chapter of Smith's book.
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- Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions – Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormonism, Mind Sciences, BahaI, Zen, Unitarianism In Defense of the Faith Series 2
- Biblical Healing and Deliverance – A Guide to Experiencing Freedom from Sins of the Past – Destructive Beliefs, Emotional and Spiritual Pain, Curses and Oppression
- What Are Your Spiritual Beliefs?
- Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults
- Scripture Twisting – Twenty Ways the Cults Misread the Bible
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