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Summary: The title of this book is misleading
Review: I bought his book thinking that it would contain a basic summary of each of the popular religions (I didn't read any of the reviews before buying it). The author obviously spent a great deal of time studying many religions, unfortunately, his very bias comments that are interspersed within the text make the book impossible to read. Please Mr McDowell just give us the facts of the religions and not your opionion. This book should of been titled "why my religion is right and yours is wrong".Concerning his arguments for his chosen religion, what can I say other then they make him look like a fool. His logic to identify an occult religion would surely apply to own religion, but he simply doesn't see it. Its quite sad to think about his state of mind
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Summary: McDowell and Co. shoot themselves in the foot with this book
Review: I could not help but fight back a laugh at the thought that Reformed Christian Hellenists have taken it upon themselves to accuse other religions of occultism. Consideing Christianity's adoption of such pagan beliefs as Trinity, Divine Incarnation, Vicarious Atonement, Original Sin, and on and on and on, McDowell & Co. are virtually putting themselves on trial. This book serves as an excellent case study for psychology into the mind of pathological liar.
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Summary: Not quite a handbook...
Review: I felt that I should post a warning about this book, because it contains so many inaccuracies and fails to be the comprehensive treatment of the world's religions that it claims to be. I was raised a Southern Baptist Christian, but over the course of my life have come to develop a profound interest in and respect for faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and others--most of which pre-date Christianity. The authors of this book mischaracterize the faiths in many places...one notable example being their description of Buddhism as "a sect of Hinduism," which is a shameful inaccuracy. I was most offended by the tone of the book, which paints faiths other than Christianity as missing the mark in a very specific way--the fact that they aren't Christianity. Buddhism is targeted because it fails to produce a creator and savior. But Buddhism is several hundred years older than Christianity...are we to retroactively despise early Buddhists for not embracing a Christianity that hadn't come about yet? Sigh... That and other absurd questions spring overwhelmingly from a reading of this book. The authors seem less interested in educating their readers about other faiths than tearing those faiths down and critiquing them negatively from a Christian perspective. I believe that that approach is harmful and disrespectful to other belief systems. How can a Vietnamese rice farmer who has never heard of Christ be missing the mark just because he's a Buddhist? He's never left his farming village--how could he have gone astray? McDowell and Stewart do not present useful information in this book. They systematically attack faiths such as Buddism and Hinduism--in a way that is unflattering to them as writers and a GHASTLY piece of PR for Christianity. If the Christian mission is to lead nonbelievers to Christ, one does not gain any credibility for that mission by showing the attitude that others are deluded and inferior because of beliefs they have held all their lives. This book scares me, and I've gone to church all my life. If you buy it, read it with a grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: simply written and very informative
Review: I found this book to be one of the best and most simply written reference books for the spectrum of today's religions. I think that it can be very helpful in conquering the wide-spread ignorance that surrounds different religious beliefs. However, before buying this book, one must realize that it is writtin from a bible-believing christian standpoint and therefore the ideas could most certianly be considered bias. However, in reading the book i think that you will find most of the information to be very factual. There is very little opinion and what opinion can be found is well presented by McDowell and Stewart. This is a must-buy for Christians.
Rating:
Summary: simply written and very informative
Review: I found this book to be one of the best and most simply written reference books for the spectrum of today's religions. I think that it can be very helpful in conquering the wide-spread ignorance that surrounds different religious beliefs. However, before buying this book, one must realize that it is writtin from a bible-believing christian standpoint and therefore the ideas could most certianly be considered bias. However, in reading the book i think that you will find most of the information to be very factual. There is very little opinion and what opinion can be found is well presented by McDowell and Stewart. This is a must-buy for Christians.
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Summary: Simple book for the Simple Minded
Review: I wish amazon would let reviewers select a negative rating such as -5 because a book like this definately deserves a below, one rating. The authors are obviously modern fundamentalist that wave and thump their Bibles then they don't even believe half of whats in them. Case in point the section titled 'authority of the believer' despite (1 Tim 3:15 & Hebrews 13:17). Then theres the overall assumtion on their part, that the Lord failed in what he said, and set out to do in (Matthew 16:18-19).
Rating: 
Summary: The Title of the book is very accurate
Review: McDowell's and Stewart's *Handbook of Today's Religions* is a compilation of their series on the cults, world religions and secular religions, under one title. The work provides a systematic survey of the core beliefs, philosophical characteristics and significant writers within each religious viewpoint, and offers a critique from the foundation of a historic, Biblical Christian worldview. The book is copiously documented from the primary sources and significant secondary materials, and is clearly written in a friendly and personable style. The documentation contained in this book alone is worth the price of the book. The religious views treated, while held to be in error by the authors, are treated with an irenic tone and intelligent manner.
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Summary: Handbook of Today's Religions
Review: McDowell's purpose may be noble in writing this book, but sadly it is very one-sided and based on his own perspective and interpretation of biblical sources. This book sadly fails to inform. It prohibits dialogue between the various traditions of the world, which would have and certainly does sadden God. The book is ignorance defined, I am afraid, and I would have hoped for more from the author. However, when one person or group decides they have a monopoly on the truth, then books such as this are the result. I would say this to any person of any faith who wrote a book so dismissive of traditions besides its own, so this is not simply as dismissal of a Christian author. Mr. McDowell should be ashamed of this book. I am ashamed for him.
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Summary: Enormously valuable overview of major religions. Buy it!
Review: This 567 page book examines many religious beliefs, outlining their history, practice and basic nature, along with why they are not compatible with reality and biblical Christianity. The current trend is to assert all religions are interchangeable. This book puts the idea to rest with extensive scholarship and clear-thinking. It draws on the consensus teachings of each religion and it's leading thinkers (the founders, for example), along with extensive quotes from more specialized works in comparative religion. I looked over 3 other comparative religion books. They seemed to dance around the essential, core understanding. Not so with this book. You will find yourself reaching for this volume time after time. It's a great purchase! Most of it was written in 1982. I hope there is a revision in which the authors bring to bear their insights and learning gained over the last 20 years. The work could be clarified in spots so that non-Christians could appreciate it. That is, the authors fall short of making some of the analysis unanswerable, but I think they could make it so (and a book like this needs to be) with revision. These are the topics covered. Each has at least several pages -- and often more -- devoted to it: Non-Christian: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism. Secular religions: Atheism, Agnosticism, Skepticism, Marxism, Secular Humanism, Existentialism Cults: Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism, TM, Theosophy, EST, Children of God, Unification Church, The Way International, Worldwide Church of God, Christian Science, Unity Occult: Astrology, Black Mass, Edgar Cayce, Demons, Jeane Dixon, Dowsing, Fire Walking, Fortune Telling, Ghosts, Hypnotism, Magic, Ouija Board, Parapsychology, Psychic Surgery, Rosicrucianism, Satanism, Necromancy, Superstition, Witchcraft.
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Summary: Excellent evaluation of a wide variety of belief systems
Review: This book has four major sections: Understanding the Cults, Understanding the Occult, Understanding Non-Christian Religions, and Understanding Secular Religions. It closes with an article by Norman Anderson on "A Christian Approach to Comparative Religions." I read this book years ago when I first became a Christian. It helped to settle in my mind the uniqueness of true Christianity. It also helped to answer lingering questions I had about other belief systems. So it helped to solidify my belief that the Christian faith was true and that other belief systems were false. In the first section on cults the authors first discuss "What is a Cult?" They then present the basic characteristics of cults and the beliefs of orthodox Christianity. The beliefs are present via quotes from important Christian creeds, with supporting Biblical references. It's not a thorough Biblical study of such doctrines, but adequate for presenting the orthodox view. For a more thorough study on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, see my "Scripture Workbook: For Personal Bible Study and Teaching the Bible." The first section of this book then looks at individual groups like JWs and Mormons. For each group it presents a very short history of the group. For a more detailed history of each group, one would have to consult books like Walter Martin's "Kingdom of the Cults" or Ruth Tucker's "Another Gospel." But what this book does provide is a detailed Biblical discussion of each group's teachings. The book first documents the group's doctrines through extended quotes from it's own literature. The authors then provide extensive Biblical refutations of these doctrines. The tone of the book is one of presenting an exegesis of the relevant Scriptures. It is not strongly judgmental, just strongly Biblical. And my "Scripture Workbook" provides additional Biblical refutations of claims of groups discussed in this book. The second section of this book gets into an area that I find rather uncomfortable to study: the occult. I never was attracted to the occult, and it just gives me the creeps studying about it. But the Bible does say not be ignorant of Satan's devices, so at least a cursory knowledge of occult practices can be helpful. This sections looks at occult practices like astrology, fortune telling, and parapsychology. For each practice, a basic explanation is provided, then a logical and/ or Biblical refutation. The third section looks at non-Christian religions like Hinduism and Islam. When I first read this book I found this section particularly interesting. I had never really considered becoming a Mormon or JW, but before becoming a Christian I did investigate other world religions. And again, this book confirmed my previous studies that Christianity was to be preferred over these other religions. The discussions in this section are similar to the ones in the section on cults. A very short history of the religion is presented and then a much more in-depth discussion and Biblical refutation of its teachings. The last section looks at atheism and related belief systems. Again, a basic history is provided of each system, then logical refutations of their teachings. The authors are smart enough to focus on logical arguments as Biblical arguments would hardly hold much sway with atheists. So overall, this is a very helpful book due to the breadth of belief systems it covers. But with such a variety of views discussed, it doesn't provide as much detail on each group as some other books might. But for someone who was in the position I was of still having questions about competing worldviews to Christianity, this book can be very helpful. And it will provide the Christian with a basic knowledge of each of the systems discussed along with providing much material for Biblical studies. And for more Biblical study on many of the topics discussed in this book, see my "Scripture Workbook."
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