Rating: 
Summary: Barely scratches the surface
Review: This is a very small volume, about the size of "The Prayer of Jabez", and is a fairly quick read. The author, who is a well-known Christian apologist, imagines a conversation involving Jesus, Buddha, and a prostitute. The intent is to highlight some of the basic differences between Christianity as taught by Jesus and Buddhism and, yes, is does have a definite Christian slant to it. Nobody should be surprised or upset by this when they take into account the author's point of view. I'm sure if he was a Buddhist and felt like Buddhism had the answers, it would be slanted the other way. Of course, a book this small can barely scratch the surface of either religion and the differences between them, but it is a good starting point. It may be an oversimplification of the subject, but it can whet one's appetite for deeper research. Would a conversation including Jesus and Buddha go exactly this way? Probably not, because who could presume to put words in the mouth of either Christ or Buddha? It is a vehicle, however, for the Socratic approach used here, and it is effective, if not comprehensive.
Rating:
Summary: Barely scratches the surface
Review: This is a very small volume, about the size of "The Prayer of Jabez", and is a fairly quick read. The author, who is a well-known Christian apologist, imagines a conversation involving Jesus, Buddha, and a prostitute. The intent is to highlight some of the basic differences between Christianity as taught by Jesus and Buddhism and, yes, is does have a definite Christian slant to it. Nobody should be surprised or upset by this when they take into account the author's point of view. I'm sure if he was a Buddhist and felt like Buddhism had the answers, it would be slanted the other way. Of course, a book this small can barely scratch the surface of either religion and the differences between them, but it is a good starting point. It may be an oversimplification of the subject, but it can whet one's appetite for deeper research. Would a conversation including Jesus and Buddha go exactly this way? Probably not, because who could presume to put words in the mouth of either Christ or Buddha? It is a vehicle, however, for the Socratic approach used here, and it is effective, if not comprehensive.
Rating:
Summary: A response to "To clear up some misconceptions
Review: To MDA from Boston, you misread Wangden Kelsang's review. He first quotes a problem quote from the book, and then addresses it. You read "The Buddhist must reach his ultimate goal entirely on his own strength..." as _his_ words, but they are not. That sentence was a misconception to which he was addressing, which is why 2 sentences later he writes "The idea that we can achieve enlightenment on our own is foreign to Buddhism." He was not being contridictory, he was addressing, refuting, a misconception. His review is dead-on. The book is good as far as it goes, but it should be realized that it presents one school/sect of Buddhism and of Christianity and thus while some good can still be had from such a book, it also must be kept in mind that it is a large oversimplification.
Rating: 
Summary: Why do people like Ravi have to distort Buddhism?
Review: Want to read a good comparative work on Christianity and Buddhism? Try: 1. Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh 2. Zen and the Birds of Appetite by Thomas Merton This book is WAY overpriced for what you get, and, as several folks have already explained is a gross mischaracterization of Buddhism. So, you've got the conundrum folks: either Ravi knows this, and assumes his readership is too lazy to find something like "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Venerable Henepola Gunaratana, or he really is that ignorant. I give him credit for being intelligent.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: When I think of books concerning Jesus and Buddha, books like Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ usually come to mind - books that try to bring the two spiritual teachers together - this book aims at doing the exact opposite, setting them apart. I do not think there would be anything wrong with this if it were un-biased.. such a book might even be an interesting read. But the fact that the author takes sides makes it a pretty pathetic and sad work. It's not that Mr. Zacharias is a bad author.. I do really like the concept, but I think it was either poorly researched or that he misinterpreted the Buddha's teachings. I also think it is rather silly how the author himself calls the Buddha the Heart of Compassion, but when Priya (the main character) asks him to walk her home, he refuses, for no reason other than he does not wish to. Jesus of course, goes with her. Not a very likely scenario. If it had stayed true to both of their personalities, they both would have gone with her. Also, the whole structure of the story is rather silly. For the most part, it's kind of like this. Jesus says something to Priya about how her life would have been better if she had followed the word of God. Buddha disagrees. Jesus tells Buddha that he is wrong for disagreeing and justifies his claims with quotes from the Bible. Buddha dwells on this, then admits Jesus is right and he was wrong in everything he taught. It's basically just a long, childish argument between two spiritual teachers which most likely would never happen in the first place, since the Buddha was respectful towards people of different beliefs, and Christ (despite what the scriptures say) probably was too.
Rating:
Summary: bigotry disguised
Review: While I am not a Buddhist scholar, I do have great respect for the teachings of Buddhism. While I no longer practise Christianity, I was raised and indoctrinated as a child by just this type of Christian Fundementalism, and feel I could objectivly evaluate the substance of this fictitional conversation. Yet, even with my meager knowlege of Buddhism, it is easy to see how grossly this book mis-represents and maligns the dharma and philosophy of Buddhism. I wonder, do Christians realize what a slap in the face this book's content really is to the gentle and compassionate philosophies of the East? I don't understand how this book could ever be an appropriate gift, especially to a non-Christian such as myself. The whole time I was reading "The Lotus and the Cross" I felt as if I were being verbally attacked. In my opinon, I truely can't believe this book was at all well-intentioned, but rather is diguised, off-handed, hate-riddled bigotry run rampant. It is the worst kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing. I would not recommend this book to anyone except perhaps those whose views are as extreme as the author's opinion appears to be in this manuscript.
Rating: 
Summary: perfect for lay ministry
Review: While this book probably would not engage a Christian who already has studied Buddhism and comparative religion, I find myself recommending this work very often in three main ways:
1. to Christians in lay ministry who are interested in learning about Buddhism's comparison to Christianity
2. to Buddhists, to help non-confrontationally show them the differences between the etchings of Buddha and the teachings of Jesus.
3. to "New Age" or pantheistic believers who claim that Jesus and Buddha taught the same things. Ravi delves fairly deeply into this specific topic and shows how they are not just superficially, but intrinsically different. The book is very informative but not exhaustive. The last several pages are very evangelistic in nature- making it a great book to give away. If you are a Christian who wants to delve into comparative religion, it's not for you. If you are a lay person who simply wants to understand who Buddha was, and the philosophy behind Buddhism- you won't find a better book. I am giving the book 5 stars not only because I think it is the most useful, versatile book I have read in some time, but also because it is written in an entertainingly engaging way that brings Zacharias's philosophy down to a very basic, personal level which most people, Christians and non-Christians, will be much more capable of grasping and putting to use in their life.
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