Rating: 
Summary: Misses Its Audience
Review: Jesus Among Other Gods was recommended reading for the students in our discipleship program during the past year. While this book is intended to be read by teenagers, most of the students in our group who started reading it did not finish. I recently reread the book to try and understand why.First, I think that the opening chapter in the book gives the wrong idea what the book is about. The very personal account of the author does grip the students. And why not? Most young adults are grappling with the same ideas of what is truth and where should they invest their life. To follow this chapter with a discussion of unique characteristics of Jesus (His virgin birth and sinless life built upon a question of "Where do you live?" - which seemed forced) seemed to lose the students. I think they were expecting some more of the personal account of a man's quest for truth and how he sorted that out from all of the other religions vying for his attention and somehow missed the transition. Also, students should read the last chapter after the first. When I reread the book, I honestly got bogged down after the first chapter...until I got to the last chapter. In it I found some more personal accounts of a search for Christ and a better foundation of why the discussion is even needed. Sadly, many Christians (and students in particular) avoid any kind of thinking. By asking them "Who are you looking for?" (as the last chapter is titled), we've moved from the author's search for Truth to our very own...now I'm ready to read about the claims of Jesus and how they match up to other faiths. It would have worked for me. I'm sure there are many criticisms of this book, many based upon the simplifications of issues at hand. However, remember that this book is geared for students, many of whom have never really considered the position of Jesus among the pantheon of the world's gods. This book can be a starting point for that discussion. Students should not expect to read through this book like a novel; rather, it should be seen as textbook to introduce them to realm of apologetics. The book does address the critical claims of Jesus, the very real differences from three other world religions, and the personal desires of many people to find a god who will serve as our personal pleasure genie - answering all my questions, canceling out all my pain, and instantly fulfilling all my desires. Overall, I was satisfied with the explanation of the existence of evil in the world and how Christianity offers the best explanation. The importance of the cross, the validity of the resurrection, and the uniqueness of the Bible are just a few issues the book adequately addresses. Jesus truly is unique among all other gods.
Rating:
Summary: Solid overview of the foundation of Jesus
Review: Jesus is Someone who is referenced somehow by every religion in the world. From Hindus to Muslims and the cults based in America, there is no doubt that having Jesus as part of one's theology is vital. In this book Ravi Zacharias explains whether or not there is any valid claim to truth and Christ in any other religion but Christianity. Ravi has good stories to tell, writing like an expository preacher with clear, easy-to-understand points. His illustrations are vivid. I guess my only complaint is that he could have tackled the "absolute claims of the Christian message" via a more systematic breakdown with each particular religion. He was continually referring to the Buddhist, Hindu, and others (especially with pantheist ideas), but unless you had previous knowledge of these religions and what they taught, it would seem that the typical layperson would have had trouble keeping up. Still, while it does not get too deep, there is plenty of meat here, and I think the book is very much worth a read. Ravi is a clear evangelical voice in the wilderness, and I appreciate his logic and stand for truth.
Rating: 
Summary: No stars
Review: The author is completely clueless about other religions and their basis. He cannot differentiate between religion and cultural evolution. His entire passion for christianity stems from the absence of fatherly love in his childhood and he tries to find that love in Jesus as a father figure. Adversity is never the best time to become passionate about religion as it ends up being a solace rather than a belief. More like a cult to belong to. Also Hinduism is NOT a polytheistic religion. GOD can have many forms and names just like chocolate! The author needs to understand metaphysics to understand other religions
Rating: 
Summary: a must buy
Review: its a first rate book for both the believer and skeptic alike, addressing the postmodern mind. ravi uses personal stories, historical insight, philosphers of the ages, a diversity of sources to engage some of the most grippling questions of our times. intellectually challenging, yet being extremely personal, makes this a captivating book. the price of the book is well worth it. after reading it i have bought many copies and have quoted it often.
Rating: 
Summary: ravi among other apologeticists
Review: hoy... lots of controversy over this one. i'm a christian myself and i didn't find the book devoid of insight, but i think it might be wise to send out a caveat to the wider world of amazon: for starters, ravi zacharias is not "the best christian apologist of our day" or any such thing. he writes books FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY CHRISTIAN. no mistake, he is an elegant writer, but n.t. wright he ain't. if you're a christian you might enjoy the reflective value of the book. BUT IF YOU ARE "INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT CHRISTIANITY," (along the lines of "why christianity") DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. for something more substantial, try william lane craig's "reasonable faith" instead. on another note, the book's treatment of other faiths isn't very well-done (i.e. it's cursory and slanted). then again, it wasn't meant to be a textbook on comparative religion, so if you do read it, try to keep that in mind, so you don't feel obliged to write another one o' those "you christians think your religion is the best and you don't understand tolerance and blah blah blah" reviews. if we didn't think christianity is the best way to GOD, we wouldn't be christians, right? it's really quite valid for us to want to defend WHY we believe in our religion rather than... someone else's. sorry to end on the soapbox, but i hope my little diatribe was helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Truth is exclusive by nature
Review: I have just completed reading this book, i think ravi has done a good job.
I myself an indian can tell in pluralistic society you find nothing but confution because truth by nature is exclusive & so the exclusiveness of jesus should by taken not by our subjective preference but by carefull verfication.
Book deals with the truth claim of christianity and does a good job.
Book deals with teoritical part but if any one wants to know the experiencial relevence should see the nation which has lived to the extrem of pluralistic (india)has gone no were & has degraded to the great extent with the philosophy of all worldview being equally true.
Rating: 
Summary: Apologist, apologize.
Review: This author is an extremely well educated, articulate, and passionate author. His educational background also includes legal education. I agree with him on one point: Religious tolerance is not cutting it. Ravi seems to have several axe's to grind: Post Modernism (PM)and any religion outside his own B.S. (B.S. = Belief System). My main objection is that the author makes an egregious metaphysical blunder with his use of the word "Truth". (by confusing relative cultural truths with Ultimate Truth. This blunder renders most of his ontological arguments impotent.) His thesis is that Christianity is the One True religion and Jesus is the One True Son of God. However, instead of merely defending his faith he also decides to combat other legitimate religions as well as PM. In combating Pluralism, Contextualism, and PM he tosses out the baby with the bath water. Although PM in its extreme expressions does little to foster inter-religious understanding, PM's basic tenets themselves are not evil. Ravi's disdain of PM infects this book. Those familiar with Eastern Philosopy appreciate the reality of the "Two Truths Doctrine", (i.e. A distinction between the relative world (i.e. form) and the Trancendent Realm (beyond form). Most of the book is polemical nitpicking while abusing the very context in which Eastern thought is built upon. Again, the abuse of context pollutes most of this book and results in a very poor and dishonest representation of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is a first rate shell game. Given the current state of the world, religious writers need to not only be held to higher standards but need to ask themselves this question: "Is my work going to promote peace or enmity in the world?" Ravi is correct when he attacks religious tolerance, what IS needed is genuine understanding. Sadly, you won't find that in any book, one must go within.
Rating:
Summary: A solid claim for Jesus
Review: Ravi Zacharias defends the message of Jesus against other religions. He starts out with his personal journey then he procedes to compare Jesus amonst other religions. He mainly focuses on the claim of non believers or skeptics. He states that it is both the Christian who uses his mind to trust God and the skeptic who uses his mind to disbelieve in God and demands a sign as proof of his existence. He states that the christian faith is not a leap in the dark but a well placed faith in Jesus. He also states that many skeptics disbelieve in God because of evil. Ravi Zacharias argues that in order for us to proclaim something evil there need to be a moral absolute to compare it to this evil. You cannot have evil without good.
Rating:
Summary: thoughtful... and helpful
Review: I am an avid reader of Christian apologetics... and have never read anything quite like this before. I was really amazed at some of the simple yet profound ideas presented by Zacharias. He reminded me that there is more to one's religion than theology... that the basis of one's religion is one's God. Before anyone dares defend his faith, I challenge him to really examine the God at the center of that faith. I believe that "Jesus Among Other Gods" really helps the Christian grasp how wonderous Jesus is.
Rating:
Summary: I beg to differ with other reviewers, but . . .
Review: I beg to differ with most of the reviews. I was enchanted with this book, and found Dr. Zacharias' insights into the eastern mind to be scintillating. Of course, hailing from India, he has a special insight and affinity with many of these foreign religions. I am in awe with India's religiousheterogeny! I think practice of actually quoting from the Koran, as opposed to alluding to, paraphrasing from, or imagining what the book says, which is what so many people do nowadays. Dr. Zacharias doesn't spend a lot of time outlining Christianity, since he presupposes a Christian reader. Moreover, he covered much of the uniqueness of Christ among false ideologies in "Can Man Live Without God," and "A Shattered Visage." This book, therefore, should be read in context with his larger opus. I think Dr. Zacharias has a very gentle voice and a steel mind, and that is what makes his books so enchanting.
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