Jesus Among Other Gods (youth Edition)

Rating:
Summary: So much animosity makes me believe Christianity is TRUTH
Review: I have read this book several times, along with these reviews.....and I am shocked at the complete animosity towards Ravi Zacharias. It makes me realize that I do not need his book to prove Christianity's claims. I simply can observe a world that fights it, attacks it, demeans it and rejects the possibility of a moral absolute as proof enough that God (Jesus) does exist. The athiestic and relativistic "Utopia" we have created in our society seeks nothing but selfishness; absolution of personal responsibility; greed; personal gain and pleasure---and so, the EXACT OPPOSITE of our culture points to love, peace, giving and grace---or, what Christ taught and lived by. Why is there so much resistence to Christ? We deny any form of absolute Truth for what gain---the world we live in now? As Dostoevski so eloquently stated: "If God is dead, everything is permissible". I can only conclude that one who is so adamant about condemning Christianity is one who is simply seeking to rid oneself of the guilt that comes from such "permissible" behavior---and seek justification their selfish desires. If God does not exist, then why do you fight so feverishly against something you claim isn't real in the first place? These are the questions I asked myself at one time, and if it weren't for Ravi, I would still be stuck in hopelessness. Ravi is a gifted man of God, and if you are seeking some answers as to why other religions fall short, or why other schools of thought are simply foolish when put to the test of logic (versus emotion), then pick up this book.

Rating:
Summary: Some interesting insights, but not up to snuff
Review: I enjoy reading and listening to Ravi...however, if one is serious about theology and apologetics...this is not the book. There are many who have written down to Ravi concerning this work, and some of their comments may be warranted. What may be at point here is not that Ravi has some solid interior insights, but rather the presentation of his philosophy/faith. As an avid student of theology and apologetics, I found his book at a loss for deep penetration. Many Protestants in particular may find profit from the book due to their inclinations and history of anti-intellectualism and subjectivism of interpreting Christ, but there are Catholic theologians whom address the ideas of this book in a much deeper and real sense. I doubt many who have reviewed this book have read a St. Thomas Aquinas, who took Aristotle's works and lofted them to the heavens. St. Aquinas is but one of the great Catholics who have wrote of the One true God. One reviewer had the impetus to quote the Catholic Encyclopedia...I challenge this reviewer to read some of the great Saints and see if he or she still thinks Hinduism/Buddhism are on par with Catholic (Christian) beliefs of God. Do not be taken in by pop/new-age pluralism...their followers are as Thomas Merton writes "Birds of Appetite". Ravi is on track, he just may have wrote to a common denominator that deep seekers are beyond in their present state.

Rating:
Summary: Many will disagree it doesn't help those who are searching..
Review: I'm not a theologist or a docturine of religion. I'm a person who has many questions. I had a strict up bringing in the non denomination faith of christianity. As an adult I felt that I was programmed to be a certain way because of what I was taught when I was younger. In my search I read many books in the matter of religion to find answers for my questions. In this book Zacharias had some valid points that I agreed with and some that I didn't. In the introduction of the book I felt the author felt so convicted that his message must be heard. He challenges Deepak Chopra who I feel had a great impact in my life through his books and cds. In a way I felt a little threatened but he made some valid points. I did questioned some of Chopra teachings. He makes excellent and valid points about Jesus Christ which I feel that there is no arguement there. What I truely focused on was when he pointed out that the physical and spiritual hungers must be satisfied without violation of each other to be true fulfilled. How can one be fulfilled if one were raised up to believe what one was taught is to be absolute truth. Then sometime in your life someone else come tells you something different. Do you question it or ignore it. I felt I was lucky enough to question it? Many people have thier own understanding to their own spirituality. Many may come to question? I feel that there is no defenitive line. In this book,I know many will truely disagree with me. I almost felt that in his own sutle way he is excalating his point as a hardcore fanatic. In other words if you're not a born again christian. You will never reach the gates of heaven.

Rating:
Summary: Ravi is "CLUELESS" about other religions and their beliefs.
Review: Ravi may be the "the best Christian apologist of our day" in the Christian circles, but "CLUELESS" about other religions. True he is preaching to the choir, to the people who are fanatically in love with Christianity, but he miserably fails to impress readers who are outside Christianity, since he is literally manufacturing facts. I know he hates Hinduism due to his childhood problems in India. But those problems cannot justify ridiculing Hinduism or Buddhism which came long before Judaism. Long before, Jesus preached to "show other cheek and be compassionate", Lord Buddha preached the same principles in India. I hope people who read this book, read also books like AM I A HINDU? And compare the so called facts Ravi has written to things that are written in other books. According to AM I A HINDU? Hindus only worship, One & Only God Brahman, which expresses itself in trillions of forms. That is why Hindus have no problem in treating Jesus Christ as one of the incarnations of God; where as Jews and Moslems do not see Jesus as God or as son of God. Hindus do not worship idols or icons, but use them to concentrate on a God who is SPIRIT and who has no name or form. Ravi's book is "totally one sided" where as truth lies "some where in the middle ."


Rating:
Summary: Not a comparative study, but has some good points
Review: First, this book does not actually compare Christianity to other religions, except on a superficial level. The attempted comparisons demonstrate the author's lack of understanding for the respective tradtions.

Mostly Zacharias describes Christian beliefs and explains why he feels they are superior to/different from other religions. As a Taoist, I cannot judge how accurate his depiction of Christianity is, but when he tries to argue for uniqueness, he generally sounds like he has no clue what the other religions actually believe, and sometimes like he doesn't understand the implications of his own descriptions of Christianity.

The reason that I gave this book two stars instead of one or zero is for the chapter on good and evil. It is an excellent and thought-provoking discussion. Though Zacharias doesn't realize it (and would probably be offended if he were told), his perspective is almost perfectly Taoist. (Hmmm, how does that affect his uniqueness argument?) So I highly recommend reading that chapter, but I would give the rest of the book a miss.

Rating:
Summary: Tell the people what they want to hear
Review: This book did exactly what I and probably everyone else who read it expected it to do. This would be to confirm the belief system that the reader already possesses. I can say this with substantial certainty because this book is blatantly meant for a Christain audience any other would probably immediately see it for what is. The title is; "Jesus Among Other Gods"", so any logical individual would deduce from that title that it is an examination of the different faiths of would. No such luck!!!! Instad it is Zacharias' attempt to put down every religion of the world except ofcours Christianity. He claims Islam does not allow humanity to know God personally. He claims Budhism is virtually the same as Atheism. Does anyone see this obvious bashing of the other faiths? The worst part is Zacharias is confident that he can actually get away with it because he does not actually promise in-depth exploration of Camparative Religion. For those of you out there seeking a fair and hoest book dedicated to the study of Comparative Religion you might desire to read' "The World's Religions", by Huston Smith.

A final note for those who have already dismissed my review. I already know before the first individual reads my review that the majority will not agree with it because the majority of people who actually take this book seriously are of the Christain audience. So, disagree with me if you must but atleast have the intellectual decency to think of what I have written befor moving on to the next review.

Rating:
Summary: Changed my life...
Review: This book is outstanding! I have struggled with religion and Christianity for a long time. This book presents an awesome intellignet argument for Christianity. Thank you Ravi Zacharias!