The Unknown God: A Journey with Jesus from East to West

by Mathew P. John, Philip Yancey (Foreword by)

Overview

We live in the age of religious pluralism where all religions are considered the same and different paths lead to the same spiritual destination. It is important for Christians to learn how to affirm Jesus Christ as the only way to God—while also paying due respect to people of other faiths and worldviews.

In The Unknown God: A Journey with Jesus from East to West, Mathew P. John explores the redemptive revelations lurking in the darkness outside the boundaries of Christian tradition. In this spiritual journey through six major world religions, readers encounter a variety of symbols that point to the Jesus of the Bible. From Hindu avatars and Buddhist bodhisattvas, to Sikh gurus and Muslim prophets, and the Jewish messiah, consider how different religions attempt to answer the deep longing for a savior ingrained in the collective conscience of humanity.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830780747
Publisher:	David C Cook
Publication date:	03/01/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	729,443
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Originally an electrical engineer from India, Mathew P. John transitioned from technology to theology with a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Toronto (Canada) and a PhD in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary (USA). He has acquired over two decades of teaching experience in academic as well as ecclesiastical platforms, and has written extensively in the areas of theology, anthropology, and world religions.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword 15

Acknowledgments 19

Prologue 25

Chapter 1 Following the Star 29

Chapter 2 The Descent of God 51

Chapter 3 The Suffering Savior 73

Chapter 4 The Word Becomes the Lord 93

Chapter 5 The Man Who Became a Sign 105

Chapter 6 The Pierced Messiah 127

Chapter 7 The Emptied God 143

Chapter 8 The True Myth 161

Epilogue 179

Notes 181

Bible Credits 203

Editorial Reviews

God is bigger than our boxes! Firmly planted in Jesus’ claims of exclusivity for salvation, Mathew discovers ‘God’s redemptive grace lurking in the dark and hidden corners of different religions.’ The Unknown God will confirm and stretch your beliefs at the same time.

Dr. Craig Sider

This book is a generous, thoughtful, nuanced, and compelling exploration of six faith traditions and their views of Jesus, written by a scholar who is himself a committed follower of Jesus. This is a book to share with your friends.

Dr. Richard Peace

Author Eugene Petersen observed that we have two mental operations that work in tandem—explanation and imagination. And hardly anything grips our imagination as a well-written story, inviting us to enter the story and play our part in the unfolding drama. What an exciting way to learn about an otherwise ho-hum topic—world religions. Read and enter.

Rev. Sunder Krishnan

How can the world religions be so drastically different and yet also uncannily similar and possibly related? Isn’t it incomprehensible that the great faiths are both strikingly contrasting but also remarkably overlapping and even convergent? Might these paradoxical observations be resolved because Jesus is both the unavoidable stumbling block that sets Christianity apart but yet perhaps also the one way that somehow they all point to? The Unknown God invites readers on a journey to consider these questions in light of a gospel that challenges, even as it opens up conversation with, people in other faiths.

Dr. Amos Young