World Religions in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic

by Douglas Groothuis

Overview

Understanding the beliefs and practices of other faiths is essential not just to the task of interreligious dialogue, but also to grasping one's own faith.

In this brief volume in IVP Academic's Introductions in Seven Sentences, philosopher Douglas Groothuis creatively uses a single sentence representing each of several world religions as a way to open readers to their depth and complexity, including:

• Atheism: "God Is Dead."
• Judaism: "I Am Who I Am."
• Hinduism: "You Are That."
• Buddhism: "Life Is Suffering."
• Daoism: "The Dao That Can Be Spoken Is Not the Eternal Dao."
• Christianity: "Before Abraham Was, I Am."
• Islam: "There Is One God, and Mohammad Is His Prophet."

With a sympathetic but not uncritical approach, Groothuis welcomes readers to a vital and global conversation.

The accessible primers in the Introductions in Seven Sentences collection act as brief introductions to an academic field, with simple organization: seven key sentences that give readers a birds-eye view of an entire discipline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514005835
Publisher:	IVP Academic
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Series:	Introductions in Seven Sentences
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	831,388
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Douglas Groothuis (PhD, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. He is the author of numerous books, including Christian Apologetics, Fire in the Streets, Philosophy in Seven Sentences, Unmasking the New Age, Truth Decay, On Pascal, On Jesus, and Walking Through Twilight. He has written for scholarly journals such as Religious Studies, Sophia, Research in Philosophy and Technology, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Philosophia Christi, as well as for numerous popular magazines.

Douglas Groothuis (PhD, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. He is the author of numerous books, including Christian Apologetics, Fire in the Streets, Philosophy in Seven Sentences, Unmasking the New Age, Truth Decay, On Pascal, On Jesus, and Walking Through Twilight. He has written for scholarly journals such as Religious Studies, Sophia, Research in Philosophy and Technology, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Philosophia Christi, as well as for numerous popular magazines.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Nietzsche: God is Dead
2. Judaism: I AM WHO I AM
3. Hinduism: You Are That
4. Buddhism: Life Is Suffering
5. Daoism: The Dao that Can Be Spoken Is Not the Eternal Dao
6. Christianity: Before Abraham Was, I Am
7. Islam: There is One God, and Mohammad is His Prophet
Conclusion

What People are Saying About This

J. P. Moreland

"Most of us will never become scholars of the major world religions. But as society becomes more pluralistic and technology increases our awareness of and interconnection with countries all over the world, there has never been a time when it is more crucial for believers to understand the major religious worldviews. Enter Douglas Groothuis's marvelous book World Religions in Seven Sentences. Groothuis has earned the reputation of being a first-rate scholar who deals fairly and accurately with views he critiques. And World Religions in Seven Sentences may be his best example yet. This work is unique in that it accurately presents the major religious worldviews; provides fair, hard-hitting criticisms of them; and accomplishes all this in a brief, easy-to-read way. In my view, this is now the first book to read for anyone who wants to get at the heart of important religions and compare them with Christianity. I love this book!"

H. Wayne House

"Knowledge of religions other than one's own is not widespread, and often this limited knowledge is based on the trappings of a given religion rather than its worldview and necessary doctrines. As a philosopher, Dr. Groothuis has captured what is most needful to understand in the major religions of the world in a book easy to read and understand. I commend him for this work and believe that his book can be an important introduction to the study of faiths other than one's own. I would encourage anyone wanting to have a better understanding of different religions to read this book."

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

"This innovative primer succeeds where most introductory texts fail, namely in combining a lucid and succinct exposition with accuracy and precision. Another great virtue of the text is its capacity to introduce religious and atheistic positions in a most hospitable manner while adding some constructive, critical observations from the Christian point of view. All in all, an extraordinary tool for both seasoned and novice students of living faiths and secularism."

Paul Copan

"Douglas Groothuis has written a terrific book that introduces us to the heart of the world's leading faiths, including atheism. Writing from a Christian perspective, he spells out the tenets of seven world religions in a clear, accessible, and lively manner. He reminds us of the importance of applying logic and reason to these worldviews in order to better assess their truth status, which is all the more vital in a culture that frequently espouses an 'all religions are basically the same' way of thinking."

Winfried Corduan

"As always, Doug Groothuis excels with his solid and sharp reasoning, expressed in his usual flowing and convincing style. He addresses six religions (including Christianity) and atheism (Nietzsche) by drawing a significant sentence or phrase from each. He then interprets the religions on the basis of this 'headline' and discusses the strengths and weaknesses, particularly in comparison and contrast with biblical Christianity. A very helpful handbook."

Editorial Reviews

07/17/2023

Groothius (Fire in the Streets), a professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, demonstrates how not to study religion in this question-begging tour of major faith traditions. Although the premise sounds promising—to unpack the beliefs of six world religions, plus atheism, on the basis of a single sentence from their respective corpora—Groothius’s determination to “engage with them philosophically and comparatively from an explicitly Christian perspective” has resulted in a study that ties other religious traditions to the bed of Christianity and lops off the protruding parts. (Groothius excuses himself with the dubious defense that any adherent of another religion would have written a similarly skewed study.) Relying on outdated research (including the 1979 Oriental Philosophy: A Westerner’s Guide to Eastern Thought) and unsourced assertions (“While religion has been advanced to oppress and murder others, it cannot match the murderous results of the twentieth century atheism in this respect”), replete with outright inaccuracies (“non-Muslims are not allowed to set foot in or bow the knee in a Muslim place of worship”) and scurrilous mischaracterizations (“I used the word protagonist for Krishna since that word usually denotes the leading character in a work of fiction”), this survey is less a peek into world religions than an avuncular and patronizing perusal of non-Christian faiths. Those seeking uncritical reinforcement of their Christian presuppositions will be satisfied. Others need not apply. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"This innovative primer succeeds where most introductory texts fail, namely in combining a lucid and succinct exposition with accuracy and precision. Another great virtue of the text is its capacity to introduce religious and atheistic positions in a most hospitable manner while adding some constructive, critical observations from the Christian point of view. All in all, an extraordinary tool for both seasoned and novice students of living faiths and secularism."

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

"Knowledge of religions other than one's own is not widespread, and often this limited knowledge is based on the trappings of a given religion rather than its worldview and necessary doctrines. As a philosopher, Dr. Groothuis has captured what is most needful to understand in the major religions of the world in a book easy to read and understand. I commend him for this work and believe that his book can be an important introduction to the study of faiths other than one's own. I would encourage anyone wanting to have a better understanding of different religions to read this book."

H. Wayne House

"As always, Doug Groothuis excels with his solid and sharp reasoning, expressed in his usual flowing and convincing style. He addresses six religions (including Christianity) and atheism (Nietzsche) by drawing a significant sentence or phrase from each. He then interprets the religions on the basis of this 'headline' and discusses the strengths and weaknesses, particularly in comparison and contrast with biblical Christianity. A very helpful handbook."

Winfried Corduan

"Douglas Groothuis has written a terrific book that introduces us to the heart of the world's leading faiths, including atheism. Writing from a Christian perspective, he spells out the tenets of seven world religions in a clear, accessible, and lively manner. He reminds us of the importance of applying logic and reason to these worldviews in order to better assess their truth status, which is all the more vital in a culture that frequently espouses an 'all religions are basically the same' way of thinking."

Paul Copan

"Most of us will never become scholars of the major world religions. But as society becomes more pluralistic and technology increases our awareness of and interconnection with countries all over the world, there has never been a time when it is more crucial for believers to understand the major religious worldviews. Enter Douglas Groothuis's marvelous book World Religions in Seven Sentences. Groothuis has earned the reputation of being a first-rate scholar who deals fairly and accurately with views he critiques. And World Religions in Seven Sentences may be his best example yet. This work is unique in that it accurately presents the major religious worldviews; provides fair, hard-hitting criticisms of them; and accomplishes all this in a brief, easy-to-read way. In my view, this is now the first book to read for anyone who wants to get at the heart of important religions and compare them with Christianity. I love this book!"

J. P. Moreland

08/01/2023

Groothuis's (philosophy, Denver Seminary; Christian Apologetics) book attempts to shift the tendency for some Christians to appreciate other religions by assessing various faith-based beliefs, using tools familiar to philosophy: abstracting key concepts and investigating whether they conflict with each other or some other intuitions. The book focuses on Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and even atheism, a curious decision since the latter is not an overarching ideology, nor does it have a standard code of conduct. The author argues that atheism logically leads to nihilism, and he analyzes that. Each concept is introduced to readers with a single encapsulating sentence from that specific point of view. Sentences are then unpacked into general viewpoints. General evaluations and critiques follow for further exploration, but there's no deep dive into what draws people to each belief system. Since this work is designed for Christians, Christianity is spared any serious critique, and criticism of Judaism is muted. VERDICT This title is better at assuring Christians of their own position than challenging their interlocutors. Readers are left with little understanding of other religions' appeal.—James Wetherbee

Library Journal