Understanding World Religions in Seven Sentences

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 series, 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 a simple organisation: seven key sentences that give readers a birds-eye view of an entire discipline.

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REVIEWS

"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 marvellous 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, distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and author of A Simple Guide to Miracles

"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, professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and docent of ecumenics at the University of Helsinki

"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, distinguished research professor of theology, law, and culture at Faith International University, author of Charts of World Religions

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CONTENTS

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Just Seven Sentences?

1. Atheism: "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 born, I am."
7. Islam: "There is one God, and Muhammad is his prophet."

• Conclusion
• Scripture Index

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ABOUT DOUGLAS GROOTHUIS

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, Truth Decay, and Walking Through Twilight. He has written for scholarly journals including Religious Studies, Sophia, Research in Philosophy and Technology, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and Philosophia Christi, as well as for numerous popular magazines.

• Length: 176 pages
• Dimensions: 14 × 21 cm