http://religionsofman.com Studying other faiths in obedience to the Great Commission Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:30:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A few days ago I finished a study on the Gospel of Mark and realized just how many times Mark notes that Jesus was surrounded by a crowd of people (18 different times from what I saw). Although many rejected Jesus during his three-year ministry, he always attracted crowds ... http://religionsofman.com/2009/01/04/the-beauty-of-christ/ Last month I went to the annual meeting for the American Academy of Religion. The most interesting session I attended was titled "The Disobedient Prophet? Tensions between Qur'anic Verses and Prophetic Practice." The first presenter discussed the tension between minimalism and comprehensiveness in the development of Shariah law. He argued that ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/12/05/the-disobedient-prophet/ Now that the semester is over, I will be able to get back to the blog. As you can see I added Shelfari. I hope to include books that might be helpful to you as you study other religions.  I will be updating the list periodically. If you have questions ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/11/24/shelfari/ I recently came across an intriguing concept while reading Encountering New Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach (ed. Hexham, Rost, and Morehead II). According to the introduction, the various authors in this book intend to bridge the gap between apologetics and contextual missiology. As part of this project, ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/10/11/seeing-cults-as-people-groups/ I just finished writing a paper on Buddhism in Thailand and I wanted to point out 2 ideas that are important in understanding Buddhism. These observations apply specifically to Buddhism in Thailand, but I think they also play a role in other contexts. 1. 2 ways of being Buddhist: a. Monks: - ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/09/20/buddhism-in-thailand/ For one of my seminars I am reading Encountering Religious Pluralism: The Challenge to Christian Faith & Mission by Harold Netland (2001). I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in religious pluralism. Netland begins by discussing the cultural context that has given rise to postmodernism and religious pluralism ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/09/09/harold-netlands-critique-of-religious-pluralism/   As you enter the grounds of the Baha'i Lotus Temple in New Delhi this stone sign is set into a grass incline. Of the temple it states: "This House is a place for prayer and meditation for the peoples of all religions and races. From within its portals the voice of ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/08/26/sign-at-lotus-temple/ In my last visit to India I had the opportunity to visit the Baha'i Lotus Temple in Delhi. The temple was built in 1986 and is known as the Taj Mahal of the 20th century. The Lotus Temple is open to people of all faiths and each day they have ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/08/23/bahai-lotus-temple-in-delhi-india/ This is an image of the Hindu god, Krishna. Actually, the god is Vishnu and Krishna is one of his avatars. An avatar is a manifestation of a god; literally it is a “down-coming.” According to Vaishnavites (worshipers of Vishnu), Vishnu has had nine avatars and one is yet to come. ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/08/14/sri-krishna/ I recently came across a very interesting book, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed. This book is based upon a Gallup’s World Poll in which they “surveyed a sample representing more than 90% of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims” ... http://religionsofman.com/2008/08/05/who-speaks-for-islam/