a book recommendation
amidst all the reading that i have for my classes this semester, i thought i would recommend one of my favorites so far. the title of the book is “can evangelicals learn from world religions?” by gerald mcdermott and you can check it out here. i had to read it for my christian theology of religious pluralism class and found it to be quite insightful.
essentially his answer is yes, christians CAN learn from world religions. now that i just spoiled the ending i won’t tell you exactly how he goes about unpacking this thesis (you’ll have to read it to find out). his focus is on the value of revelation in other religions.
i think this book is especially important for today’s christian because of the growth of religious diversity (world-wide…including in the U.S.). we need to learn how to intelligently interact with those around us regardless of their religious persuasion. mcdermott does a good job of valuing the other religions (including christianity). to me there just seems to be too much religious slander going around. many christians (and perhaps the same could be said about most religious traditions) spend too much time fighting other religions and not enough time conversing with their fellow journeyers.
no, i’m not a daoist, but that doesn’t mean daoism has nothing to offer me (or that i have nothing to offer doaism). no, i’m not a muslim, but that doesn’t mean that i can’t learn something from their strong affirmation of “no god but allah.” no, i don’t think plato hit the mark completely, but i can certainly still learn from his “shaddow of forms” theory.
the bottom line is that mcdermott is right…there’s much that christians (even the staunchly conservative evangelical) can learn from world religions without forsaking the christian non-negotiables. mcdermott’s book is a good read. if you’re a sunday school teacher or lead a small group, you should especially check this book out.
so there’s my soapbox for monday morning.
