A Tapestry of Faiths

By Winfried Corduan

Book Overview

Christians find themselves in an increasingly diverse world. The new place of worship in our neighborhood might just as likely be a Hindu temple or a Muslim mosque as a church or a synagogue. How should we view other world religions, and more important, how should we engage our religiously oriented neighbors in conversation? Do all religions teach the same thing? Or are there significant differences? Do we try to minimize differences and just get along? Or do we hold out the Christian faith as the one true hope for all the world? Drawing on his wide experience and knowledge of other religions and how they are actually lived, Winfried Corduan helps us sort through the complex tapestry of faiths around the globe. He contends that there are common threads of understanding that can serve to link us in meaningful discussion. From these common threads we can go on to explore genuine differences. Through the course of the book, Corduan leads readers to explore the important issues of revelation and truth, morality and guilt, grace and redemption, eschatology and hope. Ultimately, Jesus Christ, he argues, stands unique among religious figures and Christianity unique among the world's religions. This is a book that strengthens Christians in their convictions while encouraging them to engage their neighbors with humility, loved, and discernment.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1606088416
• ISBN13: 9781606088418
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Maybe Not What You Think

The title might lead you to believe that this is one of those books arguing that Christianity and other religions are all teaching the same thing, but that would be wrong. Corduan has written many good works on this subject, and this one is no exception. Here, however, rather than surveying the religions, he attempts to build a systematic way of relating them socially, historically, and theologically, from a Biblical worldview. He is basically attempting to answer this question: if Christianity is accurate, how do we account for the world religions in a way that honors their integrity without sacrificing our own key beliefs. This is one of the best kicks at that can that I have seen. He cuts his way through a lot of syncretist sloppiness to get at the real meat of where the religions agree with Christianity, and why, as well as graceously dissecting the differences, even where there is seeming surface and ethical agreement, such that one learns not to read too much into certain similarities. The one chapter I thought needed a lot more work was the second. Corduan has relied for many years on the theory of original monotheism; that, contrary to a lot of popular thought on the subject, the religions are not an evolution toward monotheism, but represent a devolution away from it. It's nice to see him argue for it in more detail here than he ever has, but given the sparce information currently available on this position, it really needs more development. Frankly, I would like to see an entire up to date survey and analysis book on the topic. Still, this book is full of a lot of clear headed thought on the subjects revolving around the relationships of the religions to Christianity, leading to many well balanced conclusions and ideas.