Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions: Revised and Updated Edition
by Larry A. Nichols, George Mather, Alvin J. Schmidt
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alvin J. Schmidt, George Mather, Larry A. NicholsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-01
ISBN: 0310239540
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Zondervan
Book Reviews of Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions: Revised and Updated Edition
Book Review: Good cataloging, horrible interpretation
Summary: 2 Stars
Though commenting upon an array of religions, cults, and sects so great you could hardly ask for more, this book is crippled by its own bias.
It is written from such a Christian-centered viewpoint that all non Judaic religions become horribly tainted. Just about everything, even religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism which pre-date Christianity, are compared extensively to the Christian faith. The trouble in this is, as any student of subaltern groups knows, that the reader cannot develop an organic understanding of a religion, but rather can only see religions as measured by the yardstick of Christianity.
For example, the section on Buddhism is broken down into the following categories: History, Teachings, God, Sin, Salvation & the Future, Morality, and Conclusion. In every section except for History and Conclusion, Buddhism is compared to Christianity, even though Buddhism predates Jesus by hundreds of years. The authors do not even attempt to hide such bias, openly declaring that they will portray Buddhism only through Christian lenses on page 42.
The section on Christianity itself is almost laughable. The masturbatory, emotive waxing on the noble history of Christianity (and its inherent correctness!) in the conclusion is hilariously sad. "Yet despite persecution, moral laxity, heresies challenging it both from within and without, the church of Jesus Christ prevails... It has experienced dark moments, but even as the darkness of the first Good Friday gave way to the brightness and splendor of the resurrection and the empty tomb, so too has the church experienced a glorious history with a future that will be brighter still when Jesus and the church - that is, when the bridegroom and the bride - unite forever." (Page 72)
If you want a comprehensive list of religions, cults, and sects, this will do - but if you want to understand them and see them from a relatively neutral viewpoint, go elsewhere.
P.S. Zoroastrianism doesn't have its own encyclopedic entry. Hello!? The People's Temple (the organization/cult of Jim "Purple Kool-Aid" Jones) which had perhaps 1000 members at its height gets its own section, but not a religion which heavily informed both Christianity and Islam and which still boasts 200,000 members world-wide today.
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