Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message Kindle Edition

I was a skeptic for many years always questioning the Person of Jesus Christ. A coworker introduced me to Ravi on YouTube which I listened to feverishly and reading this book.With the words of Ravi Zacharius "Without Jesus there are no other answers to the questions of life and the meaning of it all. Christianity answers those questions of origin and destiny'It was a few years of research into the validity of the biblical narrative, many books including the one by Josh McDonald More than a carpenter and a lot of soul-searching and praying until I had to bend the knee and proclaim Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

What is it that makes Jesus radically different from other gods?Ravi Zacharias’ thought-provoking book should be read by those who are wondering why they should accept Christianity over and against any other religion, as well as for Christians who desire to know how to better communicate the truths of the Gospel to those of other faiths. JESUS AMONG OTHER GODS provides an informative overview (but not an exhaustive study) of eastern religions including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. It will give readers a starting point for engaging those of other faiths, by going deeper into human existential questions. For example, we must consider that every world-view – not just Christianity’s – must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering.As Ravi Zacharias explains, “Either evil categorically does not exist, as the atheist avows, or evil is “not ultimately real evil” as the pantheist claims, or evil is most coherently explained by the Christian view of God and His purposes in creation.”Having argued for the exclusivity of religious truth claims, Zacharias then examines the major world religions, showing how they fail to answer the fundamental questions of life, then presents a strong argument for Christ - He is who He claimed He was - the way, the truth and the life. Only through the acceptance of these exclusive claims could we make sense of life and find salvation.All religions cannot be right, because they fundamentally contradict one another. Some say religions are fundamentally the same but superficially different – that’s false. They may be superficially the same but fundamentally different. As the author states “All religions are not the same. All religions do not point to God. All religions do not say that all religions are the same. At the heart of every religion is an uncompromising commitment to a particular way of defining who God is or is not and accordingly, of defining life’s purposes.”The author’s defense of Christianity is plainly aimed at the Christian reader, but it is so deep and challenging that it compelled me to address many questions that I had never considered before.

I've found apologetics fascinating for years, ever since a Sunday school class with a related theme during my senior year of high school. Parts of said class involved watching the video series of Jesus Among Other Gods. Thus, I learned early to respect Ravi Zacharias and was happy to find this book for such a good deal on Kindle.The actual book is much meatier than the video series, of course. That can be a toss-up, as Ravi takes such care in unpacking almost any concept you could think of. At times his writing and introspection are deep and interesting, and lend new facets to the life, unique claims, and saving power of Jesus Christ. At other times however, he probes so deeply into one word or phrase, you feel like you're being lectured in a highly advanced theology course. He tries to break this up with stories or introspection, but doesn't spend a lot of time on them. He also spends a lot of time breaking down arguments against Jesus--such as, was He a liar or lunatic--that are all too familiar to a lot of Christians.Ravi Zacharias is clearly a teacher and theologian at heart, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Be aware though, that you don't sit down to read Jesus Among Other Gods as you would a work of fiction or creative nonfiction, or even a typical Bible study. You need to be prepared for some heavy, and sometimes heavy-handed, theological discussions. If you really like that sort of thing, that's great. If it's not your normal read, I'd advise pacing yourself and taking frequent breaks to digest. However, I can say with confidence every Christian should have this in their library.

In our modern world we are constantly bombarded by the mantra that all religions are the same and that no one of them can be the truth; that the truth is subjective. This book will help solidify the honest believing Christian that the message of Christ and true Christianity is the only hope for mankind. There is no condemnation of others who do not accept the Christian faith, in fact, Mr Zacharias encourages acceptance of all who practice other faiths, while at the same time adhering to the Biblical principal that Christ is truly the only way to God, and therefore the only way to true and lasting peace. Beautifully written and easy to follow with many stories and quotes from other writers, this book should be on every serious Christian's shelf, if only to remind us regularly that, as Christ Himself said, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me."

The author has a tremendous reputation as a Christian apologist. In this volume he does not disappoint us. The text takes us systematically through a series of ideas and situations and as it does so comparisons are made between the Christian worldview and the worldviews of naturalism and pantheism. The contrasts are stark. It offers encouragement to the believer, reassuring them of the distinctive nature and power of the Gospel message and at the same time it lays down challenges to other worldviews. Highly recommended.

Its good but not an easy read, you'd need to read it twice, at least, to get you head around some of the arguments presented. Its all about apologetics as you might expect but Ravi doesn't reveal much in the way of his relationship with Jesus just his arguments for him

Quite hard going read. Found myself putting it down a lot of the time.

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The delivery was swift and fine. Quality good.