Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions

by Winfried Corduan

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2012

Overview

For all who want to understand the religious faiths of their neighbors and coworkers, Winfried Corduan offers an introduction to the religions of the world. His survey covers major and minor religions including Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, African traditional religions, Native American religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Baha'i, Chinese popular religion, and Shinto and Japanese religions. Neighboring Faiths emphasizes not just formal religious teachings but also how each religion is practiced in daily life. Dozens of photographs, charts and maps help illustrate how the faiths are lived out in contemporary culture. Moving beyond mere description, Corduan offers specific suggestions for how Christians can avoid giving unnecessary offense to followers of these faiths while engaging them in constructive dialogue. This edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded, with a new chapter on Islam after 9/11 and additional material throughout.

Contents

Top Highlights

“So, to become a little bit more technical, what could be the difference between religion and ‘spirituality’? The answer is that religion also involves some external features, no matter how small, which have meaning only for the sake of the religious belief and would be unnecessary in other contexts. We are going to call this factor the cultus of the religion.” (Page 27)

“The First Jewish Commonwealth is reckoned from the time Moses received the law on Mount Sinai (around 1450 b.c.) until the destruction of Judah and exile under the Babylonians (587–541 b.c.). The Second Jewish Commonwealth begins with the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile (515 b.c.) and extends through the destruction of the temple by the Romans (a.d. 70). The period since then is called the diaspora, or ‘dispersion,’ but some scholars say that the Holocaust and the creation of the modern state of Israel have initiated a third commonwealth.” (Pages 63–64)

“His message encompassed three main points: (1) there is only one God; (2) human beings are obligated to submit to God’s will; (3) there will be a day of judgment when all people will be assessed on whether or not they have obeyed God.” (Page 96)

“Most traditional religions venerate at least two kinds of spirits—ancestors and nature spirits” (Page 209)

“Henotheism. It would be easy to move directly from polytheism to monotheism, but usually an evolutionary scheme inserts a stage between the two. In this stage people recognize many different gods as real, but worship only one. They do not deny the existence of many gods, but they worship only one of them. Henotheistic worship may have a social basis.” (Page 37)

Product Details

• Title: Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions (Second Edition)
• Author: Winfried Corduan
• Edition: Second Edition
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subject: Textbooks
• ISBNs: 9780830871971, 9780830839704, 0830871977, 0830839704
• Resource ID: LLS:WS_4B598D3731B3489A9C69A47B824C2D3B
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T04:08:40Z

About Winfried Corduan

Winfried Corduan received his Ph.D. from Rice University and is professor of philosophy and religion at Taylor University in Indiana. He is the author of A Reasonable Faith: Basic Christian Apologetics and A Tapestry of Faiths.