Faiths in Conflict?: Christian Integrity in a Multicultural World
Drawing from his London Lectures in Contemporary Christianity series, Ramachandra, the South Asia regional secretary for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, skillfully demonstrates his view that Christianity alone provides the foundation for a multicultural society. Ramachandra discusses in depth the social, cultural, historical and religious components that make up Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, noting how each major religion is unique and how these religions and their followers often promote negative stereotypes about the others. In his third chapter, "The Jesus Enigma," Ramachandra intensely scrutinizes Jesus Christ, describing Jesus' controversial practice of accepting Jews, non-Jews, women and outcasts into his company. Jesus' outlandish claims about himself, says Ramachandra, were balanced by his humility, though both extremes only served to further alienate him from the religious leaders of the day. Asserts the author, "... this combination of an other-oriented lifestyle with self-directed claims is what makes Jesus of Nazareth utterly unique." Ramachandra discusses how conversion and culture relate to each other, and how readers might proclaim the Christian message to others of different faiths. While carefully written, only scholars or other erudite readers will appreciate the dry, detailed explanations of the world's religions and their divergent belief systems. (Sept.)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.