So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity
by Fritz Ridenour
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fritz RidenourEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-03-02
ISBN: 0830718982
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Regal
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780830718986
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity
Book Review: Truth Divides
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading all the reviews (opinions) on this book, it has come to my attention that many of the readers are confused about the author's intent. A clearer title would have been "Biblical Teachings vs. Religious Teachings". It is also apparent that many of the readers are confusing "Christianity" with Catholicism, Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism and the like, which are "false religions" according to the Bible. For all those who resorted to name calling only shows their weakness to discuss the issues at hand with confidence. I found "Dr. Toner" (Catholic) response the most interesting since, Dr. Toner like all Catholic Apologist try to "trap" uneducated Protestants into thinking that their faith is not genuine and that their religion has mislead them. The arguments used by Dr. Toner and other's to discredit this book, engage in broad generalized statements and false comparisons that most people believe to be factual. To illustrate my point and keep this "review" as brief as possible, I would like to break down two common and misrepresented arguments presented by Dr. Toner and the Catholic Church.
The first one is that "20,000 Protestant Churches" exist because of "personal interpretation". Where did such a number come from? This argument is engaging in false comparison. There are as many interpretations of the Roman Catholic's own rule of faith as there are of the Protestant interpretations of the Bible. Many Roman Catholic's do not believe 100% in there own teachings, I know this first hand because my wife's side of the family is Roman Catholic, I am not. A true comparison would be to compare the Roman Catholic rule of faith (CCC) and the Protestant rule of faith (the Bible).
According to David A Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia 1900-2000, there are 8,196 denominations within Protestantism, not 20,000 as Roman Catholic's claim. Also, there are 2,942 distinct denominations within Roman Catholicism, which the Roman Catholic's fail to mention. Also, these numbers are based on jurisdiction rather than differing beliefs and practice. Therefore these numbers do not represent a true denominational distinction. Hence, Barrett's broader category (labeled true denominations) of 21 Protestant and 16 Catholic represents a much more realistic calculation. A far cry from 20,000 Protestant denominations claimed by Dr. Toner and the Catholic Church.
The second one was the reference to "personal interpretation" being forbidden in the Bible. Really? Paul in [Galatians 1:6-9] instructs us to use private judgment. He tells us not to believe "anyone" who comes preaching a gospel that is "different" than the one contained in the original teachings. It is clear that Paul commands us to judge all supposed "religious authorities" by comparing their teachings to the teachings of the Bible. Also, reference [2 Timothy 2:4-16 and 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22] which also instruct us to test all things with Biblical truth. The reference to [2 Peter 1:20] is a misrepresentation of the verse. Paul is not warning of personal interpretation, but instructing us to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. The Bible represents a unified, consistent and coherent Word from God. Any Interpretation of a passage that has a meaning in direct contradiction to another portion of Scripture is disallowed.
We have this ability to know the true gospel from error by God, the illumination of his Holy Spirit, has insured that none of his elect will be deceived by serious error. In [Matthew 24:24], Jesus says: "False prophets will arise to deceive even the elect-If it were possible," indicating that it is not impossible. In [1 John 2:20-27], John writes to ordinary Christians when he says: "you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth...you do not need anyone to teach you."
Also, the Bible makes it clear in [2 Timothy 3:15-16] that mankind is to make sure it conforms to Scripture not Scripture conforming to mankind. Two key words in these verses are "doctrine" and "reproof". The first "doctrine" is defined as "instructs; foundation and divine truth" and the second "reproof" is defined as "correction, to make sure we conform to it not it to us". The Church has not been given the license to spiritualize or allegorize texts against itself. The Bible is not to be reinterpreted to be brought into conformity with contemporary philosophies. The Bible is not to be reinterpreted as we would like it to have been written to the prejudices of our own era.
The Bible is the Christians final, eternal and trustworthy authority for faith and practice and not the teachings of the church or its leaders [Psalm 119:105, Isaiah 48, 2 Timothy 3:15-16, Hebrews 4: 12 and 2 Peter 1:16-21].
I could easily refute the other claims made by all those who oppose this book or the Bible itself, but time and space do not permit.
More So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity reviews:
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Summary of So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity
So What?s the Difference has been revised and updated for the 21st Century to help Christians better understand their own beliefs. A classic first released in 1967, this revision takes a current look at the answer to the question, ?How does orthodox biblical Christianity differ from other faiths?? In a straightforward, non-critical comparison, Fritz Ridenour explores and explains the basic tenets of 20 worldviews, religions and faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovah?s Witnesses, Christian Science, New Age and Mormonism.
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