Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions? - by Gerald R McDermott (Paperback)

About the Book

More than ever before, Christians need to explain why they follow Jesus and not the Buddha or Confucius or Krishna or Muhammed. This evangelical theology of religions addresses the problem of truth and revelation, and takes seriously the normative claims of other traditions. McDermott shows readers what Christians can learn from world religions without sacrificing the finality of Christ.

Book Synopsis

More than ever before, Christians need to explain why they follow Jesus and not the Buddha or Confucius or Krishna or Muhammed. This evangelical theology of religions addresses the problem of truth and revelation, and takes seriously the normative claims of other traditions. McDermott shows readers what Christians can learn from world religions without sacrificing the finality of Christ.

Review Quotes

"Can one's Christian faith be enriched by encounter with the Analects of Confucius? Could God's saving deed and disclosure in Jesus Christ alone include a wider grace at work in the wisdom of other world religions? Evangelical Gerald McDermott says yes. With warrants from Scripture and the tradition of Jonathan Edwards, and a good grasp of today's debates on religious pluralism, he makes his case by scrutiny of key writings on non-Christian religions. Here is a fresh voice that needs to be heard in the current conversation."

"Evangelicals have been wary of engaging at any depth with faiths other than Christianity. Commitment to the 'scandal of particularity' has meant that many never consider what the revelatory value of non-Christian religions might be. Gerald McDermott provides a beautifully written, timely and much-needed contribution to a field where most evangelicals fear to tread."

"This book makes a solid contribution to the evangelical theology of religions. Leaving aside the issue of the fate of the unevangelized, it leads us to expect to learn from people of other faiths and not suppose that they have nothing to teach us. What a gracious and open spirit this message frees us to have."

About the Author

Gerald R. McDermott (PhD, University of Iowa) is Anglican Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also associate pastor at Christ the King Anglican Church. His books include The Other Jonathan Edwards: Readings in Love, Society, and Justice (with Ronald Story), The Theology of Jonathan Edwards (with Michael McClymond), A Trinitarian Theology of Religions (with Harold Netland), Cancer: A Medical and Spiritual Guide (with William Fintel, MD), Jonathan Edwards Confronts the Gods and World Religions: An Indispensable Guide.