Book review - Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions

The religious makeup of the world has always fascinated me.  Why do different people believe what they believe?  What were the beginnings of all these differing viewpoints?  This book, Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World by James A. Beverley (Thomas Nelson, 2009) does a fairly good job of introducing the reader to the basics of the major faiths as well as those of the lesser known ones.

The introduction to this book let’s the reader know that the author comes to his work from a Christian perspective and at the same time tries to present the facts of each of the different religions covered.  He makes no apologies for his Christianity yet also covers each group with respect.  Some who do not share his beliefs may criticize his critiques that compare each set of faiths with biblical teaching, but as a fellow believer I found his information helpful and interesting.

Living in a large city as I do, I have the opportunity to meet people of different religions almost daily, and I have often wished that I had more knowledge of what they believe so that I would have a greater understanding of where they are.  In my master’s degree work we had one class that touched on the law systems of different peoples around the world, and in it we studied a little about a few different faiths.  Since faith can play such an important role in a mediation setting, I especially found this book helpful.

This is not an in-depth study of any particular religious group, but if you are looking for basic information this book might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Encourage one another,