BookPastor >> "God Among Sages" (Kenneth Richard Samples)

This review was published at Panorama of a Book Saint on July 5th, 2017.

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TITLE: God among Sages: Why Jesus Is Not Just Another Religious Leader
AUTHOR: Kenneth Richard Samples
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017, (288 pages).

Who is Jesus? Is he simply another religious leader like those of the other major religions of the world? Who does he claim he is? Is he God? This book sets out the facts and compares the various philosophies, religions, worldviews in this world of pluralistic thinking and beliefs. Author Kenneth Richard Samples asserts that Jesus is matchless throughout history in terms of his self-understanding; his identity; his way of life and consistency in teaching. Part One essentially deals with what Jesus talks about himself. Part Two deals with the lives and accomplishments of four major religions and then each is compared with Jesus. The four major religious leaders are Krishna (Hinduism); Buddha (Buddhism); Confucius (Confucionism); and Muhammad (Islam). Part Three goes beyond these four religions to cover a bigger sphere of the world's perspective on Jesus. This includes the different types of pluralistic beliefs; tolerance/intolerance; inclusivism/exclusivism; and many more. Simply put, this book is about understanding who the Person if Jesus is both to Christians, other religions, and the world at large. Though not all perspectives are covered, the selected ones represent a large proportion of the world.

BookPastor >> "iGods" (Craig Detweiler)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on February 12th, 2014.

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TITLE: iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives
AUTHOR: Craig Detweiler
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2013, (256 pages).

"Technology is most effective when we fail to notice it, but our faith in technology is so pervasive it is often blind." This dramatic phrase kicks off a very perceptive study about how technology is shaping our spiritual and social lives. Dr Craig Detweiler is a well-known researcher and writer on media and the technological scene. Recognizing how pervasive and how so many people are consuming the technological offerings uncritically, he presents a warning for us to pause, to take a step back, and to ask how technology has been shaping us. Perhaps, we will recognize how much we have already been shaped. Detweiler says it well that we must be careful not to let our use of technology move from delight to devotion. Left on its own, we can very well be participants making "iGods" into our own image. Worse, without understanding the real threats of the misuse and abuse of technology, we can let something good turn into something very bad.