Kenneth Richard Samples has a passion. He wants to exalt Jesus Christ above any other religious figure. He is committed to the idea that Jesus is the only true way of salvation. Therefore, he dismisses any other belief system, even “Christian” systems that allow for salvation apart from explicit belief in Christ. Samples has done a masterful job explaining his view.

This book is not an easy read. Samples wanted to prove his idea. He loads the book with facts, explanations, detailed explanations on logic, and more charts than are necessary. Consequently, this book took me 3 months to read, while I worked, traveled, and took care of an infant.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better understanding of Krishna, Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammad. Samples explains their personal and religious histories very well. I also appreciate the addition at the end of each section explaining how to dialogue with a follower of those individuals for the purpose of evangelism.

I have two critiques. First, Samples does not interact with religious experts within the other religions. All of his quotes are from Christian experts of the other religions. I believe his book would be stronger if he included non-Christian experts. Second, at the end of the book, Samples discusses pluralism and universalism, contrasting them with exclusivism. While he has a good handle on pluralism and universalism, he pushes inclusivism to the side, erroneously tying this belief with universalism. He makes a broad statement that inclusivism is bad, but does not explain why. He then broadens exclusivism to include many beliefs inclusivists have.

Both these critiques are minor. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to dive deeper into world religions.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

John Perkins has a winsome style of writing. He writes from his experiences and his culture. Consequently, many “proper” writers will cringe at some moments. However, his authenticity does not detract from his message. It merely amplifies it for those who are willing to listen.

Perkins is dreaming. Unfortunately, life wakes him up from this dream, day after day. But, life never stops him from dreaming. He has been dreaming ever since he woke up on a jail floor, hurting from a brutal beating, just because he was black. He has been dreaming ever since his brother was shot, because he was black.

What is he dreaming?

He is dreaming about a society where Christians start living their Christianity. He firmly believes that the Gospel is a message of reconciliation. Jesus came and lived in our mess in order that he might reconcile us with God. We, as followers of Christ, need to follow his example, by having an incarnational ministry. We are surrounded by hurting people of all stages of life, of all cultures, but of one race. We need to follow Christ into the hurt around us, seeking to bring reconciliation to those who are estranged from each other, and ultimately to bring reconciliation with God.

Perkins drives this dream home with compelling stories of his past, filled with hurts he has experienced and with healing he has seen. He calls his readers to rise above the emotional hurts of racial conflict, painting a theological picture of the justice of God, tiny hints of what eternity will be like.

Because of his past, Perkins is able to speak hard truths to all cultures and all colors. We all have areas where we should swallow our pride, admit we were wrong, and work towards reconciliation for the glory of God and the furtherance of the Gospel.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.