A Doubter's Guide to World Religions: A Fair and Friendly Introduction to the History, Beliefs, and Practices of the Big Five

For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way.The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all religions the same? Do they all call on the same God simply using different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural expressions of the same spiritual longings?Written by historian and theologian John Dickson in his characteristically engaging style, this book presents each of the world's five major systems of faith, carefully outlining the history, doctrines, beliefs, and spiritual practices of: Hinduism ("The Way of Release") Buddhism ("The Way of Enlightenment") Judaism ("The Way of the Torah") Christianity ("The Way of the Christ") Islam ("The Way of Submission")In his own words, Dickson acts as an art curator in a gallery, presenting each of these "works of art" in their best light and letting each have their say. Along the way, he demonstrates the importance of religion in general-to society and to individual believers-and addresses many of the universal questions that all of these serious and ancient religions ask: Who are we? What is our worth? How should we live? Are we alone?At the end of each section is a bibliography of helpful books and websites for those who are interested in learning even more.About the AuthorJohn Dickson (PhD, Macquarie University) is an author, speaker, historian, and media presenter. John is author of more than 20 books, two of which became television documentaries. He also cohosted the documentary For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than you Ever Imagined. John teaches a course on the historical Jesus at the University of Sydney, Australia, and researches the origins of Christianity in the Roman empire. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sydney, a Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University (2016-2021), and Distinguished Fellow in Public Christianity at Ridley College Melbourne. John presents Australia’s no.1 religion podcast, Undeceptions, exploring aspects of life, faith, history, culture, or ethics that are either much misunderstood or mostly forgotten.