Nelsons Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Religions of the World [Hardcover]

To read that Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions is "the product of over thirty years of study and teaching" (p. ix) is no surprise. To discover that the actual project took author James A. Beverley a mere ten years from inception to publication is, in some ways, amazing, considering the extent of the book. For in this encyclopedic volume, Beverley, a long-time Professor of Christian Thought at Tyndale College in Toronto, gives readers an overview of the main religions of the world. The mere nineteen chapters (encompassing Baha'i to Witchcraft) are deceiving. For within them he explores the themes and variations of each main belief system, so that the actual number of faiths he discusses adds up to hundreds.

Beverley takes his cue on how to tackle each religion from the religion itself. For example, his discussion about the short-lived and relatively recent Branch Davidians cult is brief with a focus on news reports surrounding the controversial raid of their Waco Texas headquarters in 1993.

Buddhism, on the other hand, with its modern resurgence in the west and its history spanning centuries, gets much longer treatment and includes Beverley's description of his meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Information about each religion names its key people, describes the roles they played, details beliefs and worship practices, traces the religion's history in a time line, and suggests web sites and books to consult for more information.

The author makes no claims that this is an objective appraisal, however. In a must-read introduction he states that he presents his material from the perspective of an evangelical Christian scholar. He writes, "I realize that many readers will not share this paradigm or worldview.... I recognize that this book would be different if written from a Buddhist, Muslim, esoteric, or other tradition. It would also be a different book if it adopted the standpoint of relativism, or postmodernism, or the perspective of the so-called objective academic" p.7.

For the Christian reader, it is exactly Beverley's bias that makes the book valuable. For included within the discussion of each religion is his evaluation of how it relates to Christian orthodoxy as he understands it. We may not agree with him, but he has done his part to make our choice easier with his explanation and analysis.

For me, a layperson and no student of theology or world religions, this book is a most helpful reference. Though not exhaustive, its information about the world's main religions and their offshoots is more than adequate to give me an understanding of the faiths of my neighbors and friends.

This readable reference book would be a valuable addition to any home, school or church library.

This is a reference book that anyone should have on their bookshelf. This book is packed with information and data about many world religions. Some of the religions you would learn more about are: Baha'I, Branch Davidians, Buddhism, Christian Science, Christian Sectarian Groups, Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism, Mormonism, New Age, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Satanism, Scientology, Sikhism, Unification church and Witchcraft.
This book introduces us to the major religions in the world as well as their leaders, doctrines, beliefs and practices. The author also provides some criticisms on important points. I enjoyed reading about the religions I knew more like Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam and I must honestly say that I look forward to learn more about other religions in the world. This book is necessary I think for any Christians because it introduces us to the beliefs of other religions and gives us some material to work on when we interact with people following that religion. As Christians, I think it is important that we know our Bible but I think it is also important that we know what someone else belief if we are to have a good interaction about religion.
The author also presents various internet sources for the religions included in the book. These internet resources can also help us to identified sites that are not supporting the Christian belief. These sites are not always easy to identify sometimes. I'm glad that Mr. Beverley took the time to list these.
With each new chapter in the book there is a lesson 101 on the religion presented. I think it is important to get a basic level of what the beliefs of that religion are before starting to read about it. For each religion presented in the book, the author takes the time to explain the practices and doctrines. For example, for the Catholic faith, he explains how a new pope is elected which is a process that some do not understand. He also highlights the various investigations encountered by various religions. You will also find some questions and answers to help you understand the belief system of the religion you are looking into. Mr. Beverley also gives a chronology of the various religions presented in his book.
The author also identifies ten tests for Truth in religion. I think anyone should approach their own faith tradition by going through these tests - God test, Christological test, biblical test, love test, spirit test, freedom test, psychological test, social/political test, prophetic test, and rational test.
In conclusion, I think this book is well done and gives us an insight on the various religions we can find in the world. Again, I seriously believe that it is important as Christians to understand our neighbors and to love them - one way of doing this is to get a proper perspective of their faith. Then we can discuss with them and present the Truth of following Christ.

Drawn by its attractive appearance and large size and impressed by the descriptions on its jacket of it and its author, I recently borrowed Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions by Professor James A. Beverley from our local library. A few days later I finished reading it and decided to share my impressions of it here.
Postitively, I found Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions a very readable introduction to both the main world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and the mass of religious sects and cults in today's world. Its encyclopedic style, respectful treatment of all religions, lists of favourable and critical websites and readings, and comprehensive index make it a useful reference tool for anyone interested in contemporary world and American religious groups. However I'd suggest reading just the book's introduction and its chapters on religions that you want to know something about rather than reading through the whole book as I did.
Negatively, I was disappointed by the light treatment of the main world religions (see above) in Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions compared to the books on world religions that I used in university (Noss's Man's Religions and Ellwood's Many Peoples, Many Faiths). In comparison to them it seems more a scrapbook of religious groups, particularly sects and cults, than a guide to world religions. I was also disappointed by its unbalanced treatment of the religious groups that it considers. For example, it devotes more pages to New Age (over 100 of its 740, excluding the index) than to any of the religious groups generally recognized as world religions except Christianity. For both reasons, I'd suggest that owners of it interested in the main world religions supplement it with a standard introduction to world religions, such as Huston Smith's The World's Religions.
Finally, I'll note that Professor Beverley is an evangelical Protestant and thus that Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions is written from that perspective. On the one hand, this should make the book especially useful to evangelical Protestants. On the other hand, despite the writer's attempt not to be judgmental, his criticism of some aspects of other religious viewpoints may offend those holding those viewpoints.