EMQ » January–March 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 1
By Irving Hexham
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2019
222 pages
USD $16.99
Reviewed by Boaz Johnson, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Theological Studies at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois.
The Bible was written in a religiously pluralistic environment. The prophets of the Old Testament encountered the religions of their times. Similarly, the Gospels were written and the early church spread in a religiously pluralistic environment. Irving Haxham suggests that the postmodern Church must follow the biblical example and do the same among the world religions of our time.
Biblical and systematic theologies, as well as seminaries in the West, have for too long ignored the religions of the world. At most, the study of the religions of the world are treated like a “side dish” to the “main courses” of a seminary program. Irving Hexham makes a strong case for changing this.
In the first three chapters, Hexham exposes the reader to a world brimming over with spiritual forces: the religions of Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia where the majority of immigrants to the West come from. In the fourth chapter, he underlines that the Christians who come from African countries bring different forms of Christianity, forms which directly engage with the world of the spirits. This is also true of the Hindus and Jains of India, and the Buddhists from Thailand and Vietnam. It is also true of Christians who come from these regions.
In chapters five through nine, Hexham provides an overview of the religions of the Yogic Traditions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Hexham goes beyond what is typically found in world religion texbooks and suggests how to dialog with members of these religions, He writes, “One can be a Buddhist or a Christian but not both, because they begin from totally different premises that lead to very different conclusions about the nature of life” (94). This kind of clarity of thought is very important in the classroom because world religions classes often do not enable students to see clear distinctions between religions. Most world religion professors teach in the mold of Huston Smith, i.e., all religions are the same.
In chapters ten to fourteen, Hexham covers the three Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He describes some commonalities such as the concepts of revelation, creation, and the present condition of the world. These are good topics for dialogue. He presents the distinctives of Judaism and Islam while stressing that Christians need to acknowledge aspects of history such as the holocaust and the crusades when dialoging with Muslims and Jews. The last chapter addresses Muslim arguments against Christianity such as the trustworthiness of the Bible and Islamophobia.
I would recommend it as a textbook in Christian high schools or colleges, as well as for church small groups and adult Sunday schools. It will help the reader grapple with the key issues associated with world religions, issues which are so important in our religiously pluralistic environment.
