Official Book Description:
User-Friendly Beginner’s Guide to World Religions
The world is becoming more integrated. What once seemed like the religions of exotic faraway lands are now practiced by families next door. These short, easily digestible readings give an overview of the beliefs, histories, and practices of dozens of religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and many more. Garry Morgan blends the knowledge of a college professor with real-world experience and an accessible style. Broken into forty brief chapters, this book can be used as a reference for those who need quick and clear answers or read straight through by curious readers.
About the Author
My Thoughts:
The back of the book says that Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day is a concise, easy-to-understand overview of world religions. And it is. The book is not weighty by any means, which implies that the book is far from exhaustive. But it does a fly-over of the “fab-five” religions: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, and Christianity. What’s my fear in a text this size that has such a mission? Reductionistic. So how does it stack up?
Well Garry Morgan is not a stranger to world religions. He has traveled missionally (including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania) for years before landing himself in the diverse twin-city area. He is not the guru on the subject, but he has done well to not let the library be his only platform of education — that is to say, he’s lived it.
As far as content goes, the book steps on the scale and lands at 173 pages. Each “15 minute” lesson is only a couple of pages and is written so anybody can understand it. Morgan takes complex, often extremely foreign concepts and makes them easy to understand for a guy who has been raised mostly in a protestant-Christian culture. I wouldn’t call each lesson reductionistic, but rather only a means to launch a seeker into the subject. He could have went the extra step to include some resources to go to if you have more questions, but he doesn’t.
Like I started in saying, it’s a fly-over of the “fab-five” and the many nooks and crannies that lie within. The quick tour of world religions will give a seeker much to chew on, but little direction if you’re craving more.
Pick up your copy here.
*This book was free with my promise to post an unbiased review.
