Sharing Your Faith with a Buddhist

One of the faster growing religions in America is Buddhism which claims 2.4 million adherents in the United States.  Indiana University has recently established a tax supported department with its own building under the direction of the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama has spoken at several scientific symposiums in recent months.  If you are an active Christian, you are going to run into people who will claim that Buddhism is superior to Christianity, and it is important to understand this religious system and know how to give answers to it.

The author of this book is from, India and was formerly a Hindu.  He has been a believer in Jesus for over 20 years and now teaches at Bethany College of Missions in Minneapolis.  This book is a wonderful source of information about the history and beliefs of Buddhism.  Dr. Thirumalai explores the various forms of Buddhism and does comparisons between Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

The first 139 pages of this 208 page book deal with factual information about Buddhism.  The remainder of the book provides assistance in teaching Buddhists.  Major dissimilarities are explored, and suggestions for evangelizing Buddhists are given in chapters eight and nine.  The last five chapters deal with special topics that relate to Buddhism including a chapter on the influence of animism, pantheism, and polytheism, a chapter on the role of magic, and chapters answering questions about divination and spirit possession.  There are some weaknesses in these sections, and some beliefs the author seems to have about Christianity that you might question.  The main thrust of the book however is very well done.  We recommend it highly to anyone who has a loved one involved in or interested in Buddhism.  It is a good source of information and will be useful in helping others affected by this philosophy.

Note:  Books reviewed on this page are not available through our Web Site.  They should be available through a local bookstore or some of the online bookstores.

Back to Contents Does God Exist?, JulAug06.