Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam

by Timothy C. Tennent

Argues that Christian dialogue with other faiths is an integral part of our call to proclaim the message of Christ.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christian

270 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m impressed. Tennent’s book is the most fair-minded and respectful Christian exploration into other world religions that I’ve encountered. The only negative I could possibly come up with is that his pre-debate background on each religion (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam) is sometimes too detailed for my limited attention span.

The “roundtable” lets each religion have its say. Some of Tennent’s ground rules:


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“First, all differences of opinion or perspectives should be shared honestly without being pejorative. “
. . .
“Second, no one is permitted to exploit abuses present in a religion that are at odds with widely accepted beliefs and practices. All religions have been embarrassed by poor representations of their faith by particular followers. As much as humanly possible, we should avoid stereotypes and gross caricatures of the other religions.”
. . .
“Setting up straw men that can be easily knocked down or not allowing Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims to register authentic objections would defeat the whole purpose of the dialogues.“
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As an example, when exploring both Pure Land and Zen Buddhism, he begins with:


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“I now have the privilege of sitting down with my two Buddhist friends and engaging in conversation concerning the Ultimate in Buddhism. Are there meaningful areas of agreement? Where are the major differences between Buddhist and Christian views of ultimate reality?”
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This is a breath of fresh air, compared to the standard fare in evangelical books. Consider, in contrast, this excerpt on Buddhism from Walter Martin’s well-known (having sold nearly one million copies) “The Kingdom of the Cults”:


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“Zen Buddhism, in our opinion, is the most self-centered, selfish system of philosophy that the depraved soul of man can embrace, for it negates the two basic principles upon which all spiritual reality exists, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, with all they soul and with all thy mind . . . and thy neighbor as thyself’ (Matthew 22:37,39).
For Zenists, it is love of self first, last and always. This is the core of Zen, which releases one from spiritual responsibility and substitutes intellectual enlightenment for conversion, and the absence of concern for one’s fellow man for peace with God. Historically, Buddhism and produced nothing but indescribable conditions under which its subjects live. For in almost every area of the world where Buddhism of any form holds saw, there stalks the specter of disease, hunger, and moral and spiritual decay.”
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[Lauren Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a unique approach on the study of world religions. In the chapters, the author provides a summary of specific core beliefs for a religion, and then allows for dialogue about the specific belief and how it differs from Christianity. I enjoyed this approach, because it allowed for voices of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic faiths to voice their arguments for faith. Very insightful.

[Christopher David · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to religious dialogue from an evangelical perspective, there are hardly many good ones today. Tennent thankfully is one of them and his survey of the interactions and the various questions posed back and forth makes this not only an enjoyable read but a thorough satisfying one from an academic point of view.

[Bradley Blaylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the structure of this book. It did a fantastic job of highlighting the differences in religious views.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Tennent's work on world religions, and this entry is a fine one to his corpus. Especially from a conservative, Evangelical perspective, you won't find any more thoughtful work that interacts with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. I enjoyed the format of this book - each chapter being interspersed with fictional 'dialogue' between conversation partners - but the case studies at the end really added to the value. Overall, I think another book by Tennent, "Theology in the Context of World Christianity" is a bit better, but this one is certainly worth reading.

[Todd Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent work by Tennent, the most profoundly theological of any missiologist that I know of. He demonstrates the value of dialogue while still desiring conversion. His case studies are not strawmen, but demonstrate legitimate interaction over ideas at the theological and worldview level. This is a must read.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tennent deals with some very heady issues in this book, but the practical implications of his approach make this book worth reading.

[Patrick Schlabs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful introduction to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam with the Evangelical worldview in the backdrop.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair, faithful, and a great read for those wondering what honest inter-faith dialogue would look like.