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Stephen Prothero’s God is Not One Book Review

The author of one among the famous religious books named God is Not One is Stephen Prothero. He wrote the book with the emotions to spread knowledge about different important religions of the world to the audience. The main purpose of the book is to enlighten the audience about the fact that God is present and people especially Americans should have the knowledge to understand the fact that they should have the deep understanding about the religious knowledge. Religions are fundamentally the same is the main primary theme that is rejected by the author with the explanation that religions are different and the religious differences matters a lot.Prothero wants to explain that many important and notable scholars in the world are failed to explain the difference between the world’s important religions and all religions are not fundamentally the same. Prothero states that, “This [belief that all religions are fundamentally the same] is a lovely sentiment but it is dangerous, disrespectful, and untrue. For more than a generation we have followed scholars and sages down the rabbit hole into a fantasy world in which all gods are on. The idea of religious unity is wisful thinking, and it has not made the world a safer place. In fact, this naive theological groupthink – call it Godthink – has made the world more dangerous by blinding us to the clashes of religion that threaten us worldwide.” (2-3)

It shows that according to the audience this thought to consider the religions are fundamentally the same is dangerous as well as not true at all. The ideas and concept that makes the people belief that religions are same never made the world a safe place or peaceful one to live. So Prothero decided to take the initiative to provide valid differences between right different notable and important religions of the world in his book. The purpose of the book is simple that to spread important information about different religions to the audience and make them able to understand that religions are different from each other and people should have the religious knowledge.

Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba, Judaism, Daoism, and Atheism are all the religions that are targeted by the authors and he attempted to provide all the significant details about each religion. According to the author it is not easy to understand the religions and the fact that these could transforms the people. The author is having the belief that world is not a home for the humans and they are stuck between the right and wrong deeds that impacts the present and afterlife. Christians wants to develop saints, Buddhism wants to make Bodhisattvas, and Hinduism makes their own gods with their hands. Prothero attempt to provide great details about the notable religions is no doubt every effective but there are some certain weaknesses of the book as well that exists.

The title of the book is offensive and based on some kind of negative assertion that provides nothing but offensiveness. The religions are truly not the same fundamentally, but giving a book named as “God is Not One” is simply against some religious concepts such as Christians and Muslims beliefs that God is only one. The title is not only offensive and against the true nature of the book but also is nonsensical. Prothero targeted all the religions by providing great details about each one, but many times the work of the author is filled with inaccuracies. The inaccuracies are humorous as well as trivial. In the case of the religion of Christianity, Prothero claimed that the Protestants who are against the Bible always make some claims with explanations. It is a declaration that needs to judge, and verify the Protestant Bible Bookstores.

Some other considerable flaws of the book are also present such as the declaration of Prothero about the concept of Christians “Soft Monotheism” which is not the same one and against the “hard monotheism” that are presented by Islam and Judaism. It’s an attempt that failed to engage the literature in a pattern of Trinitarian one. The pattern of the concept “encounter” linked with the Athanasian Creed is providing the readers much information when they wants to understand the values and beliefs of Christianity, and the author devoted deep knowledge towards this understanding pattern. The pattern of Prothero seems a little different when it comes to the explanation of Christianity which includes the important section of the book, “Brown Christians.’ It relates with the concept of growth of modern Pentecostalism that is existing in the Third World.

This pattern needed more clarification and deep understanding. The relative explanation of different substantive and durable development that occurred and lasts within the religion of Christianity should be targeted by the author. There are several other aspects that are targeted by the author in an inadequate way including the Eastern Orthodoxy and its relation with the Latin Church, also the implications of different and multiple differences based on the Reformation concepts. Overall the entire book is effective to understand about the basic pattern and understanding of different religions that are notable in the world societies today.

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