How do we make sense of the world's different religions?In today's globalized society, religion is deeply intertwined with every issue we see on the news. But talking about multiple religions can be contentious. Are different faiths compatible somehow? And how can we know whether one religion is more true than another? In this creative thought experiment, Peter Kreeft invites us to encounter dialogues on the world's great faiths. His characters Thomas Keptic and Bea Lever are students in Professor Fesser's course on world religions, and the three explore the content and distinctive claims of each. Together they probe the plausibility of major religions, from Hinduism and Buddhism to Christianity and Islam. Along the way they explore howreligions might relate to each other and to what extent exclusivism or inclusivism might make sense. Ultimately Kreeft gives us helpful tools for thinking fairly and critically about competing religious beliefs. If the religions are different kinds of music, do they together make harmony or cacophony? Decide for yourself.



Peter Kreeft (PhD, Fordham University) is professor of philosophy at Boston College, where he has taught since 1965. A popular lecturer, he has also taught at many other colleges, seminaries, and educational institutions in the eastern United States. Kreeft has written more than fifty books, including The Best Things in Life, The Journey, and Handbook of Christian Apologetics (with Ronald Tacelli).



Introduction

1. What Is Religion? The Problem of Definition

2. Primitive Religions: The Sense of the Religious

3. Hinduism: The Claims of Mystical Experience

4. Buddhism: The Logic of Nirvana

5. Zen: The Transformation ofConsciousness

6. Confucianism: The Structure of Social Success

7. Taoism: The Power of Nature's Way

8. Judaism: Human Culture or Divine Revelation?

9. Islam: Is Surrender Fundamentalism or the Heart of Religion?

10. Christianity: The Most Believed (and Most Unbelievable) Claim Ever Made

11. Comparative Religions: Can Contradictories Both Be True?

Postscript