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God Among Sages

by Kenneth Richard Samples
Baker Books, © 2017,
$16.99 (paperback), 262 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0-8010-1690-5

This book by Kenneth Samples is subtitled “Why Jesus Is Not Just Another Religious Leader.” Samples describes Jesus as the God-man with both a divine nature and a human nature, all within one person. He examines various scriptures in which Jesus claimed equality with God. He points out that Jesus claimed the power to forgive sins, accept worship, answer prayers, raise the dead, and judge humanity. No other prophet, sage, guru, or avatar could do those things.

Samples explores the challenges to Christian orthodoxy and responds to questions about the historic identity of Jesus. He compares Jesus to Confucius, Muhammad, Krishna, and Buddha, and also compares Christianity to other world religions. Additionally, he discusses the essential role of the Trinity in salvation.

Kenneth Samples is not afraid to explore the question of whether we “all pray to the same God,” as Oprah Winfrey suggested. He considers whether all religions are valid spiritual paths. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Is Christian exclusivism justified? Samples thinks so.

This book tackles these and many other difficult questions. We highly recommend it for anyone interested in a deep comparison of world religions and Christianity.