God Among Sages: Why Jesus Is Not Just Another Religious Leader

293 Pages·2017·1.94 MB·English

by  Kenneth Richard Samples

© 2017 by Reasons to Believe
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0607-4
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®.
NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All
rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright
© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996,
2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol
Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Some material in chapters 1, 3, 4, 9, and 10 was adapted from Kenneth Richard Samples, Without a Doubt:
Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004). Some material in chapter
8 was adapted from Kenneth Richard Samples, A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to
the Worldview Test (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007). Some material in chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 appeared
in a preliminary form on the Reasons to Believe Reflections blog.
“Samples’s book is a fair-minded, systematic comparison of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth with
the life and teachings of other key leaders of world religions—and the comparison is revealing! The author
presents a stark and powerful contrast between the historically well-grounded, textually reliable, and lofty
identity claims of Jesus and the credentials of other sages, and Jesus towers above them all. Well informed,
wise, and sympathetic, this is a readable volume for those interested in exploring world religions and what
makes Jesus so unique.”
Paul Copan, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic
University; author of A Little Book for New Philosophers
“This is not the typical world religions volume that simply provides an information-filled survey of major
faith options. Rather, Ken Samples emphasizes an interactive approach, done in a comparative fashion that
contrasts strengths, weaknesses, philosophical implications, and historical foundations of the relevant
religious documents. More than fifty tables and charts provide many such contrasts and assessments in
visual overviews that encourage grasping key ideas in a single view. The result is a text that affords a
variety of opportunities to mix and match preferred features that particular instructors wish to highlight.
Such an approach affords excellent opportunities to mold a religions course. I recommend it
wholeheartedly.”
Gary R. Habermas, distinguished research professor and chair of the Department of
Philosophy, Liberty University and Theological Seminary
“There has been a crying need for a book like this, and Ken Samples was clearly the one to write it. He
compares Christ and Christianity to the founders and doctrines of the other great religions—but with an
important difference. He does not dilute the complexity of the faiths he describes, yet he writes in a way
that makes the comparative project accessible to everyone. This book would be my top recommendation for
any Christian, church, or Bible study group that wanted to learn how the Christian faith stacks up against
the other great religious traditions.”
Craig J. Hazen, professor of comparative religion and apologetics, and founder and
director of the Christian apologetics program, Biola University
“This is a day like that of the first century, when a variety of gods compete for the allegiance of human
beings. Christians and non-Christians alike need discernment even more today than then. This book by
Kenneth Samples can provide helpful guidance.”
Gerald R. McDermott, Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
“Rarely is a book this comprehensive also this accessible. God among Sages surveys the biblical teaching
about Jesus Christ and compares him with the founders of the major world religions. Yet Samples does so
in a way that is fair, thorough, and easy to understand.”
Kenneth Keathley, senior professor of theology, Jesse Hendley Chair of Theology, and
director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary
“Today’s Christians are not only constantly exposed to claims that there is no significant distinction
between religions; they are also liable to be stigmatized as intolerant if they disagree with such assertions.
Ken Samples comes to our aid by giving us a close-up view of Jesus and four other important religious
figures (Krishna, Gautama, Confucius, and Muhammad) and demonstrating the uniqueness of Christ. This
book is a needed and helpful tool for Christians to share the gospel message with confidence.”
Winfried Corduan, professor emeritus of philosophy and religion, Taylor University
“The Christian message that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior for people of all nations is widely regarded
as an intolerant claim that has no legitimate place in today’s pluralistic world. There is much confusion
today about who Jesus is and how his life and teachings compare to those of other important religious
figures. Kenneth Samples dispels this confusion in God among Sages, offering a careful overview of what
we know about Jesus and comparing him to the four most popular religious figures outside the Bible:
Krishna, Gautama (the Buddha), Confucius, and Muhammad. A model of clarity and charity, God among
Sages commends other religions for their strengths while explaining why Christ, who alone is God
incarnate, uniquely offers us a relationship with God and eternal life in his presence.”
Robert M. Bowman Jr., executive director of the Institute for Religious Research
“Rather than resist the comparison between Jesus and other leaders of the worlds major religions, Samples
welcomes the comparison. The truth claims of Christianity and of Jesus Christ himself stand in high relief
when compared to those of Krishna, Gautama, Confucius, and Muhammad. Jesus’s claims far surpass any
made by these; and unlike the claims of these other leaders, they proved true.”
Todd Wilken, host of Issues, Etc.
To Walter R. Martin—the original Bible Answer
Man, tenacious apologist of historic Christianity,
insightful scholar on the new religious movements,
and mentor to a new generation of apologists
CONTENTS
Cover i
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Endorsements v
Dedication vii
List of Tables xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Jesus and the World’s Religious Leaders xvii
Part 1: The Historic Christian Portrait of Jesus Christ 1
1. Jesus’s Stunning Self-Understanding 3
2. The Matchless Life of Jesus 17
3. A Historic Christology 33
4. Answering Challenges to Jesus’s Historic Identity 55
Part 2: Four Major Leaders of World Religions and Jesus 77
5. The Prince (Krishna) and the Lord 79
6. The Buddha (Gautama) and the Christ 103
7. The Teacher (Confucius) and the Savior 133
8. The Prophet (Muhammad) and the Son of God 159
Part 3: Christianity and the World’s Religions 189
9. Truth, Tolerance, and the Plurality of Religious Claims 191
10. Biblical Perspective on the World’s Religions 209
Conclusion: Jesus, God among Sages 229
Notes 233
Bibliography 245
Index of Subjects 257
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources 261
About the Author 263
Back Ads 265
Back Cover 267
LIST OF TABLES
1.1. Who Do People Say I Am? 4
1.2. Parallels between Yahweh and Jesus 7
1.3. Five Divine Prerogatives Jesus Invoked 11
1.4. Jesus Was Conscious of His Deity 13
2.1. Some of Jesus’s Most Famous Parables 29
2.2. Major Themes of Jesus’s Teaching 31
3.1. Trinity: One God in Three Persons (One “What,” Three “Whos”) 36
3.2. Four Affirmations concerning the Incarnation 39
3.3. Six Explicit Incarnational Passages 45
4.1. Paul’s Earliest Letters 59
4.2. Apostolic Proclamation Stages Time Line 63
4.3. Historic Dates Relating to Jesus Christ 65
4.4. The Importance of the Incarnation to Historic Christianity 70
4.5. First-Century Time Line 73
5.1. ISKCON Essential Teachings 84
5.2. The Bhagavad Gita’s Four Ways to Moksha 84
5.3. Comparison of the Prince and the Lord 91
5.4. Hinduism’s Complex Religious Belief System 96
5.5. Worldview Differences between Hinduism and Christianity 97
5.6. Comparison of Bhakti Hinduism and Christianity 99