So What's the Difference?: A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity

So What’s the Difference has been revised and updated for the 21st Century to help Christians better understand their own beliefs. A classic first released in 1967, this revision takes a current look at the answer to the question, “How does orthodox biblical Christianity differ from other faiths?” In a straightforward, non-critical comparison, Fritz Ridenour explores and explains the basic tenets of 20 worldviews, religions and faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, New Age and Mormonism.

Customer Reviews:

Of course it's biased! What do you expect

By J. Rast "Contender" - November 6, 2005

A very good book if you're looking for an introduction to religions with a basic comparison to the teachings found in the Bible.

I'm always amused by comments on Christian books written by Christian authors. Non-Christians complain that the book is biased and the author actually had the nerve to believe that his faith is correct. What did you expect? Should this Christian author have to change his beliefs and tell the reader that the Bible's claim that no one can come to the father but through Jesus Christ is a lie, even though he believes that? Muslims believe you only get to heaven by being Muslim, Catholics believe you need the Cahtolic sacraments, and hundreds of other religions believe they are correct in their beliefs. It seems only Christian claims to exclusive knowledge are unacceptable to these people though.

My favorite was the person who whined that the book was filled with the author's opinions. Don't most non-fiction books contain the author's... read more

Contains Helpful Charts

By Bethany McKinney - June 21, 2000

This book is very short, and because of its length it really isn't able to go into depth on any one of the religions discussed. It does cover a lot of territory though, and if you're just looking for a good overview of the main differences between Evangelical Christianity and other religions, then this book is really helpful. Especially helpful are the charts included for each religion which lay out the main things the religion believes about Jesus, the resurrection, salvation, etc. It covers many of the ways other religions intersect or blatantly disagree with Evangelical Christianity, but it leaves out everything about the religions that do not have something to do with their relation to Evangelicalism. So this book is definitely helpful to gain a little bit of knowledge on a wide range, but much more research would be required in order to be able to have a full understanding of the main world religions.

Straightforward analysis from a Christian Perspective

By Mark Bullard "Frugal Early Adopter" - July 11, 2001

Given the other reviews, I'll preface by saying this book barely scratchs the surface of answering the question the title poses. However, given that most Americans don't even take the time to scratch the surface of anything more than a mosquito bite, this book is a great, if simple, introduction to the answer. I always wondered the answer to the question this book approaches. Mr. Ridenour does a fantastic job of explaining these differences from a clearly Christian perspective. He starts with a clear identification of the Baseline for comparison (that is Protestant Christianity). He then proceeds to distinguish that baseline from Catholism, then on to other major world religions. I think every high school student should read this book before college. If you've missed that mark, go ahead and read it now! If this spurs your interest, and you really want to know more about other religions, read the writings that are central to those religions. IE. the Bible, the Koran, the Books... read more