World Religions and Cults Vol. 3

I have used this resource as a parent and as a teacher. It gives great information and is done in a respectful manner. My daughter who is using it as an elective in school is gaining so much understanding and creating great conversations.

I bought this on a flash sale and am so glad! I will definitely purchase the other two in the series.

Bought this book on a flash sale and I am so glad I did. Looking forward to getting the other two books and the whole curriculum set to do myself.

If your home school student attends a secular university he / she will be inundated with secular religions in a daily basis. Can they defend their faith? 90% of children raised in church leave the church when they leave home. This resource will help your student understand the atheist / agnostic views and will equip them to defend their faith from secular humanism.

A review of Comparative Religions by MasterBooks that consists of three books titled World Religions and Cults Volume 1-3

I first came across this set of books when forming my scope and sequence for my high school students. I knew I wanted Apologetics and Bible in every year so as to keep my children sharp in the Word. But then the book made a splash on a Social Media page for support for MasterBooks when someone questioned its hardline stance on certain things. Please re-read this, I did not say legalistic stance but rather hard-line; meaning an uncompromising view of the Scriptures. I was so impressed with the stand that MasterBooks took that, if I had not already been, I would become one of their biggest supporters and advocates! So, when the books and teacher guide were offered for review I jumped on the chance. This would mean an opportunity to read the material a full year before I had planned to purchase it for our own homeschool use.

First being a mom that is finishing up a degree that includes a Biblical Studies Minor has meant countless hours in classes on theology, doctrine, the history of Christian thought, the history of the church and of course a rather lengthy comparative religions course – I can say with confidence that this course section is at the collegiate level and most likely exceeds some collegiate level courses in its explanation. Saying this I need to qualify it with the fact that Bodie Hodge is a writer that, while writing about rather deep and sometimes difficult subject matter, always is able to present it in an easy to read format that anyone can read, understand and walk away with some basic knowledge. In fact, my experience with Bodie Hodge’s writing is that most of the time the active student is driven to the Scriptures to study more, to formulate their own questions that lead to an internalization of God’s Word and a better ability to “defend” or refute the secular world view they are so often bombarded with.

Offered first as a set of stand-alone books these three volumes with a teacher guide are now offered as a course for grades 11 and 12 as a full year credit in Apologetics or Biblical Studies. I would also say this would fall under other subjects. The course work is simple enough but thought provoking as it asks a student to really think through issues and formulate their own opinions.

In a world where there are so many different versions of religion, so many different denominations and sects how do our children or even ourselves discern Truth from heresies? I could not help but think of a quote from Brother Andrew as I read these books,”You can't use strong-arm tactics against the church without strengthening it. It's always been that way. Under persecution a man looks at his faith to see if it's worth fighting for, and this is a scrutiny Christianity can always withstand. The real danger comes with an indirect attack, where a person is lured away from the Church before he has a chance to become strong.” This real danger is also in the form of subtle changes to the Truth and this has always been the trouble, since the first century till now. These heresies are so close to the Truth, shadow the Truth so well that it would be easy to be deceived into thinking they are the same as the Truth. That is what is so great about these books and even greater now that it is an actual course with worksheets. The student, whether adult or teen, will come away with a greater knowledge of other religions and cults. This will include an understanding of their history, their basic beliefs and how best to witness to those immersed in these false belief systems.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking to better understand not only other religions but also Christianity,

A review of Comparative Religions by MasterBooks that consists of three books titled World Religions and Cults Volume 1-3

I first came across this set of books when forming my scope and sequence for my high school students. I knew I wanted Apologetics and Bible in every year so as to keep my children sharp in the Word. But then the book made a splash on a Social Media page for support for MasterBooks when someone questioned its hardline stance on certain things. Please re-read this, I did not say legalistic stance but rather hard-line; meaning an uncompromising view of the Scriptures. I was so impressed with the stand that MasterBooks took that, if I had not already been, I would become one of their biggest supporters and advocates! So, when the books and teacher guide were offered for review I jumped on the chance. This would mean an opportunity to read the material a full year before I had planned to purchase it for our own homeschool use.

First being a mom that is finishing up a degree that includes a Biblical Studies Minor has meant countless hours in classes on theology, doctrine, the history of Christian thought, the history of the church and of course a rather lengthy comparative religions course – I can say with confidence that this course section is at the collegiate level and most likely exceeds some collegiate level courses in its explanation. Saying this I need to qualify it with the fact that Bodie Hodge is a writer that, while writing about rather deep and sometimes difficult subject matter, always is able to present it in an easy to read format that anyone can read, understand and walk away with some basic knowledge. In fact, my experience with Bodie Hodge’s writing is that most of the time the active student is driven to the Scriptures to study more, to formulate their own questions that lead to an internalization of God’s Word and a better ability to “defend” or refute the secular world view they are so often bombarded with.

Offered first as a set of stand-alone books these three volumes with a teacher guide are now offered as a course for grades 11 and 12 as a full year credit in Apologetics or Biblical Studies. I would also say this would fall under other subjects. The course work is simple enough but thought provoking as it asks a student to really think through issues and formulate their own opinions.

In a world where there are so many different versions of religion, so many different denominations and sects how do our children or even ourselves discern Truth from heresies? I could not help but think of a quote from Brother Andrew as I read these books,”You can't use strong-arm tactics against the church without strengthening it. It's always been that way. Under persecution a man looks at his faith to see if it's worth fighting for, and this is a scrutiny Christianity can always withstand. The real danger comes with an indirect attack, where a person is lured away from the Church before he has a chance to become strong.” This real danger is also in the form of subtle changes to the Truth and this has always been the trouble, since the first century till now. These heresies are so close to the Truth, shadow the Truth so well that it would be easy to be deceived into thinking they are the same as the Truth. That is what is so great about these books and even greater now that it is an actual course with worksheets. The student, whether adult or teen, will come away with a greater knowledge of other religions and cults. This will include an understanding of their history, their basic beliefs and how best to witness to those immersed in these false belief systems.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking to better understand not only other religions but also Christianity,

This book is great. This has showed me how humanistic religions like beliefs in evolution are actually false religions. In the public school system, they seem to be presented as religion neutral however, they are very humanistic and becoming more and more anti-christian. I can see it so clearly now after how this book breaks down how and why that is. I was especially interested in the chapter about Scientology. I have in-laws that are part of that organization and found it difficult to understand what they believe. This book has really helpful. It is very important to understand the beliefs of the world around us so that we may better defend our faith in our ever changing culture and spread the Gospel. I will definitely have my children read through this book when they are in High school.

This is the third and final book of the series as of right now. It is so very relevant to modern society. It covers secular and Atheistic religions. This book really allows you to compare the various religions and viewpoints featured. It shows the contrasts between the religions and a Biblical Christian worldview. It is a fantastic resource for both adults and homeschool. From a homeschool standpoint, I will probably introduce this at a high school level. Throughout the text, there are multiple authors and I feel like this gives a much more well-rounded viewpoint on the various religions. I think this is a must-read for Christians today. There is so much background and information, and the text is very, very thorough. If you are using for homeschool, I highly recommend the teacher's guide as a companion.

All I can say about the last installment of this series is...WOW!

In Volume 3, the authors delve into the Humanistic religions pervading and invading every aspect of our culture today. Equipping ourselves and our children with the Truth and how it compares and contrasts to these humanist viewpoints has never been more important. This is the most relevant and necessary book in the series in my humble opinion. I do recommend having read Volume 1 prior reading this particular book.

I would recommend this course for high school level - ideally 11th/12th grade - as it takes an in depth look into the religions and cults of the world and requires a certain degree of understanding and critical thinking, as well as, a knowledge of the history of the world. I would also recommend this book for anyone looking to shore up their defense of their faith against the onslaught of humanistic worldviews today.

This is one I will have my entire family read! Thank you, Master Books!

So you want to understand what is going on the world around us now? Atheism, agnosticism, socialism, communism; it's all around us and being pushed on us and our children more and more. Here is a book that gives you ability to study individual systems that surround us in this time. The systems are compared to Biblical Christianity. The end of each chapter gives you the summary of each system. The book allows you to do a comparative study, or give you a basic understanding of any one in particular for witnessing. It is from a Biblical Christianity worldview looking at the development of these systems and how they relate to Christianity. I also strongly suggest getting the teachers guide with this as the worksheets become a quick reference that you can refer to. This is written at a Junior/Senior level or college level. It would be good in a personal library or as a gift to a pastor. Love this book!