Book Review

A review of the book: “Guide to Cults, Religions, & Spiritual Beliefs” by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz.(with adviser Dr. Craig Hazen).

The copy that I bought is a 335 page paperback, with an informal design for it’s cover that invites prospective readers with the statement: “A user – friendly approach”. Inside the book the layout is, in fact, user friendly. I liked the overall layout of the book.

Bruce Bickel was a standup comic turned lawyer and Stan Jantz is a marketing consultant. Their advisor on this book was Dr. Craig Hazen, who is the associate professor of comparative religion and Christian apologetics at Biola University.

I have done quite a bit of study and research on the religions of Judaism, Judeo-Christianity, and Christianity. Therefore I was interested to see how they would handle the subject of Judaism, which is covered in Chapter 2 of their book. Their chapter on Judaism start off on the wrong foot by asserting false or mistaken claims and statements. We could go paragraph by paragraph and show the errors in chapter 2 of their book, but a couple of examples should do.
Their book has Judaism starting in Genesis and being “the first great faith to believe in one God.” Judaism began from the teachings of the Pharisees and they are not found anywhere in the book of Genesis. The word Pharisee is not found in the Bible until the 23rd Chapter of Matthew. Here are just three of many Jewish sources they could have (and should have) read concerning the beginning of Judaism.

"The return from Babylon and the introduction of the Babylonian Talmud mark the end of Hebrewism and the beginning of Judaism."
Rabbi Stephen F. Wise, formerly the Chief Rabbi of the United States

“. . . Judaism . . . Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism, and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But throughout these changes in name . . . the spirit of the ancient Pharisees survives, unaltered . . . “ from page XXI of “Pharisees, The Sociological Background of Their Faith”, first edition. by Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, often referred to as “ The Vatican of Judaism “(as quoted on page 24 of “Facts Are Facts” by Benjamin H. Freedman)

“Judaism did not come into existence until A.D. 70. It is a mixture of the Mosaic religion of the Hebrew Torah (Pentateuch) which Jesus quoted, and the Pharisaism which Jesus condemned. The latter became written down in the Talmud, from the second to the seventh centuries A.D.
from page 57 of “The Six-pointed Star” by O. J. Graham

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Christendom existed for 1494 years before this term Judaism was even coined in English. That is another reason why Judaism not only was not in Genesis but was NOT “the first great faith to believe in one God.”. The Hebrews later known as Israelites believed in one God and Judaism did not exist yet.

If the rest of their book follows how they handled their chapter on Judaism, it will be just repeating the same misinformation or standard belief about each subject that is commonly held. This is unfortunate because had they actually dug a little deeper into their subject, they could have had a very good and useful book.

If a person just wants the standard line on each of the religions covered, they will be pleased with “Guide to Cults, Religions, & Spiritual Beliefs”. If a person want a better researched guide, they will need to look elsewhere.