The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 96 pages
• Published by: Multnomah Books October 1, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 157673854X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1576738542
• Book Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 3.2 ounces

Product Description
Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say to Mohammed? Or Buddha? Or Oscar Wilde? Maybe you have a friend who practices another religion or admires a more contemporary figure. Drop in on a conversation between Jesus and some well-known individuals whose search for the meaning of life took them in many directions -- and influenced millions. Popular scholar Ravi Zacharias sets a captivating scene in this first in the intriguing Conversations with Jesus books. Through dialogue between Christ and Gautama Buddha that reveals Jesus' warm, impassioned concern for all people, God's true nature is explored. It's a well-priced, hard cover volume readers will want to own, and also share with others.

About The Author
Ravi Zacharias was born in India, immigrating to Canada at age twenty. After earning a Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he began a speaking ministry that has taken him worldwide (including the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford University) as a recognized authority on comparative religions, cults, and philosophy. Zacharias' holds three doctorate degrees, and his books include the Gold Medallion winner Can Man Live without God, Deliver Us from Evil, Cries of the Heart, Jesus Among Other Gods, and two children's titles. He teaches a weekly, international radio program entitled Let My People Think. Ravi lives with his wife, Margaret, in Atlanta. They have three grown children.

Reader Reviews
As September 11th shows, we are not one world, and these types of books can help open our mind. Dr. Z's expertise comes from who he is--an Indian who emigrated to Canada, then to the United states. So he is really capable because he is an amphibian: both Eastern and Western, Hindu and Christian. He follows the Platonic pattern of not selling a syllogism, but designing a dialogue to illustrate an idea. This is a hypothetical qudrologue involving Jesus and Buddha as they discuss and talk with a young prostitute about why she is dying of AIDS. Hardball questions with hardball answers. I am impressed with the amount of research Dr. Z put into this book--hours and hours of interviews with Buddhist monks in Malaysia, Thailand, India, and Singapore. That may be why so many people don't like the book: Dr, Z is discussing real Buddhism, not the watered down, Americanized Buddhism that is more a combination of Star Trek and Hallmark than anything that the Buddha ever taught. The book is small, with an unimposing 94 pages and is 6" X 6", so it can be read in one setting. The cover and illustrations are soft and inviting, much like any "Deep thoughts" book. The binding has held up to my rough handling. This book will not satisfy everyone, since it deals with very hard and sensitive issues, very personal issues, but I hope that quote-unquote sensitivity is not a cop out from thought and a well-meaning calm discussion. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is an odd thing not to see my religion criticized, but I have never backed down from a free and honest discussion. In fact, if religion cannot stand up to hardball and slicing questions, then it is as Gov. Jesse Ventura has said, just "a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers."