This 384-page book presents a detailed review of the world’s major religions, exploring the various forms of worship, cultural backgrounds, lands, and peoples. It reviews the seemingly instinctive and universal need to worship, which seems to be present in all cultures, as well as the various forms throughout history in which that need has manifested itself.
Primitive religions such as animism are considered, as well as the history of the modern practice of Hinduism, including yoga, as well as the development of Hinduism into Buddhism. Other Eastern religions such as Taoism and Confucianism are also considered. A small section also describes the Sikh religion. The various forms of Judaism are discussed, with a history stretching back a few thousand years to the first Jew, Abraham, as well as the two other major monotheistic religions, Islam and Christianity. The Christian section considers both the background and the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, as well as early and developed practice of Christianity, the Middle Ages, and the development of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Reformation, Protestantism, and modern Christianity. .
There is a chapter that considers the historical development of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a section on modern unbelief that touches on both Darwinism and the cult of the state in socialist countries. The book is factual, unbiased, accurate, and is a comprehensive reference equivalent to an advanced college course on world religion. The only thing missing from Mankind’s Search for God is information on some of the smaller Christian religions in modern times, namely the Latter-day Saints and Seventh-day Adventists, as well as more details on the current status of the 21st century evangelicals. Other than that, it can be considered to be a comprehensive and authoritative guide to world religion. (The author of this article passed a 3-credit college exam on world religion, solely from derived knowledge on the subject of this book.)
It is important to get a sense of world culture, in the melting pot of today’s society that exists in most developed countries. Gaining an understanding of the world religion gives one a foundation for examining one’s own belief system, in a larger context. This is also very valuable. The other benefit of reading Mankind’s Search for God is that it helps document the ongoing, historical, almost instinctive need humans have for worship, which seems to be a universal part of almost all cultures and, despite the fact that many have turned to science, almost like another religion, or others that have worshiped the state, in certain countries that have or have almost deified their leaders, the majority of humanity continues to cling to both a belief system and some form of worship . This is an important cultural phenomenon and a reflection of the essence of one of the greatest needs of man, the desire to seek a higher purpose in life, the “great cause” of this amazing universe, and how we fit into that great purpose. .
More information about Jehovah’s Witnesses can be found on the public relations site of the Jehovah’s Witnesses website.
