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Rating:  Summary: Poorly written, misleading, and sensationalistic. Review: As an atheist who recently became somewhat familiar with several online mormons, I obviously have no bias towards Mormonism, but have knowledge of their beliefs. I bought this book so i could challenge them with hard hitting questions, but even as i read it, I knew there was no reality in this book. Being written from an evangelical standpoint doesn't help matters. Though some of it is true (Mormons don't believe in the Trinity, etc), much else is misleading (such as the charge that in Joseph Smith's Inspired Version of the Bible, he wrote in a prophesy that mentioned him by name-- when in fact it mentioned only his first name, not his whole name). Don't waste your money unless you want a bunch of anti-mormon rants that have no real value. There is plenty wrong with the Mormon belief system, so it is curious that the authors have to make things up!
Rating:  Summary: All religion is bunk. Review: My only complaint: Let's just take it a step further and say "The Counterfeit Religion of Christianity". All of Christiandom (and Islam and Buddhism and every other "other worldly" religion had the same formative processes that created Mormonism, only so long ago no one seems to muster the critical scope to take it on.
Rating:  Summary: Poor Stuff Review: talk about an all-star crew of authors!! I'm in Phil Robert's chapter in the book right now. The book was written from an evangelical standpoint for a reason- Mormonism is a divergent, created belief system which has absolutely NO basis in Historic and Biblical Christianity aside from Smith's plagarism of a KJV Bible and his 'modifications' in the so-called 'inspired version'. Not too much new info is presented to those who are already familiar with the LDS (and with older titles on the subject) and their divergencies from Historic Christianity, but for those unfamiliar, this book makes it easy to learn.
Rating:  Summary: Good Work, but not Perfect Review: The best chapter in this book is by Francis Beckwith, a philosophy professor who has written an academic monograph on Mormonism as well as a number of academic articles (which means, I presume, that he knows something about Mormonism). Ron Rhodes's chapter is second best, but Geisler and Roberts could use some improvement. I think a project like this is good, but it should be a little more tight. It is written clearly and intended for a wide audience. The book is worth buying just for Beckwith's well-reasoned critique of the Mormon concept of God.
Rating:  Summary: The book provides substantive and accurate scholarship. Review: This book provides substantive and accurate scholarship. It helps to dispel the misleading image of Mormonism created by the LDS Church's professional public relations firm. The latter is a rosily inaccuate portrayal that all too easily seduces the subjective, feelings-oriented mentality that is so prevalent today. The book is historically, theologically and philosophically excellent. It will be recognized as such by those having more than a superficial knowledge of Mormon doctrine and history. For example, it is abundantly clear from Joseph Smith's "Inspired Version" of the Bible that he did, indeed, intend to write himself into Old Testament prophecy. Those who take the trouble to read the early diaries and historical documents of the Church do not doubt this. This book is an absolute must read. I would give it more than five stars if I could.
Rating:  Summary: Poor Stuff Review: This book really does, as one of the reviewers here notes, represent an all-star cast of anti-Mormons. Its poor quality is all the more striking for that very fact.Several fundamental problems mar the book. For one thing, its authors consistently offer up the most damning possible version of Latter-day Saint belief -- often in a form that few Mormons, if any, would be willing to accept. Then it compares that caricatured version to the authors' own less-than-obviously-true understanding of the Bible or of Christianity, as if their interpretations were the only ones on the market. Moreover, the authors don't always seem to know much about their subject. (Geisler is a particular disappointment in this regard.) And, of course, the book's relentlessly antagonistic attitude toward the Latter-day Saints and their faith shouldn't exactly inspire its readers with confidence in the fairness of its approach. But then, lack of fairness probably won't matter to a considerable proportion of the book's audience, who may well get too much pleasure out of seeing the Mormons trashed to worry much about such matters as bias, accuracy, and context.
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