This book by Ajith Fernando (author of the outstanding book The Surpremecy of Christ) has written another outstanding text. He effectively demonstrates the weaknesses of Western Culture as well as its strengths and how Christians sometimes confuse the issues of truth and tolerance. Further, he shows how respecting another's religion and customs, without compromising one's faith, gains greater respect and opens up room for more effective dialogue.

All chapetrs are excellent. As one who has dialogued with cultic and world religion members, I can testify that this text is trustworthy in instructing the Christian on how to mind his table manners. I wish I had read a text like this 20 years ago when I first started embarking on the journey of discussing my faith with others who believe in another god.

A must read and purchase. You may read some chapters again as time passes by.

This is an updated and revised version of "The Christian Attitude to World Religions." The author is from Sri Lanka and has published numerous other books on Christian themes, including a lengthy commentary on the Book of Acts.

The book is structured according to Paul's presentation in Acts 17. Mr. Fernando knows his subject matter well. He is fair and accurate in addressing other religions, but understands how they differ from Christianity.

Doug Groothuis, Denver Seminary

A book of passion and practicality, Leadership Lifestyle examines the book of 1 Timothy from the perspective of discipleship and leadership development. Fernando explains in the preface, "To learn how Paul made disciples, I lived in 1 Timothy for more than one and a half years." This book is the fruit of this extended time of study and meditation.

Leighton Ford writes in his foreword, "Every leader should be asking: 'Who is going to take my place? Who is God raising up? How can I encourage the coming leaders?'" To these and other questions, Fernando brings his usual combination of keen insight, multicultural perspective, and intensely practical application.

At the end of each chapter are questions for personal application which are effectively designed to help the reader take stock of personal strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan for personal development. Chapters include such subjects as "Leadership as Parenthood," "The Vision of Grace," "How to Respond to False Teaching," and "Possessions: Keeping the Right Attitude."

Leadership Lifestyle is neither a self-help book, nor a manual on administration or program development. Rather, it is a challenge to discipleship and leadership development in the tradition of J. Oswald Sanders' Spiritual Leadership and Walter A. Henrichsen's Disciples Are Made Not Born.

Those who are looking for exegetical resources on 1 Timothy might consider the commentaries of J. N. D. Kelly or Homer A. Kent, Jr. on the Pastoral Epistles.

This book has influenced my life in the last six years more than any other book, and I feel that effect is still hardly adequate an endorsement. Put simply, I know of no better advice on friendship, or on relationships in general. Fernando teaches you how to change your perceptions of people, of time, and of God. Reclaiming Friendship is a small book, and it should be on your short list of reads for the near future.

Ajith Fernando has a knack for making the Bible come alive through different examples and personal challenges. Here, he uses the character of Daniel, a man highly successful through many changes of political leadership, to illustrate how God uses people who are faithful to him. The true gem of this book is that it makes the book of Daniel applicable in very concrete ways in current times.

I was glad to see the editors chose Ajith Fernando as the author of the study of Acts. It is good to read a perspective of the Early Church from someone who is not from North America or Eurpoe. Ajith is from and ministers in Sri Lanka. His illustration concerning prejudice in the Acts, Chapter 10, was enlightening.

Fernando offers the 21st Century family of faith a very helpful bridge into the 1st Century family of faith in the Book of Acts. His commentary includes historical-cultural comments, "bridging the centuries" comments and contemporary application comments. Fernando writes from the refreshing perspective of life in ministry in Sri Lanka, offering a missiological perspective to his contemporary comments about the church, the great commission and practical implications for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as God people continue to "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations". I've drawn upon this resource through two separate preaching excursions through the Book of Acts and continue to discover riches both in the Book of Acts and in today's family of faith, the living Body of Christ.

For two other titles concerning the family of faith, look at "The Family Cloister: Benedictine Wisdom for the Home" (Crossroad, 2000), and "The Family Toolbox: 52 Benedictine Activities for the Home" (Crossroad, September 2001), by written by David Robinson. God's best to you and your family of faith.

Ajith Frenando's commentary immediately struck me as arising from the persepctive of one working every day in the Mission Field. He clearly understands that Acts witnesses to the power of the Spirit who equip God's people for witness and service. One can easily see that the author believes in the gifts of the Spirit and the fact that these did not disappear with the Apostolic age. Fernando's commentary has many unique features, notably the "life application" and "bridging" sections that try to connect the witness of the Book of Acts to our Christian walk in the 21st century. Missing is the original Greek along/under the English (NIV) translation. Though not a critical deficiency, it would have been useful to have the Greek nearby as a reference. Having a good study bible along side will provide additional cross references to aid in understanding the text. Having taught the Book of Acts for a number of years, and having referred to numerous other commentaries, it is refreshing to read a commentary which believes that what the early church experienced of the Spirit's power and equipping we are to also experience today. Along with all this, his scholarship shines through. A must-have in a bible teacher's library.

I chose to read this book for a theology of missions class and I have to admit that I wasn't very impressed. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book; it's easy to read and the author has been a Campus Crusade director in Sri Lanka so there is an excellent cross cultural perspective. I guess my disappointment sprung from two things: 1) there's nothing to distinguish this book from the dozens of other books on Christian apologetics dealing with the issue of pluralism, in fact Fernando often doesn't bother to defend his points but instead just refers us to other books that deal with the issues more in depth. This book didn't teach me anything new that I hadn't already heard many other places. 2) Most of the book seemed to be preaching to the choir. The arguments perhaps would be helpful to a young Christian who was concerned by some of the modern objections to the authority of scripture or the divinity of Christ; but it would be of little use to someone who was really struggling with deeper questions of pluralism, and wouldn't provide any useful answers for those who are trying to evangelize to honest, hardcore pluralists. It never addresses the deeper issue of how we can say that Christ is the "only" way to life and happiness when there seems to be such a diversity in human need and experience; and especially when the majority of the world's cultures have evolved without any awareness of the Christian gospel whatsoever. How do we maintain that ultimate truth on these issues is only contained in one very particular set of historical circumstances that happened two millenia ago. I don't have clear answers to these questions yet, and unfortunately Fernando didn't lead me any closer either.

Ajith Fernando is both a busy Christian worker in Sri Lanka (with an international teaching ministry) and a prolific author. He combines solid scholarship, clear writing, and practical guidance on every subject he addresses.

This book is organized around Jesus' affirmation of John 14:6--Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. The author brings to bear a host of biblical, theological, and apologetic resources to support his thesis that Jesus unique in the world of religions--moreover, that Jesus alone is the Incarnation of God. Along the way, Fernando addresses all the pertient objections raised to this tremendous claim, and does so admirably and without pedantry.

This is an outstanding resource for the Christian who wants to better understand her faith as well as for the unbeliever who wants reasonable answers to her questions about the identity of Jesus Christ.

--Doug Groothuis, Denver Seminary

Hell is not a fashionable place to talk about these days in evangelical Christian circles, but Jesus warned that more people were heading there than not (Matthew 7:13-14).

Ajith Fernando, a native-born Sri Lankan evangelist, provides answers to the crucial questions Hell, citing every pertinent Bible verse from the new testament, and many from the old. He explains how Jesus and the prophets spoke about Hell and judgment, and how we today can incorporate it into a loving Gospel presentation.

I also recommend the author's other popular title "Speaking the Truth in Love".

Is persecution part of the believer's life? Yes, says Ajith Fernando, and the Old Testament contains a book devoted to helping believers cope with it. It's the Book of Daniel. Fernando's _Spiritual Living in a Secular World_ does much to rescue the Book of Daniel from its imprisonment in the children's section of the Church.

Fernando engagingly shows that Daniel is not just a bunch of "Bible stories," but is compellingly relevant to the life-and-death matters that Christians face. As is now well-documented by Paul Marshall's award-winning book, _Their Blood Cries Out_ (Dallas: Word, 1997), Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth. That fact makes Fernando's _Spiritual Living_ even more important for study in these times.

Ajith Fernando is well-qualified to write this book. He is a Sri Lankan pastor with plenty of experience in facing opposition because of his Christian faith. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an Indian Ocean island of mixed peoples, including Tamils and Hindis, and mixed faiths as well, including Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Sri Lanka has also experienced more than its fair share of violence, as seen in the years-long warfare between government troops and the Tamil separatist guerillas. Confine all of these diversities and tensions onto one island, produce an outstanding Christian pastor-writer from that background, and such a person is likely to provide the rest of the Christian church good guidance for dealing with adversity. That's what this book does.

How ought believers to live in the midst of persecution? It's a relevant question for Christians, in all times and circumstances. After all, it was no less than the Apostle Paul who wrote, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3.12). And it was Jesus Christ himself who said, "Servants aren't greater than their Master: if they have persecuted me, they will percecute you" (John 15.20)

Originally written for Jews in their dispersions after the Babylonian exile, the stories reported in the Book of Daniel now give Christians a set of role models in disarming the powers of hate, befriending opponents, de-fusing confrontation, cooperating with hostile authority when possible, and--when necessary-- suffering willingly for the principles of Biblical faith. Fernando explains the Daniel stories clearly and compellingly. And he illumines the Book of Daniel's message by using similar stories from his own experience, from the church in Sri Lanka and from Christians around the world. One pastor-friend of mine says that Fernando's illustrative stories alone are worth the price of the book.

Chapters 1 through 6 of Daniel provide models of various strategies in dealing with opposition from other human beings, especially from government. Fernando's at his best here. This material makes up the bulk of the book, and is exceedingly well-done.

The author does not devote as much attention to the difficult second half of the Book of Daniel. But he helpfully explains that Daniel 7 through 12 raise the same issue of persecution, but now on the cosmic scale, in apocalyptic images of ultimate evil, and in even more exalted images of the righteous rule of God which--according to the dreams and visions of the book--shall ultimately triumph in the contest of history.

Not intended to be a scholarly treatise,this book is recommended highly for Bible study groups, Sunday school classes for adult or high school ages, and for serious Christians of all sorts who face social pressure or (yes) the threat of physical violence against their practice of the Christian faith.