Short, fairly interesting book that provokes some thought. ( )

Over a period of many years I have become a fan of Ravi Zacharias, and yet this is the first (but certainly not the last) book of his I have ever read! Before reading this book, my exposure to his teaching ministry has been in the form of watching his debates on YouTube and listening to his sermons online.

In "The Lotus and the Cross," Zacharias presents a conversation between Jesus and Gautama Buddha. Many people are fond of pointing out how similar both these teachers were, they quote both side by side and and declare that they taught the same things. When I hear such things I am tempted to dismiss such people as poor thinkers or deceivers. But, hey, that's just me. Zacharias, however, enters into the arena of apologetics and does the work of the evangelist here. In this very short book (pamphlet even!), Zacharias presents the differences between the two men and their teachings. The big difference, of course, is the fact of Jesus' claim to be God!

Ravi begins his book with a Prologue that briefly relates the culture of north-western India and the terrible devastation that Aids has wreaked upon this area. He tells us about the terrible tragedy of a young lady sold into sexual slavery at the young age of 17. We are told of her getting the Aids virus, and of her self-immolation while in her twenties, when she could no longer bear the fate that was hers. It is this poor lady whom Ravi uses as a character in his book, to look into what kind of answers are available to her from Jesus and from Buddha.

And guess what? The answers each gives are very different. Anyone who takes a more than cursory look at both directions knows this, and as Zacharias says, "Jesus and Buddha cannot both be right."

Do I recommend this book? VERY much so!

This was an interesting compare and contrast between the fundamental tenets of Christianity and Buddhism, delivered in the form of a conversation between Jesus and Buddha, as each attempt to offer solace to a recently deceased prostitute.

As someone who was raised as a Christian but, as an adult, between to understand and accept some of the teachings of the Eastern religions, I found the exchange between Jesus and Buddha stimulating and rewarding. However, there was clearly a bias in favor of Christianity. I have long felt that no single religion has gotten it all right. As such, I would have preferred mode of a balanced debate of the validity of the teachings of each religious tradition. ( )

This is a very weak book of appologetics, skewed heavily by Dr. ZAcharias to the Christian view; he does not even handedly present the Buddhist view, but makes Buddah a straw-man for the Jesus figure. Even the Jesus figure presented in the arguement is weak. This denies Jesus the power inherent in His person, and demeans and degrades Buddhism as a comic figure unworthy of Dr. Zacharias. I did not keep this book in my library, but safely disposed of it when I finished it. ( )

Ravi Zacharias is always a pleasure to read. The motto for his organization is something like "Helping the thinker to believe. Helping the believer think." This book certainly does that. I can't say that I have the depth of understanding of Buddhism that would qualify me to critique the theology and philosophy in this book, but I do think that it is respectfully done, intelligent and easy to read. I would tend to think that this would be nice to read as part of the whole set of dialogue books that Ravi has written. I'd be fascinated to know what a well educated Buddhist thinks of this book. ( )