"Religions on Trial" (William Mark Lanier)

TITLE: Religions on Trial: A Lawyer Examines Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and More
AUTHOR: William Mark Lanier
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (240 pages).
 

Most books on comparative religion and apologetics have been written by academics, famous authors, theologians, and passionate believers. Some have been written by detectives and investigators of crime scenes. Others are written by people from different professions. This book is written by someone from the legal profession. Using his legal training and experience, author William Mark Lanier helps us adopt a legal lens to probe evidence with questions and to analyze answers like a trial jury. He begins by giving us a legal primer to understand the duties of jurors, the examination of evidence, scrutinizing witnesses, and other sources for credibility and consistency. He examines evidence from both angles: "association" and "causation." Using the "Bradford Hill Criteria," readers learn about adopting the criteria to establish reasonable causation. Recognizing there are elements of truth within each religious persuasion, the goal becomes learning how to sieve the truth from flaws. He puts these "religions on trial" so as to uncover any layer(s) of truth. Unlike those who insist on having all the complete answers before believing, Lanier believes that it is not necessary to examine each and every aspect of all faiths before one can make a faith decision. Like how attorneys learn to cross-examine and identify major tenets of various witnesses' testimonies, all one needs to do is to identify the key facts. Inspired by the apostle Paul's example at Athens, who constantly met and debated with the philosophical groups that day, he hopes to use this book as a way to debate the philosophies and religions of today. He does this via six questions:

1. Is the View consistent with the world?
2. Is the view subjectively consistent with who and what I am?
3. Is there cross-consistency?
4. Is it livable?
5. Does it answer the big questions?
6. Does it make for good people and good societies?

He covers mystical faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism; historical religions like Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism; and modern religious experiences like "secular spirituality" and "secular Christianity." First, Lanier describes the faith by highlighting its key beliefs. He then puts each belief through the lens of the six questions. He notes how Hinduism tends to be the opposite of the Christian's teaching about humans made in the image of God. In Buddhism, the methods of dealing with suffering do not really offer true and full release. When dealing with the topic of Judaism, Lanier looks at the thirteen principles of Moses Maimonides and compares them to the six criteria posed. He lists the strengths and weaknesses of Islam according to his criteria and registers doubts about the "veracity of witnesses." He sees the development of Mormonism not as the doctrine of truth but as the progression of thoughts. The topic of secular spirituality is an interesting addition. The recent rise of the "spiritual but not religious" movement is evident in mainstream secular society. He examines popular culture through the lens of modern music. On the flip side, there is the "religious but not secular" segment called, "Secular Christianity." Such a group tends to avoid discipleship, embrace the world, and are lukewarm in faith practices. 

My Thoughts

I find the approach by Lanier fresh and creative. Using the legal courtroom as a framework to analyze the different religions and spiritualities, readers get to uncover the different emphases, truths, and flaws of each. All of these are done not with subjective feelings, nor with random strategies, but with consistent criteria. The six questions are applied to all faiths so that all are analyzed on a level playing field. That way, there is a certain level of fairness to all, albeit from a Christian perspective. Such an approach of critical analysis does not mean Christianity is exempted from the analysis. In fact, Lanier has applied the same criteria to Christianity throughout the book. Just like the legal courtroom where the judges and jurors are expected to offer a fair and unbiased judgment, the author aims to do the same in this book.

Lanier not only analyzes the religions and spiritualities concerned. He describes their history, basic beliefs, and doctrines. He also incorporates personal encounters with friends or acquaintances who hail from various religions. I like the way he engages the content with a legal mindset. This is an objective approach that should appeal to the skeptic or intellectual. As readers, even though Lanier has encouraged us to be jurors along with him, it is a fascinating journey of how he questions each faith like how a lawyer cross-examines a witness. We learn not only how to compare religions, but those of us unfamiliar with legal terms can also learn a bit more about the mind of a lawyer. 

In summary, this is a brilliant book that compares various popular beliefs with objective questions. Highly recommended!

W. Mark Lanier (JD, Texas Tech University) is a trial lawyer and founder of the Lanier Law Firm. U.S. News and World Report, together with Best Lawyers, named him to its Best Lawyers in America list for nine consecutive years, and his courtroom work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the American Lawyer. He is also the founder of the Lanier Theological Library, one of the nation’s largest private theological collections. He and his wife, Becky, have five children and live in Houston. His books include Christianity on Trial and Atheism on Trial.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.