Pick One: A User-Friendly Guide to Religion

A.J. Pell is the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of New
Westminster in British Columbia.

At a time when the clamor of competing religions (and of subgroups or
denominations in some religions) is growing louder and more confusing to
Canadians, John Friesen provides us with an overview of the Canadian
religious scene and an introduction to the religions, denominations, and
sects found in Canadian cities. Unfortunately, Pick One is not
particularly reliable. It contains errors of fact (e.g., the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod should be the Lutheran Church-Canada); occasional
lapses in objectivity (e.g., the prophecies of Charles Russell, founder
of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, are called “outrageous predictions”;
and oversimplifications (e.g., a comparative “Chart of Major Christian
Denominations” indicates “no” in the “belief in divine
healing” category for several denominations that have healing
ministries as part of their constituencies). Sadly, this book is just
not worth readers’ time or money.