With acts of religiously motivated violence filling our headlines and religious discourse widely succumbing to “clash of civilizations”-mentalities, the need for thoughtful, critical, and genuine Christian understandings of Islam is as urgent as ever.
The Religious Other: Toward a Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad is a new book that has been crafted with these realities in mind. A collection of essays, drawn from past consultations hosted by our friends at the the Institute of Middle East Studies, engage the need for a carefully developed theological understanding of Islam, its origins and its sacred text.
Weaving together the work of evangelical scholars of Islam, the Bible, theology and missiology, this book combines scholarly exploration with pertinent ministry practice, offering a rich framework for the church to continue its conversation about ministry among Muslim communities worldwide.
In the youtube panel discussion, The Religious Other: Toward a Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad some of the contributors discuss the synopsis and some of the main themes of the book. They provide enlightening insights into the book’s premise, ethics and approach, including a dissection of the term ‘Religious Other’ and an exploration of some of the themes that were not included.
Overall, I found these contributors honestly commendable in their approach to scripture and to the religious ‘other.’ They congruently use ethical, academically sound christ-centered approaches, steering away from discussions about religion. They majored on showing respect, love and honour, recognising that some of the people they talk about may well be in their audiences. Their transparent humility, their prophetic quest for truth, honesty, openness and christlikeness is exemplary and provides each of us with ideals to strive for, whether that be in our discrete one-to-one interactions or on the world stage.
Watch on youtube here: The Religious Other: Toward a Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad
Buy the book here: https://langhamliterature.org/the-rel… Visit Arab Baptist Theological Seminary for information on all of their courses.
