A Reference Book For Apologists of All Levels

Jesus and Muhammad: Their Messages, Side by Side

Editor/Author: Louis St. Michael

Publisher: Rising Myrrh Press, www.risingmyrrhpress.com, 2018

                                                                     

A Reference Book For Apologists of All Levels

In the interest of full disclosure, you need to know that I agreed to review this work by Louis St. Michael because as a Christian, I really wanted to be sure of what Muhammad had said on certain issues that Jesus had spoken on. Was there really a difference and if so, what was it? Were there issues of importance that one of them was silent on? And can I verify what was said in the original texts of the Bible and the Qur’an? Author St. Michael helps us answer all these questions in the affirmative.

The book is incredibly well researched. It is even better organized, utilizing a table of contents that reads like an “everything you wanted to know about what these two famous individuals said on the most relevant issues they covered” directory.  Included are topics like Why I Came, Fighting and Warfare, Believers and Disbelievers, Marriage, Homosexuality, Satan and Spirits, Protect Your Soul, Forgive Others, Purity, Repentance, Heaven, End Times, and much more.  In fact, the volume is well over 500 pages in length. And there is also some great Appendices on how each of their respective religions development, their followers, their traditional teachings, and their doctrines.

In the words of the book’s foreword, “One can learn a great deal about a religion by going to the unfiltered source and reading the words of the founder. . . A book like this can help clear up misconceptions and lead to better understanding among people of different mind-sets.”  It takes each speaker’s “core messages” and matches them side-by-side, based on topic, for immediate comparison and evaluation.

There is also a lot of other helpful information like a listing of Christian and Muslim terms used in the various texts with the most accepted definitions or interpretations.  Comparative timelines with an explanation and study of the significant events are other key features of the work.  And in its final version, this scholarly volume with have a full index.

I would recommend Jesus and Muhammad: Their Messages, Side by Side for any serious student of religion, especially those involved with Christianity and/or Islam. Aside from providing us the opportunity to compare the words of Jesus and Muhammad, the book would be an asset to those that simply want a ready reference to what either of them said on so many topics.  I told one of my ministerial friends about it, and he can’t wait to get his hands on it.

Not much is known about the author himself. However, that may well fit with his intention to basically remain silent with respect to personal commentary of the words of his two protagonists. Louis St. Michael lets their words speak for themselves and thus each reader to come to his or her own conclusions about which one rings truer for them.

I personally found the section on Retaliation most interesting. Check out Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:38 and then check out Muhammad’s in The Food 5:45, The Pilgrimage 22:60, and The Counsel 42:40.

A highly recommended book that would make a great gift for anyone in ministry or studying for the ministry. I just wish somebody had put this valuable content together so nicely before now. But thankfully, Louis St. Michael has done it now.

·      Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, March 14, 2018, www.accordconsulting.com

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Can We Talk? Otherwise We’re Not Solving The Problem

Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward

Nabeel Qureshi, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2016

 

I had read this author’s former bestseller Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus and was overwhelmed with the personal price he had to pay with respect to his own family when he left the ‘faith of his fathers’ and embraced new faith. When this book came out and he was coming to my city to speak about it I made sure I was there. I also bought this book and read it.

Nabeel Qureshi’s speaking engagement in Toronto had to be moved from its original venue at the University of Toronto (at one of their religious colleges, Anglican in fact) because the faculty had been warned by administration that there could be trouble as this converted, well-educated, medical doctor would likely annoy many Muslim students.  Fortunately, a nearby church welcomed the event. Qureshi was up to dealing with all comers in his usual soft-spoken, respectful, manner, affirming each member of the audience, regardless of their religious stripes – after all it was not too long ago that he would have died for Islam.

In this book, this former Muslim attempts to clarify “both the reality of violent jihad in Islam” and the response that we should have to that. He bravely calls for a “compassionate approach to our Muslim neighbors”. That alone was enough to make me think twice about writing a review recommending Answering Jihad even though, whether we like it or not, Islam has, and continues, to change our world. But as I read, I found that Qureshi succeeded in his hopes for the book, and in the process, radically changed my own mind on the subject.

He remembers hearing a slogan at his mosque that he shared with many: “The terrorists who hijacked the planes on September 11 also hijacked Islam.” And he proceeds to show us how that happened. But while he speaks highly of the millions of peaceful Muslims who have been deceived about what is or is not the true origin and circumstances of their faith, he extends no such excuses for Islam itself.  Much of the book is spent on exposing the recorded and known behavior of the religion’s founder, Muhammad.  He does so with excellent references, almost all Islamic in origin.

His conclusion is that “as long as Islam is practiced in a way that calls Muslims to return to its foundation, violence will follow.” To counteract that, he believes that “the Christian teaching of loving one’s enemies, even in the face of death, might perhaps be the most powerful answer to jihad at our disposal today.” And then he gives his reasons.

If I were to quote here every part of the book that I underlined as a key or unique thought, no publisher would allow me to share my review of Qureshi’s book.  Suffice it to say, that he deals with the origins of jihad and jihad today in a most interesting and complete fashion. In the third part of the book, he answers some very pressing questions many of us have wanted to ask, such as: Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? How Does Jihad Compare with Old Testament Warfare and the Crusades? What Does Jesus Teach About Violence? What Does Jesus Have to Do with Jihad?

He concludes with a chapter entitled “Answering Jihad” and then follows all this up with some very valuable appendices on: Timeline of Jihad in Islam; Muhammad’s Words on Jihad; What is the Caliphate?; and more, as well as an excellent glossary of terms.

You owe it to yourself to hear from a former passionate lover of Islam to learn how best to address the challenge it presents to the world today.

Answering Jihad is dedicated to the author’s sister whom he misses very much and yearns for the day that they can worship the God of Truth together.

--  By Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, May 11, 2016. www.accordconsulting.com

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By Far, the No. 1 Tool in Its Field.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

Nabeel Qureshi, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2014

It’s been a long time since a book held my attention the way this one did.  And it did so for several good reasons. First of all, Nabeel Qureshi’s style is personal, professional and captivating. Secondly, he was writing about a topic dear to my heart and very relevant today.  Thirdly, I knew several individuals who had gone through the same struggle as the author.  Fourth, I knew many other individuals who needed to know about his journey. And finally, I needed to learn a lot about Islam myself. This book satisfied all of the above.

The author helps us understand Islam and the thinking of most Muslims in a way that only someone who loved his Muslim faith as much as he did, could do. He painstakingly takes us through his childhood and adolescent years explaining the teaching he received from his mother and father and the ‘elders’ in his community and mosques. He tells us how he learned all the arguments one needed to discredit any opposing religion others proposed to him.  He shares how he desperately wanted to prove his allegiance to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and to Allah year after year against all odds.

He shares with us the prayers he was called to and his dedication to being an ambassador for Islam.  He systematically takes us through his efforts to test the Christian New Testament and to determine whether Christ was a “mortal messiah” or a “divine son of God”.  He challenges the authenticity of the Gospel writings most thoroughly and then turns his attention to discovering all he could about Muhammad.  He wasn’t happy with what he found.  That left him with his only hope, the “holiness of the Quran”.

It was only then, almost near the end of the book, he realized that his faith was in doubt. Now what? How can he be sure about what he thought was truth? And if it wasn’t Islam, how could he abandon it and do this to his parents who loved him so much? It would be like killing them himself.  With the help of others, Nabeel Qureshi, takes the necessary steps to discover what he had always sought – the truth. But as one would expect, the truth can only be verified ultimately by Truth itself and in the very last part of the book, the author shares how where he landed was totally “Guided by the Hand of God” Himself.

This is a must read book by any Christian believer who knows even one Muslim today. Every good Muslim owes it to him- or herself to read the book and do all possible to refute its contents. What amazed me the most was that Nabeel came to his conclusions based on a “friendship” that had no strings attached – he was loved for who he was regardless of what he believed.  His friendship with David reminded me of the friendship between Jonathan and David in the Bible.  You’ll see why when you read this real story of faith, doubt, a search for truth, and the consequences of finding it.

My recommendation is that you buy many copies and give them out to all those that would benefit from reading about this dramatic life journey involving the most critical aspect of who a person is – namely, what he or she believes.  

-- Ken B. Godevenos, Accord Resolution Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario. 15/12/13  

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A Book You Really Can't Judge By It's Cover

Beyond The Comfort Zone: The War That Never Ends

Frank Wilkins, Xlibris, USA, 2015

What attracted me to the opportunity to review this book was a promise that, as the symbol on the front shows, it wasn’t about “questions”, but rather “answers”.  And in particular, answers to global wars that never seem to end – the cultural war concerning the very existence of God and the religious war as to which supreme spiritual entity of our affections is indeed the “one and only true” God.

As a Christian, the topic as well as the background of the author, Frank Wilkins, intrigued me.  Frank graduated from high school, enlisted in the U.S. Navy, served as a radioman, and afterwards earned his Bachelor of Science degree. It was that normal of a life. That’s the very point he strives to make – the regular man and woman of this world – us simple common folks can indeed find answers and the truth to the very issues that cause global warfare.  God is there to be sought and found for those willing to remove their blinders.  By definition the truth exists and we can ascertain it.

Wilkins makes no bones about being an agnostic for the early part of his life and then a Roman Catholic.  It makes sense therefore that some of his evidence for the existence of God comes from his own experiences and that part of the Christian faith that he found a home in.  However, a good portion of it also comes from universal history and facts attested to by both believers and non-believers.

He has this amazing ability to dig through the questions and objections of atheists and others with respect to the denial of God’s existence, assuring them that if they really want to get out from behind blinders and take a hard look at facts, they can find the truth. He identifies realities of life that must be contended with.  One example is the reality that one’s life will definitely end. He helps true seekers struggling about whether or not a God, if He existed, would accept them by suggesting they should not be hard on themselves – “Do you think He let those Roman soldiers nail His Son to a wooden cross just so you could sit there and damn yourself for the rest of your life?”

Wilkins also takes on historians who have time and again distorted history to hide the inconvenient truth and the entertainment industry that pushes adults and worse still, young children, into promises of lies for the sake of the almighty dollar. He gives several well-known examples of historic battles where the outcome was decided because God decided to show up on the battlefield. That alone makes for fascinating reading.

Wilkins has an interesting perspective on Islam, Muslims, and the end of the world as well, but allows all of us to make up our own minds, always reminding us not to knock the ideas of others.  He is not too happy about all the distinctions and fights in Christianity, but again explains their existence as another reality.  Also of interest are his views of predestination as it relates to modern science, of evolution and Darwin’s usefulness, and of the actual age of the world.

This is a great book to help anyone get a grip on the answer to the question, “Is there a God?” For one who has been a life-long believer belonging to the Protestant arm of the faith, it helped me to understand the thinking of those who are not growing up in the Church, as well as to gain a clearer perspective on some very famous “miracles” the Roman Catholic Church holds dear to, and how these very miracles help explain their view of the Virgin Mary and the mother of Jesus.

Bottom line for Wilkins is this: “No amount of denial can prevent anyone from ultimately meeting their Maker face to face. You might as well try to deny the existence of the IRS in order to avoid paying taxes.”

He strongly recommends that when you get to “a point where we catch ourselves putting our faith in anything besides God”, that’s the very point we need to realize that for us, it would be foolish to deny His existence.

    -- Ken B. Godevenos, Accord Resolution Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario. 15/10/24

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How Long Will "Independence Day" Survive? Author suggests these days are numbered.

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Biohistory: Decline and Fall of the West (book review)

I agreed to review this book because for sometime now I have sensed the demise of Western civilization but had no hard arguments as to how or why or when. I have now found them (or what I think may be them) in Jim Penman’s book, Biohistory: Decline and Fall of the West, published by Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., 2015.

Penman, a Ph.D. [in History from Australia’s La Trobe University in 1983 and an Honorary Fellow and Guest Lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne], is an Australian historian and social theorist. And in this book, he takes on the explanation of rises and falls observed in “civilization history” as well as predicting (with very little difficulty or hesitation) the collapse of modern Western civilization as we know it.  Penman is a very accomplished man but not necessarily in the academic circles where you would expect him to pop up now and again. This is a self-made man (he’s also CEO of Jim’s Group, Australia’s largest home services franchiser with over 3,400 franchisees in four countries, and growing at the rate of 200 per year) who has been using his spare moments (let alone his income) for the last 40 years to do research on his theory of Biohistory – the biological explanation for most of history, especially the causes of rises and falls of societies.

Penman’s theory is founded on the premise that a civilization fundamentally rises and falls based on the overall temperament of its populace. And temperament of a people is driven by many factors, not the least of which is the scarcity (or overabundance) of food.  Other factors are the amount of testosterone people have, the presence (or absence) of stress hormones, anxiety of mothers in one’s infancy, approaches to control and punishment at various pre-adulthood stages, and of course, the average age of puberty as well as the sexual activities or freedom of people.

His arguments as to how each one of these (and even more) factors impacts civilizations all make sense.  What is somewhat disconcerting (at least to a non-scientist) is the way he then explains anomalies by combining the various factors (high in one, low in another; early in one, later in another; etc.). No laity reader (at least not this one) can keep everything he says straight in order to be able to use the information provided as predictors in a different environment.

To his credit, Penman digs deep into both history and recent times for examples (both animal and human) from around the globe to give us solid proof that supports his theory.  He claims that what we need to consider is not genetics but rather epigenetics – the study of changes in organisms caused by modifications in gene expression rather than the alteration of the gene code itself.

Of particular interest also is his account of how religion impacts civilization positively to increase what he calls the C (civilization) factor – the epigenetics needed for a culture to rise.  But high C is not enough, he says.  Rising cultures need high V (aggression) to defeat their enemies and survive.  Considerable space is spent on how C and V rise and fall in a people, especially when combined with other factors such as timing, Lemming Cycles (you can discover these for yourself), war, recession and tyranny.  His parting theoretical shot at his formula is to stir in one more ingredient – the S (or stability) factor which has a lot to do with wanting to reproduce children to maintain the society, i.e. a civilization birth rate. It makes for fascinating reading.

With all the details out of the way, Penman reaches his three last chapters in the book. In one he deals first with “fundamentalists” (and no I don’t mean the Moral Majority type) and how they, all else being equal, have the greatest chance of survival.  He cites the original Israelite culture as found in the Old Testament and also fundamentalist (vs. liberal) Islam today as two excellent examples.  Then in the second last chapter he explains why the West is declining, and will continue to decline, with no easy way to stop it.  He even gives you a timeframe.  And you cannot argue with his arguments, especially if you buy any part of his theory.

It is his last chapter that threw me for a loop. Penman, very cautiously mind you, admitting that the only solution he has to offer as a means of stopping the current downward suicidal course of the West has its own downsides and will likely never easily be adopted, presents us with a picture of the future that makes Orwell’s 1984 seem more like a story about Cinderella. His solution – chemical supplements that bring about the desired epigenetics to help the rise and sustaining of a civilization.

Readers like me who object to that type of solution, and all that it conjures in ones mind, can well skip the book’s last chapter and still gain much to explain human behavior. I recommend it.

    -- Ken B. Godevenos, http://www.accordconsulting.com, Murrells Inlet, S.C. 15/07/04  

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Perversion of the Lord’s Name Today; Allah Is Not God

Exodus 20:7: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” as it relates to the use of “Allah”.

These comments form the conclusion to our look at Exodus 20:7 and the various ways we may be taking the Lord’s name in vain.  Earlier we covered the meaning of “taking something in vain”.  That led us to “abusing, misusing, and perverting” something.  All three aspects were covered with respect to the Lord’s name.  One area of discussion under the category of “perverting God’s name” was left for now.

On June 28, 2014, newspapers all over the world reported on a major decision made by the Malaysian government.  I read my account of it as found in the National Post column written by Robert Fulford.  Robert Marshall Blount Fulford, OC is a Canadian journalist, magazine editor, and essayist. He lives in Toronto.  This particular piece was entitled, The Lord’s name, in vain.

In it, Fulford informs us of the following:

·      Malaysian courts have made it illegal for Christian to refer to God as ‘Allah’ verbally or in writing

·      Many Muslims celebrated the news indicating they would defend the word Allah as theirs to the last drop of blood

·      Much of the world sees the two as synonymous and Allah as an Arabic term for God

·      In recent years Muslims have come to regard the word Allah itself as sacred, untouchable by non-believers in Islam

·      On this occasion, as on many occasions in recent times, the conservative, hyper-sensitive version of Islam won a considerable victory

·      Authorities claimed that the word “Allah” in a Christian context might confuse Muslims, causing them to become Christians

·      Malaysian politicians spend their days worrying about problems of racial and religious differences and their evenings congratulating themselves on how well they’ve solved them

·      Abdullah Zaik, the head of a passionate Muslim-Malay rights organization, has said the Christians should, in the name of national unity, set aside their stubbornness. Mohd Sani Badron, a leading Islamic scholar, has said that the use of “Allah” for “God” must stop because it “erroneously represents the two religions as equal” and may cause Islamic anger. Another leading Muslim said that Christians who go against the ruling are deliberately “trying to cause chaos,” raising the possibility of disharmony

·      This bizarre form of Bible censorship is another way of reminding Christians and Buddhists that they are not to consider themselves legitimate citizens of Malaysia

·      If a government in the West dared to intrude into an editorial decision on the publishing of the Koran, and if the courts supported that position, Muslims would be furious, and with good reasons.  But in many Muslim majority states a similarly outrageous decision is considered entirely within the rights of government.

So now you have the story and how at least Robert Fulford feels about it.  But here’s my take.  The only thing I can say is, “Amen!”  Why did it take the Malaysian government to force Christians to stop doing something that they should not have done on their own account?  And here’s where I lose some of you as promised . . . I believe substituting the word Allah for our one and only true God is indeed perverting the name of the Lord.  If you’re still with me, let me explain why I believe that.

When one takes on the use of a word that comes from a religion which is a) anti-Christian, b) anti-Judaic, and c) further wants to eliminate those who do not want to become Muslims, then there is no way we are talking about the same God, and the use of Allah should therefore not be used by us.

Secondly, if as I believe many Christians who do use Allah, as a substitute for God, do so for the purpose of aligning themselves with Muslims in order to reach them, then they are compromising on who God is.  He does not need a pseudonym for His impact to affect people – even Muslims.  Many are turning to Him without the need for His witnesses to refer to Him by the word Allah.  As Christians, we are so good at compromising our tenets and our ways and watering down our beliefs in order to attract more to our faith.  We could well take a lesson from Muslims in that regard.

Now let’s look at some of the things that Fulford informs us about:

• Of course, as Christians it would be wrong for us to make it illegal for our own people to refer to God as ‘Allah’.  We are not that kind of religion.  And we are not a political force.  But that should have happened out of our own collective free will.  It did not, because too many were interested in taking a pluralistic approach to God.  That was a mistake.
• We could learn from the celebrating Muslims and be ready to state that we would defend the name of the Living God, our Lord to our last drop of blood.
• We need to stop seeing ‘God’ and ‘Allah’ as synonymous. Others do not and in that we should agree.
• God’s name to us must be sacred and we should object to those using it in vain much more than we do.
• Not only are Muslims possibly confused when Christians use the word ‘Allah’ but I believe we are slowly confusing our current and future generations of Christians when we say it is okay for us to use the word ‘Allah’ for our God.
• Perhaps we would all live in greater peace if we kept to our God and let the Muslims stick to their ‘Allah’ and thus allay the fear of many Islamic politicians who worry about problems of racial and religious differences causing trouble.
• I am not sure we should do it in the name of national unity as Abdullah Zaik calls for, but Christians should set aside the use of the name of Allah as God because it should be us that does not want to erroneously represent the two religions as equal, not them.  They are anything but.
• As Christians we should not be trying to cause the chaos they accuse us of by stealing their nomenclature for their deity.
• And Christians do indeed need to be reminded that not only may they not be legitimate citizens of Malaysia, but we need to realize that ultimately our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth.
• Finally, let us be thankful that most of us live in countries where such an “editorial decision” on the publishing of the Koran would never take place.  I pray that this remains the case.

For all of the above, I would say thank you to the Malaysian government for the action they took recently on this topic.  We, as Christian believers should have been there long ago.

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