The Qur’an by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don’t know Arabic. So I can’t evaluate the quality of the translation. The author is certainly qualified though. It’s a very readable translation, contains a helpful introduction, and has good notes.
Exploring the Worship Spectrum: 6 Views by Paul Basden
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Typically I like books from this Counterpoint series. But typically the editor sets an agenda and framework for the subsequent discussion by presenting questions that the various authors must answer. This provides a certain amount of unity to the discussion and essays. This sense of unity is completely lacking in this book, except for the fact that they are all in some what talking about worship. The result is a collection of loosely related articles and responses that makes for a somewhat confusing and rather unhelpful read. It’s hard to compare the views because the different authors come at the discussion from very different angles and talk about very different things. In short, it’s not organized.
— Not very impressed this time.
SummaryIn The Prophet and the Messiah: An Arab Christian’s Perspective on Islam & Christianity Chawkat Moucarry seeks to present a comparative examination of Christianity and Islam’s major claims and differences. He organizes his presentation according to four topics, which focus on both religions’ major truth-claims and illuminate the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam. These topics are (1) the sacred scriptures, (2) key doctrines, (3) Jesus, his person and his work, and (4) Muhammad’s prophethood. Moucarry begins his work by presenting some introductory remarks about engaging in mutual dialogue. And finally, he closes by addressing some contemporary concerns.
As Moucarry begins his comparative presentation, he begins where both religions do—their sacred scriptures. Both religions claim to have received special revelation from God. However, regarding the nature, content, and method of that revelation, Islam and Christianity differ.
In Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed, Dr. Carson presents a Biblical investigation and evaluation of the title “Son of God,” and specifically the title “Son of God” as it is used to refer to Jesus.
He breaks up the short book into three chapters.
In chapter 1, “‘Son of God’ as a Christological Title,” he investigates the various Biblical uses of “Son of ___,” then focuses specifically on “Son of God,” and then focuses even more specifically on how the “Son of God” title is employed in reference to Jesus. Clearly, many “Son of ___” uses do not express a biological relationship, but presume some other kind of relationship or shared trait. Having established this point, Carson teases out its implications for the use of “Son of God” in reference to Israel’s kings who are called “Sons of God” and eventually the ultimate “Son of God” in this sense–Jesus.
In Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy, two prominent argument-themes emerge. For that sake of organization, I’ll present this review according to those two categories.
The fact that God acts in the history of men and interprets his acts means that these historical events will form a pattern that relates to the purpose of God [pg. 42].
And the central pattern that spans Biblical history, for Goldsworthy, is the concept of kingdom [42].
For Goldsworthy, the kingdom of God involves (a) God’s people, (b) in God’s place, (c) under God’s rule [53-54]. Both the content of the central Biblical covenants and the goal of redemption history is this kingdom of God [53]. Therefore, as an implication, under various Biblical covenants and within various eras of redemption history, different forms or stages of development of this kingdom exist on a trajectory ultimately consummating in the final realization of this kingdom in the Jesus Christ.
Kirk E. Miller 