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One of the best Christian introductory work to Islam that I read and much more academically rigorous than most. For those familiar with the author James White, he is a Christian apologist who has debated and written on many issues over the past decades. Since the mid-2000s, James White started focusing a lot on Islam, beginning with his debut debate with the foremost Islamic apologist Shabir Ally in 2006 at BIOLA university. White was led to specialize in Islam largely because of his love for the persecuted Church today, many of whom live in Islamic land. The thing that stood out to me in this work is White’s familiarity with Arabic and careful interaction with the primary sources. It’s not just the Qur’an but he is able to engage in “Hadith Science.” He does all this while also balancing his work with an awareness of the need of his readers to have explained to them definitions and concepts in Islamic theology. In my estimation, the best part of the book were chapters 4, 8, 9 and 11. I have been hesitant in the past when I hear Christian apologist say that the Qur’an and the early Islamic community has a misunderstanding of the Trinity (to include Mary in place of the Holy Spirit) but James White has done a masterful job of showing from early Islamic sources that this was what they believed in chapter four of the book. In chapter eight James White shows how the Qur’an and the early Muslim community did not believe that the Bible was corrupted textually but instead they presupposes otherwise. If you only have one work on Islam in your bookshelf, I would say this would be it. I have this on my shelf with all the highlights and notes for future references.
Reblogged this on Truth2Freedom's Blog.
Thanks for reblogging this brother
Reblogged this on ajrogersphilosophy and commented:
Book review: What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an by James R. White
May 10, 2013 by SLIMJIM
I am reading the ebook. Good ole James White, my favourite. He tries to be simple but remains rigorous.
Where are you in the book???
This is definitely one book I want to read.
Indeed! I think it’s my favorite book by James White…though that might be because I haven’t read enough of his actual books
[…] Book review: What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an by James R. White– A book review of a Christian apologist who has extensively debated Muslims the last seven years. […]
Excellent. (And in a lot fewer words than I used.) Thank you.
I appreciated your review!
[…] Book review: What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an by James R. White […]
[…] 8.) What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an by James R. White […]
Thanks again. I will check this one out!
Let me know what you think of the book!
I have read White’s book. What he doesn’t write about is what every Christian needs to know about Islam qua Islam (its root – radix – radical), namely that it is a violent bloody religion. He has called other Christians “foolish” for saying this.
When it comes to Islam, White is hard on its theology but soft on its missiology (method of making converts). None of White’s dozens of moderated public debates with Muslims has been on how Islam makes converts. Such a debate, if of any worth, will have to deal with Islam’s use of deceit and violence to bring new members into its fold. And keep them there. The penalty of leaving Islam, or attempting to do so, has been, and continues to be, in many times and climes, slicing off such members from the Umma (Islamic nation) – their heads. In this department, ISIS is following the greats of the “golden” age of Islamic history. If James White wants to continue his friendly debates with Muslims in large public forums – I don’t need to tell him, keep giving missiology a miss.
(The above is an excerpt from my article
https://onedaringjew.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/islam-bad-for-kafirs-bad-for-muslims/)
White says he has made friends with some Muslim apologists. Friendship is like a dance – it takes two to tango. The Qur’an teaches unequivocally that if a Muslim is friendly with a non-Muslim – except to deceive – he is one of them, ergo damned.
Over many years I have profited from James White insights into Christian theology. I believe he does an excellent job. Alas, since his (very lengthy) excursions into Islam, I am becoming very frustrated with his blindness/refusal to understand that Islam is a violent and deceptive religion. I have written several posts on this issue. In the video below he says he has the rare experience (rare for Christians) to develop friendships with Muslims – believing, obedient ones. I repeat, no Muslim worth his Qur’an is allowed to be friends with non-Muslims, not even if the unbelieving-disobedient ones are members of his close family..
James White, enough already; you are a great tool of Islam, of the deception of Allah. What a great find they think you are for their cause. Here is a critique from “Christian Prince.” if you want to know what Islam really is, he is the person to teach you. See the video here:
https://onedaringjew.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/james-white-please-stop-trying-to-be-friends-with-muslims/
Peddle away.
Thanks Bography. (For Dawn to know, Bography is a good friend.)
My memory might be cloudy but for some reason I believe that when Dr. White began his transition to deal with Islam in the beginning I thought he did mention the violent nature of Islam. While I think Christians must be careful to distinguish shades of Islamic theology, I do think Islam is intrinstically violent, though most Muslims are not consistent with this. Many Muslims I know are peaceful. I’ll have to check out that video by Christian Prince soon, after today’s ministry.
SJ
A peaceful Muslim (= really friendly to non-Muslims) is an apostate to his religion. After you watch the video, you will see that what I say is unequivocally true.
Re White on Violence in Islam
White says he is not soft on Islam, and refers to his many debates and books in which he demonstrates – and I say, admirably – the “flaws” (White’s description) in Islamic theology. For example, its misunderstanding of the trinity and the incarnation. When, though, it comes to violence, there exists for White “radical” Islam, represented by ISIS, and true Islam represented by the non-violent Muslims. He sings a different(ish) tune in his article “Breaking the Cross, Killing the Swine: Truly Thinking About ISIS and the Murder of 21 Copts”:
“Oh sure, I know some of them are doing it just because they love murder and bloodshed and evil. But some of them do it because they really believe Muhammad was a prophet and that Muhammad showed them the way the day he and his cohorts did exactly what they did on that beach…not to 21 Christians but to between 400 and 900 Jews of the Banu Qurayza tribe. Now, I am well aware of the fact that Islamic apologists say this was a just act because the Jews had, allegedly, betrayed Muhammad in the Battle (or, non-battle, in a more realistic sense) of the Trench (AD 627). But the reality is that Muhammad was a man of war, not a man of peace. You are changed when you personally behead someone. The blood may wash off the hands, but it is not washed out of the mind. Muhammad died in 632, so this was done toward the end of his life. The progression of his life was from peaceful monotheistic prophet to warring leader and general, not the other way around. Add in the doctrine of abrogation and you can see why the scholars of Al Qaeda and ISIS and Boko Haram have plenty of material to draw from in forming their theology. They teach that the later revelations abrogate earlier ones (such as the later command not to consume alcohol abrogates the earlier commands which allowed it even though in moderation). Sadly, that means the later sections of the Qur’an, which contain the warfare passages, are considered by most (not all) Muslims in the world to be more authoritative than the peaceful passages that came earlier.”
(Excerpt from my https://onedaringjew.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/islam-bad-for-kafirs-bad-for-muslims/)
Here’s the rub and the nub:
The later revelations are unambiguous. This does not mean, says White (above) that different Muslim camps won’t arrive at “diametrically opposed conclusions .”
Just because different Muslim camps arrive at “diametrically opposed conclusions,” does this mean that I or you or James White should hold up our hands, or rather hold out our hand in friendship to those Muslims who insist that the overarching message of Islam is peace – which it definitely, absolutely is not. White is one of the smartest biblical exegetes on the block, but when it comes to violence in the Qur’an, which is the one thing Muslims really smart about, White’s noggin (and heart?) turns to jelly.
I can’t see why he sits on the fence. Is it because if he jumps off his fence and onto what Muslims will perceive as his high horse, Muslims won’t want to debate him anymore, which is one of his great loves?
James White what a treasure you are to me and Reformed Theology.