Gordon Nickel, The Gentle Answer: To The Muslim Accusation of Biblical Falsification. Bruton Gate, Calgary, 2015.
James A. Beverley & Craig Evans. Getting Jesus Right: How Muslims Get Jesus and Islam Wrong. Castle Quay Books, Lagoon City, Ontario, 2015.
Mark Robert Anderson. The Qur’an in Context: A Christian Exploration. IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2016.
Many significant issues must be substantively faced as we trek ever forward into the 21st century and there can be no doubt that the issue of Islam is front and centre in such a pressing reality. The 1st world in North America can no longer ignore such a historic fact.
Canada has a history of pondering the complex nature of Islam, and W.C. Smith (1916-2000), in the 1950s at McGill, was a pioneer in such an approach. I was fortunate, when doing my PHD at McMaster, that W.C. Smith often joined us for seminars classes. Andrew Rippin (1950-2016) was also one of the finest Canadian scholars of Islam. But, in the last couple of years, a few books have emerged from within the evangelical tribe that ponder the relationship between Christianity and Islam.
Gordon Nickel is a much respected Muslim scholar who did his PHD studies with Andrew Rippin at the University of Calgary. The Gentle Answer, as the subtitle suggests, challenges the Muslim notion that there is deliberate falsification of the Bible--the approach is meant to be gentle yet firm. There are four sections in this full bodied tome, and each of the packed, distilled and compact chapters within each section, dismantle the notion that the Bible cannot be truly trusted. There are, of course, Muslims that do not necessarily hold to such a position and Gord is honest enough to acknowledge this reality in Section 1. Section II reflects on the reliability of the Bible and why unhelpful caricatures of it are not useful when doing interfaith dialogue. Section III turns the discussion in the other direction--what are some of the uncertainties about the Qur’an, what are some of the contradiction and alterations in the Qur’an and how is the Qur’an to be approached when studied, using the historic critical method? In short, there are many often unasked questions about the history, canonization and interpretation of the Qur’an that must be asked and a devotional or authoritarian read of the text is a way of deflecting such questions. Section IV brings to a close this well researched book that does not shy away from raising the very questions about the Qur’an that many Muslims have raised about the Bible. There is no doubt this is a 5 bell book.
The Gentle Answer, as mentioned above, is informed, insightful, probes deeply, wisely and well but does so in a respectful way--the tone is always one of seeking the best beyond simplistic caricatures that, sadly so, lead more to confrontation than respectful dialogue. But, if dialogue is to be meaningful, the difficult textual issues cannot be denied or ignored.
The Qur’an in Context: A Christian Read is a fit and fine companion to The Gentle Answer. The main differences between Gord and Mark in their approach to the Qur’an is that, as the subtitle makes clear, The Qur’an in Context is more about, in greater depth and detail, setting the history and canonization of the Qur’an within its original context. The Qur’an, like the Bible, did not drop from the blue canopy above like parcel delivered by United Parcel Service. There were those who selected certain texts and not others, arranged the Qur’an in a certain way and manner to serve certain ends. Who did all this work? We do know Muhammed was not part of the organizing and canonizing of the Qur’an. Who was, then, and what was left out of the text? The Quran in Context is divided into four parts: 1) Qur’anic Context, 2) Qur’anic Worldview, 3) Qur’anic Jesus and 4) Christian Response. Mark, like Gord, is committed to meaningful Christian-Muslim dialogue, but for this to occur, Qur’anic reads of the Bible, Jesus and Christianity need to be corrected and better informed. A firm conversation must ensue between Christian and Muslims as they interact on how and why the Qur’an has misread the Bible to legitimate the ongoing revelatory commitment by Muslims to Muhammed and the Qur’an. The Qur’an in Context ends, as it should, with how Christians might deepen both their exploration and response to Muslims and the Qur’an.
If The Gentle Answer and The Qur’an in Context point the way to a deeper dialogue about Islam and the Qur’an (without ignoring the necessary hard questions), Getting Jesus Right: How Muslims Get Jesus and Islam Wrong is much more hard hitting and a sort of Christian apologetics done in a confrontational manner. James Beverley has, up to this point, published a few books on Islam and Craig Evans is, for many, a much respected Biblical scholar. The very title of this book tends to reduce the discussion to right and wrong---getting Jesus right (others would differ with the way Evans and Beverley interpret their read of the rightness of Jesus in the Bible). The notion that Muslims might get Jesus wrong is a legitimate point--the idea that Muslims get Islam wrong is rather pretentious and triumphalistic. Can we imagine a thoughtful Muslim writing a book on how Christians have got Christianity wrong? Such an approach does not lead to meaningful dialogue. In fact, such an approach tends to shut down conversation--debate dominates and the end game of winners-losers determines how text and history will be interpreted.
Getting Jesus Right has 16 fast moving chapters and 7 Appendix that cover a wide terrain of issues both within the Qur’an and Islamic history. Most of the major controversial issues are bored into and much that has been concealed is revealed. Many of the issues raised by Gord and Mark, in a more thoughtful way and manner, are highlighted in much less depth and detail in Getting Jesus Right. Reza Aslan tends to play his part in this book in a way he does not in Gord and Mark’s books. There can be little doubt that Getting Jesus Right is more popular in its approach and panders more to an apologetics genre rather than diving deeper and unpacking nuances in the Qur’an, Bible and Islamic and Christian history.
The righ-of-centre Christian tradition tends to, when approaching and interpreting the Qur’an and Islamic history, to see mostly problems and difficulties, threats to the West and Christianity. The left of centre soft liberal tradition tends to idealize and romanticize the best of the Islamic heritage while often denigrating Christianity and the Western tradition.
Getting Jesus Right definitely stands within the right-of-centre approach when interacting with the Qur’an and Islam. The Gentle Answer and The Qur’an in Context very much, and judiciously so, straddles the reactionary right and naïve and progressive left and, as such, points the way to a more thoughtful future when doing Christian-Muslim studies and dialogue.
Ron Dart
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