Paul Meets Muhammad: A Christian-Muslim Debate on the Resurrection

by Michael R. Licona

Imagine if the Apostle Paul were alive to defend the truth of Jesus's resurrection-only to be countered by none other than the prophet Muhammad himself.

In an approach as creative as any scholar has taken, Michael R. Licona describes an invention that can make historical figures appear alive and present. Imagining an audience of both Christians and Muslims, Licona crafts a lively debate between Paul and Muhammad, each speaking on and analyzing the validity of the Qur'an, the gospel accounts, and both Christian and Muslim doctrine.

Intriguing and entertaining, Paul Meets Muhammad uniquely offers evangelism advice for Christians who want to speak the gospel to Muslim friends and neighbors. This fictional scenario presents a powerful, comprehensive defense of Jesus's resurrection and of Christianity itself.

Genres: Christianity, Religion, Christian, Islam, Theology, Nonfiction, Spirituality

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1961, Mike became a Christian at the age of 10 and grew up in a Christian home. He attended Liberty University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (Saxophone). During his undergraduate studies, he had a strong desire to know God, devoting himself to studying the Bible daily. He decided to learn Koine Greek in order to read the New Testament in its original language and later completed a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies.

Toward the end of his graduate work in 1985, Mike began to question the veracity of his faith and wondered if there was any evidence to support it. He decided not to go into Christian ministry at that time. Finding answers to his questions consumed him and he almost jettisoned his faith. He investigated the evidence for Christianity and a number of other major world religions. He also considered the arguments for atheism. His investigation solidified his belief that God exists and that he has actually revealed himself to mankind in Jesus Christ and that the Christian view provides the most plausible and unified theory of reality.

In July of 1997, Mike formed TruthQuest Ministries in order to give an official name to his growing ministry and to allow future donors to make tax-deductible gifts. In October 2001, the ministry was renamed “RisenJesus” in order to avoid confusion with other ministries named “TruthQuest” and more closely reflect its vision of equipping 100,000 Christians to share their faith using the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.

Mike is the author, co-author or editor of six (6) books: The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (IVP Academic, 2010), Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy and Science, with co-editor William Dembski (Baker 2010), Paul Meets Muhammad (Baker, 2006) which is a debate on the resurrection of Jesus between the apostle Paul and the prophet Muhammad, the award winning The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus with co-author Gary Habermas (Kregel, 2004) which is a comprehensive self-study course, Cross Examined, a legal novel defending the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection, and Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock which lays out in a concise manner what to say to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses when they knock on your door.

He also contributed a chapter in Buried Hope or Risen Savior: The Search for the Jesus Tomb, Charles L. Quarles, ed. (2008), an entry in The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner, eds. and a chapter in The Big Argument: Twenty-Four Scholars Explore How Science, Archaelogy, and Philosophy Have Proven the Existence of God, John Ashton, Michael Westacott, eds. (Master Books, 2006). He is a featured scholar in Lee Strobel’s new book The Case for the Real Jesus (Zondervan, 2007) and his DVD The Case for Christ (2007). Mike was also one of the authors selected for the Erasing Hate2007 tour (www.erasinghate.com).

Mike has a Ph.D. in New Testament (University of Pretoria). He completed all requirements “with distinction” and the highest marks. He is a frequent speaker on university campuses, churches, Christian groups, retreats, frequently debates, and has appeared as a guest on dozens of radio and television programs. He is a member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the Society of Biblical Literature. Mike is associate professor in theology at Houston Baptist University and the president of Risen Jesus, Inc.

Reviews

[Tim Baumgartner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really disappointed I never read this until NOW!

This book was written in 2006, and LOTS has happened since then, but this is still VERY helpful.

I LOVE the format of this fictional debate that is based on the truth of who Paul and Muhammad were and how they view the resurrection. It starts as some MIT professors create these AI "figures" that know what they know because they are programmed to "think" based on all of the historical data we have access to. Then a debate was formed, and it took place in a stadium with a retractable roof in Birmingham, Alabama before 60,000 people.

The "moderator" at the end of the book suggests going back and reading this book again, forming an outline for oneself, and then going back in and plugging in all of the arguments and evidence.

I am quite familiar with arguments related to the resurrection of Jesus, and how some of the most famous Muslims (i.e. Shabir Ally, etc.) often respond to the arguments, but this book still exposed me to some arguments and evidence I was not aware of. I already started adding these to some files I've already created.

My advice: Read the following and see how God will use you:
-Paul Meets Muhammad: A Christian-Muslim Debate on the Resurrection
-A Wind in the House of Islam: How God is drawing Muslims around the world to faith in Jesus Christ
-Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light of the Cross
-Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
-Getting Jesus Right
-The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross
-What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Quran
-Textual Criticism and Quran Manuscripts

[Becca Catherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the debate style of this book hard to follow and the content not always as clear as it could be. I was reading this to try to understand Muslim religion, but I think it's best suited for people who already have a grasp on the religion. I had to do a lot of fact checking as I read because I didn't know if what was presented regarding muslims was true or not.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant conversation, very balanced.
Dr Licona has a great imagination to go with his amazing knowledge.

[Isaiah Jesch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, with some good information on the issues of debate between the sides. However, Mike Licoma's "mere Christianity" really comes through in here. While the writing is enjoyable and the line of arguement seems fair, a reader who holds to a higher view of Scripture than Licona will be disappointed. His constant refusal to dig into, or even really support generally, the idea that the Scriptures are truth and reliable sticks out sorely. I would look to much better apologetic methodologies to equip myself and others for debate and for other resources to share with a Muslim to present the case for the Christian faith. This is simply not strong enough to accomplish those tasks in my view.

[Curby Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little book that discusses the differences between Christianity and Islam and their approaches to the Resurrection. The debate is a fictional one between the Apostle Paul and Mohammed and is very well done. Great book for any apologist or anyone interested in the differences between Christianity and Islam.

[Hasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!
It presents some of the greatest arguments that today's Muslims have against the resurrection of Christ.

But the Muhammad of this book is way more knowledgeable about the Bible and the Christian faith than Muhammad of the 6th century was.

[Christian Pilgrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to have to give 3 stars unfortunately due to the ending/ outcome of the debate that Licona gave.
I was surprised, but I’m under the impression that Mike wanted to be gracious to the other side. Though I don’t think the debates winner deserves it at all.

[Rhonda]

Must read.

[Kelton Burgoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me further grow my knowledge on not just Jesus rising from the dead but why it is reasonable to believe he did

All Muslims and Christians must read this book
5/5

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, definitely a food for thought book. First of all, I appreciated the author's reason for writing this book, to promote understanding between the two currently conflicting religions. I also liked the situation Mr. Licona set up to make this debate seem real.
A few observations: the topic was very limited, and so the 2 men, Paul and Muhammad, could not fully answer questions that did not have to do exactly with the topic. Otherwise they were very interesting questions. Which I would have liked to hear their answers to...
Second, Mr. Licona chose Paul to take on the harder position, proving that something is, and not what something is not. Which seemed like a quirky thing to do, especially since he admits to being Christian in the beginning of the book.
Third, Muhammad's argument, overall, did not have any impact on me at all because his whole basis was on the Koran, which I don't believe in the first place.
Fourth, Muhammad used minimal logic. His appeal was very emotional. Once again, I was not affected.
Fifth, Paul's arguments suited my personality very much. But I also think his argument would have been much more convincing to others as well. I only wish he would repeat his ideas using different phrases. I must have heard the same exact phrase 10 times in the book! It was rather annoying.
Sixth, I enjoyed the presence of the moderator. It served to make the book seem real. I also liked the side story Mr. Licona put in, to give us a break from thinking, to open and close the sections, and give the book a setting.
Lastly, I would like to see another book come out and make it so that Muhammad has to take on the harder side and see how his argument would change. Would he rely on the Koran as much?
Overall, an enjoyable book, but not if you're not in the mood to think too much.

[Phil Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometime in the near future . . .

What would it be like if Paul and Muhammad could dialogue with one another in a public debate on the resurrection of Jesus? Sometime in the near future, computer software is developed that allows for all the writings of each of these men to create "quasi-artificial" for each one of them so that they can debate each other. I didn't find anything new or unexpected in this book, but the author's style is engaging. He presents topics in an interesting manner so that the reader can get an overview of the key differences between the biblical and Muslim view of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The author admits his Christian bias, and that bias is evident in the book. I did, however, believe that the Muslim side was presented intelligently and fairly. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in trying to understand how Muslims look at the resurrection of Jesus and especially to Christians who are interested in trying to share their faith with Muslims.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Licona did a wonderful job of presenting a balanced argument between the Apostle Paul and Muhammad. Sometimes it's worrisome that an author wouldn't give a fair shake to the opposing worldview in these types of books but Licona was definitely fair when writing the Islamic dialogue. He presented very advanced criticisms of the resurrection from the Islamic point of view. I highly respect Licona as a Christian scholar and a fellow brother in Christ. His understanding of the texts is nothing short of amazing.

It was a very entertaining read and added a depth to my understanding of Islam as it pertains to their rejection of the resurrection. I highly recommend it!

[Bledar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an excellent book. The idea of bringing a fiction of MIT machine that could think like the person and having the debate in a very constructive way was interesting. I would hope that Christians and Muslims would engage in this type of positive and constructive debate. If a sequel to this book would be written, I would like to hear the Muslim build a case for their faith and the Christian arguing against.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant work of high-concept apologetics that delivers far more than its provocative premise suggests. Dr. Licona one of the finest resurrection scholars alive, and this work is by far one of the best I've read on the subject. He argues the Muslim positions far better than any Muslim apologist I've read!

[Preston Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a great read. It helped me see where the Christian and Muslim views differ, especially in relation to the death of Jesus and his resurrection. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to figure out the differences between Christianity and Islam.

[Vlad Stepanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like debates or want to talk to Muslims about Jesus' divinity, this is a great book!

[Clint Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Although burly at times, and fictional, one must assume that it is based in fact. It's most certainly given me food for thought, and a desire to study further.

[Ershad Ganjy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on Mike's real life experience.