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Thinking Biblically about Islam: Genesis, Transfiguration, Transformation
In this careful double exposition of the Bible and Islam, Ida Glaser and Hannah Kay emphasize godly attitudes, loving action and a deep appreciation of God's grace and goodness as essential traits of any Christian. The authors walk the reader through two underlying frameworks necessary to think biblically about Islam. The first is to understand the dynamic of religion in people's lives through Genesis 4-11's account of the world after 'the fall', and hence to understand Bible stories within the religious contexts in which they occurred. The second is at the heart of the book - the idea that Islam inverts the exaltation of Christ above the prophets in the narrative of the transfiguration in Luke 9 and 10. Examining the themes of the land, zeal, law and the cross in these chapters of Luke's Gospel and the Old Testament stories of Moses and Elijah, we are led to better understand the Bible, Islam and God's heart towards Muslims.
346 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 23, 2018
In this book, Ida Glaser puts forward a valuable framework for viewing Islam through a biblical lens, by seeing Muslims first as people, seeing the dangers of any religion being paired with land and political power, and then understanding the key divergences of biblical Christian teaching and Islamic teaching.
Using the transfiguration as a lens, she works through the biblical presentations of Moses, Elijah and Jesus, comparing with Quranic or traditional Muslim accounts of these prophets along the way. Once this framework of biblical theology has been established, she goes to work incisively showing the real reasons Islam should be rejected on biblical grounds, while pointing out honestly the areas where both Muslims and Christians are weak in living out true religion. The final section, presenting Romans 12 as a guide for behavior by Christians who witness to Muslims, should be required reading for any believer living in the Muslim world!
I'm thankful to Ida Glaser for this rich and thoughtful work that grew my understanding of the Bible's message and gives helpful perspective on Islam.
Using the transfiguration as a lens, she works through the biblical presentations of Moses, Elijah and Jesus, comparing with Quranic or traditional Muslim accounts of these prophets along the way. Once this framework of biblical theology has been established, she goes to work incisively showing the real reasons Islam should be rejected on biblical grounds, while pointing out honestly the areas where both Muslims and Christians are weak in living out true religion. The final section, presenting Romans 12 as a guide for behavior by Christians who witness to Muslims, should be required reading for any believer living in the Muslim world!
I'm thankful to Ida Glaser for this rich and thoughtful work that grew my understanding of the Bible's message and gives helpful perspective on Islam.
December 30, 2020
I thought this might be a heavy way to end 2020. A chunky book discussing the theology of Christianity and Islam? Maybe not the best idea...or so I thought. This book is actually right up there with my favourites that I've read this year!
This measly review won't even come close to doing this book justice. All I can say is that it taught me so much about Islam, the Qur'an, and Muslim people, whilst also uncovering more of the Bible's beauty, what makes it unique, and how truly incredible Jesus is. In learning about Islam, I learned more about my Saviour Jesus, and it was as though my eyes saw Him in new, stunning ways.
So many people (myself included) have, at one point or another, fallen into the trap of believing that Islam and Christianity are basically the same because their respective holy books have the same stories in them. Whilst it may be true that they contain parallel themes, and they definitely include a lot of the same characters, the underlying trajectory could not be more different.
As an example, the Qur'an has no concept of The Fall, and hence no need for redemption - Muslims believe that humans are born in a state of 'fitrah', a state of purity and innocence, and the main focus is on Law, guidance, and obedience in order to remain in this place of God's will. The Bible tells the story of God creating humans to be in His presence, yet we all walk away from Him (as seen in The Fall), and the Law can never fully save us - we need a Saviour, who's found in Jesus. One story speaks of guidance and obedience, the other talks of rescue and salvation.
The Qur'an, whilst describing that God is omnipresent and all-knowing, doesn't have the concept of God being tangibly with us - Allah is so far above our understanding that we could never possibly know him on our level, but rather, we learn about him through understanding and obedience. On the other hand, the Bible's continuous theme is of God coming to dwell with His people. Did you know, in the Moses story, the Qur'an simply includes the Laws with warnings to keep them, and omits the tabernacle (the place where God's presence dwelled)? Whereas the Bible gives the Law in the context of how the Israelites could remain in God's presence as He comes down from the mountain to dwell with His people.
I could go on! It was so fascinating to read and compare the biblical and quranic accounts, seeing what they focus on and what the trajectory is. It made me fall in love with Jesus all over again.
Something this book does really well is respecting Muslims, Islam and the Qur'an. It breaks my heart when I see Christians labelling Islam as demonic or of satan. Muslims are people too, made in the image of God, who we are called to love dearly. My favourite quote is from a Christian of a Muslim background:
●
Ali says, "I think of the Bible as the sun: the source of light. The symbol of Islam is the crescent moon, and that is how I think of the Qur'an. The crescent reflects the light of the sun. It is only a small part of the light but it is enough to make people want more light, and to be glad to see the sun. When the sun comes out, the moon is still there, but you don't notice it.
The Qur'an can be a bridge to the Bible. We can talk about the parts of the Qur'an that reflect biblical truth, especially about Jesus. We can also study the Qur'an so that we can better understand our Muslim friends. I often use the Qur'an in my preaching.
I ask, 'What about the dark part of the crescent moon?' Ali laughs. "We don't worry about that," he says. Talking with Muslims, we want to focus on the light - what we need is more light!"
●
This book is honest, written thoughtfully and respectfully, challenging, convicting, and intelligent. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Islam or Christianity!
This measly review won't even come close to doing this book justice. All I can say is that it taught me so much about Islam, the Qur'an, and Muslim people, whilst also uncovering more of the Bible's beauty, what makes it unique, and how truly incredible Jesus is. In learning about Islam, I learned more about my Saviour Jesus, and it was as though my eyes saw Him in new, stunning ways.
So many people (myself included) have, at one point or another, fallen into the trap of believing that Islam and Christianity are basically the same because their respective holy books have the same stories in them. Whilst it may be true that they contain parallel themes, and they definitely include a lot of the same characters, the underlying trajectory could not be more different.
As an example, the Qur'an has no concept of The Fall, and hence no need for redemption - Muslims believe that humans are born in a state of 'fitrah', a state of purity and innocence, and the main focus is on Law, guidance, and obedience in order to remain in this place of God's will. The Bible tells the story of God creating humans to be in His presence, yet we all walk away from Him (as seen in The Fall), and the Law can never fully save us - we need a Saviour, who's found in Jesus. One story speaks of guidance and obedience, the other talks of rescue and salvation.
The Qur'an, whilst describing that God is omnipresent and all-knowing, doesn't have the concept of God being tangibly with us - Allah is so far above our understanding that we could never possibly know him on our level, but rather, we learn about him through understanding and obedience. On the other hand, the Bible's continuous theme is of God coming to dwell with His people. Did you know, in the Moses story, the Qur'an simply includes the Laws with warnings to keep them, and omits the tabernacle (the place where God's presence dwelled)? Whereas the Bible gives the Law in the context of how the Israelites could remain in God's presence as He comes down from the mountain to dwell with His people.
I could go on! It was so fascinating to read and compare the biblical and quranic accounts, seeing what they focus on and what the trajectory is. It made me fall in love with Jesus all over again.
Something this book does really well is respecting Muslims, Islam and the Qur'an. It breaks my heart when I see Christians labelling Islam as demonic or of satan. Muslims are people too, made in the image of God, who we are called to love dearly. My favourite quote is from a Christian of a Muslim background:
●
Ali says, "I think of the Bible as the sun: the source of light. The symbol of Islam is the crescent moon, and that is how I think of the Qur'an. The crescent reflects the light of the sun. It is only a small part of the light but it is enough to make people want more light, and to be glad to see the sun. When the sun comes out, the moon is still there, but you don't notice it.
The Qur'an can be a bridge to the Bible. We can talk about the parts of the Qur'an that reflect biblical truth, especially about Jesus. We can also study the Qur'an so that we can better understand our Muslim friends. I often use the Qur'an in my preaching.
I ask, 'What about the dark part of the crescent moon?' Ali laughs. "We don't worry about that," he says. Talking with Muslims, we want to focus on the light - what we need is more light!"
●
This book is honest, written thoughtfully and respectfully, challenging, convicting, and intelligent. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Islam or Christianity!
January 9, 2020
This is an excellent thought-provoking book that is easy to read, enjoyable and insightful. The writer writes very graciously and provides many illuminating stories to illustrate the points. It doesn't provide any clear answers about how to interpret Islam in light of the Bible (except for an explicit claim later in the book that Muhammed is a false prophet) so in that sense it falls short of its title, but it provides much helpful material for reflection and a helpful comparison between biblical stories and the corresponding Qur'anic narratives.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews