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A Christian Reads the Qur'an: Honest Reading, Honest Reflection
Why would a Christian read the Qur’an? To criticize it? To convert to Islam? Many of my Muslim friends want me to read it because they believe the Qur'an is the most important book in the world. I don’t want to criticize the Qur’an. My purpose is to invite others on a quest for truth and respect. Far too often Muslims and Christians live in parallel universes. Reading the Qur’an can help build bridges of respect between one other. The Qur’an says “do not argue with the People of the Book except in the best way” (Surah 29:46 Al-Ankabut). "This can also be very readable to Muslims because it runs smoothly and seems to contain no dogmatic complexities...I like the conclusions especially the ultimate one in chapter 55. I would say, Yes it's perfect for the audience..." Mr. Nadir, Arab author. "I'm sure that this book will touch the hearts of many people and stir their thinking..." Mr. L, Turkish author and scholar. "I congratulate you on having done a thorough evaluation of the Qur’an through the eyes of a Christian. It is a daunting task and your years of working in the Islamic world have given you some good insights and stories to share which do raise many valid questions. These questions should provide some good food for thought for people to think about." Dan Wickwire, author and scholar Middle East.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 2, 2018
115 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
James Wright
506 books104 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
On December 13, 1927, James Arlington Wright was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His father worked for fifty years at a glass factory, and his mother left school at fourteen to work in a laundry; neither attended school beyond the eighth grade. While in high school in 1943 Wright suffered a nervous breakdown and missed a year of school. When he graduated in 1946, a year late, he joined the army and was stationed in Japan during the American occupation. He then attended Kenyon College on the G.I. Bill, and studied under John Crowe Ransom. He graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1952, then married another Martins Ferry native, Liberty Kardules. The two traveled to Austria, where, on a Fulbright Fellowship, Wright studied the works of Theodor Storm and Georg Trakl at the University of Vienna. He returned to the U.S. and earned master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Washington, studying with Theodore Roethke and Stanley Kunitz. He went on to teach at The University of Minnesota, Macalester College, and New York City's Hunter College.
On December 13, 1927, James Arlington Wright was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His father worked for fifty years at a glass factory, and his mother left school at fourteen to work in a laundry; neither attended school beyond the eighth grade. While in high school in 1943 Wright suffered a nervous breakdown and missed a year of school. When he graduated in 1946, a year late, he joined the army and was stationed in Japan during the American occupation. He then attended Kenyon College on the G.I. Bill, and studied under John Crowe Ransom. He graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1952, then married another Martins Ferry native, Liberty Kardules. The two traveled to Austria, where, on a Fulbright Fellowship, Wright studied the works of Theodor Storm and Georg Trakl at the University of Vienna. He returned to the U.S. and earned master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Washington, studying with Theodore Roethke and Stanley Kunitz. He went on to teach at The University of Minnesota, Macalester College, and New York City's Hunter College.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 15, 2018
This is the first book of its kind that I have read, or even seen for sale! James Wright goes chapter by chapter through the Quran, with the chapter numbers of his book corresponding to the Surah/chapter numbers of the Quran. He does analysis and discussion of various verses/sections in each chapter, giving the reader an interesting/thoughtful comparison between those verses and similar verses and ideas found in the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil. (For Christians who may not know, Muslims use the Arabic word for 'Tawrat' for the word 'Torah' the first 5 Books of the Old Testament, which is also called the Pentateuch. The word 'Zabur' is the Arabic word for the Holy Book of David, which are also called "Psalms" in English, and "Injil" is Arabic for the English word "Gospels", the first 4 books of the New Testament. The Quran refers to these other Holy Books, which Christians call "Bible").
Wright has done historical research to give background on the verses he discusses, and he is apparently knowledgeable in Arabic, Greek, and the Hebrew languages - the original languages of these Holy Books. Wright, a Christian, does not try to persuade or proselytize, but rather shows how these Holy Books have many related truths. He shows his respect for the Quran, and he shows that he has learned much from reading the Quran.
For Muslims, or someone who has only read the Quran, you might be amazed to learn how the Quran relates to, and talks a lot about subject also in the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil; and the history and events told in those Holy Books. But Wright brings the additional information from the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil, and shows, for each Surah of the Quran, how they fit together and by reading them together you can get a much fuller understanding of the Truth that is being conveyed. All of these Holy Books discuss key topics of the Creator, creation, good and evil, angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, and the prophets – but if you just read one of these Holy Books alone (i.e.: just the Injil, or just the Quran or just the Zabur), you will not have the whole picture. Wright’s book helps you see how they all fit together, with several major overarching themes that runs throughout all the Holy Books.
Also, I think this book would be very interesting for a Muslim, to read how a Christian who seriously read and studied the Quran, has learned from it, and how it has enriched his life by having available to him the truths form the Quran in combination with the truths from Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.
For Christians reading this book, you will be amazed at how much material in the Quran is similar to some of the same truths found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. But Wright doesn’t discuss such a topic in general terms, but he goes chapter by chapter, and in some areas verse by verse, making the connections. Additionally for Christians, beyond your own personal knowledge, this book will help you to better understand the Quran so that you can thoughtfully discuss these subjects with your Muslim friends. Reading the Quran will help you build bridges of respect between you and your Muslim friends. Having this book as a reference when you read the Quran will prove extremely valuable to you, as it has to me.
This book is obviously the result of many years of research. And it is written in a way to that is sensitive to the various groups of people that would be reading it. It would honestly be educational and spiritually helpful for both a Christian reader and a Muslim reader.
This book is also an awesome reference book for more fully understanding the Quran. Now that I’ve read it, I plan to keep it on my “reference shelf.” Because the book is so well organized, it will be a valuable tool for years to come.
The author makes a good point when he wrote, “I want to know and follow the Truth, wherever I find it.” It is that kind of openness to seeking the truth that we all should have.
It is a ‘one of a kind’ book, and I would HIGHLY recommend both Muslim and Christian to read this book!
Wright has done historical research to give background on the verses he discusses, and he is apparently knowledgeable in Arabic, Greek, and the Hebrew languages - the original languages of these Holy Books. Wright, a Christian, does not try to persuade or proselytize, but rather shows how these Holy Books have many related truths. He shows his respect for the Quran, and he shows that he has learned much from reading the Quran.
For Muslims, or someone who has only read the Quran, you might be amazed to learn how the Quran relates to, and talks a lot about subject also in the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil; and the history and events told in those Holy Books. But Wright brings the additional information from the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil, and shows, for each Surah of the Quran, how they fit together and by reading them together you can get a much fuller understanding of the Truth that is being conveyed. All of these Holy Books discuss key topics of the Creator, creation, good and evil, angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, and the prophets – but if you just read one of these Holy Books alone (i.e.: just the Injil, or just the Quran or just the Zabur), you will not have the whole picture. Wright’s book helps you see how they all fit together, with several major overarching themes that runs throughout all the Holy Books.
Also, I think this book would be very interesting for a Muslim, to read how a Christian who seriously read and studied the Quran, has learned from it, and how it has enriched his life by having available to him the truths form the Quran in combination with the truths from Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil.
For Christians reading this book, you will be amazed at how much material in the Quran is similar to some of the same truths found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. But Wright doesn’t discuss such a topic in general terms, but he goes chapter by chapter, and in some areas verse by verse, making the connections. Additionally for Christians, beyond your own personal knowledge, this book will help you to better understand the Quran so that you can thoughtfully discuss these subjects with your Muslim friends. Reading the Quran will help you build bridges of respect between you and your Muslim friends. Having this book as a reference when you read the Quran will prove extremely valuable to you, as it has to me.
This book is obviously the result of many years of research. And it is written in a way to that is sensitive to the various groups of people that would be reading it. It would honestly be educational and spiritually helpful for both a Christian reader and a Muslim reader.
This book is also an awesome reference book for more fully understanding the Quran. Now that I’ve read it, I plan to keep it on my “reference shelf.” Because the book is so well organized, it will be a valuable tool for years to come.
The author makes a good point when he wrote, “I want to know and follow the Truth, wherever I find it.” It is that kind of openness to seeking the truth that we all should have.
It is a ‘one of a kind’ book, and I would HIGHLY recommend both Muslim and Christian to read this book!
December 28, 2022
I think I would have preferred something more in depth, but I appreciate the way this book broke down and challenged some of the main differences between Islam and Christianity. It paired well with reading the Quran and I would recommend for Christians with a beginning interest in what our Muslim friends believe!
May 14, 2020
Wright's approach is not how I'd go. I wonder what audience he was writing to? If to Christians why did he put in so much evangelism? If to Muslims, why didn't he study the Quran and get their point of view rather than simply interpreting it from a Christian point of view. (I might agree with his viewpoint, but he's not fairly treating his promised target.)
I was disappointed in finding a shallow handling of the Quran, one which Muslims would laugh at and denounce. It's like Amadou Hampaté Bah's 'Jesus Seen by a Muslim' which only looked at the numbers of the gospel like the 3s, the 7s, the 12s, the 40s, etc, and fully missed the essence of Jesus and the deep philosophy behind his simple parabolic teaching. A man steeped in esoteric Sufi teaching only sees his kind of analysis. Wright, steeped in biblical thinking, can only analyze from that line. He should withdraw this and rewrite it, if he can.
I was disappointed in finding a shallow handling of the Quran, one which Muslims would laugh at and denounce. It's like Amadou Hampaté Bah's 'Jesus Seen by a Muslim' which only looked at the numbers of the gospel like the 3s, the 7s, the 12s, the 40s, etc, and fully missed the essence of Jesus and the deep philosophy behind his simple parabolic teaching. A man steeped in esoteric Sufi teaching only sees his kind of analysis. Wright, steeped in biblical thinking, can only analyze from that line. He should withdraw this and rewrite it, if he can.
December 3, 2018
This is a sura-by-sura exploration of the Qur'an by a Christian who read it through as an exercise during Ramadan. It brings out the common threads between Christianity and Islam and also raises a few thorny questions, for example about whether or not it's legitimate to say that Jihad in the Qur'an is a spiritual war and not a physical one. I'd already read the Qur'an and was familiar with many of the passages highlighted in the book, but it might be suitable as a introduction for Christians interested in beginning to explore it. I'd recommend having a copy of the Qur'an to hand to put the quoted verses in context.
April 11, 2019
Such a great read. Very respectfully presented. Helped expand my understanding.
February 3, 2022
One of the best books I’ve read on asking and answering questions about Islam and the Quran.
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April 14, 2018A fascinating walk through the Qur'an, great for Christians wanting to know a bit more about what the Qur'an actually says, as well as for Muslims who want to know how their own Scriptures relate to those of the people of the book
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews