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Between Allah & Jesus: What Christians Can Learn from Muslims
What would happen if Christians and a Muslim at a university talked and disagreed, but really tried to understand each other? What would they learn? That is the intriguing question Peter Kreeft seeks to answer in these imaginative conversations at Boston College. An articulate and engaging Muslim student named 'Isa challenges the Christian students and professors he meets on issues ranging from prayer and worship to evolution and abortion, from war and politics to the nature of spiritual struggle and spiritual submission. While Kreeft believes Christians should not learn extremism or unitarian theology from Muslims, he does believe that if we really listened we could learn much about devoted religious practice and ethics. Here is a book to open your understanding of one of the key forces shaping our world today. It's a book that just could make you a better Christian.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Peter Kreeft
197 books1,070 followersPeter Kreeft is an American philosopher and prolific author of over eighty books on Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics. A convert from Protestantism to Catholicism, his journey was shaped by his study of Church history, Gothic architecture, and Thomistic thought. He earned his BA from Calvin College, an MA and PhD from Fordham University, and pursued further studies at Yale. Since 1965, he has taught philosophy at Boston College and also at The King’s College. Kreeft is known for formulating “Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God” with Ronald K. Tacelli, featured in their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. A strong advocate for unity among Christians, he emphasizes shared belief in Christ over denominational differences.
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October 11, 2013
Peter Kreeft is an all-time fav. He is a philosopher professor at Boston College, now near retirement or retired. I have read most all of his books, and there are scads of them, 50+. He grew up Evangelical but converted to Roman Catholicism in college. He continues to write in a way that hit most of the themes Evangelicals are comfortable with, and in fact writes for Inter Varsity Press, who never mention that he is Roman Catholic. That would be too much for a Protestant printing press. His usual format is the Socratic dialogue where characters interact on an intellectual and personal level with the topics Kreeft introduces. This allows not just for abstract concepts, such as justice, beauty, goodness, morality, life after death, etc., but for the many different levels with which we approach these topics. We are not mere minds thinking – we feel, we get uncomfortable, we are biased and get angry, we want certain things to be true even if they are not and want certain other things to be untrue even if they are. The dialogical format allows sarcasm, puns, anger, petulance, bullying, smugness, etc., all which are a part of any hot topic as we discuss it in real life.
In “Between” the protagonist is `Isa Ben Adam, an idealized Muslim, sincere, observant and smart. The four characters `Isa dialogues with are: (1) Libby Rawls, a sarcastic, sassy Black feminist "liberal"; (2) Evan Jellema, a very straight Dutch Calvinist who is the opposite of Libby in nearly every imaginable way; (3) Father Heerema, `Isa's kindly, wise, old-fashioned Jesuit philosophy professor at Boston College; and (4) "Mother," a large, hospitable, bread-baking lady who wears bright dresses, has a parrot on her shoulder and holds continents of common sense in her brain. "Mother" runs a sprawling old Victorian boarding house shaped like a ship on the beachfront in Nahant, Massachusetts, in which she, Isa, Libby, Evan and five other people live. `Isa also dialogues on campus with Father Fesser, another professor at Boston College, who has
the reputation of being a freethinker rather than a traditional Catholic.
The topics are various to allow Isa to respond to them as a Muslim: comparative religions, Islam’s relationship with the West, the relationship of Jesus and Muhammad, who goes to heaven, prayer, the role of women, sex, politics, war, jihad, abortion. Isa comes out looking the hero, but this is not because Kreeft himself believes what Isa believes. It is just simply an attempt to demonstrate that Islam can make a case for itself even as it deals with its shortfalls and intellectual challenges.
I think the book is most interesting on the topic of sex, sexual restraint and the West’s worship of sexual liberty. Isa says, “I think you don't submit to God and his commandments because it interferes with your sex life. I think you're a Christian only from the waist up: in your heart, maybe, but not in your sex organs. And not from the neck up either, not in your mind. You don't believe in your own commandments. You invent moral ambiguities so that you can give excuses for your behavior. So you may have a godly heart but you don't have godly brains or sex organs."
We in the West looked at Islam as necessarily enslaving and believe that people who are enlightened will naturally choose western liberal democracy and secularism given the opportunity. The book is a way to say, “think again.” There is a sought for consistency in Islam that blends state, mosque, society and family in one whole, Confucian-like, which gives a place for everyone to be, in contrast to the rootlessness of capitalism, market forces, extreme individualism that leaves us free to be what we want to be at the price of being alone.
Peter Kreeft is a Roman Catholic in soteriology, so that will come through. RC’s believe that sincere believers of other religions can be and are saved. At the same time they assert that it is Jesus who saves them. He is the light that lights every life, per John 1:9. So the RC church is both exclusive – Jesus alone is the Savior of the world – and inclusive – sincere and devoted seekers of other religions, wrong though they are in not teaching explicit faith in Jesus, are being saved by Jesus even if they do not know it. This will hit Evangelicals as wrong-headed. In Kreeft’s configuration an observant Muslim is a spiritual brother. I am not so sanguine as is Kreeft, though I tend to move in his direction, or at least make allowance for its possibilities.
On this issue see Peter Kreeft’s debate with Robert Spencer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMtqCa... Spencer is a severe critic of all things Muslim and the author of the blog www.jihadwatch.org/
I encourage all readers to read all things Kreeft. His deep love for CS Lewis weaves Lewis’ themes and style into all of his own writings. My favorite Kreeft book is “Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing.”
In “Between” the protagonist is `Isa Ben Adam, an idealized Muslim, sincere, observant and smart. The four characters `Isa dialogues with are: (1) Libby Rawls, a sarcastic, sassy Black feminist "liberal"; (2) Evan Jellema, a very straight Dutch Calvinist who is the opposite of Libby in nearly every imaginable way; (3) Father Heerema, `Isa's kindly, wise, old-fashioned Jesuit philosophy professor at Boston College; and (4) "Mother," a large, hospitable, bread-baking lady who wears bright dresses, has a parrot on her shoulder and holds continents of common sense in her brain. "Mother" runs a sprawling old Victorian boarding house shaped like a ship on the beachfront in Nahant, Massachusetts, in which she, Isa, Libby, Evan and five other people live. `Isa also dialogues on campus with Father Fesser, another professor at Boston College, who has
the reputation of being a freethinker rather than a traditional Catholic.
The topics are various to allow Isa to respond to them as a Muslim: comparative religions, Islam’s relationship with the West, the relationship of Jesus and Muhammad, who goes to heaven, prayer, the role of women, sex, politics, war, jihad, abortion. Isa comes out looking the hero, but this is not because Kreeft himself believes what Isa believes. It is just simply an attempt to demonstrate that Islam can make a case for itself even as it deals with its shortfalls and intellectual challenges.
I think the book is most interesting on the topic of sex, sexual restraint and the West’s worship of sexual liberty. Isa says, “I think you don't submit to God and his commandments because it interferes with your sex life. I think you're a Christian only from the waist up: in your heart, maybe, but not in your sex organs. And not from the neck up either, not in your mind. You don't believe in your own commandments. You invent moral ambiguities so that you can give excuses for your behavior. So you may have a godly heart but you don't have godly brains or sex organs."
We in the West looked at Islam as necessarily enslaving and believe that people who are enlightened will naturally choose western liberal democracy and secularism given the opportunity. The book is a way to say, “think again.” There is a sought for consistency in Islam that blends state, mosque, society and family in one whole, Confucian-like, which gives a place for everyone to be, in contrast to the rootlessness of capitalism, market forces, extreme individualism that leaves us free to be what we want to be at the price of being alone.
Peter Kreeft is a Roman Catholic in soteriology, so that will come through. RC’s believe that sincere believers of other religions can be and are saved. At the same time they assert that it is Jesus who saves them. He is the light that lights every life, per John 1:9. So the RC church is both exclusive – Jesus alone is the Savior of the world – and inclusive – sincere and devoted seekers of other religions, wrong though they are in not teaching explicit faith in Jesus, are being saved by Jesus even if they do not know it. This will hit Evangelicals as wrong-headed. In Kreeft’s configuration an observant Muslim is a spiritual brother. I am not so sanguine as is Kreeft, though I tend to move in his direction, or at least make allowance for its possibilities.
On this issue see Peter Kreeft’s debate with Robert Spencer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMtqCa... Spencer is a severe critic of all things Muslim and the author of the blog www.jihadwatch.org/
I encourage all readers to read all things Kreeft. His deep love for CS Lewis weaves Lewis’ themes and style into all of his own writings. My favorite Kreeft book is “Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing.”
June 15, 2023
I am split over this book and wish there were other people I could discuss it with. My initial thoughts going in: Certainly we can and should learn from the people God puts in our lives, and if one's life is peopled by (pious or maybe even otherwise) Muslims, then one should not shut out their wisdom or experience. But that doesn't mean Christians need to or should go looking for models or witnesses or saints outside Christ and His Church. If we are to believe in the totality of and totalizing natures of Christ, what more do we hope to find elsewhere?
What Kreeft seems to be arguing for for Christians in the 21st Century is to relearn our own religion, religiosity—the grit, tenacity, consistency, and integrity of our faith, even and most especially when it's hard in the face of a relativist culture. I agree with his points, if not always how he arrives at them. Because the book is set up as a dialogue between caricatures (not characters), the dialogue is always already set up to go the way Kreeft believes it should. Note, that does not mean the Christian always wins, and in fact, he/she usually loses because the Muslim caricature is the purest emblem of his religion, whereas the Christians are each deficient in at least one area of their religion. But that's the point, what the Christian can learn from the Muslim about how to be religious.
And I was inspired to be more religiously tough—more purposeful in prayer, worship, and discourse with others.
But I didn't need the contrived dialogues to inspire me, and I was more often frustrated than inspired. The first and most recurring obstruction was that the only female discourser was the worst of them—the least biblically sound and most emotionally riled at every turn of phrase, quick to be offended, and the least inclined to listen. Kreeft is charitable to each of the other deficiencies but not Libby's liberalism.
Meanwhile, he should be harshest on (not uncharitable but show more readily the failings of) the priest's yieldiness (because he's a priest; James 3). The book reduces to theology what is not mere theology. The priest caricature regularly says that the Muslim & Christian differences come down to theology and not the life or intention of the surrendering Christian or Muslim, which I can buy up to a certain point. However, not one single Christian in these dialogues explains why it matters that Christ is God incarnate, why that's not just a matter of theology but a matter of life and death. Kreeft's caricatures are not so problematic as to suggest that they can overcome this difference with Muslims, but the priest's regular comparison of Jesus to the Quran as God's Word from Heaven coming to Earth is a slippery slope. The similarity is in syntax only. We aren't made in the image of the Quran; we are made in the image of Jesus. The Quran didn't come to die so that we may have life more abundantly; Jesus did.
I gotta get my hands on that Fr John Behr book now, Becoming Human.
What Kreeft seems to be arguing for for Christians in the 21st Century is to relearn our own religion, religiosity—the grit, tenacity, consistency, and integrity of our faith, even and most especially when it's hard in the face of a relativist culture. I agree with his points, if not always how he arrives at them. Because the book is set up as a dialogue between caricatures (not characters), the dialogue is always already set up to go the way Kreeft believes it should. Note, that does not mean the Christian always wins, and in fact, he/she usually loses because the Muslim caricature is the purest emblem of his religion, whereas the Christians are each deficient in at least one area of their religion. But that's the point, what the Christian can learn from the Muslim about how to be religious.
And I was inspired to be more religiously tough—more purposeful in prayer, worship, and discourse with others.
But I didn't need the contrived dialogues to inspire me, and I was more often frustrated than inspired. The first and most recurring obstruction was that the only female discourser was the worst of them—the least biblically sound and most emotionally riled at every turn of phrase, quick to be offended, and the least inclined to listen. Kreeft is charitable to each of the other deficiencies but not Libby's liberalism.
Meanwhile, he should be harshest on (not uncharitable but show more readily the failings of) the priest's yieldiness (because he's a priest; James 3). The book reduces to theology what is not mere theology. The priest caricature regularly says that the Muslim & Christian differences come down to theology and not the life or intention of the surrendering Christian or Muslim, which I can buy up to a certain point. However, not one single Christian in these dialogues explains why it matters that Christ is God incarnate, why that's not just a matter of theology but a matter of life and death. Kreeft's caricatures are not so problematic as to suggest that they can overcome this difference with Muslims, but the priest's regular comparison of Jesus to the Quran as God's Word from Heaven coming to Earth is a slippery slope. The similarity is in syntax only. We aren't made in the image of the Quran; we are made in the image of Jesus. The Quran didn't come to die so that we may have life more abundantly; Jesus did.
I gotta get my hands on that Fr John Behr book now, Becoming Human.
July 29, 2011
As our world continues to shrink bringing more and more religious diversity into our communities, books like this are especially important to show us how we might dialogue with those who are of a different faith.
While most of the conversations in Kreeft's book are fictional, they provide a fairly good example of Krister Stendahl's three ground rules for inter-religious dialogue.
1. If you want to understand another religion, ask its adherents, not its enemies.
2. Don't compare your best to their worst.
3. Leave room for "holy envy." (By this Stendahl meant that you should be willing to recognize elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way, be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith.)
Overall, it is a very easy book to read. The fact that it is set into the context of a series of fictional conversations brings some texture to the issues being discussed. And in the end I think you will be surprised by what we may be able to learn from those whose theology is markedly different from ours.
While most of the conversations in Kreeft's book are fictional, they provide a fairly good example of Krister Stendahl's three ground rules for inter-religious dialogue.
1. If you want to understand another religion, ask its adherents, not its enemies.
2. Don't compare your best to their worst.
3. Leave room for "holy envy." (By this Stendahl meant that you should be willing to recognize elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way, be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith.)
Overall, it is a very easy book to read. The fact that it is set into the context of a series of fictional conversations brings some texture to the issues being discussed. And in the end I think you will be surprised by what we may be able to learn from those whose theology is markedly different from ours.
June 2, 2020
Thought-provoking and well written.
November 9, 2020
I have mixed feelings on this one. I really liked the introduction, and the idea of a Muslim, a couple of Catholics, an evangelical Christian, a Jew, and very liberal Christian all being able to have discussions together and learn from one another. For the most part, Kreeft kept to the spirit of that, and showed the possibility of being able to have such discussions civilly, which God knows we need more of in this world. The first few chapters were excellent, but I felt the tone of the book by the end was rather lackluster. It was ok, just didn't really draw me in.
Maybe this is being too P.C., but I found it irritating that the only female character was obnoxious and ready to jump to offended conclusions at the drop of a hat. And no, it's not just that she is a very left-leaning character. That I could handle and even identify with to a degree. It's more that she meets all the worst stereotypes that we tend to pin on women, especially black women, as her character is. She's not painted at all as a reasonable person, willing to have a discussion and think through things, but rather the escalator at every imaginable point, always quick to take offense. While there may be SOME people that are like that (just check out Facebook), I truly don't know anyone personally, at any point along the political spectrum, who's just itching for a fight at every possible juncture. Not in person at every discussion, at least. Most people tend to be a little more restrained in actual small group conversations.
If I'm willing to overlook that (which honestly, I'm not), then there's a lot of really great ideas to ponder. I think there is a bit of theological license that Kreeft takes, but he is trying to cross some bridges and get outside of the standard evangelical American Christian box, so I can give some grace to that.
An interesting read, one that could be at least mind-broadening.
Maybe this is being too P.C., but I found it irritating that the only female character was obnoxious and ready to jump to offended conclusions at the drop of a hat. And no, it's not just that she is a very left-leaning character. That I could handle and even identify with to a degree. It's more that she meets all the worst stereotypes that we tend to pin on women, especially black women, as her character is. She's not painted at all as a reasonable person, willing to have a discussion and think through things, but rather the escalator at every imaginable point, always quick to take offense. While there may be SOME people that are like that (just check out Facebook), I truly don't know anyone personally, at any point along the political spectrum, who's just itching for a fight at every possible juncture. Not in person at every discussion, at least. Most people tend to be a little more restrained in actual small group conversations.
If I'm willing to overlook that (which honestly, I'm not), then there's a lot of really great ideas to ponder. I think there is a bit of theological license that Kreeft takes, but he is trying to cross some bridges and get outside of the standard evangelical American Christian box, so I can give some grace to that.
An interesting read, one that could be at least mind-broadening.
May 18, 2024
A CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHER PRESENTS ISLAM POSITIVELY IN A SERIES OF DIALOGUES
Peter John Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College; he converted to Roman Catholicism during his college years.
He wrote in the introduction to this 2010 book, “As a Christian, I say Islam lacks the Cross, and Christ, and his radical love. But as a Christian I also say Islam has great and deep resources of morality and sanctity that should inspire us and shame us and prod us to admiration and imitation. Thus my subtitle. In the spiritual competition for the most sanctity, all sides win. My medium is not essays but fictional dialogues between a pious Muslim and various Christians… Many Christians today have a deep fear of Islam, as of no other religion. They have reasons: over three thousand of them after 9/11.
“Yet many Muslims… the vast majority in America, want to be our friends, not our enemies in our battle against our real common enemy, which is Satan, selfishness and secularism… Why do Christians believe out irreligious media’s picture of Muslims as hate-filled, violence-prone, ignorant, superstitious, irrational, fanatical terrorists?... The secular media fear Islam for two reasons: (1) because they think it is the reason … for nearly all the terrorism, murder and war in the world today, and (2) because it is deeply religious.” (Pg. 9-10)
He continues, “There are also many things we Christians already know we can and should learn from Muslims, or be reminded of by Muslims… for instance: 1. Faithfulness in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 2. Th sacredness of the family and children and hospitality. 3. The absoluteness of moral laws and of the demand to be just and charitable; 4. The absoluteness of God and the need for absolute submission, surrender, and obedience (‘islam) to him.” (Pg. 12)
He explains, “My [Muslim] protagonist, ‘Isa Ben Adam, is a creation of my imagination… the four characters ‘Isa dialogues with … are: (1) Libby Rawls, a sarcastic, sassy Black feminist ‘liberal’; (2) Evan Jellema, a very straight Dutch Calvinist… (3) Father Heerema, ‘Isa’s… old-fashioned Jesuit philosophy professor… and (4) ‘Mother,’ a large, hospitable, break-baking lady who … holds continents of common sense in her brain… ‘Isa also dialogues on campus with Father Fesser, another professor… who has the reputation of being a freethinker rather than a traditional Catholic.” (Pg. 13)
He suggests, “I think it is very likely that the next St. Paul is now a Muslim, wanting only a new direction for his passion: toward rather than against Christianity. Or perhaps the new St. Paul is a Christian lacking only the passion of a Muslim to energize him, needing to be prodded to jealousy by a Muslim. If this book can help provoke that reaction, its existence is justified.” (Pg. 17-18)
He outlines, “There are two Islams in the world today: (1) There is the Islam of the Qur’an… It is a religion of peace.. and of divine justice… (2) There is also the Islam of the terrorists, who are murderers and assassins, especially murderers of their fellow Muslims. Shiites and Sunnis hate each other for their ‘heresies’ more intensely than either hates the West… Which of these two Islams … will prevail? God only knows. But to whatever extent the first Islam is from God, it will prevail because God will prevail. I do not see how a Christian can deny that (1) there is much in Islam that is from God… Nor do I see how a Christian can deny that (2) there are things in Islam that are directly contrary to God, beginning with its rejection of Christ as divine Savior, and its ignorance of the amazing ‘good news’ that God is love and has destined us … for … spiritual marriage to him….I do not know which Islam will prevail. But I know that the temporal fate of half the world depends on it. I do know which Christianity will prevail, however, and I do know that the eternal fate of all the world depends on it.” (Pg. 18-19)
In the dialogues, ‘Isa says to Libby, “You’re having fewer and fewer children, and you kill a third of them by abortion. You’re having fewer and fewer marriages, and you kill half of them by divorce… You’re the old, dying culture… We’re fruitful. We’re family-first… We sacrifice and surrender to the will of Allah. You won’t because you’re addicted to your freedom.” (Pg. 39) Later, he adds, “Islam gave the world morality and peace and universal justice and mercy… that’s the same reason why Islam is selling today in the West: because it’s completing human nature, but now it’s doing that by adding the tough part, because that’s the part that’s missing now.” (Pg. 43)
Fr. Heerema observes, “I don’t think most Christians would go to that extreme and say that the Qur’an was inspired by the devil. There is much profound truth in it, and it has done much good throughout history. Muhammad was a great moral reformer. I don’t think the devil would tolerate so much good, even to do some evil.” (Pg. 60)
‘Isa says, “If that is what you mean by love, we Muslims agree with you. God does love, in that sense… [But] the first word you add to the word ‘God’ is the word ‘Almighty’… So I think you show… that when you think of God, you think first of power, and we show by our speech that when we think of God we think first of mercy and compassion. So I think it is the reverse of what you said about Christians and Muslims.” (Pg. 87)
‘Isa states, “I don’t think it’s safe to use psychology on religion. I don’t even think it’s so all-important for us to know who we are; I think it’s much more important for us to know who God is. But I do believe the Sufi experience is not just for mystics. It’s for everybody. Because that is the heart of Islam: the total surrender to God… There is nothing secular. Everything is sacred.” Fr. Heerema replies, “that confirms my suspicion that we are not spiritual aliens but spiritual brothers: that our two RELIGIONS are very close even though our two THEOLOGIES are far apart.” (Pg. 93)
Fr. Heerema suggests, “I’m saying that every CAN go to heaven because everyone knows him. They don’t all know him as a man, and they don’t all know that this man is also God… but they all know God. Everybody knows God because God created everybody with a reason and a conscience. And reason or conscience know something of the mind of God. And when they know that, they are knowing Jesus, because Jesus IS the mind of God, even though they don’t know that.” (Pg. 104)
‘Isa says to Libby, “you think the Sexual Revolution of the sixties and seventies liberated women, right?... But women are the main VICIMS of that revolution, and men are tie victors. Husbands abandon wives, boyfriends abandon girlfriends, man pressure women to abort their children. More and more women are single mothers, and poor---all because their men lived the Sexual Revolution. Look what’s rising… rape and date rape, battered women and abandoned women. YOUR women are oppressed, not ours. And your consciousness is oppressed too, because your men have sold you the big lie… and left you holding the bag after they get all the kicks and all the liberty and all the money, and you pay the price.” (Pg. 128)
He continues, “you talk about ‘moral ambiguity’ so that you can feel good about yourself. And what is your motive for doing that? Your bible gives you a clear answer to that question, and its tells you the same thing as the Qur’an tells you: that you are trying to escape God’s demand to surrender… You want to negotiate with God instead of making an unconditional surrender.” (Pg. 140-141)
Fr. Heerema argues, “The church got corrupt through worldly power and politics in the past. But now I think the devil’s favorite is the flesh. Power isn’t so fashionable any more… but pleasure is. I think the church has gotten weak by compromising with the flesh. I mean our own fallen human nature, soul and body together… I think the same spirit that lit the fires of the Inquisition now lights the fires of the Sexual Revolution.” (Pg. 162)
Kreeft concludes, “Do I have any COUNSEL, or good advice?... Our marching orders are clear and complete. We know the two great commandments, and we had better get on with them if we want to help save the world. And that’s equally true whether ‘the world’ means primarily heretics and apostates, Muslims, Communists, secular humanists, or … the personal ‘world’ of our own sins.” (Pg. 188)
Kreeft’s ‘positive’ views of Islam and Muslims is very welcome, coming from such a well-known Catholic philosopher. His ‘Libby’ character is often shallowly-drawn---nothing more than a vehicle allowing Kreeft to present the contrary view. But overall this is a very interesting book.
Peter John Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College; he converted to Roman Catholicism during his college years.
He wrote in the introduction to this 2010 book, “As a Christian, I say Islam lacks the Cross, and Christ, and his radical love. But as a Christian I also say Islam has great and deep resources of morality and sanctity that should inspire us and shame us and prod us to admiration and imitation. Thus my subtitle. In the spiritual competition for the most sanctity, all sides win. My medium is not essays but fictional dialogues between a pious Muslim and various Christians… Many Christians today have a deep fear of Islam, as of no other religion. They have reasons: over three thousand of them after 9/11.
“Yet many Muslims… the vast majority in America, want to be our friends, not our enemies in our battle against our real common enemy, which is Satan, selfishness and secularism… Why do Christians believe out irreligious media’s picture of Muslims as hate-filled, violence-prone, ignorant, superstitious, irrational, fanatical terrorists?... The secular media fear Islam for two reasons: (1) because they think it is the reason … for nearly all the terrorism, murder and war in the world today, and (2) because it is deeply religious.” (Pg. 9-10)
He continues, “There are also many things we Christians already know we can and should learn from Muslims, or be reminded of by Muslims… for instance: 1. Faithfulness in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 2. Th sacredness of the family and children and hospitality. 3. The absoluteness of moral laws and of the demand to be just and charitable; 4. The absoluteness of God and the need for absolute submission, surrender, and obedience (‘islam) to him.” (Pg. 12)
He explains, “My [Muslim] protagonist, ‘Isa Ben Adam, is a creation of my imagination… the four characters ‘Isa dialogues with … are: (1) Libby Rawls, a sarcastic, sassy Black feminist ‘liberal’; (2) Evan Jellema, a very straight Dutch Calvinist… (3) Father Heerema, ‘Isa’s… old-fashioned Jesuit philosophy professor… and (4) ‘Mother,’ a large, hospitable, break-baking lady who … holds continents of common sense in her brain… ‘Isa also dialogues on campus with Father Fesser, another professor… who has the reputation of being a freethinker rather than a traditional Catholic.” (Pg. 13)
He suggests, “I think it is very likely that the next St. Paul is now a Muslim, wanting only a new direction for his passion: toward rather than against Christianity. Or perhaps the new St. Paul is a Christian lacking only the passion of a Muslim to energize him, needing to be prodded to jealousy by a Muslim. If this book can help provoke that reaction, its existence is justified.” (Pg. 17-18)
He outlines, “There are two Islams in the world today: (1) There is the Islam of the Qur’an… It is a religion of peace.. and of divine justice… (2) There is also the Islam of the terrorists, who are murderers and assassins, especially murderers of their fellow Muslims. Shiites and Sunnis hate each other for their ‘heresies’ more intensely than either hates the West… Which of these two Islams … will prevail? God only knows. But to whatever extent the first Islam is from God, it will prevail because God will prevail. I do not see how a Christian can deny that (1) there is much in Islam that is from God… Nor do I see how a Christian can deny that (2) there are things in Islam that are directly contrary to God, beginning with its rejection of Christ as divine Savior, and its ignorance of the amazing ‘good news’ that God is love and has destined us … for … spiritual marriage to him….I do not know which Islam will prevail. But I know that the temporal fate of half the world depends on it. I do know which Christianity will prevail, however, and I do know that the eternal fate of all the world depends on it.” (Pg. 18-19)
In the dialogues, ‘Isa says to Libby, “You’re having fewer and fewer children, and you kill a third of them by abortion. You’re having fewer and fewer marriages, and you kill half of them by divorce… You’re the old, dying culture… We’re fruitful. We’re family-first… We sacrifice and surrender to the will of Allah. You won’t because you’re addicted to your freedom.” (Pg. 39) Later, he adds, “Islam gave the world morality and peace and universal justice and mercy… that’s the same reason why Islam is selling today in the West: because it’s completing human nature, but now it’s doing that by adding the tough part, because that’s the part that’s missing now.” (Pg. 43)
Fr. Heerema observes, “I don’t think most Christians would go to that extreme and say that the Qur’an was inspired by the devil. There is much profound truth in it, and it has done much good throughout history. Muhammad was a great moral reformer. I don’t think the devil would tolerate so much good, even to do some evil.” (Pg. 60)
‘Isa says, “If that is what you mean by love, we Muslims agree with you. God does love, in that sense… [But] the first word you add to the word ‘God’ is the word ‘Almighty’… So I think you show… that when you think of God, you think first of power, and we show by our speech that when we think of God we think first of mercy and compassion. So I think it is the reverse of what you said about Christians and Muslims.” (Pg. 87)
‘Isa states, “I don’t think it’s safe to use psychology on religion. I don’t even think it’s so all-important for us to know who we are; I think it’s much more important for us to know who God is. But I do believe the Sufi experience is not just for mystics. It’s for everybody. Because that is the heart of Islam: the total surrender to God… There is nothing secular. Everything is sacred.” Fr. Heerema replies, “that confirms my suspicion that we are not spiritual aliens but spiritual brothers: that our two RELIGIONS are very close even though our two THEOLOGIES are far apart.” (Pg. 93)
Fr. Heerema suggests, “I’m saying that every CAN go to heaven because everyone knows him. They don’t all know him as a man, and they don’t all know that this man is also God… but they all know God. Everybody knows God because God created everybody with a reason and a conscience. And reason or conscience know something of the mind of God. And when they know that, they are knowing Jesus, because Jesus IS the mind of God, even though they don’t know that.” (Pg. 104)
‘Isa says to Libby, “you think the Sexual Revolution of the sixties and seventies liberated women, right?... But women are the main VICIMS of that revolution, and men are tie victors. Husbands abandon wives, boyfriends abandon girlfriends, man pressure women to abort their children. More and more women are single mothers, and poor---all because their men lived the Sexual Revolution. Look what’s rising… rape and date rape, battered women and abandoned women. YOUR women are oppressed, not ours. And your consciousness is oppressed too, because your men have sold you the big lie… and left you holding the bag after they get all the kicks and all the liberty and all the money, and you pay the price.” (Pg. 128)
He continues, “you talk about ‘moral ambiguity’ so that you can feel good about yourself. And what is your motive for doing that? Your bible gives you a clear answer to that question, and its tells you the same thing as the Qur’an tells you: that you are trying to escape God’s demand to surrender… You want to negotiate with God instead of making an unconditional surrender.” (Pg. 140-141)
Fr. Heerema argues, “The church got corrupt through worldly power and politics in the past. But now I think the devil’s favorite is the flesh. Power isn’t so fashionable any more… but pleasure is. I think the church has gotten weak by compromising with the flesh. I mean our own fallen human nature, soul and body together… I think the same spirit that lit the fires of the Inquisition now lights the fires of the Sexual Revolution.” (Pg. 162)
Kreeft concludes, “Do I have any COUNSEL, or good advice?... Our marching orders are clear and complete. We know the two great commandments, and we had better get on with them if we want to help save the world. And that’s equally true whether ‘the world’ means primarily heretics and apostates, Muslims, Communists, secular humanists, or … the personal ‘world’ of our own sins.” (Pg. 188)
Kreeft’s ‘positive’ views of Islam and Muslims is very welcome, coming from such a well-known Catholic philosopher. His ‘Libby’ character is often shallowly-drawn---nothing more than a vehicle allowing Kreeft to present the contrary view. But overall this is a very interesting book.
June 17, 2013
I am currently taking the World Religions class with Professor Kreeft and my only concern with the book is the focus more on argumentative dialogue rather than making solid, uniform connections. Each chapter has a struggle and tries to tie off loose ends towards the end of each chapter's short story, however one needs to have an open mind in order to "listen" to the dialogue rather than take sides while reading the arguments.
I would urge other readers to enjoy this book for it has several enlightening thoughts and closures on some interesting subjects that I'm sure have been encountered oneself in some sort or fashion. The book is good at thinking outside the box and allowing the reader to understand a bit more thoroughly how Christianity and Islam have subtle similarities, as well as subtle differences, while others vastly differ. It helps to identity the black, white, and grey areas we often encounter.
It is a short read, I read in several hours dispersed over a two day period... And I read a bit slower than most to try to understand be text. You can use this standard to base your average reading time off of.
Best
-T
I would urge other readers to enjoy this book for it has several enlightening thoughts and closures on some interesting subjects that I'm sure have been encountered oneself in some sort or fashion. The book is good at thinking outside the box and allowing the reader to understand a bit more thoroughly how Christianity and Islam have subtle similarities, as well as subtle differences, while others vastly differ. It helps to identity the black, white, and grey areas we often encounter.
It is a short read, I read in several hours dispersed over a two day period... And I read a bit slower than most to try to understand be text. You can use this standard to base your average reading time off of.
Best
-T
April 19, 2013
Interesting read. I was hoping to have my mind opened more to navigate the waters of Christianity vis-à-vis Islam. I think this book was a helpful first step to shed light on the valuable merits of Muslims from which Christians can learn.
I think it also helped me be more compassionate by stating things that should have been obvious, but weren't because of my own lack of critical thinking and unconscious double-standardizing.
Case in point:
"Please ask yourself whether you would like others to judge Christianity based on the picture of it now being presented in the modern Western media. Then please remember the Golden Rule, and apply this to the picture of Islam presented by the same source."
I think it also helped me be more compassionate by stating things that should have been obvious, but weren't because of my own lack of critical thinking and unconscious double-standardizing.
Case in point:
"Please ask yourself whether you would like others to judge Christianity based on the picture of it now being presented in the modern Western media. Then please remember the Golden Rule, and apply this to the picture of Islam presented by the same source."
March 29, 2011
There's a lot to like here - a rational discussion of the differences & similarities between Christianity & Islam that is well-written & thoughtful. OTOH, the "characters" are stereotypes, which makes it difficult to get past the feeling that they're just mouthing their lines.
I also struggle with the view put forth by Kreeft's "hero" - the college priest - regarding salvation. (It's a bit too Rob Bell for my tastes - which is weird, because I haven't caught that vibe in Kreeft's other writings.)
I also struggle with the view put forth by Kreeft's "hero" - the college priest - regarding salvation. (It's a bit too Rob Bell for my tastes - which is weird, because I haven't caught that vibe in Kreeft's other writings.)
April 12, 2012
I was excited that someone had undertaken a fictional book that would debate the controversy between Islam and Christianity. Unfortunately the conversations seem very contrived. Their views are laid out poorly. It's not worth reading. If anyone knows of a book that deals with this issue in an intelligent manner please recommend it to me. Otherwise, I suppose I'll wait until Ravi Zacharias' book comes out (posthumanously).
January 31, 2016
Kreeft never deals in half-truths. He wants to overwhelm the strongest fortresses of the enemy, and provide comfort to those who have fallen into weakness. I was introduced to his radiance at an early age and the shards of light I remembered helped carry me through many encounters. If any questions about the conflict between Islam and Christianity remain after reading this book, then I suggest you keep asking them.
March 26, 2014
The fiction-style approach to the book's topics effectively draws me in. The differences between Morality and Theology, Sexual Morality and Moral Ambiguity, Abortion and Compassion--Kreeft deals with items of varying opinion between Christians and Muslims in an objective light. He does this by creating conversations between a handful of characters like 'Isa, Libby, Evan, and Father Hareema.
November 13, 2015
Very fair analysis of the tensions between Muslims and Christians from a noted Catholic theologian.
January 28, 2016
A different approach to learning about Islam from a Christian perspective that adds to other things I have read on the topic. I have the greatest respect for Peter Kreeft.
November 15, 2024
I'm sure this is probably a useful book for people who want to view reality from within the context of their Christian belief. It's true that there are many good things about Islam which are overlooked by Westerners, and I appreciate the author's efforts to identify this things.
I myself tend to believe that organized religion is meant for folks who can't or won't do the work necessary to discovering the meaning of life on their own. Pastors, imams and other spiritual leaders can provide lots of useful assistance along the path of life, and holy writ can generate insights along the way.
But literature and good people with various religious affiliations or none at all can do this, as well. And it's often the case that exposure to just one religion can create a closed-mindedness or small-mindedness in its followers that is difficult to overcome. Which, in turn, leads to the sorts of misunderstandings that feed intolerance and hatred and even war.
Remember, the King James Bible was a major tool in convincing people that slavery was ordained by God back in the early history of the USA. So often, religious texts can be distorted to promote and sustain even the most odious views.
I myself tend to believe that organized religion is meant for folks who can't or won't do the work necessary to discovering the meaning of life on their own. Pastors, imams and other spiritual leaders can provide lots of useful assistance along the path of life, and holy writ can generate insights along the way.
But literature and good people with various religious affiliations or none at all can do this, as well. And it's often the case that exposure to just one religion can create a closed-mindedness or small-mindedness in its followers that is difficult to overcome. Which, in turn, leads to the sorts of misunderstandings that feed intolerance and hatred and even war.
Remember, the King James Bible was a major tool in convincing people that slavery was ordained by God back in the early history of the USA. So often, religious texts can be distorted to promote and sustain even the most odious views.
August 28, 2024
There's much that is very good about this, and I recommend it without hesitation, to Muslims and Christians alike, but the characters are over simplistic (two in particular - Libby and Evan - are one-dimensional, annoying caricatures) and I think some points just aren't covered as thoroughly as they might have been, with the arguments being tied up too early. On the other hand, the book is very easy to read and makes for excellent food for thought on a number of topics.
I would be very interested to read this as part of a group with a range of real Muslims and (traditional) Catholics. Better still, I think Kreeft should collaborate with some real life Muslims for a sequel.
I would be very interested to read this as part of a group with a range of real Muslims and (traditional) Catholics. Better still, I think Kreeft should collaborate with some real life Muslims for a sequel.
December 10, 2018
I was surprised to find that this book included characters and so much dialog, but it worked so well to show the different perspective, belief systems and reasoning that goes on in our brains and hearts. The author, those describes himself as Catholic, is not afraid to risk everything to discuss challenging, uncomfortable differences in the Christian and Muslim faiths. I appreciated that he believe sincere Muslims can be holy and saved. I am now decidedly less ignorant about the differences and similarities in our faiths!
September 5, 2019
An excellent book based on a variety of conversations between 'Isa an observant Muslim and several composite characters around Boston College. The conversations allow one to gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims, especially the ones that don't the news. Both are handled fairly without compromising on essential truths of the Christian faith. You will learn much from this book.
May 20, 2019
Not a big fan of the writing style and I don't feel that there was all that much to the content.
September 13, 2019
The idea of this book is great but its execution lacking. The dialogue was painful to read and I found myself skimming and skipping whole paragraphs and pages.
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