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Noah's Other Son: Bridging the Gap Between the Bible and the Qur'an
"Respectful and moderate in tone...a sober-minded and refreshing approach to religion. Readers will acquire a mature and tolerant perspective on religion and gain an understanding of the similarities among these three influential faiths."--Library Journal
In his compelling book, pastor Brian Brown engages in conciliatory dialogue with Christians, Jews, and Muslims in an attempt to recover the beauty and value of Islam for the West. Noah's Other Son helps Jews and Christians understand the role that several biblical figures from their own traditions play in Islam. Do Christians know, for example, that Jesus in the Qur'an was speaking about Muhammad when he promised to send an Advocate or Comforter? Who would have imagined that Noah had a rebellious son who refused to get on the ark and drowned?
There has never been a greater potential for misunderstanding between the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, as the treacherous situation in which the world now finds itself. Brian Brown examines scriptural characters as a way of seeing Islam in its pure light, without the distortions of history or individual failings. Noah's Other Son provides an excellent starting point for Christian-Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
In his compelling book, pastor Brian Brown engages in conciliatory dialogue with Christians, Jews, and Muslims in an attempt to recover the beauty and value of Islam for the West. Noah's Other Son helps Jews and Christians understand the role that several biblical figures from their own traditions play in Islam. Do Christians know, for example, that Jesus in the Qur'an was speaking about Muhammad when he promised to send an Advocate or Comforter? Who would have imagined that Noah had a rebellious son who refused to get on the ark and drowned?
There has never been a greater potential for misunderstanding between the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, as the treacherous situation in which the world now finds itself. Brian Brown examines scriptural characters as a way of seeing Islam in its pure light, without the distortions of history or individual failings. Noah's Other Son provides an excellent starting point for Christian-Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2007
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29 people want to read
About the author
Brian Arthur Brown
16 booksBrian Arthur Brown has authored and edited the monumental Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel and Quran, the scriptures of Abraham's family together for the first time. It is now followed by Four Testaments: Tao Te Ching, Analects, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita, making a two volume set of the Seven Testaments of World Religions.
Purchased separately in many formats, this interfaith set has the seven sacred texts in their entirety, expert commentary and endorsements by eminent scholars you will recognize. Both volumes have won numerous awards.
Previous books by Canada's Brian Arthur Brown include several on Native-White history, French-English relations, Western alienation, US-Canada relations and two prequels on Jewish-Christian-Muslim tensions. Brown has lived and worked in all parts of Canada, consulted broadly in the United States, taught briefly in the Caribbean, and travelled frequently in the Middle East in media, learning and teaching roles.
Brown holds a bachelor's degree in Classics from Dalhousie University in Halifax, a master's degree in Theology from McGill University in Montreal, a doctorate in Ecclesiastical Organizational Behaviour from the San Francisco Theological Seminary in association with the University of California, and has done post doctoral Studies in Executive Leadership at Harvard University. He is currently a member of the Oxford Round Table at Oxford University and in 2015 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts. Married for over fifty years, Brian and Jenny Brown live in Canada within earshot of the thunderous Niagara Falls.
Purchased separately in many formats, this interfaith set has the seven sacred texts in their entirety, expert commentary and endorsements by eminent scholars you will recognize. Both volumes have won numerous awards.
Previous books by Canada's Brian Arthur Brown include several on Native-White history, French-English relations, Western alienation, US-Canada relations and two prequels on Jewish-Christian-Muslim tensions. Brown has lived and worked in all parts of Canada, consulted broadly in the United States, taught briefly in the Caribbean, and travelled frequently in the Middle East in media, learning and teaching roles.
Brown holds a bachelor's degree in Classics from Dalhousie University in Halifax, a master's degree in Theology from McGill University in Montreal, a doctorate in Ecclesiastical Organizational Behaviour from the San Francisco Theological Seminary in association with the University of California, and has done post doctoral Studies in Executive Leadership at Harvard University. He is currently a member of the Oxford Round Table at Oxford University and in 2015 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts. Married for over fifty years, Brian and Jenny Brown live in Canada within earshot of the thunderous Niagara Falls.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 7, 2018
Relevant, Interesting, At Times Problematic
My interest in this book was to establish the points of similarity and difference between biblical and Quranic variations of the same tales. While the Bible is basically chronological the suras of the Quran are ordered by length from longest to shortest, and Biblical references are often scattered throughout the text.
Brown begins with an admirable ecumenical goal of using the Quran and the Bible to bring readers of from each of the Abrahamic faiths to an understanding each others foundational narrative. In a few cases, such as in the stories of Lot/Lut, Hagar and Abraham/Ibrahim, Joseph/Yusuf and his brothers and in Chapter 14 where he gives us Sura and aya (verse) of various "cameo" appearances of Biblical characters he is successful. The sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael deserved more coverage as to the differences in the stories. He affirms that most of the elements of the story of Moses are present but the presentation is rushed, and in the narrative of Suleiman/Solomon he fails to comment on the introduction of Jinn as an important difference. Lastly there are some interesting comments on the birth of Jesus/Issa and on recent discoveries relating to the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas and the suggestion that Nestorian Christian culture could have had some influence on the Quran.
However book is also cluttered by an excess of sermonizing on our modern world, for example comparing the nomadic Habiru who became the Jews with migrant Mexican or Turkish workers, describing Abraham's family as dysfunctional (apt, but anachronistic) and in need of healing. It's very popularist and easy to follow, but as a result there's a lack of academic rigor. There's an interesting side discussion of Nefertiti leading to Freud's assertion that Moses was named after the Pharaoh Tutmose (King Tut), but he bases this largely on Ahmed Osman's highly contentious Stranger In The Valley Of The Kings: The Identification Of Yuya As The Patriarch Joseph that archeologists have dismissed. There are next to no citations of authority, no connection to Muslim, Jewish or Christian commentary or commentators other than the polar opposites of the Salafist Sayyid Qutb and Salman Rushdi - most of the critical analysis is from the author alone leaving us without validation from persons inside the faith - which is why I opted for a rating closer to 3 rather than 4. Depending on what you are looking for you may rate it higher.
Surprisingly there appears to be little else published in this area other than polemics; at least this one, like Karen Armstrong's biographies of Mohammed has a positive tilt; as a downside, ignoring the minefields between the faiths will not make them go away. Brown, who describes himself as an Orthodox Christian, early on makes the mistake of dismissing both fundamentalists and secularists thereby occluding the existence of a vibrant range of interpretations within different groups including literalists, moralists and mystics. However in terms of raw story I think Brown delivers most what's there, though I wouldn't mind finding an additional source.
As for the titular other son? His name, according to Hadith, was Canaan and in Sura 11:42 he literally missed the boat by refusing get on. Ham names his son after him, and this namesake becomes father of the Canaanites.
My interest in this book was to establish the points of similarity and difference between biblical and Quranic variations of the same tales. While the Bible is basically chronological the suras of the Quran are ordered by length from longest to shortest, and Biblical references are often scattered throughout the text.
Brown begins with an admirable ecumenical goal of using the Quran and the Bible to bring readers of from each of the Abrahamic faiths to an understanding each others foundational narrative. In a few cases, such as in the stories of Lot/Lut, Hagar and Abraham/Ibrahim, Joseph/Yusuf and his brothers and in Chapter 14 where he gives us Sura and aya (verse) of various "cameo" appearances of Biblical characters he is successful. The sacrifice of Isaac/Ishmael deserved more coverage as to the differences in the stories. He affirms that most of the elements of the story of Moses are present but the presentation is rushed, and in the narrative of Suleiman/Solomon he fails to comment on the introduction of Jinn as an important difference. Lastly there are some interesting comments on the birth of Jesus/Issa and on recent discoveries relating to the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas and the suggestion that Nestorian Christian culture could have had some influence on the Quran.
However book is also cluttered by an excess of sermonizing on our modern world, for example comparing the nomadic Habiru who became the Jews with migrant Mexican or Turkish workers, describing Abraham's family as dysfunctional (apt, but anachronistic) and in need of healing. It's very popularist and easy to follow, but as a result there's a lack of academic rigor. There's an interesting side discussion of Nefertiti leading to Freud's assertion that Moses was named after the Pharaoh Tutmose (King Tut), but he bases this largely on Ahmed Osman's highly contentious Stranger In The Valley Of The Kings: The Identification Of Yuya As The Patriarch Joseph that archeologists have dismissed. There are next to no citations of authority, no connection to Muslim, Jewish or Christian commentary or commentators other than the polar opposites of the Salafist Sayyid Qutb and Salman Rushdi - most of the critical analysis is from the author alone leaving us without validation from persons inside the faith - which is why I opted for a rating closer to 3 rather than 4. Depending on what you are looking for you may rate it higher.
Surprisingly there appears to be little else published in this area other than polemics; at least this one, like Karen Armstrong's biographies of Mohammed has a positive tilt; as a downside, ignoring the minefields between the faiths will not make them go away. Brown, who describes himself as an Orthodox Christian, early on makes the mistake of dismissing both fundamentalists and secularists thereby occluding the existence of a vibrant range of interpretations within different groups including literalists, moralists and mystics. However in terms of raw story I think Brown delivers most what's there, though I wouldn't mind finding an additional source.
As for the titular other son? His name, according to Hadith, was Canaan and in Sura 11:42 he literally missed the boat by refusing get on. Ham names his son after him, and this namesake becomes father of the Canaanites.
March 7, 2015
So many Christians here in the West are isolated from their Brothers and Sisters in faith. Our knowledge of both Islam and Judaism come from what we see on television or here in the news, when really our faiths complement one another far more than they refute the other. Even if you know little to nothing about these Abrahamic faiths you should read this book. It may just change your mind of how you look at Religious Fanaticism.
August 28, 2008
Very good read. With contrast and comparison between the Bible and Q'uran. It's a little heady with lots of commentary from the author about the current state of religious relations. Overall a good start to understanding the intersection of Judism, Christianity and Islam.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews