James R. White - What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Quran

2013 by James R. White

Published by Bethany House Publishers

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Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Ebook edition created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-6052-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007

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The Christian engagement with Islam will be a defining issue for the twenty-first century. Sadly, most Christians do not even know where to begin in terms of understanding Islam. It is absolutely essential that Christians understand that Islam and Christianity represent two contradictory sets of truth claims. James White understands this, and in this important new book he sets out the issues of truth with distinction and clarity. Christians will welcome this book as they seek to understand the challenge of Islam.

R. Albert Mohler Jr. President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

This book is magnificent! I believe this is the most thorough and comprehensive book written by an evangelical scholar on the Quran. I will surely use it and recommend it in all my teachings! I pray that every Chistian serious about engaging with Muslims would read this work thoroughly. Thank you for your labor of love and scholarship.

Abdul SaleebCoauthor, Answering Islam and The Dark Side of Islam

Dr. James White has written an immensely informative, carefully documented overview of Islam and the Quranrich with fascinating historical, biblical, and theological analysis. In this era of rising Islamic influence and declining tolerance for Christianity, evangelicals must have more than a rudimentary understanding of Islam and its history. If were going to meet the Islamic challenge to our faith, we need to be informed, intelligent, and prepared to answer our Islamic neighbors in a forthright, clear, and thoroughly biblical wayyet with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). This book is an excellent model to show how thats done.

John MacArthurPastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California; author, MacArthur Study Bible

James White has given the thoughtful Christian a game-changer for Muslim-Christian dialogues about the Quran, the Bible, and our claims to truth. For too long, Christians have remained largely ignorant and even reluctant toward one of the worlds largest faiths. We no longer have reason for either ignorance or reluctance thanks to White. I know of no other introduction to the Quran and Islam that is as technically competent and easy to read as James Whites What Every Christian Should Know About the Quran . This book is my new go-to source and recommendation for anyone wanting a thorough introduction to the thought world of the Quran and the Muslims who revere it. For irenic, honest, charitable, and careful discussion of the Quran, this is the best resource I know.

Thabiti AnyabwilePastor, First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman; author, The Gospel for Muslims

If you are like me, your knowledge of Islam is probably limited almost exclusively to what you see on the news. Yet many of us have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and friends. Effective witness to such people requires that we know more about their religion than the television newscasters care to tell us. In this book, James White has done the church a great service by explaining to non-specialists exactly what this most significant religion really believes. A well-written and highly informative volume.

Carl R TruemanPaul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary

Here, finally, is a book that so many Christians have been waiting for: a clear, thorough, and compelling examination of the Quran. If Christians are going to engage the Muslim world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, then they need the necessary tools to accomplish that task. And this book is one of them. I highly recommend it.

Michael J. KrugerPresident and Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina

I am thrilled to see the publication of this much-needed book on a critically important subject, and my friend and colleague Dr. James White is uniquely equipped to write it. He has studied Islam carefully for many years and has engaged in countless dialogues and debates with Muslim leaders. He writes with compassion, respect, and careful scholarship.

Michael L. Brown, PhDPresident, FIRE School of Ministry, Concord, North Carolina Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Page Endorsements Introduction: Why Study the Quran?

1. The Quran and Muhammad of Mecca

2. The Quran: A Brief Introduction

3. Allah: Tawhid , Shirk , the Mithaq and the Fitra

4. Say Not Three: The Quran and the Trinity

5. Jesus in the Quran

6. The Quran and the Cross

7. The Scales: Salvation in the Quran

8. Did the People of the Book Corrupt the Gospel?

9. Prophecies of Muhammad in the Bible

10. The Perfection of the Quran? Parallels and Sources

11. The Perfection of the Quran? Transmission and Text

Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Glossary Bibliography Biblical Reference Index Quran Reference Index Subject Index About the Author Other Books by James R. White Back Ads Back Cover Introduction Why Study the Quran? The Quran is the kalaam of Allah, not created, and whoever states that it is created is a disbeliever.
Imam Malik was asked concerning one who says the Quran is created, what should be done to him? He replied, He should be forced to repent, and if he refuses, then his head should be cut off!

W hy would a believing Christian write a book about the Quran? If he does, why should believing Christians read it? Shouldnt we go to the Muslims to learn about their own sacred book?

In answering, I hope to encourage you to press forward through this book with a desire to understand and to make application. First, a response to these questions, and then a word to the two audiences I have in mind as I write.

In the three decades during which I have been involved in Christian ministry, I have studied a number of religious movements that are in direct contradiction to and in conflict with my own faith. I learned as a young person that the single best way to honor the truth and to show honor to those you seek to reach is to hear them in their own language, that is, to enter into their worldview and their theology. I have done this primarily through first reading their own works (not just resources directed to outsiders, but more important, those written for internal consumption) and listening to sermons and lectures designed for their fellow believers.

There is no substitute for original sources, to be sure. But havent I now argued against reading this book by a Christian about the Muslim holy book?

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