Abdu H. Murray - Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews

GRAND
CENTRAL
QUESTION

Answering the Critical Concerns
of the Major Worldviews

ABDU H. MURRAY
Foreword by Josh McDowell

www.IVPress.com/books

InterVarsity Press
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Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
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2014 by Abdu H. Murray

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org .

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Quran quotations are taken from Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary (Damascus: Ouloom AlQuran, 1934).

While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Design: Cindy Kiple

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ISBN 978-0-8308-9621-9 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-3665-9 (print)

For all those who labor for answers that touch the heart and stir the mind.

Contents

Foreword

If you care about the truth, this book is for you. I say that regardless of whether youre a Christian or a non-Christian.

Heres why Im so confident about that. For more than fifty years, Ive been talking to people all over the world about ultimate truth. Ive spoken to big audiences at packed arenas; Ive lectured at meetings of political and business leaders; and Ive spoken to waiters, cab drivers and hotel staff members. No matter how different people are and no matter what their walk of life or profession, they all have questions about ultimate truth. The nuances in those questions can be as different as the people asking, but the substance of those questions is similar.

People are looking for answers to the deepest questions in life. Some think that they have found the answers in a particular worldview or religion, but many are still looking. Maybe their worldview gives them answers to only some of their questions. Maybe it doesnt even get that far. The point is, they are looking. This book, Grand Central Question, is meant both for the people looking for those answers and for those who want to know how to provide the answers lovingly and intelligently.

When sincere seekers ask for answers to challenging questions, many Christians are left without much to say. Its frustrating that Christians have the most important things to say about the most important questions in life, yet theyre often silent because theyre timid, frustrated or overly cautious about engaging with someone about difficult issues. Some Christians might be timid because they think they dont know how to answer tough questions or how to articulate the answers persuasively. They might be frustrated because they feel they dont know enough about a questioners background or worldview to be able to talk to him. And some Christians might be so afraid of offending someone by saying that Jesus is the only way to God that they never actually say anything.

But people deserve to be told Jesus message in a persuasive way. In Grand Central Question, Abdu has provided us with a way to get around those barriers to sharing the truth. This book aims at both the heart and the mind when it presents biblically centered answers to the fundamental questions weve all had.

Thats how I know that this book is for you. If youre a Christian, Grand Central Question will give you the confidence, understanding and method to be able to offer profound answers to significant questions. If youre not a Christian, and you want to know if the gospel has anything to offer that will not only satisfy your intellectual quest but also be relevant to your life, youll find these answers clearly articulated in Grand Central Question.

I recommend this book to you because of the way Abdu has blended questions of the mind with issues of the heart. He has done his homework, and hes pulled no punches in comparing the major worldviews with the answers provided by the gospel of Jesus Christ. But hes done so with winsomeness and understanding. You see, Abdu wasnt raised in the church. He spent most of his life as a Muslim. In his effort to spread the message of Islam, he tested the claims that other worldviews made, including atheism, Eastern religions, Islam and Christianity. He put them all to the test, and at the end of the day, he found that the Christian faith stood up to the challenges. He found that the gospel didnt just give emotional answers. And he found that it didnt just provide intellectual answers. He found that it was worth believing because the intellectual answers it provided to the toughest questions were emotionally satisfying.

Abdus experience as a lawyer and his knowledge of real-life observation have allowed him to do two things in writing Grand Central Question. First, he has kept the perspective of what its like to be a non-Christian investigating Christianity and dealing with Christians. Thats no small thing. If youre a Christian, your witness for Christ is made better when you know what the person you are talking with is going through or is thinking about. Abdu presents the material in this book in a way that puts you in the mindset of the truth seeker so you can present the gospel with credibility. If youre not a Christian, youll find that Abdu has taken the time to understand what you think about Christians and Christianity as you explore what it has to offer. He knows what its like to ask the hard questions. He knows what its like to not necessarily be thrilled when you find these answers, because sometimes the truth hurts. And Abdu knows what it is like to take the plunge and embrace the truth despite the pain. He knows its worth it.

Second, Abdus experience and research, both in dealing with followers of every worldview and from his background as a former Muslim, allow him to get right to the heart of the answers different groups are looking for and how the gospel can give those answers. By getting to the core issues, Grand Central Question gives us answers that speak to people of many different worldviews without requiring us to have a doctorate in comparative religions to do so. Abdu has cut right to the issues that secular humanists care about. He has examined the heart of what pantheists think is ultimately important. He has fairly and compassionately demonstrated what Muslims strive for in trying to submit to God. Abdu has validated their searches, and he has validated their questions. But he offers the gospels answers as the best and, in fact, the only answers to those questions.

I highly recommend that you read this book from start to finish. Dont skip the prologue. If you miss what Abdu says there, youll miss something critical to understanding how everyone struggles with the questions that matter most and how the truth can get lost in the struggle. But once youve read the prologue, you can jump to any major part of the book. If you want to try to understand Muslims, jump to part 3. If you are trying to understand what pantheists are concerned with and how the gospel addresses that concern, dive into part 2. And if secular humanist issues concern you, by all means, start at part 1.