A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue [Paperback]

Badru D. Kateregga (Author), David W. Shenk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Millions of Muslims and Christians are neighbors, and and they agree that they worship the one and only God. Yet they seldom witness to each other, and the issues they deal with are profound. Rather than an antagonistic interaction, Badru D. Kateregga and David W. Shenk pioneer another way--that of authentic dialogue between friends.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Herald Pr; New edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836190521
• ISBN-13: 978-0836190526
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #861,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Acurate detail, May 14, 2007

By 

Louann Roberts "Rev. Louann Roberts" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Paperback)

I read this book during seminary. I gave it to a muslim friend of mine because I wanted her to verify the Islamic viewpoint of the book. She verified the tenents of the faith described and was impressed with the side by side descriptions of beliefs. She felt it helped her to better understand the Christian faith. We have had some wonderful discussions due in part to Kateregga and Shenk's clear presentations. This book is a valuable tool opening up communication between Christians and Muslims.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate and Basic Details on Both Religions, September 11, 2010

By 

Tolga BALCI (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Paperback)

I have read the book on a Muslim side, having read the Quran and the Bible more than 3 times.

To begin with, the book is divided into two parts, with 12 chapters in each. The first part is the Muslim witness and the second part is the Christian witness. Each chapter is concluded with the other side's response. Following is the table of contents:

Part I. The Muslim Witness

1. There Is No God but Allah
2. The Creation
3. Adam and Hauwa
4. Satan and Evil
5. The Books of God
6. The Prophets of Allah
7. The Seal of Prophets
8. The Umma
9. Divine Guidance and Peace
10. Worship
11. Right Conduct
12. The Mission of the Umma

Part II: The Christian Witness

13. The Lord God is One
14. The Creation
15. Adam and Eve
16. Sin and Evil
17. The Word of God
18. The Prophets in History
19. Jesus the Messiah
20. Salvation
21. The Church
22. Worship and Fellowship
23. Right Conduct
24. The Mission of the Church

The subject, comparative religion is a very hard subject to discuss and to write on, due to the sensitivity of the subject. Throughout the book, both Kateregga (Muslim) and Shenk (Christian) never leaves courtesy, tolerance and politeness. This is one of the most important points to stress: neither on the Muslim nor on the Christian side, the style in no way irritates the reader. Plus, both authors kept well clear of emphasizing the "rightness" of one faith over the other. Plus, different schools in both religions, such as Qadariyah/Jabariyah in Islam and Protestantism/Catholicism in Christianity are briefly touched, but again not emphasized the "rightness" over the other.

The details in explaining the basics of faith, are noteworthy. Both Kateregga and Shenk base the details on Quran and the Holy Bible. They have presented their cases, indicated differences, cleared misunderstandings while maintaining their politeness. The details are presented with verses from the Quran and the Holy Bible, and Kateregga used Hadiths where necessary. The dialogue is at all times lively throughout the book. The reading is extremely pleasant for such a hard subject.

The book is a must-read for any person who wants to learn both of the religions with their faiths, together with their convergences and divergences. The book is not a child's book nor a boring academic thesis. It is in between and an invaluable reference with a very easy-to-follow style. But given the publishing date, 1997, I cannot help but wonder why the authors did not publish the second, or maybe the third volume up to now, which they could go further in their analysis.

As a final note for the readers who may be interested further in discovering Islam: stay away from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Koran by Sarwar and Toropov. Although I am a born-Muslim, this book is heavily biased and tries to impose the Muslim faith. It is not a book to purchase to understand Islam for a Western reader.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, June 29, 2008

By 

C. Stewart - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Paperback)

This is a good book to gain a basic understanding of the differences (and some of the similarities) between the faith of Muslims and Christians. The book is well written and a quick and easy read. The Muslim and Christian authors each write twelve chapters explaining their faiths around certain topics with a brief rebuttal from the other faith at the end of each chapter. From the Christian standpoint, this book answers some basic questions about the Muslim faith but also gives rise to some additional ones. This is a good book to begin the study of how Muslims think and how Christians and Muslims can open channels of dialogue about their respective faiths.