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Paul Meets Muhammad: A Christian-Muslim Debate on the Resurrection

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There are many differences between Islam and Christianity. One of the major differences concerns what happened to Jesus at Calvary. Did Jesus die on the cross and rise again on the third day, or did he not? Christians of course believe that he did, while Muslims deny it.

One way to compare these claims and counter-claims is to provide a close examination of both what the Bible and the Koran say about the issue. Another way would be to compare Christian scholarship with Muslim scholarship on the issue. Michael Licona combines both elements in a cleverly devised format.

He puts these arguments and counter-argument in the form of a debate between the apostle Paul and Muhammad. Paul of course was one of the greatest apostles of Jesus, while Muhammad was the prophet of Allah. Licona asks the reader to imagine these two heavyweights locked in a major debate about the resurrection.

Arguments are given, responses are made, and the debate goes back and forth. After a series of arguments and rebuttals, a number of issues are tackled in a discussion period, followed by closing statements of each debater. This in turn is followed by the moderator's closing summation.

While the debate is of course fictitious, the issues involved are not. Indeed, they center on the very heart of the Christian gospel, and have to do with monumental truth claims.

Thus the importance of the debate. If one side is speaking truth on this issue, then the other must not be. Both sides cannot simultaneously be speaking truth on this topic, for the one side negates the other. Either Jesus died on the cross and rose again or he did not. If Christianity is right on this point, then Islam is wrong.

Licona shows, through his two main characters, that he is suitably qualified to host this debate. He is well versed, of course, with the claims of Christianity, but he also shows a deep understanding of the counter-claims of Islam.

As such, he can clearly and logically lay out the various claims and counter-claims. As an example, according to the gospel accounts, Jesus predicted that he would meet a violent death. Muhammad (and Islam) regard Jesus as a great prophet. But if Jesus did not die a violent death, then he must have been a false prophet. If so, not only Christians, but Muslims as well, would find this most troubling. Both the Christian gospels and the Koran would be wrong concerning Jesus if in fact he turned out to be a false prophet.

In this and many other discussions, Licona (through Paul) strongly makes the case for the actual death and resurrection of Jesus. The cumulative evidence is just too strong to be denied. Indeed, the Christian view of the resurrection of Jesus best explains all of the evidence available to us.

And the counter theories of Muslims - that Jesus did not die but was either rescued or substituted - simply lack any evidence. It takes more faith to believe the Koranic version of events than it does to accept the biblical version. All the evidence points to the Christian account as the most logically and intellectually satisfying.

With Islam becoming more and more prominent in Western societies, it is imperative the Christians are aware of both their own faith, and the claims of Islam, especially on this central issue of the resurrection. And this book does a superb job of laying out these differing beliefs.

In this book, the author frames a debate between the Apostle Paul and the Prophet Muhammad on the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. To accomplish this, he chooses the fictional setting of a debate between two holograms, using arguments created using artificial intelligence drawn from an extensive database of the writings of the two participants. The idea is, with a complete set of their writings, their debate styles, theologies, and responses to questions can be analyzed and replicated using AI, with holograms delivering those arguments in a simulated debate. The fictional debate takes place as part of demonstration of new cutting edge technology developed by MIT.

On one hand, I would much rather have seen the debate take place in a fictional meeting between the two men out in the desert or some other poetic location. On the other hand, this is a creative literary device that drives home the point that the arguments in the book are comprehensive, based on a full analysis of the writings of these men, so that debate is not biased or slanted toward one position or another. The evidence simply is what it is.

Indeed, although the author is a Christian, he went out of his way to not only be fair to the arguments from Islam, but to solicit input from Muslim friends to help strengthen "Muhammad's" arguments. The result, I believe, is a fair, well-balanced debate between the two sides that will be refreshing and informative. It is interesting to note that most of the Muslim arguments are not unique to Islam. They are the same arguments used against Jesus' resurrection by skeptics at large, so the relevance of this debate extends far beyond Christians and Muslims to anyone of any faith (or no faith).

Although the material will be freshest for readers who are not familiar with the evidence for the resurrection, for those who are Licona takes an unusual approach that presents much of this material in a fresh way. Typically, Muslims point to perceived flaws in the gospel accounts to bolster their case against the resurrection. In this debate, however, Licona chose to base the strength of the Christian argument on evidence outside the gospels. Rather than appearing to sidestep potential problem areas, "Paul" seeks to show that the Christian position is not dependent upon the gospel accounts and stands as firm without them. It is an interesting approach that changes the debate from many perspectives and is well worth reading.

If I will be allowed a nit, it is that, by taking this approach, Licona narrows the focus of the evidence to such an extent that, in my mind, much of the equally powerful evidence for the resurrection is excluded. While attempting to keep the focus on empirical evidence accepted by most, if not all, biblical scholars (regardless of their position on this issue), in my mind, the author's choice makes the arguments between the two debaters appear more equal than they really are.

Still, this is an excellent introduction to the issues on both sides of the resurrection debate. If the debate piques readers' interest, I recommend that they follow up with additional books, starting with "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus," which Licona co-wrote with Gary Habermas, which provides the kind of detail not possible in this format.

I picked up this book because I thought it would be a great follow-up to the Islamic Survey class I just completed. I was right in my assumption. The book is well-written and a quick read. Essentially, the author creates a fictional debate regarding the resurrection of Christ between the Apostle Paul and Muhammad (regarded as The Prophet in the Islamic faith). I thought this was a great idea, unfortunately, the author felt the need to create an inane little back story that involves scientists creating exact holographic replicas of historic figures ... it should be noted that Mr. Licona will never be an award winning science fiction author. I would of preferred the author just simply ask me to suspend reality for the duration of his book. Once the content of the book delved into the actual debate, however, it was quite entertaining.

Paul basically frames an argument supporting the resurrection based on historical information rather than scripture. His argument seems to be that scripture will better serve the unbeliever if first set in the proper historical context. Muhammad counters with the Quran's view that the resurrection never ocurred. According to Islam, Jesus was either substituted for on the cross by another (thus creating an illusion later that He has been resurrected) or never died on the cross to begin with (this theory asserts that God the Father intervened and prevented Jesus from dying).

The book does a great job of clearly presenting both sides of the debate (Licona, a Christian, consulted Muslim friends to properly present their side). The arguments are "fair and balanced" and Licona makes no attempt to "bully" his readers to believe one way or another. Readers are free to draw their own conclusions from the debate. I am not entirely sure Licona did justice to the great oratory skills of either Paul or Muhammad, but I did enjoy his effort.

Contrary to many skeptics who have posted their opinions of Mr.Licona's book on Amazon, I believe it was cleverly written, historically accurate, and unbiased. Licona convey's the Muslim side of the Resurrection better than most Muslim scholars and debaters could. Another thing I like about Licona's writing style is that he is not Politically Correct. I recommend "Paul Meets Muhammad" to anyone who is searching for evidence regarding the Resurrection, regardless of your current relgious affiliation. The book also gives a close look at both Christianity and Islam's origins, which will satisfy folks interested in history.

A great book defending the truth of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth written by one of the leading scholars writing on the subject today.

This fictional debate was similar in content to an actual debate that took place in 2004 where Licona defeated Muslim apologist Shabir Ally.

This book is a very entertaining way to learn how credible the Christian faith is. The book is fascinating and once I really got into it, I couldn't really put it down. So maybe some could say that this isn't the way that Paul and Muhammad would have debated, but ultimately that really isn't the point. Licona uses Islam's best arguements against Jesus' resurrection and then shows how irrational they are, a predictable result as Muslim apologetics are infantile compared to what we have in Christianity, as our faith is historic and evidential, and our faith is in reason, not a blind faith. I am currently talking to a muslim gentleman at my work and he is very well read, so it prompted me to pick up a couple of books. This is nice. God bless Michael R Licona. peace

I really enjoyed reading Mike Licona'a book, "Paul Meets Muhammad".

The task of contrasting two different religions has the potential to go deep quickly and lose many readers in heavy philosophical points but Licona's innovative approach of how he introduced the contrast of the two beliefs kept it lively and informative.

The concept of Paul debating Muhammad was ingenious and he handled the exchanges in a fair and well balanced manner. Paul's role in the book placed him with the greater burden of proof for his position because of his claim about the resurrection of Jesus. This was explained properly and handled deftly in the book.

If you are like most individuals, that is, you are more familiar to one side than the other (because you are a Muslim or a Christian) you should find the dialogue stimulating because it challenges each persons position as you would expect in a formalized debate. If you did not know the authors background you would not know which position he was an advocate of.

All religions/world views require faith for any person to have belief in them. However, because we each possess the ability to reason we have to have sufficient evidence to accept intellectually the claims we are asked to believe and then have faith in. After all, you do "think" you believe before you can say or feel "I believe". This book does a great job of introducing the reader to the basic positions of each side and the evidence used to support them.

This is a "quick read" type book and that must indicate it was well written. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Initially I thought this was going to be a straw man type of read. I had heard good things about the book and heard an interview with the author. I was still hesitant till I saw the author in a debate. I had to get the book and wasn't disappointed. I will read this more than once for sure.

This is an excellent way to compare Christianity with the Muslim Religion. People want to check out the facts. Their faith needs some assurance that it is based on facts.

What if? What if the Apostle Paul and Muhammad were able to holographically debate the topic of Jesus crucified and resurrected?

Well here it is in this book. Author Licona in fiction form informed by his careful study of Christianity and Islam has MIT scientists who develop computer program informed by writings about these two pivotal relgious figures who disagree on the topic holigraphically appear at a large football stadium and have it out on the topic.

For those of us who have already heard most of the argument previously, it is fun and yet informs on some points, such as never heard of the spear point just prodding Jesus out of slumber. For those who haven't heard these arguments reasoned pro and con, this would be great opportunity to confront this vital topic.

As many have commented, Licona does admirable job of resisting giving Paul all the intelligent lines and reasoning, but gives Muhammad a forum to present his case reasonably and as well as can be made.

I was made aware of this book by a true pro in this field, has his doctorate in Christian-Muslim relations and ws presenter at a forum my church hosted. He confronted about thirty young Muslims with this challenge: I can provide substantial historical evidence that Jesus was crucified, dead and buried. The Quran denies this, yet you have no historical evidence to back it up.

This for me still is the jewel out of this fun reading debate. Seek the truth, then embrace it.