3 more books I've read

More books I've read:

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel; Author investigates 8 of the toughest objections to Christianity:

Since Evil and Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot
Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True
Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed
God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocent Children
It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God
A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell
Church History Is Littered with Oppression and Violence
I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian

I especially enjoyed learning some new things about evolutionists in the third chapter. The case for God not being worthy of worship (# 4) answered some questions I had concerning the Old Testament battles. I am glad to have some answers. I found the chapter on church history very good. The final case on still having doubts was wonderful as well. Although parts of this book were a bit over my head, mostly it was beneficial. I only had problems with the chapter on hell because the scholar interviewed didn't believe in a literal fire. It was just something I was unfamiliar with and since I'd just read 23 Minutes in Hell not long before, I was not on the same page as the scholar. Overall, very good book. Recommend.


Does My Head Look Too Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The author is a Muslim lady of Palestinian and Egyptian descent who lives in Australia. Her book was recommended in an e-mail I receive from The Crescent Project. I found it in the youth fiction section of the public library. This book is about a teenage Muslim who decides to start wearing the hijab. It shows how typical she is and basically shows her at school and home and with her friends. The e-mail said this book would help us gain some insight to Muslims. Here is a review:

"The details of Amal's family and social life are spot-on, and the book is wonderful at showing the diversity within Muslim communities and in explaining why so many women choose to wear the hijab."- School Library Journal




Meeting Islam: A Guide for Christians by George Dardess

This book was written by a Catholic deacon in Rochester, NY. He presented many aspects of Islam in a pleasant way by comparing and contrasting them with Biblical counterparts. For instance, he showed how the hijab and the veil of the temple were related and how they differed. He touched on Isa of the Qu'ran compared to Jesus of the Bible without getting into the major differences Muslims and Christians have here. I learned about salat, taqwa (compared to the ten virgins in the Bible -- watchfulness, readiness), abd and wali (compared to Mary and Martha), jihad and the Christian's "fighting the good fight of faith," takbir and "hallowed by Thy name."

While I sincerely admire the author for his genuine love for Muslims in his area and for the way he and the Muslims have formed alliances, I was left wondering about a few things in this book. Namely, the author seems to think the Qu'ran is from God. I got the impression from him that both the Bible and Qu'ran were from God so I was left confused how he came to this conclusion and kept his Christianity intact. This book gave me a real appreciation for the devotion of Muslims, but it raised a lot of questions which I would have loved for the author to address. The Bible says God is not the author of confusion, but having two "words of God" IS confusing when their messages concerning salvation are vastly different. Both may be wrong, but both cannot be right. Can they?