While nearly every religion has a text which it considers sacred, not every sacred text is equal in nature, composition, transmission, and use. Nabeel Qureshi reveals this in No God but One: Allah or Jesus?, his investigation of the evidence for Islam and Christianity.

In the book’s thought-provoking, revealing comparison between the Quran and the Bible, Qureshi exposes seven important differences between these texts. “Both scriptures are considered holy to their people, certainly, but their uses are different, their histories are different, and indeed, their very natures are understood differently” (104).

1) The Quran Is the Jewel of Islam

In 2011, the burning of a Quran by a Florida pastor incited violence, even though a few years prior the US Government incinerated a…

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(Can’t see the video? Watch it here)

What book, person, or ideas has influenced you the most?

Jay E. Smith, coeditor of Studies in the Pauline Epistles, shares an interesting concept, one I haven’t considered before but makes sense as a teacher and exegete.

As Smith explains, “There’s this notion sometimes among people in the church that [the biblical documents] are random fragments spun out by these great religious teachers…they’re more proverbial. And my job is to read through them and find the verse for the day.”

Yet he realized each author is making an argument we need to carefully follow from beginning to end.

Perhaps this seems basic, but this notion led Smith to realize early on that Scripture isn’t fragmented, but interconnection—which made an important impact on his life…

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Matthew Young on Seeking Justice in the Midst of the Charleston Tragedy

A horrible tragedy occurred earlier this week, when a young white male walked into Emanuel A.M.E. church in historic Charleston, South Carolina, and killed nine congregation members. Unfortunately, many common responses to the massacre threaten to undermine efforts to seek real, substantive justice.

Russell Moore on the Cross and the Confederate Flag

This week the nation reels over the murder of praying Christians in an historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. At the same time, one of the issues hurting many is the Confederate Battle Flag flying at full-mast from the South Carolina Capitol grounds even in the aftermath of this racist act of violence on innocent people. This raises the question of what we as Christians ought to think about the Confederate…

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Thousands of years later, people are still fascinated and intrigued by the Bible.

And skeptical. The recent Newsweek Christmas cover story bears witness to this.

Mostly people just don’t know what to make of the Bible. They wonder, “How does this book know that about me? How does it know that about our world—especially when it was written so long ago?”

John Dickson hopes to guide the fascinated and intrigued, skeptical and curious alike with his new book A Doubter’s Guide to the Bible.

It’s an ambitious project, to be sure, because what he offers is “a snapshot of the worldview and lifestyle the Bible inspires;” it’s a “‘biblical primer’ for those who aren’t sure what to make of the Bible.” (11)

Peter Enns Responds to Eichenwald’s Newsweek Article on The Bible

Kurt Eichenwald’s Christmas missive in Newsweek, “The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s A Sin,” has predictably gotten it’s share of strong reactions.

As others have pointed out, Eichenwald’s rhetoric is inflammatory, and his grasp of the issues is second-hand–at points rather naive, at least from the point of view of those who have been around the block a few times on the issues he raises, and especially those who work with the Bible for a living.

But he’s still basically right…

Dan Wallace Responds to Eichenwald’s Newsweek Article on The Bible

Every year, at Christmas and Easter, several major magazines, television programs, news agencies, and publishing houses love to rattle the faith of Christians by proclaiming loudly and obnoxiously that there are contradictions in the Bible, that Jesus…

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