The Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: Three Books, Two Cities, One Tale

by Anton Wessels, Nicholas Wolterstorff (Foreword by)

Overview

Discussing the Bible and the Qur'an in one breath will surprise some Jews, Christians, and Muslims. But Anton Wessels argues that all three traditions must read the Scriptures together and not against each other. As his book title suggests, the three books, in the end, are actually one tale.

Wessels accepts Muhammad as a prophet and takes the Qur'an seriously as Holy Scripture along with the Old and New Testaments — without giving up his own Christian convictions. Respectfully reading the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur'an together, he argues, is of crucial importance: our world often sees these religious books as the cause of conflicts rather than the solution to them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802869081
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/30/2013
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Anton Wessels is an ordained Presbyterian minister andprofessor emeritus of religion at the Free University ofAmsterdam. His other books include Europe: Was It EverReally Christian? and Muslims and the West: CanThey Be Integrated?


 
Nicholas Wolterstorff is Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University. Before going to Yale he taught philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for thirty years. His other books include Justice in Love, Educating for Shalom, The God We Worship, and Lament for a Son.

Table of Contents

Foreword Nicholas Wolterstorff ix

Preface xi

Abbreviations xxi

I "A Tale of Two Cities" in History 1

II Is Muhammad One of the Prophets? 31

III The Choice before the Human Being: Caliph or King? 55

IV Exodus from Babel to Jerusalem, Hijra from Mecca to Medina 82

V The Ideals and the Reality of the Promised City, the Land, and the Earth 108

VI Solomon and the Queen of Sheba/Bilqîs in Jerusalem 129

VII Violence in the City 145

VIII Prayer of Intercession for the City of Sodom 171

IX What Threatens the City? Gog and Magog: Mammon and Moloch 190

X How Is the Victory over the Cities Viewed? 218

XI To Whom Does the Victory Belong? 237

Glossary 259

Bibliography 284

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

Charles Amjad-Ali
— Luther Seminary
"Only an erudite, excellent, and critical scholar like Anton Wessels could have brought such seemingly disparate elements together in such a brilliant and enlightening way. . . . This coherent tour de force invites us to reevaluate our perspectives on truth, history, revelation, and even the divine. As always, Wessels opens up new vistas. I recommend this timely and pertinent book to anyone interested in a peaceful and just world. It is intellectually stimulating and one of the most hopeful books in our current polarized context."

Heidi Hadsell
— Hartford Seminary
"A remarkable, helpful resource for reading the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an in relation to each other focused on central questions that arise in each. . . . The reader will learn a lot about Qur’anic and biblical texts and their contexts and will have to rethink some basic assumptions about his or her religious tradition, particularly pertaining to its relationship with the other religious traditions ‘of the book.’ This is just the kind of thought and conversation that we sorely need today in order to build constructive and peaceful relationships across our religious boundaries."

From the Publisher