Archives For apologetics

bookHere’s my review of Dr. Nabeel Qureshi’s “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity”.

I read “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” by Nabeel Qureshi with the hope of getting a much-needed perspective-change from the typical Christian apologetics as it relates to navigating the subject of Islam and the Muslim world.

What I got was a book I couldn’t put down, couldn’t stop highlighting, and am still not sure what to do with upon completing reading it early this morning (instead of going to sleep at a decent hour, I might add).

Nabeel’s account is overwhelming. It’s inspiring. It’s real. I found myself laughing and crying – with most of the tears coming in the final few chapters of his account.

Admittedly, I was overwhelmed at the “Islamic Education” I seemed to be receiving while reading the first (more than) half of the book – the glossary was helpful and Nabeel was sure to walk slowly with those of us who are uneducated in these matters.

What I appreciated most from the book was Nabeel’s candid, personal glimpse at what following Christ cost him personally – without camping out on it – there is no attention-obtaining pursuits here – just a pure and unfiltered look at a real-life Muslim-turned-Christian and the journey that took place to get there.

I recommend this book – not just for its readability and personal-account storyline, but for the way it challenges the reader (if you look for it) to pursue building relationships with those outside our own faith-circles as a way of growing in our faith AND sharing the Gospel with our actions and words.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
qureshiDr. Nabeel Qureshi is a former devout Muslim who was convinced of the truth of the Gospel through historical reasoning and a spiritual search for God. Since his conversion, he has dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel through teaching, preaching, writing, and debating.

Nabeel has given lectures at universities and seminaries throughout North America, including Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Rutgers, University of Ottawa, University of North Carolina, Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Biola University. He has participated in 17 moderated, public debates around North America, Europe, and Asia. His focus is on the foundations of the Christian faith and the early history and teachings of Islam.

Follow Dr. Qureshi on Twitter and Facebook.
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Full disclosure: Nabeel sent me my copy of the book in exchange for my willingness to read and review it.

A few days ago, I was sent a copy of the DVD, “Christianity, Cults & Religions” to sample and review from Rose Publishing. This afternoon I made some time to sit and watch through the first of six lecture-based studies and was very impressed.

The lecturer, Paul Carden is extremely knowledgeable and easy-to-understand. The first session gives a well-grounded Biblical basis for a study of this nature and Carden gives ample reasoning for why Christians today need to go through a study of this nature.

I am already planning on using this study in my adult Sunday school class in a few weeks.

The DVD curriculum includes six 30-minute lectures from Carden as well as a supplemental DVD with a PDF of the Leader’s Guide which can be printed and used in the classroom setting.

The DVD retails for $29.99 and is available for purchase here if you’re interested.

Here is a promotion-video for the DVD-based study:

From the product description: “Paul Carden, one of the most respected specialists in this field, has spent 30 years researching, writing and broadcasting on the topics of cults and new religions. He is the general editor of the best-selling cults comparison chart, Christianity, Cults & Religions.”

Rose Publishing sent me a couple copies of Carden’s “Cults Comparison Chart” that I am giving away here on stevansheets.com

To be entered in a drawing to receive one of these glossy comparison charts, simply comment below leaving your contact information and I’ll pick the winners by November 1st. The comparison chart is available on Amazon.com for $3.99, but you can potentially get one sent to you FREE simply by commenting on this blog post! Check out the comparison chart’s description over at Amazon.

Here is a video showing the chart’s usefulness: