Assistant Professor of Missions and Theology at Cedarville University. Specializing in Islamic studies and Missiology. Address: Cedarville, OH, United States
Jenkins Center for a Christian Understanding of Islam at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019
A book review of Ayman Ibrahim and Ant Greenham's edited volume, Muslim Conversions to Christ
ht... more A book review of Ayman Ibrahim and Ant Greenham's edited volume, Muslim Conversions to Christ
A book review of Winfried Corduan's book, "In the Beginning God" in which Dr Corduan makes a comp... more A book review of Winfried Corduan's book, "In the Beginning God" in which Dr Corduan makes a compelling argument from anthropological data for original monotheism.
For 1400 years, Muslims and Christians in interfaith dialogue have encountered a perennial impass... more For 1400 years, Muslims and Christians in interfaith dialogue have encountered a perennial impasse surrounding the historical account of Jesus’ death. For most Muslims who hold a traditional interpretation of the Qur’an, Jesus did not die on the cross, but was assumed to heaven and another was crucified in his place. For Christians, however, the cross and subsequent resurrection are the center of gospel faith. This article recognizes the impasse over the crucifixion, but proposes that the conceptual distance surrounding the concept of atonement is a prior concern that needs to be addressed before one overcomes the historical question. In order to consider the barriers to communication and mutual understanding surrounding Jesus’ cross, we must first recognize that the qur’anic understanding of atonement presents linguistic, ritual, narrative, and worldview barriers to a biblical understanding of atonement. As such, before one answers the question, “Did Jesus die on the cross?” it is ...
From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulat... more From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulated, believed, and practiced in a multitude of cultural contexts. Its Scriptures have been translated into a multitude of languages, and its manifestations have appeared in countless places and eras. The task of the Christian missionary, then, is the translation of the unchanging message of the gospel into the changing contexts of the world in a perennial dance requiring exegesis of both text and context. To avoid the imposition of extra-contextual interpretive pressure, some missionaries and global theologians encourage the development of contextual Christologies that prioritize concepts and terms relevant and native to the culture over biblical or creedal terminology. To the contrary, this article contends that the Chalcedonian articulation of the Sonship of the second person of the trinity has enduring cross-cultural relevance for contemporary Christian missiology.
The Qur'an endorses and reveres Jesus, providing Christian missionaries with communicative tracti... more The Qur'an endorses and reveres Jesus, providing Christian missionaries with communicative traction as they can lean into a shared Messiah. Or does it? This article compares the qur'anic Jesus ('Isa) and the biblical Jesus (Yasua') in order to investigate whether or not the apparent similarity extends beyond superficial similarities. By employing Daniel Strange's categories of "remnants revelation" and "subversive fulfillment" as a helpful heuristic for assessment, this article contends that the two Jesus characters are not compatible. In fact, the Qur'an's use of 'Isa appears to be an attempt to subvert the message and work of the biblical Yasua'. As a result, it recommends rejection of the missiological impulse to utilize the qur'anic nomenclature in evangelism, discipleship, and Bible translation. Such attempts at contextualization are counter-productive since this name is inextricably tied to a character whose intent it to subvert the message and work of the biblical Jesus.
An analysis of Clark Pinnock's use of Hebrews 11:1-7 to argue for inclusivist soteriology. The th... more An analysis of Clark Pinnock's use of Hebrews 11:1-7 to argue for inclusivist soteriology. The thesis of the paper is that an exegetical treatment of Hebrews 11:1-7 reveals that it cannot bear the weight of inclusivism Pinnock assigns to it.
Evangelical Theological Society National Conference, 2022
Muslims often claim the purportedly perfect preservation of the Qur'an from the time of Muhammad ... more Muslims often claim the purportedly perfect preservation of the Qur'an from the time of Muhammad through today as grounds for privileging qur'anic authority over biblical authority. Such a claim, however, cannot be substantiated either through manuscript evidence or through consultation of Islamic traditions. This paper has a modest goal of exposing the fact that qur'anic preservation--remarkable in its own right--has not been perfect and thus the two texts need to be evaluated on different criteria than the supposed privilege of divine preservation.
This paper was invited to be presented in response to the book, "Qur'an Hermeneutics" by Abdulla ... more This paper was invited to be presented in response to the book, "Qur'an Hermeneutics" by Abdulla Galadari at ETS 2020 in the Method in Systematic Theology section.
ETS 2020 :: This paper addresses four barriers to communicating a biblical presentation of the at... more ETS 2020 :: This paper addresses four barriers to communicating a biblical presentation of the atonement to a Muslim audience. It addresses the lexical, ritual, narrative, and worldview barriers that exist conceptually prior to the historical question, "Did Jesus die on the cross and rise again?"
From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulat... more From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulated, believed, and practiced in a multitude of cultural contexts. Its Scriptures have been translated into a multitude of languages, and its manifestations have appeared in countless places and eras. The task of the Christian missionary, then, is the translation of the unchanging message of the gospel into the changing contexts of the world in a perennial dance requiring exegesis of both text and context. To avoid the imposition of extra-contextual interpretive pressure, some missionaries and global theologians encourage the development of contextual Christologies that prioritize concepts and terms relevant and native to the culture over biblical or creedal terminology. To the contrary, this article contends that the Chalcedonian articulation of the Sonship of the second person of the trinity has enduring cross-cultural relevance for contemporary Christian missiology.
Jenkins Center for a Christian Understanding of Islam at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019
A book review of Ayman Ibrahim and Ant Greenham's edited volume, Muslim Conversions to Christ
ht... more A book review of Ayman Ibrahim and Ant Greenham's edited volume, Muslim Conversions to Christ
A book review of Winfried Corduan's book, "In the Beginning God" in which Dr Corduan makes a comp... more A book review of Winfried Corduan's book, "In the Beginning God" in which Dr Corduan makes a compelling argument from anthropological data for original monotheism.
For 1400 years, Muslims and Christians in interfaith dialogue have encountered a perennial impass... more For 1400 years, Muslims and Christians in interfaith dialogue have encountered a perennial impasse surrounding the historical account of Jesus’ death. For most Muslims who hold a traditional interpretation of the Qur’an, Jesus did not die on the cross, but was assumed to heaven and another was crucified in his place. For Christians, however, the cross and subsequent resurrection are the center of gospel faith. This article recognizes the impasse over the crucifixion, but proposes that the conceptual distance surrounding the concept of atonement is a prior concern that needs to be addressed before one overcomes the historical question. In order to consider the barriers to communication and mutual understanding surrounding Jesus’ cross, we must first recognize that the qur’anic understanding of atonement presents linguistic, ritual, narrative, and worldview barriers to a biblical understanding of atonement. As such, before one answers the question, “Did Jesus die on the cross?” it is ...
From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulat... more From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulated, believed, and practiced in a multitude of cultural contexts. Its Scriptures have been translated into a multitude of languages, and its manifestations have appeared in countless places and eras. The task of the Christian missionary, then, is the translation of the unchanging message of the gospel into the changing contexts of the world in a perennial dance requiring exegesis of both text and context. To avoid the imposition of extra-contextual interpretive pressure, some missionaries and global theologians encourage the development of contextual Christologies that prioritize concepts and terms relevant and native to the culture over biblical or creedal terminology. To the contrary, this article contends that the Chalcedonian articulation of the Sonship of the second person of the trinity has enduring cross-cultural relevance for contemporary Christian missiology.
The Qur'an endorses and reveres Jesus, providing Christian missionaries with communicative tracti... more The Qur'an endorses and reveres Jesus, providing Christian missionaries with communicative traction as they can lean into a shared Messiah. Or does it? This article compares the qur'anic Jesus ('Isa) and the biblical Jesus (Yasua') in order to investigate whether or not the apparent similarity extends beyond superficial similarities. By employing Daniel Strange's categories of "remnants revelation" and "subversive fulfillment" as a helpful heuristic for assessment, this article contends that the two Jesus characters are not compatible. In fact, the Qur'an's use of 'Isa appears to be an attempt to subvert the message and work of the biblical Yasua'. As a result, it recommends rejection of the missiological impulse to utilize the qur'anic nomenclature in evangelism, discipleship, and Bible translation. Such attempts at contextualization are counter-productive since this name is inextricably tied to a character whose intent it to subvert the message and work of the biblical Jesus.
An analysis of Clark Pinnock's use of Hebrews 11:1-7 to argue for inclusivist soteriology. The th... more An analysis of Clark Pinnock's use of Hebrews 11:1-7 to argue for inclusivist soteriology. The thesis of the paper is that an exegetical treatment of Hebrews 11:1-7 reveals that it cannot bear the weight of inclusivism Pinnock assigns to it.
Evangelical Theological Society National Conference, 2022
Muslims often claim the purportedly perfect preservation of the Qur'an from the time of Muhammad ... more Muslims often claim the purportedly perfect preservation of the Qur'an from the time of Muhammad through today as grounds for privileging qur'anic authority over biblical authority. Such a claim, however, cannot be substantiated either through manuscript evidence or through consultation of Islamic traditions. This paper has a modest goal of exposing the fact that qur'anic preservation--remarkable in its own right--has not been perfect and thus the two texts need to be evaluated on different criteria than the supposed privilege of divine preservation.
This paper was invited to be presented in response to the book, "Qur'an Hermeneutics" by Abdulla ... more This paper was invited to be presented in response to the book, "Qur'an Hermeneutics" by Abdulla Galadari at ETS 2020 in the Method in Systematic Theology section.
ETS 2020 :: This paper addresses four barriers to communicating a biblical presentation of the at... more ETS 2020 :: This paper addresses four barriers to communicating a biblical presentation of the atonement to a Muslim audience. It addresses the lexical, ritual, narrative, and worldview barriers that exist conceptually prior to the historical question, "Did Jesus die on the cross and rise again?"
From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulat... more From its earliest days, Christianity is a faith that has demonstrated its ability to be articulated, believed, and practiced in a multitude of cultural contexts. Its Scriptures have been translated into a multitude of languages, and its manifestations have appeared in countless places and eras. The task of the Christian missionary, then, is the translation of the unchanging message of the gospel into the changing contexts of the world in a perennial dance requiring exegesis of both text and context. To avoid the imposition of extra-contextual interpretive pressure, some missionaries and global theologians encourage the development of contextual Christologies that prioritize concepts and terms relevant and native to the culture over biblical or creedal terminology. To the contrary, this article contends that the Chalcedonian articulation of the Sonship of the second person of the trinity has enduring cross-cultural relevance for contemporary Christian missiology.
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