This past week, I posted a book notice about Doug Coleman’s fine new book, A Theological Analysis of the Insider’s Movement.[1] Because the book notice prompted some vigorous discussion, I thought it might be helpful to post an excerpt from an essay I am writing on theological method. In the essay, I try to show how significant one’s theological method is for ministry and mission in general. In the excerpted portion, below, I try to … [Read More]
Book Notice: “A Theological Analysis of the Insider Movement”
Doug Coleman, PhD in Applied Theology with Missions from SEBTS, has recently published his dissertation: A Theological Analysis of the Insider Movement Paradigm from Four Perspectives: Theology of Religions, Revelation, Soteriology and Ecclesiology in the EMS Dissertation Series (WICU Press, 2011). His work evaluates the Insider Movement paradigm (IMP)–a proposal that faith in Jesus does not require severing ties with one’s pre-faith religious community–from four perspectives: the theology of religions, the doctrine of revelation, soteriology, … [Read More]
Muslim Conversions to Christ
In his recently published Muslim Conversions to Christ, Ant Greenham argues that, despite the difficulties of reaching the Islamic world with the gospel, individual Muslims do put their faith in Christ. Greenham, Assistant Professor of Missions and Islamic Studies at Southeastern, identified from the literature a range of conversion factors and consequently conducted a qualitative study of eleven male and eleven female Palestinians in January 2003 to identify their … [Read More]
J. D. Greear’s “Breaking the Islam Code”
We at BtT would like to make you aware of a new book, Breaking the Islam Code, written by J. D. Greear. There are four reasons in particular why you want to click here in order to purchase the book and read it immediately.
First, the book is a fine consideration of how to answer the questions of our Muslim neighbors. While Muslims often ask why Christians would believe a Bible that has been “corrupted and … [Read More]
What Hath Jerusalem to Do with Mecca? Evangelicals Respond to “A Common Word”
This year the Evangelical Theological Society holds its annual meeting in New Orleans on Nov. 18-20, and one session warrants special attention. On Wednesday, Nov.18, 8 - 11 am, J P Moreland will chair a panel discussion of A Common Word, with John Piper and Al Mohler among the participants (a schedule of the program can be found here).
What is A Common Word? In October 11, 2007, 138 Islamic clerics and scholars from 43 nations issued a joint statement called A … [Read More]
Augustine for the 21st Century (3): What Can We Learn from Augustine’s Apologetic Strategy?
Augustine teaches 21st century evangelicals how to defend the faith in their respective contexts. Among the many lessons we may learn from him, one is central: We as Christians must “out-narrate the narrators.” In the face of the narratives emerging from naturalist, pantheist, and Muslim worldviews, we must communicate the biblical narrative in such a way as to show that it alone makes sense of the world.
Like Augustine, we must expose the flaws in competing … [Read More]
Global Context (NAME): The Arabs in History
This series of posts deals with the global context in its many dimensions-historical, social, cultural, political, economic, and religious. We will provide book notices, book reviews, and brief essays on these topics. We hope that you will find this series helpful as you live and bear witness in a complex and increasingly hyper-connected world.
Bernard Lewis’ The Arabs in History is was first published in 1958, revised in 1993, and is still fruitful for the beginning … [Read More]
Global Context: Europe, Islam, and Christianity
God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe’s Religious Crisis
Reviewed By: Bruce Riley Ashford
Entire forests have been chopped down in order to promulgate the literature that has been written on the religious crisis in Europe, including especially the secularization of Europeans and influx of Islamic immigrants. Bat Y’eor, in Eurabia (2005), argued that Europe is being subverted by Islamic hostility toward the very virtues, values, and vision of Europe herself. Bruce Bawer, in While Europe Slept (2007) … [Read More]
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Reviewed by: Bruce Riley Ashford
If you are interested in a slim little novel that is both informative and inflammatory, you have found your book. Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist is about one young Pakistani’s initial infatuation with America and his ensuing disillusionment. It is an allegory meant to instruct Americans about the global community’s perceptions of their country.
The hero is Changez, a young Pakistani from Lahore. Hamid frames the story by means of … [Read More]
Global Context (CA-Afghanistan): The Kite Runner
Global Context (Central Asia-Afghanistan): The Kite Runner
This series of posts deals with the global context in its historical, social, cultural, political, economic, demographic, and religious dimensions in particular. We will provide book notices, book reviews, and brief essays on these topics. We hope that you will find this series helpful as you live and bear witness in a complex and increasingly hyper-connected world.
Khaled Hosseini’s stunning debut novel is the masterfully told story of two boys … [Read More]


