Reviews

John F. Maile, “The Ascension in Luke-Acts” in Tyndale Bulletin 37 (1986): 29-59.
In his Tyndale New Testament Lecture (1985) John Maile presents some helpful perspectives. He begins with the important observation that the ascension of Christ is presented by Luke as the culmination and climax to his Gospel and also as the most striking […]

Theodore Stylianopoulos, “‘I Know Your Works.’ Grace and Judgment in the Apocalypse” in Apocalyptic Thought in Early Christianity (Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History; ed. Robert J. Daly, SJ; Grand Rapids, Michigan: BakerAcademic, 2009) 17-32
Stylianopoulos observes that various references in Revelation appear to teach that “the standard by which God dispenses eschatological rewards […]

Bernard Lewis, the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, is a world authority on Islamic history. This summary continues a series, which aims at understanding Lewis’ thought with respect to Islam.
Following the common consensus, Lewis dates the modern history of the Middle East from 1798. It was then that […]

Don’t read this review if you are planning on reading the book or seeing the movie - I give the game away! I haven’t seen the movie yet, starring, among others, Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin. Here’s how I see the book.
Sara and Brian Fitzgerald’s daughter, Kate, is dying from a form of acute promyelocytic leukemia so rare that […]

This is my summary of what Lewis, as an historian of Islam, says in this article, in which he seeks to understand the reasons for current problems in the Islamic world. 
 Muslim modernizers, via reform or revolution, sought to bring Islam out of its 20th century malaise in three main areas:

Military: But this brought humiliating defeats.
Economic: Exacerbated dependence on […]

Lewis begins with the Arab-Islamic conquests in the seventh century, a time when Islam incorporated lands “from the Atlantic and the Pyrenees to the borders of India and China.” Lewis identifies two contrasting Iranian interpretations of these events:

A blessing: “the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism.”
A curse: […]

This is an extremely helpful book for understanding how to approach conflict across cultures. All the material is worthy of serious consideration, but as a former missionary in Pakistan and now, by virtue of my role, involved in helping develop various ministries across cultures, I found Chapter 10 with its emphasis on reciprocity of particular relevance.
Cross-Cultural […]

Duane Elmer heads up educational and international studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. This book provides very practical help for negotiating different cultures.
 Cross-Cultural Connections

George Yancey, One Body, One Spirit. Principles of Successful Multiracial Churches (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2003)
This book is based on data from a Lily Endowment study of multiracial churches across America. In Australia it is more appropriate to call such churches multiethnic churches. Yancey prefers “multiracial” to “multiethnic” because in American society “racial differences […]

Anderson was formerly the Professor of Oriental Laws and the Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in the University of London. He had lived in Egypt for 14 years and had visited most parts of the Muslim world. He wrote a number of books and many articles on Islam.
Islam in the Modern World

Qutb is widely regarded as an Islamic martyr and has had a profound impact not merely on the thought of  Muslims like Ayatollah Khomeini and Osama bin Laden, but also on modern Islamic thought in general.
Sayyid Qutb: Ideologue of Islamic Revival

Normally, I only summarise and/or critique books that have reasonable academic credibility. This book does not fall into this category. However, I have chosen to include this book because of its reverse value. That is, Christians have a lot to learn from Anderson about how to “call Muslims to Christ in today’s world”, even though […]

Dr. Mark Durie argues against Islamic claims that the God worshiped by Jews and Christians (YHWH) and the God worshiped by Muslims (Allah) are the same God. He compares and contrasts biblical and especially Qur’anic teaching about Jesus and Isa; the Holy Spirit and The Ruh Al-Qudus; and YHWH and Allah. In each case, while […]

Dr. Samina Yasmeen is Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations, and Co-Chair of International Studies, University of Western Australia.
In this article Yasmeen stresses the diversity to be found in the Muslim world. She notes different understandings of the relationship between “text” and “context” and of the nature of the Islamic state. She considers […]

Dr Fethi Mansouri is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Middle Eastern Studies, School of Social and Intercultural Studies, Deakin University, Melbourne. He is also Deputy Director of the Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights and founding member and convenor of the Refugee Studies Group.
This comes across as an angry article, whether intended this way or […]

Dr. Michael Humphrey is Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney.
In this article Humphrey observes how the “war on terror” has caused a dangerous shift in the Australian model for a multicultural society from a reconciliation perspective to a risk perspective. He believes that among the Muslim diaspora in the […]

Abdullah Saeed is Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies and Head of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne.
This is an eye-opening consideration of Islamic religious education, sprinkled with some refreshing acknowledgment of the need for reform. Saeed shows that it is simplistic to lay the blame for violence and terrorism at the foot […]

Dr. Samina Yasmeen is Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations and Co-Chair of International Studies, University of Western Australia.  
This is a fascinating, yet profoundly disturbing article. It traces the rise of two Jihadi militant Islamic groups, Lashkar-e-Toibi (Army of the Pure) and Jaish Muhammad (Army of the Prophet), both evidently created by the […]

This is a revealing and disturbing look at two significant and influential Muslim organisations, Hizb al-Tahrir (Liberation Party) and Al-Muhajiroun (The Migrants).
In Search of the Caliphate

Amin Saikal is the Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. This article serves a useful analytic purpose but is very one-sided, almost exclusively focusing on the justification for Muslim anger against the West and, especially, the US. It effectively presents Muslims as victims and, if anything, encourages the […]

This is an uncritical summary of some of the key thoughts presented by Shahram Akbarzadeh in his editorial introduction to Islam and the West. Reflections from Australia. Dr. Shahram Akbarzadeh is Senior Lecturer in Global Politics, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, Melbourne.
Islam on the Global Stage

Gary D. Bouma, Mosques and Muslim Settlement in Australia (Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 1994)
In this book Bouma considers the ways in which mosques have been influential in the settlement of migrant Muslims in the last 25 years. There were 57 mosques in Australia in 1994 – 20 in NSW (56).
The vast majority of Muslims who […]

Nahid Kabir, Muslims in Australia. Immigration, Race Relations and Cultural History (Studies in Anthropology, Economy and Society; London/New York/Bahrain: Kegan Paul, 2005)
Kabir’s book explores the settlement of Muslims in Australia as a religious group. Looking at the convict, colonial, “White Australia” and multicultural periods, she asks, “Did the Muslims encounter any discrimination due to their […]

The first basket of books that make up the Tripitaka, the Pali language Buddhist canon, is the Vinaya Pitaka, the so-called “Basket of Monastic Discipline.” The Mahavagga - First Khandhaka is one of the four main divisions that comprise the Vinaya Pitaka.
This volume includes a number of texts which are like sutras, including the Buddha’s account of […]

This is a classic, a monumental work in which Luther contends against Erasmus, arguing that that salvation is entirely by grace and must not be compromised by bogus conceptions of free will.

Preece offers a critique of Peter Singer’s ethics from a specifically Christian perspective.

This is an excellent book by a devout Muslim who is in a unique position to give a bird’s-eye view of modern Islam. It is refreshingly honest and extremely insightful.

The Lotus and the Cross. Jesus Talks with Buddha. Ravi Zacharias. Oregon: Multnomah Publishers Inc., 2001
This is a very useful and penetrating book, which helpfully covers some of the foundational Buddhist concepts. I did feel somewhat uncomfortable at the device Zacharias uses, involving a projection of what Jesus might have said. Jesus was notoriously unpredictable, […]

This is an excellent book aimed at equipping western-trained to teach in cross-cultural situations. There are chapters on the hidden curriculum, understanding traditional learning strategies, formal schooling and traditional learning, intelligence and learning styles, the role of the teacher, teaching for change, false expectations and learning to teach cross-culturally.

Multicultural Ministry. Finding Your Church’s Unique Rhythm. David A. Anderson. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2004.
This is a useful book with some helpful insights, though its orientation is decidedly American. Racial reconciliation between whites and blacks pervades the entire book and, indeed, the Racial Reconciliation Continuum (97ff) and the series of practical helps supplied in the […]

This immensely helpful book provides a guide for resolving conflict employing “the Four G’s”: (1) Glorify God; (2) Get the log out of your eye; (3) Gently restore; (4) Go and be reconciled.
The Peacemaker / Sande

Calvin insists that fallen people sin of necessity, but voluntarily without compulsion and that only God’s grace converts and inclines the will to good.
Will and Grace: As Viewed in John Calvin’s Institutes

This book has continuing relevance for the Protestant-Catholic debate given the major attention it devotes to the operation of God’s grace.
The Provincial Letters / Pascal

In this book Piper is especially concerned to establish the supremacy of God in missions and does an admirable job of demonstrating this.
Let the Nations be Glad! / Piper

The story-line of the 24 books of the Iliad is traced and some summary observations are made.
The Iliad / Homer

With a view to addressing the relationship of religion to science, Wolterstorff seeks to determine what implications one’s identity as a Christian has for the practice of scholarship.
Reason within the Bounds of Religion

This book is dense with information and insights. It looks at Relating to Our Muslim Neighbours, Understanding Islam, Entering into Discussion and Dialogue, Facing Fundamental Issues and Sharing Our Faith.
Cross and Crescent. Responding to the Challenge of Islam

A Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.
This is an absorbing read, skillfully crafted by an accomplished author. Along the way, one gains valuable insight into Afghanistan’s modern history and culture.
About the Author
Khaled Hosseini, now a California resident, is an Afghani who serves as a US envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations […]

In the Name of Honour. A Memoir
Mukhtar Mai (with Marie-Thérèse Cuny) [Translated by Linda Coverdale; London: Virago, 2007]
Introduction
Before 1947 Pakistan was part of India and although it is a Muslim country the caste system still operates, as this true story strongly indicates. Mukhtar Mai was born into the peasant Gujar  caste. The names of a […]

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mohsin Hamid. Harcourt, Inc: Orlando/Austin/NY/San Diego/Toronto/London, 2007.
There are many points of contact between the author and the central character of this ‘fundamentally’ anti-America novel, Changez. Both are raised in Lahore, Pakistan. Both are Princeton educated, intellectually sophisticated, socially skilled and have developed familiarity with American culture from personal experience.
In the book America is […]

Here are some significant things I learned and took note of from a great book on multiracial/multiethnic congregations, namely People of the Dream by Emerson and Woo.