Getting Jesus Right: How Muslims Get Jesus and Islam Wrong. James A Beverley

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       Getting Jesus Right: How Muslims Get Jesus and Islam Wrong

      Copyright © 2015 James A. Beverley & Craig A. Evans

      All rights reserved

      Printed in Canada

      International Standard Book Number 978-1-927355-45-9 soft cover

      ISBN 978-1-927355-47-3 Hard Cover

      ISBN 978-1-927355-46-6 EPUB

      Published by:

      Castle Quay Books

      Lagoon City, Brechin, Ontario

      Tel: [phone]

      E-mail: [email protected] www.castlequaybooks.com

      Edited by Marina Hofman Willard, and Lori Mackay

      Cover design by Burst Impressions

      Printed at Essence Printing, Belleville, Ontario

      All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publishers.

      US spelling used.

      • Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible ®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION. All rights reserved. • Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Scripture quotations marked KJV are from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Copyright © 1977, 1984, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982. Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.

      Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

      Beverley, James A., Evans, Craig A., authors

      Getting Jesus Right : How Muslims Get Jesus

      and Islam Wrong / Craig A. Evans, James A. Beverley.

      Includes bibliographical references.

      Issued in print and electronic formats.

      ISBN 978-1-927355-45-9 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-927355-46-6 (epub)

      1. Jesus Christ. 2. Islam. 3. Aslan, Reza--Criticism and

      interpretation. I. Beverley, James A. II. Title.

      BT301.3.E93 2013 232.9'01 C2013-906619-5

      C2013-906620-9

      Praise for Getting Jesus Right

      “The authors deal with every topic, from ancient manuscripts to terrorism, from Jesus to Muhammad, from the Crusades to colonialism, with accuracy, originality and courage. Getting Jesus Right is a provocative and powerful work.”

      — David Cook

      Associate professor of Religion, Rice University, and author of Understanding Jihad

      “Reza Aslan has won renown for telling the mainstream media what it wants to hear, while his media sycophants never challenge his statements, no matter how wildly false and inaccurate they are. But now he has definitively been exposed. This book is a scholarly and devastating critique of Aslan’s views on Jesus and Islam.”

      — Robert Spencer

      New York Times bestselling author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad

      “Essential reading for anybody who wishes to understand and respond to the Islamic argument about Jesus and Christianity. We are far too quiet and ill-informed; it is time to be equipped and to be able to proclaim truth to all and not just some people. A vital book.”

      — Michael Coren

      Columnist, author, public speaker, and radio and television talk show host

      “As a former Muslim, I know how easy it is to get Jesus wrong, which is why Getting Jesus Right is so important. Scholarly yet readable, Evans and Beverley respectfully challenge us to take an unflinching look at history. And they especially shine when bringing the real Jesus of history into focus. For Christians and non-Christians alike, I enthusiastically recommend Getting Jesus Right.”

      — Abdu Murray

      Author of Grand Central Question—Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews

      “The squaring of faith with historical research is at least as much of a challenge for Muslims as it has long been for Christians; James Beverley and Craig Evans, in this learned and wide-ranging book, demonstrate exactly why.”

      — Tom Holland

      Author of In the Shadow of the Sword

      Dedication

      In memory of Jennifer Susan Keirstead

      Daughter of David and Darlene Keirstead

      March 3, 1993–September 6, 2014

      Memories of fun times, your loving spirit,

      your amazing creativity and your fabulous smile

      will hold us

      Until we meet in that place where God will wipe away all tears from our eyes

      (Revelation 21:4)

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Are the New Testament Gospels Reliable?

      Chapter 2: Are the Manuscripts of the New Testament Gospels Reliable?

      Chapter 3: How Did Jesus Understand Himself and His Mission?

      Chapter 4: Did James and Paul Preach a Different Gospel?

      Chapter 5: Was Jesus a Zealot?

      Chapter 6: How Do Muslims View Muhammad?

      Chapter 7: How Reliable Is the Historical Record about Muhammad?

      Chapter 8: Is Muhammad the Greatest Moral and Spiritual Model?

      Chapter 9: How Do Muslims View the Qur’an?

      Chapter 10: Is the Qur’an God’s Infallible Word?

      Chapter 11: Does the Qur’an Get Jesus Right?

      Chapter 12: Does the Qur’an Get the Death of Jesus Right?

      Chapter 13: Does Islamic Tradition Get Jesus Right?

      Chapter 14: Does Islam Liberate Women?

      Chapter 15: Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

      Chapter 16: Easter Truths, Muslim Realities and Common Hope

      Appendix 1: Reza Aslan’s Zealot: Wrong at Many Points

      Appendix 2: Was Jesus Married to Mary Magdalene?

      Appendix 3: Modern Studies on the Qur’an

      Appendix 4: New Testament Background and the Growth of Christianity

      Appendix 5: Timeline of Islam

      Appendix 6: The Islamic State and The Atlantic

      Appendix 7: The Infamous Fox News Interview

      Resources

      Endnotes

      Index of Scripture and Ancient Writings

      Introduction

      Peace on planet Earth depends on Christians and Muslims. It is quite simple. There are over 2 billion Christians on planet Earth and 1.6 billion Muslims. If demographic trends continue, followers of these two world religions will make up more than 50 percent of humanity. As Hans Küng has stated eloquently, if these two groups