The Dividing Worldviews of Jesus and Muhammad

By Howard Shin

Howard Shin in "The Dividing Worldviews of Jesus and Muhammad" has selected anecdotes, laws, commandments and personal life examples from the lives of Muhammad and Jesus that govern the lives of their followers throughout the world.

Although these two men claim to have been inspired by and sent by the God of Abraham, yet there are significant differences in their approach, their message, their mission and their life examples. Thus all the conflicts between Christians and Muslims in terms of religion and culture trace back to the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad. It is also in the life and teachings of these two men you will learn the differences between Muslims and Christians relationship with God and men.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490868639

Howard Shin

Howard Shin is an apologist who was born and raised in an Islamic country. He has dedicated his life to witnessing Muslims for Christ and to responding to the pressing challenges posed by Muslims.   He has a Master in Islamic Culture and History, a Master in Christian Education, a Master of Divinity and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation.

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Copyright © 2015 Howard Shin .

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This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6862-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6863-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902111

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/27/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

One The Natural Versus The Supernatural

Two Doubts Versus Confidence

Three Mission Statement: In Their Own Words

Four Tempted And Tried: One Fails, The Other Triumphs

Five Miracles Versus Miracles

Six One Greater Than Jonah Is Here

Seven Two Tales Of Rejection

Eight Erraticism Versus Consistency

Nine Child Brides Versus Children Of The Kingdom Of God

Ten When Driven By The Lust Of The Flesh

Eleven The Carnal Mind Versus The Spiritual Mind

Twelve A Tale Of Two Women And Two Judges

Thirteen Temporary Marriage Or Prostitution In Disguise?

Fourteen Uncharitable Kindness Versus Generous Love

a On Greeting Others

b. On Making Friends With Non-Believers

b. On Sharing Food And Eating With Non-Believers

Fifteen Bad Samaritan Versus Good Samaritan

Sixteen A Prophet Of Mercy Fails To Show Mercy, But The Savior Of The World Never Disappoints

Seventeen Callousness Versus Compassion

Eighteen One Falls Under Demonic Spell, The Other Destroyes Demonic Power

Nineteen One Fears Darkness, The Other Expells The Darkness

Twenty Racism Versus Egalitarianism

Twenty-One Muhammad’s Allah Versus The Father Of Jesus

Twenty-Two Slaves Of Allah Versus Children Of God

Twenty-Three The Do’s And Don’ts Of Prayer

Twenty-Four Imposed Charity Versus Cheerful Giving

Twenty-Five The House Of Allah Versus The House Of Yahweh

Twenty-Six The Easy Way Versus The Right Way

Twenty-Seven Stolen Food Versus Heavenly Manna

Twenty-Eight A Healthy Lie Or A Poison That Erodes Trust?

Twenty-Nine Material Inducement Versus Abandonment

Thirty The Prophet Of The Sword Versus The Prince Of Peace

Thirty-One A Mujahid Versus A Peacemaker

Thirty-Two The Jihad Commission Versus The Great Commission

Thirty-Three The Status Of Women

a. The Testimony Of Women

b. Purity Of The Eyes

c. Beating Women

d. Evil In The House

e. The Salvation Of Women

Thirty-Four Double Standards Versus The Golden Rule

Thirty-Five Cursing Versus Blessing

Thirty-Six Retaliation Versus Forgiveness

Thirty-Seven Partial Forgiveness Versus Total Forgiveness

Thirty-Eight Relentless Pursuit Of The Lost Sheep

Thirty-Nine The Infallible Sinner Versus The Sinless Savior

Forty Fear Of The Grave Versus Victory Over The Grave

Forty-One Islamic Paradise Versus The Kingdom Of God

Forty-Two A Dubious Destiny Versus An Assured Kingdom

Forty-Three The Revered Tomb Versus The Empty Grave

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

From the unique vantage point expressed in Howard Shin’s The Dividing Worldviews of Muhammad and Jesus, we can grasp the vast differences between Islam and Christianity, and learn how one man’s life falls short of gentleness, kindness and mercy and the other’s full of grace, truth and love.

This book is provocative, compelling and comes with timely relevance. It’s a must read for anyone who wonders what the reason behind Islamic intolerance and fundamentalism is.

—Jay Kronish/Pastor and

Director of Israel House, Busan.

With all candor, I recommended this book to all those who wish to engage in Muslim evangelism. Howard Shin scrupulously paralleled the lives of Jesus and Muhammad in a succinct and efficacious way. Everyone who reads this book would be compelled to say that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

—Dr. E. Q. Chang/Senior Pastor of the

First Methodist Church of Cheonho.

To You

For always keeping my heart in springtime

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are a few people I would truly like to thank:

Firstly, to my brother for his wisdom, and ceaseless generous support.

I am indebted to P.M. Warren for her eagle-eye proofreading and for suggesting a wonderful title for the book. Without her help this would not be possible.

Thank you, SENG for your readiness to proofread and edit my papers, always.

Jihye Lee, you are true to your name; wise! Your prayer and love always empower me.

Jeanne, you are a gem. You have tremendously blessed several hundred people with your linguistic gift, especially me.

Lee AeRan and Lee SangJin, you both are simply a matchless standard of faithfulness and generosity.

INTRODUCTION

Jesus and Muhammad are two of the most influential personalities on earth. A little more than a half of the inhabitants of the world associate themselves with these two men. Over 32 percent of people in the world declare themselves as the followers of Jesus while around 23 percent of the world follow Muhammad. Nations, cultures and even constitutions have been built on the words of these two men.

Although these two men claim to have been inspired by and sent by the God of Abraham, yet there are significant differences in their approach, their message, their mission and their life examples. Furthermore, Jesus made the unique claim of being the Son of God, and thus equal with God. Thus all the conflicts between Christians and Muslims in terms of religion and culture trace back to the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad. It is also in the life and teachings of these two men you will learn the differences between Muslims’ and Christians’ relationship with God and men.

If you want to know all that Muhammad preached, taught or did, you will need to look into the Islamic books of the Koran and Hadith (Tradition) or Ahadiths (Plural of Hadith or tradition). Islamic Sharia also derives all the laws from the above two. In other words, the Koran and the Hadith are the two uncompromisable sources for guidance among Muslims. The Koran is the revelation or word of Allah which descended from heaven verbatim, word for word through Muhammad, in a piecemeal fashion. The Hadith, which is also called the Sunnah, understood as the examples of Muhammad contains all that Muhammad taught and all that he did.

The Koran commands Muslims to follow the examples of Muhammad.¹ If in the Koran Allah speaks through Muhammad, then in the Sunnah he acts through Muhammad. Anyone who accepts the Koran and does not imitate the pattern of Muhammad cannot