What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur'an by James White - 311 Pages

This is a great book for interacting with orthodox Muslims.  However it may not be the most effective approach in evangelizing nominal or folk muslims as they may not have the necessary knowledge about their own faith to even interact on a critical level.

James White does here what he does best, and applies his wealth of scholarly expertise in exegesis and ancient manuscript transmission to the text of the Qur'an.  After doing his best to fairly represent the basic tenets of orthodox Islam and history he lays out his arguments.  His basic arguments are:

• The author of the Qur'an did not have accurate understanding of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity:  "The Qur'an's representation of the the Trinity as "three gods" comprised of Allah, Marry, and Jesus is a complete canard..."
• In light of this gross misrepresentation and therefore unnecessary refutation on behalf of the Qur'an, the divine authorship of the Qur'an must be questioned.  This fact "...raises serious questions for the honest Muslim who wishes to believe the Qur'an truthful in all things because its author is Allah.  How could Allah misrepresent beliefs as the Qur'an so clearly does?"
• The claim of the Surah 4:157 that Jesus was not put to death on a cross puts it in clear contradiction with the preceding Scriptures (which the Qur'an claims to be in agreement with) and history itself.
• The Islamic view of Divine judgement, justice, and forgiveness is arbitrary and is in complete disharmony with the Old and New Testament view of sin and grace.
• The claim of many modern Muslims that the New Testament has been corrupted is in direct conflict with the teaching in Surah 5:47 that the New Testament (Injil) was intact in the days of Muhammad and should therefore be obeyed.  We know that the modern New Testament is in line with copies and of the New Testament dating hundreds of years prior to the time of Muhammad.  
• Contrary to Surah 10:94 there is no recognizable prophecy in the Old or New Testaments about the coming of Muhammad.  
• "Finally, the Muslim needs to recognize that the Qur'an has a history, in terms of its utilization of previous sources, which Islam seems intent upon denying, as well as a history of textual transmission" - in contrast to the Islamic claim that the Qur'an has been preserved in the exact form in which it was delivered to Muhammed.

Each of these claims is thoroughly explored and defended, with many (many) references and recitations of the originals sources.  

While I found Dr. White's arguments sound and helpful, perhaps the aspect of this book that most impressed me was the firm but respectful tone in which it was written.  It was clear that the author's intention was not to merely win and argument and shame opponents of Christianity but to seek the truth in the hopes that people will genuinely be set free from deception.  I hope to carry that attitude into conversations I have with Muslims in the future.  

For more good stuff from Dr. White check out his ministry's website:  Alpha and Omega Ministries