I have a friend who is searching...

[Alucard]

...and I was wanting to get her a couple of books about the case for Christianity.

I was thinking about Craig's Reasonable Faith and Hard Questions, Real Answers. However, I'm not certain if they would be more suited to a Christian who was wanting answers to their questions, rather than a person searching for God.

And, though this might seem a little strange, could any of you tell me of any books by Islamic apologists? She wants to be able to have a look at both (her mother is a Muslim).

Thanks guys.

[footwasher]

Reviews of Books, films, and Internet Publications:

HUGOYE: Journal of Syriac Studies reviews Christoph Luxenberg's controversial and important book "Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache" ["The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: a Contribution to Decyphering the Language of the Koran"].

Juan Cole's "The Koran and Fighting Unbelievers"
Gary Leupp's "Challenging Ignorance on Islam: A Ten-Point Primer for Americans"

Errors and Omissions in the PBS Special "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet"

Imam Mohammad Jawad Chirri's "Inquiries about Islam"

More important Book reviews (The Debate Site)

http://www.answering-islam.org/Reviews/index.html

Do read the testimonies of former Muslims on the site.

[Alucard]

I linked her to Answering Islam already - one of the first things i did - but she's wanting a defense of Islam as well. So I'm not certain, but are there any Muslim apologists who have books published in these parts?

[Adrift]

...and I was wanting to get her a couple of books about the case for Christianity.

I was thinking about Craig's Reasonable Faith and Hard Questions, Real Answers. However, I'm not certain if they would be more suited to a Christian who was wanting answers to their questions, rather than a person searching for God.

And, though this might seem a little strange, could any of you tell me of any books by Islamic apologists? She wants to be able to have a look at both (her mother is a Muslim).

Thanks guys.

What's her reading comprehension like? For the typical layman I think anything by Strobel is perfect, light reading. For something a bit more in depth I'd say Lewis' Mere Christianity, and for something a bit heavier I'd go with Moreland's Scaling the Secular City.

[Alucard]

She`s a smart girl (this is haddy in the Tektonics forum, BTW), and she`s a good reader, but she doesn`t really know anything about Christianity or other religions yet. So I`m not sure.

[ApologiaPhoenix]

Start with Case for Christ definitely.

[Adrift]

Start with Case for Christ definitely.

that would be a very good starting place. Now if only I could make my girlfriend read it

[Alucard]

that would be a very good starting place. Now if only I could make my girlfriend read it

Funny thing actually, my girlfriend told me the other night that her friend`s mother had given her C4C, and that she started to read it, and just gave up.

"What? Why?" I asked.
"It was the youth edition and I couldn`t bear it."
"Ah."

I`ll get both my gf and haddy the actual one then.

ETA: What about the skeptics who complain about the fact that Strobel only interviews Christian philosophers and historians, rather than taking from both sides and making a reasoned judgment based on both sides of the story - whether the Case for Christ tips one way or the other. Or is that way it`s more or less best for a starting place?

[Philosophickle]

I wouldn't give her overt apologetics pieces. Introduce her to the Bible as best you can, and supplement it with something that suits her personality. If she seems incredibly analytic, throw her something like Craig, Geisler or Thomas Morris (I don't care much for Strobel, but it looks like some others do). If she is more interested in something a bit more artsy-fartsy (i.e. well-written) then Jack Lewis, Kierkegaard, Pascal or Tozer.

[Alucard]

I gave her one of my Bibles, and last I heard, she was reading the Gospel of John (as well as part of the Qu`ran). Don`t know how far she is now.

[Adrift]

I gave her one of my Bibles, and last I heard, she was reading the Gospel of John (as well as part of the Qu`ran). Don`t know how far she is now.

You know, when I (re)started dating my girlfriend, I bought her a "The Message" Bible. Now, yeah, the Message is like Bible-lite, but man, she loves that sucker. She tried reading Bibles before that including easy language ones like the NIV, but she just loves the language of The Message.
Now just a bit of background on her, she's an ex-pagan, very smart, but not exactly into deep intellectualism (whenever I try to read a post from Tweb to her, her eyes sort of roll back ). Again, this probably all hinges on her interest and her comprehension level.

[Logan Nix]

Well, I read "Reinventing Jesus" by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace which was good and easy to read in most parts (there was a section on textual criticism that I had to read again, but I wasn't fully paying attention either). I don't know if that would be a good place to start, though.

I also back Strobel's books. They were what I first started with, and I think they could be a good spring board into deeper stuff.

[GhostontheNet]

While philosophical and apologetic defenses of Christianity are really cool, an undestanding of what Christianity is all about in the first place, why it is desirable, why it matters, and why it makes sense is of the prime importance. IMHO, the most common reason for lack of faith, or even outright disbelief, in this secularized age is that people have very little sense or comprehension of the Biblical metanarrative and how it applies to their own lives. In this respect, many of N. T. Wright's popular level works are remarkably useful in bridging the gap. In light of what you've mentioned in this thread, I would suggest his Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense and his two-part commentary John for Everyone (here's the link to parts one and two). Of course, if money is no object, then his For Everyone Gospel Set is worth its weight in gold, although it's sold at a far more modest price.