Free PDF Mark Twain: A Life

Free PDF Mark Twain: A Life

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Mark Twain: A Life

Free PDF Mark Twain: A Life

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Audible Audiobook

Listening Length: 10 hours and 54 minutes

Program Type: Audiobook

Version: Abridged

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Audible.com Release Date: September 26, 2005

Language: English, English

ASIN: B000BKHEZI

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

"These Wall Street money-sharks are just as foreign to the real America as were the despots who ruled the land before the revolution of 1776. They are just as foreign as were the traffickers in human flesh and blood—the slave owners—whose power was broken by the Civil War—the blessed second American revolution. These imperialist rulers of America are the worst enemies of the American people.“American democracy, under their rule, is slipping away. The fear that oppressed Mark Twain, the fear that America would lose its democracy, is steadily becoming a reality. The Taft-Hartley Law is but the most recent instance of this ominous trend. The divine right of kings has reappeared in America—disguised as the divine right of judges to issue injunctions and levy fines against labor organizations.”—James P. Cannon, “The Two Americas,” 1948, in ‘Notebook of an Agitator: From the Wobblies to the Fight against the Korean War and McCarthyism (paperback)I have used a quote by Cannon, a founder of the American Communist Party, and later Trotsky’s closest collaborator in the US, not only because he’s one of my heroes, but also to be somewhat ornery, since Ron Powers misquotes Trotsky (not that it’s essential to his book). Powers writes: “’You may not be interested in war,’ as Leon Trotsky later famously remarked, ‘but war is interested in you.’” This “famous quotation” is similar to a remark that Trotsky made about dialectics in ‘In Defense of Marxism,’ in my opinion one of his most important books, but not one that I would recommend for people who don’t already know much about Marxism. (People interested in literature would likely be interested in a wonderful collection of Trotsky’s writings on it; Art and Revolution: Writings on Literature, Politics, and Culture).A few years ago, I interrupted my usual nonfiction reading to reread the ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,’ or perhaps I was really reading it for the first time, since as a kid I had a boxed set with it and Tom Sawyer, and for all I remember it might have been edited for children. Some think it the greatest American novel, and some think it should be banned because of all the use of the “N word.” I’m against banning books, or censoring them, and the copy I borrowed from the library was intended for high school students and had a good introduction that I thought dealt with that question well, in historical perspective, which is essential for anything to make sense. But we live in a country where “political correctness” has gone mad, with accusations of “cultural appropriation,” as if all culture, especially art doesn’t involve appropriation. Long Live Huck!Twain was more than just a writer and lecturer; he was a personality. He knew everyone who was anyone but wrote mostly about people who weren’t. He made American vernacular acceptable, even encouraged it, and he made everyone laugh as a writer and performer.Twain’s life spanned a period of enormous political and economic change, from slavery through the Civil War, Radical Reconstruction and its downfall, and the development of monopoly capitalism, also known as imperialism. He died between the 1905 “dress rehearsal” of, and the victorious 1917 Russian Revolution. He tended to side with the oppressed, although not consistently. Twain had the right intentions in most of his political pronouncements, but he thought the US was fighting Spain in order to free Cuba. They grabbed the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, as well as control over Cuba in the process. Puerto Rico is still a colony, and the US still illegally occupies part of Cuba, where in order to show their superior “human rights” record, they tortured alleged terrorists. And to punish Cuba for finally breaking free of US imposed governments, the US is still trying to starve them out.Twain did see his error and stated, “I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.” He joined the bourgeois Anti-Imperialist League, but as Lenin was to show (Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: A Popular Outline), imperialism was a stage of capitalism, still the present stage, not a mere policy.Twain’s essay written against anti-Semitism showed he didn’t understand what it is; but a lot of people still don’t get it, 70 years after the Holocaust!Controversial political essays--anti-imperialist, antiwar, and antiracist--made up much of his writings in his last years, but many magazines refused them; some weren’t published until many years after his death. Many of his writings on religion he made no attempt to publish.He had friends in the capitalist class, and for much of his life was trying to get rich. Like his hero and friend U.S. Grant, he was a lousy businessman and would have had more money if he hadn’t tried to be one. He was taken in by swindlers, and by people who just couldn’t deliver what they promised.Most of the time, I couldn’t put this book down, but on occasion it got a bit boring and I couldn’t wait to put it down. Still, I highly recommend it; you just might want to turn to a second book on occasion.I recently read Ron Chernow’s Grant, another book that is useful for understanding this period. I also recommend some Marxist works: Americas Revolutionary Heritage and Racism, Revolution, Reaction, 1861-1877: The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction (despite the unkind judgement on Thomas Wentworth Higginson, based on one letter he wrote in old age). And for a view of what the American working class was becoming in the period following the Second American Revolution, I suggest The Great Labor Uprising of 1877 and Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs.Readers of this book may also be interested in Revolution and the 20th Century Novel.(The Kindle edition is somewhat worse than usual, a lot of hyphens showing up that should have been discretionary hyphens to help breaking words in formatted text).

Mark Twain had an incredible memory for dialogue and dialects. He would say an unfamiliar dialect until he got it right and then write it down phonetically. He would then have the appropriate characters use that dialect as the author’s voice for making points that brought to light the reality of situations to which most people were blind. As Powers indicates, this changed American literature forever. It gave the potential author points of view by which to look at human life that the “normal” perspective could not understand and opened up worlds that were unknown or not considered important before Twain. Combined with a brilliant ability to write dialogue, Twain showed truths about human life that changed everything in American literature.But this ability of a true genius was embedded in a deeply flawed and ambiguous person, a person who only partially overcame some deep prejudices, often showed uncaring irrational cruelty to friends and family, and frequently acted in self-centered and narcissistic ways. Powers does an excellent job of showing both the genius and the flaws. Powers’ own writing is clear with smooth transitions and well-organized chapters and paragraphs. Though a long book, it is easy to follow with chapter titles followed by the months or years covered in the chapter. Multiple double-spaced breaks in each chapter allow the reader to stop at a break point and come back with no problem. Powers adds periodically a touch of humor in the story analogous to what Twain would have done. It is usually a sentence or a phrase, sometimes just a word. For example, he has Twain “absquatulate” to the West before his ragtag group of Confederate volunteers at the beginning of the war could be attacked by, of all people, a fairly ragtag team of Union soldiers led by a new leader, Ulysses S. Grant. “Absquatulate” is exactly the kind of 25 cent word, a bit strange sounding, that Twain would insert into his work at times. I found such bits of irony or mimicry of Twain appropriate and a helpful addition to the flow of the narrative.Powers lays out the best and worst of this American original. This is a terrific biography that keeps the reader’s attention from Sam Clemons’ birth to Mark Twain’s death.

Loved this book, after visiting his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri. Twain was a complicated man, with some negative characteristics that dwarf his positives. Those who don't like this biography are probably folks who idealize Clemens based on his literature. His relationship to his family and children; his lack of discipline when it came to investments; the hard side of his personality toward other celebrities who he felt challenged his primacy in the last half of the 19th century: these are all instructive facets of a very complicated man. Powers paints Clemens warts and all.My favorite genre is biography, especially biographies that place the reader into the context of the times. Powers achieves that. It is hard to imagine a better-researched biography than this one. His use of primary sources is great. He quotes from those sufficiently, without doing too much.

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PDF Ebook Temecula Quilt Company - Quirky Little Quilts: Patchwork from the Past, Projects for the Present, by Sheryl Johnson

PDF Ebook Temecula Quilt Company - Quirky Little Quilts: Patchwork from the Past, Projects for the Present, by Sheryl Johnson

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Temecula Quilt Company - Quirky Little Quilts: Patchwork from the Past, Projects for the Present, by Sheryl Johnson

PDF Ebook Temecula Quilt Company - Quirky Little Quilts: Patchwork from the Past, Projects for the Present, by Sheryl Johnson

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Product details

Paperback: 80 pages

Publisher: That Patchwork Place (August 15, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1604689455

ISBN-13: 978-1604689457

Product Dimensions:

8.2 x 0.2 x 10.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

5.0 out of 5 stars

45 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#9,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Zing. Pop. Wacky. Civil War repro prints.Which of the above is not like the others?Amazingly, they all go together in Quirky Little Quilts by blogger and shop-owner Sheryl Johnson. Classic blocks dominate each of the 14 “quirky” projects, resulting in many divine designs to please the traditionalist’s eye. Ms. Johnson jumbles and juggles war-era reproduction prints until they land in pleasing - but occasionally odd - layouts.(Please note that I don't follow the author's blog, had never heard of her before pre-ordering this book based on its title, and did not write this review at anyone's request. I did, however, go to Temecula once for an hour and it's a really neat town. But that was long before the author ever even opened her shop. My travelling companion was far more interested in dinner than quilting. Sad, but true.)Some of the quilts thrive on asymmetry. Rules of value, balance, and color get broken in others. Poison greens and ick yellows frolic shamelessly amongst the pinks and reds in “19th-Century Nine Patch” (13.5”x13.5”). Scrappy happenstance leads to already-eaten cakes and invisible pedestals in “Calico Cake Stands” (35.75”x28.75”), whose unusual finished dimensions make for a terrific wall quilt. Carefree trumps careless with “Shoofly Sampler” (21.5”x21.5”). 2 or 3 of its blocks are so low in contrast that they are muddy, technically speaking. And yet this quilt happily graces the book’s cover.~ ~ ~Many of the 14 projects are quite beginner-friendly. But do take note that basic quilting skills are assumed or dependent on other resources. Quirky Little Quilts has only 1 chapter of instructions, and that is for single-fold binding.~ ~ ~Although these quilts are small in their bound dimensions, a few are daunting in block sizes and number of pieces. For example, “Patchwork Potpourri” (24.5”x 31”) is a sampler of teeny tiny blocks, 1 of which is 2”x2” 9-patch block made of 9 half-square triangles. It will be a joyous challenge for lovers of miniature quilts.My favorite quilt is super simple and a rare example of Ms. Johnson paying attention to color theory. “Prairie Patches” (15.5”x19.5”) features an array of 1”x1” postage stamp squares arranged in a Trip Around the World pattern. The chosen colors are subtle, sublime, and fantastic. (And who cares if 1 of the directionally striped brown pieces is facing the “wrong” direction? Remember, no rules, just fun and love of fabric.)But my favorite favorite is “Mini Medallion” (20.5”x20.5”). It is a lesson in built-up stripped and pieced borders; 7 of them surround a single 3”x3” 9-patch block. 1 border is made of adorable tumbler blocks, while the outermost border is composed of piano key bars. I have gazed at this quilt's photograph for a certifiably nutty amount of time. I WANT and MUST HAVE those exact fabrics.More surprises await in this charming twist on tradition. I highly recommend you discover them on your own.

This book provides patterns for 15 small quilts ranging in size from 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" to 36 3/4" x 47 1/2" (most are closer to 18" x 24"). Each pattern is preceded by a brief paragraph describing the inspiration for the quilt. The photos are clear, as are the instructions, which include dimensions for not only the finished block, but the intermediate steps that make up the block, row, etc., as well. If you love old quilts, as I do, you will love this book.

Sheryl's first book surely won't be her last. This fun book includes something for everyone, and introduces a unique quilter to the rest of the world. I've earmarked several quilts to make immediately. That T quilt is calling to me!

Great book! This is a must have if you like scrappy quilts. Sheryl has done a wonderful job of collecting the perfect little quilts to adorn your home.

I enjoyed reading the book and reviewing the patterns. The scrappy and small quilts are intriguing. I looking forward to make some of these small treasures with my own scrap stash.

Quirky Little Quilts does not disappoint! It full of colorful little quilt patterns that are easy to follow and deliver a big punch to your decor. So many lovely fabrics used in the samples!

I love this quirky little quilt book! I love making smaller quilts. I can use fabric from my stash. I can have the joy of finishing my small quilt and start another one.

Love the little quilts. Great quilts, great patterns easy to follow patterns. Nicely illustrated with beautiful pictures. Glad I purchased

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Free Download The Qur'an in Context: A Christian Exploration, by Mark Robert Anderson

Free Download The Qur'an in Context: A Christian Exploration, by Mark Robert Anderson

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The Qur'an in Context: A Christian Exploration, by Mark Robert Anderson

Free Download The Qur'an in Context: A Christian Exploration, by Mark Robert Anderson

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Review

"Mark Anderson has produced an excellent, incisive, well-researched book highlighting similarities and distinctives between the Qur'an and the Bible. His research is impeccable and his conclusions will stand the test of scholarly investigation. Anderson avoids the pitfalls of inflammatory us-them polemics. He enters into the realities of the Muslim worldview by exploring the seventh-century context of the Qur'an, on which Muslim belief and behavior is built. Without reservation, I commend Anderson's work to all who desire to move beyond 'breaking news' and sensationalism and come to grips with the inside story of who Muslims really are." (Phil Parshall, SIM USA)"Demonstrating a familiarity with contemporary scholarship and respect for Muslim sensitivities, Mark Anderson describes the context in which the Qur'an arose and how it both reflected and challenged that world. While comparing and contrasting Qur'anic and biblical theology and the character of Jesus in the Qur'an and the Bible, he shows how close and how far apart they are. This study provides an excellent foundation for an informed and sensitive discussion with Muslims." (J. Dudley Woodberry, dean emeritus and senior professor of Islamic studies, Fuller Theological Seminary)"As well as providing a well-informed and nuanced introduction to the current scholarly debate over Islamic origins, The Qur'an in Context offers a substantial, theologically serious and at points provocative discussion on the Qur'an in its interface with the Bible and the core themes of the Christian faith. This lucid and thought-provoking study makes a significant contribution from an Evangelical and Reformed perspective to the wider field of Christian engagement with the scripture at the heart of Islam." (David Marshall, Duke Divinity School)"This is a theological and academic evaluation of the Qur'an and its teachings. It's a scholarly but worthwhile read. Recommend to missionaries, evangelism and apologetics professors, and laypeople serving Muslim peoples." (David Mundt, Christian Market, December 2016)

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About the Author

Mark Robert Anderson is the author of Faithsongs: Ancient Psalms for Today and lives in Vancouver, Canada. For over ten years, he lived and worked in the Middle East, teaching in a university and seminary. Anderson has been a member of Jacob's Well, a faith-based organization seeking mutually transformative relationships with marginalized residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and for two years he was part of a team helping homeless people find sustainable housing and employment. He has an MA in Islamic studies from McGill University and an MA in Christian religion from Westminster Theological Seminary.

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Product details

Paperback: 341 pages

Publisher: IVP Academic (October 12, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0830851429

ISBN-13: 978-0830851423

Product Dimensions:

6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.3 out of 5 stars

9 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#542,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Thanks to author Mark Robert Anderson for doing what needs to be done: reading the Qur’an from the point of view of a Christian who holds both to a high view of the Bible and a respectful attitude toward Muslims. He doesn’t allow his commitment to the Christian faith lead him into a diatribe against Islam, but rather works within his freedom and confidence in the historical and theological integrity of the Bible to calmly explore the Qur’an in context.After thoughtfully reading The Qur’an in Context: A Christian Exploration—and it took some real time and effort due to Mark’s scholarly writing style—I found myself pondering questions about the nature of God that pose challenges for both the Christian and Muslim. This stems from the three chief themes he identifies running throughout the Old and New Testaments (Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil). These are 1. Friendship with God, 2. Free grace of God and, 3. The humility of God. He writes, “Since all three motifs are evident from Genesis to Revelation, it is only right that we assess to what extent the Qur’an further develops them” (p 290). These three themes crystalize the differences between the message of the Bible and the Qur’an. This is a very helpful way of drawing the distinction in general terms rather than getting overly bogged down in the finer details, particularly details that arise when tediously working through the many parallel stories found in the two books. There certainly is a time and place to work through the details, and Mark does a fine job of patiently examining the details, but he skillfully helps the reader always keep sight of the whole forest while walking among the individual trees.Perhaps the single biggest question that has lingered in my mind since completing The Qur’an in Context is the one that Muslims regularly bring in one form or another to try to refute the Christian doctrine of the incarnation. “If Jesus was God, who was in heaven governing everything when he died on the cross?” Most often this question comes with a smile that indicates the questioner feels that a knock-out punch has been easily delivered. But the question focuses on an apparent ontological problem experienced in one precise and fleeting moment of time. The question of God’s presence relative to the cosmos is far more complex than just facing the apparent contradiction of God in Jesus dead on a cross at the same moment he is alive and well on his throne in heaven. Where is God now? Mr. Anderson points out repeatedly that Islamic theology presents a distant and transcendent God. The Qur’anic view of Allah is one almost completely lacking in any kind of immanence. He writes that the Qur’an “in true jahili fashion makes him so transcendent that he is not truly approachable. By comparison to biblical theology, God’s immanence seems overpowered by his transcendence in the Qur’an. For that reason, the Qur’an implicitly rejects the biblical metaphors pointing to our being able to know God intimately” (p 53).But the Qur’an also speaks of God being closer than our jugular vein and has him seeing and knowing the affairs of humans on the earth. So like the Bible, the Qur’an must find a way to solve the question of how God appears to be present, “virtually” if not actually, while keeping his distance and ontological distinctiveness apart from his creation. But unlike the Christian faith which ultimately answers this dilemma by positing a transcendent God wholly unlike and independent of his creation who incarnates as a human man to live and walk among people as one of them, the Qur’an leaves the Muslim with only an unsolved mystery of how the transcendent God is somehow unlike and independent of creation, existing in some other “place” (not even the Muslim Paradise Jannat, because the faithful have no real hope of ever seeing Allah) and yet is so close he knows a person’s innermost thoughts.The Qur’anic divine distance underlies the three main themes. Unwilling in his character to condescend to lowly human beings, God in the Qur’an does not offer himself in friendship to anyone. There is a brief comment about God’s friendship with Abraham, but this lacks context and might mean no more than a friendly gesture without the kind of exchange of self that occurs in a true friendship between two parties meetings in humility. The high and noble God of the Qur’an seems a reflection of the 6th century tribal noble, a person who acts without reference to any external law or consistent character. If this is so as Mark argues, then we are faced with the very uncomfortable fact that such a God whose character and behavior is modeled after a human will be ultimately flawed with the same character problems. Can such a person’s behavior be counted upon to always be fair and just? Do they operate with internally consistent moral structures? One is left with a model far less than the ideal. Perhaps this explains the capriciousness of the Qur’anic God, who can do good or evil. Mr. Anderson writes, “the jahili Arab saw Allah as not remotely answerable to anyone and, taking the same view, the Qur’an treats the problem of theodicy like the nonissue it was to Muhammad’s jahili hearers. The Qur’an never so much as raises the question of the book of Job” (p 60).Two big historical issues always arise in conversation with Muslims. Didn’t Jesus ascend to heaven before they managed to crucify him and didn’t the Jews and Christians corrupt their scriptures? Mark considers these questions and provides historically and logically satisfying answers. First, he argues convincingly that the first hearers of the Qur’an and the author of the Qur’an had not the most remotely wild thought that the story about Jesus dying on the cross was anything but true. He provides ample evidence, including Surah 3:55 and 4:157 (he is an Arabic scholar) that the Qur’an took for granted that a) Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead and b) the written and oral Gospel accounts circulating in the Arab peninsula were considered reliable without question. The theory that God rescued Jesus from death and that the Bible was corrupted came much later when Islam grew and leaders realized that they couldn’t reconcile the Qur’an endorsing the Bible as God’s reliable Word while it in turn contradicted the Qur’anic claim that the earlier books predicted Muhammad’s coming as a new and final prophet. It raises the question, why was the Qur’anic author so confident in asserting that that the Bible predicted his coming? Did he hope he could get established in his power and control before people could dig into the Bible deeply enough to discover that it did not support his claims? Did he really think he was fulfillment of Biblical prophecy? If so, which ones? The Qur’an never specifies.Though the Qur’an does affirm the Bible and the story of Jesus, it empties out so much content and meaning that whatever is left gives the reader just enough to conclude that the Islamic prophet is the best one, whatever else may have transpired beforehand. Mark says the Bible and Qur’an are “So close, yet so far” (p 305).I closed the book with nagging questions. How could such a situation arise? Today with almost 2 billion Muslims centered on the Qur’an, this is far more than a scholarly question. Biblical Christians love everyone and hope, pray and work for their salvation in Jesus the Messiah. Missing so much spiritual “nutritional” value, the Qur’an may vaguely point to the Door, but it’s all so shadowy and blurry, how will anyone ever make their way through it? I would have appreciated Mr. Anderson offering a little more encouragement and perhaps hopeful instruction, how Christians should proceed in sharing the Good News with their Muslim friends. While we may become thoroughly familiar with the Qur’an in context, where do we go from here to introduce Muslims to the sketchy al-Masih who they will all say they believe and love, but about whom they know almost nothing? I also appreciate the effort to avoid polemics, but I struggle between the tension of saying too much and too little. At various times in the Bible we see the powers in confrontation. Moses and the magicians. Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Jesus and the Pharisees. Paul and the Ephesians. One senses Mr. Anderson also wrestling with the tension of knowing how to speak the truth in love. He has done a wise and powerful job that deserves attention. I think there is still much, much more to do.

Before reading Mark Anderson's book I had a broad but shallow understanding of Islam and the Qur'an. He filled in many of the details that I was missing and corrected some of my misconceptions. I appreciated his careful comparison of the Biblical and Qur'anic texts, and I learned more about my Bible as well as the Qur'an. It was interesting to see where the Bible and the Qur'an have some points of similarity, but it was more important for me to get a clear grasp on where they are radically different. The Qur'an in Context gave me that understanding. It is a scholarly book, but I found it approachable for a non-scholar like me.

A timely, scholarly, and very important book, especially in our time of increasing anti-Muslim sentiment. Anderson says "...we must read it [the Qur'an] in a manner that is faithful to its historical context..." while keeping in mind how meaningful and central it is to Muslims everywhere, including those we work with and walk alongside almost daily. In a time of so much anti-Muslim rhetoric, this book is a "must read" for any person serious about their Christian faith. The author shows great respect for the scripture of a people that he clearly cares about. He makes no call to evangelize Muslims while noting that "a fervent desire to see Muslims evangelized can skew a Christian's reading of the Qur'an."

This excellent book is not a polemic. It is an even-handed, factual exploration of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an for many Christians is a very foreign book. Some people have tried to read it and yet have not made it past the second sura. The style of writing is different to most Christians and does not seem like an engaging work, but the reality is that Christians need to understand this work. Whatever you think of Islam, the Qur'an is the holy book of this faith and it has shaped the world greatly.Anderson has written a book to help us in its text. Anderson urges us rightly to try to drop our preconceptions and approach the book seriously and seek to understand the way it was written, the why, and the historical context. Even if you don't think it's holy Scripture, the Qur'an still should be understood on its own terms. That requires work, just like understanding the Bible does. I have been a long opposition to people not bothering to study the historical context of the Bible and yet speaking on it. I say the same for the Qur'an.Anderson goes through piece by piece and then compares what he finds to the Bible. There is no doubt on my part he wants to be as fair as he can to the Qur'an. He also addresses the question of if we worship the same God or not. I think we could say that we have that as our intention and I think that Anderson does argue that, but there can be no doubt the descriptions of Allah and YHWH are vastly different.Anderson also wants us to study the world of 7th century Arabia. What was going on? What were Christians and Jews and pagans all saying? How did Muhammad approach this world?Next comes a long look at the worldview of the Qur'an. What does it say about evil? What does it say about Adam? What must one do to be saved? All of these have marked differences and Anderson has many questions about whether the system in the Qur'an is really coherent or not.Jesus is a big topic. The problem for the view of Jesus in the Qur'an is that it's really downplaying. Very little is said about the ministry and teaching of Jesus. Much comes from non-canonical sources and its depiction of the Trinity is highly lacking. The Qur'an says Jesus is the Messiah, but divests this of any real meaning at all.Amazingly, you can have many in-depth looks at the lives of other people in the Bible, but with Jesus, you get nothing like that. You don't understand what His ministry was and why He came. It simply looks like Jesus is only there to point to Muhammad.Ah yes, but what about the crucifixion? The Qur'an is clear on that and that's that Jesus did not die on the cross. Anderson disputes that and I have to say he makes a highly highly compelling case. I have long thought that Islam denies that Jesus was crucified, and many Muslims do, but Anderson made a case that made me rethink if that's what the original Qur'anic author intended and I dare say I will not be as strident until I find a better response to that claim. Anderson bases his claim on what he considers a better reading of that text in light of other texts he thinks are clearer. He contends that others are reading the clear texts in light of this one and changing those in ways that don't fit.Finally, he wraps things up by asking if we could say the Qur'an is the sequel to the Bible. The answer is decidedly, no. There are too many differences across the board. Still, we should strive to understand the Qur'an in its historical context to have better discussions with the Muslims we encounter.Anderson's book gives a lot of food for thought. He is kind and fair in his treatment and there is nothing here I can think of that would be seen as "Anti-Muslim" or dare I say it, Islamophobic. I look forward to even seeing what some Muslims think about the material in here.In Christ,Nick PetersDeeper Waters Apologetics

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