Noah's Other Son: Bridging the Gap Between the Bible and the Qur'an

This is a must-read for anyone interested in the world's sacred texts. A clear, well written, well researched comparison of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian versions of the stories of Abraham's disfunctional family should put the "fun"(read that as 'joy' and 'peace')back in the disfunction among these groups. Taken seriously, it could do more for world peace than any current political, economic or military actions currently in use. Don't pass this one up.

In this enlightening integration of sacred stories and persons common to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths, Dr. Brian Arthur Brown (minister of the United Church of Canada) allows Qur'anic verse to add depth and meaning to messages from the `God of Abraham'. Using scriptures from each tradition, (Jewish, Christian, Muslim), and acknowledging the Torah as a "prequel" to Christian Scriptures and both as "prequels" to the Qur'an, Dr. Brown presents 'common' sacred stories that have relevance in our modern world. Although the integration of these scared texts would seem enough of a challenge for one book, Dr. Brown goes further, translating the messages into modern day application - a sermon or two from each story. Thus, the reader not only receives the expanded richness of these Sacred Stories, the reader gets to ponder their meaning for today's inhabitants of God's earth.There may be at least three main purposes of this book. In the first instance, Dr. Brown seems to be calling us to be closer to God, so that we can be closer to each other, in an attempt to turn-the-tide in the ongoing feud within what the author refers to as the dysfunctional `family of Abraham'. A second purpose may be to inform the Judeo-Christian community of the similarities between their Sacred Scriptures and the Islamic community's Scared Texts, and to invite this Judeo-Christian community to consider the contribution the Qur'an has to offer toward enriching their understanding of God's messages. And, thirdly he may be encouraging Islamic scholars to open the Qur'an to critical analysis and share the quest to unravel the many mysteries of God's word. These multiple purposes present a broad mandate, perhaps too broad for today's book market that seems to respond better to simple, single themed fables than thoughtful answers to the multifaceted challenges of real life. In my view these purposes are worthy, and Dr. Brown does an excellent job of addressing them. The book is highly recommended for group study and individual reading. Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection"