I recently tried a new debating technique with a Muslim and it worked quite well. I’m wondering if this is a unique situation. Now it has to be with a Muslim who is somewhat educated about Christianity which is almost none though internet apologists like Ijaz Admad would fall into this category. They especially need to know who St. Paul is and how he’s the standard fall guy for traditional Christianity. Since the Quran doesn’t explicitly name him as a Muslim, unlike Jesus, Mary, and the apostles, the blame for Christianity looking the way it does falls almost exclusively on him.
Category Archives: Islam
Seven Questions for Educated Muslims
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I’ve made up a list of seven questions for educated and well read Muslims. They’re based on my research over the last several years. I think these are strong points that relate to Islamic historical and theological claims.
Muslims, does this verse teach the Papacy?
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Sometimes I wish that I lived in London so I could go to Speakers’ Corner and field test my arguments against Muslims. I know what I’m about to tell you has worked against Jehovah’s Witness’ who used to camp outside my apartment building when I lived downtown.
I Read Some 14th Century Byzantine Literature
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I recently ordered and read Dialogue Between an Orthodox and a Barlaamite by Gregory Palamas. For those who don’t know, Gregory Palamas is saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and probably their greatest theologian since the 1054 AD schism.
Refuting Paul Williams on the Law
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Muslim apologist Paul Williams has come out with a video where he tries to put Jesus Christ at odds with the apostle Paul in terms of the Mosaic law. In typical Paul Williams fashion he quotes his “Christian” liberal scholars. The scholars that he quotes are Catholic. I encourage everyone to watch my interview with Timothy Flanders to see what a true theologian is. The ones that Williams quoted don’t fit this bill.
Interview With Timothy Flanders
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Happy St. Patrick’s day! I know things aren’t too cheerful out there with the coronavirus but now is a good time to grow in the faith. Many people are isolating themselves and many that aren’t should. We shouldn’t go to unnecessary gatherings. This gives us a chance for prayer, holy reading, and a little Catholic YouTube. I recently interviewed Timothy Flanders who runs the website meaningofcatholic.com.
Forget the Crusade Nonsense and Grow Up
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I really hate talking about issues like this because I expect better reasoning from Muslims and even from secularists. Muslims know that their religion spread by the sword and offensive conquests so they try and do one of two things. The first one is to say that it was defensive and the second one is moral equivalence. How are their expansions equivalent? Well, we have the crusades. If a Muslim ever brings this up again, here is how to answer him. I recently had to do this to some Muslim on Twitter who tried to justify Islamic conquests and say that Christians did similar things.
Jonathan Brown on Ezra as the Son of God
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A couple weeks ago, Islamic apologist Paul Williams posted an article from American Islamic convert Jonathan Brown. It deals with the extremely awkward claim in Surah 9:30 that Uzayr(usually translated as Ezra) is the Son of God. A lot of converts like to listen to lectures by Jonathan Brown since he’s a really good speaker, and is completely Western in look and dress. He’s also pretty clever in a lot of his explanations. However, in his article he’s really grasping at straws.
Interview With Derya Little
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On Thursday I had an interview with ex-Muslim turned Catholic Derya Little. There are a few reasons why I wanted to interview Little. The first was that I really enjoyed her book From Islam to Christ. I reviewed the book some time ago on this website.
Mary: Theotokos or Mother of a Prophet
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The Holy Theotokos
After contrasting the views of Zechariah in Surah 19 and the Gospel of Luke, we will now discuss the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary is given the title Theotokos which literally translates as God bearer. In Greece to this day the Virgin Mary is referred to as the Theotokos. Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church who speak English as a first language refer to the Virgin Mary as Theotokos. An Arab friend of mine who was raised in the Antiochian Orthodox Church told me that in the Arabic liturgy they transliterate the Greek word into the prayers. The Russian Church refers to her as Bogoroditsa and I assume the other slavic churches use that or something similar. I’m not sure if the Georgians have their own word or use Theotokos. Greek Catholics use the word, and I would imagine that at least some Oriental Orthodox do as well.