Alumni Publications- April 2016
Answering Ahmad
The book actually had it’s “genesis” at a minister’s conference at Asbury in the winter of 1984 or 1985. Dr. Donald Joy had invited several former students of his to attend the conference, and, as a sideline, meet to discuss M. Scott Peck’s, then new book People of the Lie. On our final morning we decided to drive to Shakertown for breakfast. It had snowed the night before. Roads were icy that morning. But on the trip to Shakertown I caught a glimpse of a 
cardinal flying in front of a snow bank. The sight stayed with me for decades and eventually morphed into the metaphor for the main premise of the book. The preface (below) describes that morning, the sighting of the cardinal and the snow, and how that sighting shaped the book.
Readers so far have given high marks to the book. To some I respond, “I had good teachers.” To the extent that there is clear thinking, sound hermeneutics, and good writing, Dr. Donald Joy, Dr. Donald Demaray, Dr. John Oswalt, Dr. Fred Layman, Dr. Joseph Wang, Dr. David Thompson, Dr. Leslie Andrews, Dr. Robert Traina, and Dr. George Turner all share the credit. I am utterly grateful for my years at Asbury.
Proceeds from the book will be sent to evangelical ministries in the Middle East who are rescuing women in sexual slavery to ISIS. The tagline for the project as a whole is, “Where harm in the name of Allah meets help in the name of Jesus.”
Preface
“You do not know the worth of your Christian faith
until you have compared it with others.”
–Max Muller
Just enough snow had fallen the night before to leave two inches of white all over central Kentucky. Slick and hazardous roads greeted us that morning, so the driver of our van inched his way carefully along two-lane Highway 68, taking my friends and me to breakfast in Shakertown.
As I gazed out the window at a landscape whitened, motionless, and frozen stiff, a male cardinal flew between the van and the snow bank, gliding effortlessly along through the frigid air. As a native of California, where there are no cardinals, I had never seen such a ravishing red-on-white in my life.
To this day I love Christmas cards with red cardinals placed in snow scenes. They remind me of (but never equal) my glimpse of glory that winter morning. No distortion occurred in that interlude. The snow didn’t make the bird more red than he really was; the bird didn’t whiten the snow. But snow-as-backdrop made cardinal beauty bold and deep—as nothing else could have.
Where religions are concerned, it is commonly taught and thought that “all faiths teach essentially the same thing.” Digging a little deeper proves this conclusion superficial. More significance lies in differences than similarities. Where differences are discerned, Islam serves Christianity like the snow served the cardinal: not making the bird more gorgeous than it really is, but revealing its beauty by contrast. Nothing shows off Christianity like Islam. Answering Ahmad was written to introduce a reader to that realization.
In a sense, the pages that follow put you in the van on that cold Kentucky morning and call your attention to a breathtaking sight as the “cardinal” of Christianity flies between you and the “snow” of Islam. One sets off the other. Stark differences flash clear and bold. It’s not just a pretty sight, but a scene of profound significance. In the process, you will see the sheer glory of a single tenet of the Christian faith as you have perhaps never seen it before.
Get your copy at: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jay-dudley/answering-ahmad-a-christian-responds-to-a-muslim-challenge/paperback/product-22552046.html
Two strangers–one a Christian, the other a Muslim–meet over dinner with mutual friends. When a misunderstanding threatens to disrupt an otherwise pleasant evening, the strangers decide to correspond rather than converse about matters of faith. The Muslim writes first. His core issue is that Christianity misidentifies Jesus, claiming a divine stature for Jesus that he did not even claim for himself. In response, the Christian refutes the Muslim claim, along with six other related challenges. In the end, he presents the Muslim with an unnerving question that invites–even compels–a reply. Fresh, real, and original, “Answering Ahmad” offers unique and engaging insight into both Islam and Christianity.
Leave a Reply