The book presents the similarities and contrasts between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It shows how each of the three religions shares a common core of religious and ethical teachings with the other two, although differing in places with regard to specific doctrine and dogma.

About the Author:
DR. JERALD F. DIRKS holds B.A. and M. Divinity from Harvard University and doctorate in Psychology from the University of Denver. He is a former ordained minister (deacon) in the United Methodist Church and is author of The Cross & The Crescent, The Abrahamic Faiths, Understanding Islam, and Abraham - The Friend of God. He published over sixty articles in the field of clinical psychology and over one hundred and fifty articles on Arabian horses. He has traveled extensively in the Middle East and interacted widely with the Muslim communities in the United States.

In The Cross and The Crescent, Dr. Jerald Dirks, a former ordained minister (deacon) in the United Methodist Church and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, reaches out to Christians and Muslims for an interfaith dialogue. Drawing on his seminary education and thirty years of interaction with Muslims in America and overseas, the author digs deep into the roots of Christianity to bring out obscure information that highlights what was once common between Christianity and Islam. He envisioned that "in writing this book, I would like to touch the lives of those Christians who have not been given the knowledge that I have gained both about Islam, from my direct contact with Muslims, and about Christianity from my seminary education. I want to share with those Christians who are willing to listen—what is so often known by their clergy and church leaden, but seldom finds its way into their knowledge of their own religion. Likewise, I also would like to reach out to the Muslims, in order to help them understand the religious commonality that they share with Christians."

The Bible is the basis for the teachings of Christianity, and the Qur'an is the main source of Islamic Religion and Law, this book compares Islam and Christianity according to a comparative study of the Bible and the Qur'an.

Preface
A religion should not be judged by the opinions and attitudes of its biased enemies. Neither should it be judged by the behavior of some of its nominal followers because there are bad people among every religious group, nor making a judgment based on those people are misleading as they may be violating their religion. A religion should rather be judged by its teachings as well as the effects of these teachings on its real followers.
Since the Bible is the basis for the teachings of Christianity, and the Qur'an is the main source of Islamic Religion and Law, this book compares Islam and Christianity according to a comparative study of the Bible and the Qur'an. This approach ensures that the comparison is based on facts and not on prejudice or misunderstanding.
It should be emphasized that when this book talks about Islam, it does not give exaggerated or insincere information to persuade the reader, but rather presents the real teachings of Islam. Everything mentioned in this book, about Islam, is supported by Verses from the Qur'an which was revealed about fourteen hundred years ago. Likewise, everything mentioned about Christianity is supported by verses from the Bible.

The Purpose of this Book
The purpose of this book is to achieve the following objectives using the Qur'an and what survived in the Bible from the teachings of the Prophets (peace be upon them), with the help of our common sense, reason and intellect:

• To confirm that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was a great Messenger of Allah, that he was the Christ, that he was given the Gospel, that he was born miraculously without a father and that he gave life to the dead by Allah's leave and healed him who was born blind and the leper by Allah's leave.
  
• To confirm that the original Gospel revealed to Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was lost and that the existing gospels include few parts of that original Gospel mixed with people's texts and interpretations, which contain a lot of errors and contradictions.
  
• To disprove misrepresentations and lies in the Bible against Allah.
  
• To disprove false charges in the Bible against the Prophets, Lot, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, and Job (peace be upon them).
  
• To disprove false charges in the Bible against Prophet Jesus (pbuh).
  
• To point out the wrong beliefs which were added (intentionally or unintentionally) into the message of Prophet Jesus (pbuh). To disprove the doctrines of Trinity, Original Sin, Blood Atonement and Divine Sonship of Prophet Jesus (pbuh).
  
• To prove that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah and the last revealed Book this has never been changed or adulterated. To prove that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the awaited Prophet prophesied in the Bible.
  
• To present the real Islam through the Qur'an and remove lies and misrepresentations wrapped around Islam by its enemies.

Insightful essays on Christian-Muslim relations by one of the world’s leading experts.
A Christian View of Islam brings together fifteen key essays by Tom Michel, the noted Jesuit scholar of Islam. This compendium is organized into three major categories:

1. Inter-religious Dialogue: Encountering the "Other"
2. Christian-Muslim Studies: Comparative Perspectives
3. A Christian View of Islam.

Topics range from studies of various approaches to inter-religious dialogue in Part 1 to five comparative studies in Part 2, to Part 3, in which Michel addresses a number of issues, including Islam as the "other," Islamic non-violence, holiness and ethics in Islam, and a Qur'anic approach to ecology.

Born into a strict Christian household in Kenya, Yahya Ondigo was always a man of faith. He went on to join the military, and it was during this time that he was given his first exposure to the Muslim way of life. When his questions about the Christian faith were left inadequately answered, and with the help of his elder brother who had recently converted to Islam, Ondigo’s search for the truth led him towards Islam.
My Journey from Christianity to Islam is an autobiographical work, charting this faith journey with some reflections that Ondigo made along the way concerning both religions. He discusses discrepancies in the Christian faith, particularly those with regards to the position of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). He also touches on some of the uplifting discoveries he made about the Islamic faith and how it calls Muslims to live their daily lives.
This story follows the increasing trend in modern times of people coming to Islam and also provides insight for those interested in comparative religion.

Both Jewish and Islamic sources relate the story of the first known sin in the universe, i.e., Satan refusing to obey God s command to bow down to Adam. In the present volume, Dr. Dirks explores both Jewish and Islamic sources on the first sin, compares and contrasts them, and identifies the underlying root cause behind Satan refusing to bow down to Adam, which was arrogance. Given that arrogance was the character trait that caused Satan to sin, Dr. Dirks next examines what Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scripture and religious writings have had to say about arrogance, pride, and self-conceit.

This latter analysis focuses not just upon arrogance in general terms, but also on two specific types of arrogance, i.e., racial arrogance and religious arrogance. The book then concludes with a survey of what Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scripture have had to say about past civilizations that have been destroyed precisely because of their arrogance.