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Christianity Alongside Islam

Author: John W Wilson, RRP: $39.99

Reviewed by Stephanie Brooking

13 Aug 2010

7:22am Friday, 13th August 2010

September 11. Cronulla riots. Tension between America and the Middle East. It's a story you've heard before. But while much of the mass media has been dashing off
breaking news and relying on an often-scant religious knowledge, one Australian author has been preparing a contemporary and academically sound consideration of
the theologies and practices of Christianity and Islam.

John Wilson is a Melbourne scholar and pastor. His first aim in writing is to provide information on the two religions, supplemented and interpreted with a scholarly
and Christian analysis. But it is not all theoretical. Wilson places his mature and informative study in the context of recent events, citing the bombing of the trade
towers, and the Cronulla race riots of 2005 as compelling reasons for investigating the relationship between Christianity and Islam.

Some of the chapters literally place the ideas of Christianity and Islam side-by-side, comparing the theology and practices of Christians and Muslims around particular key themes such as Holy Scriptures, Jesus, conversion and women. A number of chapters also place the theology into an historical context, examining the actions of Christians and Muslims around such nexuses as violence and science. Of particular note are Wilson's chapter on Language and his intelligent and thoughtful reading of the early chapters of Genesis in light of the current environmental crisis. This book contains many gems to interest a student of the world.

However, this book is not simply an even-handed comparison, and the detachment of the academic occasionally breaks down. Wilson has served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican diocese of Melbourne, and it is clear that he is a Christian writing primarily for a Christian audience. A number of chapters finish with an exhortation for Christians to consider their actions and beliefs in light of the information presented, and the final chapter, ‘God and Hope,' ends with a presentation of the Biblical gospel through a number of parables and the example of C.S. Lewis, concluding that Christians testify to the depth of joy that comes with loving God.

The sources Wilson has used are varied and interesting. (On one page a painting of Jesus by William Holman Hunt faces a photograph of women wearing burqas walking past a US soldier on the streets of Afghanistan.) However, one point of contention that I would raise with Wilson is his slight unevenness in the use of written sources - while both the Koran and the Bible are read extensively it is clear that Wilson is more at home in Christian theology. He is often able to supplement the sections on Christianity with quotations from historically significant theologians such as Augustine and Calvin. In contrast, he turns to modern (and often Anglophone) commentators to fulfil the same role in the sections on Islam. It is an opportunity missed by failing to introduce what would have to be a largely Christian audience to historically significant Muslim thinkers. Filtering that information through modern Christian-background writers is a slip from an otherwise extensively researched author.

Despite this, Christianity Alongside Islam would be a worthy addition to many home or college libraries. Written in an accessible yet impeccably academic style this book aims to be thought provoking. It is a good antidote to scaremongering or ignorant ‘tolerance' that often prevails in Australian society.