PH.D.
The purpose of this course is to explore Christian faith and Islam and discover what it means for two communities to be engaged with each other in peacemaking ways and what it means for a Christian church to be faithful to its calling in Christ. David W. Shenk hopes that this course will equip the listeners in ways that will help them have a gentle confidence as they engage with Muslims in conversations about faith. David W. Shenk tries to reflect what he has learned from Muslims about the essence of Islam and does his best to represent it clearly. But he also looks at Islam as a Christian. It is important for Christians around the world to understand what Islam is all about.
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1. Introduction
It often happens that Christians and Muslims are afraid to talk with each other about their faith. David W. Shenk shares his life motto from 1 Peter 3:15 to emphasize four guiding principles which will help us look at the issues of this course. So Christians should confess with clarity that Jesus is the Lord, they should be ready when asked to give an account of the hope which is within them, they should do it with gentleness and respect and shouldn't be afraid. Both Muslims and Christians are people who believe that they are called to be witnesses. So we need to learn how to bear witness in a respectful way. - 2
2. Journey with Muslims
David W. Shenk tells us about his personal journey with Muslims which is the background for what he'll be sharing during the course about. He believed that God was calling him to the world missions, but it didn't occur to him that he would work with Muslims. You will learn about David Shenks's ministry in Somalia and Kenya and enjoy his inspirational stories. - 3
3. Quiz - What Do You Know About Islam?
Right at the beginning of this course you are going to have a quiz just to see what you know about Islam. There are 10 brief questions and you need to decide if the answers are true or false. You should stop your video, take the quiz and then listen to the correct answers. David W. Shenk dwells on each of ten questions. - 4
4. Early Theological Formation in the Arabian Background.The Christian Context.
David W. Shenk invites you to look at the Christian context in which the Qur'an took shape and in which the early Muslim Ummah was formed. The Qur'an developed in the context which was influenced by Christianity, so the teacher talks about influencial Christian communities in different countries at the time of Muhammad. It is important to understand that Islam developed in the world in which Christianity was dynamically present and there were Scriptures in many languages. The teacher dwells on controvercies related to Christology that these churches experienced and explains how they tried to respond to these problems in the polytheistic world. - 5
5. Early Theological Formation in the Arabian Background. The Jewish Context.
David Shenk tells us about the Jewish context in which the Muslim community developed and tries to imagine an intense dialogue and confrontation between them when Jews didn't accept Muhammad as a prophet of God. But there are some significant similarities between the Jewish and the Muslim movement that you will learn about in this session. - 6
6. The Jahiliyya and the Hanif Contexts.
David Shenk tells us about the time when Kaaba was the place of worship of polytheistic gods in Arabia. In this context Muhammad began to preach against idolatry and injustice. You will learn about the worship of daughters of Allah and unseemly religious practices that Muhammad tried to confront as he believed it was his mission. The hanif contex is the last context you should be aware of. The hanif were the people who worshipped the God of Abraham. - 7
7. The Muslim Community (Ummah) Part 1
In this lecture David Shenk speaks about the historical background which is important to know to understand the formation of theology. This Muslim community is the part of the communities of faith which trace their spiritual origin back to Abraham and sees itself as a continuation of other Abrahamic faith movements. - 8
08. The Muslim Community Part 2
David Shenk continues the discussion about the Muslim community, the meanings of the words "Islam" and "Muslim". They believe that they are the perfect community and can't go astray. Ummah is called to bear witness over the nations from the position of authority. To wrap up this lecture the teacher opens the book of Exodus to explain that God Almighty is the God who comes down to meet us and save us. - 9
09. The Five Pillars of Muslim Theology
To introduce the topic of Muslim theology and praxis David Shenk begins with the first chapter of Qur'an where you can find the first prayer of the day. The teacher reads that prayer to the students and ask them if it's OK for a Christian to pray that prayer. You will learn about the way Muslims pray and ask God to show them the straight way. In this lecture David Shenk talks about the House of Islam and helps us to explore the five pillars of Muslim theology (Iman) and learn about the worldview in which these pillars reside. - 10
10. Presenting the Gospel to Muslim
As we think of presenting the Gospel among any people we need to keep in mind what their worldview is. David Shenk shares his experience of sharing the Gospel among the muslims and developing a special course for them and using Qur'an as a bridge. - 11
11. The Five Pillars of Muslim Praxis
In this lecture you will explore five pillars of duty. David Shenk introduces this topic by sharing a story about the man who preached against him in the mosque and how he told him about the five pillars of duty which helped people to get to heaven. Some Muslims also talk about the sixth pillar which is called jihad. David Shenk explains the difference between the greater jihad and the lesser jihad and also talks about the way they are expressed. The teacher also explains how the call to jihad has became an offensive movement in order to preserve the integrity of Ummah. - 12
12. The Mission of Islam to the World
What do muslims believe about their mission to the whole world? The mission is expressed in the call to prayer five times daily. Muslims feel that they have a mission in regard to a Christian church to help the Christians to recover and preserve unity. David Shenk explains how Muslims try to accomplish their mission. - 13
13. Adam and Eve
In this lecture David Shenk will move into a different direction and talk about Adam and Eve. The first three chapters of Genesis are extremely important to understand the Christian worldview. These chapters are very pertanent in understanding who we are as human beings. The islamic understanding of the first family of Adam and Eve is also important for their theology and mission. You will discover convergence and divergence within the Biblical account and Islamic understanding. - 14
14. Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac
In this lecture you're going to look at Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac. Christans, Muslims and Jews believe that Abraham is the father of faith and are very impressed by the call of God to Abraham recorded in Genesis 12. All of them believe that they are spiritual progeny of that call to Abraham. David Shenk invites you to explore that idea. - 15
15. The Qur'an and Jesus
" The Messiah is a mystery for Muslims, even the name of Jesus in the Qur'an has no meaning. In this lecture David Shenk looks at the statements about Jesus in the Qur'an and explains them. He also shares his conviction about the centrality of the Cross by telling another interesting story. " - 16
16. The Qur'an and Muhammad
In this lecture you will look at the role of Muhammad in the Muslim movement. Muhammad is the model which reveals true submission to the Qur'an. They also think that when Jesus talks about the Comforter He promises to send Muhammad. David Shenk explains why they are wrong in their speculations. - 17
17. Is Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets
A question that we need to ask is "What do we think of Muhammad and the Qur'an?" In our conversations with muslims this question always comes up. David Shenk explains the reasons for asking that question and the way we should answer it. - 18
18. Understanding the Qur'an
Within the Muslim understanding revelation comes down and so it transcends history. After reading the Bible a Muslim might say that it is corrupted because it has historical narratives. The teacher asks the students to come up with the answer to the accusation that the Bible cannot be the Scriptures. David Shenk shows how different our understanding in regard to the nature of revelation is. - 19
19. The Arabic Qur'an
Muslims believe that Muhammad was the first one to memorize the revelations received from Gabriel. And the Angel brought it down in Arabic so that the Arab people might understand but it can't be translated. David Shenk explores the Quran to understand why Muslims think that the Bible is corrupted and interpretes what the Qur'an says. - 20
20. Tanzil and Incarnation Part 1
Muslims believe that the final Word of God has come down to us as a book, the Qur'an. Within the Christian movement the eternal Word has become human. In this lecture David Shenk spends some time on interpreting the idea of Living Word and what we mean when we say that Jesus is the Son of God. You will also learn why there is misunderstanding about the Trinity and what the Qur'an says about that issue. - 21
21. Tanzil and Incarnation Part 2
In the second part of the lecture speaking about tanzil and incarnation David Shenk continues to explain how to interprete Jesus as the Son of God to our Muslim friends. David Shenk compares the Muslim understanding and the biblical revelation about Jesus. - 22
22. Migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
On the cross we are given the gift of righeousness and we become free from the obligations to religious rituals. David Shenk uses a narrative form of describing the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina to explain what it means theologically in the islamic understanding of the necessary political mechanisms to bring about the will of God on Earth. That migration is called the Hijrah. You will also learn about the theology that was forming Iranian-Muslim revolution. - 23
23. Jesus's Journey to the Cross
Now you will look at a different journey. People wanted to establish the kingdom of God in Galilee and asked Jesus to become their king, but he refused their invitation. Muhammad received the same kind of invitation while being in Mecca and he accepted it. The kingdom of Jesus is the way to the Cross. You are going to look at one dimention of Jesus's journey to the cross which is the way of the kingdom to embrace and forgive the enemies. - 24
24. The Significance of the Cross
There are many dementions to the meaning of the cross and Jesus crusified and risen. David Shenk begins this session with the topic of the forgiveness of sins which is also very central to the meaning of the cross. Our Muslim friends yearn for forgiveness but they can't be sure as they haven't received the gift of forgiveness. - 25
25. The Muslim Ummah in Medina
For the first time in history a prophet of God brought together prophetic ministry and political power and put in place a political religious system that potentially could extend to the whole world. That is why the Hijra is so extremely significant theologically, politically and practically. In this part of the lecture David Shenk talks about the Muslim Ummah in Medina and other territories which were under Muslim control or were hostile. - 26
26. The Church in Jerusalem
Christians look at Jerusalem experience and it is different from what happened in Medina. Jesus marches into Jerusalem with the army of singing children. Church becomes a body of Christ and a new temple, so geographical center is not needed anymore. Jesus initiated a new movement in which the people of God become the place where God dwells. Christ creates a new community, which begins bereft of any political or economic power. In this part of the lecture David Shenk talks about a huge Constantinian watershed when the church and the Empire in the western world "became married" with a very close relationship. You will also learn about the movements on the edges of the Empire. The teacher will compare the church and the Ummah at the end of this lecture. - 27
27. Tawhid and Trinity
In this lecture you will learn about Tawhid which refers to oneness of God and His will. Muslims believe that the political and religious order must be integrated. David Shenk explains what it means for Christians when they attempt to share their witness concerning the Trinity and the diversity within the church and the relationship between the church and the state. - 28
28. The Hajj and the Eucharist
The Hajj refers to the pilgrimage to Mecca and Muhammad transformed the polytheistic Arabian experience into the Muslim experience as only Muslims are invited to come to that region. In this lecture David Shenk looks at some significant dimentions of the pilgrimage and then he compares it with Christian Eucharist. - 29
29. Shari'a is Muslim Law Part 1
David Shenk begins this lecture by telling an interesting story about the conversion of a Muslim from Ethiopia. The teacher reads from 2 Cor. Ch. 3 to show how Christians can be the most fruitful letters that are read by the people. You will look at the development of Shari'a law and sources of its authority. - 30
30. Shari'a is Muslim Law Part 2
This lecture continues the discussion about the formation of Shari'a system. There were four systems of law that were developed and all are respected. After the law system was developed the Sunni Muslims concluded that the doors of ijtihad were closed. David Shenk explains the doctrine of bid'ah which means that there can be no change or innovation. You will learn about the significance of this theology and the problems modern Muslims have with it. The teacher also talks about the law of Christ which is love and about conversion which doesn't expect the change of culture. - 31
31. The Shi'a or Shi'ite Muslims
After the death of Muhammad it was necessary to decide who would be the leader of the community. David Shenk talks about different leaders of the community and how the struggle between different camps led to civil war. - 32
32. Sufi Mystics
There were the mystics among the Muslim movements. David Shenk talks about the Sufi who want to experience God and to know and meet Him. As they search the Qur'an they find some helpful themes. They discover that Abraham is a wali, a friend of God. In this lecture you will learn more about the mystics and their theology. - 33
33. Folk and Secularist Islam
There are a lot of Muslims who are folk Muslims and can be interested in spirit veneration and magic. David Shenk talks about the phenomena of marabout in West Africa. You will hear interesting stories about dealing with demons. The teacher says that in Jesus we have the authority over demons and this became one of the reasons people began to follow Jesus in some countries. There is a difference in a Muslim way of negotiating with demons and the Christian way of dealing with demons. - 34
34. Principles for Ministry Among Muslims
In this lecture you will turn to 1Peter Ch. 3 to learn some principles for ministry among Muslims and discover characteristics which are important for a church that wants to engage in this ministry. As usual, David Shenk tells us interesting stories. - 35
35. An Open Door
David Shenk begins this last lecture with the message to the church in Philadelphia from Revelation Ch. 3 to explain what can open the door for Christians to minister among the Muslims. Some interesting insights and illustrations from personal life help us understand that message better.