My family is half Muslim. I’ve often noticed that Christians who attend church don’t really learn a lot about how to talk to Muslims. They’re sort of in their own silo, and not interested in having these conversations with outsiders. Although you might get lucky and find a Muslim who wants to hear about Christianity, a much better approach would be to ask a Muslim questions that show that you know something about what they believe.

When I was working for a Fortune 100 company, a Muslim co-worker asked me if I had looked at any of the other religions. He was an Indian-born Muslim who had married a Hindu wife, then gone atheist in response to their families rejecting them. I mentioned that my mother’s side was all Muslim, and my father’s side was all Hindu. He asked me whether I knew what the difference was between Sunni and Shia Muslims. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but my answer was close enough to correct that he was delighted. We had a good conversation after that.

With that in mind, I wanted to recommend to you a resource from a staff apologist who works for Women in Apologetics. You might remember her from my previous posts linking to her work. She is the one who dumped sharing her testimony in favor of making an evidential case for her worldview, and the one who also likes to have conversations with people about spiritual things. And it turns out that she knows quite a lot about Islam, from her experiences as well as from her studies.

Here is part of her biography:

I have been privileged to serve in member care, discipleship, counseling, missions, college ministry, women’s ministry, and music ministry. I’ve traveled to nearly thirty countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Burundi, Peru, Uganda, India, Thailand, Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Philippines, and throughout Central America. My relationships with people of other cultures have solidified my faith, broadened my perspective, and enriched my life immensely.

What I like about this is that she chose Islam for her area of interest based on her compassion for Muslims living in these countries. But it’s a controversial topic, not one that is designed to attract popularity. Clearly, her ambition is to make a difference for God and for Muslims who need God, not to make a name for herself by appealing to people looking for entertainment. I get so discouraged by the top books that Christian women are reading. I would like to see the careful use of reason and evidence a normal part of the Christian woman’s life.

She has a new 20-part course starting June 7th that will equip you to have conversations with Muslims. Registration is open now.

Here’s the description:

Led by WIA’s Islam Ministry Specialist, Laura Powell, Islam Foundations is a 10-week course that will equip Christians to have productive conversations with Muslims by preparing them to understand the similarities and differences between the two worldviews, respond to the most common objections to Christianity made by Muslims, and raise thoughtful objections to Islam, out of love and compassion for God’s image-bearers.

Each week features two lessons. Here are the weekly topics:

• Week 1: Introduction & Barriers to Understanding
• Week 2: The Islamic Dilemma & Building Bridges
• Week 3: The Deity of Jesus & The Death of Jesus
• Week 4: The Resurrection of Jesus & Muhammad’s Life and Teachings
• Week 5: Violence According to the Prophet of Islam & Slavery, Supremacy, and Spiritual Slipups
• Week 6: The Death of Muhammad & The Miraculous Qu’ran – Perfect Preservation
• Week 7: The Miraculous Qu’ran – Four More Evidences & The Three Stages of Jihad
• Week 8: Violence in the Old Testament & Violence in Church History
• Week 9: Trinity or Tawhid & Was Muhammad Prophesied in the Bible
• Week 10: Women in Islam & A Christian Response

She’s also bringing in other experts and interviewing them about their experiences discussing worldviews with Muslims.

Here’s the trailer for the course:

And the speaker will be answering questions about Islam this evening live on Youtube at 4 PM Pacific, 7 PM Eastern.

If you know any women who are interested in learning apologetics, this would be a good thing to show them.

I’ve had a good impression of her organization “Women in Apologetics”. They seem to favor an evidence-based approach that strikes me as very good for men like me who like engineering and evidence and problem-solving. What I want is to be equipped for adventures. Give me some good material that will wow my Muslim or atheist co-workers. Apologetics conversations make my pulse race. It’s fun to be called by God and to be a good ambassador.

I know in America we have a lot of people who were concerned about the loss of Constitutional liberties during the Wuh4n virus crisis. But I’ve noticed that in Canada, people don’t stand up for their rights against government as much. They think that big government should take care of them (with their tax money) because big government knows best.

Here’s the latest from one of Canada’s two national newspapers about the province of Ontario:

Citing rising COVID-19 case numbers, on Friday the Province of Ontario enacted one of the strictest lockdowns yet seen in the Western world, including empowering police to stop and question any person seen outside their home.

“Moving forward, police will have the authority to require any individual who is not in a place of residence to, first, provide their purpose for not being at home, and provide their home address,” said Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones in a livestreamed Friday news conference. She added, “police will also have the authority to stop a vehicle to inquire about an individual’s reason for leaving their residence.”

[…]The new orders effectively confine Ontario’s 14 million people to their home, save for a handful of permitted activities. “It is imperative that everyone limit their trips outside of the home to permitted purposes only, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, medical appointments, outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely,” said Jones.

[…]Accompanying the expansion of law enforcement powers was what Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the “strictest measures in all of North America.” This included a full shutdown of outdoor amenities, including golf courses, basketball courts and playgrounds. Under the prior provisions of the Reopening Ontario Act, anyone caught on a jungle gym until the lifting of the measure can face fines of $750, to an individual maximum of $100,000 and up to a year in jail.

While Ontario had previously allowed outdoor gatherings of up to five people, that has now been limited to “members of one’s own household.”

Did you get that? It says: “anyone caught on a jungle gym until the lifting of the measure can face fines of $750, to an individual maximum of $100,000 and up to a year in jail.”

This part was (to me) amazing:

Jones also announced the partial closure of Ontario’s borders with the rest of Canada. Starting at midnight on Monday, roadblocks at the Manitoba and Quebec borders will now turn away any traveller who can’t prove they are travelling for work, medical care or the exercise of Indigenous treaty rights. “Should an individual not have a valid reason to enter Ontario, they will be turned back,” said Jones.

So, police are now able to arrest you without a warrant for any criminal violation. Just being outside without a good reason is enough for them to fine you, and presumably imprison you for repeated offenses. Seven-hundred and fifty dollars. And you’re paying that AFTER paying the salaries of all the politicians, police, judges, teachers, etc. That’s on top of the 45% that Canadians typically pay in income and sales taxes. Would you live in a place like that? Would you be content to pay the salaries of people with degrees in radio broadcasting (like their attorney general) to rule over you and restrict your basic human rights?

I have to tell you, this time they’ve gone too far, and I think this will be rolled back before too long.