462 - Jesus and the Muslim: An Explanation

Jesus and the Muslim: An Explanation
Kenneth Cragg
London, Allen & Unwin, 198 5. 315 pp. E. 10.

Cragg is former Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and author to date of some ten books toward a Muslim-Christian dialogue. After showing a familiarity with the vision of Christ in the Qur'an and Muslim religious tradition, Cragg sets forth an introduction to the New Testament sympathetic to the Muslim viewpoint. Remaining chapters take up Jesus' teaching, passion, and divinity, the Pauline Jesus, the Johannine Jesus,

463 - Jesus and the Muslim: An Explanation

and the role of the Spirit. The preface and again the final chapter tackle the practical relevance of such a book at any time and, above all, in the current roiled state of international affairs. Some years ago an eminent Islamic scholar stated, "I cannot understand Cragg." He could not have referred to his style, at once lucid and delightful. He could only have meant the attempt at dialogue "out of season." The riches of the book, however, make it worth reading, and it is hard to miss the painful echo of "How often I would have gathered your children under my wings..." (Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34).

Joseph Devenny
Weston School of Theology
Cambridge, Mass.