....Abraham, God/Allah, Women, Divorce, Paradise, The Fall Rick Richter is a Lutheran pastor at St Peter's Lutheran Church, Schaumburg, Illinois, who has been interested in Islam for much of his ministry. He writes, therefore, not as an academic but as a practitioner, though one who has based his accounts on what is claimed to be an acquaintance with the primary sources – though this seems to mean the best English translations of the primary sources. He sets out to do what the title suggests. He takes a number of key words and examines what is said about them in both the Muslim and Christian scriptures. Some of the words are theological: grace, sacrifice, ransom (for sin), rebirth, angels/jinns, judgement, paradise, Lord God/Allah. Some raise ethical questions: jihad, women, marriage and divorce, homosexuality, suicide. His method of approach is to take each of these key words and set out side by side in parallel columns the relevant texts in which they occur in the Qur'an and the Bible. He then explores the meaning of the word in each scripture, giving an account of each in turn. He follows this up by examining the contemporary issues that the texts raise. This could have been a useful book for Christians to have, especially those who live and work in multi-faith areas, if it had been written from a more neutral standpoint. However, it is in fact an account of one who believes that 'the Bible is inspired by the Lord God' and what it says is 'trustworthy and true' – unlike the Qur'an! The comparisons tend to be to the disadvantage of Muslims. There are times when it has a point-scoring feel to it. This is seen at its most telling in the final chapter, 'Brief Summation' which lists some of the themes and gives the Qur'anic and Biblical views. So, the Qur'an offers 'a life lived as a slave complying with and conforming to the straight path of submission...' while the Bible is about 'a life lived as a child of the Father... delighting in the godly life as a child of God'. It's all a bit too partisan for my taste.