Christian Responses to Islam

Spring 2025

Wednesdays 0800-1000 Houston time.

Starts January 8th

Course leaders: Dr Richard McCallum

This course is based on a broad and deep sociological study of the variety of Christian responses to Islam - from different theological perspectives and different theological locations. It will feature visiting speakers who represent some of the perspectives being studied.

Students who wish to obtain CMCS Houston credit for this course are required to complete the first four modules of our 'Research and Writing for Muslim & Christian Studies' prior to the start of the course or to request exemption. This course may be begun at any time - students are advised to begin as soon as possible.

The course cost is $400, reduced to $150 for auditing and majority world students.

CMCS Houston has full and half-scholarships available. To apply for a scholarship, email a letter of application together with your c.v. and contact details of two referees to office@cmcshouston.org.

Apply now

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Who was Muhammad?
Is Islam inherently violent?
What about Israel-Palestine?
And just what is Islam anyway?

This course is looks at the range of ways in which Christians worldwide respond to such questions.

The course includes material from Dr Richard McCallum's recent book, which is described thus on his website:

Evangelical Christian Responses to Islam is not primarily a book about Islam. Nor does it set out to answer these explosive questions for the reader.

Rather, it is a book about Evangelical Christians around the world and how they are answering these questions. It is also a book about the public sphere and how we conduct our debates and handle our disagreements.

A public sphere is a zone of rational debate taking place between a group of people in order to influence the opinion of others. It consists of three things: an issue of public interest, people who have opinions about it, and the texts they produce to make their argument.

Evangelical Christians, with their intense interest in Islam and Muslims, are one such example. Drawing on over 300 texts published by more than 200 Evangelicals from a dozen different countries in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, this book explores what the Evangelical micro-public sphere has to say about key issues in Christian-Muslim relations today.

It is clear from the books they write, the blogs they post and the videos they make that Evangelical Christians disagree profoundly with one another over the answers to the questions above. Their answers range from seeing Muslims as the enemy posing an existential threat to Christians, through to welcoming them as good neighbours and even embracing them as close cousins. This book looks at some of these answers and considers where they may lead in the future. The diversity revealed blows apart the stereotype of Evangelicals in the popular imagination.