Last month, the Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam, hosted its first academic lectures series of the semester. Dr. Gordon Nickel was the guest speaker for the event. He is a Christian Scholar, overseas worker, and author of several books, including The Gentle Answer to the Muslims Accusation of Biblical Falsification.
The lectures series opened with a night of fellowship and prayer. Nickel addressed the audience and shared several inspiring stories about his work with Muslims in India. All his stories contained themes of prayer, love, and encouragement. Many of the stories he shared ended with an individual’s salvation. Throughout his presentation, Nickel made several statements that left the audience encouraged.
“Muslims are people created in the image of God.”
“Do not fear what the world wants you to fear.”
“When you can’t talk, you pray.”
The next morning, Nickel’s wife, Gwenyth, spoke with a group of women about her personal growth while serving Muslim women on the mission field. While she shared her story, she often referred to the faithfulness of God and His perfect plan. Although there were sudden and uncomfortable changes in her life, she found God’s will and direction in every step of her life. Following her presentation, the ladies at each table shared how they had been or were currently in major life transitions. Once again, a constant theme through the ladies’ conversation was the faithfulness of God.
That night the academic lectures started and continued into the following morning. Nickel lectured on the challenges of the Qur’an and the sufficiency of the Bible. His first lecture covered the different challenges that Muslims bring against the Bible. These challenges included:
-Challenges against the Bible as the Word of God
-Challenges against Jesus as the Living Word
-Challenges against the concept of grace
-Challenges against the unique way of Jesus
In his final lecture, Nickel discussed salvation in the Qur’an. The noun form of the term salvation only occurs once in the Qur’anic text, and according to secular scholars, there is no concept of redemption in the Qur’an. Thus, Nickel stated that the Qur’an does not challenge the idea of salvation since it does not discuss it. Nickel repeatedly mentioned that the Bible goes more in-depth than the Qur’an concerning the human heart. The Bible states that salvation is required. Nickel ended his series by encouraging his audience to always return to love, meaning that we should ascribe to the law of love as we bring the Gospel of hope to Muslims. We should love our neighbors and enemies. Just as God loved His people, so should we.
If you like to listen or watch the lectures, please click on the links below.
“The Challenges of the Qur’an and the Sufficiency of the Word of God” Part #1 By: Gordon Nickel
“The Challenges of the Qur’an and the Sufficiency of the Word of God” Part #1 By: Gordon Nickel
“The Challenges of the Qur’an and the Sufficiency of the Word of God” Part #2 By: Gordon Nickel
“The Challenges of the Qur’an and the Sufficiency of the Word of God” Part #3 By: Gordon Nickel