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sarahetc's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, Goodreads has eaten one review and apparently shadowed this out of my read list. I'm going to try real hard not to let my imagination run away with me. So in the interest of getting some actual words about this book up, I'm going to skip the technical details I went into before and, while making my highlights public, give you the most essential thing you can know about this book: If you earnestly seek Jesus, you will absolutely find Him!!!
jessicaleahreads's review
5.0
This was an excellent book. It is a autobiographical account of the author's movement from the Muslim faith to faith in Christ. I thought this book was very well done. It was so easy to read, and very engaging. At times it felt very much like a memoir (which it kind of is), but it is also full of information. I appreciated how the author took the time to educate the reader on beliefs of Islam, and though he obviously comes to discard the Muslim faith as true, he is respectful throughout and discusses his childhood and the faith he was taught with affection. The book details so much that would be helpful to those interacting with Muslims: beliefs, arguments they are taught against Christianity, major stumbling blocks to belief in Christ. It also, through dialogue between the author and his Christian friends, presents the arguments made to him proving the case for Christianity as being truth. I really appreciated that this was not an easy, off the cuff decision for him. The aithor is obviously an intelligent man. Throughout the book, he is a pre-med student in the Honors program at his university who later goes on to finish medical school. He is a devout Muslim who believes what he has been taught and knows it well. He discusses, researches, and ponders the things he learns from his friends for over 3 years before making a decision. He does not just believe what is told to him, but studies and investigates everything on his own, reading the Quran and other Muslim writings as well as books by Christian authors and eventually, the Bible. Most of the book focuses on the case for Christianity, but eventually he does look at his Muslim faith to see if it holds up to similar scrutiny. It was very interesting how he discussed why it is so difficult for a Muslim to turn to Christ, saying that, among other things, they are usually completely ostracized from their entire community and friends, even from their immediate family. Something that stuck with me was that he said he knows people that understand the truth of Christ and will not turn to Christ because they have no friend or support in the Christian faith to support them when they are essentially excommunicated.
I would recommend this book whole heartedly, and feel it is great for a wide audience. It is excellent for Christians who are frequently in contact with Muslims (or even if not) and want to understand them better, but also for any Christian wanting to know how better to defend and present their faith. I also think it would be a great read for those interested in following Christ who are skeptical. Some may want to delve deeper into the topics and proofs presented but at the very least it would be a great introduction.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I would recommend this book whole heartedly, and feel it is great for a wide audience. It is excellent for Christians who are frequently in contact with Muslims (or even if not) and want to understand them better, but also for any Christian wanting to know how better to defend and present their faith. I also think it would be a great read for those interested in following Christ who are skeptical. Some may want to delve deeper into the topics and proofs presented but at the very least it would be a great introduction.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
caitlinggodfrey's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Such a moving & beautiful testimony! 4.5!
emilycsmith's review
5.0
"If truth doesn’t exist, then it would be true that truth doesn’t exist, and once again we arrive at truth. There is no alternative; truth must exist."
🕌🕌🕌
This is a book that took me a while to pick up, although I'm not sure why. Once I started, however, I devoured it! Within the first few paragraphs I was wrapped inside of Nabeel's mind, feeling his internal struggle as he grappled with what he believed. This autobiography immerses you in his life -- his dear family, cultural roots, and cognitive processing. I couldn't put it down, and finished it so abruptly that I felt the need to reread it.🖋 One of my favourite themes in this book was that of the brotherhood between Nabeel and his best friend David Wood. It was out of this sweet, authentic, trust-filled, life-lived-together relationship that Nabeel found the Lord.🖋 There is much I would like to say, but feel I would fall short. I highly encourage everyone to read this book, or watch one of Nabeel's many videos on YouTube. Although his life was short, it was prolific, and there is much to be gained by his life and studies. For my generation that was raised in a post-9/11 society, I think Nabeel's story is needed more than ever. We can't let our newsfeeds harden our hearts against the people that God loves.
🌿🌿🌿
"Would it be worth it to pick up my cross and be crucified next to Jesus? If He is not God, then, no. Lose everything I love to worship a false God? A million times over, no! ... But if He is God, then yes. Being forever bonded to my Lord by suffering alongside Him? A million times over, yes!"
🕌🕌🕌
This is a book that took me a while to pick up, although I'm not sure why. Once I started, however, I devoured it! Within the first few paragraphs I was wrapped inside of Nabeel's mind, feeling his internal struggle as he grappled with what he believed. This autobiography immerses you in his life -- his dear family, cultural roots, and cognitive processing. I couldn't put it down, and finished it so abruptly that I felt the need to reread it.🖋 One of my favourite themes in this book was that of the brotherhood between Nabeel and his best friend David Wood. It was out of this sweet, authentic, trust-filled, life-lived-together relationship that Nabeel found the Lord.🖋 There is much I would like to say, but feel I would fall short. I highly encourage everyone to read this book, or watch one of Nabeel's many videos on YouTube. Although his life was short, it was prolific, and there is much to be gained by his life and studies. For my generation that was raised in a post-9/11 society, I think Nabeel's story is needed more than ever. We can't let our newsfeeds harden our hearts against the people that God loves.
🌿🌿🌿
"Would it be worth it to pick up my cross and be crucified next to Jesus? If He is not God, then, no. Lose everything I love to worship a false God? A million times over, no! ... But if He is God, then yes. Being forever bonded to my Lord by suffering alongside Him? A million times over, yes!"
paddles1704's review
5.0
Even though it was over 350 pages, I read it in less than a week just because it’s so narrative driven, so relational, that I really became invested in understanding how he came to faith. He pays respect to his family, who didn’t speak to him for a while, even in the dedication and particularly in the first two parts of the book where he explains how Islam was so deeply rooted in his life and how it moulded him and his love for God. It builds you up to be even more devastated when you realise what exactly conversion would mean for him. He does go through facts about Christianity which he found as he became more fact and evidence based in his search for God, a clash with the authority-based faith he had lived in before. However, it is the emotional side of wrestling with his friend, his parents and God that really drew me in. Particularly at the end, when he recounts how he asked God for a dream (very important in the Islamic faith) and then asked him for three, only to weep as he came to Christ, broke my heart. He truly gave up everything he had to follow Christ.
I’m not exaggerating when I say everyone should read it. If you’re a Christian, it’s full of arguments from Islam and counterarguments from Christianity which will make conversations much easier and provide a new level of understanding. If you have a Muslim friend who would be willing to read something, I think the way he speaks (particularly in the 3rd revision, which is what I read), will address a lot of their fears and questions.
I’m not exaggerating when I say everyone should read it. If you’re a Christian, it’s full of arguments from Islam and counterarguments from Christianity which will make conversations much easier and provide a new level of understanding. If you have a Muslim friend who would be willing to read something, I think the way he speaks (particularly in the 3rd revision, which is what I read), will address a lot of their fears and questions.
revbecs's review
5.0
An in depth look at Muslim and Christian apologetics. Learned a LOT more about different Islamic sects as well as the value of Hadiths.