Who Is the True Jesus

In October 2000, the Faith and Science Lecture Forum presented “a comparative analysis of the Jesus of the Qur'an and the Jesus of the Bible” in a debate format moderated by Peggy Wehmeyer, former religion correspondent for ABC News. The “A” team bailed (Dr. Jamal Badawi declined to attend, causing William Lane Craig, philosophy professor of Talbot School of Theology in California, to also absent himself), thus yielding the floor to the scrub team: Shabir Ally, Founder and President of the Islamic Information and Da'Wah Center in Toronto, and Jay Smith, a doctoral candidate in Islamic studies at Brunel University in London. The two speakers covered issues surrounding the historical Jesus, the question of deity vs. prophet, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the after-life. Representing the Muslim perspective, Ally proves to be an engaging and cordial speaker, who--unfortunately--also tends to stray from the subject; while Smith, reading a presentation from Craig, and later offering his own Christian views, speaks in a hard-to-follow staccato (his particular denomination is not identified, and his views do not necessarily represent Christianity as a whole). Wehmeyer is an effective moderator, particularly in the two-part Q& A session. While this program would be mildly informative to the uninitiated, religiously-savvy viewers would likely prefer more substance and focus to the discussion. Although not recommended for general audiences, this would still be optional for comparative religion collections. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)