The First & Final Commandment: A Search for Truth in Revelation Within the Abrahamic Religion

So informative and clear. We are so lucky to have this doctor's insight. A must read for a those looking for the Truth about God.

Basically a polemic against Christianity in favor of Islam. The book is well-researched and remains consistent in its argument until the end. This argument is basically that for a religious belief to be valid, it must be based in scripture- and he demonstrates that this is lacking in most of the key tenets of Christianity. This is his main criticism and he follows it rigorously throughout the book- not digressing at all into other possible (and common) polemical themes. In the end, I find his argument convincing...The last one fifth or so of the book is about Islam, though a bit different than the usual presentations- dealing heavily with quantifiable things such as scientific proofs and aspects of Muslim civilization. All and all, the best book of its kind.

A very scholarly and thorough account of the evolution of scriptures of the Abrahamic lineage. I don't know of any other work that gives the perspective as clearly as this from the view point of each of the monotheistic faiths and yet maintains the banner of "rationality and reason come before and above doctrine."Sure to become a standard work on comparative religion. Should be essential reading for people from all monotheistic faiths and for all historical and theological students with interest in scriptural history and evolution including teachers.Highly recommended.

When I first picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. I've read it front to back and continue to go back to it regularly.The words, the thoughts are simple and easy to understand. And though the entirety of this book deals with serious matters of religious comparisons, the author always makes his points clear with provided evidences either from either the bible or the koran.An excellent read. I recommend it to everyone.

If one is looking for the problems that exist in the Biblical text, and do not wish to slog through massive scholarly tomes, this book is a mediocre choice. There are many false statements that could and should be corrected. Remember Luke 16:10 which the author carefully quotes: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much". In other words if we cannot trust the author in the smaller things we cannot trust him in the greater things.One page 219 the author asks the reader "Where did Jesus counsel his followers that they could relax, for in a few days he would pay the price [for their sins] and they could all go to heaven on nothing more than belief?" Well, the answer is John 6:28-29: "Then said they unto Him, "What shall we DO, that we might WORK the WORKS of GOD?" Jesus answered and said unto them, "THIS is the WORK of GOD: that ye BELIEVE in Him whom He hath sent." (Emphasis mine) Other relevant verses are John 3:14 and 12:32: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Being "lifted up" from the earth is a reference, of course, to the crucifixion of Christ. We are told that the end result of that crucifixion will be the drawing of all mankind to Christ. Through his crucifixion not our good works. Doctor, I'm merely pointing out the facts of the Biblical text.The author refers, on page 188, to the founder of Mormonism as John Smith. His name was actually Joseph (or Joe if you prefer).The author claims that "Ye must be born again" in John 3:3 is a mistranslation of "Ye must be born from above." Wrong. "Ye must be born again" is not a mistranslation. It is a variant reading among the New Testament manuscripts. Doctor, please get your facts straight for the sake of Allah.In chapter eleven he says the Greek word for Holy Spirit is pneuma and he repeats this misinformation quite a number of times. Holy Spirit is actually the translation of TWO Greek words, not merely one: hagia (holy) pneuma (spirit).On page 178 the author asks "But was Jesus filled differently with the Holy Spirit than was Peter, Stephen, Barnabas, Elizabeth, and Zacharias"? The actual answer is YES. Please read John 3:34 for this information: "For He [Jesus] whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth Him the Spirit without measure". All others were given a measure of the Spirit but Jesus received it without measure. Or, without limit. This dovetails nicely with Colossians 2:9: "For in Him [Christ Jesus] dwells the entire Fullness of Godhead bodily." Doctor, again I am merely pointing out the facts.The New Testament says that all of the disciples of Jesus abandoned Him when he was arrested. So the author inquires as to any witnesses to the crucifixion of Jesus. Implying there were no disciples or family present to witness the crucifixion and death of Jesus. He asks: "Who could the witnesses have been"? Well, doctor, not all of his disciples fled. His mother--the Virgin Mary--was there. As was Mary Magdalene. And at least one more disciple that I will let you figure out from the appropriate texts, which I encourage you to re-read. His initials are J.A.The author implies that Joseph of Arimathea, who buried Jesus in his own tomb, was not a disciple of Jesus. He was indeed a disciple of Jesus, doctor. Albeit a secret disciple. DOCTOR READ JOHN 19:38: "Now after these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews, asks Pilate for the body of Jesus."On page 173 the author says that Peter was not one of the Gospel authors. Well, actually, we have as much reason to believe that Peter wrote the Gospel of Peter as we do that Matthew wrote Matthew and John wrote John: Not much. But, a Gospel bearing Peters' name does exist.On page 172 the author correctly points out that the four gospels differ in their reporting of the wording of the sign placed on the cross above the head of Jesus. Then he immediately says "This problem has been well recognized since the time of Jesus..." Well, actually, doctor, that's not so. Jesus was long gone when the gospels were written. I will categorize this mistake as mere hyperbole.On page 171 we're told that no one in the New Testament is reported to have prayed to Jesus. Well, that's just not so doctor. Saint Stephen the First Martyr prayed to Jesus as he was being stoned to death. Let's read it in Acts 7:59: "And they stoned Stephen as he called upon God and said, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!'" It's a short prayer, granted, but it's a prayer. In John 14:13-14 Jesus gave us this instruction to pray to him: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."The author says that the New Testament was originally written without capital letters. The exact opposite is the fact. The oldest manuscripts are written in uncial (ALL CAPITALS) script without any punctuation or spaces between words. Why does the author make this false claim? He wants us to believe that all occurrences of hagia pneuma (Holy Spirit) were written un-capitalized hence there is no reason to capitalize Holy Spirit. Doctor, one could claim the same for ANY word in the New Testament if your false information were true. If your erroneous claim were true we could remove the caps from the words Jesus, Paul, Lord, God, and literally any and all words. Please get your facts straight so as to properly glorify Allah. Allah is not glorified by or in falsehoods. The New Testament was inspired in uncial script, i.e. all capitals.On page 169 the author says that "the Greek literally translates to Moses being Elohim (God) to Aaron". Actually, doctor, the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible aka Old Testament) is written in Hebrew, not Greek. If you are referring to the LXX (the Septuagint) then you should say so. You're writing for the Glory of Allah, I assume, so I caution you to be as careful, honest, and accurate as humanly possible. Unless, of course, this book contains "lies told for the sake of the truth" which would make this entire book worthless to anyone who cares about truth. I am a former Jehovahs' Witness, having been a Watchtower drone in my teens. They regularly "lie for the sake of the Truth" and such an oxymoron does not cause so much as a ripple of their conscience.The author makes it clear that he considers none of the New Testament or Old Testament to be trustworthy, not even a bit. Then he flip-flops and quotes as authoritative those verses that seem to support his contentions. Doctor, one cannot have ones cake and eat it too.There are a number of other mistakes both large and small and some questionable tactics (such as a smart-alecky tone now and again) and I encourage the author to correct them as Truth and Accuracy are of vital importance to Allah as well as to us. I also encourage the author to have a Christian friend (preferably someone very well-versed in the Bible) proofread his books if he writes about the Bible again. Doctor, I would not venture to instruct you in your area of expertise which is Medicine. Likewise, you should not venture out alone in an area in which you are clearly not an expert.This book is long overdue for a rewrite to correct its' multitude of errors. Muslims should not be so quick to congratulate the author for this book.PS. The author of this mistake-and-error-riddled book has posted a reply! Mr Brown, your picayune argument about Uncial print being somehow different from block letters is irrelevant and misleading. The effect is the same. THEY ARE NOT CURSIVE, which is my point. The earliest manuscripts are all block letters, NO CURSIVE LETTERS IN THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS and no spacing or punctuation. The mistakes I point out are not minor. They expose the dark path of the author of this book and I will begin to enlarge this review with many more of the authors "mistakes." He has had 30 years to correct this book. Perhaps with his behind being booted by me he will rewrite. Dr, buck up like a man. Your book is being exposed as the slipshod "I hope no one notices my untruths, errors, and mistakes" that it is. This behavior, no matter who engages in it, is not acceptable. People such as yourself, Dr, are one of the reason I have lost all respect for Muslim apologists. Dr Brown your book is full of errors, HUGE errors and untruths, not just minor mistakes. Let the readers decide if your "mistakes" are big or little. OH, and I certainly DID take on the main points of your book. But I will do even more. Just for you Doc. :-D

I couldn't put the book down; highly recommend it for all those who are searching for the similarities and differences between the three Abrahamic faiths.The book discusses the theology of God, belief in angels, prophets, divine books, Day of Judgment, predestination and redemption in all three religions.