Chuck Huckaby reviews *Two Stories of Everything*
From Missiolinks, Two Stories of Everything by Duane Alexander Miller – Review and Interview
[image error]In Duane Alexander Miller‘s Two Stories of Everything: The Competing Metanarratives of Islam and Christianity the Anglican Missiologist takes a novel approach to comparing Islam and Christianity.
He rejects the approach of the “comparative religions” school because this Enlightenment discipline believed the topic of “religion” could be neatly compartmentalized and analyzed as an almost incident subset of “real life” as defined by secular humanists. So instead of analyzing Islam and Christianity in some topical fashion, he approaches the issue by narrating how the respective faith systems understand the origin of all things (creation), anthropology, Israel, Jesus, Muhammad, life in their respective communities, their respective missions, and their understanding of the end or eschatology. By the end of the book, the reader should understand that both Islam and Christianity, far from being easily compartmentalized abstractions, are, instead comprehensive – though differing – ways of life.
Miller’s analysis is fast paced and extremely accessible for non-specialists. A glossary and a good array of footnotes adds to the value of the text. As a Christian in the historic tradition but acquainted with the breadth of world Christianity, he is able to portray the Christian story in a way that is fair to Christians whether they be “high church” or “low”. As one who has lived a significant portion of his life in Muslim majority areas such as Nazareth and who can read the Qu’ran in Arabic, he offers an even handed view of Islam as one who knows and appreciates Muslim people.
Christians wanting to understand Islam as it relates (or doesn’t) to their own faith will find this a very helpful guide. The work is not to be confused as another missive from the “can’t we all just get along crowd” because Miller does not indulge in political correctness. Nor can he be charged with “Islamophobia” because his conclusions are based on his specialist study and familiarity with his subject.
Suitable for Sunday Schools, Small Groups, individual reading or introductory class work, this book makes for a thought provoking introduction to the topic. It especially challenges Christians in the West and those who confuse the “West” with Christianity itself. Likewise those who have an interest in the contemporary Christian Mission will be challenged when the “professor” gives the church a barely passing grade on this subject.
Of particular interest is the way that Islam’s growth highlights the weakness of the West … our self destructive attitudes towards family, procreation, our naive views on virtue and vice, and the danger of the Church’s privatized faith. Indeed, Miller’s work operates as a running critique of the secular establishment and narrative itself. The complete ignorance and impotence of the thinking of the West’s political class on the topic of Muslim-Christian relations soon becomes apparent as well.
