Follow-up to “I’m a Muslim and I want to understand Christianity.”

I began to respond to this question here. This post is the promised follow-up.

Q. Hello sir. I wish you are doing well. I have a question. I’m a Muslim and I want to understand Christianity and how the Bible works. How can I read the Bible? How do Christians believe in God? Can you suggest some books that can help me, please? Thank you sir in advance.

One thing I didn’t mention last time is that Bible Gateway allows you to read the Bible online in a large number of different languages. I’m not sure what your native language is, but on Bible Gateway, just to the left of the orange-yellow “Search” box at the top of the page, you’ll find a pull-down menu that lets you choose a Bible translation. For example, if your language is Arabic, you’ll find, second from the top in this menu, two Arabic translations, Ketab el Hayat and the Easy-to-Read Arabic Version.

Another good resource is the site maarifa.org. It offers basic Bible studies in Arabic (I’m hoping you know that language).  It has staff available for live chat for those who study the Bible from their website and have questions.

An excellent basic introduction to Christian beliefs can be found in the book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright.

But I think the best way for you to start getting answers to your questions is, as I said last time, just to begin reading the Bible (I recommend starting with the Gospel of John) and then find a knowledgeable, respectful Christian who can talk things over with you. I hope the questions and answers on this blog, Good Question, will also be useful to you.

Thanks again for your sincere interest. In one of the psalms (songs)  recorded in the book of Psalms in the Bible, the writer says to God, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” May this be your experience as you read and reflect on the Bible.

Author: Christopher R Smith

The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith is an an ordained minister, a writer, and a biblical scholar. He was active in parish and student ministry for twenty-five years. He was a consulting editor to the International Bible Society (now Biblica) for The Books of the Bible, an edition of the New International Version (NIV) that presents the biblical books according to their natural literary outlines, without chapters and verses. His Understanding the Books of the Bible study guide series is keyed to this format. He was also a consultant to Tyndale House for the Immerse Bible, an edition of the New Living Translation (NLT) that similarly presents the Scriptures in their natural literary forms, without chapters and verses or section headings. He has a B.A. from Harvard in English and American Literature and Language, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Gordon-Conwell, and a Ph.D. in the History of Christian Life and Thought, with a minor concentration in Bible, from Boston College, in the joint program with Andover Newton Theological School. View all posts by Christopher R Smith