Thank-you for reading. Thank you also for your admonition. As humans, we are prone to error, especially without God’s guidance.

To attempt an honest examination of the evidence, I tried to be as conscientious looking for evidence that did not support my biased views as those that did. I allowed the book to receive 7 years of pre-publication review, because we humans tend to be less critical of our own work that someone else’s.

You are welcome.

If we are down to one then we must be making progress. I will respond to your post over at your blog.

Regrettably, the historical evidence supports your assertion. Jesus’ harshest words were for religious leaders who embraced man-made traditions that negated God’s laws.

Religious leaders tend to want to remain in positions of power. Their unwillingness to consider alternative interpretations of the evidence has generally led to the development of new sects.

In 4:136, Muslims are instructed to believe the Books sent before, and not to deny them. Verses 3:84 and 6:84-89 identify those books, which are those contained in the Bible. Verse 6:90 then gives the instruction. You can use any generally accepted translation; I mainly used Yusuf Ali’s.

Those were they who received God’s guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: “No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations.” (6:90)

I am aware of the Islamic traditional argument about corrupted Biblical manuscripts; however, this teaching not only damages verses in the Qur’an, but conflicts with the verified historical record. Further detailed evidence is provided in the book.

Thank you for your encouraging words.

I cannot say for certain how I arrived at the interpretations, or why I chose Hagar’s declaration as the possible and likely source of the word for Allah. I can say that writing the book was analogous to completing a jigsaw puzzle with no final pattern to guide me. Therefore, I had to rely on how precisely each piece fit the adjacent pieces without forcing them into place or bruising the interfaces, rather than on whether it fit into a predetermined religious traditional pattern.

I will open another web-site where we can discuss resolving the Middle East conflict.

My response to each of your concerns follows.

1. After reading Brothers Kept Apart in its entirety, the religious solution may be obvious.

2. This site is set up for the expressed purpose of discussing the evidence provided in the book that shows harmony between the principal teachings of the Bible and the Qur’an. There have been 7 years of pre-publication discussions on this study without any conditions. For efficient post-publication discussions, I have only one condition – read the book first, not purchase it, but read it.

3. I am not, nor have I had any formal training, in the marketing field. While the book may be purchased, even as an economical e-book, I would much prefer that you read it. The requisite applications have already been approved so that you may borrow it from your local library free of cost. If you or anyone else experiences any challenges obtaining the book from their local library, then please inform me and I would happily dispatch a copy to them.

4. I am not eligible for retirement benefits for another 20 years. Book sales were and are not included in my retirement plans.