I will get into passionately defending Dr James White in a few moments but first I need to address you and your inconsistencies directly sir.
Sir, I agree there are Christians looking to build empires and are using their faith to make a few dollars and feed their egos. You, Mr Brannon Howse, are associated with two very such Christians.
Anybody, who has the ability to google ” Usama Dakdok” will know there is something very fishy about this “evangelist”. Some of the clouds hanging over this shady character are listed in the Usama Dakdok section. You have also appealed to what you deem to be "Christian behaviour" (i.e. respectful behaviour) to rebuke folks in a “secret Facebook group” mocking and attacking you, Shahram Hadian and Dakdok. It seems ironic, considering the man you roll with has a reputation for wild-eyed comments, malicious slander, dishonesty and mockery. In case I’ve lost you, I’m referring to your friend Usama Dakdok.
You are promoting liberalism indirectly too and Catholicism. You are also rolling with somebody who has seemingly railed against conservative Christian attitudes towards homosexuality. Step forward, Mr Robert Spencer. A younger version of you, the Christian activist Theodore Shoebat (son of the well known hardline Christian Walid Shoebat), has this to say about your liberal, anti-Bible and pro-homosexual (?) Catholic friend:
Spencer describes the author and the book as such: “Bruce Bawer is to be commended for his honesty and courage in writing this superb novel.” Robert Spencer expresses his own anti-Christian hatred in this line of his perverted article:
“Bawer is the author of the 1997 book Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity — an eloquent, impassioned rebuke to the judgmental fundamentalism in which, Bawer contended, all too many Christians place adherence to dogma, in particular that of the sinfulness of homosexual activity, above the demands of Christian charity.”
An anti-Christian book is described by Spencer, a supposed Catholic, as “an eloquent, impassioned rebuke” to “judgmental fundamentalism”. A Christian would never describe a sodomite book with such words.
You probably don’t know that Robert Spencer is on record saying Islam leads to Muslims leading fine, moral and upright lives. That is in complete odds with the fundamentalist Christians (those who hang with you?) who say Islam is from the devil – how is the devil leading people to live “fine, moral and upright lives”? You may want to take this up with Spencer.
You see, you railed against Dr James White but, if you’re consistent, you will be ranting about Usama Dakdok, the Catholic who promotes liberalism (Robert Spencer) and, wait for it, somebody called Brannon Howse for associating with and promoting the two aforementioned gentlemen!
Sir, you have egg on your face. You may want to try to keep this off Worldview Weekend and hope this is not seen by your financial backers. If you are sincere, you will accept the points being made and recognise your inconsistencies. If you are willing to discuss this and debate what Dr White did as well as Christian doctrines I am willing to come on your show and defend Dr James White against Spencer and/or Dakdok as well as yourself. I understand minister James will not come on your show, I am willing to come on your show. Not for an interfaith dialogue! I am looking to come on the show to hold to account Usama Dakdok, defend brother White and imam Yasir, rebuke you as well as discuss the Bible and Christian doctrines. You see, I’m confident that I can show you difficulties with Christian beliefs (e.g. the Trinity, Hypostatic Union, Blood Atonement, Biblical inerrancy, etc.) and problems with the Bible (both internal and external issues).
The question here is, are you willing to hear what a Muslim has to say? We have put our lives in danger being salt and light for Christians in efforts to reach lost people. We’ve had death threats from people linked to a fundamentalist Christian group; we are not intimated by fundamentalists who are trying to prevent us from peacefully and lovingly reaching the lost. We are peace loving Muslims who want to reach out to your community. You may have watched one or two of brother White’s debates, he struggles in debates to defend ideas such as the Trinity, deity of Jesus and trustworthiness of the Bible. Perhaps that is why you are eagerly trying to close down dialogue. Truth outweighs church traditions. Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free.
Passionate defence of Minister White
Brannon Howse, you have attacked minister James White via straw-men arguments and misinformation. Sir, if you truly believe you have the Holy Spirit in you then surely you are a walking refutation to the belief the Holy Spirit dwells within Christians and guides them in scripture and daily life. Allow me to go into detail:
1. You’ve misrepresented brother White by misrepresenting his event with Dr Yasir Qadhi as an interfaith dialogue, it was not an interfaith dialogue about compromise and syncretism. It was a learning and teaching opportunity. Both respective audiences (Muslims at the mosque and Christians at the church) had an opportunity to learn about what the other respective faith teaches. It would be akin to a Christian going on to YouTube and listening to a lecture by somebody of another faith explaining what they believe. I, being involved in preaching the historical Jesus to Christians, regularly go to the best teachers Christianity has to offer in order to learn about aspects of their faith. I just finished reading some material written by the former archbishop of the Church of England the other day (Prof. Rowan Williams - I hope to use some of it to minister to Christians). I’ve learnt about the Trinity doctrine from folks like RC Sproul and Wayne Grudem – Christianity’s biggest names. I am in a church in the UK listening and learning as well as looking for opportunities to plant seeds. I've attended church organised gatherings where I have I moved people to acknowledge Jesus is not God and the Trinity is not biblical.
I do it because I love Christians. I want Christians to move away from, what rabbi Tovia Singer would call “idolatry”, the Trinity doctrine – a 4th century doctrine which Paul of Tarsus had no knowledge of. For me to do this, I must be familiar with what your religion and what your scholars actually teach. I encourage folks like James White and yourself to learn about Islam from Muslim scholars, that way you will see just how empty, shallow and fallacious the evangelical propaganda about Islam truly is - James White can attest to this as he has seen the type of wild-eyed rhetoric from folks like Robert Morey, Sam Shamoun, David Wood, Usama Dakdok Jay Smith and other low-level thinkers in the evangelical camp via-a-vis Islam. Search this site and you'll find a number of refutations of such low level polemics. Needless to say, James is increasingly avoiding such low-level polemics (although he is still using some arguments which are low level - I have his book and may do a book review).
2. You have made a big deal of half of this event taking place in a church (the other half taking place in a mosque). Minister White has explained it was a ticketed event and it was not a Sunday service.
3. Much has been made of James’ “kindred spirit” comment. Obviously he did not mean he and imam Qadhi shared the same theology and religion – he meant that both share conservative views on different religious sides who have both been involved in championing their respective orthodoxy and conservatism against a growing tide of liberalism in America (the type of liberalism you were indirectly promoting by having Robert Spencer!)
4. The biblical argument that minister White has gone against the Bible because he was “unequally yoked” with imam Qadhi is a disingenuous argument. This is not about marriage. Ironically, Sam Shamoun, a friend of Dakdok's making money out of the Christian Islamophobia industry and a chief amongst those attacking brother James, also exegetes the verse as a reference to marrying and really close friendship to non Christians. One of Shamoun's friends, Jonathan McLartchie, regularly invites non Christians (atheists, Muslims, Mormons etc.) to present their beliefs to Christians in an apologetics academy.
6. Lastly concerning James' point about ISIS , smart Christians may have realised what James White was saying about the Islamic texts being inconsistent and thus Christians unable to make a definitive proclamation on whether Islam teaches ISIS teachings or not can be used against the Bible with regards to the Trinity idea and Christian soteriology. If James is consistent in believing the interpretation of a small fringe group being at odds with mainstream traditional Islamic beliefs makes the texts inconsistent then he will have tough questions to answer concerning modalism and Arminianism - leading to him denounce the Bible as inconsistent (that's if he is consistent) as he won't be able to appeal to taking scripture as a whole as modalists and Arminians have texts supporting their conclusions. Of course, as Muslims we would say ISIS decontextualising texts and not factoring into account the whole of the Islamic tradition. An example of this would be, terrorism, something which is not allowed according to Sharia yet ISIS carry out terrorist acts.
Responses to and posts about James White
Christian lady emails me about Brannon Howse!
Is Brannon Howse promoting liberals?
Yasir Qadhi Rebukes Robert Spencer and other Right Wing Bigots Attacking the Minister White-Dr Qadhi Dialogue
James White Warns Churches Against Using Sam Shamoun
How Folks Like Robert Spencer Poison White Evangelical Minds
For Christians who say Allah is a Deceiver- a Message from James White
Contradiction: Robert Spencer Runs Away From Muslim Debater Yusuf Ismail
Muslims Becoming Christians in Lebanon? Missionary Bus-Start Scandal Bites Again?
Nabeel Qureshi: True Christians Can Perfom Miracles Greater than Jesus!
Nabeel Qureshi: True Christians Can Perfom Miracles Greater than Jesus!
1 John 2:22 Manuscript Discussion
Is Christian Persecution Complex Harming Muslim-Christian Dialogue?
Do Jay Smith's Pfander Centre for Apologetics Really Preach Trinitarian Views on Jesus?
Does Jesus use Violence and Force According to Trinitarian Christianity?
Synoptic Gospels and the Idea of a Pre-Existent Jesus?
