Thomas Schirrmacher

The Koran and the Bible Thomas Schirrmacher

Two world religions - two books which span the globe: the Bible and the Koran. Both have been and still are disseminated in the millions every year. And the contents of these two books continue to write world history. Still, in their origin, style, and message the two books could hardly be more different. This study of the two books does not have its center in the dogmatic differences of the two religions. Rather, it has to do with different understandings respecting Holy Scripture as 'God's Word.' It is from different understandings of how God reveals himself that most other differences between the two religions originate. With that said, this book also makes an important contribution to understanding the problem of fundamentalism in both religions. Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. phil. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, ThD, DD, is professor of the sociology of religion at the State University of the West in Timisoara (Romania), Distinguished Professor of Global Ethics and International Development at William Carey University in Shillong (Meghalaya, India), as well as president and professor of ethics at Martin Bucer European Theological Seminary and Research Institutes with branches in Bonn, Berlin, Zurich, Innsbruck, Prague, Istanbul and Sao Paolo. Schirrmacher has held guest professorships and has given special lectures at universities on all continents. Schirrmacher is chair of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Colombo) and Ambassador for Human Rights of WEA; the WEA represents churches with 600 million members altogether. He also is a member of the board of the International Society for Human Rights. Schirrmacher regularly testifies in the German parliament and other parliaments in Europe, as well as in the EU in Brussels, the OSCE in Vienna and other international bodies. His has written 102 books; three of his newest books are Fundamentalism, Racism, and Human Trafficking. He has earned four doctorates, in missiology and ecumenical theology, in cultural anthropology, in ethics, and in sociology of religion, and received two honorary doctorates from the USA and India.