The cosmic challenger : what American evangelicals think about Islam and why

This thesis answers the question, "What do twenty-first century American evangelical Christians think about Islam and why do they think that way?" The dominant perception of these Christians is that Islam is a cosmic challenger to Christianity. In other words, Islam and Christianity are in an existential competition to win souls. This thesis utilizes perceptions of Islam as the analytical reference point by which to better understand American evangelicals. The driving hypothesis is that some things about what and why evangelicals think about Islam will reveal broader conclusions about evangelicals themselves. Evangelical Christian literature is broken down into four classifications: informational, prophetic, apologetic, and missional. In the end, consideration of Islam and Muslims leads evangelicals to either an activist impulse or missional impulse.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Middle Eastern Studies

Grantor

The University of Texas at Austin

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Shaw, Joseph Daniel

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Azam, Hina, 1970-

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Busby, Josh

• Islam
• Christian-Muslim relations
• Evangelicalism

Identifier

doi:10.15781/T28P5VB24

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/40924