John Schaik

The three apostles Peter, Paul and John are the most important starting point for understanding the beginnings of Christianity. Each brings a different background and language: Peter's Old Testament imagery, Paul's connection with Greek culture, and John's independent lyricism. This fascinating book paints a vivid picture of the three, exploring what they had in common as well as their significant differences, and demonstrating their continuing relevance today. The authors start by discussing the pre-Christian context, and finish by tracing the esoteric streams of Petrine, Pauline and Johannine Christianity in the first few centuries after Christ. They show above all that all three are needed to truly approach the reality of Jesus Christ.

The word Islam means 'surrender to God', a difficult concept in our secular Western culture. Among other things, it indicates dependence and predestination. Allah calls on human beings to surrender in freedom to their God (Sura 96). Allah is merciful and forgiving; at the same time, however, Allah is the all-seeing one and the one who humbles. In Islam, free will and predestination have an uneasy relationship with each other -- but isn't this true for every religion? In this collection of essays, three authors discuss various aspects of the tension between freedom and predestination in Islam from the perspective of Rudolf Steiner's work. They throw sometimes surprising light on the freedom impulse of Islam. This timely book offers interested non-Muslims a rare opportunity to examine a frequently misunderstood aspect of one of the world's fastest growing religions.