Can you give me some more details on the book you recommended? What is it about, specifically?

The book looks at a wide range of topics through the lens of the first five books of the Old Testament.  Some of the issues inlude faithfulness, responsibility, and justice in a changing world.  He reconsides the notions of praise and lament, grace and duty, truth and power.  So, in some sense, the book isn’t about anything in particular.  It is a collection of essays that help rethink issues like obedience as a "revolutionary discipline" that enacts a powerful hope for newness and visibly demonstrates our communion with God.  And so on.  I really enjoyed.  You can see more about it at Amazon or some www site like that.  

The series of questions I asked weren’t directed at you specifically.  I
should have made that more clear.  They were questions that I think we
all should consider.  Nevertheless the questions did play off some of
your comments.  I’ll try to explain further.

I don’t understand what you mean. I have friends who are atheists
and agnostics (or extremely lukewarm Christians) and it does not affect
our relationship. Can it not be the same with Muslims, Jews, and so on?

When you say you have atheist and agnostic "friends," what does that mean in everyday terms in relation to your Christian friends? 

But when
it comes to discussing Islam and Christianity, I think it is better to
embrace the texts that represent those two faiths (while of course
acknowledging to oneself that one represents and presents a truer image
of God and his message over the other), rather than attacking them.

When I first read this comment, I thought: you’ve traded "attacking them" with harboring a personal sense of hierarchy and superiority, where your beliefs are more true than their lesser beliefs.  Why not just have your beliefs as a Christian and they have theirs as a Muslim?  Why are your beliefs more true than the Muslim’s beliefs?  It doesn’t seem to me that they have to be compared and one valued over the other.  Faith in God isn’t a zero-sum game, where a gain for you is a loss for them.  Why can’t they just be different beliefs and leave it at that?      

Is it even worth the Christian’s time to read
the Quran when he has the whole canonical Bible to worry about? One of
my friends seems to advise against it lest the Christian sway himself
from his faith (in Jesus); according to him, the Bible is breathed by
God, whereas the Quran is, perhaps, breathed by something else.

When I read this comment, I thought: Is it worth reading the newspaper?  Is it worth reading novels or watching TV?  We usually do all these things and still find time to read the Bible.  Why can’t we fit reading the Quran in there?  We have the time, I dare say.  But, as your friend suggests, many are fearful that reading the Quaran might challenge their own faith.  And so I asked in my last post, do we fear that they will try to make us like them?

Do you fear that your atheist and agnostic friends will make you like them?  Do you personally believe that your beliefs are more true than theirs?  Would you fear befriending a Muslim because they may unsettle your beliefs?  Would you try to unsettle their beliefs?

When your friend says that the Bible is breathed by God and the Quran created by something else, does that not sound like your friend values his faith over theirs?  Does that not sound like he is pretty confident that his truth is more truthful than the Muslims truth? 

…an
ex-Muslim Christian (who happens to still favor some Islamic
traditions, understandings, and conducts), said the best way to engage
a Muslim is to simply be his friend (first?), show the love of Christ,
and be ready to explain Christianity and the Bible when asked. 

When I read this, I thought that "engage" sounded an awful lot like making them like us.  Maybe I read too quickly.  What do you think?  What does "engage" mean to you?  Does it mean assert your story of Christ and leave it at that?  Or does it mean more?  Like, trying to get the Muslim "friend" to actually become a "Christian" friend? 

I guess that much of my point is that "friend" doesn’t mean one and
only one thing.  It can mean a lot of things depending on the context
in which it is used.  So, whether one can be a friend to a Muslim or a
Jew, as they are friends to atheists and agnostics, and as they are
friends to fellow Christians—depends on what you mean by "friend." 
Why do I say this?  Because, I would bet that at some level, there is a
difference in the way you treat your atheist friends in relation to
your Christian friends, and so I would say it would be the same with
 Muslims. 

I think that to the extent that we harbor a personal sense of
superiority and say to ourselves that our truth is more truthful than
theirs, the practical activity of being a "friend" is varies.  I mean, do you acknowledge to yourself that your truth is more truthful than your Christian friends truth?  Or is there no need for that acknowledgement?  If not, why?