Personal Interview / Scientists Who Believe / Muḥammad, Pt. 7

Good morning, friends

Spring is here! It’s a lovely time of the year. Already the days are growing longer (here in the northern hemisphere). To continue to grow in our faith, we need God's Word, as well as encouragement to stay the course. Hopefully you’ll find a good deal of food for thought in this week’s newsletter.

The first section is an interview with my dear friend Malcolm Cox. As it’s too long for a single newsletter, we’ll spread it over the coming few weeks. Other elements of the newsletter: Muhammad’s Biography (continued), Scientists who believe, and the (free?) Tour to Turkey.

A PERSONAL INTERVIEW WITH MALCOLM COX

Malcolm: Good morning, Doug!

Douglas: Good morning, Malcolm!

Malcolm: Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed. I think we’re going to have a great time with this.

Douglas: I’m looking forward to it! It helps that we’ve known each other for over 40 years now—makes the conversation feel even more relaxed!

Malcolm: You’ve moved back to the UK—what brought you back?

Douglas: Family. My mother-in-law is 90—she’s our last remaining parent—and we really want to be there for her, especially since her health has been declining rapidly. She lives in Cumbria, just across the bay from us—about 30 minutes away from our apartment. [Note: my mother-in-law passed away just after this interview was published.]

Malcolm: I remember your cozy little house in Edinburgh. Now you’ve got an apartment in Lancashire, right?

Malcolm: So, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Where were you born, and what was your childhood like? Any memories that stand out?

Douglas: I was born in Florida, where I grew up surrounded by lush vegetation, hurricanes, and snakes. I sported a southern accent and a crewcut. My dad worked as Vice President of Prudential Insurance Company, and when I was almost 8, we moved to New Jersey when he got transferred to the corporate office. That first year was a huge change. We lived just 10 miles from New York City—right in the shadow of Gotham. The southern accent disappeared quickly (though I still said “Warshington”!), and I ditched the crewcut. I experienced my first snow (a blizzard), learned to skate, played hockey on the lakes, and had my first ride in a prop plane. The clouds seemed so close, I almost felt like I could touch them!

Malcolm: Do you think you were more introverted or extroverted as a kid? Were you analytical or creative?

Douglas: I am definitely more introverted by nature, though I’ve always enjoyed games, adventure, and most sports. I’ve had a lot of people over the years encouraging me to be more outgoing, and I’ve worked on that—it’s been a lifelong project. As for being analytical or creative, I think I’m a blend of both.

Malcolm: Looking back, would 10-year-old you be surprised by the life you’ve had so far?

Douglas: Oh, absolutely! That 10-year-old was deeply interested in reading, science, and math. He taught himself to type on his dad’s old Underwood typewriter. But extensive international travel or writing a book—he never would have imagined that. And as for becoming a full-time church worker for 20 years, then a freelance minister for another 20+ years—that would have shocked him!

Malcolm: If you could give your teenage self any advice, what would it be?

Douglas: I’d tell him, “You don’t need to be the class clown, Doug. God loves you. Stop worrying about what others think. The family dinner isn’t a race—slow down and enjoy the food and the time with your family. And eat healthier. Drink water, not soda!” Maybe that would have helped me avoid the acne and the heightened self-consciousness that came with it.

Malcolm: I hear you were involved in Scouts. Was that a big part of your upbringing?

Douglas: Yes, absolutely. Those five years were well spent. They told me that only 1% of Scouts make it to Eagle, which just made me more determined to prove them wrong. I had this misconception that if I wore the right insignia, people would just listen to me. (Spoiler: that didn’t happen!) But eventually, I did make Eagle (with palms), and also joined the Order of the Arrow. I’m really glad my parents pushed me to join the Scouts.

Malcolm: What was your first job? I know you spent a long time on church staff, but what did you do before that?

Douglas: My very first job was with the Boy Scouts of America. My entire summer paycheck was $50—tent and food were covered. The next year, I made $150 since I was 16. Before college, I sold Italian ice at Six Flags and earned $2.40 an hour. In university, I worked multiple part-time jobs, like grading homework and tests for Duke’s Math Department, and secretarial work for Kelly Services. The main purpose was to have something to put into the collection plate. Later on, at Harvard, I had cleaning jobs in two museums, and even worked as a janitor one summer, earning $5 an hour. In 1982, I spent six months working at the Senate House at the University of London, making £100 per week. (A far cry from affluence!)

Douglas: My attitude was pretty breezy in public school—I often did my homework while walking home. But when I transitioned to private school, things got tougher. Seventh grade was a turning point. I took Latin and was also placed in Algebra 1. I struggled at first, and my Latin teacher told me I was the second-worst student in the class and suggested I drop it. That stung, but it pushed me to improve. The principal told me I’d need to study 90 minutes a day to succeed in Latin, so I committed to that. By the end of the year, I was getting As in both Latin and Algebra. Latin’s still a language I enjoy reading today. Looking back, I realize how privileged I was to have such a solid education. I don’t think I really appreciated it at the time.

Malcolm: What about your university days? Where did you study, and what was your experience?

Douglas: I studied at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, then went on to Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I also attended Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and completed three years of part-time postgraduate study at Kings College London. As the years went on, I found that the more time I spent in academia, the more I enjoyed learning.

That said, my first year at Duke was a bit of a shock. Back in high school, I graduated at the top of my class, but after the first semester at Duke, I was surrounded by hundreds of students with higher GPAs than mine. It left me feeling a bit defeatist. I figured out that I could coast and get Bs without putting in much effort. As a Christian—I came to faith in the middle of that first semester—I began to rationalize my mediocre work, thinking that I should prioritize sharing my faith over academic achievement. I convinced myself that the Lord wanted me to spend my time evangelizing, and I didn't see the need to push myself academically. Ultimately, this attitude cost me my scholarship, as I failed to maintain the required B average.

TO BE CONTINUED

TURKEY: JUNE 2025 TOUR

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• A Damascus Road experience, but without the repentance—check it out! (473)

• An event parallel to 2 Kings 6:15-17 (474).

• The exact opposite of Judges 6-7—improving the Muslims’ odds against the enemy (484).

• The day of our death is pre-determined (597).

• Opinion circulated that one person on the way to conversion, who died before officially becoming a Muslim, was nevertheless a Muslim in God’s sight (285).

• Some Muslims fed for 20 days on a washed-up whale (991).

• Muḥammad tells his followers how to tie their turbans (991). Also, “…My Lord has ordered me to let my beard grow long and to cut my moustache” (Ṭ 1573).

• Legislating on hermaphrodites and inheritance, “follow the trail of urination” (78).

• The Satanic verses—of which Muḥammad later repents (239).

• Sinking sun (poetry) “sinks from view / In a pool of mud and fetid slime” (Ṭ 906).

• Muḥammad changes the greeting from “Good morning” to “Salām” (472-473).

• Muḥammad puts stock in auguries, though not in flights of birds (593).

• In one of Gabriel’s several appearances, the angel comes to Muḥammad in an embroidered turban, riding a mule covered in brocade (684).

• Privies should not be in private houses (the foreigners’ unclean custom). Good Muslims go out to the open spaces (733).

• Muḥammad was temporarily bewitched—that is, under a spell (352).

• He claims, “I am the most Arab of you all” (106).

• The Quraysh, who largely rejected his message, called Muḥammad Mudhammam (reprobate), whereas Muḥammad means “laudable” (234).

• The Roman Byzantine emperor Heraclius admits that Muḥammad is the prophet (Ṭ 1566).

• Muḥammad gives eight she-camels as compensation to a man whose sandal toe had hit Muḥammad’s shank (on camelback) (Ṭ 1683).

• This is a poem composed about one of Muḥammad’s uncles and his wife (who rejected his message):

  Abū Lahab and his hands, God blast,
  His wealth and gains useless at last,
  He shall roast in the flames, held fast,
  With his wife, the bearer of the wood, aghast,
  On her neck a rope of palm-fiber cast (232).

Next: The People of the Book: Jews & Christians

“I cannot doubt that a glorious discovery in natural knowledge, and the wisdom and power of God in the creation, is awaiting our age, and that we may not only hope to see it, but even be honored to help in obtaining the victory over the present ignorance and future knowledge.” — Michael Faraday

“I think men of science as well as other men need to learn from Christ, and I think Christians whose minds are scientific are bound to study science, that their view of the glory of God may be as extensive as their being is capable.” — James Clerk Maxwell

“Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations…. To the former He is the foundation; to the latter, the crown.” — Max Planck

For years of previous newsletters, click here. For the audiovisual version of the newsletter (YouTube, about 3 minutes, read by Chase Mackintosh), click here. This is usually available the day after the newsletter is posted. Reach our website here.