Dr. Brian Brown, who earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1972, is contributing editor of the new book Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel and Quran.

For the first time, Brown and his colleagues present together the texts of the Torah, Gospels and Quran, inviting readers to examine the interdependence of the Scriptures that are central to Jews, Christians and Muslins. Connecting these three faith traditions, the book is a breakthrough in scholarship and an excellent source for interfaith studies.

The foreword by Amir Hussain, editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, sets the tone by recognizing the value of understanding the differences as well as appreciating the mutual implication of stories that overlap in content and meaning. Ellen Frankel and Marc Zvi Brettler represent the Jewish community, Henry Carrigan and David Bruce speak for Protestants and Catholics, with Lalel Bakhtiar and Nevin Reda presenting traditional and progressive Islamic points of view.

Brown, ordained by the United Church of Canada, adds an international perspective to illustrate the timeless universality of the material under consideration. He credits his wifeJenny Gosine, whose family roots are in India, for helping him develop a world view on faith.

“Brian Brown and his associates offer a deep investigation of the common as well as the distinctive features of the monotheistic world faiths present in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran, including some possible influence in each by Zoroastrianism,” said Dr. Max L. Stackhouse, author of God and Globalization and Professor Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. “Well aware that the evidence is not conclusive in many cases, he courageously and suggestively charts out the dots that can become connected as further research dictates, thereby setting forth a possible map of the partially hidden root system that feeds the major branches of the flourishing world religions.”

As possibly a definitive landmark of the 21st century, Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel and Quran presents the scriptural texts under license from the Jewish Publication Society, Sheed & Ward and Kazi Publications Inc, preeminent publishing houses of the Jewish, Catholic and Islamic traditions. By word count the material is 70 percent Scripture, 15 percent commentary and 15 percent contextual material relating to recent research showing the Zoroastrian roots of the scriptures of Abraham’s family. The particular textual versions are all 21st century publications from the three traditions, another first.

Brown recently retired from ministry to focus on writing after serving three small Niagara Falls congregations for nearly a decade. Each church experienced growth and redevelopment, including one congregation that doubled its membership and another that built a new church sanctuary.

Brown was associated with Rene Levesque who, as premier, persuaded Brown to write Separatism in 1976, articulating French Quebec’s aspirations to English Canada. Levesque contributed an impressive foreword, regarded by many as the definitive statement on “Sovereignty-Association.”