On the eve of a dialogue between Christians and Muslims at the University of Wollongong, a peak evangelistic student body says there is no middle ground on the nature of Jesus.
University chaplain Richard Chin, National Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES), hopes the public discussion will expose the differing views that Islam and Christianity have regarding Jesus.
"We want to say with no ambiguity that Jesus did die and rise again and I am hoping that this key difference between Islam and Christianity will be seen," Mr Chin says.
"We cannot say all religions are the same."
AFES staff worker Sam Green will share the lectern with Keysar Trad, a well known Muslim speaker and founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia.
The dialogue being co-hosted by the Evangelical Christian Union (ECU) and the Muslim Association of Wollongong University.
The dialogue is part of ECU's campus mission week, "The Crescent and the Cross', and will take place at 7pm tonight in Wollongong University's Hope Theatre.
Mr Chin hopes the theatre will be packed out with 500 people.
Sam Green has a strong interest in Islam and has produced a resource called "Engaging with Islam' which is used by AFES groups.
He says Islam has become an important worldview with which to understand and respond.
"Even if you don't know a Muslim you may be asked questions about Islam, or have questions yourself," Mr Green says.
""Engaging with Islam' equips Christians to understand Islam, and to engage effectively with Muslims and with those who make comments about Islam or have questions," he says.
Mr Green will also be giving two talks at the university today and tomorrow " "The Bible and the Koran' and "The life of Jesus and Mohammed'.
Mr Trad says he hopes to highlight the ‘common’ ground he believes can be found between Islam and Christianity.
"I would be envisaging a friendly dialogue, where I can hopefully build on the positives we enjoy in common with our Christian brothers," Mr Trad says.
"We see our faith as a continuation of the mission of Christ, through the work of the final messenger of God, the Prophet Mohammed."
This is the first time Wollongong University’s Muslim and Christian groups have organised an event together.
A similar event was co-hosted by Muslim and Christian groups at the university’s Dubai campus earlier this year.
"We are taking the lead from the UOW Dubai campus groups, who held their event under [Islamic] Sharia law" and their event went fabulously," he says.
Each speaker will present a 20 minute talk, followed by a five minute response to one another's presentation.
Mr Chin who will be chairing the night also hopes the event serves to preserve the arena of free speech in universities.
"In this context we can speak about our own faiths with great freedom," he says.
He also hopes the night has a strong evangelistic component.
"From a Christian angle, it's a great way to proclaim gospel of Jesus to our Muslim friends."
