Joseph Cannon builds Shprd, a family discipleship app, and runs Genesis Labs. Writing on faith, leading a household, and the software behind it.https://unjoe.me/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-01-the-perfect-book-problem/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-01-the-perfect-book-problem/The street claim that the Quran is preserved to the letter while the Bible is corrupted, tested against Islam's own canon and manuscripts. The copies are excellent; the absolute claim is what fails.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamquranapologeticsdawahcontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/contending-02-the-uncreated-word/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-02-the-uncreated-word/Islam fought a fifteen-year inquisition over whether the Quran is created, and a Christian monk posed the decisive dilemma a century earlier. What the createdness controversy opens up for a conversation about John 1.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamapologeticstheologycontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/contending-03-answering-islams-questions/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-03-answering-islams-questions/The three questions every Christian eventually hears from a Muslim friend, answered from the sources: the corrupted-Bible claim, the three-gods claim, and the challenge that Jesus never claimed to be God.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamapologeticsbibletrinitycontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/contending-04-the-crucifixion-problem/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-04-the-crucifixion-problem/The Quran denies the crucifixion in a single sentence written six centuries after the event. What happens when that sentence meets the method historians use to establish any ancient fact.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamapologeticscrucifixionhistorical-jesuscontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/contending-05-abrogation-and-the-two-books/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-05-abrogation-and-the-two-books/Islam's doctrine of abrogation from inside its own sources: what Quran 2:106 establishes, how far classical scholars said the sword verse reached, and what happened to the one reformer who tried to reverse the order.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamquranabrogationapologeticscontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/contending-06-what-happens-to-reformers/https://unjoe.me/blog/contending-06-what-happens-to-reformers/Every serious attempt to reform Islam from inside, and its documented fate: a hanging, an assassination, a constitutional excommunication, a collapse. Why the survivors all live in the West.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamreformreligious-libertycontendingJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/degraded-mode-reliable-ai-systems/https://unjoe.me/blog/degraded-mode-reliable-ai-systems/The disciplines that keep large, life-or-death systems reliable — protocols, redundancy, degraded-mode operation, and leading people — are the same ones I use to build production AI agent systems at Genesis Labs.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiagentssystemsreliabilityengineeringJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/digital-sovereignty-manifesto/https://unjoe.me/blog/digital-sovereignty-manifesto/A case for digital sovereignty: why you should own your data, your identity, and your digital self—and how I'm building the infrastructure to make it possible.Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTphilosophydigital-sovereigntyaipersonal-datagenesis-labsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-01-the-world-before/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-01-the-world-before/Before any Muslim army moved, Rome and Persia spent 26 years destroying each other, and Arabia was already full of Jews and Christians. Part 1 of a sourced history: what Islam actually spread into.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistorychristianitylate-antiquityhistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-02-the-conquests/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-02-the-conquests/One Arabian city in 632; an empire reaching from Spain to the Indus by 750. What the documented record of the Islamic conquests actually shows, and what popular history gets wrong in both directions.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistoryconquestshistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-03-who-built-the-golden-age/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-03-who-built-the-golden-age/The Islamic Golden Age was real, and so is the question of attribution. Syriac Christian translators, Sabian scholars, Persian and Central Asian scientists, Jewish physicians, and Abbasid patrons all belong in the ledger.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistorysciencehistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-04-the-crusades-in-context/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-04-the-crusades-in-context/What primary sources and working crusade historians actually establish about the First Crusade: the real provocation record, the charter evidence on motive, the massacres of 1096, and the sack of 1099.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTcrusadeschurch-historyislamhistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-05-the-slave-trades/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-05-the-slave-trades/The Islamic world's slave systems moved millions of people over thirteen centuries, from the Sahara to a fishing village in Ireland. An honest accounting, with numbers that survive hostile fact-checking and a ledger that indicts Christendom too.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistoryslaveryhistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-06-the-long-divergence/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-06-the-long-divergence/In 1000 AD, Córdoba and Baghdad led the world; by 1800 the reversal was nearly total. The two explanations Christians usually repeat are myths. The real story is institutional, and it is more hopeful.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistoryeconomicssciencehistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-07-sacred-ground/https://unjoe.me/blog/history-of-islam-07-sacred-ground/From the Dome of the Rock to Hagia Sophia to the church for sale down the street: what the historical record actually shows about conquest and holy places, in both directions.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistorysacred-siteshistory-of-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/life-and-faith-belong-together/https://unjoe.me/blog/life-and-faith-belong-together/Why I left a career in complex systems to build faith-centered software for families and the church — and the conviction underneath all of it.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmissionfounderJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-01-meet-your-muslim-neighbor/https://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-01-meet-your-muslim-neighbor/How many Muslims actually live in America, where their families came from, and why the country on a passport tells you less than you think. Part 1 of the Your Muslim Neighbor series.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamdemographicsevangelismmuslim-neighborJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-02-how-to-talk-about-jesus/https://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-02-how-to-talk-about-jesus/A practical guide to sharing the gospel with Muslim friends: the common ground the Quran already grants, the fault line you can't soften, and the table manners that keep the conversation alive. Part 2 of the Your Muslim Neighbor series.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamevangelismjesusapologeticsmuslim-neighborJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-03-questions-that-open-doors/https://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-03-questions-that-open-doors/Nine questions Christians can ask Muslim friends, why each one works, and where the conversation goes — from assurance of paradise to the Sana'a manuscript.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamevangelismapologeticsmuslim-neighborJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-04-the-ex-muslim-mission-field/https://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-04-the-ex-muslim-mission-field/Roughly one in four Americans raised Muslim no longer is. Where the leavers go, what leaving actually costs them, and what a church has to get right to receive a convert well.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamex-muslimsevangelismapostasymuslim-neighborJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-05-praying-for-the-persecuted/https://unjoe.me/blog/muslim-neighbor-05-praying-for-the-persecuted/What the persecution of Christians actually looks like in the data (the honest numbers, Nigeria in depth, the blasphemy-law map) and what a family in a safe country can concretely do about it.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTpersecutionprayerreligious-freedommuslim-neighborJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-00-a-shepherd-not-a-spectator/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-00-a-shepherd-not-a-spectator/The opening article of the Shprd Pillars series: Scripture treats shepherd as a real job with real duties (leadership, protection, provision), and in too many homes the watch stands unmanned.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-01-go-first/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-01-go-first/Leadership at home means going ahead of your family: Deuteronomy 6 puts the words on the father's heart before they reach the kids, and Joshua answers for his house. A weekly practice for going first.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-02-lead-the-table/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-02-lead-the-table/A 15-minute family huddle agenda a six-year-old can follow, a Sunday-night look-ahead run like a Navy watch turnover, and the research on why the dinner table is where discipleship actually happens.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-03-know-your-sheep-by-name/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-03-know-your-sheep-by-name/The shepherd calls his own sheep by name, and Proverbs says to train a child according to his way. Leading each kid by season and bent instead of running one generic program — including the dad of daughters and the dad going it alone.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-04-keep-watch/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-04-keep-watch/Protection is a standing watch, not a reaction. How to threat-model your household (physical, digital, spiritual) and drill it like a Navy engine room, because nobody rises to the occasion.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-05-strong-enough-to-matter/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-05-strong-enough-to-matter/Physical readiness is part of a father's charge, not a vanity project. What Navy damage control, Paul's honest ranking of bodily training, and the data on men's declining strength say about the minimal standard any dad can hold.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-06-guard-the-gate/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-06-guard-the-gate/The primary threats to your kids now arrive through screens you paid for. What the evidence actually shows, what's still contested, and a family tech covenant that binds the father first.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-07-feed-the-household/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-07-feed-the-household/1 Timothy 5:8 was never the overtime verse. Provision means feeding your household body and soul, and if you aren't planning that menu, a recommendation engine is.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-08-build-for-generations/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-08-build-for-generations/Proverbs 13:22 says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Four accounts make up that estate: skills, money, paperwork, and faith. Money is the smallest, and the rest transfer deliberately or not at all.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-09-carry-the-load/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-09-carry-the-load/The synthesis of the Shprd Pillars: sacrificial care as the manner of leading, protecting, and providing, and what the research on the household's invisible load says to men who can't see what they're not carrying.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-10-the-shepherds-test/https://unjoe.me/blog/shprd-pillars-10-the-shepherds-test/We made silence a virtue and called it politeness, and it cost us the ability to know who stands with us. The capstone of the Shprd Pillars series: why the man who keeps the watch at home doesn't get to go silent outside it.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTfaithmenfamilyshprd-pillarsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/the-growth-tool-i-turned-down/https://unjoe.me/blog/the-growth-tool-i-turned-down/I had a one-click way to add a referral program to my app. It would have quietly handed off my users' contacts. Here's why I built it myself instead.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTprivacybuildingaiethicsJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-01-what-the-quran-is/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-01-what-the-quran-is/What the Quran is, how Islam says it was compiled, what the earliest manuscripts actually show, and an honest comparison with the New Testament that neither side's apologists will love.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamqurantextual-criticismapologeticsunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-02-what-the-hadith-are/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-02-what-the-hadith-are/The five daily prayers aren't in the Quran. A guide to the hadith canon — the Six Books, isnad chains, what 'sahih' certifies, and what the most authentic collections actually contain.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhadithapologeticsunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-03-the-muhammad-of-the-sources/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-03-the-muhammad-of-the-sources/What can actually be known about Muhammad: the 7th-century witnesses that establish he existed, the 200-year gap behind his detailed biography, and his military career stated exactly as Islam's own sources report it.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamhistorymuhammadunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-04-what-sharia-actually-is/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-04-what-sharia-actually-is/Sharia, fiqh, the five law schools, the five ruling categories, and the real Pew numbers: a precise, sourced answer to what the word means before anyone argues about it.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamshariatheologyunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-05-the-many-islams/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-05-the-many-islams/Sunni, Shia, Sufi, Salafi, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Quranist, cultural, reformer. A sourced map of Islam's internal divisions, and why the fates of its dissidents show where each tradition's center of gravity sits.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamtheologyreformunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannonhttps://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-06-the-jesus-of-the-quran/https://unjoe.me/blog/understanding-islam-06-the-jesus-of-the-quran/The Quran honors Jesus as virgin-born Messiah and coming judge, yet denies the incarnation and the crucifixion. Why Jesus is the original fault line between Islam and Christianity, and why he is also the door.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTislamjesusquranapologeticsunderstanding-islamJoseph Cannon