Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and growing rapidly. As such, it’s important for Christians to have a basic understanding of this formidable religion, and in particular, it’s sacred text, the Qur’an. Christian apologist, James White, has written an excellent book – What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an – that provides Christians with a basic understanding of the Qur’an, focusing on the topics that divide Muslims and Christians.
White begins the book by making a case for why Christians should concern themselves with the teachings of the Qur’an. From there, he provides a broad overview of both Muhammad and the Qur’an:
- A brief sketch of Muhammad’s life and the origin of Islam
- According to Muslims, the Qur’an was written by God from eternity past and merely dictated to Muhammad by an angel over a period of 22 years. As such, it is inerrant.
- The central tenet of faith for Muslims is the absolute numerical oneness of God (tawhid), and a confession that Muhammad is His greatest and last prophet.
- The worst of all sins is to associate anything with God (shirk), so the Christian claim that Jesus is God is shirk.
While White’s book is not written as a refutation of the Qur’an’s claims to be divine revelation, there are a number of points raised in the book that expose the Qur’an’s claims as false:
- Abraham and the Kaaba
The Qur’an says Abraham built the Kaaba in Mecca, but there is virtually no evidence that Mecca even existed prior to the time of Jesus. Furthermore, it would require that Abraham travel 1000 miles. - Mary in the Trinity
While the Qur’an does not use the word “Trinity” to describe the Christian view of God (it simply uses the number “three” with reference to God), it does attempt to describe the view and clearly it gets it wrong. According to the Qur’an, the Trinity consists of God the Father, his wife Mary, and their son Jesus (Surah 4:166-172; 5:12-17,68-77,116). What’s at issue here is not the truth of the doctrine of the Trinity, but whether the doctrine the Qur’an condemns is even an accurate portrayal of the doctrine. Clearly it is not. While the Catholic Church and the Christian laity had an overly exalted view of Mary by the 7th century, she was never elevated to a member of the Trinity! There can be no question that the doctrine of the Trinity has always held the three divine persons to be the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In contrast, the Qur’an replaces the Holy Spirit with Mary, and understands the Trinity to consist of a divine male, a divine female, and their divine offspring. Such a gross misunderstanding of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is what we would expect if the Qur’an reflects the understanding of Muhammad based on his limited interactions with Christians, but not at all what we would expect if the Qur’an is divine revelation. Since the Qur’an grossly mischaracterizes the doctrine of the Trinity, it is evidence that it is not divine revelation but the musings of a fallible man. - Jesus was human
The Qur’an argues against Christians by declaring that Jesus was a man (Surah 5:75). This evidences an unfamiliarity with Christian doctrine since orthodox Christian teaching has always held that Jesus was fully human. Certainly there weren’t any major Christian groups in the 7th century that were disputing Jesus’ humanity. Christians did not deny that Jesus was human, but merely that He was only human. It’s apparent that the author of the Qur’an did not grasp this aspect of Christian theology. If the author were Muhammad, we might understand how such a misunderstanding arose. But since the supposed author is Allah, we would expect Him to know what Christians believe. This is evidence that the Qur’an is not the product of divine revelation from Allah. - Did Jesus die?
The Qur’an appears to contradict itself on Jesus’ death. In Surah 19:33 Jesus says “So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life [again],” using the same language to describe His own death as the text uses to describe John the Baptist’s death (Surah 19:15). Even Surah 3:55 reads, “When Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I am gathering you and raising you to Me, and cleaning you of those who disbelieve, and setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection.” The normative meaning of the phrase “I am gathering you” is “I will cause you to die.” The reason Muslims translate it differently in this instance is to avoid a contradiction with Surah 4:157 which appears to say Jesus never died: “They slew him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them; …certainly they slew him not.” So which is it? Did Jesus die and come back to life as He is quoted as saying in Surah 19:33, or did He only appear to die (and thus never really come back to life) as Surah 4:157 claims? If the Qur’an was inspired by Allah it would not contain such a contradiction. - Was Jesus crucified?
We have no historical record for most individuals in antiquity. For those who do have record of, they are typically the movers and shakers in the world of politics and warfare. Jesus is an anomaly. We have a treasure trove of historical information about His life based on eyewitness testimony within two generations of His death. We have five independent Christian accounts of his death by crucifixion from the first century, more attestations from the earliest Christian bishops, as well as several attestations from non-Christian Jewish and Roman historians within 80 years of Jesus’ death. The evidence is so good for Jesus’ death by crucifixion that even the most liberal and atheist scholars acknowledge its historical truth. In contrast, the Qur’an – written more than 600 years later by a man who was not an eyewitness and lived 750 miles from the event – merely asserts that Jesus was not crucified (Surah 4:157). When a book purporting to be from Allah denies a historical event for which we have such astounding evidence of its occurrence, it should be evident that the book is not divinely inspired. There is no reason to believe the Qur’an’s claim on this matter other than one’s prior belief that it is the Word of God. This claim, however, should call that presupposition into serious question. - Egyptian crucifixion
The Qur’an claims that the Egyptians practiced crucifixion in the days of Joseph (Surah 7:124; 12:41; 20:71; 26:49), but we know from history that crucifixion was not yet invented at that time. This is an anachronism, once again invalidating the Qur’an as a divine revelation. - Muhammed in the Bible
The Qur’an claims that Mohammed is described in both the Jewish and Christian Scriptures (Surah 7:157; 10:94). Muslims have attempted to find Mohammad in Dt 18:15-19, Jn 14-16 (the Comforter), and Song 5:16, but the context of these passages clearly rules out such a reading. If the Qur’an says the Jewish and Christian scriptures speak of Mohammad, and yet they do not, then once again the Qur’an is shown to be in error and thus its claim to divine origin are undermined. - Legendary material
The Qur’an includes folklore that does not appear in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, as if these events were historical. Examples include the raising of Mt. Sinai over the heads of the Israelites (Surah 2:93; 4:154; 7:171), Jesus speaking from the cradle (Surah 3:46; 19:27-34), Jesus making birds from clay (Surah 3:49-50; 5:110), ravens teaching Adam and Eve how to bury the dead (Surah 5:30-32), Abraham’s preaching to the people in Ur (Surah 21), and Solomon employing animals in his army and miracles surrounding the Queen of Sheba (Surah 27:17-44). - Affirms the inspiration/truth of the OT and NT
The Qur’an teaches that the Qur’an, the Jewish scriptures (OT), and the Christian scriptures (NT) are all divinely inspired (Surah 29:46-7; 3:84-5). Mohammed even appealed to these Scriptures as containing the truth (Surah 3:3-4; 5:42-3,46-7,65-8). This raises an interesting problem since the Jewish and Christian scriptures contradict some of the truth-claims found in the Qur’an. How could God inspire contradictory material? Muslims respond to this challenge by claiming the OT and NT text have become corrupted (despite the fact that Surah 15:9; 6:114-5, 18:27, and 10:64 all say God’s revelation cannot be corrupted – see also Surah 5:44,47). In their original form the teachings in these former revelations matched the teachings of the Qur’an.[1] The problem with this response is that we know what the Jewish and Christian scriptures looked like in the early 7th century (and even centuries earlier) when Muhammad made his claim. What we read today is essentially identical to what Jews and Christians were reading in Muhammed’s time.This puts Muslims in a bind. If the Jewish and Christian Scriptures still contain the same teachings that Muhammad affirmed as divine revelation and a source of knowledge for Muslims, then Muslims need to believe what the Bible says about Jesus. Of course, the Biblical view of Jesus differs from the Qur’anic view of Jesus. If Muhammad was right about the Bible, then he was wrong about Jesus.
Reliability: Differences Between the Transmission of the NT and the Qur’an
Chapter 11 alone is worth the price of the book. White compares the historical transmission of the NT and the Qur’an, demonstrating how we can have greater confidence that the words of the NT authors have been accurately preserved than Muslims can have regarding the Qur’anic text (despite Muslim claims that not even a single punctuation mark has changed over the centuries).
There was no centralized control of the copying and distribution of the NT manuscripts (and for the most part, there were no single manuscripts of the entire NT, but 27 different manuscripts or smaller groupings of those 27 books that were copied and distributed separately). While this decentralized approach to the transmission of the NT has resulted in variations within the NT text (these variations do not threaten any orthodox teaching, and the original text is usually recoverable with a high degree of confidence), it provides us with great confidence that we have what the apostles and prophets actually wrote, and invalidates conspiratorial theories about textual corruption.
The transmission of the Qur’an is quite different. First, the original Qur’an was not written down (except for a few portions written on palmed stalks and thin white stones). Instead, it was memorized in whole or in part by appointed men called the Qurra. A few months after Mohammad died, after some of the Qurra had been killed in battle, the need for a written version of the Qur’an became clear. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq commissioned Zaid bin Thabit to commit the recitations of the remaining Qurra to writing, as well as collect the various written fragments. For at least one verse (and possibly more), Zaid bin Thabit confessed that only one of the Qurra had recited it. One can only wonder how many other Qur’anic texts were only known to a single Qurra and were lost upon his/their death. About 18 years later, when Uthman was in power, it came to his attention that there were different versions of the Qur’an in different parts of the empire, and the differences were causing confusion and division. To remedy this problem, Uthman sent a request to one of Mohammad’s wives, Hafsa, asking her to send him the manuscripts of the Qur’an she had in her possession. She did, and a committee of men (including Zaid bin Thabit again) were told to make perfect copies of it. It is clear, however, that they were not simply copying the manuscript because Uthman instructed the copiers to use the dialect of the Quraish if there was any disagreement with Zaid concerning the content. If they were strictly copying an established text, there would be no need to make such a comment. Also, we know of at least one more verse that Zaid uncovered during this “copying” project that, once again, was only found with a single person. Once the copies had been made, Uthman sent them to the major Muslim centers and ordered that all other copies be burned (although other sources indicate that some remained). This is an example of a controlled copying, in which the powers that be control what the text says and the distribution and copying of the text. It would be no surprise if there are no variations in the Qur’anic copies after Uthman’s recension since all variants (that we know once existed by the testimony of the hadith) were destroyed by a centralized authority. The uniformity of the text (and there are differences between the extant manuscripts) is not due to a divine miracle, but due to a power play (we have good evidence that large portions of Qur’anic material were purposely omitted, as evidenced by the different manuscripts that existed in Al-Kindi’s day that were kept from being destroyed by Uthman – but are no longer extant today). Indeed, given the history of the Qur’anic transmission, recovering the original is impossible! Again, this stands in stark contrast to the NT. Because there was no controlled transmission of the text by a centralized power, no editing of manuscripts to make them conform to an official version, or destroying manuscripts variants that did not conform to an official version, we can be confident that we possess the original wording somewhere in the manuscript tradition. It merely needs to be properly identified from among the variants.
Conclusion
My review of White’s book has focused more narrowly on what White had to say in the way of critique regarding the Qur’an’s claim to divine inspiration. White’s aim is much larger than this, however. He wants to help Christians better understand Islam so we can engage in more productive dialogue with Muslims. To that end, he compares and contrasts Muslim and Christian theology regarding God, Jesus, salvation, and more. If you are looking for a good introduction to Islam written by someone who is well-studied in the topic, look no further than What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an.
______________________________
[1]While the Qur’an does say Jews and Christians corrupted their texts (Surah 2:75; 3:78; 5:13,41), the context reveals that it was the meaning that they corrupted, not the words. While most Muslims today view the corruption as pertaining to the text, that is not the best interpretation of the Qur’an, and had not been the orthodox Muslim view in days past.
Thinking to Believe 
April 28, 2015 at 9:23 am
Thanks for the review Jason…I will add this to my list. Also…it was nice to hear a recapitulation of how the NT’s variants are actually a testimony supporting authenticity.
LikeLike
April 28, 2015 at 2:30 pm
From the intriguing study by TheFuelProject:
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; (Ephesians 5:11)
LikeLike
April 28, 2015 at 2:40 pm
I’ll try again, specifically on Islam, Muhammad & Allah:
LikeLike
May 1, 2015 at 6:21 am
Jason:
This may be one of the shortest and most informative history lessons you have ever read.
Why the Marine Hymn Contains the Verse “To the Shores of Tripoli”
Most Americans are unaware of the fact that over two hundred years ago the United States had declared war on Islam and Thomas Jefferson led the charge!
At the height of the eighteenth century, Muslim pirates were the terror of the Mediterranean and a large area of the North Atlantic.
They attacked every ship in sight, and held the crews for exorbitant ransoms. Those taken hostage were subjected to barbaric treatment and wrote heart-breaking letters home, begging their government and family members to pay whatever their Mohammedan captors demanded.
These extortionists of the high seas represented the Islamic nations of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers – collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast – and presented a dangerous and unprovoked threat to the new American Republic.
Before the Revolutionary War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the protection of Great Britain. When the U.S. declared its independence and entered into war, the ships of the United States were protected by France. However, once the war was won, America had to protect its own fleets.
Thus, the birth of the U.S. Navy. Beginning in1784, seventeen years before he would become president, Thomas Jefferson became America’s Minister to France. That same year, the U.S. Congress sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by following in the footsteps of European nations who paid bribes to the Barbary States rather than engaging them in war.
In July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and the Dye of Algiers demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000. It was a plain and simple case of extortion, and Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to any further payments. Instead, he proposed to Congress the formation of a coalition of allied nations who together could force the Islamic states into peace. A disinterested Congress decided to pay the ransom.
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked American ships and enslaved American citizens, and why Muslims held so much hostility towards America, a nation with which they had no previous contacts.
The two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja had answered that Islam “was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran that all nations who would not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
Despite this stunning admission of premeditated violence on non-Muslim nations, as well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including George Washington, who warned that caving in was both wrong and would only further embolden the enemy, for the following fifteen years the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to over twenty percent of the United States government annual revenues in 1800.
Jefferson was disgusted. Shortly after his being sworn in as the third President of the United States in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note demanding the immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year forthcoming. That changed everything. Jefferson let the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with his demand. The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the American consulate and declared war on the United States. Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers immediately followed suit. Jefferson, until now, had been against America raising a naval force for anything beyond coastal defense, but, having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic thugery for long enough, decided that is was finally time to meet force with force.
He dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim nations of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never forget. Congress authorized Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli and to “cause to be done all other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war would justify”.
When Algiers and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice and acquiescence, saw the newly independent United States had both the will and the right to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to Tripoli. The war with Tripoli lasted for four more years, and raged up again in 1815. The bravery of the U.S. Marine Corps in these wars led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn, and they would forever be known as “leathernecks” for the leather collars of their uniforms, designed to prevent their heads from being cut off by the Muslim scimitars when boarding enemy ships.
Islam, and what its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their prophet and their god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply.
America had a tradition of religious tolerance, the fact that Jefferson, himself, had co-authored the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was like no other religion the world had ever seen. A religion based on supremacism, whose holy book not only condoned but mandated violence against unbelievers, was unacceptable to him. His greatest fear was that someday this brand of Islam would return and pose an even greater threat to the United States.
This should bother every American. That Muslims have brought about women-only classes and swimming times at taxpayer-funded universities and public pools; that Christians, Jews, and Hindus have been banned from serving on juries where Muslim defendants are being judged; Piggy banks and Porky Pig tissue dispensers have been banned from workplaces because they offend Islamist sensibilities; ice cream has been discontinued at certain Burger King locations because the picture on the wrapper looks similar to the Arabic script for Allah; public schools are pulling pork from their menus; on and on and on and on….
It’s death by a thousand cuts, or inch-by-inch as some refer to it, and most Americans have no idea that this battle is being waged every day across America. By not fighting back, by allowing groups to obfuscate what is really happening, and not insisting that the Islamists adapt to our own culture, the United States is cutting its own throat with a politically correct knife, and helping to further the Islamists agenda. Sadly, it appears that today’s America’s leaders would rather be politically correct than victorious!
Any doubts, just
“Google Thomas Jefferson vs.
the Muslim World.”
Or read a more complete account of the Barbarty Wars here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
LikeLike
May 1, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Know someone by the God he worships and serves:
The God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob tells us, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh, “though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33) And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” (Exodus 33:19) Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he called upon the name of Yahweh. Then Yahweh passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. (Exodus 34:5-8)
http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/was_jesus_god.html
LikeLike
May 2, 2015 at 5:22 pm
I will check this book out. Thank you. And The Take Away. Ty for that short history lesson as I will do further study tonight
LikeLike
May 2, 2015 at 8:01 pm
F.A.
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, Ex 20:5
He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:7)
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
If Exodus be true; then,
is Ezekiel a lie and/or vice versa?
Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV) The soul that sinneth , it shall die . The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
LikeLike
May 4, 2015 at 12:02 am
TA,
Let’s begin at this premise:
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)
Yahweh being Lord God Almighty possesses Divine Sovereignty. His Will determines the constitution & execution of all things.
The two verses you reference from Exodus take place at a time in human history prior to the establishment of a covenant relationship between people as a nation and God.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18-21)
And Moses said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. (Exodus 34:9)
And Yahweh said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD (Yahweh): for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. (Exodus 34:10)
This sets Yahweh apart; the fact that He makes and keeps His promises in perfect righteousness [Numbers 23:19]. Humanity’s relationship with Him proves genuine & unique in that it’s characterized by God reaching out to us as opposed to our reaching out for Him. He instructs us [Leviticus 19:37], we obey His instructions [Leviticus 22:31]. He is always faithful and true to every commitment He makes, “For I am Yahweh, I change not;” (Malachi 3:6a)
Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV) was written some 1,000 years after the Exodus period, subsequent to the covenant.
Context serves well here:
Read Chapter 18 in its entirety to grasp full understanding. Ezekiel 18 speaks of a father, a son and a grandson. The father is righteous. His love for Yahweh causes him to avoid iniquity and walk in His ways [Ezekiel 18:5-9]. The father keeps covenant with Yahweh. If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, … [Ezekiel 18:10-13]. This son is after the type of Cain. He rejects Yahweh’s instruction thus falls into sin. He breaks covenant. Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, … hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live [Ezekiel 18:14-17]. Because this son keeps faith in covenant with Yahweh and his belief in Yahweh is reckoned as righteousness [Genesis 15:6] causing him to be just and obey Yahweh’s Word/Instruction/Law/Torah then he lives. The just shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11]. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, … lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. (Ezekiel 18:18) Now, we come to the matter in question. Yet say ye. Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? … All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. (Ezekiel 18:19-22) [2 Chronicles 7:14] Because the holy son, the one set apart by his belief in covenant with Yahweh abides by His Word, does obedience in righteousness and does not die [1 John 2:29, 3:7, 3:10]. God offers graciousness and mercy. He abounds in grace & lovingkindness yet rules in perfect truth, wisdom, justice and righteousness [Ezekiel 18:23-28; Hebrews 10:38]. The prophet Jeremiah foretold of the renewed and everlasting unconditional covenant Yahweh would make with His people in which He would seal redemption from sin for all humanity [Jeremiah 31:31-36]. See now that I, I am He. And there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39) [John 3:35, 10:28, 29] “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” (John 8:18) “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24) [Matthew 4:17, 11:20; Ezekiel 18:29-32]
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
LikeLike
May 4, 2015 at 9:18 am
FA
Why skirt around the issue and never answer the question posed?
Exodus says that the iniquities of the father shall not go unpunished and shall visit the sons and grandson unto the thrid and fourth generation.
But Ezekiel says the father who commits sin he will bear his own iniquites and the son shall not bear the iniquties of the father nor the father of the son.
BY shirking around the question trying to justify the contradictions is so religious and so last millennium.
In your much speaking you never answer the question whatsoever in any way shape or manner….why? because you cannot answer the contradiction except otherwise, which is no answer at all.
You may just as well say “I don’t know” because quoting scriptures to back up scripture that does not answer the question is no answer. Skirt and dance all you want but you cannot simply say one or the other is wrong so you have to say that both are right and that’s the religious way and one of the first seminar lessons to obfuscate and never answer any question that you cannot answer. Simple math, religiously speaking.
LikeLike
May 4, 2015 at 2:39 pm
TA,
Take it as it comes.
LikeLike
May 4, 2015 at 4:28 pm
FA:
I’m afraid “take it as it comes” is not good enough. And therefore credibility is wanting. Sorry but that’s the bit you have to chew.
LikeLike
May 5, 2015 at 8:06 am
On understanding the Bible in context:
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. (1 John 5:4)
LikeLike
May 5, 2015 at 11:41 am
This makes me wonder about Flowers in Context:
Reincarnation,
The ability of plants to Mimic other creatures,
Can flowers actually see? or sense the visible appearance of others,
The power of genetics,
Mystery of Life Forces
God Redefined
Perhaps you can add to the Stimuli List
17 Flowers That Look Like Something Else
http://www.boredpanda.com/flowers-look-like-animals-people-monkeys-orchids-pareidolia/
LikeLike
May 5, 2015 at 1:30 pm
FA:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) But Christans don’t really believe this because they just don’t know him so here’s the chance you need……..to get acquainted.
You need to get to know him or you’ll be barking up any religious tree you can find and totally miss the real forest Jesus warned you are missing by following the religious paths of the ancients and which unfortunatley the Pharisees hijacked the Jesus following and incorporated him into their very false form of supernaturalism and now Frank, you are stuck in that mire quoting scriptures just like the Scribes and Pharisees did every day without understanding Jesus message not to do the same things and he gave insight.
So let me try to tell you once again about the real Jesus:
My values are Jesus values and he is a hero, the real Jesus that is, not the supernaturalfragilisticexpialidocious guy that religious insanity portrays him to be; Jesus and I are one and I caution you with these words from: John 12:46-48
“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the words that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
You should get to know him, not the painted, picture perfect Jesus on DaVinci’s ceiling; not the Jesus the clergy would have you think was a miraculous wonder of deity, but Jesus the real man, the common sense man, the one who fixed your window when it jammed, the down-to-earth-guy who held you in his arms when you were deeply hurt, the man who comforted you with human dignity and shared your grief, your tears and your hopes for a better life.
The real man you ought to get to know. Not the clerical ghostly guy that inhabits some misty place in the world of superstition behind the sanctuary of white cloths and dead men’s bones.
Jesus the real man, the real person, the son of man as we all are capable of being, if we only realized it instead of waiting for the second Coming. Be the Coming you are waiting for, be the wish you hope for, bring heaven out into the open from the mind within, where the Kingdom resides, so it can be seen and enjoyed to benefit others. It’s easy if you try; it’s the only Jesus that makes sense in a religious world of nonsense.
Ridding the world of religion would necessarily mean also ridding the world of religion’s mindset which is that death brings the rain, helps the garden, avoids the floods, brings freedom and prosperity; no! death never does any of that; it’s just NOT TRUE! The re-education of humanity to a new way of looking at life; that is, life by life, not life by death. Religion has always been life by death and set the pattern for the world to justify whatever it does by religion’s mandate of death. They call it “the blood sacrifice” which is why they say Jesus had to die to fulfill the inane views of the ancients who used sprinkling of the blood of animal and bird sacrifices. And people today still believe that nonsense from the fantasyland of stoneagism, The World of Dizzyney-land.
“Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of your character” davewillis
LikeLike
May 5, 2015 at 2:26 pm
LikeLike
May 6, 2015 at 9:33 am
Yahshua said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,” (John 11:25)
LikeLike
May 7, 2015 at 3:07 pm
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
LikeLike
May 7, 2015 at 3:09 pm
LikeLike
May 7, 2015 at 10:49 pm
FA:
I know you think you know, but listen:
Jesus said when you pray simply:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Now religionists mimic the prayer, word for word, but they are missing the point of the prayer entirely and end up merely being ritualistic in trying to immitate the prayer.
The Jesus prayer was not meant to be imitated, it was meant to have people understand that the nature of prayer was between you and your own sense of thought, not between you and the audience in the church.
LikeLike
May 8, 2015 at 10:31 am
Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand. (Isaiah 52:13-15)
LikeLike
August 29, 2017 at 11:49 am
points raised in the book that expose the Qur’an’s claims as false [[ my comments and one academic source are in double brackets ]] :
1. Abraham and the Kaaba
The Qur’an says Abraham built the Kaaba in Mecca, but there is virtually no evidence that Mecca even existed prior to the time of Jesus. Furthermore, it would require that Abraham travel 1000 miles. [[ It is not all that fabulous given that he traveled from ‘Ur’ to Egypt; the location of Mecca is a major sea route from Egypt. ]]
2. Mary in the Trinity
While the Qur’an does not use the word “Trinity” to describe the Christian view of God (it simply uses the number “three” with reference to God), it does attempt to describe the view and clearly it gets it wrong. According to the Qur’an, the Trinity consists of God the Father, his wife Mary, and their son Jesus (Surah 4:166-172; 5:12-17,68-77,116). What’s at issue here is not the truth of the doctrine of the Trinity, but whether the doctrine the Qur’an condemns is even an accurate portrayal of the doctrine. Clearly it is not. While the Catholic Church and the Christian laity had an overly exalted view of Mary by the 7th century, she was never elevated to a member of the Trinity! [[ at the time of the Quran’s recitation there were groups beyond the reach of Nicaean/Roman control who believed this ]] There can be no question that the doctrine of the Trinity has always held the three divine persons to be the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In contrast, the Qur’an replaces the Holy Spirit with Mary, and understands the Trinity to consist of a divine male, a divine female, and their divine offspring. Such a gross misunderstanding of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is what we would expect if the Qur’an reflects the understanding of Muhammad based on his limited interactions with Christians, but not at all what we would expect if the Qur’an is divine revelation. Since the Qur’an grossly mischaracterizes the doctrine of the Trinity, it is evidence that it is not divine revelation but the musings of a fallible man. [[ below from ARABIA HAERESIUM FERAX (ARABIA BEARER OF HERESIES): “Schismatic Christianity’s Potential Influence on Muhammad and the Qur’an, by Darren M. Slade. […] Monophysites were active missionaries among the Arab tribes, which led to establishing many desert communities. Among the Arabs, there were two expressions of Monophysitism: the Severans, who followed the teachings of Severus of Antioch (d. AD 538), and the Tritheists, who adhered to the Christologies of the Cilician bishops Eugenius (fl. AD 654-657) and Conon (fl. AD 686-687). Severan Monophysites held a particular view of the Trinity common at the time. They stressed the unity of God by declaring that the Father is the source of both the Son and Holy Spirit. Because the Father is unknowable, the mind of God had to appear as a divine messenger (Jesus) to make the Father fathomable. It is interesting to note that the Monophysites were considered the purest form of monotheism by Nubians, Egyptians, and Ethiopians because of their view of Christ’s nature and His relation to the Godhead. The Orthodox Christians were seen as possessing “two Christs” because of their belief in two natures.
“Remarkably, Severan Christology is not unlike the Qur’an’s view of Jesus. The Qur’an declares, “The Messiah [Jesus], son of Mary, was only a messenger” (5:75; cf. v.117) and states that Jesus came to give wisdom to the people about the divine (43:63). In the Qur’an, Jesus possesses only one nature while stressing the unity of God (cf. 3:51). These […] do not fully explain the Qur’anic view of Christ. But the Qur’an contends against the Severans by declaring that Jesus did not know God personally or intimately (5:116). [[ is there something in a lack of knowledge of an extrinsic order; e.g., of the Last Day and of power over the Seats of Heaven? ]] It refutes the claim that Jesus is the “son of God” and “Lord” (9:30-31). [[ The context of Surah 9:30-31 is of taking Jesus (and others) as a gods beside God ]]
Rather, the Qur’an’s rebuke/correction of the Trinity coincides more with tritheism than with Severan theology. [The Quran] declares, “Those people who say that God is the third of three are defying [the truth]: there is only One God” (5:73). The presence of a secondary schismatic group among the Monophysites may explain this misunderstanding. In the latter part of the sixth century, some Arab Monophysites declared that the Godhead was distinct in both persons and nature. This is unlike the Severans, who believed the Godhead was distinct only in persons. Known as the “Tritheist Controversy,” the dissonant sect of Monophysites gained a large following in Armenia, Alexandria, and Syria. Their Christological movement existed as late as the summer of AD 633, where records document their presence at the synod in Alexandria one year after Muhammad’s death. It is possible that Muhammad misunderstood the Christian concept of the Trinity due to the Tritheist Monophysites, who believed the Godhead had three distinct natures. [[ Where is this tritheist controversy in regards to the Nazorean/Ebonite Gospel of the Hebrews which deifies Mary? ]]
“According to the Nazorean “Gospel According to the Hebrews,” which was written in Hebrew (Aramaic), the text identifies Mary as the Holy Spirit. The Qur’an refutes the idea that Jesus ever said, “Take me and my mother as two gods alongside God” (5:116). It is significant to note that the Ebionites existed in Syria at least until the fifth century. The Ebionites were extreme monotheists, who emphasized the Jewish law, especially ceremonial cleansing rituals, which Islam has in its own form. Also, the tradition of Waraqa ibn Nawfal translating the Gospels from Hebrew is oddly coincidental to the Nazorean Gospel. Yet, there are no records of either group, Nazorean or Ebonite, living in Arabia; though they may easily have had contact there through trade (what are the trade routes centered on Mecca?). It is similarly significant to note that the term “Nazoreans” is the Arabic designation for Christians as a whole and existed prior to Islam’s formation. Nevertheless, one cannot dismiss the similarities between the Qur’an’s repudiation of the a certain concept of the Trinity and that of the Nazorean’s reported deification of Mary [[ In the 1950s the Romans codified this as ‘Co-Redemptrix’ dogma of Mariology. ]].
The term “third of three” may be a “Syriacism,” an instance where the Quran employs Arabic loan words (in this case Syriac) to refer to the respective foreign group. The Syrian Christians merely called Christ “the treble one” (what does this mean?). The phrase, therefore, may not be a reference to tritheism at all. There is evidence that Syriac had an influence on the Qur’an. Modern translations of the Qur’an do not use this Syriac phrasing in their translation.”
3. Jesus was human
The Qur’an argues against Christians by declaring that Jesus was a man (Surah 5:75). This evidences an unfamiliarity with Christian doctrine since orthodox Christian teaching has always held that Jesus was fully human. Certainly there weren’t any major Christian groups in the 7th century that were disputing Jesus’ humanity. Christians did not deny that Jesus was human, but merely that He was only human. It’s apparent that the author of the Qur’an did not grasp this aspect of Christian theology. If the author were Muhammad, we might understand how such a misunderstanding arose. But since the supposed author is Allah, we would expect Him to know what Christians believe. This is evidence that the Qur’an is not the product of divine revelation from Allah. [[ Again, you must consider that the Quran addresses schismatic groups, which incidentally it also diagnoses as inherent to Christianity’s human institutions. The address here is that Jesus was ‘only human’ but subtly, if you can grasp it, that this does not limit his anointing, i.e., his incarnation, as the first fruits of God’s purpose in humanity. ]]
4. Did Jesus die?
The Qur’an appears to contradict itself on Jesus’ death. In Surah 19:33 Jesus says “So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life [again],” using the same language to describe His own death as the text uses to describe John the Baptist’s death (Surah 19:15). Even Surah 3:55 reads, “When Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I am gathering you and raising you to Me, and cleaning you of those who disbelieve, and setting those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection.” The normative meaning of the phrase “I am gathering you” is “I will cause you to die.” The reason Muslims translate it differently in this instance is to avoid a contradiction with Surah 4:157 which appears to say Jesus never died: “They slew him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them; …certainly they slew him not.” So which is it? Did Jesus die and come back to life as He is quoted as saying in Surah 19:33, or did He only appear to die (and thus never really come back to life) as Surah 4:157 claims? If the Qur’an was inspired by Allah it would not contain such a contradiction. [[ There is an easy distinction here between ‘dying’ and ‘being killed’ which is in strict conformity to John 10:18. ]]
5. Was Jesus crucified?
We have no historical record for most individuals in antiquity. For those who do have record of, they are typically the movers and shakers in the world of politics and warfare. Jesus is an anomaly. We have a treasure trove of historical information about His life based on eyewitness testimony within two generations of His death. We have five independent Christian accounts of his death by crucifixion from the first century, more attestations from the earliest Christian bishops, as well as several attestations from non-Christian Jewish and Roman historians within 80 years of Jesus’ death. The evidence is so good for Jesus’ death by crucifixion that even the most liberal and atheist scholars acknowledge its historical truth. In contrast, the Qur’an – written more than 600 years later by a man who was not an eyewitness and lived 750 miles from the event – merely asserts that Jesus was not crucified (Surah 4:157). When a book purporting to be from Allah denies a historical event for which we have such astounding evidence of its occurrence, it should be evident that the book is not divinely inspired. There is no reason to believe the Qur’an’s claim on this matter other than one’s prior belief that it is the Word of God. This claim, however, should call that presupposition into serious question. [[ The same distinction as in #4 applies here as well (technically Jesus wasn’t crucified to death because he died by the instrumental will of God). Indeed this was the completion of his incarnation – ‘it is finished’; that he became fully like us in our most fundamental characteristic, death. ]]
6. Egyptian crucifixion
The Qur’an claims that the Egyptians practiced crucifixion in the days of Joseph (Surah 7:124; 12:41; 20:71; 26:49), but we know from history that crucifixion was not yet invented at that time. This is an anachronism, once again invalidating the Qur’an as a divine revelation. [[ Neither conclusive nor fundamentally relevant. ]]
7. Muhammed in the Bible
The Qur’an claims that Mohammed is described in both the Jewish and Christian Scriptures (Surah 7:157; 10:94). Muslims have attempted to find Mohammad in Dt 18:15-19, Jn 14-16 (the Comforter), and Song 5:16, but the context of these passages clearly rules out such a reading. If the Qur’an says the Jewish and Christian scriptures speak of Mohammad, and yet they do not, then once again the Qur’an is shown to be in error and thus its claim to divine origin are undermined. [[ Christians would easily read 7:157 as referring to Jesus, especially the ‘removing of burdens’; there is no referral to Muhammed by name. The text of Surah 10:94 in no way supports your claim, as neither is there any mention here, even indirectly, of Muhammed. If the followers of Muhammed add this to the text, it is not an issue for a Christian reading of the Quran itself (as in point #9, below). ]]
8. Legendary material
The Qur’an includes folklore that does not appear in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, as if these events were historical. Examples include the raising of Mt. Sinai over the heads of the Israelites (Surah 2:93; 4:154; 7:171), Jesus speaking from the cradle (Surah 3:46; 19:27-34), Jesus making birds from clay (Surah 3:49-50; 5:110), ravens teaching Adam and Eve how to bury the dead (Surah 5:30-32), Abraham’s preaching to the people in Ur (Surah 21), and Solomon employing animals in his army and miracles surrounding the Queen of Sheba (Surah 27:17-44). [[ Some of this is in extra-canonical accounts of Jesus’s life, some may be elsewhere, some may be symbolic imagery in the Quran’s rhetoric. Obviously the material’s non-inclusion in canonical scripture is not equivalent with the material’s non-historicity. ]]
9. Affirms the inspiration/truth of the OT and NT
The Qur’an teaches that the Qur’an, the Jewish scriptures (OT), and the Christian scriptures (NT) are all divinely inspired (Surah 29:46-7; 3:84-5). Mohammed even appealed to these Scriptures as containing the truth (Surah 3:3-4; 5:42-3,46-7,65-8). This raises an interesting problem since the Jewish and Christian scriptures contradict some of the truth-claims found in the Qur’an. How could God inspire contradictory material? Muslims respond to this challenge by claiming the OT and NT text have become corrupted (despite the fact that Surah 15:9; 6:114-5, 18:27, and 10:64 all say God’s revelation cannot be corrupted – see also Surah 5:44,47). In their original form the teachings in these former revelations matched the teachings of the Qur’an.[1] The problem with this response is that we know what the Jewish and Christian scriptures looked like in the early 7th century (and even centuries earlier) when Muhammad made his claim. What we read today is essentially identical to what Jews and Christians were reading in Muhammed’s time.This puts Muslims in a bind. If the Jewish and Christian Scriptures still contain the same teachings that Muhammad affirmed as divine revelation and a source of knowledge for Muslims, then Muslims need to believe what the Bible says about Jesus. Of course, the Biblical view of Jesus differs from the Qur’anic view of Jesus. If Muhammad was right about the Bible, then he was wrong about Jesus. [[ The demonstration of this supposed contradiction has not been made and hopefully one can immediately see such a demonstration as a fools errand. The stake in such an argument is that some of the claims of the Christian scripture are directly corroborated by the Quran (e.g., the Messiahship of Jesus; cf. 1 John 4:2). And so the matrix of this agreement must take priority over any supposition of contradiction, just we know that ‘in Christ’ ‘the veil is taken away’ (2 Corinthians 3:12). ]]
LikeLike