INTRODUCTION
Let there be no misunderstanding of our intentions. This booklet is not an assault on
Christianity. Instead, we intend to clarify vagueness, supply neglected information, and
finish incomplete thoughts found in the usual presentation of the Christian missionary.
The Qur'an encourages the discussion of religious matters but according to a vital
principle: both sides are supposed to discuss truth. (Qur'an 3:61). Where the missionary
has left matters vague or has hidden some information, or has not finished a thought the
truth has not been presented.
Since our goal is a careful analysis, let the reader consider his own response
carefully. Any disagreement must be specified as a disagreement with something actually
stated in the following material . It must also be said that nothing written here can be
applied to all Christians. Christian belief covers a wide range. We are concerned with the
style described in the first paragraph.
CHRISTIAN OBJECTIONS
Consider first some common Christian objections to Islam. The Christian points to
corruption and bad behavior in so-called Muslim lands; he cites the warfare Muhammad
waged; he denounces polygamy. In response, it must be said that bad Muslims condemn Islam
only if bad Christians condemn Christianity; warfare disqualifies Muhammad as God's
spokesman only if it also disqualifies Joshua; polygamy condemns Islam only if it condemns
Christianity. (It is Christian culture, not the Christian religion, which has prohibited
polygamy. In the Bible Paul has recommended monogamy for bishops and Jesus has spoken of
the sanctity of the union but no Bible verse prohibits the practice.)
Most Christian objections are of this nature. They are the same kind of charges that
national groups or political parties might make against each other. They are built on
those things which one person dislikes about another person. The attacker does not ask the
other man to justify his position. He simply announces his disgust. By contrast, a Muslim
is concerned that the Christian should justify his position.
MUSLIM OBJECTIONS
Christians say that God is "immutable", i.e. unchanging. How then can
it be said that He passed through the state of death? How could He grow in knowledge?
(Luke 2:52). When we forgive a debt it means that we expect no payment. "The
Lord's Prayer" asks God to forgive our debts the way we forgive our debtors. Why
then does Jesus' have to pay a price for our sins? The usual answers: The many paradoxes
of a God-man, a being simultaneously mortal and immortal are said to be resolved by the
phrase "with God all things are possible." The "debt of sin"
is explained as a misunderstood term so that the crucifixion was not so much a payment as
a necessary demonstration of God's justice.
BASIC POINT
As will be shown, these responses illustrate the Christian difficulty: while he seems
to respond to every question, there is no way to form an explanation consistent with all
those things he has said. Instead, the total of the answers is a contradictory system.
This fact is itself incorporated into the total. That is, where a logical investigation
finds a conflict, this is covered over by insisting that the love of God is more
important, doubt is a dangerous tendency, and these difficulties are "divine
mysteries" If a person is satisfied with this kind of rationale, no logical
presentation is likely to change his mind. However, for those who would be motivated by
exposure to facts, this booklet describes the situation in brief. If the Christian feels
that a logical discussion is more than we should expect when considering religious
matters, let him be encouraged by the Biblical passage at Isaiah 1:16: " . . .
come let us reason together."
DEMONSTRATING THE POINT
Now consider the responses, the second then the first. The missionary is most concerned
that the non-Christian "take advantage" of the "ransom
sacrifice" of Jesus - otherwise a man is "lost". But this
urgency is based on a price being paid. If we acknowledge that God is just, we do not need
a demonstration of His justice. But the Christian insists that we must acknowledge the
crucifixion itself, not God's justice, or be lost. Despite his answer, we are required to
acknowledge a debt as paid not forgiven. Even though the phrase "with God all
things are possible" are from the words of Jesus in the Bible, this proposition
actually turns against Christian belief. It is self-destructive because it says that God
can do "un-Godly" things (act foolishly for example). It demolishes
arguments where it is used. For example:
Christian: "The true nature of God is a Trinity."
Muslim: "How can 1+1+1=1?"
Christian: "With God all things are possible."
Muslim: "Then the Trinity is not His nature, how He must be. It is an
option. He could have been 3, 5, 9 or whatever."
THE PATTERN
These are two examples of the difficulties which we promised to expose. In general the
pattern is this: A question is asked and an answer is given. But the answer conflicts with
another article of faith or practice. So, in fact, the original question is not really
answered because the response has not come from Christian belief. Instead it has come from
something in conflict with Christian teaching.
EXPLANATION VERSUS PROOF
There is a more basic issue than all that has been discussed so far. If we are only
concerned with the analysis of explanations, we have skipped a point. The fact is,
explanation is not proof. Ask a man why he believes something and he will usually respond
by explaining his belief - not why it must be true. Whatever a missionary explains to a
Muslim, our first question is really: "Where did you get your explanations?"
On this matter, the missionary almost always holds a minority view among Christians. The
majority of Christians believe the same as Muslims regarding the Bible.
THE STATUS OF THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible contains the words of God and other material besides. The "fundamentalist"
Christian insists that: all of the Bible comes from God, without error, at least in the "original
manuscripts". So the Muslim does not attack "God's Word".
Rather, he rejects attributing the status of "God's Word'' to writings which
do not qualify. In recent years the missionary has sometimes tried to fool the Muslim on
this point. The Qur'an talks about "the Book" of the Christian and Jews.
The missionary has told us that this Book is the Bible.
AN IMPORTANT QUR'ANIC VERSE ON THE SUBJECT
In fact, the Qur'an refers to the authentic scriptures and the forgeries in their
possession (See Qur'an 3:77). At least one Qur'anic verse has been misquoted in missionary
literature. By quoting the first half of Qur'an 5:48 they hope to convince Muslims that we
must accept the total Bible. The verse in its entirety refers to the Qur'an as a
confirmation of previous scriptures and a control. The word translated control is used to
describe quality control in normal Arabic. This involves rejection of the disqualified.
The Qur'an is called the criterion for judging the false in other scriptures (Qur'an 3:3).
Another verse which is complimentary to those that charge forgery is, the verse which
explains that the Qur'an will make clear much of that which Christians have concealed or
passed over (Qur'an 5:15).
BIBLE MIRACLES?
Some attempts have been made to prove the divine origin of the Bible. These fall into
two categories: an appeal to accuracy and an appeal to miracles. In the first case we are
given a number of historical or scientific points mentioned in Bible verses. What is left
vague is why accurate statements should imply the work of God. The Bible makes contact
with reality, but so do works of fiction. In fact, a man has to tell us some truth before
he can lie to us. We do not mean to label the Bible as totally fictitious, but only to
point out the weakness of an argument for divine origin of the Bible which is based on
assorted accurate statements made in Bible verses. There are attempts made to dazzle us
into belief by those who cite miracles performed by the Bible! For example, Ivan Panin
spent 50 years writing over 43,000 pages investigating Bible numerics. There are however,
basic flaws in such an approach. First, Panin builds schemes around the numbers seven and
eleven, and he the position value of letters and other devices. But the Bible does not
state that these things have any relevance. Nowhere has God said: "Behold the
miracle of seven and eleven!" Second, "numerical miracles" are
cited especially in regard to their the Bible "perfectly preserved"
accuracy. Yet the Bible also contains numerical inconsistencies. Various statistics in the
Biblical books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah are in conflict and this
is excused as being only minor details which were lost over the years. Preservation of
numbers is praised while the lack of preservation is excused. Third, the "discoveries"
of these researchers tend to be self-reinforcing. For example, Panin himself revised the
New Testament based on his ideas. Where some text is faulty or doubtful, he decides on the
basis of that which fits his scheme. One author of "theomatics"
maintained that the anonymous book of Hebrews was written by Paul because this would mean
the total number of books in the Bible credited to Paul would then be equal to fourteen -a
multiple of seven.
And there is the "miracle'' of personal experience: "The Bible is
true because it changed my life." Of course, any piece of literature is supposed
to change the life of a thoughtful reader. To be fair, believers in the dazzling sort of
miracle are less common than those who appeal on grounds resembling personal experience.
In any case the "miracles" are unrelated to the conclusion that they are
supposed to establish - the divine origin of the entire Bible. Meanwhile, the appeal to
accuracy is also an insufficient premise to establish this conclusion.
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
As it happens, the title "Bible" is a name not found in the Bible.
Nowhere does the Bible name itself as a unit. Actually it is at least 66 separate writings
which have been bound as one book. The earlier catalogue of contents that agrees with the
present text dates from the fourth century. This indicates that the Bible has no internal
claim of unity. Of course, the writings speak of other writings, scriptures and books but
not as the unit of today's collection. Almost the last verse in the Bible commands that "nothing
should be added to or subtracted from this book". While this has been quoted as a
unifying statement, any Christian source will verify that the last book in the Bible was
not the last book written. Thus the statement can only apply to this particular small book
of the Bible's 66.
A MISSING CLAIM
Nowhere does the Bible sum itself up as totally God's word. However, the missionary
argument proceeds this way. At 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul says that all scripture is inspired of
God. In 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter says that Paul is correct because Paul too is a writer of
scripture. Surely this is not supposed to convince anyone! "Paul says so and Peter
says he is right." This kind of argument would not satisfy us if we were
investigating any matter. Moreover, we have Paul's denial of his own total inspiration at
1 Corinthians 7:25. Here he states that he writes without God's inspiration on a subject.
About one third of the books in the Bible claim to be divine revelations while the
others make no such comment. Because of this lack, the Fundamentalist type of
Christian has tried to find other justification for maintaining his claim, as mentioned
above.
AN ARTICLE OF FAITH
The Fundamentalist professes: "I believe the Bible to be totally
inspired of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts." On the one hand,
this is a statement of his belief, while on the other hand it is the basis of his belief:
the first because this is said to be his conviction; the second, because the miraculous
aspect of the Bible's inerrancy convinces him that God is the author. However, the
statement cannot do either job. First, he believes that God ordered the writing of all the
Bible. This must include 1 Corinthians 7:25 where Paul writes without the command of God -
a contradiction. Second, the miraculous inerrancy of the Bible is something he has never
seen. Many Biblical errors are excused as being copying errors. That is, the original
manuscripts, which are lost forever, are said, to be inerrant but not those manuscripts
which we have today. The statement (intended to serve as both an article of faith and the
justification for such faith) fails because it is not universally applied in the first
usage and it cites evidence which cannot be produced in the second usage.
Many of the verses in the Bible seem to contradict each other. However, these are often
matters that can be reconciled by better understanding of translation and context. This
kind of reconciliation is the subject of many Christian books and is a healthy process.
But some have deceived themselves into thinking that this means every Biblical
contradiction is only apparent and can be explained. Actually there is another category of
contradictions which is not explainable by consideration of translation or context. It is
the existence of this type of discrepancy that has caused the words "in the
original manuscripts" to be added to any claim that the Bible is free of error.
These are the so-called copying mistakes (e.g. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7). Here again the
believer in total Bible inspiration neglects to apply his belief universally. At Isaiah
40:8, the Bible states that God's word stands forever - it does not get lost in the
re-copying. If the Christian takes this part of the Bible as inspired how can he admit
that other portion have not stood till now, let alone forever?
At this point the Christian redefines exactly what he means by God's word. He says that
it is not so much the individual words of the Bible, these were chosen by the human
writers, but the message which is God's word. So small statistical errors do not
invalidate the Bible's totally divine authority. Once more we have an answer which opposes
a previous claim: it was the supposed amazing accuracy of the individual words themselves
that testified to the divine quality of the Bible. Now these words are said to be only
human efforts under a more vague "in breathing" (inspiration) of God.
WORDS AND MESSAGE
Jesus outlined a principle of reliability at Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in
a very little thing is faithful also in much: and he who is unrighteous in a very little
thing is unrighteous also in much." Now the missionary excuses small mistakes
while maintaining that there are no big mistakes in the Bible. But Jesus' words do not
allow for this separation of small and big errors. So the last Christian answer is used
again: the missionary says that the message is one subject and it contains no errors big
or small, but the actual words of the Bible might possibly contain error. Both the Muslim
and the Christian should take note of this distinction. The Qur'an talks about the Injeel
of Jesus, meaning the particular message he delivered. Both the missionary and the
careless Muslim may believe that this Injeel is the same as the four gospels - the
Biblical accounts of the life of Jesus. The Muslim should realize and the Christian should
be ready to admit that the exact words of the four gospel accounts are not the same as the
message of Jesus. The gospels narrate the events of his life and at times quote him. More
correctly, the words of Jesus are paraphrased in the gospels. His sayings are recast but
not directly quoted necessarily. In fact, the famous "Lord's Prayer" will
be found in two different versions at Matthew 6 and Luke 11. In a similar way, the Qur'an
mentions the Torah of Moses. Again, it must not be imagined that the message of Moses
survives verbatim in today's Bible. A claim like this was made in the prophet Jeremiah's
day, but we read: "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with
us'? Rut behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie." (Jeremiah
8:8): In the following, we are concerned with the words of Jesus, not with the things
people wrote about him. We do not pick and choose from the Bible according to what we
like, but grant that the fundamentalist Christian likes all of the Bible. Therefore
he should be willing to discuss any quotation made here, although the Muslim is not
conceding any authenticity.
OUR METHOD
We intend to use the methods already illustrated to deal with the most basic issue
between Christians and Muslims. The method has been to clarify what is vague, to expose
neglected information, and to finish incomplete thoughts. This method enables us to turn
to the words attributed to Jesus in the Bible and we can then determine where his words
have been "overspecified" - made to say more than they mean - or where
his words have been "twice sold" - given two interpretations.
OUR ISSUE
The primary issue is finally, not whether Jesus was divine, but whether he said that he
was. Let us illustrate and then summarize the method of investigating the missionary's
claim.
OVERSPECIFICATION
In the overspecified category we have such passages as John Chapter 6, John 3:16 and
the tenth chapter of John. At 6:41 Jesus says: "I am the bread that came down out
of heaven." In this chapter, he compares himself to the manna eaten by the
Israelites in Moses' time. Quoting scripture he calls the manna "bread out of
heaven", (Psalm 78:24). The vagueness in this argument is the fact that the
Christian has not stated that he intends to make an exact parallel between Jesus and the
manna: if one comes from heaven, so does the other. The information he has neglected
involves the origin of the manna. Of course it was not prepared in heaven and then
transported to earth. According to Numbers 11:9, it came from the same place as the dew.
So a thought must be finished. If the Christian maintains that Jesus literally came out of
the heaven where God lives, he forces a literal meaning from the words while allowing a
figurative meaning for the same words in the case of the manna out of heaven.
John 3:16 is where the Christian says Jesus claimed status as not just a figurative son
of God but as God's actual "only-begotten" son. Not all Bible translate
the passage with this key word because some translators have seen the difficulty this
causes. At Hebrews 11:17, the same Greek word is found in the original language. But in
this place it refers to Isaac who was at no time, strictly speaking, Abraham's
only-begotten son. In the case of Isaac the Church explains that "only-begotten"
is not to be understood strictly but must he modified. However, no such modification is
allowed in the case of John 3:16 when it is over-specified as being literally true. In the
tenth chapter of John we read about the Jews trying to stone Jesus and saying that he had
made himself equal to God. The Christian agrees with the Jews and overlooks Jesus' reply.
He proceeds to tell them that their own scriptures refer to certain evil men as "gods".
Therefore, he argued that it was even more appropriate that one actually sent by God
should be called a "son of God". He had also said that it was appropriate
to call a peacemaker a "son of God" (Matthew 5:9). The Jews and
Christians overspecify his words when they insist that he has claimed divinity. There is
another poorly conceived argument which is related to this. Where the Jews have understood
Jesus to blaspheme - i.e. claim divine authority - the Christian says he has proof that
Jesus did claim divinity. The incorrect assumption however, is that the Jews understood
Jesus. For example, they understood him to seize divine authority when he told a man that
his sins were forgiven (Mark 2). But the verse at John 12:49, among others, shows that
Jesus denied any personal initiative. He spoke only what God commanded him to say.
THE MESSIAH
Still more badly thought through is an argument based on common Christian
misunderstanding. Muslims agree that Jesus was "the Messiah". Although
modern Bible translations hide the fact, many individuals are called "Messiah"
in the Bible. Christians have come to believe that there is a connotation of divinity in
the word, however. So when they read that Jesus admitted to being the Messiah and the
Jewish High Priest declared it blasphemy, they feel that they have still more proof that
Jesus claimed divinity. The High Priest could only protest what he thought was a lie - a
slander against God. The Jews were awaiting the Messiah. Were they also ready to kill the
first man who said that he was the Messiah because such a claim is blasphemous?
TWICE SOLD
In the "twice sold" category, we have verses like John 10:30 and 14:9.
The first one reads: "I and the Father are one." The Christian leaves
vague exactly what this sentence itself leaves vague: one what? The overlooked information
is found in the Seventeenth Chapter of John where the same idea occurs more than once and
includes the disciples of Jesus in this oneness. (See John 17:11, 21-22). The thought that
should be finished is this: If Jesus meant to say that being "one" means
being divine then are the disciples also divine in the same sense as Jesus since the same
expression includes them? As it happens the phrase has been sold twice. The Seventeenth
Chapter verses are quoted in support of unity of purpose while the Tenth Chapter verse is
used to support the claim that Jesus announced his Godhood.
Many students of the Bible have an understanding of scriptures which is quite
reasonable. However, these same students forget their interpretation at times and sell
another one to the Muslim. They do not seem to notice this double standard. A clear
illustration is the case of John 14:9. Ask where Jesus claimed divinity explicitly and one
is most often shown this verse: "He who has seen me has seen the Father."
Clarification of the argument exhibits the difficulties. The Christian means to say that
if one's eyes sees Jesus, they see God because Jesus is God. Even this clarification
cannot be stated without trading on something left vague, namely, the Trinitarian
distinction between Father and Son. Jesus said that seeing him was seeing the Father, yet
Jesus is the Son. So they tell us: "read God for Father." In any case,
the argument is self-defeating. If seeing Jesus is seeing God (or the Father) because they
are one and the same then how could Jesus tell people who were looking at him that they
had never seen or heard God (the Father)? This is his statement in John 5:37!!! Now the
Christian responds to a question which has not been asked! We have not said that John 14:9
is in conflict with 5:37 and asked for an explanation. But he proceeds to explain that the
verses are in harmony because they refer to Jesus as one who reveals what God is like.
People who did not receive Jesus did not "see" God. But our question is
how the first interpretation of John 14:9 can be harmonized with John 5:37. They have
provided a second interpretation for John 14:9 and yet the next time someone asks them to
show a Bible passage where Jesus claims divinity, be sure that they will go to the first
interpretation and quote this favorite verse: "He who has seen me has seen the
Father."
THE STATUS OF THE BIBLE
In such discussions, several things should be noted. First, the Muslim does not have to
reinterpret Christian scripture. Our duty is to insist that a man state his case clearly,
not in vague terms. We must ask for all information related to the matter (Where else do
we find key words and phrases in the Bible?). We must demand that thoughts expressed are
carried to their logical conclusion. Let us illustrate again with another familiar
example. An all-purpose quotation is John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life, no one comes to the Father, but through me." Exactly what this verse is
supposed to prove is left vague. Does it prove the divinity of Jesus? Is it supposed to
mean that God listens to no one except Jesus or those who call on Jesus ? If either of
these ideas are to be based on the verse, we have to consider all the available
information. The dictionary shows that the words "way", "truth",
and "life" do not automatically carry connotations of divinity. So the
Christian insists that the structure of the sentence stresses the way, the truth, and the
life, as though Jesus is unique for all time. Bill Clinton may be the American President
but he is not the first and probably not the last. So language usage alone does not do the
job. Then another thought must be brought to its conclusion. "The life"
is said to be a state of affairs: one either has "the life" or not. In
this way the verse is used in support of the redeeming power of Jesus. Yet Jesus himself
says: "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly." (John
10:10). In this passage life is not a state of affairs, either positive or negative, with
no other possible states. Jesus speaks here of something that can be measured. The verse
John 14:6 is used by the missionary with the vaguest of intentions. Ironically enough,
when his meaning is questioned, this verse becomes probably the most over-specified of all
Bible texts.
NON-ISSUES
Second, there are certain non-issues that cannot be treated as though they were issues.
Where the Christian and Muslim agree, there is no argument. For example: the Qur'an states
that in spite of appearances the crucifixion of Jesus was unsuccessful, that God saved
Jesus. The Christian says that Jesus died and three days later showed himself to be alive.
Where the Christian exceeds his authority disagreement begins. He does not have proof that
Jesus died. He has some anonymous writings (the Gospels) which say so. However, it was
common belief in the first century among Christians that Jesus was not even crucified. But
this was only one school of thought. Another is represented in the Bible and it has become
the only Christian school of thought on the matter. The only facts that bear up well under
historical examination are simply these: Jesus appeared to be crucified but was seen alive
a few days later. Insisting that his death is proven is actually ludicrous. On the one
hand we are told that this man healed cripples, lepers, the blind, and raised the dead. On
the other hand, beating him,, stabbing him and nailing him to a cross is said to be quite
sufficient to kill him. While portrayals of the crucifixion today tell of a great civic
event, there are Bible references that indicate otherwise. A small gathering in a garden,
where his followers were forced to stand at a distance is indicated in Luke 23:49 and John
19:41. The Bible describes his post-crucifixion appearances as an attempt to tell his
disciples that in spite of what they had seen he was alive, not a ghost. If the Christian
does not try to prove the death of Jesus and the Muslim does not try to prove his own
theory of how Jesus avoided death, there is nothing left to disagree upon. This is
precisely the point made in the Qur'an at 4:157.
ISSUES
Third, let us not be led into believing that certain issues can be treated as
non-issues. More than one missionary has asked Muslims: "What do you gain by
denying the divinity of Jesus?" The questioner hopes to evade an issue by
treating it as unimportant. The answer to his question was given by Jesus who said, "You
shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Spelling out
the precise disadvantages of belief in any particular falsehood is a worthwhile exercise,
but the general principle of Jesus' words is sufficient motivation for rejection. The
truth is, claiming divinity for Jesus is based on what people said about Jesus not on what
Jesus himself said. Here is a place to explain the Muslim view of world religions. Islam
is not a competitor among religions. The Qur'an states that in ancient times every nation
had its messengers of God. Many peoples possessed the truth, but have to varying degrees
added to this knowledge with unsupported claims. So the Muslim believes that virtually any
of the old religions stripped of its excessive points any thoughtful person towards Islam.
CONSISTENCY
Fourth, the missionary must be consistent. If he admits that Jesus' words were expanded
into Trinitarian doctrine by later generations, then he is either claiming that Jesus
taught his disciples more than is actually recorded in the Bible, or he is saying that God
brought us knowledge of the Trinity gradually. The first case cannot be reconciled with
Jesus' words at John 18:20, " . . . I spoke nothing in secret." As for
the second case, if the Trinity became known only to later generations, then one must not
insist that Jesus preached the doctrine.
DEDUCTION
Fifth, deduction cannot increase content. Deduction is a process of seeing more clearly
that which was already indicated by the evidence. We cannot deduce more than the evidence
contains. This is why we say that the Trinity cannot be deduced from scripture. The
definition of the Trinity requires a vocabulary not found on the lips of Jesus. At best,
the Christian can point to a verse and say that it is in agreement with his ideas, but no
verse is conclusive evidence of the divinity of Jesus. The so-called "fallacy of
the converse" is the logical mistake most often made. This means turning the "arrow
of implication" backward, e.g. rain means wet streets but wet streets do not mean
rain. Another example: the appearance of the horizon on the ocean might be cited as being
in harmony with the idea of a flat; earth, but it certainly does not prove the earth to be
flat. Similarly, some Bible statements might harmonize with the idea of a divine Jesus but
no verse proves the claim.
THE NATURE OF PROOF
"Proof" is a very misused word. Proof refers to the establishment of a
proposition. Proof withstands challenges and satisfies tests. But phrases such as "more
proof", "better proof", or "stronger proof" are
abuses of language or misunderstandings. "More proof" is a deceptive
phrase that might lead us to believe that proof is measured and that people might have
proofs of opposite things, but the winner is the one with more volume of proof. In this
case proof has been confused with evidence. We may have another proof, but not more proof.
When logicians speak of better proof, they are referring to something called elegance -a
quality denoting clarity and simplicity. They do not refer to validity by this word.
Proofs are either valid or invalid - or occasionally doubted by some until a more elegant
version appears. The expression "stronger proof" describes not the proof
but its assumptions. In general, the fewer the initial assumptions, the stronger the
proof.
This brief explanation is intended to dispel the notion that proof depends on a man's
ability to say a lot of things which sound plausible. It is content and quality, not
appearance and quantity, that really matter. When the missionary produces his "proof"
it can be shown to be unsatisfactory. He often concedes this fact but prefers the word "insufficient".
He then claims that God can supply the insufficiencies. This raises three important
points:
1) Proof is not the sort of thing that we can simply patch over the gaps with and then
call it legitimate. In fact, any valid information contained in an unsatisfactory proof is
unrelated to the conclusions that one has attempted to prove. For example, the apparent
motion of the planets approximately fits the theory of epicycles which is part of the
theory that puts the earth in the center of the universe. But the theory is false, which
means the trajectories of the planets in no way support the idea that the earth stands
stationary at the center of the universe.
2) When the Christian claims that God will "help one to believe" he
argues in a small circle. His claim is based on his proof and his proof is based on his
claim. The dialogue is something like this:
Christian: "I have proof."
Muslim: "But there are gaps in your argument."
Christian: "Ask God to help you believe."
Muslim: "Why should I?" (Claim based on proof.)
Christian: "Because of things I, have shown you."
Muslim: "But these things do not prove anything." (Proof based on
claim.)
3) And finally, once again the Christian puts himself in a position where he must
contradict his own behavior. When a preacher claims that he has proof for his beliefs, he
should be talking about the kind of thing one man can give to another -the facts and
arguments for his case. Instead, he admits that his belief is not built on evidence and
analysis, but rests on the faith which God gave him! If faith is a gift from God then it
is not something that one man can give another man. Missionary efforts would be more
honest if it was stated that the Christian only intends to describe his religion and
invite converts. But much of missionary literature suggests that Christian belief is built
on the kind of evidence that could win a court case.
CHRISTIAN FAITH
Actually the Christian has two views of "faith". Faith is said to be a
gift of God, but there is another thought he expresses when confronted as in the last
paragraph. Speaking from personal experience: We tell a man that his evidence will not
stand a thorough examination and he hurls an accusation that we are stubborn. As mentioned
already, he carelessly interprets historical accuracy in the Bible as proof that it speaks
only the truth on every matter. Turning the confusion backwards, he then says that if we
doubt any passage in the Bible, we must doubt every book of history. But history is not
our opponent. We are opposed to a particular doctrine built on the interpretation of a
very small collection of quotations of Jesus. But before we can make this point, the
second view of faith occurs to him. "If all things could be proven, where is the
merit in believing?", he asks. In other words, he does not want final proof. He
feels that a pledge of loyalty - a bold leap into belief is actually the act that brings
salvation. So having faith means an effort that brings reward and yet faith is a gift from
God that we do not deserve. Resolving this irony is the Christian's business. Our point
here is only "honesty in advertising" If the foundations of Christianity
are loyalty to the interpretation of scripture, it should not be advertised that
Christianity stands on that which has been established in clarity - i.e. proven
explicitly.
APPLICATION TO ISLAM
Of course one might ask if the points raised in this article cannot be applied to
Islam. So in the same order as above, let us consider Islamic doctrine and the status of
the Qur'an subjected to similar arguments.
What could be identified as theology in Islam contains no contradictory mysteries for
the simple reason that the Qur'an reveals God by revealing His attributes and His will.
That is, descriptions of God and worship given to God are due to Him because of His
position as God. There is no incarnation doctrine leading to the combination of Godly and
un-Godly attributes in one individual. Islam does not ask one to believe in anything
outside of reason. The resurrection of the dead, for example, is no more than today's
researchers in biology have considered. Soviet scientists once reproducing an extinct
species of elephant by the use of a microscopic unit of long dead gene material. A subtle
point is found in the precise grammar of the Qur'an's description of God's power. We do
not read: "With God all things are possible." More correctly, we read
instead: "Over all things, God has power." These things are the things He
created. These things include good and evil since these words are relative descriptions.
For example, the good of the vulture is good for the vulture, but evil for a man. This is
the contrast in Islam between Good and Evil: beneficial versus harmful. All things
originate with God including the rules which bring harm on the evildoer. So it is that the
Qur'an states that God rewards, but wrong done brings harm on the doer in the settling of
accounts.
The Qur'an does not present us with mysteries of faith. Instead it is a guide. Left to
ourselves we could not reproduce its contents because our research is largely trial and
error. The error would prove disastrous - before we accomplished the project. So while the
Qur'an is beyond reasoning, it is not beyond reason - given the guidance, we can verify
its truthfulness.
ORIGIN OF THE QUR'AN
Several times the Qur'an announces itself as a sufficient sign (e.g. 29:49). Although
the Muslims of Muhammad's time were a persecuted minority, their opposers never answered
the challenge of the Qur'an, as it says: "And if you are in doubt as to what We
have revealed from time to time to our servant, then produce a chapter like it. And call
your witnesses or helpers besides God if you are correct." (Qur'an 2:23).
PRESERVATION OF THE QUR'AN
The Qur'an promises its own preservation (15:9). It mentions itself by name about
seventy times. The Arabic word "Qur'an" means "recitation".
Reciting the Qur'an is part of a Muslim's daily prayer. In addition to careful writing of
copies, there has always been this double checking of its contents. Gather any small
number of sincere Muslims together and it is possible to repeat the Qur'an from their
collected memories. Some centuries ago an aberrant group claimed that there was more to
the Qur'an than now available. Their embarrassment has been the fact that even in this
century there are copies of the Qur'an that date from centuries before the time of this
controversy. Recently a prominent missionary dishonestly challenged the authenticity of
Qur'anic manuscripts. He claimed that twenty different people, governments or institutions
claim to possess the oldest copy of the Qur'an. The thought he wants his audience to
finish is that there are twenty versions of the Qur'an. The truth is, all the ancient
copies agree letter for letter with today's text. Which one happens to be the oldest is
irrelevant to considerations of authenticity.
WORDS AND MESSAGE
The very words of the Qur'an are the message of the Qur'an. The speaker is God, not His
spokesman recasting matters in his own words. Islam was not founded by Muhammad. God's
message was given by prophets in every nation since at least the time of Adam. The
particular religious observances of Islam and use of the term Muslim were well known in
the time of Abraham. (See the Qur'an at 22:78; 2:135; 3:67-68; 16:123.) While the Prophet
Muhammad is said to be a good example for us (33:21) the same is said of Abraham, word for
word, at 60:4. The vital point here is that Islam is not the cult following of a man.
Muhammad himself was told to make all his judgments by referring to the Qur'an (5:48-51).
The Prophet was also told to ask for forgiveness, especially when he knew his death was
approaching, for it is God alone that must be called on and asked for forgiveness (Chapter
110 and 40:12). The Prophet himself was corrected by admonitions in the Qur'an (e.g.
Chapter 80).
THE CHRISTIAN CHARGE
In spite of an abundance of such considerations that show the Qur'an and the practices
of Islam as something separate from the man Muhammad, the Christian insists that the
Qur'an was his own invention. They simultaneously maintain that he was a forger and a
psychotic - that he deceived and was deceived on the same issue. They say that he lied
about being a prophet and yet they say that he himself believed that he was a prophet! Of
course, a man cannot be both true and false to himself regarding precisely the same point:
If he believes he is a prophet, he does not fool people into believing him. The Qur'an
itself denounces forgery (10:15-18).
TWO HYPOTHESES
The Christian difficulty is that they need both hypotheses: the forger and the
psychotic, to begin to explain the existence of the Qur'an. They need to name the Prophet
as a forger because he had an outside source. For example, the Qur'an recites material
unknown to the Arabs and yet recognized as correct by a learned Israelite in the Prophet's
time (11:49; 10:94; 26:197). They need to name the Prophet as a psychotic because he
obviously was moved to behave as though he was a prophet. For example, against everyone's
better judgment, the Qur'an announces the behavior of Muhammad's worst enemy - Abu Lahab.
This man used to contradict every item of Islam, but in ten years never seized the chance
to contradict the Qur'an's contents (Chapter 111). Until now there are similar statements
in the Qur'an; the very instructions are given to those who wish to demolish the Qur'an;
e.g. 5:82 tells Jews how to prove the Qur'an false.
A THIRD HYPOTHESIS
As a last resort, there is a third hypothesis made by the missionary. Given an outside
source for the Qur'an and Muhammad's sincerity, they suggest that he was deceived by
Satan. The missionary steps deeper into difficulty with this suggestion. The Qur'an itself
tells us that we should seek refuge in God from Satan before reading the Qur'an (16:98).
Satan has undone himself here, if he is the author. (Compare Jesus' words at Mark 3:26).
In any case, the biggest complaint against mankind voiced in the Qur'an is his unsupported
claims "let them produce their proof" is the repeated admonition. A
direct challenge regarding this last hypothesis is found at 4:82: "Have they not
carefully considered the Qur'an? If it came from other than God, surely they would have
found in it many inconsistencies."
ACCURACY OF THE QUR'AN
Now the Muslim would not consider using as an excuse that some of the Qur'an has been
lost in recopying. He will only insist that the Qur'an is the Arabic text and not a
translation. The Arabic text is complete. A small effort has been made to produce
contradictions in the Qur'an. The points made are fatuous. We have to wonder about the
mental capability or the honesty of those who have brought forward these items. Some
examples follow:
* The Bible reports that the Jews sarcastically addressed Jesus as "Messiah"
(or the Greek equivalent "Christ") at the crucifixion (Mark Chapter 15).
Despite this, one Toronto group of missionaries has insisted that a Jew would never do
this and so the Qur'an must be in error at 4:157!!!
* The Qur'an commands that a man provide equally for each wife should he marry more
than one. An active religious propaganda center in Rochester, New York, claims that this
contradicts the fact that a man is restricted to four wives at most. They have mistaken
the contrapuntal for the contradictory.
* Another common challenge is that the Qur'an states that God does not guide the
wrongdoers. This is said to contradict the statement that God guides whom He pleases
(28:50; 35:8). Actually the verses are complimentary, telling us that God chooses not to
guide the wrongdoers.
MUSLIM MISUNDERSTANDING?
Related to this kind of thing we have the charge made that the Qur'an does not have an
understanding of Christianity. As it happens, the Qur'an denounces many beliefs which are
considered heretical by Christians. Instead of rejoicing that Muslims reject the same
heresies as Christians, the missionary insists that Muslims have been given only a
misunderstanding of Christianity. This claim can only be made by deliberate hiding or
careless ignoring of the facts. The Qur'an deals in detail with the most precise points of
Christian doctrine.
ABROGATION?
Still another misunderstanding concerns the so-called doctrine of abrogation. At:
16:10, "And when We change any Ayah for an Ayah - and God knows best what He
reveals - they say: 'You are only a forger'. Nay, most of them know not." The
word Ayah here can mean sign, message, or verse. So it is that many Christians have
imagined that some verses of the Qur'an were changed. Some Muslims seem to agree when they
say that some verses cancel other verses. Their difficulty is with language. The
Christians misunderstand (or misinterpret) the word cancel (actually the Arabic word "naskh").
For example, the Qur'an commands one not to pray when drunk. Since the Qur'an was revealed
gradually over a period of twenty three years, a later verse forbade intoxicants. But this
later verse does not cancel the earlier one. Compare restricted drug laws in most
countries: There are laws giving penalties for possession, but other laws penalizing those
who sell these drugs. Yet the first kind of law does not cancel the second kind. The
missionary trades on this misunderstanding, hoping to cause confusion. However, he seizes
the opportunity too quickly. All charges of abrogation are said to apply to legal matters.
However the verse of 16:101 refers to something that had already happened. Yet this verse
was revealed in Mecca. All verses relating to legal matters were revealed later in Medina.
There is no inconsistency in the Qur'an - remember, this is the claim of 4:82.
The best explanation of the Qur'an is the Qur'an itself. The clarification of 16:101 is
found at 2:106. Here the same thought is expressed but this time the context shows that
the Jews were being addressed. The word Ayah refers then to previous messages of
the prophets. In particular, some of the Jewish Law was supplanted by the Qur'an. (Compare
the words of Jesus reported in the Qur'an at 3:49.)
INTERPRETATION
We discussed interpretation of the Bible. Is the Qur'an subject to misinterpretation?
Certainly it is, and for the same reason that the Bible is - namely, the isolating of
certain passages from those verses which explain them. Our point was not that the
misinterpretation of the Bible was to be blamed on the Bible itself. Rather, the origin of
the problem is the carelessness of men.
THE CONCLUDING POINTS
In the preceding section, the first three points have already been addressed to both
Christians and Muslims. The fourth and the fifth may be dealt with by simply mentioning
two points. First, the only "evolved" item in Islam is judicial decision.
New circumstances bring new problems which must be ruled upon by the original principles.
This is a body of knowledge that grows. Second, the most intelligent of Muslim scholars
have always been ready to admit where they have crossed over into speculation. No mental
consideration has ever led to the widespread acceptance of a theological doctrine which
was unknown to the Muslims of Muhammad's time.
THE GOOD NEWS OF ISLAM
Finally, the Muslim really has something that one man can give to another: the Qur'an.
This Book speaks to each reader asking him to consider the things that every man must
admit. The reader is asked to arrange this collection of facts into a coherent whole and
think on it. By reminding us of facts the Qur'an makes contact with reality as the Bible
does. But the key difference in Christian and Muslim thought appears in the next step. The
facts are not simply a feature of the Qur'an. The things we come to believe in are
directly based on these facts, deduced from them in the legitimate sense of the word. The
good news of Islam is that a man who loves truth, detests falsehood, and fears only God
has moved toward Islam and thus ultimate success.
