CHRISTIAN REPLY TO ISLAM
CHRISTIAN REPLY TO ISLAM
Islam makes up around 20% of the world's population. It is the second largest religion in the world, trailing only Christianity. Although Islam began in Saudi Arabia, non-Arab Muslims now outnumbers Arab Muslims by almost three to one. The four nations with the largest number of Muslims are all outside the Middle East - Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
In AD 570, Muhammad was born into an Arabian tribe called the Quraysh who controlled the city of Mecca. It was important for religious reasons as the Ka'bah was located there. The Ka'bah was a cubic structure that contained 360 deities of the various Arabian tribes. It was normal custom to come to Mecca each year to pay homage to the tribe's god.
In the year 610 at the age of 40, Muhammad received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. There was a series of revelations that followed and these were eventually compiled in Islam's sacred scripture, the Qur'an, which means "recitations".
The two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shi'ite, were divided originally over a dispute as to who should serve as first caliph, or successor, to Muhammad, who had failed to appoint one before his death. The Sunni Muslims insisted that the successor should be elected. The Shi'ite thought he should come through Muhammad's blood line. The Sunnis got their way and now comprise 80% of the Muslim population. Surfism is the mystical third wing of Islam. There are other Muslim sects and Islam has been a contributing factor in two religions: Sikhism and Baha'i.
The major beliefs of Islam include the following:-
1. There is only One God
The central doctrine of Islam is that God is one and that no partner is to be associated with Him. To associate a partner with God is to commit the sin of ishrak for which the Koran offers no forgiveness. The doctrine of the Trinity is therefore offensive to Muslims.
There are many similarities between the God of the Qur'an and the God of the Bible. They are both One, creator of the universe, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and judge of the wicked. There are some differences:-
The God of the Qur'an is a singular entity but the God of the Bible is a compound unity who is one in essence and three in person. See Matthew 28:19; John 10:30 & Acts 5:3-4.
Through the Qur'an, God broke into history through a word that is written; but through Jesus Christ, God broke into history through the Word who is a Person. See John 1:1,14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-2 & 1 John 1:1-3; 4:9-10.
The God of the Qur'an does not love the prodigals (Surahs 6:142; 7:31 - "wasters") but Jesus tells of God's love for such people through the story of the prodigal son. See Luke 15:11-24.
Allah does not love those who do wrong or who are treacherous and sinful (Surah 4:107) but "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
The standard for judgment for the God of the Qur'an is that our good deeds must outweigh our bad deeds (Surahs 7:8-9; 21:47) but the standard of the God of the Bible is nothing less than complete perfection as measured by the holy character of God. See Matthew 5:48 & Romans 3:23.
The God of the Qur'an provided a messenger, Muhammad, who warned of Allah's impending judgment and who declared that "No bearer of a burden can bear the burden of another" (Surahs 17:15). The God of the Bible provided a sinless Saviour, Jesus, who took our sins upon himself and bore God's wrath in our stead. (Matthew 20:28; 26:28; Galatians 3:13 & 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
2. The Angelic world
Islam believes that in the gap between the God of the Qur'an and mankind exists a hierarchy of angels. The archangel is of the highest rank, succeeded by the rest of the angels.
Each person has two angels assigned to him or her, one to record the person's good deeds and the other to record the bad deeds. At the bottom of this hierarchy are the "jinn", from which we get the word "genie". Muslims believe that that the host of jinn were created fire, are usually bad and are able to possess people. The angels have differing ranks, but there are four who are the mightiest of all, and are known as the four archangels. They are:
Gabriel - Allah's chief messenger, or intermediary, who is referred to as the "Holy Spirit" in the Qur'an;
Michael.
Izrail, the Angel of Death.
Israfil, who will blow the trumpet on the last day to awake the dead.
In the Bible there are many references to beings, other than men, who were created by God and were usually referred to as angels. They are God's messengers, and were often sent by God to make His will known to the prophets and to help believers. Angels appeared in human form to Abraham, Moses and others. The names of only two of God's angels are given in the Bible: Michael and Gabriel. The angel Gabriel was the one who informed Mary that she would have a son named Jesus.
In addition to the holy angels who are obedient to God, we are told, in Scripture, that there are other created spiritual beings who were disobedient, who are enemies of God; the chief of whom is called Satan, the Devil, the dragon and serpent in the Bible. See Revelation 12:3-9. Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, and ever since he has been trying to turn people away from the living God. He even tried to persuade Jesus Christ to disobey God three times (in the wilderness), but failed.
Satan has great power, but is not equal to God, and in fact is limited by God. Thus, Christians do not need to fear him or his evil spirits who harm so many people, because of Satan's defeat through the historical death on the cross by our redeemer, Jesus Christ (See Colossians 2:14,15). Because of that historical act, all believers have the strength, given by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to resist and repel Satan and all his cohorts. God will finally cast Satan out of the earth and into the eternal fire, from where he will never bother man or God again.
3. The prophets of God
According to the Qur'an, God has sent a prophet to every nation to every nation to preach the message that there is only one God. Tradition sets this figure at around 124,000 prophets. Amongst these prophets there is included Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist and Jesus. Each prophet is was given for a particular age except Muhammad. He is considered to be the "Seal of the Prophets" and a prophet for all times.
The name Jesus means "God with us". Jesus was greater than any of the prophets. See Hebrews 3:1-6. It is evident that even the great prophets prayed for God's forgiveness. Unlike Jesus, they too, like all other men, were born from the seed of Adam. Jesus was born without sin. If you very carefully search the whole Bible and Qur'an you will not find any verse regarding Jesus asking forgiveness from God. The reason should now be clear; he was holy; he was faultless and perfectly pure. He was from above and not of this world.
Jesus performed mighty miracles that showed that he was indeed God come in the flesh. The greatest miracle of all was his death and resurrection. Jesus also appeared after his resurrection to encourage his Church who are still awaiting his second coming. Mohammad has no such promise. He is inferior to Jesus.
4. The Holy Books
Islam believes that four of the highest ranking prophets were given books of divine revelation. Those four are Moses (Torah), David (Psalms), Jesus (Gospels) and Muhammad who was given the Qur'an. Of those four books, Muslims contend that only the Qur'an has been preserved in an uncorrupted state.
However, the Qur'an appears to encourage Jews and Christians to "stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come from your Lord" (Surah 5:68). It uses the Torah and the Gospel to authenticate Muhammad as a prophet (Surah 7:157) and also urges people to believe in the previous scriptures. (Surah 4:136). It is inconsistent of the Qur'an on the one hand to advise people to consult the previous scriptures and then teach that those scriptures are corrupted and therefore untrustworthy.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from 100 B.C., confirm in an astounding way the accuracy of the later manuscripts. The authenticity of the New Testament has been confirmed by the discovery of over 3,000 Greek manuscripts that contain either portions or all of the New Testament and date from the Second Century onward. The Bible can be trusted with confidence as it remains unchanged thoughout history.
Islam makes up around 20% of the world's population. It is the second largest religion in the world, trailing only Christianity. Although Islam began in Saudi Arabia, non-Arab Muslims now outnumbers Arab Muslims by almost three to one. The four nations with the largest number of Muslims are all outside the Middle East - Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
In AD 570, Muhammad was born into an Arabian tribe called the Quraysh who controlled the city of Mecca. It was important for religious reasons as the Ka'bah was located there. The Ka'bah was a cubic structure that contained 360 deities of the various Arabian tribes. It was normal custom to come to Mecca each year to pay homage to the tribe's god.
In the year 610 at the age of 40, Muhammad received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. There was a series of revelations that followed and these were eventually compiled in Islam's sacred scripture, the Qur'an, which means "recitations".
The two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shi'ite, were divided originally over a dispute as to who should serve as first caliph, or successor, to Muhammad, who had failed to appoint one before his death. The Sunni Muslims insisted that the successor should be elected. The Shi'ite thought he should come through Muhammad's blood line. The Sunnis got their way and now comprise 80% of the Muslim population. Surfism is the mystical third wing of Islam. There are other Muslim sects and Islam has been a contributing factor in two religions: Sikhism and Baha'i.
The major beliefs of Islam include the following:-
1. There is only One God
The central doctrine of Islam is that God is one and that no partner is to be associated with Him. To associate a partner with God is to commit the sin of ishrak for which the Koran offers no forgiveness. The doctrine of the Trinity is therefore offensive to Muslims.
There are many similarities between the God of the Qur'an and the God of the Bible. They are both One, creator of the universe, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and judge of the wicked. There are some differences:-
The God of the Qur'an is a singular entity but the God of the Bible is a compound unity who is one in essence and three in person. See Matthew 28:19; John 10:30 & Acts 5:3-4.
Through the Qur'an, God broke into history through a word that is written; but through Jesus Christ, God broke into history through the Word who is a Person. See John 1:1,14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-2 & 1 John 1:1-3; 4:9-10.
The God of the Qur'an does not love the prodigals (Surahs 6:142; 7:31 - "wasters") but Jesus tells of God's love for such people through the story of the prodigal son. See Luke 15:11-24.
Allah does not love those who do wrong or who are treacherous and sinful (Surah 4:107) but "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
The standard for judgment for the God of the Qur'an is that our good deeds must outweigh our bad deeds (Surahs 7:8-9; 21:47) but the standard of the God of the Bible is nothing less than complete perfection as measured by the holy character of God. See Matthew 5:48 & Romans 3:23.
The God of the Qur'an provided a messenger, Muhammad, who warned of Allah's impending judgment and who declared that "No bearer of a burden can bear the burden of another" (Surahs 17:15). The God of the Bible provided a sinless Saviour, Jesus, who took our sins upon himself and bore God's wrath in our stead. (Matthew 20:28; 26:28; Galatians 3:13 & 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
2. The Angelic world
Islam believes that in the gap between the God of the Qur'an and mankind exists a hierarchy of angels. The archangel is of the highest rank, succeeded by the rest of the angels.
Each person has two angels assigned to him or her, one to record the person's good deeds and the other to record the bad deeds. At the bottom of this hierarchy are the "jinn", from which we get the word "genie". Muslims believe that that the host of jinn were created fire, are usually bad and are able to possess people. The angels have differing ranks, but there are four who are the mightiest of all, and are known as the four archangels. They are:
Gabriel - Allah's chief messenger, or intermediary, who is referred to as the "Holy Spirit" in the Qur'an;
Michael.
Izrail, the Angel of Death.
Israfil, who will blow the trumpet on the last day to awake the dead.
In the Bible there are many references to beings, other than men, who were created by God and were usually referred to as angels. They are God's messengers, and were often sent by God to make His will known to the prophets and to help believers. Angels appeared in human form to Abraham, Moses and others. The names of only two of God's angels are given in the Bible: Michael and Gabriel. The angel Gabriel was the one who informed Mary that she would have a son named Jesus.
In addition to the holy angels who are obedient to God, we are told, in Scripture, that there are other created spiritual beings who were disobedient, who are enemies of God; the chief of whom is called Satan, the Devil, the dragon and serpent in the Bible. See Revelation 12:3-9. Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, and ever since he has been trying to turn people away from the living God. He even tried to persuade Jesus Christ to disobey God three times (in the wilderness), but failed.
Satan has great power, but is not equal to God, and in fact is limited by God. Thus, Christians do not need to fear him or his evil spirits who harm so many people, because of Satan's defeat through the historical death on the cross by our redeemer, Jesus Christ (See Colossians 2:14,15). Because of that historical act, all believers have the strength, given by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to resist and repel Satan and all his cohorts. God will finally cast Satan out of the earth and into the eternal fire, from where he will never bother man or God again.
3. The prophets of God
According to the Qur'an, God has sent a prophet to every nation to every nation to preach the message that there is only one God. Tradition sets this figure at around 124,000 prophets. Amongst these prophets there is included Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist and Jesus. Each prophet is was given for a particular age except Muhammad. He is considered to be the "Seal of the Prophets" and a prophet for all times.
The name Jesus means "God with us". Jesus was greater than any of the prophets. See Hebrews 3:1-6. It is evident that even the great prophets prayed for God's forgiveness. Unlike Jesus, they too, like all other men, were born from the seed of Adam. Jesus was born without sin. If you very carefully search the whole Bible and Qur'an you will not find any verse regarding Jesus asking forgiveness from God. The reason should now be clear; he was holy; he was faultless and perfectly pure. He was from above and not of this world.
Jesus performed mighty miracles that showed that he was indeed God come in the flesh. The greatest miracle of all was his death and resurrection. Jesus also appeared after his resurrection to encourage his Church who are still awaiting his second coming. Mohammad has no such promise. He is inferior to Jesus.
4. The Holy Books
Islam believes that four of the highest ranking prophets were given books of divine revelation. Those four are Moses (Torah), David (Psalms), Jesus (Gospels) and Muhammad who was given the Qur'an. Of those four books, Muslims contend that only the Qur'an has been preserved in an uncorrupted state.
However, the Qur'an appears to encourage Jews and Christians to "stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come from your Lord" (Surah 5:68). It uses the Torah and the Gospel to authenticate Muhammad as a prophet (Surah 7:157) and also urges people to believe in the previous scriptures. (Surah 4:136). It is inconsistent of the Qur'an on the one hand to advise people to consult the previous scriptures and then teach that those scriptures are corrupted and therefore untrustworthy.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from 100 B.C., confirm in an astounding way the accuracy of the later manuscripts. The authenticity of the New Testament has been confirmed by the discovery of over 3,000 Greek manuscripts that contain either portions or all of the New Testament and date from the Second Century onward. The Bible can be trusted with confidence as it remains unchanged thoughout history.
Comment
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Comment by Yvonne Wilson on July 14, 2009 at 3:17pm
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Good information... for the Bible says that my people perish for lack of knowledge... and that if we lack wisdom, just ask our Father in Heaven for it... and it shall be given unto us..., but most importantly Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life... and that there is no other way to the Father (God) except through Him (God) Jesus... Hallelujah and Amen
God Speed and Good Journey...
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