Monday, October 28, 2013

2 Muslim attacks on Christian Belief

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8


No. 1      Attack the validity of the Bible

This is expected.  If the Muslim can undermine the strength and integrity of God's word, then it would be much easier for him to win arguments, confound the Christian, and make converts of those who don't know the truth and power of the Bible. 

1) Stating that the Bible has numerous contradictions..... "biblical contradictions" raised by Muslims are nothing more than examples of their lack of understanding of biblical theology and context.  Always read the context of verses. 
2) Criticizing the lack of original manuscripts..... The point here is that because we do not have the original manuscripts of the Bible, we cannot really know what the originals said and, therefore, the Bible could have been corrupted. 
     a) The Bible documents are well attested as being reliable and accurate. In fact, we have around 24,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. So much so, that no major area of Christian doctrine is affected by possible variations among manuscripts
     b) Regarding the Koran, Muhammad couldn't read or write, so he recited the Koran to people who then wrote it down.  There is no evidence at all that the Koran was written down in its entirety in Muhammad's lifetime and compiled as a unit.
     c) Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Muslim Uthman ordered all sets of the Koran manuscripts to be destroyed except the codex of Zaid. 
     d) Muslims claim that Allah said the Koran would be preserved.  But, using the Koran to substantiate the Koran which is circular reasoning.
3) Claiming that the Bible is false because it contradicts the Koran (Qur'an)...The Muslim assumes the validity of the Qur'an and because it contradicts the Bible, the Bible is wrong.  Well, the Christian can just as easily state that the Koran is wrong because it contradicts the Bible.  But the Muslims would not accept that.  Therefore, why should we accept their argument?

No. 2      Attempt to set Paul against Jesus

Muslims often make the claim that Paul never met Jesus and was not a disciple or apostle of Jesus.  Of course, this is not true.  Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, after Jesus' resurrection.  Jesus spoke to him and commissioned him.  So, Paul met Jesus.  Furthermore, Paul visited the Jerusalem apostles Peter, James, and John who affirmed Paul's mission and message.... Peter, who was a disciple of Jesus, personally authenticated Paul's writings by calling them scripture...But, two facts remain.  First, Jesus claimed to be God.  Second, the Pharisees denied that Jesus was God and the Muslims agree with them.

CARM