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January 15, 2003, Vol.2, No.2. Part 9 on Islamism Can Islam and Christianity Be Reconciled? Wayne Greeson Honest examination reveals deep fundamental differences between Islam and Christianity. Some have tried to ignore these differences. Some Muslims suggest that they worship the same God and accept the Bible as from God as Christians do. Some "Christians" seek ecumenical unity based upon a questionable synthesis of Islamic and Christian beliefs. Such attempts at bringing religious unity between Muslims and Christians not only ignore fundamental differences but do violence to the basic tenants of both religions. As oil and water do not mix, neither do Islam and Christianity. Change the basic properties of oil and water in order to mix them and you no longer have oil or water. The same is true with attempting to reconcile Islam and Christianity. Islam and Christianity cannot be reconciled, both cannot be right. The Qur’an Says the Bible is a True Revelation from God The Qur’an claims the Bible is a true revelation from God to guide mankind just as it claims that for itself. There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal. It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down Law (Of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the Criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)" (Surah 3:2-3; See also, Sura 2:40-42,126,136,285; 3:71, 93; 4:47, 136; 5:47-51, 69, 71-72; 6:91; 10:37, 94; 21:7; 29:45, 46; 35:31; 46:11). Further the Qu’ran teaches the Bible’s instructions, if followed faithfully by "the people of the Book" (Jews and Christians), will forgive sins and admit those people into heaven. "If only the people of the Book had believed and been righteous, We should indeed have blotted out their iniquities and admitted them to gardens of Bliss. If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course; but many of them follow a course that is evil" (Surah 5:68-69). But the Qu’ran goes even further and commands Muslims to believe in the Bible and makes no distinction between God’s revelations, whether the Bible or the Qu’ran. "Say ye: ‘We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord, we make no difference between one and another of them, and we bow to God (in Islam)’" (Surah 2:136; See also, 3:3-4, 187; 4:136; 29:46). Yet the Bible Claims to Be God’s Final Revelation While the Qur’an says the Bible is part of God’s revelation, in addition to the Qur’an, the Bible claims to be the exclusive, final and complete revelation for all men. Jesus promised his apostles that he would give them into "all truth" (Jn. 16:13). The apostle Peter wrote that Jesus kept his promise and "according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Pet. 1:3). The apostle Jude wrote that the faith was delivered one time for all. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). The apostle Paul wrote that we are not to believe anyone who brings another revelation, even if it was from an angel. "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. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8-9). The Bible ends with a warning and a curse to anyone who tries to add to the Bible. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18-19). The Qur’an and the Bible Cannot Both be From God Islam’s revelation, the Qur’an, puts faithful Muslims in a very real dilemma. The Qur’an claims the Bible is a revelation from God to be believed by Muslims, but the Bible claims it is the only revelation from God and no other revelations are to be received or believed. This makes the Qur’an inconsistent and contradictory, while the exclusive claims of the Bible are consistent. These exclusive claims of the Bible as the complete revelation of God to men mean that Islam and Christianity cannot both be true religions from God, both cannot be right. Although the Qur’an endorses the Bible as God’s revelation, there are many direct contradictions between the Qur’an and the Bible. There are too many contradictions between them to reconcile the two books as both from God who does not lie or contradict himself. The Qur’an and the Bible cannot both be from God. One is the revealed Word of God and the other is not. The Bible’s exclusive claims as the final and complete revelation of God agree with this obvious conclusion. The Qur’an’s inclusive claims of the Bible as another revelation of God should raise serious doubts and questions for a Muslim. For a Muslim to reject the Bible as the Word of God is to reject the very claims of the Qur’an. For a Muslim to accept the Bible as the Word of God he must reject the Qur’an. Whether a Muslim accepts or rejects the Bible he must reject the Qur’an as the Word of God. Some Muslims readily recognize the contradictions between the Bible and the Qur’an and respond by arguing that the Bible has been corrupted thus creating the contradictions. However, the Bible was completed 500 years before Mohammad gave the Qur’an. We have the same Bible text today that Mohammad had available in his day. The Qur’an never charges that the Bible text was corrupted but always praises the Bible as God’s revelation and tells Muslims to believe in the Bible (Surah 2:136; See also, 3:3-4, 187; 4:136; 29:46). Nowhere does the Qur’an say the Bible is corrupted but instead asserts that no one can change the Word of God, which includes the Bible. "And certainly apostles before you were rejected, but they were patient on being rejected and persecuted until Our help came to them; and there is none to change the words of Allah, and certainly there has come to you some information about the messengers" (Sura 6:34; 10:34). Jesus Said He was More than a Prophet The Qur’an and Islam call Jesus a prophet from God, but deny that Jesus was God or the Son of God. "O people of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of God naught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of God, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: So believe in God and His messengers…(Far exalted is He) above having a son…" (Sura 4:171). Muslims argue that nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say, "I am God, worship me." I challenge Muslims to read the claims of Jesus for themselves. Jesus claimed to be far more than just another prophet. Jesus made exclusive claims. Jesus claimed to be God and accepted the worship of men. When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, Moses asked God his name. God replied "I AM" (Ex. 3:13-14). This name of God signified God’s eternal self-existence. Jesus identified himself by this same name. "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ‘Before Abraham was, I AM’" (Jn. 8:58). Jesus was clearly claiming to exist before Abraham and doing so by identifying himself as God. (More of Jesus’ exclusive claims: Jn. 6:35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12; 9:5; Psa. 27:1; Jn. 10:7, 9, 11, 14; Psa. 23:1; Jn. 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). The Jews certainly understood this as "they took up stones to throw at him" (Jn. 8:59) for making himself to be equal with God, making himself God (See, Jn. 5:18; 10:33). Jesus’ disciple Thomas understood Jesus’ claim, he declared Jesus as "My Lord and my God" (Jn. 20:28). John understood Jesus claimed to be God. He wrote: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (Jn. 20:30-31). Because of Jesus’ claim to be God, the Son of God, Jesus accepted worship as God. When Jesus restored the sight of a man born blind, He "said unto him, ‘Dost thou believe on the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.’ And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him" (Jn. 9:35-38). Many others worshiped Jesus as this former blind man (Mt. 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 18:26; 20:20; 28:9, 17; Jn. 12:20). Again Muslims are in a dilemma. The Qur’an teaches that Jesus was a prophet of God. If Jesus is a prophet of God Muslims are listen to him. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, to be God and he accepted worship. Either Jesus’ claims are true, he is God, or he was an outrageous liar and certainly not a prophet of God and Muslims are not to listen to him. For a Muslim to reject Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, he must reject the Qur’an’s claim that Jesus was a prophet of God. For a Muslim to accept Jesus as a prophet he must accept Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and thus reject the claims of the Qur’an. Whether a Muslim accepts or rejects Jesus as the Son of God, he must reject the Qur’an for claiming Jesus to be a prophet but not the Son of God. Conclusion The claims of Islam and Christianity do not agree and cannot be reconciled. If this is so, which is right? I challenge Muslims to read the claims of the Bible and the claims of Jesus. The more a Muslim accepts or rejects these claims, the more contradictory the Qur’an becomes. Whatever position a Muslim takes on the Bible and on Jesus, whether to accept or reject their claims, contradicts, denies and disproves the very claims of the Qur’an and proves the Bible and Jesus are true.
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