The Quran, the Bible, and the Islamic Dilemma
in Sura 29 verse 46, the Quran commands Muslims to say to Christians
we believe in what has been revealed to us and in what has been revealed to you
and your God is one, and to him we submit.
Yet many Muslims say something very different to Christians;
they say we don't believe in your book because it's been corrupted,
and your God is a false god.
If Muslims are commanded to say that they believe in what has been revealed to us,
why do they instead say that they don't believe in the Bible, the only revelation we have.
And if their commanded to say that our God and their God is one,
why do they instead say that our God is a false God?
According to the Bible God is a Trinity,
one in nature or essence but three in person Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Son entered creation as Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus died on the cross for sins and rose from the dead.
The Quran denies all of this, so a Muslim can't say that he believes in the Bible
or that Allah and the God of the Bible are the same God.
Muslims have to reject the Bible,
because the Bible contradicts the Quran.
But Muslims have a problem here,
the Quran declares that the Torah and the Gospel were revealed by Allah.
Sura 3, verses 3 through 4;
He has revealed to you the book with truth,
verifying that which is before it.
And he revealed the Torah and the Gospel aforetime.
A guidance for the people.
And he sent the Quran.
So Allah revealed the Torah and the Gospel as a guidance.
But our Muslim friends tell us that Allah couldn't protect the Torah and the Gospel.
And that both revelations were corrupted by men.
What Allah sent to guide people ended up miss guiding people
convincing Christians that God is a Trinity and that Jesus died on the cross for sins.
Of course we should be puzzled when Muslims tell us that the Torah and the Gospel were changed,
because the Quran states that no one can change Allah's words.
Sura 18 verse 27;
And recite what has been revealed to you of the book of your Lord.
There is none who can change his words.
And you shall not find any refuge besides him.
Here our Muslim friends might say
this verse only means that no one can change the Quran
but the verse doesn't say that no one can change the Quran
it says that no one can change Allah's words.
and the Torah and the Gospel according to the Quran, are Allah's words.
Despite Allah's clear declaration that no one can change his words
many Muslims assert, that the Gospel was corrupted by the apostle Paul or by later Christians.
If the Gospel is corrupted
we can only wonder why the Quran says
that Christians still had the Gospel during the time of Muhammad.
Sura 7 verse 157;
Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered prophet.
Whom they find mentioned in their own scriptures
in the Torah and the Gospel
it is they who will prosper.
How could Christians find Mohammed mentioned in the Gospel
when the Gospel was supposedly corrupted centuries earlier?
Is Allah saying that we find Mohammed mentioned in our corrupted scriptures?
but we don't find Mohammed mentioned in our scriptures at all
except as part of a general warning about false prophets who come to lead people away from the gospel
and if we did find Mohammed mentioned in our scriptures
how would we know that this wasn't one of the corrupted parts?
and since our scriptures contradict Islam;
why would Allah appeal to them as evidence for Islam?
But Allah goes much further than this.
He commands Christians to judge by the Gospel.
Sura 5 verse 47
Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein.
If any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah hath revealed.
They are no better than those who rebel.
Why does Allah command us to judge by a corrupt book?
The only Gospel we have contradicts Islam
so in order to obey Allah's command
we would have to judge by the Gospel
and conclude that Islam is false.
Allah continues along these same lines in Sura 5 verse 68
Say: " O people of the book!
You have no ground to stand upon unless you stand fast by the Torah, the Gospel,
and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord".
Why would Allah tell us that we have no ground to stand upon unless we stand upon a corrupt book?
If the gospel has been corrupted
wouldn't Allah just tell us to get rid of it and believe in the Quran?
So the Quran clearly maintains that the Gospel is authoritative for Christians
and this only makes sense
if the author of the Quran believed that Christians have the Word of God.
But the Gospel wasn't just authoritative for Christians
it was also authoritative from Muhammad himself and therefore for Muslims.
One day Muhammad started having doubts about his revelations
in response to these doubts Allah commanded Muhammad
to go to the people of the book;
Jews and Christians for confirmation.
Sura 10 verse 94
But if you (O Muhammad)
are in doubt as to what we have revealed to you,
ask those who read the book before you;
certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord.
Therefore you should not be of the disputers.
Muslims today act as if the Quran stands in judgment over the Bible.
Since the Bible contradicts the Quran, Muslims assume that the Bible must be rejected.
But in the Quran it's exactly the opposite.
The Bible stands in judgment over the Quran
and Muhammad himself could only confirm his revelations by checking to see
if they line up with the scriptures
of the people of the book.
Since Muhammad continued preaching Islam
he apparently never took this test very seriously.
If he had gone to the people of the book in search of confirmation
he would have been forced to reject the Quran,
because the Quran puts Muslims in an inescapable dilemma.
Either Christians have the inspired, preserved, authoritative Word of God or we don't,
those are the only two possibilities.
If we have the inspired, preserved, authoritative Word of God
Islam is false
because Islam contradicts what we have.
If we don't have the inspired, preserved, authoritative Word of God
Islam is false
because the Quran affirms the inspiration, preservation and authority of our book.
So if the Gospel is the word of God, Islam is false,
if the Gospel isn't the Word of God, Islam is false.
Either way Islam is false.
By affirming scriptures that contradict its core teachings
Islam self-destructs.
Muslims who don't want to believe in a religion that self-destructs
will therefore need to find a new religion.
let's encourage our Muslim friends
to obey the gospel,
as both of our religions command.