Why don't Christians follow the Old Testament dietary laws against eating pork? Did Paul make more changes to the Old Testament laws?
No, it is because Peter was shown a vision from God that showed that all foods were made clean, and he also learned that they should no longer avoid associating with non-Jews:
“What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.”
--Acts 10:14
Monday, December 28, 2015
Salvation: Jesus Taught Salvation by Grace +
Usually, when we talk about salvation by grace, we will quote verses from the epistles. However, Muslims have been told that Paul changed the original Christianity that Jesus taught into licentiousness to appeal to pagan audiences.
Let me expand on this point here. They claim that Paul was able to entirely undo what Jesus came to do, then replace that with something different, all in the same generation that Jesus and his disciples lived in. This is the same Jesus who is the only virgin-born prophet who performed many miracles.
Nevertheless it is good to be able to show that Paul and Jesus are not at odds. Here are verses that show that Jesus himself taught that salvation is by grace, through faith.
Fundamentally, the message of the four gospels is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Jesus did not flee the cross but allowed himself to be captured. This must have great significance. As Paul points out:
For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!
--Gal 2:21
Communion was instituted by Jesus:
This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
--Matt 26:28
Jesus said:
the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
--Matt 20:28
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
--Mark 16:16
To the people who were religious people who were trying to keep the law:
I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
--Matt 5:20
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
--Matt 5:28 (KJV)
About the tax collector compared to a pharisee:
But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
--Luke 10:13,14
To a crowd that had gathered around Him:
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
--John 6:29
To the paralytic:
Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
--Mark 2:12
To the thief on the cross:
He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
--Luke 23:40-42-43
To the sinner woman:
He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (...)
He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
--Luke 7:48, 50
To whosoever:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
--John 3:16 (KJV)
Jesus left us with a new commandment, not with Moses' law:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another.
--John 13:4
This is not "another" commandment, but a "new" commandment that replaces the old.
Let me expand on this point here. They claim that Paul was able to entirely undo what Jesus came to do, then replace that with something different, all in the same generation that Jesus and his disciples lived in. This is the same Jesus who is the only virgin-born prophet who performed many miracles.
Nevertheless it is good to be able to show that Paul and Jesus are not at odds. Here are verses that show that Jesus himself taught that salvation is by grace, through faith.
Fundamentally, the message of the four gospels is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Jesus did not flee the cross but allowed himself to be captured. This must have great significance. As Paul points out:
For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!
--Gal 2:21
Communion was instituted by Jesus:
This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
--Matt 26:28
Jesus said:
the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
--Matt 20:28
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
--Mark 16:16
To the people who were religious people who were trying to keep the law:
I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
--Matt 5:20
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
--Matt 5:28 (KJV)
About the tax collector compared to a pharisee:
But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
--Luke 10:13,14
To a crowd that had gathered around Him:
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
--John 6:29
To the paralytic:
Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
--Mark 2:12
To the thief on the cross:
He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
--Luke 23:40-42-43
To the sinner woman:
He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (...)
He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
--Luke 7:48, 50
To whosoever:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
--John 3:16 (KJV)
Jesus left us with a new commandment, not with Moses' law:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another.
--John 13:4
This is not "another" commandment, but a "new" commandment that replaces the old.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Trinity: A Few verses of Explanation of the Trinity +
What Is The Trinity?
The Trinity is the belief that God is one being, three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It may not make sense according to what you see in your daily world, but it is quite consistent with what the Bible says.
While there are some alternative doctrines, the trinity is the view that is presented to Muslims by scholarly Christian apologists. I am not aware of any exceptions.
I somewhat reluctantly concluded that the traditional view is the best. The argument that persuaded me was this:
If Jesus were just human of some kind, then that would mean that the hard work of paying for our salvation was done by a person, and not God. Who then do you want to worship? With the Trinity, God gets the worship he deserves.
You can expect to be asked about the trinity when talking to Muslims, but you don't have to be an expert. Usually, if you can intelligently answer few questions the conversation turns to something else.
Muslims typically have the expectation that the Trinity is something that was invented later, like in the council of Nicea, or that it is part of a corruption of the Bible.
These verses show that Jesus pre-existed creation.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made
...
The Word became flesh, and lived among us.
--John 1:1-3, 14
John introduces this as his thesis for the entire Gospel of John and it which concludes like this:
These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
--John 20:31
Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
--John 17:5
Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
--Phil 2:5-11
Hebrews 1:1-14 (the entire chapter) is about who Jesus is.
From Jesus in Revelation, we have these:
I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
--Revelation 1:8
I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
--Revelation 1:17
I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
--Revelation 22:13
Note: When it is convenient, Muslims insist on accepting only the words of Jesus himself. However, the Quran is not held to this standard.
The Trinity is the belief that God is one being, three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It may not make sense according to what you see in your daily world, but it is quite consistent with what the Bible says.
While there are some alternative doctrines, the trinity is the view that is presented to Muslims by scholarly Christian apologists. I am not aware of any exceptions.
I somewhat reluctantly concluded that the traditional view is the best. The argument that persuaded me was this:
If Jesus were just human of some kind, then that would mean that the hard work of paying for our salvation was done by a person, and not God. Who then do you want to worship? With the Trinity, God gets the worship he deserves.
You can expect to be asked about the trinity when talking to Muslims, but you don't have to be an expert. Usually, if you can intelligently answer few questions the conversation turns to something else.
Muslims typically have the expectation that the Trinity is something that was invented later, like in the council of Nicea, or that it is part of a corruption of the Bible.
These verses show that Jesus pre-existed creation.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made
...
The Word became flesh, and lived among us.
--John 1:1-3, 14
John introduces this as his thesis for the entire Gospel of John and it which concludes like this:
These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
--John 20:31
Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
--John 17:5
Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
--Phil 2:5-11
Hebrews 1:1-14 (the entire chapter) is about who Jesus is.
From Jesus in Revelation, we have these:
I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
--Revelation 1:8
I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
--Revelation 1:17
I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
--Revelation 22:13
Note: When it is convenient, Muslims insist on accepting only the words of Jesus himself. However, the Quran is not held to this standard.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Why Muslims Never lose +
Do not be surprised if the Muslims you are talking to act as if their side wins every debate and that they are so confident that the Quran is true that it is as if they had witnessed everything it says with their own eyes. That is quite typical. Expect it and don't let it bother you.
Do Muslims Ask Real Questions?
Sometimes you will find Muslims asking inappropriate questions, or behaving in a way that makes you question their sincerity. At this point it may be best to not continue discussing. You have to decide if what you are encountering a language barrier, or something cultural, or if your time and expertise is better spent elsewhere. You should not cast your pearls be fore the swine. Feel free to walk away.
Muslims almost always demand a much higher standard of proof from Christianity than they do from their Muslim sources.
It is common to encounter Muslims who say they used to be Christian. This is a way of discrediting Christianity. Some who know more about Christianity may claim to have been elders, youth pastors or pastors, or former Christian scholars who have seen the light. I have heard where Muslims convert to Christianity, marry naïve Christian women, then revert back to Islam.
Do Muslims Ask Real Questions?
Sometimes you will find Muslims asking inappropriate questions, or behaving in a way that makes you question their sincerity. At this point it may be best to not continue discussing. You have to decide if what you are encountering a language barrier, or something cultural, or if your time and expertise is better spent elsewhere. You should not cast your pearls be fore the swine. Feel free to walk away.
Muslims almost always demand a much higher standard of proof from Christianity than they do from their Muslim sources.
It is common to encounter Muslims who say they used to be Christian. This is a way of discrediting Christianity. Some who know more about Christianity may claim to have been elders, youth pastors or pastors, or former Christian scholars who have seen the light. I have heard where Muslims convert to Christianity, marry naïve Christian women, then revert back to Islam.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Salvation: What about Those Who Never Heard of Jesus? +
It seems obvious to me that the universe has an intelligent creator. Nothing like this world happens by chance. So I don't see why all people shouldn't seek and call out to him. Abraham did not come from a land that knew God, but God told him:
Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
--Genesis 12:1
And so unfolded the story from Abraham, to David and to Jesus.
The Bible says:
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
--James 4:8
Paul says:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness”
--Romans 1:18
Paul says:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness”
--Romans 1:18
Sunday, December 20, 2015
The Resurrection: The Quran's weakness is our strength +
What is the most compelling reason to believe in Jesus? The resurrection!
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
--Matt 16:4
All the Muslim scholarship (or propaganda) funded by all the Saudi oil money has yet to produce a good answer to the resurrection.
When a young Josh McDowell came to debate Ahmed Deedat (in Durban 1981), the result was so embarrassing for Deedat that the Islamic propagation center did not release a video of the event, although they organized it.
Ahmed Deedat vs Josh McDowell Debate: Was Jesus Christ Crucified? (Full)
https://youtu.be/cgUnalaJoTs
The debate between Mike Licona and Shabir Ally (in Virginia Beach, VA 2004) was so disappointing to Nabeel Qureshi, who was in the audience, that he left Islam and became a Christian apologist.
Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? Michael Licona vs. Shabir Ally
https://youtu.be/FTyqQlBGX_4
Both these are the best two Muslim debaters in their time, and this shows the resurrection is a difficult problem for Islam and a battle-tested justification for believing in Christianity.
This being the case, you would think that the Quran would help out with some insight on how a critical mass of people came to believe the resurrection and endure the inevitable persecution.
However, in response all we find is forty Arabic words, which basically say that Jesus was not crucified but it just appeared that he did. That is not helpful. In fact I would say that it looks like the Muslims are doing all the work, not the Quran. That pretty much describes an idol.
I suggest that you study these two debates carefully, and you will have nothing to fear from the best Muslim debaters in history.
Muslims learn many polemics against Christianity, but it is impossible to train the average Muslim to respond to the resurrection without risk of them leaving Islam.
Questions for Muslims:
What evidence does Islam provide for itself? The resurrection shows that that Christianity is reasonable to believe in. Islam must bring something demonstrability more compelling?
Big claims need big evidence.
In principle, Islam should have a very compelling case because the Quran is written as a rebuttal to Christianity and Judaism. The person who writes the rebuttal is in a very strong position. That is why the defense in a court trial has the final word, in order to give them some advantage. What useful insights do you get from the Quran on the origin of Christianity?
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
--Matt 16:4
All the Muslim scholarship (or propaganda) funded by all the Saudi oil money has yet to produce a good answer to the resurrection.
When a young Josh McDowell came to debate Ahmed Deedat (in Durban 1981), the result was so embarrassing for Deedat that the Islamic propagation center did not release a video of the event, although they organized it.
Ahmed Deedat vs Josh McDowell Debate: Was Jesus Christ Crucified? (Full)
https://youtu.be/cgUnalaJoTs
The debate between Mike Licona and Shabir Ally (in Virginia Beach, VA 2004) was so disappointing to Nabeel Qureshi, who was in the audience, that he left Islam and became a Christian apologist.
Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? Michael Licona vs. Shabir Ally
https://youtu.be/FTyqQlBGX_4
Both these are the best two Muslim debaters in their time, and this shows the resurrection is a difficult problem for Islam and a battle-tested justification for believing in Christianity.
This being the case, you would think that the Quran would help out with some insight on how a critical mass of people came to believe the resurrection and endure the inevitable persecution.
However, in response all we find is forty Arabic words, which basically say that Jesus was not crucified but it just appeared that he did. That is not helpful. In fact I would say that it looks like the Muslims are doing all the work, not the Quran. That pretty much describes an idol.
I suggest that you study these two debates carefully, and you will have nothing to fear from the best Muslim debaters in history.
Muslims learn many polemics against Christianity, but it is impossible to train the average Muslim to respond to the resurrection without risk of them leaving Islam.
Questions for Muslims:
What evidence does Islam provide for itself? The resurrection shows that that Christianity is reasonable to believe in. Islam must bring something demonstrability more compelling?
Big claims need big evidence.
In principle, Islam should have a very compelling case because the Quran is written as a rebuttal to Christianity and Judaism. The person who writes the rebuttal is in a very strong position. That is why the defense in a court trial has the final word, in order to give them some advantage. What useful insights do you get from the Quran on the origin of Christianity?
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Jesus, the Son of Man +
One very important concept to understand is Jesus' use of the phrase "Son of Man". Some Muslims will suggest that Jesus' frequent use of this title (81 times, actually) means he did not claim divinity for himself.
How can Jesus take this modest title and claim to be God at the same time? Well, the Jews were familiar with this passage from Daniel chapter 7:
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
--Daniel 7:13-14
This passage is not discussed often enough in church, so please read it carefully.
Note how Jesus answered the high priest in Mark 14:
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
The high priest responds:
And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?
You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?”
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
--Mark 14:61-2
Let me clarify Jesus' use this title for himself. In fact Jesus uses this phrase in the third person. If he had applied it to himself in first person, he could have been arrested for blasphemy by his enemies.
At the end of his ministry, when his fate was sealed, he was more clear:
Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
--Luke 22:48
How many people did Judas ever betray with a kiss in his life? Just one.
Is Jesus God?
In the current prevailing teaching on apologetics to Muslims, it is often suggested that we should say that "Jesus is God". But Jesus referred to himself as "Son of Man" much more often, and this title confers more useful insight on who Jesus is with the context of Daniel 7.
How can Jesus take this modest title and claim to be God at the same time? Well, the Jews were familiar with this passage from Daniel chapter 7:
I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
--Daniel 7:13-14
This passage is not discussed often enough in church, so please read it carefully.
Note how Jesus answered the high priest in Mark 14:
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
The high priest responds:
And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?
You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?”
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
--Mark 14:61-2
Let me clarify Jesus' use this title for himself. In fact Jesus uses this phrase in the third person. If he had applied it to himself in first person, he could have been arrested for blasphemy by his enemies.
At the end of his ministry, when his fate was sealed, he was more clear:
Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
--Luke 22:48
How many people did Judas ever betray with a kiss in his life? Just one.
Is Jesus God?
In the current prevailing teaching on apologetics to Muslims, it is often suggested that we should say that "Jesus is God". But Jesus referred to himself as "Son of Man" much more often, and this title confers more useful insight on who Jesus is with the context of Daniel 7.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Trinity: If Jesus is God, then who did he pray to? Did Jesus pray to himself? -
One Muslim polemic goes like this.
If a Muslim asks: "Is Jesus God?".
Don't go for the trap of simply saying "yes.", because then you will open the door to a series of unproductive questions like: "Does God pray to himself"?
The Greek language was powerful enough to express "Jesus is God", but it does not say that. You only find more nuanced statements such as this one:
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
--Colossians 2:9 (KJV)
There is a fundamental difference in terminology: When Muslims say God they mean their one god, or, like God The Father.
When we say God we refer to the being who is manifested in three persons.
The confusion is that we also say "God", meaning God the Father. Actually all three are equally God.
If a Muslim asks: "Is Jesus God?".
Don't go for the trap of simply saying "yes.", because then you will open the door to a series of unproductive questions like: "Does God pray to himself"?
The Greek language was powerful enough to express "Jesus is God", but it does not say that. You only find more nuanced statements such as this one:
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
--Colossians 2:9 (KJV)
There is a fundamental difference in terminology: When Muslims say God they mean their one god, or, like God The Father.
When we say God we refer to the being who is manifested in three persons.
The confusion is that we also say "God", meaning God the Father. Actually all three are equally God.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Jesus brings a Sword, not Peace! +
The Muslim mindset is always trying to find ways to deflect blame from the violence that always seems to follow it. One way they do this is by quoting the verse highlighted below:
34 "Don't think that I came to send peace on the earth.
I didn't come to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 A man's foes will be those of his own household.
--Matt 10:34-36
The Muslim will certainly not quote this verse in context (with vv.35-36) , nor will he point out that the entire chapter 10 of Matthew deals with the persecution that his disciples would suffer.
The best response to a sincere Muslim seeker is just to read all of Matthew 10 together.
The point is that in Matthew 10, the sword represents division, conflict, and persecution that is directed at the disciples of Jesus.
Muslims may been told about this verse:
Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.”
--Luke 22:36
But here is the context, which Muslims have not heard about:
“For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me:
‘He was counted with transgressors.’
For that which concerns me has an end.”
--Luke 22:37
Jesus also said:
“Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn't ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”
--Matthew 26:52-54
Question for Muslims: what verse gives justification for Christians to take up a (physical) sword?
34 "Don't think that I came to send peace on the earth.
I didn't come to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 A man's foes will be those of his own household.
--Matt 10:34-36
The Muslim will certainly not quote this verse in context (with vv.35-36) , nor will he point out that the entire chapter 10 of Matthew deals with the persecution that his disciples would suffer.
The best response to a sincere Muslim seeker is just to read all of Matthew 10 together.
The point is that in Matthew 10, the sword represents division, conflict, and persecution that is directed at the disciples of Jesus.
Muslims may been told about this verse:
Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.”
--Luke 22:36
But here is the context, which Muslims have not heard about:
“For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me:
‘He was counted with transgressors.’
For that which concerns me has an end.”
--Luke 22:37
Jesus also said:
“Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn't ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”
--Matthew 26:52-54
Question for Muslims: what verse gives justification for Christians to take up a (physical) sword?
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Trinity: The Plural of Respect in the Old Testament +
It is natural for Muslims to believe that there is a "Plural of Respect" in the Bible. That's like the "Royal we", as in the well-known phrase "We are not amused", where it is just the queen speaking.
Muslims readily believe this is because, in the Quran, Allah likes to refer to himself in the plural for some reason.
I have seen this come up when talking to Muslims in these two situations:
Explaining the Trinity from the Old Testament ("Let us create man in our image").
Mohammed in the Song of Solomon 5:16 ("Muhammedim"), part of the attempt to show that Muhammed is in the Bible.
The response is that this "plural of respect" does not exist in the Old Testament, in the sense that you do not see any kings (or anyone else) refer to themselves in the plural form.
Also this way of addressing God, or anyone, in the plural, is never found in the New Testament.
Muslims readily believe this is because, in the Quran, Allah likes to refer to himself in the plural for some reason.
I have seen this come up when talking to Muslims in these two situations:
Explaining the Trinity from the Old Testament ("Let us create man in our image").
Mohammed in the Song of Solomon 5:16 ("Muhammedim"), part of the attempt to show that Muhammed is in the Bible.
The response is that this "plural of respect" does not exist in the Old Testament, in the sense that you do not see any kings (or anyone else) refer to themselves in the plural form.
Also this way of addressing God, or anyone, in the plural, is never found in the New Testament.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Earliest Corinthians Manuscript Discovered, Earliest Epistle To The Romans By 140+ Years [Josh McDowell]
https://youtu.be/wJ5JXDct04Q
Narrator:
There is actually a lot more details as to what was discovered with the new Mark papari, so I want to play this section of this video here where Josh McDowell explains a little bit about the process that they used and what are some of the texts that they discovered. It's really fascinating.
Josh:
This is the first day that I can show you this publicly. Here's those masks: look at that...
[0:30]That would fit over the head. All the paint you see there, girls, is actually gold.
Now, in a little bit I'm going to show you how we wash that gold right down the sink.
[0:42] Show the other one that goes with it...
In that mask are manuscripts. you say what?? Oh yeah, classical, biblical, old testament, New Testament.
Why? Well, they had professional people at the morgues, and they would go out, when they had a... they would go out into the community, into the trash to homes, into the businesses, and they would collect manuscripts.
[1:14]
Some of it was just town meetings, statistics, anything like that that was of manuscript form that was on papyrus.
And then they would take, and the way we would understand it, they would use it as "paper mache".
They would make these, you can almost say it is "papari mache". It's paper mache done with paparus.
[1:36]
and they would do four manuscripts, a layer of silk, another four manuscrpts, and a layer of silk
[1:40]
Now here is how you know the dating, for one: These masks were only done from 150 BC to 125 AD.
So you realize, any manuscripts in there are the oldest ever seen by human eyes?
That's the first time in 2000 years human eyes have seen these manuscripts.
[2:08]
It was in here that was discovered: Mark, the oldest ever discovered, back to the first century.
Before then it was 120 to 142, the John Ryland papyri.
[2:18]
Now, what you do, is you take these masks, scholars die when they hear it, but we own them, so we can do it,
we take these manuscripts, we soak them in water..! There is a process we use with huge microwaves to do it,
but it's not quite as good.
We put it down into water, can you put it up here too?
[2:39]
[mask in sink]
We put it down into water at a certain temperature, and you can only use Palmolive soap--the rest will start to destroy the manuscripts--Palmolive soap won't.
[2:52]
And you start massaging it for about 30 to 40 minutes.
You pull it out, and wring it out..these things are literally worth millions!
And you put it back in for about 30 to 40 minutes, and you pull it out, and this is what it will look like, just like a gob, it looks like a cattle.. a cow's head.
But that's all papyrus manuscripts, folks. Over 2000 years old.
And you start pulling it apart. You say "what??". yeah.
They are layered on top of each other. you start pulling them apart..keep going.
See, most scholars have never touched a manuscript, you have to have glove on and everything... here we just wash them,
and hold them in our hands. We don't
even make you wash your hands before.
[3:39]
See this is a manuscript right there.
A manuscript, by definition, is not an entire book.
It's a portion of a book. It can be just a little piece, to... we have one now that's 38 pages on Corinthians. Probably a greater discovery than the dead sea scrolls.
And, keep going...
[3:56]
Narrator:
Wow, did you just hear that? A whole..practically a whole scroll on Corinthians, he says. A greater discovery than the dead sea scrolls.
I imagine it is. Wow.
When we see that, it's going to be incredible.
[4:12]
This is all.., now, see my hand in the right hand [corner]... that's a pair of tweezers
And you take those tweezers and you start to pull those layers of manuscripts off.
I was so scared the first time I did it. It was last January. Or no, it was a little bit before then
[4:34]
"what if you tear it"? they said, "well, then you tear it.". Since we own it, it's OK.
So you pull the manuscripts off.
[4:45]
See, that in the center is red-lettered.
That's a very rare discovery. It's called a red-lettered Greek New Testament.
There are some of those big red letters were put across to identify it and everything.
Keep going here...
Now this here.. I'm down [there] and we have three classical scholars brought in because I'm not a classical scholar.
And they were there to help me to understand what we were doing.
[5:08]
So I called one of them over and I said, "I don't know... what do you think this is?"
[5:11]
He says, "Josh, there is another layer underneath."
"No there isn't"
"Josh, another layer".
So we soaked it in water just for a while, and start peeling it off That there is the oldest copy of the book of Romans by 125 years ever discovered.
[5:30]
Shots a hole in every liberal theology about Romans and when it was written and everything.
[5:36]
Narrator:
Yep, say bye-bye to higher criticism.
That's absolutely incredible right there, what he just said.
A hundred and some-odd years greater than the existing book of Romans we have.
Incredible!
The Lord is good!
He is doing marvelous things!
Keep listening:
[5:57]
It's incredible, and now I was so thankful,I mean,
if you're a scholar (and I am not), but if you are a scholar and you discover one manuscript like and that your name is put on it,
that makes your entire career--no! it literally is what you call a career maker.
Any one of these manuscripts is a career maker.
[6:19]
And the top scholar in the world was in my office the other day, and he brought in some new discoveries to look at and we're planning on doing two more of these masks December 5th and 6th
and he said, "Josh, I hate to say this, to you, but in the last mask, we broke your record.
We took it back another 25 years. The book of Romans. wow! Folks, do you realize what this means for the word of God?
[6:43]
It was hidden beneath another layer!
And then I'm doing this and I come across this one and it is very clear and well-done
and there were numbers between the two lines down here. So I call over this one scholar
and I say, you know, I'm not quite sure what this means, and he says haaaah!
You have just uncovered the first ever book one, page one of the Iliad by Homer.
And the first number said what book it was and the second said what page.
Folks, that's like dying and going to heaven.
[7:15]
And then, just keep going to the manuscripts here.
These are all out of one manuscript. Just keep going. Look at that!
This is incredible. 17 in six hours uncovered.
These are just biblical manuscripts.
and many other 30 some total manuscripts of the Iliad, and Homer, Sappho, some of you know the writer Sappho.
[7:50]
See there, how it just peels off. That's my finger underneath the one on the left there.
And you just peel them away.
[7:52]
Narrator:
You remember, some of you might have seen the debate between Wallace and Ehrman, and Wallace was saying that these discoveries had come to light, and Ehrman was kind of just sitting there wondering.
And since Bart Ehrman is probably the most popular higher critic of the day,
it's going to be really interesting to see what he says now.
Hopefully his doubts will go away.
[8:21]
Josh:
And then of course we put them in between paper towels, you dry it.
and you put it in glass to protect them.
The problem is, you can't ship these things in the mail, they are too valuable.
you have to pay all the expense of someone to fly with them.
You have got to keep someone with them, they are so valuable.
And have them dated and everything by Cambridge and Oxford, which are the top two in the world.
[8:46]
Narrator:
All right, so that's a little tid-bit of some more manuscripts.
The earliest book of Romans. That's so important because Paul outlines the gospel,
and, you know the book of Romans also is the refutation of roman Catholicism.
The gospel of grace is documented in the book of Romans.
[9:11]
so, again apart from the variants, if there are any in these manuscripts,
time will tell,
[9:19]
but from what they are saying, preliminary,
these are about as good as it gets
[9:25]
right now so we wanted to present this additional data
we're going to put this in our playlist on biblical evidence and facts,
[9:39]
and so we wanted to show you this little clip here
and tell you it's a great time to be alive.
The Bible is being confirmed,
(not that we who have living faith really needed it,)
[9:48]
but there are those again, as we've said,
that have been mind-controlled
by the public school educational brainwashing
[9:58]
which it really what it is, we have to say it honestly and sincerely,
people are being mind-controlled
[10:07]
in public education and it's all come down to us
by liberal higher critic scholars out of Germany after the reformation
[10:13]
and then this was swallowed, hook, line and sinker throughout the decades
and eventually led to what we have now in our public school education system
where they're taught ungodliness and all kinds of mind-controlling doctrines
[10:30]
to be controlled by evil, wicked men
[10:37]
so we wanted to, again, show you this
until next time, Lord willing, we will see you again.
....
Narrator:
There is actually a lot more details as to what was discovered with the new Mark papari, so I want to play this section of this video here where Josh McDowell explains a little bit about the process that they used and what are some of the texts that they discovered. It's really fascinating.
Josh:
This is the first day that I can show you this publicly. Here's those masks: look at that...
[0:30]That would fit over the head. All the paint you see there, girls, is actually gold.
Now, in a little bit I'm going to show you how we wash that gold right down the sink.
[0:42] Show the other one that goes with it...
In that mask are manuscripts. you say what?? Oh yeah, classical, biblical, old testament, New Testament.
Why? Well, they had professional people at the morgues, and they would go out, when they had a... they would go out into the community, into the trash to homes, into the businesses, and they would collect manuscripts.
[1:14]
Some of it was just town meetings, statistics, anything like that that was of manuscript form that was on papyrus.
And then they would take, and the way we would understand it, they would use it as "paper mache".
They would make these, you can almost say it is "papari mache". It's paper mache done with paparus.
[1:36]
and they would do four manuscripts, a layer of silk, another four manuscrpts, and a layer of silk
[1:40]
Now here is how you know the dating, for one: These masks were only done from 150 BC to 125 AD.
So you realize, any manuscripts in there are the oldest ever seen by human eyes?
That's the first time in 2000 years human eyes have seen these manuscripts.
[2:08]
It was in here that was discovered: Mark, the oldest ever discovered, back to the first century.
Before then it was 120 to 142, the John Ryland papyri.
[2:18]
Now, what you do, is you take these masks, scholars die when they hear it, but we own them, so we can do it,
we take these manuscripts, we soak them in water..! There is a process we use with huge microwaves to do it,
but it's not quite as good.
We put it down into water, can you put it up here too?
[2:39]
[mask in sink]
We put it down into water at a certain temperature, and you can only use Palmolive soap--the rest will start to destroy the manuscripts--Palmolive soap won't.
[2:52]
And you start massaging it for about 30 to 40 minutes.
You pull it out, and wring it out..these things are literally worth millions!
And you put it back in for about 30 to 40 minutes, and you pull it out, and this is what it will look like, just like a gob, it looks like a cattle.. a cow's head.
But that's all papyrus manuscripts, folks. Over 2000 years old.
And you start pulling it apart. You say "what??". yeah.
They are layered on top of each other. you start pulling them apart..keep going.
See, most scholars have never touched a manuscript, you have to have glove on and everything... here we just wash them,
and hold them in our hands. We don't
even make you wash your hands before.
[3:39]
See this is a manuscript right there.
A manuscript, by definition, is not an entire book.
It's a portion of a book. It can be just a little piece, to... we have one now that's 38 pages on Corinthians. Probably a greater discovery than the dead sea scrolls.
And, keep going...
[3:56]
Narrator:
Wow, did you just hear that? A whole..practically a whole scroll on Corinthians, he says. A greater discovery than the dead sea scrolls.
I imagine it is. Wow.
When we see that, it's going to be incredible.
[4:12]
This is all.., now, see my hand in the right hand [corner]... that's a pair of tweezers
And you take those tweezers and you start to pull those layers of manuscripts off.
I was so scared the first time I did it. It was last January. Or no, it was a little bit before then
[4:34]
"what if you tear it"? they said, "well, then you tear it.". Since we own it, it's OK.
So you pull the manuscripts off.
[4:45]
See, that in the center is red-lettered.
That's a very rare discovery. It's called a red-lettered Greek New Testament.
There are some of those big red letters were put across to identify it and everything.
Keep going here...
Now this here.. I'm down [there] and we have three classical scholars brought in because I'm not a classical scholar.
And they were there to help me to understand what we were doing.
[5:08]
So I called one of them over and I said, "I don't know... what do you think this is?"
[5:11]
He says, "Josh, there is another layer underneath."
"No there isn't"
"Josh, another layer".
So we soaked it in water just for a while, and start peeling it off That there is the oldest copy of the book of Romans by 125 years ever discovered.
[5:30]
Shots a hole in every liberal theology about Romans and when it was written and everything.
[5:36]
Narrator:
Yep, say bye-bye to higher criticism.
That's absolutely incredible right there, what he just said.
A hundred and some-odd years greater than the existing book of Romans we have.
Incredible!
The Lord is good!
He is doing marvelous things!
Keep listening:
[5:57]
It's incredible, and now I was so thankful,I mean,
if you're a scholar (and I am not), but if you are a scholar and you discover one manuscript like and that your name is put on it,
that makes your entire career--no! it literally is what you call a career maker.
Any one of these manuscripts is a career maker.
[6:19]
And the top scholar in the world was in my office the other day, and he brought in some new discoveries to look at and we're planning on doing two more of these masks December 5th and 6th
and he said, "Josh, I hate to say this, to you, but in the last mask, we broke your record.
We took it back another 25 years. The book of Romans. wow! Folks, do you realize what this means for the word of God?
[6:43]
It was hidden beneath another layer!
And then I'm doing this and I come across this one and it is very clear and well-done
and there were numbers between the two lines down here. So I call over this one scholar
and I say, you know, I'm not quite sure what this means, and he says haaaah!
You have just uncovered the first ever book one, page one of the Iliad by Homer.
And the first number said what book it was and the second said what page.
Folks, that's like dying and going to heaven.
[7:15]
And then, just keep going to the manuscripts here.
These are all out of one manuscript. Just keep going. Look at that!
This is incredible. 17 in six hours uncovered.
These are just biblical manuscripts.
and many other 30 some total manuscripts of the Iliad, and Homer, Sappho, some of you know the writer Sappho.
[7:50]
See there, how it just peels off. That's my finger underneath the one on the left there.
And you just peel them away.
[7:52]
Narrator:
You remember, some of you might have seen the debate between Wallace and Ehrman, and Wallace was saying that these discoveries had come to light, and Ehrman was kind of just sitting there wondering.
And since Bart Ehrman is probably the most popular higher critic of the day,
it's going to be really interesting to see what he says now.
Hopefully his doubts will go away.
[8:21]
Josh:
And then of course we put them in between paper towels, you dry it.
and you put it in glass to protect them.
The problem is, you can't ship these things in the mail, they are too valuable.
you have to pay all the expense of someone to fly with them.
You have got to keep someone with them, they are so valuable.
And have them dated and everything by Cambridge and Oxford, which are the top two in the world.
[8:46]
Narrator:
All right, so that's a little tid-bit of some more manuscripts.
The earliest book of Romans. That's so important because Paul outlines the gospel,
and, you know the book of Romans also is the refutation of roman Catholicism.
The gospel of grace is documented in the book of Romans.
[9:11]
so, again apart from the variants, if there are any in these manuscripts,
time will tell,
[9:19]
but from what they are saying, preliminary,
these are about as good as it gets
[9:25]
right now so we wanted to present this additional data
we're going to put this in our playlist on biblical evidence and facts,
[9:39]
and so we wanted to show you this little clip here
and tell you it's a great time to be alive.
The Bible is being confirmed,
(not that we who have living faith really needed it,)
[9:48]
but there are those again, as we've said,
that have been mind-controlled
by the public school educational brainwashing
[9:58]
which it really what it is, we have to say it honestly and sincerely,
people are being mind-controlled
[10:07]
in public education and it's all come down to us
by liberal higher critic scholars out of Germany after the reformation
[10:13]
and then this was swallowed, hook, line and sinker throughout the decades
and eventually led to what we have now in our public school education system
where they're taught ungodliness and all kinds of mind-controlling doctrines
[10:30]
to be controlled by evil, wicked men
[10:37]
so we wanted to, again, show you this
until next time, Lord willing, we will see you again.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Trinity: Why Do You Call Me "Good"?
Muslims like to bring up the incident where someone called Jesus "good" (here it is):
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him.
“No one is good but One, that is, God.
--Mark 10:17-18
What Jesus is saying, then, is that this man was putting Him at the same level as God.
And Jesus is pointing this out.
For Muslims, this means that Jesus does not want to be called good because he is not God.
How should we as Christians say in reply?
What many people overlook is that Jesus taught against praising people, or receiving praise from others. So what the man did by calling Jesus "good teacher" was contrary to what Jesus taught.
For example, let's read from Matthew's gospel:
“ But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
--Matt 23:8-12
So when the man addressed Jesus in a way that was contrary to what He taught, that really did require some response by Him.
But here is the real answer to the Muslim claim: There are several passages that specifically mention that people worshiped Jesus, and in them, we never find that Jesus discourages this.
For example here is the passage where Jesus had healed a blind man on the Sabbath day:
"Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said,
‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe’; and he worshiped him."
--John 9:35-38
We see on the one hand Jesus teaching against receiving praise,
But on the other hand he allowed others to worship him.
We as disciples of Jesus do not believe that Jesus was a hypocrite,
so our only other explanation for this is that Jesus is,
in fact, God.
Another thing often overlooked is this:
After Jesus lists several commandments, he says:
He said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”
--Mark 10:20
In response, Jesus showed this person that his heart was spiritually not in the right place, because his riches were his idol:
“Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
--Mark 10:21
This can be found as a video:
http://youtu.be/NmYSj3clQP8
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him.
“No one is good but One, that is, God.
--Mark 10:17-18
What Jesus is saying, then, is that this man was putting Him at the same level as God.
And Jesus is pointing this out.
For Muslims, this means that Jesus does not want to be called good because he is not God.
How should we as Christians say in reply?
What many people overlook is that Jesus taught against praising people, or receiving praise from others. So what the man did by calling Jesus "good teacher" was contrary to what Jesus taught.
For example, let's read from Matthew's gospel:
“ But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
--Matt 23:8-12
So when the man addressed Jesus in a way that was contrary to what He taught, that really did require some response by Him.
But here is the real answer to the Muslim claim: There are several passages that specifically mention that people worshiped Jesus, and in them, we never find that Jesus discourages this.
For example here is the passage where Jesus had healed a blind man on the Sabbath day:
"Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said,
‘Do you believe in the Son of man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe’; and he worshiped him."
--John 9:35-38
We see on the one hand Jesus teaching against receiving praise,
But on the other hand he allowed others to worship him.
We as disciples of Jesus do not believe that Jesus was a hypocrite,
so our only other explanation for this is that Jesus is,
in fact, God.
Another thing often overlooked is this:
After Jesus lists several commandments, he says:
He said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”
--Mark 10:20
In response, Jesus showed this person that his heart was spiritually not in the right place, because his riches were his idol:
“Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
--Mark 10:21
This can be found as a video:
http://youtu.be/NmYSj3clQP8
Friday, March 27, 2015
Mathematical Patterns In The Quran
In this debate, Jay Smith destroys the very old Muslim claim that the Quran is unchanged. Jay asserts the Quran that we have today is from 1924 and produced in Cairo:
https://youtu.be/fWHV9VnOJtc
In a previous debate Shabir Ally was willing to defend the Quran manuscripts, but now he at least twice declines to defend the older editions of the Quran, and bypasses a discussion of how the 1924 Quran is related to what Mohammed recited.
Instead he talks about mathematical patters in the Quran of today:
[1]
https://youtu.be/fWHV9VnOJtc?t=16m0s
What we look at is, the Quran that we hold in our hands today, regardless of the history,
because we can discuss that in detail and sometimes we get lost in the detail.
But when we pick up a copy of the Quran today, what academics usually refer to as the Egyptian edition of the Quran
[16:28] that is widespread, printed in Median and circulated for free,
we find that things in this Quran are arranged in mathematical patterns...
[2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHV9VnOJtc&feature=youtu.be&t=53m40s
I want to look at the Quran as we have it now...
and say that, regardless of all of the history that Jay has talked about,
which requires some discussion and investigation, let's look at this book itself,
and ask, is there anything in this book that indicates its divine origins...
Are these "patterns" really a miracle?
For at least as long as Muslims have had the "99 names of Allah", there was a culture of counting words in the Quran. This is as old as the rosary-like prayer beads they use.
If Muslims were motivated to find the "mathematical patterns" in the Quran that Shabir Ally presented, then who is to say that they did not deliberately put them in in 1924?
The bottom line is that there is nothing in the Quran that was not capable of being constructed in 1924.
If they were making claims about 20 digit prime numbers, that would be one thing, but all they are claiming is just simple arithmetic and science that was well-known at the time.
The Cairo edition is not a miracle by 1924 standards, and Jay Smith points out that it may not even be a miracle by any standard.
Here he shows that patters of this sort are commonly found with enough effort:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHV9VnOJtc&feature=youtu.be&t=1h50m40s
Also, it is a a good thing that Allah disguised the Quran as the sayings of someone who was ignorant of the Bible (5:116-117), lest the kuffars benefit from all the scientific insights in it and win all the Nobel prizes in science, rather than the Muslims.
http://simpleargumentsversusislam.blogspot.com/2014/08/islams-intellectual-contributions-to.html
Also, what was the evidence for the Quran before 1924?
https://youtu.be/fWHV9VnOJtc
In a previous debate Shabir Ally was willing to defend the Quran manuscripts, but now he at least twice declines to defend the older editions of the Quran, and bypasses a discussion of how the 1924 Quran is related to what Mohammed recited.
Instead he talks about mathematical patters in the Quran of today:
[1]
https://youtu.be/fWHV9VnOJtc?t=16m0s
What we look at is, the Quran that we hold in our hands today, regardless of the history,
because we can discuss that in detail and sometimes we get lost in the detail.
But when we pick up a copy of the Quran today, what academics usually refer to as the Egyptian edition of the Quran
[16:28] that is widespread, printed in Median and circulated for free,
we find that things in this Quran are arranged in mathematical patterns...
[2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHV9VnOJtc&feature=youtu.be&t=53m40s
I want to look at the Quran as we have it now...
and say that, regardless of all of the history that Jay has talked about,
which requires some discussion and investigation, let's look at this book itself,
and ask, is there anything in this book that indicates its divine origins...
Are these "patterns" really a miracle?
For at least as long as Muslims have had the "99 names of Allah", there was a culture of counting words in the Quran. This is as old as the rosary-like prayer beads they use.
If Muslims were motivated to find the "mathematical patterns" in the Quran that Shabir Ally presented, then who is to say that they did not deliberately put them in in 1924?
The bottom line is that there is nothing in the Quran that was not capable of being constructed in 1924.
If they were making claims about 20 digit prime numbers, that would be one thing, but all they are claiming is just simple arithmetic and science that was well-known at the time.
The Cairo edition is not a miracle by 1924 standards, and Jay Smith points out that it may not even be a miracle by any standard.
Here he shows that patters of this sort are commonly found with enough effort:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHV9VnOJtc&feature=youtu.be&t=1h50m40s
Also, it is a a good thing that Allah disguised the Quran as the sayings of someone who was ignorant of the Bible (5:116-117), lest the kuffars benefit from all the scientific insights in it and win all the Nobel prizes in science, rather than the Muslims.
http://simpleargumentsversusislam.blogspot.com/2014/08/islams-intellectual-contributions-to.html
Also, what was the evidence for the Quran before 1924?
Monday, March 23, 2015
Why were these gospels not written in the life of Jesus?
Why were these gospels not written in the life of Jesus?
Jesus is "the First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life"
-- (Revelation 2:8). Jesus is not Dead! After he died on the cross, he rose again and kept right on ministering!
Jesus rose again and spoke to many people (1 Cor 15, Luke 24: 13)
The Book of Revelation was partly dictated to John, and partly revealed to John in a vision.
How do you know what language Jesus spoke in? The LXX, which was the Bible that was used in his day was in Greek, and all the people in Jesus' day knew that language. If the scriptures were read in Greek, then it is more likely that religious conversations would be in Greek.Why were they not written in Aramaic the language he and the people spoke and in which he preached?
In the Book of Revelation, mentioned above, Jesus describes himself like this:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
--Revelation 1:8.
The words Alpha and Omega are Greek distinctly words.
The word Gospel can refer to either the teaching about how Jesus paid the price for our sin, or it can refer to the four (books) biographies that were written about the life of Jesus.Why there are so many different gospels, every denomination has its own?
All Christian denominations use the same four biographies of Jesus.
Every local church wanted to have copies of these gospels, so they copied them and gave them to each other. Sometimes they translated them into their own language, like Latin or Syriac. There are about 5,800 manuscripts in the Greek language that we have today, and with the translations we have around 24,000 manuscripts (these are the numbers that Josh McDowell commonly cites). The Bible of today comes from careful study of these manuscripts.Why the gospel needs to be written and rewritten?
We are able to know around what year each of these manuscripts was written because every time period had subtle changes in script style. If any human were to have put changes into any of their copies of their gospels, they would not have been able to make their changes appear in all the manuscripts everywhere. Special scholars, called "textual critics", do nothing but study the small changes that exist between manuscripts in order to reconstruct the original text.Why the newer editions are written by human beings who use their bias in it. Why you don't see the way Christianity is today was not taught by Jesus.
At no time were all Bible manuscripts in the hands of one person or group. Nobody would ever have been able to change the Bible.
How much adjustment to the text of the Bible comes from textual critic scholars? The 1611 King James version (translation) was produced from about 12 manuscripts. 400+ years and 5788 manuscripts later, the King James version translation is still used by many people.
In Christianity we call a translation that was done by a committee a "version". If one person does it, it is called a "translation".
ALSO: note that it is not true that Jesus did not bring his own book. In fact, he did bring the book of Revelation to John his disciple. John signed his name in it (it is not anonymous).
It is the only book in the New Testament that contains a blessing for the reader:
"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it."
--Revelation 1:3
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Misinformation and lies by Yusuf Estes
This page shows various lies and disinformation by Yusuf Estes.
The last video on this page is absolutely devastating.
Can God have a Son? (Part 2 of 2) Former Christian Preacher Yusuf Estes
https://youtu.be/EkuZ1uW6Vq0?t=2m24s
First of all, and, this is very important to know, that their scriptures were not revealed in the English language,
so it's very unfair to have a dialogue talking about translations of something
that you know good and well there's no way that was it was ever in English language.
So you must immediately now go back to something that you translated from.
If you go back to the Latin, if you want to talk about the Latin translations,
or the translations to English from Latin you can immediately find serious problems
even if you all the way back to the time and Jerome when he did the Latin Vulgate
because this as good-- as an historical document is a fabulous thing-- but as far as being 100 percent accurate,
uh.. the Catholic Church themselves said we would never use this as the actual reference point for the Bible,
but it is a historical document, and a great document it is; there's no doubt about it.
What does the Latin Vulgate have to do with anything????
What we wanna say here now is that the Bible
as it came in the original form
doesn't exist today. Now, that should not be evidence for somebody to give up their faith and walk away.
I don't want that;
I've seen it happen to some of the scholars.
In fact most of the scholars, when they get to that point they just give up and say okay,
I'll be a Bible Scholar but I'm not going to be a Christian anymore. And one in
of the case in points that we've talked about in some of your other programs,
for those who didn't know it, Bart uh.. Eron is his name, was a
real born again --I guess-- Christian believing in the Bible as the absolute positive Word of God
and studied at The Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago
but then when he goes off to Princeton and learns from the archaeological..
finds the real manuscripts with a hands-on application
he says none of this is the real deal anymore we've been lied to!.....
[2:34]
Most Scholars, when they hear what Princeton teaches, stop being Christian?????
~~~~
Here David Wood shows how Yusuf Estes obfuscates on what the Quran teaches about killing Christians and Jews.
Yusuf Estes On violence and terrorism!
https://youtu.be/gQZN7Ikijo8
Yusuf Estes On violence and terrorism! 2
https://youtu.be/Fjz9ABNulY8
~~~~
In this video, Yusuf Estes either does not understand the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, or is misrepresenting it:
Does yusuf Estes know anything about Christianity?
https://youtu.be/KeIF9vli_To
~~~~
Dr. James White produced an amazing series of eight videos about misrepresentations of the Trinity by Yusuf Estes
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 1
https://youtu.be/b_hngrtfChI
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 2
https://youtu.be/8YamAD7Uhmc
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 3
https://youtu.be/2dRSpJAyrJA
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 4
https://youtu.be/ZWBk_XhFZfM
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 5
https://youtu.be/ZgISCRXECSw
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 6
https://youtu.be/PfANSmIw0mI
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 7
https://youtu.be/bFHl6wHjI6Q
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 8 (Conclusion)
https://youtu.be/BWFStI16WQk
~~~~
Yusuf Estes and the lies about embryology
http://rationalislam.blogspot.com/2012/09/yusuf-estes-and-lies-about-embryology.html
~~~~
This shows deliberate lies and deception by Yusuf Estes (must watch!!!):
The Deen Show Deception 2 - Yusuf Estes lies about Muhammad's marriage to Aisha
https://youtu.be/eF7oUYsh7Vg
The last video on this page is absolutely devastating.
Can God have a Son? (Part 2 of 2) Former Christian Preacher Yusuf Estes
https://youtu.be/EkuZ1uW6Vq0?t=2m24s
First of all, and, this is very important to know, that their scriptures were not revealed in the English language,
so it's very unfair to have a dialogue talking about translations of something
that you know good and well there's no way that was it was ever in English language.
So you must immediately now go back to something that you translated from.
If you go back to the Latin, if you want to talk about the Latin translations,
or the translations to English from Latin you can immediately find serious problems
even if you all the way back to the time and Jerome when he did the Latin Vulgate
because this as good-- as an historical document is a fabulous thing-- but as far as being 100 percent accurate,
uh.. the Catholic Church themselves said we would never use this as the actual reference point for the Bible,
but it is a historical document, and a great document it is; there's no doubt about it.
What does the Latin Vulgate have to do with anything????
What we wanna say here now is that the Bible
as it came in the original form
doesn't exist today. Now, that should not be evidence for somebody to give up their faith and walk away.
I don't want that;
I've seen it happen to some of the scholars.
In fact most of the scholars, when they get to that point they just give up and say okay,
I'll be a Bible Scholar but I'm not going to be a Christian anymore. And one in
of the case in points that we've talked about in some of your other programs,
for those who didn't know it, Bart uh.. Eron is his name, was a
real born again --I guess-- Christian believing in the Bible as the absolute positive Word of God
and studied at The Moody Bible Institute here in Chicago
but then when he goes off to Princeton and learns from the archaeological..
finds the real manuscripts with a hands-on application
he says none of this is the real deal anymore we've been lied to!.....
[2:34]
Most Scholars, when they hear what Princeton teaches, stop being Christian?????
~~~~
Here David Wood shows how Yusuf Estes obfuscates on what the Quran teaches about killing Christians and Jews.
Yusuf Estes On violence and terrorism!
https://youtu.be/gQZN7Ikijo8
Yusuf Estes On violence and terrorism! 2
https://youtu.be/Fjz9ABNulY8
~~~~
In this video, Yusuf Estes either does not understand the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, or is misrepresenting it:
Does yusuf Estes know anything about Christianity?
https://youtu.be/KeIF9vli_To
~~~~
Dr. James White produced an amazing series of eight videos about misrepresentations of the Trinity by Yusuf Estes
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 1
https://youtu.be/b_hngrtfChI
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 2
https://youtu.be/8YamAD7Uhmc
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 3
https://youtu.be/2dRSpJAyrJA
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 4
https://youtu.be/ZWBk_XhFZfM
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 5
https://youtu.be/ZgISCRXECSw
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 6
https://youtu.be/PfANSmIw0mI
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 7
https://youtu.be/bFHl6wHjI6Q
Yusuf Estes on the Deen Show: Part 8 (Conclusion)
https://youtu.be/BWFStI16WQk
~~~~
Yusuf Estes and the lies about embryology
http://rationalislam.blogspot.com/2012/09/yusuf-estes-and-lies-about-embryology.html
~~~~
This shows deliberate lies and deception by Yusuf Estes (must watch!!!):
The Deen Show Deception 2 - Yusuf Estes lies about Muhammad's marriage to Aisha
https://youtu.be/eF7oUYsh7Vg
Can God Have a Son? +
Muslims object to of the phrase "son of God". This is because, in reading the Quran, you would think that Christians believe that Jesus is the Biological son of God the Father. For example:
He neither begets nor is begotten.
--Surah 112:3
This may be the most popular of all Muslim objections to Christianity. You need to be prepared for this.
Yes, Jesus is called the "Son of God". In fact, he is the unique (monogenes) son of God (John 3:16).
The phrase "son of God" applies not just to Jesus, but to potentially anyone:
But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
--John 1:12
So the word, "son" is clearly intended as symbolic. Even the Quran admits that the word "son" can have symbolic meaning as 2:177 uses the phrase "son of the road" to mean someone who travels a lot.
He neither begets nor is begotten.
--Surah 112:3
This may be the most popular of all Muslim objections to Christianity. You need to be prepared for this.
Yes, Jesus is called the "Son of God". In fact, he is the unique (monogenes) son of God (John 3:16).
The phrase "son of God" applies not just to Jesus, but to potentially anyone:
But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
--John 1:12
So the word, "son" is clearly intended as symbolic. Even the Quran admits that the word "son" can have symbolic meaning as 2:177 uses the phrase "son of the road" to mean someone who travels a lot.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Muhammed in the Bible: Did Jesus predict Muhammad? *
A common claim some Muslims make is that the Comforter John 14:16 is a reference to Mohammed:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
--John 14:16 (KJV)
It takes a fairly knowledgeable Muslim to be able to support this claim, and if they know that much, they should be smart enough to know that it is nonsense. Jesus is not going to pray to the Father to send someone who will then deny the Gospel. Christians won't find this convincing, so this claim is really for the benefit of naïve Muslims. So I suggest, from my experience, it is of no use to answer a Muslim who is making this argument, but for someone who has heard someone else say this it is a good opportunity for a mini-sermon.
The Holy Spirit is found throughout the Gospel of John from start to finish:
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
--John 1:32 (KJV)
(that is, as gently as a dove, not in the form of a dove).
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit
--John 3:8 (KJV)
(The word for spirit in Greek is pneuma, meaning wind, breath on spirit.)
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
--John 4:21-26 (KJV)
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
--John 7:37-39 (KJV)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
--John 15:26-27 (KJV)
(If you can get the Muslim you are talking with to admit that Islam allows "Taqiyya", which is permitted lying, then Mohammed is not a Spirit of Truth.)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
--John 16:7 (KJV)
What about John 16:12-14? Do they refer to Mohamed?
12 “I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.
--John 16:12-14 (KJV)
(In verse 13 we read "whatever he hears, that shall he speak". This is sometimes used to justify the claim that these verses apply to Mohammed. However, it is also plausible that they are one of the few verses that explain some of the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. He is not a rogue spirit, but submitted to the will of the Father, just as Jesus is:
"I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me."
--John 5:30 (KJV)
(After the resurrection, Jesus blew on his disciples to receive the Holy Ghost, as God had:
the LORD...breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
--Gen 2:7)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
--John 20:22 (KJV)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
--John 14:16 (KJV)
It takes a fairly knowledgeable Muslim to be able to support this claim, and if they know that much, they should be smart enough to know that it is nonsense. Jesus is not going to pray to the Father to send someone who will then deny the Gospel. Christians won't find this convincing, so this claim is really for the benefit of naïve Muslims. So I suggest, from my experience, it is of no use to answer a Muslim who is making this argument, but for someone who has heard someone else say this it is a good opportunity for a mini-sermon.
The Holy Spirit is found throughout the Gospel of John from start to finish:
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
--John 1:32 (KJV)
(that is, as gently as a dove, not in the form of a dove).
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit
--John 3:8 (KJV)
(The word for spirit in Greek is pneuma, meaning wind, breath on spirit.)
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
--John 4:21-26 (KJV)
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
--John 7:37-39 (KJV)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
--John 15:26-27 (KJV)
(If you can get the Muslim you are talking with to admit that Islam allows "Taqiyya", which is permitted lying, then Mohammed is not a Spirit of Truth.)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
--John 16:7 (KJV)
What about John 16:12-14? Do they refer to Mohamed?
12 “I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
13 However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.
--John 16:12-14 (KJV)
(In verse 13 we read "whatever he hears, that shall he speak". This is sometimes used to justify the claim that these verses apply to Mohammed. However, it is also plausible that they are one of the few verses that explain some of the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. He is not a rogue spirit, but submitted to the will of the Father, just as Jesus is:
"I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me."
--John 5:30 (KJV)
(After the resurrection, Jesus blew on his disciples to receive the Holy Ghost, as God had:
the LORD...breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
--Gen 2:7)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
--John 20:22 (KJV)
Jesus Said You Must Be Born Again
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
When Jesus spoke of "water" and "spirit", there is only one Old Testament passage that this could refer to. When Nicodemus does not understand this, he gets this response:
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”
Here is the passage in Ezekiel chapter 36 that Jesus was referring to:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
--Ezekiel 36:25-27
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
When Jesus spoke of "water" and "spirit", there is only one Old Testament passage that this could refer to. When Nicodemus does not understand this, he gets this response:
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”
Here is the passage in Ezekiel chapter 36 that Jesus was referring to:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
--Ezekiel 36:25-27
Friday, March 13, 2015
Christian Prayer and Muslim Prayer
One of the five Pillars of Islam is to pray five times a day.
However in Christianity we are to be in constant communion with God:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
However in Christianity we are to be in constant communion with God:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Obama's Muslim Attacks on The Bible
Watch Obama speaking at the "Call To Renewal conference 2006:"
http://youtu.be/wVt59yd2W0U?t=12s
To the untrained eye, this may appear to be just normal anti-Bible rhetoric, but we recognize these as characteristically Muslim arguments.
Here are the points that Obama brings up, and how they appear in Muslim polemics:
Notice Obama asks "if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America..."
What Christian thinks like this? A real Christian would ask, "what if everyone converted to Christianity in the United States." Expelling is more part of the Muslim mindset:
It has been narrated by 'Umar b. al-Khattib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.
--Sahih Muslim Book 19 Number 4366
- Obama mentions Matthew Chapter 5, which mentions turning the other cheek.
Muslims are often embarrassed that their Quran is lacking in benevolence, so they like to claim that "turning the other cheek" does not work.
Islam - The Religion of Peace and Love?
http://youtu.be/pXgs-txgl30?t=3m0s
- Obama says that Christians don't know their own Bible:
Here is Yousef Estes, a famous Muslim polemicist saying the same thing as Obama, that Christians don't know their own Bible:
https://youtu.be/3NB0n5nPP90?t=12m9s
Also, from the same video:
https://youtu.be/3NB0n5nPP90?t=26m2s
- Christians don't have a viable form of government
Jay Smith mentions this in a video:
Jay Smith - 7 Areas Christianity Always Wins
https://youtu.be/fbL5O0u_xbk?t=1h3m41s
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Intro: What makes this Blog Different? *
Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you.
--1 Peter 3:15
I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
--1 Cor 2:22
Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
...
David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
--1 Sam 17:38-39
In this blog I am showing you my way of sharing the Gospel with Muslims. I have selected and designed this material to be easy for you to learn, and yet very effective.
If you learn this, you should be able to give a reasonable defense of your Christian faith against even the toughest Muslims you will encounter.
What motivates my approach is that many Muslims have rejected the Gospel because they have heard many carefully crafted lies, distortions, and half-truths about Christianity. I have spent much time collecting the objections that Muslims have heard, and providing you with answers to these.
There are so many positive reasons to believe the Gospel that by articulating these reasons, and by answering the disinformation Muslims have learned, you should be able to present a persuasive case to just about any Muslim you may encounter.
In contrast, a lot of the other material on I see out there suffers from one or more of these drawbacks:
Too complicated.
Most material I seem to come across is by top apologists, for other top apologists (not for lay people). They quote extensively from the Quran and Hadith (Muslim traditions). My material here has a MUCH more shallow "learning curve", but is still very effective
Too ecumenical or "Interfaith":
There is a lot more to evangelism than just inviting your Muslim friend to a bible study. Unless you are equipped to talk to Muslims, you will just have a useless clash of prejudices, with much heat and noise generated. If the Muslim you invited is well-trained, you can end up worse off in your beliefs, not him.
One "ministry" is disseminating material that is so weak that they may as well be sponsored by the Saudis. I believe they are on the whole counterproductive, on top of the fact that they are consuming donations from believers that could be going to useful causes.
Teaches too much about Islam:
There is much to learn so you can talk to Muslims effectively, but learning about Islam itself is not very helpful. Instead, I show you what Muslims believe about Christianity and I will show you how these beliefs may be grounded in Islam along the way.
Too "Hateful" about Islam:
There are many passages in the Quran and Hadith that most people would find disturbing.
It is certainly possible to learn to quote passages from Quran, and to be able to do this so well that you can handle the Muslims' well-prepared responses. I have seen people do this and get good results. However, it only seems that the training needed to answer Muslims who are well-prepared is not easily available. Even then, you need to overcome the perception that you are being hateful. Some of the earliest material like this that I encountered was by Silas on Answering-Islam.org
Too Negative about Islam:
Similarly, you can study about the problems with the Quran, like contradictions and scientific errors. Keep in mind, however that if your Muslim friend detects that the foundation of his worldview is threatened, he may respond by erecting mental barriers of prejudice and/or just walk away. Winning the argent is not the same as persuasion. Alternatively, you may find that your conversations degenerate into a "tit-for-tat" shouting match that is useless.
My approach:
Leads to friendly, productive and meaningful conversations using what you already know know, but reconfigured to answer Muslims.
Pastors and teachers who live in areas where Muslims are well-represented can incorporate the material found here in their sermons without any mention of Islam in order to better equip their congregation to answer Muslims they encounter.
For example, rather than proclaiming how Quran verses that show the Quran advocates violence, you can teach like this:
"Love your Neighbor as yourself"
--Mark 12:30
Jesus said this is the greatest commandment. Jesus is our greatest prophet and this is the greatest commandment, so nothing can supersede this. Christianity always has the high moral ground.
How did this blog come about?
All the polemics here I have actually heard Muslims actually use. I set out to document these along with effective and simple responses.
Is this effective?
David did not defeat Goliath with the best weapons that were available at the time, but instead he used what he knew. In the same way, you can learn to provide good answers to Muslims using what you already know from Church.
Why does this work?
I would like to point you to a video in which Jay Smith talks to John Gilchrist about his experiences countering the polemics of Ahmed Deedat, in South Africa in the 1980's. Ahmed Deedat is the person who single-hadedly infused into the Muslim culture the set of anti-Christian arguments that are still in use to this day, largely unchanged. It is hard to overstate his influence on Islam. He left many Muslims believing that Christianity could be defeated with the arguments he championed.
However as Gilchrist shows, when the church learned to answer the arguments in that time and place where Deedat taught Muslims, the Muslims soon found that his material was having a counter-producive effect. Christians could answer Deedat's overstated arguments and they gained an avenue to share and discuss the Gospel who brought them up.
Unfortunately, the church everywhere else has come to accept the spread of Islam as inevitable, rather than learning to resist it.
I am inviting you, dear reader to not "roll over and play dead", but answer the Muslim polemics like the church did in South Africa in this video:
John Gilchrist and His debate legacy:
https://youtu.be/12qAj5qdLqs
People who are familiar with books like "Kingdom of the Cults" may have the expectation that to disprove Islam, you need to talk about is wrong with it. As mentioned above, this can be done, but it takes more time to learn to do this than most Christians will realistically be able to do. The other way to way to respond to Islam is to show that Christianity is reasonable. This renders Islam redundant because it sees itself as a correction to Christianity.
Muslims: Armed and Dangerous
Anyone who has been a Muslim for any length of time has been exposed to a lot of anti-Christian polemics that seem convincing. while some of them just keep this in mind, others become full-blown anti-Christian "Missionaries" in their community or with wider influence. Either way, it is the goal of this blog to equip you to turn their polemics into opportunities to share the truth of the Gospel with them and everyone around them, so that in the end the polemics would be dangerous to their own faith.
An apology
Any of the topics covered here could be could fill an entire book by itself, but the purpose of this blog is to be able to give a reasonable defense to the typical Muslim you may encounter.
Usually you don't need to quote more than two or three verses to show your point.
An appeal
From my personal experience, the material in this blog is useful and effective for explaining and defending the gospel. And it does it very simply.
If you know any Christians who live in areas where Muslims are well-represented, then please encourage them to read this book. Anyone going to college will definitely encounter Muslim recruiters, so they need to read this. If you have opportunity to start a Bible study, you can discuss the material in here and watch the videos cited together.
What Bible Translation am I using?
Unless otherwise indicated, I am quoting from the World English Bible, which is not copyrighted.
However, it turns out that in some ways the field of Muslim apologetics is tied to the KJV more than you would expect, because Ahmed Deedat used it. If you find yourself talking to a Sheikh who says he uses the KJV, then he may be a disciple of Deedat.
--1 Peter 3:15
I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
--1 Cor 2:22
Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
...
David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
--1 Sam 17:38-39
In this blog I am showing you my way of sharing the Gospel with Muslims. I have selected and designed this material to be easy for you to learn, and yet very effective.
If you learn this, you should be able to give a reasonable defense of your Christian faith against even the toughest Muslims you will encounter.
What motivates my approach is that many Muslims have rejected the Gospel because they have heard many carefully crafted lies, distortions, and half-truths about Christianity. I have spent much time collecting the objections that Muslims have heard, and providing you with answers to these.
There are so many positive reasons to believe the Gospel that by articulating these reasons, and by answering the disinformation Muslims have learned, you should be able to present a persuasive case to just about any Muslim you may encounter.
In contrast, a lot of the other material on I see out there suffers from one or more of these drawbacks:
Too complicated.
Most material I seem to come across is by top apologists, for other top apologists (not for lay people). They quote extensively from the Quran and Hadith (Muslim traditions). My material here has a MUCH more shallow "learning curve", but is still very effective
Too ecumenical or "Interfaith":
There is a lot more to evangelism than just inviting your Muslim friend to a bible study. Unless you are equipped to talk to Muslims, you will just have a useless clash of prejudices, with much heat and noise generated. If the Muslim you invited is well-trained, you can end up worse off in your beliefs, not him.
One "ministry" is disseminating material that is so weak that they may as well be sponsored by the Saudis. I believe they are on the whole counterproductive, on top of the fact that they are consuming donations from believers that could be going to useful causes.
Teaches too much about Islam:
There is much to learn so you can talk to Muslims effectively, but learning about Islam itself is not very helpful. Instead, I show you what Muslims believe about Christianity and I will show you how these beliefs may be grounded in Islam along the way.
Too "Hateful" about Islam:
There are many passages in the Quran and Hadith that most people would find disturbing.
It is certainly possible to learn to quote passages from Quran, and to be able to do this so well that you can handle the Muslims' well-prepared responses. I have seen people do this and get good results. However, it only seems that the training needed to answer Muslims who are well-prepared is not easily available. Even then, you need to overcome the perception that you are being hateful. Some of the earliest material like this that I encountered was by Silas on Answering-Islam.org
Too Negative about Islam:
Similarly, you can study about the problems with the Quran, like contradictions and scientific errors. Keep in mind, however that if your Muslim friend detects that the foundation of his worldview is threatened, he may respond by erecting mental barriers of prejudice and/or just walk away. Winning the argent is not the same as persuasion. Alternatively, you may find that your conversations degenerate into a "tit-for-tat" shouting match that is useless.
My approach:
Leads to friendly, productive and meaningful conversations using what you already know know, but reconfigured to answer Muslims.
Pastors and teachers who live in areas where Muslims are well-represented can incorporate the material found here in their sermons without any mention of Islam in order to better equip their congregation to answer Muslims they encounter.
For example, rather than proclaiming how Quran verses that show the Quran advocates violence, you can teach like this:
"Love your Neighbor as yourself"
--Mark 12:30
Jesus said this is the greatest commandment. Jesus is our greatest prophet and this is the greatest commandment, so nothing can supersede this. Christianity always has the high moral ground.
How did this blog come about?
All the polemics here I have actually heard Muslims actually use. I set out to document these along with effective and simple responses.
Is this effective?
David did not defeat Goliath with the best weapons that were available at the time, but instead he used what he knew. In the same way, you can learn to provide good answers to Muslims using what you already know from Church.
Why does this work?
I would like to point you to a video in which Jay Smith talks to John Gilchrist about his experiences countering the polemics of Ahmed Deedat, in South Africa in the 1980's. Ahmed Deedat is the person who single-hadedly infused into the Muslim culture the set of anti-Christian arguments that are still in use to this day, largely unchanged. It is hard to overstate his influence on Islam. He left many Muslims believing that Christianity could be defeated with the arguments he championed.
However as Gilchrist shows, when the church learned to answer the arguments in that time and place where Deedat taught Muslims, the Muslims soon found that his material was having a counter-producive effect. Christians could answer Deedat's overstated arguments and they gained an avenue to share and discuss the Gospel who brought them up.
Unfortunately, the church everywhere else has come to accept the spread of Islam as inevitable, rather than learning to resist it.
I am inviting you, dear reader to not "roll over and play dead", but answer the Muslim polemics like the church did in South Africa in this video:
John Gilchrist and His debate legacy:
https://youtu.be/12qAj5qdLqs
People who are familiar with books like "Kingdom of the Cults" may have the expectation that to disprove Islam, you need to talk about is wrong with it. As mentioned above, this can be done, but it takes more time to learn to do this than most Christians will realistically be able to do. The other way to way to respond to Islam is to show that Christianity is reasonable. This renders Islam redundant because it sees itself as a correction to Christianity.
Muslims: Armed and Dangerous
Anyone who has been a Muslim for any length of time has been exposed to a lot of anti-Christian polemics that seem convincing. while some of them just keep this in mind, others become full-blown anti-Christian "Missionaries" in their community or with wider influence. Either way, it is the goal of this blog to equip you to turn their polemics into opportunities to share the truth of the Gospel with them and everyone around them, so that in the end the polemics would be dangerous to their own faith.
An apology
Any of the topics covered here could be could fill an entire book by itself, but the purpose of this blog is to be able to give a reasonable defense to the typical Muslim you may encounter.
Usually you don't need to quote more than two or three verses to show your point.
An appeal
From my personal experience, the material in this blog is useful and effective for explaining and defending the gospel. And it does it very simply.
If you know any Christians who live in areas where Muslims are well-represented, then please encourage them to read this book. Anyone going to college will definitely encounter Muslim recruiters, so they need to read this. If you have opportunity to start a Bible study, you can discuss the material in here and watch the videos cited together.
What Bible Translation am I using?
Unless otherwise indicated, I am quoting from the World English Bible, which is not copyrighted.
However, it turns out that in some ways the field of Muslim apologetics is tied to the KJV more than you would expect, because Ahmed Deedat used it. If you find yourself talking to a Sheikh who says he uses the KJV, then he may be a disciple of Deedat.
What is a Radical Muslim? -
The origin of the word "radical", as well as its primary dictionary definition, refer to the "root" of something:
adjective
1.
of or going to the root or origin; fundamental:
If "radical" Muslims behave in a certain way, that means that they are acting in accordance with the "roots" of Islam.
[This article is in progress]
adjective
1.
of or going to the root or origin; fundamental:
If "radical" Muslims behave in a certain way, that means that they are acting in accordance with the "roots" of Islam.
[This article is in progress]
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Trinity: Do Christianity and Islam Have the Same God? *
Does it matter if you believe the Bible or the Quran? Don't all paths lead to God?
This would be nice, but neither Christians nor Muslims believe this.
We believe that Jesus is essential to our salvation.
Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”
--John 14:6
Paul also says there is no other gospel than what he preached:
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
...
As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
--Gal 1:6-9
These are some of the harshest words in the New Testament.
Shouldn't Christians be suspicious if someone claims he received a different gospel from an angel? But this is how Allah revealed the Quran!
Question for Muslims: If the New Testament strongly warns of a different gospel from angels, shouldn't the Quran at least address this point. As it is, one would think the author of the Quran had no knowledge at of this.
Do Christians and Muslims have the same God?
Some Muslims may claim that we worship the same God as them. This makes Islam seem closer to our faith, so less of a change from where we are now. However, the answer is no, and here is why:
Question for Muslims: Is God your Father?
In these well-known verses, Jesus calls God "Father"
Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.
--Matt 23:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven...
--Matt 6:9 (KJV)
Jesus' preferred description of God is as a father, used, I am told, about 165 times, and it also occurs in the Old Testament several times. Jesus even taught is disciples to pray to God as "our Father".
You will not be able to get a Muslim to acquiesce to this description of God as "Father". Their god is not so personal, and more importantly it brings to mind the idea, motivated by some verses in the Quran, that God begat Jesus by a physical union.
Was Jesus begotten?
Luke writes:
The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
--Luke 1:35
Even though there has never been any widespread heresy that God "knew" Mary (individuals may believe anything and everything), Muslims have used this verse and "Only begotten" in John 3:16 the KJV to impose this belief into Christianity. Surprisingly many Muslims believe it, even those who have lived in the West for many years.
This would be nice, but neither Christians nor Muslims believe this.
We believe that Jesus is essential to our salvation.
Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”
--John 14:6
Paul also says there is no other gospel than what he preached:
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
...
As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
--Gal 1:6-9
These are some of the harshest words in the New Testament.
Shouldn't Christians be suspicious if someone claims he received a different gospel from an angel? But this is how Allah revealed the Quran!
Question for Muslims: If the New Testament strongly warns of a different gospel from angels, shouldn't the Quran at least address this point. As it is, one would think the author of the Quran had no knowledge at of this.
Do Christians and Muslims have the same God?
Some Muslims may claim that we worship the same God as them. This makes Islam seem closer to our faith, so less of a change from where we are now. However, the answer is no, and here is why:
Question for Muslims: Is God your Father?
In these well-known verses, Jesus calls God "Father"
Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.
--Matt 23:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven...
--Matt 6:9 (KJV)
Jesus' preferred description of God is as a father, used, I am told, about 165 times, and it also occurs in the Old Testament several times. Jesus even taught is disciples to pray to God as "our Father".
You will not be able to get a Muslim to acquiesce to this description of God as "Father". Their god is not so personal, and more importantly it brings to mind the idea, motivated by some verses in the Quran, that God begat Jesus by a physical union.
Was Jesus begotten?
Luke writes:
The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
--Luke 1:35
Even though there has never been any widespread heresy that God "knew" Mary (individuals may believe anything and everything), Muslims have used this verse and "Only begotten" in John 3:16 the KJV to impose this belief into Christianity. Surprisingly many Muslims believe it, even those who have lived in the West for many years.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
What Is The Mysterious Black Rock In The Muslim Kaba?
Acts 19:23-36 records how Ephesus was the center of Worship of Diana, also known as Artemis.
At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.
The stone in the Kaba is almost certainly a meteorite, as was the image of Artemis.
At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.
The stone in the Kaba is almost certainly a meteorite, as was the image of Artemis.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
A False Statement by Zakir Niak
To a western audience he excuses suppression of the Gospel in Islamic countries, while in to a Muslim audience he justifies it.
Zakir Naik Exposed as a Deceiver:
http://youtu.be/eV96bGZKVTQ
Naik - 25 mistakes in 5 min (6.2)
This presentation by Zakir Niak is full of errors:
http://youtu.be/bk5q9TeGo14
More errors from Zakir Niak
Zakir Naik got caught while telling lie 1:
http://youtu.be/-vs01mWf5Q4
Zakir Naik lies to get people become muslim:
http://youtu.be/cuvOs35PRa8
Zakir Naik Exposed as a Deceiver:
http://youtu.be/eV96bGZKVTQ
Naik - 25 mistakes in 5 min (6.2)
This presentation by Zakir Niak is full of errors:
http://youtu.be/bk5q9TeGo14
More errors from Zakir Niak
Zakir Naik got caught while telling lie 1:
http://youtu.be/-vs01mWf5Q4
Zakir Naik lies to get people become muslim:
http://youtu.be/cuvOs35PRa8
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Did the Early Christians Worship Jesus?
Many of Paul's letters start the same way as this one:
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
--1 Cor 1:2
The NASB gives this footnote: [who trust in the Lord Literally, “who call on the name of the Lord,” meaning to show faith in him by worshiping or praying to him for help.]
This is a first century work of graffiti to embarrass a Christian.
The inscription reads: "Alexamenos worships his god."
Pliny the Younger, Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor around 112 AD, wrote to the Emperor Trajan observing that the Christians sang hymns to Christ "as to a god.
Where is the Muslim's historical evidence that early Christians treated Jesus as only a prophet?
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
--1 Cor 1:2
The NASB gives this footnote: [who trust in the Lord Literally, “who call on the name of the Lord,” meaning to show faith in him by worshiping or praying to him for help.]
This is a first century work of graffiti to embarrass a Christian.
The inscription reads: "Alexamenos worships his god."
Pliny the Younger, Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor around 112 AD, wrote to the Emperor Trajan observing that the Christians sang hymns to Christ "as to a god.
Where is the Muslim's historical evidence that early Christians treated Jesus as only a prophet?
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Does God Judge Children? +
This topic can come up when Muslims point to "innocent children" receiving judgement by God as evidence that the God of the Bible is not merciful.
For example, when Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, presumably the children were died along with the adults.
Or when the flood destroyed everyone but Noah's family, that will have also included children.
You need to be comfortable with the idea that God's judgement sometimes happens on this side of life. This is regrettable. but it is good because it prevents evil from spreading and dominating.
Just be sure you are not the reason for God's judgement.
There is a fine line that separates God allowing to let evil happen on earth without bounds, God allowing sin to go unpunished, and allowing man to act with freewill.
When parents do bad things, the children can and often do reap the consequences.
Both Islam and Christianity have the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and the flood, so Muslims have no moral high ground here.
From the perspective of Islam, there is nothing more evil than associating partners with God, such as what Christianity does by making Jesus and Mary gods. And yet Allah allowed Christianity to grow for 600 years without any judgement.
For example, when Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, presumably the children were died along with the adults.
Or when the flood destroyed everyone but Noah's family, that will have also included children.
You need to be comfortable with the idea that God's judgement sometimes happens on this side of life. This is regrettable. but it is good because it prevents evil from spreading and dominating.
Just be sure you are not the reason for God's judgement.
There is a fine line that separates God allowing to let evil happen on earth without bounds, God allowing sin to go unpunished, and allowing man to act with freewill.
When parents do bad things, the children can and often do reap the consequences.
Both Islam and Christianity have the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and the flood, so Muslims have no moral high ground here.
From the perspective of Islam, there is nothing more evil than associating partners with God, such as what Christianity does by making Jesus and Mary gods. And yet Allah allowed Christianity to grow for 600 years without any judgement.
Friday, February 20, 2015
How to talk to Muslims +
When disusing religion, there are two things you can do wrong. One is to compromise on what you say you believe in out of fear of offending the person you are talking to, and and on the other side is belligerence.
I believe that you can say or do anything as long as you really believe that you are doing it to edify the other person, and people will generally respect you for that.
Once I heard a lady discuss how she had the opportunity to answer a wide range of questions about the gospel with a Muslim. She proudly remarked that she did not tell the Muslim to "turn or burn".
I am so comfortable with my way of speaking to people out of love and edification that I had forgotten that people could avoid this topic out of fear of offense.
Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
--Mark 16:15-16
With Muslims, of all people, it is so easy to bring up the topic of "hellfire" because the Quan talks about it so much. If they are honest and open with you they will let you know that you, as a Christian, are due for that same fate for rejecting their prophet and for the grave sin of placing Jesus at the same level as God.
Deep inside, many Muslims believe that, even if they are wrong about Jesus, they will still earn some sort of redemption through their piety, with their daily prayers, good deeds, pilgrimages and generally what they feel is "submission". This is absolutely contrary to the Gospel, and you must try to disabuse the Muslim you are talking to of this belief. He may not believe you, but he will appreciate your concern.
In order to talk to Muslims, you must be very well-prepared. However this is easier than you may think as Muslims tend to all follow the same script when defending Islam. At the same time it is also hard as they have been exposed to a lifetime of anti-Christian polemics.
There are some lines of discussion to avoid as they lead to unproductive discussions. Watch for these and avoid them.
I personally avoid saying bad things about Islam in general and the prophet of Islam in particular. It is generally not useful because most Muslims have answers prepared because they know these questions will arise. I suggest you avoid this as well unless you are very knowledgeable.
Here is a little secret: I have found that many Muslims really don't believe in Islam, but are a sort of monotheistic-leaning agnostics who are bound up into Islam for various reasons, such as
Fear of God
Fear of rejection from their Muslim family and friends
Much anti-Christian propaganda.
I take the attitude that Muslims are really just looking to be able to justify following Christ, so I just focus on answering the disinformation they have heard and presenting the Gospel more than disparaging Islam.
It is important to be able to provide reasonable answers to the Muslim polemics.
Even if you do not see an immediate conversion, you should be able to generate enough doubt so that he will not be come a radical defender of Islam, and not able to share Islam with his former zeal and conviction.
Here is a model presentation of the Gospel, especially for a Muslim audience.
The Gospel for Islam, by James White:
http://youtu.be/Pi0uyXZ0rmw
Also watch this:
Dr. James White on Why Muslims Reject the Gospel
https://youtu.be/6XvzeXOW9K0
I believe that you can say or do anything as long as you really believe that you are doing it to edify the other person, and people will generally respect you for that.
Once I heard a lady discuss how she had the opportunity to answer a wide range of questions about the gospel with a Muslim. She proudly remarked that she did not tell the Muslim to "turn or burn".
I am so comfortable with my way of speaking to people out of love and edification that I had forgotten that people could avoid this topic out of fear of offense.
Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
--Mark 16:15-16
With Muslims, of all people, it is so easy to bring up the topic of "hellfire" because the Quan talks about it so much. If they are honest and open with you they will let you know that you, as a Christian, are due for that same fate for rejecting their prophet and for the grave sin of placing Jesus at the same level as God.
Deep inside, many Muslims believe that, even if they are wrong about Jesus, they will still earn some sort of redemption through their piety, with their daily prayers, good deeds, pilgrimages and generally what they feel is "submission". This is absolutely contrary to the Gospel, and you must try to disabuse the Muslim you are talking to of this belief. He may not believe you, but he will appreciate your concern.
In order to talk to Muslims, you must be very well-prepared. However this is easier than you may think as Muslims tend to all follow the same script when defending Islam. At the same time it is also hard as they have been exposed to a lifetime of anti-Christian polemics.
There are some lines of discussion to avoid as they lead to unproductive discussions. Watch for these and avoid them.
I personally avoid saying bad things about Islam in general and the prophet of Islam in particular. It is generally not useful because most Muslims have answers prepared because they know these questions will arise. I suggest you avoid this as well unless you are very knowledgeable.
Here is a little secret: I have found that many Muslims really don't believe in Islam, but are a sort of monotheistic-leaning agnostics who are bound up into Islam for various reasons, such as
Fear of God
Fear of rejection from their Muslim family and friends
Much anti-Christian propaganda.
I take the attitude that Muslims are really just looking to be able to justify following Christ, so I just focus on answering the disinformation they have heard and presenting the Gospel more than disparaging Islam.
It is important to be able to provide reasonable answers to the Muslim polemics.
Even if you do not see an immediate conversion, you should be able to generate enough doubt so that he will not be come a radical defender of Islam, and not able to share Islam with his former zeal and conviction.
Here is a model presentation of the Gospel, especially for a Muslim audience.
The Gospel for Islam, by James White:
http://youtu.be/Pi0uyXZ0rmw
Also watch this:
Dr. James White on Why Muslims Reject the Gospel
https://youtu.be/6XvzeXOW9K0
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Salvation: Where Did Jesus Say He Would Die for our Sins? +
Sometimes Muslims want to see a verse where Jesus says he would die for our sin:
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
--John 3:14-15
Jesus is making a reference to:
The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. It shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.
--Numbers 21:7-9
The serpent represents the object of God's judgement, or sin. As Paul writes:
For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
--2 Cor 5:21
Also,
For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
--Matthew 26:28
Historically, communion has always been practiced by the church.
Question for Muslims: How did the ritual of communion get started? Could you persuade your friends from mosque to gather together and ceremonially eat the body, and drink the blood of Jesus?
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
--John 3:14-15
Jesus is making a reference to:
The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. It shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.
--Numbers 21:7-9
The serpent represents the object of God's judgement, or sin. As Paul writes:
For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
--2 Cor 5:21
Also,
For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
--Matthew 26:28
Historically, communion has always been practiced by the church.
Question for Muslims: How did the ritual of communion get started? Could you persuade your friends from mosque to gather together and ceremonially eat the body, and drink the blood of Jesus?
Monday, February 16, 2015
Was Jesus Impolite when He Called His Mother "Woman"?
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
--John 2:4
Was this insulting, as some claim? Did people ever have to wonder with Jesus if they were being insulted? Consider these verses:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
--John 20:15
O woman, great is thy faith!
--Matt 15:28
Woman, behold thy son!
--John 19:26
Finally, an unbiased reading of the Quran shows that Muhammad thought that Christians worshiped three gods: the Father, the Mother (Mary), and the Son (Jesus), (Sura 5:73-75,116).
If Jesus really was being insulting to his mother, how can Christians justify the idea that Mary is a God from the Bible?
--John 2:4
Was this insulting, as some claim? Did people ever have to wonder with Jesus if they were being insulted? Consider these verses:
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
--John 20:15
O woman, great is thy faith!
--Matt 15:28
Woman, behold thy son!
--John 19:26
Finally, an unbiased reading of the Quran shows that Muhammad thought that Christians worshiped three gods: the Father, the Mother (Mary), and the Son (Jesus), (Sura 5:73-75,116).
If Jesus really was being insulting to his mother, how can Christians justify the idea that Mary is a God from the Bible?
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Bible Verses that show Jesus Is The Lamb of God
God speaks and creates.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
--Genesis 1:1
Just one command
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
--Genesis 2:17
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
--Genesis 3:1
Man tries to deal with sin by hiding and covering
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
--Gen 3:7-9
The Protoevangelium
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
--Gen 3:15
An innocent animal dies to cover Adam and Eve. First death in the Bible.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
--Gen 3:21
God requires animal sacrifice, not vegetables
the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
--Gen 4:4-5
Abraham's sacrifice
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
--Gen 22:2
Isaac carries the wood for his own sacrifice like Jesus did
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
--Gen 22:6
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
--Gen 22:8
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
--Gen 22:13
Covenant with Abraham
[The Lord to Abraham]
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
--Gen 12:3
[The Lord to Isaac]
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
--Gen 26:2-4
[The Lord to Jacob]
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
--Gen 28:14
The Passover
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
--Exodus 12:5
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
--Exodus 12:7
The suffering servant
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
--Isaiah 53:4-7
Jesus is the Lamb of God
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
--John 1:29
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
--1 Cor 5 7-8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the dragon], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
--Rev 13:8
These verses come courtesy David Wood in this debate:
http://youtu.be/TdEZbHYG5eY
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
--Genesis 1:1
Just one command
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
--Genesis 2:17
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
--Genesis 3:1
Man tries to deal with sin by hiding and covering
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
--Gen 3:7-9
The Protoevangelium
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
--Gen 3:15
An innocent animal dies to cover Adam and Eve. First death in the Bible.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
--Gen 3:21
God requires animal sacrifice, not vegetables
the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
--Gen 4:4-5
Abraham's sacrifice
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
--Gen 22:2
Isaac carries the wood for his own sacrifice like Jesus did
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
--Gen 22:6
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
--Gen 22:8
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
--Gen 22:13
Covenant with Abraham
[The Lord to Abraham]
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
--Gen 12:3
[The Lord to Isaac]
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
--Gen 26:2-4
[The Lord to Jacob]
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
--Gen 28:14
The Passover
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
--Exodus 12:5
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
--Exodus 12:7
The suffering servant
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
--Isaiah 53:4-7
Jesus is the Lamb of God
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
--John 1:29
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
--1 Cor 5 7-8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the dragon], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
--Rev 13:8
These verses come courtesy David Wood in this debate:
http://youtu.be/TdEZbHYG5eY
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Why Is The Bible Relevant To Muslims?
Islam has a love-hate relationship with the Bible.
1) Love:
The Bible gives Islam the sense that it is an ancient religion. Islam would not have credibility if "Allah", the creator of the universe, just arrived in the seventh century with just one prophet.
Muslims also love that they can try to convert Christians by showing that their simple monotheism appears to be more logical. Islam does not have a lot of evidence in favor of it, so Muslims tend to have a culture of discrediting others' religions instead of supplying positive evidence.
2) Hate:
Contrary to what you would think from reading the Quran, the message of the Bible is a lot different from the Quran. If the Quran is a continuation or correction of the Bible, then why is one so different from the other? Islam claims that the prophets of the Bible were actually Muslim, so they are in the embarrassing situation of having to explain how the Bible got off-track from its "original" Muslim state.
So if you can demonstrate that the Bible has not changed then you can go a long way towards showing that Islam is false. The Bible is very different from the Quran, so Muslims need to show a lot of change.
1) Love:
The Bible gives Islam the sense that it is an ancient religion. Islam would not have credibility if "Allah", the creator of the universe, just arrived in the seventh century with just one prophet.
Muslims also love that they can try to convert Christians by showing that their simple monotheism appears to be more logical. Islam does not have a lot of evidence in favor of it, so Muslims tend to have a culture of discrediting others' religions instead of supplying positive evidence.
2) Hate:
Contrary to what you would think from reading the Quran, the message of the Bible is a lot different from the Quran. If the Quran is a continuation or correction of the Bible, then why is one so different from the other? Islam claims that the prophets of the Bible were actually Muslim, so they are in the embarrassing situation of having to explain how the Bible got off-track from its "original" Muslim state.
So if you can demonstrate that the Bible has not changed then you can go a long way towards showing that Islam is false. The Bible is very different from the Quran, so Muslims need to show a lot of change.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
The Severity of The Romans
Here are some examples that show that the Romans were very severe, even with their own. The Roman soldiers can be assumed to have been doing their jobs properly.
In Acts 12,
when Peter escaped from the jail, because of the angel, Herod executed guards:
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death.
--Acts 12:19
In Acts 16 guard was about to execute himself when the prison doors were opened:
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
--Acts 16:27-28
In Acts 12,
when Peter escaped from the jail, because of the angel, Herod executed guards:
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death.
--Acts 12:19
In Acts 16 guard was about to execute himself when the prison doors were opened:
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
--Acts 16:27-28
False Statement By Ahmed Deedat
Ahmed Deedat said:
"Throughout the length and bredth of the 27 books of the New Testament there is not a single statement made by Jesus Christ that I was dead, and I have come back from the dead..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgUnalaJoTs&feature=youtu.be&t=97m11s
Compare this to what Jesus dictated to the apstle John:
To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write:
The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things: ...
--Revelation 2:8-9
So what Ahmed Deedat says Jesus never said, Jesus actually took as a title for himself.
In fact Josh McDowell points out another verse:
“Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
--Revelations 1:17
2)
Here is a video that shows that Ahmed Deedat was making false claims about the meaning of John 1:1 using his knowledge of Greek:
http://youtu.be/smm9zD0ufs8
Almost every Muslim argument sounds good at first, especially to someone who does not know the Bible.
Islam is all about earthly human logic, but on closer inspection Muslim arguments are often weak.
"Throughout the length and bredth of the 27 books of the New Testament there is not a single statement made by Jesus Christ that I was dead, and I have come back from the dead..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgUnalaJoTs&feature=youtu.be&t=97m11s
Compare this to what Jesus dictated to the apstle John:
To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write:
The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things: ...
--Revelation 2:8-9
So what Ahmed Deedat says Jesus never said, Jesus actually took as a title for himself.
In fact Josh McDowell points out another verse:
“Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
--Revelations 1:17
2)
Here is a video that shows that Ahmed Deedat was making false claims about the meaning of John 1:1 using his knowledge of Greek:
http://youtu.be/smm9zD0ufs8
Almost every Muslim argument sounds good at first, especially to someone who does not know the Bible.
Islam is all about earthly human logic, but on closer inspection Muslim arguments are often weak.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Is The Resurrection Physical or Spiritual?
Sometimes Muslims claim that resurrected bodies are "spiritualized" or "angelized".
This can be seen in this video
Ahmhed Deedat, Josh McDowell:
http://youtu.be/cgUnalaJoTs?t=11m52s
Ahmed Deedat emphasizes the part about "they are equal to the angels" in Luke Chapter 20 (below), and says that in the resurrection people are "spiritualized" or "angelized". He does this to show that Jesus did not die on the cross, or else he would have been a spirit. However the question that Jesus was asked was about marriage, not about resurrection bodies.
Here is the passage Deedat quotes:
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
--Luke 20:34-6
In fact it was clearly Luke's intent to show that Jesus was not a spirit when he was resurrected, as can be seen here:
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
--Luke 24:36-40
This can be seen in this video
Ahmhed Deedat, Josh McDowell:
http://youtu.be/cgUnalaJoTs?t=11m52s
Ahmed Deedat emphasizes the part about "they are equal to the angels" in Luke Chapter 20 (below), and says that in the resurrection people are "spiritualized" or "angelized". He does this to show that Jesus did not die on the cross, or else he would have been a spirit. However the question that Jesus was asked was about marriage, not about resurrection bodies.
Here is the passage Deedat quotes:
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
--Luke 20:34-6
In fact it was clearly Luke's intent to show that Jesus was not a spirit when he was resurrected, as can be seen here:
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
--Luke 24:36-40
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