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The purpose of this section is not to teach about Islam, or how to witness to the lost people in the Muslim world. Rather, it shows the respect the Quran has for the Bible, some similarities between two, and the key differences. It answers 22 questions Muslims might wonder about the Christinaity in general, and then a number of questions about specific passages.

Now many religions have sacred books, but when the Quran speaks of the "people of the book", it is referring to Jews and Christians, because the Bible, and not other religious books, are recognized as from God in the Quran.

As you look up these specific verses in the Quran, remember that in different modern printings of the Quran the verse numbers are slightly different.

Sura 6:91 "No just estimate of Allah do they make when they say: ‘Nothing doth Allah send down to man (by way of revelation)’: say ‘Who then sent down the book which Moses brought? - a light and guidance to man;..."

Sura 4:150-151 "Those who deny Allah and his messengers, and wish to separate between Allah and his messengers, Saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’: and wish to take a course midway, (151) They are in truth unbelievers;..."

Islam and Christianity are not compatible, as Mohammed taught His followers to make war on followers of Christ.

Sura 32:23 "We did indeed aforetime give the book to Moses. Be not then in doubt of its reaching (thee): and We made it a guide to the children of Israel."

Sura 3:64 "Say: O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves Lords and patrons other than Allah."

Sura 40:53 "We did aforetime give Moses the guidance, and we gave the book in inheritance to the children of Israel."

Sura 3:184 "Then if they reject thee, So were rejected messengers Before thee, who came with clear signs, and the scriptures and the book of enlightenment." The footnote says that scriptures (zubur) may refer to all of the Bible or just Psalms.

"Behold! Allah took the covenant of the prophets, Saying ‘I give you a book and wisdom: then comes to you a messenger, confirming what is with you; do ye believe in him and render, him help.’ Allah said: ‘Do ye agree, and take this my Covenant as binding on you?’ They said: ‘We agree.’ He said: ‘Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.’" Sura 3.81.

Yet the following Quranic verse says the Bible was to be known and clear for all mankind. This is not a contradiction of the previous Quranic verse though, because it was initially a guide for Israel and then for all mankind.

"And remember Allah took a Covenant from the people of the book, to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And vile was the bargain they made!" in Sura 3:187. While this Sura criticizes some who were called people of the book, it does not in any way criticize the book God gave to mankind.

"O ye People of the Book! Believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was already with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition,..." Suras 4.47.

Sura 29:46 "Dispute ye not with the people of the book, except in the best way, unless it be with those of them who do wrong but say, ‘We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; our God is your God is One; and it is to Him we submit (in Islam)."

Sura 4:150-151 "Those who deny Allah and his messengers, and wish to separate between Allah and his messengers, Saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’: and wish to take a course midway, (151) They are in truth unbelievers;..."

"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say ‘We are Christians’: because amongst these are men devoted to learning. And men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant." Sura 5:82. The footnote says this does not refer to everyone who calls himself a Christian, but sincere Christians.

Sura 5:29 says, "Those who believe (in the Quran). Those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), And the Sabians and the Christians, - any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work Righteousness, - on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

All can agree that you cannot accept some of God’s prophets and reject others; you have to accept them all. The next section mentions prophets and godly people mentioned by both the Bible and the Quran.

Sura 8:84-85 "We gave him [to Abraham] Isaac and Jacob, all (three) We guided; and before him we guided Noah and among his progeny David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron; Thus do we reward those who do good; And Zakariya and John [the Baptist] and Jesus and Elias [Elijah] all in the ranks of the righteous."

In addition to these, the Bible and the Quran both mention Adam, Noah, Lot, the brother and sister of Moses, the Queen of Sheba, the angels Gabriel and Michael, Elishah, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ twelve apostles. See Part 2 for more details.

The Quran says some people of the Book were hypocrites (Sura 5:61-63), and they perverted what they heard, but it never said the Bible was corrupted or that God’s word, given to the people of the book, was changed. God has the power to give His word, and God has the power to guard His word in safety. Since God had the power to give His word to Christians and Jews, God had the power to preserve His word from corruption. Do you agree?

Sura 2:75 says of some people [Jews of Medina?], "Hear the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it." It does not say they corrupted the Bible, only that they perverted what they understood correctly.

While the Quranic commentator Yusuf Ali claims the Biblical Gospel today is not the Injil (Gospel) meant in the Quran, the Quranic commentator Falzur Rahman contradicts him. Jesus was taught the Gospel according to Sura 3:48, and Christians are the people of the Gospel in Sura 5:46. Finally, Aisha contradicts Yusuf Ali in Bukhari 4:605, where she tells that Khadija took Muhammad to a Christian convert who used to read the Gospels in Arabic.

Sura 3:48 says, "And Allah will teach him [Jesus] the book and Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel.

"And in their [the prophets’] footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: we sent him the gospel; therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah" Sura 5:46

Now this verse of the Quran is remarkable. If God sent Jesus to confirm the Torah (first five books of the Bible’s Old Testament), then at least in Jesus’ time, the Torah that people could read and Jesus could confirm was the same Torah God sent.

It goes on. Sura 5:47 goes on to say "Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what Allah hath revealed Therein...." If the People of the Gospel are to judge by what God has revealed in the Gospel, then how can the Gospel they are to judge by not be the Gospel God told them to judge by?

Sura 5:48 says "To thee (People of the Book) We sent the scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the truth that hath come to thee...."

Since God had the power to give His word, God had the power to guard His word in safety. Do you agree?

In modern times, some Arab boys found a cave at Qumran, wherein were a great number of scrolls from around the time of Christ. Among the earliest was a scroll of Isaiah from a 100 years or so before Christ. These are called the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they contain all but one of the books of the Old Testament. Thus we can read for ourselves today the meaning of the Old Testament said in Jesus’ time.

There are many similarities between the Bible and the Quran; it has been proven that often the Quran respectfully refers to the Bible. However, one key difference between the Bible and the Quran is the means of forgiveness. For 1,400 years God laboriously trained the Jews to understand the importance of sacrifice for forgiveness. Even before Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made sacrifices to God. Heb 9:22 says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

After over 1,400 years or preparation, imagine how the Jews felt when the prophet John the Baptist said of Jesus "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" in John 1:29. Heb 10:4 says "because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." As Heb 10 points out, man’s animal sacrifices were a shadow of God’s real sacrifice. Repeated animal sacrifices merely covered over the sins until forgiven, once and for all, by the sacrifice God chose. As Isaiah, Jesus, and Jesus’ apostles taught, the sacrifice was Jesus Himself.

If you feel unforgiven inside, perhaps it is because you rightly realize that all of the works you could ever do, and all of the prayers you could ever pray, cannot take the place of God forgiving you for your sins toward Him. Only God can do that. God is gracious, compassionate, and merciful, but He must forgive the sins against Him in His way, and not our way. God has provided a way, and every man and women must choose whether to accept God’s way or try things on their own way, apart from God. Seek the Lord.

A: Both the Quran and the Bible teach that God preserves His word. According to the Quran, In Mohammed’s time the Christians still had the Gospel. We have many copies of the New Testament from 130 to 200 A.D., and the Old Testament Dead Sea scrolls from prior to Mohammed’s time.

A: God promised to preserve His word, and it has been preserved such that there is no uncertainty that affects God’s teaching. God did allow insignificant transmission errors, though. Apparently God is more concerned with what we believe and do than the individual syllables. Likewise, Muslims are agreed on the message of the Quran, but there are changes in it, due to abrogated verses and Uthman’s editing.

Even today, there are differences in Arabic versions of the Quran. For example, Geisler and Saleeb in Answering Islam p.193 point out some Arabic discrepancies: Sura 28:48 [sahirani/sihrani], Sura 32:6 [ummahatuhum/ummahatuhum wa hyua abun lahum] Sura 34:18 [rabbana ba’id/rabuna ba’ada], Sura 38:22 "tis’un/tis’atun]. Sura 19:35 [tantaruna/yamtaruna]. See W. St. Clair-Tisdell A Manual of the Leading Muhammedan Objections to Christianity (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1904 p.60.). There are also significant differences between the Uthman’s Quran and the Quran used today. Why the changes, and why do they not change it back?

A: Jesus confirmed that the Old Testament of the Jews was the complete word of God. In the Quran, Suras 5:46-48, 3:48 show that Jesus was taught the Torah and confirmed God’s Word.

A: Pentecost is the Old Testament festival that occurred 50 days after the start of Passover. The miracle at Pentecost is the beginning of the fulfillment of John 14 - 16, as well as part of the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. Here is what happened.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ... Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia ... we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" (Acts 2:1-12)

A: Christians do NOT believe Jesus was the Son of God in a crude physical or sexual sense. Rather this term is an expression of deep meaning of how Jesus is different from every created being. Shiite Muslims have a slightly similar concept. When they say ‘Ali is the finger of God, they do not believe that God has ten fingers like people do. Rather, this is an expression with a deeper meaning for them.

A: Begotten means "come from" without necessarily being created, a little like Muslims believe the Quran was from Allah yet uncreated. Before the beginning of time, Jesus, who is also called the Word of God, came from God the Father. So, in different ways, both Muslims and Christians say the Word of God came from God but was uncreated.

A: There can be a "pluralness" to the One God without their being separate gods. Even in the Quran, when Allah speaks, the word "we", and "us" is used.

God is not subject to man’s limitations, and God can reveal Himself to us however He wants to.

There is a threeness in Scripture.Mt28:19; 1Pet1:2; Eph2:18; Rev 4:8; 1Cor12:4-6; Jn 15:26.

There is only One God. Dt 4:35-39; 6:4; Isa 43: 10-2;44:6,8;45:5-6,14,21;46:9; 1Tm1:17;6:15-16.

Three distinct persons. Mt3:16-17; Lk3:21-22; Jn 1:1;6:38;14:31;15:26;16:28;17:5;Acts5:31-32

Jesus is God. Jn 1:3; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:6-9;Jn 9:38; 2 Cor 11:3;Jn20:28-29; Rev 5:8-9;22:20

The Spirit is God. Rom 8:9-16; Lk 1:35; 1Jn 4:12-16; 1 Cor 3:16 vs. 1 Cor 6:19; Acts 5:4;

If you do not have a copy of God’s Holy Book, the Bible, to look these up, contact a Christian organization that supplies Bibles in your language.

A: Some of the many similarities are:

A: The Bible has many prayers we can use as examples, but Jesus specifically taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. Christians view prayer as talking with God; hence few Christian prayers are memorized. Christian prayers often end with phrases such as "in Jesus’ name", because it is by Jesus’ sacrifice that we have access to pray to the Father. (John 16:26)

Christians are to pray to God continuously, as commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:4;6; Hebrews 13:15; and by the examples in Romans 1:9-10, Colossians 1:9, and 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3; 3:10.

This is unlike Islam, where there are specific times prayer is forbidden in Bukhari 2:283. Fiqh us-Sunnah vol.2 p.11 says "‘Umar saw him and told him: ‘Sit, the People of the Book were destroyed because they did not differentiate between their prayers.’ The Prophet said: ‘Well said, Ibn al-Khattab.’"

A: 11% of the 4,705 pages of the Bukhari Hadiths are devoted to Holy war and military expeditions.

8% of the Bukhari Hadiths and 35% of the 764 pages of Fiqh us-Sunnah speak to rules for prayer. However, the emphasis would be unfamiliar to most Christians. Over 85% is on the mechanics of prayer; when to pray, when it is forbidden, how to pray, how not to pray, etc.

A Christian reading the Hadiths might think to compare them with the Jewish Talmudic traditions Jesus was familiar with.

The following shows the number of pages in the hadiths. The Bukhari Hadiths are in Arabic and English. The Fiqh us-Sunnah hadiths are English only.

A: There are many similarities: do not steal, murder, worship images or other gods, do not get drunk or use Hashish or other intoxicants. Some differences are that that we are to be peace-loving, not quick-tempered, love all people, no sexual molesting of captives, and do not divorce or have temporary marriages. [Most Sunnis forbid temporary marriages, too.] Christians can eat pork and drink wine, though many Christians choose not to drink alcohol.

A: Three points to consider in the answer.

1. Muslims do not practice Old Testament dietary laws either, since Muslims can eat camel meat.

2. In Matt 15:10,17-20 Jesus pronounced all foods clean., saying what comes out of a man that makes him unclean, not what goes in.

3. In Acts 10:10-16 a voice from heaven commanded Peter to eat, showing him that the dietary laws were only in effect until Jesus’ sacrifice, not after.

A: Jesus was the Prince of peace, and He never said to kill someone because they had a different religion. The "Christian" Crusades were not a part of the Christianity of the Bible. The Crusades (or Christian Jihads) were a wrong thing Europeans learned from Islamic Jihads.

A: Four points to consider in the answer.

Fairness: God is good, Holy, fair, and just to all (Heb 6:10) God’s judges people based on the knowledge they have (Rom 4:15; 5:13). Abraham did not know the name of Jesus, yet He followed God and He was still saved through Jesus. (Jn 8:56, Heb9)

Only One Way: We cannot get to heaven on our own righteousness; we need God’s mercy and grace through Jesus. Jesus is not just a way to God, but the one and only way to God. (Jn 14:6; 15:5; Acts 4:12)

Reject Jesus and you reject Heaven: Even to a very religious people, the Jewish Pharisees, Jesus said that if you reject Him, you will indeed die in your sins. (Jn 8:24)

God seeks: God does not want anyone to perish (2 Pet 3:9), but as Jeremiah wept over his people (Jer 13:17; 14:17) and as Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-44) and Peter pleaded with his listeners (Acts 2:40), God, with no less desire, seeks out His own.

A: If some of your ancestors were idol-worshippers, murderers, cannibals, burned widows, should you follow their example? No! In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus speaks of a man in Hell who wishes someone would warn his brothers not to do what he did. Perhaps some of your ancestors, in Hell right now, are hoping that you will turn and not do what they did.

Even if it was the religion of your culture, you still have to choose between following traditional culture and following God. In Jesus’ time they had so many extra traditions and legalism, that Jesus said they had no room for His word (Jn 8:37). That is why they wanted to crucify Jesus.

A: Belief in the in the true God was not the religion of Abraham’s parents either. Abraham had to make a choice: either follow God or follow tradition. Even if a tradition is not wrong, if you love and follow your tradition more than God, then your tradition is a stumbling block for you. In 2 Cor 11:1-4 Paul wrote of his concern about anything that would lead us away from our devotion to Christ.

A: One could briefly scan the list of people mentioned in both books and falsely think there are no contradictions between the two. Either what is written in Quran is right and the Bible must be wrong, or what is written in the Bible is right and the Quran must be wrong.

1. Who exactly is Jesus? The Bible and the Quran both completely agree on the following:

· Jesus is the Son of God ─ in a non-sexual way

· Jesus is fully God ─ but not a separate God

· Jesus was the ransom sacrifice for our sins

Muslims often misunderstand what is meant by Jesus being the Son of God, and perhaps this illustration can help. Shiite Muslims say that ‘Ali is the finger of God. For others, Bukhari Hadith vol.9 no.543 mentions Allah’s finger. Now Muslims do not believe that Allah has fingers. Rather, the term "finger of God" is not meant physically, but as an expression.

Other illustrations could be brought up, but Muslims can easily explain these by quoting Sura 2:26, "Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things,..." even of a gnat as well as anything above it. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; But those who reject Faith say: What Means Allah by this similitude?"

Likewise, Christians likewise use the term "Son of God" in a way different from a human, physical, sexual sense. Some Muslims might be surprised to find that Christians completely agree with them that God did not have sex with Mary (or anyone else for that matter). Rather, saying Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God is an expression of great meaning.

A: There are a great number. Here are the Suras where they are mentioned.

Jesus 2:253; 3:45; 5:46,78,110; 6:85; 23:50;43:61

Jesus, the Word of God 3:45 Sahih Muslim 1:22

Jesus’ ascending to Heaven 3:55; 4:158

Jesus’ disciples 3:52-53; 5:112-113; 61:14

The non-Jews were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Job, the Queen of Sheba, and (of course) the angels. The rest are Jewish, because the Bible was given to them. Sura 32:23 says, "We did indeed aforetime give the book to Moses. Be not then in doubt of its reaching (thee): and We made it a guide to the children of Israel."

A: List are the names followed by the Sura and verse.

A: Muslims I have spoken with will freely acknowledge the Bible originally was given by God, but here are reasons, from their own Quran, why they should believe this. Two points: common prophets, and acceptance of the prophets’ words.

These include: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elishah, Jonah, John the Baptist, Jesus, and his apostles.

Sura 8:84-85 "We gave him [to Abraham] Isaac and Jacob, all (three) We guided; and before him we guided Noah and among his progeny David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron; Thus do we reward those who do good; And Zakariya and John [the Baptist] and Jesus and Elias [Elijah] all in the ranks of the righteous."

Sura 32:23 "We did indeed aforetime give the book to Moses. Be not then in doubt of its reaching (thee): and We made it a guide to the children of Israel."

Sura 6:91 "No just estimate of Allah do they make when they say: ‘Nothing doth Allah send down to man (by way of revelation)’: say ‘Who then sent down the book which Moses brought? - a light and guidance to man;..."

Sura 4:150-151 "Those who deny Allah and his messengers, and wish to separate between Allah and his messengers, Saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’: and wish to take a course midway, (151) They are in truth unbelievers;..."

Sura 3:48 says, "And Allah will teach him [Jesus] the book and Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel.

Sura 29:46 shows you should believe in the Bible: "...‘We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you..."

A: From my experience, I feel many Muslims apparently are not clear on what their own Quran teaches on this topic. Here are four points, followed by an explanation of each point.

1. The Quran never says it was corrupted

2. Rather it says Allah, preserves His word.

3. Jesus confirmed the Bible in His time, and

4. Archaeological evidence back to Jesus’ time.

Sura 2:75 says some people, perhaps Jews of Medina, perverted God’s word knowingly after they understood it. It does not say they corrupted scripture, either their own or all the world’s. Also, they could not pervert God’s word knowingly unless they still had God’s word. Also see Sura 3:48.

Sura 5:46 says, "And in their [the prophets’] footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: we sent him the gospel; therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah". Jesus had to have the authentic Torah to confirm.

It goes on. Sura 5:47 goes on to say "Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what Allah hath revealed Therein...." If the People of the Gospel are to judge by what God has revealed in the Gospel, how can the Gospel they are to judge by not be the Gospel God told them to judge by?

Sura 5:48 says "To thee (People of the Book) We sent the scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the truth that hath come to thee...." See also Sura 5:66,68,70.

Notice that Allah 1. confirmed the scripture that came before it, and 2. guarded it in safety. Dear Muslim, do you believe what the Quran says about God guarding the scripture of the people of the book?

Sura 15:9-10 says "We have, without doubt, Sent down the Message; And We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption). We did send messengers before thee Amongst the sects of old:" Sura 15:9 does not say just the "Quran" was guarded, but "the message."

Sura 10:94 says doubters should ask those who have been reading "the Book" before Mohammed.

Sura 3:48 says, "And Allah will teach him [Jesus] the book and Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel.

The Quran, Sura 5:46 says, "And in their [prophets’] footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: we sent him the gospel; therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah"

If Jesus confirmed the Torah that was preserved in His time, it is perilous to reject what Jesus confirmed.

The Quran, Sura 3:50 says, "‘I [Jesus] have come to you), to attest the Torah which was before me. ... I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me." People have a near impossible time trying to do the following.

1. Fear God, yet think He is unable/unwilling to preserve the revelation His followers are obeying.

2. Obey Jesus, yet reject both His words and the Torah He confirmed.

Archaeology shows the Bible Jesus knew was preserved. See the question, Did God reliably preserve the Torah?

A: There are two possible answers.

1. The "us" refers to the One true God, but plural is the proper sense for a conversation among the Trinity.

2. The "royal we" was used of kings and gods for one person. As an example of this in the Mideastern religion if Islam, the Muslim Quran uses "us" and "we" when Allah is referring to himself. Muslims and non-Muslims agree that use of the "royal we" in the Quran does not suggest Mohammed taught that Allah was multiple gods.

See When Critics Ask p.30-31, When Cultists Ask p.20-21, and Today’s Handbook for Solving Bible Difficulties p.180-182 for this and other views.

A: Genesis 16:1 shows it was Sarai, not Abraham, who was sterile. Abraham had more children, but Sarai did not. See When Critics Ask p.54 for more info.

A: Genesis 16:4 says Hagar became Abram’s wife, and she apparently did not object. In fact, Hagar was proud of her pregnancy and taunted Sarai. (Genesis 16:4,5) In the Old Testament, while marrying a captive was OK, nowhere was sex outside of marriage justified as anything but wicked immorality.

A: No, for at least four reasons:

1. Genesis 22:2 says it was Isaac.

2. In Genesis 21:8-10, the day Isaac was weaned, Ishmael was sent away.

3. Genesis 22:16 calls Isaac Abraham’s "only son", since Ishmael already was sent away to a different place.

4. Since Ishmael was 14 when Isaac was born, Ishmael had already grown up and married an Egyptian in Genesis 21:20, Abraham was tested "a long time" after this in Genesis 21:34, and a "boy" was on the altar in Genesis 22:12.

Also, while the Muslim Quran discusses this in Sura 37:99-111, no where in the entire Quran does it say whether it was Ishmael or Isaac. See When Critics Ask p.52 for more info.

A: While Ishmael was born first, he was sent away by this time, and Isaac was the only son Abram still had with him. Isaac was the only heir, and only son can also mean beloved son. Genesis 21:12 says, "though Isaac your offspring shall be reckoned". Abraham had other sons too, but they were born after this. While the culture of the time accepted taking concubines for procreation, inheritance and the right of the firstborn would go to sons of actual wives, not the sons of concubines. See Bible Difficulties and Seeming Contradictions p.141 for more info.

A: Region: The Sinai Peninsula is a south-pointing triangle with the mountains on the southern part, which Exodus 19:2 and Numbers 3:14; 9:1,5; 10:12 call the Wilderness ("Desert") of Sinai. The Desert of Sin separates Elim from Sinai. Numbers 33:3-50 tells each place the Israelites camped. Unfortunately, we do not know the location of many of these campsites, but by looking at them, we can see what is between what.

Within the Wilderness of Sinai, there are actually two mountains, close to each other, that fit the location of Mount Sinai.

Gebel Musa/Mousa (7,363 ft) This is the traditional view, at least since about 500 A.D. It has very steep cliffs. The Monastery of St. Catherine is at the foot of this mountain. Many but not all Muslims view this as Mt. Sinai also. The New International Dictionary of the Bible p.674 has a pictured of Jebel Musa.

Ras es-safsafeh (6,540 ft 1993 meters) is two miles (3.2 km) north of Gebel Musa on the same ridge. It has a wider plain at its foot.

Gebel Serbal (unlikely): Eusebius (325 A.D.) thought this. However, The New Bible Dictionary (1978) p.1193-1194 mentions there is no wilderness near its foot.

Muslims sometimes try to say Mt. Sinai is Mecca. After all Galatians 4:25 says Mt. Sinai is in Arabia. However, this is not the modern country of Saudi Arabia, but rather the Sinai Peninsula was a part of the Roman Province of Arabia. See either The Roman World by Cornell and Matthews (Stonehenge Press 1990) p.107 or Encyclopedia Britannica under Roman History for a map.

If Mt. Sinai were really Mecca, that would not make any difference to Christians, except that the stages of Israel’s journey would no longer makes sense. It is apparently important to some Muslims however, as it would give credibility to the idea that Mecca had some part in God’s work prior to Mohammed. However, other Muslims, such as the footnote 2504 in the Holy Quran : English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary equate Mt. Sinai with Jabal Musa, as do the majority of Christians.

A: As reminders it is fine, just as Jews copied scripture as reminders based on Deuteronomy 6:8-9. However, neither crosses, nor scripture, nor anything else is to be worshiped in place of God. See Hard Sayings of the Bible p.145-146 When Cultists Ask p.33-34, 228-229 for more info.

A: There was no discrimination in the law courts. The laws for murder, stealing, false witness, and so forth were the same for the Israelite as the non-Israelite. A testimony of a non-Israelite was counted the same as an Israelite, unlike what is true in many Muslim countries. However, it is true that the non-Israelites that lived in Israel had to respect some of the religious laws, but they did not have to bring sacrifices.

A: Deuteronomy 18:15-18 says God will raise up a prophet, that they will hear, like Moses from their midst, among their brethren. Was Jesus a prophet? Did many Jews hear Jesus? Was Jesus among the Jews? Was Jesus a Jew? Muslims should have no problem agreeing that this verse fits Jesus more than Mohammed. Here are a few more points.

a. Deuteronomy 33:1-2 says "the Lord", and Muslims in general do not call Mohammed their Lord.

b. Deuteronomy 34:10 that "since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses." This epitaph was written, probably by Joshua, long before Jesus came.

c. Deuteronomy 4:10 mentions "face to face", and Mohammed never said he got his words directly from Allah, but through angels (Sura 2:97). Jesus communicated directly with God the Father according to John 1:18 and other passages.

d. The next version, 4:11, says no other prophet did those awesome miracles that Moses. Mohammed, according to what was written in the Quran (Sura 17:90-93) never performed miracles like these, except for reciting the Quran. (The Quran contradicts what later Muslim traditions in the Hadiths say.)

e. In the Quran itself, Sura 29:27 says the prophethood came through Isaac and Jacob. In Yusuf Ali’s translation of the Quran, he says, "And We gave (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob, and ordained Among his progeny Prophethood and Revelation,…" While the parentheses around Abraham is in Yusuf Ali’s translation, the entire word, "Abraham" is not in the Arabic, and Yusuf Ali felt the need to add "Abraham" to what Muslims view as God’s word.

f. Finally, Jesus’ apostle Peter said this was fulfilled in Jesus in Acts 3:22-26.

1. Either, Jesus made a great mistake allowing a deceiver like Peter to mislead people for almost 2,000 years who were trying to follow God, and God did not lift a finger to tell people the truth.

2. Or, Jesus knew what He was doing when he selected Peter, and God did not correct something that needed no correction.

3. Or else, Peter did not say that, and the book of Acts was corrupted prior to the first extra-Biblical mention we have of this referring to Christ, which was about 138 A.D.

Here are the earliest Greek manuscripts we have, and their dates, of Acts 3:22-36.

Here are translations we have in other languages of these verses

Justin Martyr was born around 114 A.D., though some think 110 A.D. His first Apology was written between 138 A.D. and his death in 165 A.D. Obviously, he had to have read of this prophecy referring to Christ before he wrote it down.

A Muslim would have to say not only that Justin was wrong, but all New Testament manuscripts recorded Peter’s saying incorrectly.

In addition, translations to other languages were made very early; the dates above or not the dates of the first translations, but only the dates of the earliest manuscripts that survive today. These are valuable because they are an independent chain of transmission, that people can use as a crosscheck on the Greek manuscripts. The chain of transmission of these manuscripts, from Africa to Asia, all agree that Peter said this refers to Jesus.

See When Cultists Ask p.43-44,45-46 and When Critics Ask p.125-126, p.131-132, and p.133 for more info.

A: The Bible gives two reasons and shows two qualifications.

1. If they advocate worshipping other gods, or speak things about God that God did not command. Deuteronomy 18:20-21; 1 John 4:1-3; Jeremiah 6:13

Qualification 1. If a prophet speaks his opinion about what the true God wants, without prophesying, his opinions can be wrong just like anyone else’s. For an example, see Nathan’s words to David in 1 Chronicles 17:2-4.

2. If the prophet makes a prediction that is false. Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

Qualification 2. If a prophet makes a conditional prophecy, and the conditions are not satisfied. Prophecies of judgment and destruction are always conditional upon the person or nation not repenting. For an example, see Jonah 3:1-10.

See When Critics Ask p.124-125 and When Cultists Ask p.42 for more info and a list of twelve ways to discern if a teacher is from God or not.

A: Not at all. A person can murder with his words just as easily as with his hands. Whether they used their hands, or used their lies and the legal system, the falsely accused would still have been dead. At least with murder by their own hand, the victim’s reputation is intact. Murdering by words destroys the person’s reputation as well as kills their body.

A: In Hebrew, "evil" has two meanings: 1) moral evil and 2) something that is hurtful or harmful. The second meaning is intended here. Whether God sent an angel to punish Saul, or whether God allowed a demon to torment Saul, either way, this was expressly permitted by God.

Muslims should not be surprised that the term "evil" can mean harm, and not just moral evil. The term is used in this way in their own writings, in the Bukhari Hadith volume 3 no.56.

See When Critics Ask p.165-166, Difficulties in the Bible p.109-110, Hard Sayings of the Bible p.211-212, and Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties p.178-180 for more info.

A: No Four points to consider in the answer.

1. David did not have a protection racket, since David, the one doing protecting, was giving wealth away to those he was protecting, as David did in 1 Samuel 30:26-31.

2. David was not asking Nabal for 1) a regular payment, or 2) gold, silver, or any other valuables

David was merely requesting whatever food Nabal could spare. Nabal never complained of any request for money of valuables. Rather, 1 Samuel 25:11 shows that Nabal understood this request as only for bread, water, and meat.

3. David later acknowledged, with regret, that he would have done evil to have killed Nabal and his men, according to 1 Samuel 25:13,33-34, 39.

4. David was not angry with Nabal because he broke any kind of agreement for protection. Rather, David was angry with Nabal'’ insulting answer in 1 Samuel 12:10-11.

A: See the previous question for why David, though an imperfect man, was not running a protection racket. In contrast to this, Muslims from the time of Mohammed onward have had a special tax on just Christians and Jews called the Jizya. According to the Bukhari Hadith vol.2 page 7, in the glossary Jizya is a "Head-tax imposed by Islam on the people of the Scriptures and other people who have an releaved book (non-Muslims) when they are under Muslim rule." Muslims even say that Christians and Jews should be grateful for the Jizya, because without it, they would have no right to dwell in Muslim lands without being killed.

A: No. These were messengers at that time coming to report that Babylon has fallen. The evil Midianites rode on camels too, but that is just as relevant. See When Cultists Ask p.79 and When Critics Ask p.269 for more info.

A: There is no special significance, except that camel riders might be scouts, donkey riders might be civilians, and charioteers might be military men.

A: Kedar was a well-known tribe in north Arabia, and the Assyrians and Babylonians would try to control Arabia too. The Expositor's Bible Commentary volume 6 p.137-138 mentions that Sargon II waged a campaign against the northern Arabian tribes in 715 B.C.

A: People can join a religion for all kinds of reasons. I know one person who joined the Mormon Church, and later left it, because he thought he could have more than one wife. (He left when he learned that was only on earth). I heard of one Muslim fundamentalist who actually was an atheist. He told my friend that he thought it was a good way to live.

Others join a religion, or more commonly remain in a religion, because of custom, family, or a lack of desire to seek the truth.

A: These two verses, taken together give us a balanced view on images. We are not to bow to images, put them between God and us, worship or venerate them. However, images for decorative art, even religious art in the Temple, is OK.

This is in contrast to strict Muslim teaching that prohibits images, even portraits of people in a non-religious context, to prevent the possibility that they might be worshipped. (Note that Turkish Muslims and other Muslims often disregard this traditional prohibition, which is not in the Quran.)

This is also in contrast to Catholic and most Eastern Orthodox practice, not of worshipping images, but of venerating images. They do not believe the images are God, or have any power except as a focusing point, but I have never heard a convincing explanation of how praying to images is not having a graven image before God.

It was not always this way in the Greek Orthodox church. John Chrysostom was banished after criticizing the Byzantine Empress who had made a huge statue of herself. Later, his body was brought back to Constantinople, and the new emperors at that time honored Chrysostom. The Byzantine Emperor Leo III, who reigned from 717-741 A.D., is called "the Iconoclast" because he tried to stamp out veneration of icons in the Orthodox Church. However, soon after his death, the icons were all restored.

A: Typically, when two rulers, who appear to be nearly equally evil, are fighting, there is no point in fighting for either side. If you are in a country that is this way, it is better to find people of peace on the other side, so that you can protect each other. First, here is my personal opinions of wars that had very clear moral issues, and then of wars where it was a waste to die for either side.

The Cherokee Trail of Tears "non-war": When President Andrew Jackson asked of the Chief justice of the Supreme Court "what army does he have?" and illegally relocated the Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma in 1835-1842, breaking the treaty with them, Christians should have stood up for the oppressed Cherokees, not with guns, but peacefully with laws, lawsuits, and the political process. An estimated 2,000 Cherokee Indians died on the forced march.

The American Civil War (1861-1886) - One nation or two was not a moral issue, but the unChristian, dehumanizing treatment of 4 million black slaves was a moral issue. Around half a million people died.

The Opium Wars in China (1839-1842 and 1856-1860). Christians should have been actively involved on the Chinese side, not the British side. More arms would not have been helpful against the British gunboats. Rather, public opinion in England should have shamed the British for forcing the import of Opium into China, causing over 2 million Chinese Opium addicts.

World War II - Whether most of Europe was united, as under Charlemagne or Napoleon, was not a moral issue. The wholesale slaughter of the Jews in Europe, and the brutality against the Chinese were moral issues.

The Bosnian War - The religions of the different sides were not the issue here. The Serbs were "ethnically cleansing" the Bosnian Muslims, the Bosnian men slaughtered, and their women raped. This was a tough situation, because the Bosnians were not totally innocent either. However, I think the solution was not so much to enter the conflict on the side of the Bosnians, as to enter the conflict on the side of peace and ceasefire.

The War in southern Sudan - The religions of the two sides are not the issue here, and whether a peaceful Muslim regime (which Sudan is not) ruled the whole country would not be the issue here either. The Human rights violations of the Muslim government, in massacring entire villages of men, and selling the women and children into slavery, makes them at least as bad as the Serbs in Europe. However, America is somewhat hypocritical about this, as Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and a number of prominent black leaders in America apparently turn a blind eye to black slavery today.

Fighting the Shining Path Rebels in Peru 1980-: These Maoists used drug money, were against peaceful people, including Christian missionaries.

The Soviet-Polish "non-War": The Poles wanted independence from the U.S.S.R., and they achieved it without bloodshed. Fighting was not called for here, but "Solidarity" with the Poles was good.

Apartheid In South Africa (non-war): Many Christians did oppose Apartheid, using peaceful means.

And there are others too.

Just as the good king Josiah had no business getting involved in the war between Egypt and Assyria, here are some major wars where it was a waste of energy and blood to be on either side.

The Spanish-American War of 1889-1898 was the pompous flexing of America's muscle, starting from the blowing up of an American ship by an unknown and unproven cause.

The War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870) was a particularly bloody war that occurred about the same time as the American Civil War, with 12 times more casualties. Paraguay fought against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay and about 6 million were killed.

The 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War killed about 1.55 million people. In the end the only thing the war accomplished was increasing the poverty and lowering the population of both countries.

In the Civil War in Tajikistan Muslims have been in a fierce struggle with other Muslims over control of this new nation.

A: No, it cannot be seen this way, except possibly for some of the Gulat sects of Islam that think Mohammed is God. Psalm 45:6 says "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever." (NIV) In addition to Mohammed never claiming to be God, Mohammed never had a throne or a scepter either.

A: It is worth giving up many other things for the sake of truth. One that that can be shock to many people, Christians in particular, is that many cultures and religions attach very little importance to truth.

For example, Hinduism is known for not caring about the "law of non-contradiction". In other words, if something is not A, then the same thing cannot be A at the same time. In the Rig-Veda, one of the earliest Hindu scriptures, they mention a horse sacrifice, with no intimation that this either a joke, metaphor, or anything but a horse sacrifice.

According to the Sunni Muslim Hadiths, in a court case before a Islamic court, if three people testified, a non-Muslim, a devout Muslim woman, and a Muslim man who was caught in a lie just a few minutes before, the non-Muslim’s testimony would have almost no weight, and the Muslim woman’s testimony would have half the weight of the Muslim man’s testimony.

In Mormonism, since Joseph Smith Jr. was convicted of the occult practice of glass-looking (in a small town where it is highly unlikely there would be other Joseph Smith Jr’s,), the fact that he was convicted of this (misdemeanor) crime of occultic behavior is of little concern to many Mormons.

In Rev. Moon’s Unification church, they have the doctrine of "heavenly deception", where it is OK to lie for a good cause.

While the Unification Church has always been strongly anti-Communist, in this point they are only one very small step from the Communist view, that defines "truth" as whatever helps Communism.

With this in mind, Christians do not only have to show people what the truth is, they have to also show people that truth is important, and choosing to be blind to the truth can have serious and eternal consequences.

A: The following people have either made the following claims, or else others made the following claims about them.

A: There are two views:

Christians say it was really Jesus because all Christian and well as non-Christian accounts say it was Jesus. The Allah of Muslims is different from the God of the Bible, and Allah has fooled and deceived all his people into thinking Allah substituted another.

Muslims say Allah is the same as the God of the Bible. Allah’s switching Jesus would not be detectable by anyone, and thus there would be no historical evidence of the switch.

Both can agree that at some point in time, Allah, the god of Islam, totally fooled and deliberately deceived all of Allah’s own people.

A: Four points to consider in the answer.

At this time, Jesus' followers obeyed the Old Testament dietary laws.

The fact of Jesus' resurrection, fundamentally changed the way God dealt with His children. An angel informed Peter, Jesus' apostle, that God had made all food clean in Acts 10:9-16. Note it does not say these animals were always clean, but rather that God had made them clean.

Even Muslims who bring up this objection, themselves have to agree that some the Old Testament dietary laws are not to be followed. Muslims feel they can eat camel meat (and Mohammed did so), yet Leviticus 11:3-8; Deuteronomy 14:6-8 prohibit eating them.

Regardless, The New Testament never canceled any Old Testament injunctions against recognizing or hoping for the intercession of idols or false gods. All the alleged Bible inconsistencies in the world cannot justify "hoping for the intercession of Allah’s daughter in the abrogated verses.

A: Four points to consider in the answer.

1. The moral requirements of the Old Testament Law are for all people, and are unchanged.

2. The sacrifices can be said to be for all people today in one sense, because Jesus is our high priest and He performed all the sacrifice that is needed.

3. The festival days, which were for the Jewish people, and involved sacrifices, are not followed since Christ’s death by non-Jews.

4. If a Muslim brings up this objection, one might ask why Muslims do not follow both Christian and Old Testament Jewish holidays, if they think Christians are to follow Old Testament Jewish holidays.

See Bible Difficulties and Seeming Contradictions p.234-235 for more info.

A: Jesus did not invalidate the Old Testament dietary commands, He superseded them. There are four points to consider here.

1. While Jesus and His disciples sometimes broke the man-made traditions of the Pharisees, they themselves lived in obedience to the Old Testament Law.

2. Even under the Old Testament, God was concerned with their obedience, and their diet was just one way, but not the only way, for them to demonstrate their obedience.

3. After Jesus' resurrection launched a new period, the disciples did not choose to eat all kinds of meat. An angel of God came down and instructed a reluctant Peter to eat in Acts 10:11-16. Who was Peter to argue with an angel from Heaven?

4. Muslims should not have any problem with this answer, as Mohammed allegedly did the same thing. He spoke of abrogated laws, (though abrogation is a little different concept from the New Covenant through Jesus). Also, he showed that Muslims could eat camel meat, and the Old Testament views camel meat just like pig meat. (Leviticus 11:4,7,26; Deuteronomy 14:7,8)

A: The context here is given in Matthew 15:20, where the Pharisees were concerned with eating with unwashed hands and Jesus was concerned with being pure on the inside.

If you were cooking something in a vessel, and liquid was slowly being added and slowly being drawn out, would you sample the inlet or the outlet to see whether the inside was the right temperature and on spec? Of course, you should sample the outlet. Likewise, Jesus was saying do not be too hung up on diet, because it is what comes out of you that can be defiling.

A: The Bible does not specify the tribe of their mothers.

Therefore, Mary and Elizabeth could be cousins based on the following possibilities:

1. If their mothers being were from an unspecified tribe.

2. If Mary’s mother was a sister of Elizabeth’s father, and thus Mary’s mother would be from Aaron and Levi.

3. Mary’s father being a brother of Elizabeth’s mother, and thus Elizabeth’s mother would be from Judah.

A Muslim saw this as proving Mary was descended from Aaron. This is important to Muslims, because if Mary is not from Aaron, then the Quran is in error. Muslims generally believe that the Quran on earth is a word for word copy of the Quran in Heaven.

See When Critics Ask p.381 for a similar answer.

A: Jesus superseded the Old Testament Law here.

Food: Jesus said it was not what went into a man that made him unclean, but what came out of a man, in Matthew 15:10,17-20 and Mark 7:14-15.

Mark 7:19 adds that by this Jesus declared all foods clean.

An angel of God commanded Peter to kill and eat formerly unclean animals in Acts 10:12-16.

Muslims should be able to relate to this point, as Mohammed likewise did not obey the Old Testament Law when he ate camel meat.

Sacrifices: The Israelites were to practice sacrifices; unfortunately for many it became a ritual where the meaning was lost. Sacrifice is as important, or even more important, to Christians than to the Israelites, and Hebrews 7:23-10:26 show. We too need a sacrifice, and our sacrifice was performed once and for all by our high priest, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself on the cross.

A: Begotten does not mean created, as we can create things but we beget children. Many Muslims have a slight similarity in their belief about the Quran being from Allah without being created by Allah. Before the beginning of time, Jesus, who is also called the Word of God, came from God the Father. So, in different ways, both Christians and many Muslims say the Word of God came from God but was uncreated. See 1001 Bible Questions Answered p.26-27, the Complete Book of Bible Answers p.109, and When Cultists Ask p.166 for more info.

A: Christians do NOT believe Jesus was the Son of God in a crude physical or sexual sense. Rather this term is an expression of deep meaning of how Jesus is different from every created being. As an example for Muslims, the Bukhari Hadith vol.9 no.543 mentions Allah’s finger. Now Muslims do not believe that Allah has literal fingers. Rather, the term "finger of God" is not meant physically, but as an expression.

A: No. Perhaps the Muslim reader would like to read what He is agreeing to before he actually agrees. Here are the Bible passages. The numbers after the underlined words refer to the questions that follow.

Jn 14:16-17 "...and he will give you¹ another Counselor to be with you forever² - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot³ accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you⁴ and will be in you⁵.

Jn 14:26 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name⁶, will teach you all things and will remind you¹ of everything I have said to you¹.

Jn 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you⁷ from the Father..."

Jn 16:7 "...Unless I go away⁸, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.⁸"

Jn 16:8-9 "When he comes, he will convict the world ... in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me⁹;..."

Jn 16:14 "He will bring glory to me¹⁰ by taking what is mine and making it known to you¹¹"

If Mohammed was prophesied here, then Muslims would believe these five things (which they do not)

1. Mohammed glorified Jesus (John 16:14)

2. Allah sent Mohammed in Jesus’ name (John 14:26)

3. Mohammed was also sent by Jesus too (John 16:7)

4. Mohammed took Jesus’ wisdom and made it known to us (John 16:15)

5. Mohammed was "in" the apostles (John 16:17)

Thus, no knowledgeable Muslim would believe these verses refer to Muhammed. These verses must refer to another, who was sent from God.

On the other hand, maybe Muslims should glorify Jesus, if they think that Mohammed did based on these verses.

See When Cultists Ask p.182-183 and When Critics Ask p.419-420 for more info.

A: No. The Gospel of Barnabas was a forgery of the Middle ages. Here some of the reasons we know it is not an ancient work.

Basic facts show that is not an ancient work. It is only known in Italian, and no ancient writer ever referred to it. It mentions things that were not used until centuries later.

Historical Anachronisms mentioning European things of the Middle Ages are out of place in Jesus time.

The point here is not that the Gospel of Barnabas has a few historical oddities. The point is that the numerous errors prove that the book was written during the Middle Ages in Europe.

General Errors are not just small mistakes, but demonstrate that the author knew very little about the geography and history of Palestine.

Finally, according to the Bukhari Hadith volume 4 no.712 Mohammed said that one of the three worst lies is "to attribute to me what I have not said."

Conclusion for Muslims: Imagine you were a Muslim who was told that someone found a lost Sura of the Quran. Among other things, this "Sura" mentioned that Mohammed sailed on a boat to Mecca, and this Sura contradicted the teaching of the Bible and contradicted the Quran on ten points. The oldest manuscript of the alleged Sura was written in Italian, which is not only not a Mideastern language, but Italian did not exist in the time of Mohammed. Finally, this supposed Sura had some historical customs, which did not occur until 1,000 years later in Europe.

I think it is safe to say a Muslims would probably have a few questions, to say the least. Before you embrace this Medieval forgery as an authentic work that shows the "real" teachings of Jesus, remember that this work contradicts the Quran, too.

For more info, see The Gospel of Barnabas translated by Lonsdale and Laura Ragg. Bakhtyar Printers, Lahore, Pakistan, 1981.

A: Three points to consider in the answer.

1. Muslims do not practice Old Testament dietary laws either, since Muslims eat camel meat.

2. In Matthew 15:10,17-20 and Mark 7:14-15 Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean, not what goes in. Mark 7:19 shows that by this Jesus declared all foods clean.

3. In Acts 10:10-16, a voice from heaven commanded Peter to eat, showing him that the dietary laws were only in effect until Jesus’ sacrifice, not after.

A: No. Two points to consider in the answer.

1. Note the absence of any reference to any goddess or mother.

2. Note the absence of any reference to sexual activity on God’s part. Muslims often falsely think Christians believe God can have sexual relations. Genuine Christians have never said God is a sexual being, though Mormons do teach that God is a sexual being. See When Cultists Ask p.203-204 for more info.

A: The Law has not been changed, either by Jesus or anyone else. However, Jesus completely fulfilled the Law for us, and now we serve in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the law. Jesus said in Luke 16:16 that the law and prophets were until John.

This differs from the Muslim concept of abrogation. Words given through Mohammed could "cancel out" previous words of Mohammed, Jesus, or any other prophet, seemingly at will. Jesus did not cancel the Law, He met it for us, and now we serve in a different way.

For example, the Old Testament prohibited eating camel meat and pork. Jesus, in pronouncing all food clean (Matthew 7:19), did not alter the Old Testament Law, but had us serve in a new way.

As a side note, Muslims occasionally point out that Christians do not keep the Old Testament dietary laws. Muslims do not either though, because they view Mohammed eating camel meat was OK. Christians do not criticize Muslims (or anyone else) eating camel meat either. The point is that if Muslims were to criticize Jesus or Christians for teaching that supersedes the law, any reason they give would most likely also be a criticism of Mohammed for eating camel meat and claiming to abrogate some things.

A: Paul is not saying that. Paul is hypothetically asking if they were, because of his surprise at how quickly many Galatians were turning to a different and false gospel.

As a side note, in the religion of Islam, one thing Christians and Sunni Muslims can agree on is that, at least at one time, Mohammed was bewitched by an evil spell and said things that were false. You can read the Bukhari Hadith (vol.4 no. 400 p.267, vol.4 no.490 p.317, and vol.8 no.400 p.266) for a complete account of how it says that Mohammed was at one time bewitched by an evil spell. Muslims in general think Mohammed recovered.

A: Since our religion is to be the same as the apostles, we should do so. Paul would have made a very poor Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness in Galatians 6:14 and 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:2. For that matter, so would Thomas who called Jesus "my Lord and my God" in John 20:28. So would Stephen who prayed to Jesus in Acts 7:59. So would John, who saw with his own eyes people and angels praising and glorifying Jesus in Heaven in Revelation 5:8-14; 7:9-10. To top it all off, Jesus said all are to honor the Son just as they honor the Father, in John 5:23.

Ignatius was a disciple of John the apostle who died either 107 or 116 A.D. In the Second Letter of Ignatius to the Ephesians chapter 13 says "My spirit bows in adoration to the cross, which is a stumbling-block to those who do not believe, but is to you for salvation and eternal life." (Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 p.102.) Let's believe and practice what Ignatius was taught.

A: There are at least four main reasons.

1. Just as small differences exist among various Sunni Muslim schools, Mahayana Buddhists, Vedantic Hindus, the two sects of Bahais, and other religions, so Christians too disagree on secondary matters. As an example, Paul and Silas had a disagreement over taking John Mark with them. Later they reconciled though. (Acts 15:36-41; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11)

2. Adding: Over the years, many have been like the Pharisees in Mark 7:6-8, in wanting to add their own complex traditions to Christianity. In general, many say you should follow the Bible plus their tradition, which is put equal to God’s Word. Biblical Christianity is simply following what God says in the Bible, and recognizing human tradition as just of man.

3. Subtracting from Christianity is foretold in 2 Timothy 3:5 says in the last days some will have the form of godliness but deny its power. A number of "liberal" churches take away from God’s teaching, saying God cannot perform physical miracles, and there is no Heaven and Hell, while still pretending to be Christians.

4. Perversion: As prophesied in Acts 20:29-30, there are spiritual "wolves" who through deception draw away disciples after themselves to start their own man-made religion while still claiming to follow Jesus. Many of them have their own book in addition to the Bible. These evil things were prophesied to occur in 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Peter 2:1-3, and Jude 8-19.

A: James 1:13 does not say God never tests us, but rather, God does not tempt us with evil. God tested Abraham, and God allowed Satan to afflict Job, but God never comes to us bringing evil or temptation. See Hard Sayings of the Bible p.694-696 for more info.

Testing is asking to do something; tempting is appearing as an evil being. In contrast to this, Allah does appear as an evil, idolatrous god to his faithful followers in the Bukhari Hadith. Here are the words:

"...and then only this nation (i.e., Muslims) will remain, including their hypocrites. Allah will come to them in a shape other than they know and will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, ‘We seek refuge with Allah from you. This is our place; (we will not follow you) till our Lord comes to us, and when our Lord comes to us, we will recognise Him.’ Then Allah will come to them in a shape they know and will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say, (no doubt) You are our Lord,’ and they will follow Him. Bukhari vol.8 no.577 p.375. Bukhari vol.9 no.532 p.395-396 says the same thing.

A: The word for carried along is used in Acts 27:15,17 of a ship carried by the wind. Here are four points concerning the inspiration of the Bible.

1a. Most revelation is through the ideas and thoughts of men the Lord especially chose. Revelation 1:19 gives one example. None of it was just man’s word, though (2 Peter 1:19-21)

1b. Some revelation was the direct words, such as in John 12:28, Isaiah 6; Exodus 3:4,5, and so forth.

1c. God used the individual style of the human authors in writing. Nothing was written as God’s Word that God did not want written or was not true.

1d. The Bible is not a secret code book. The meanings of words are not whatever modern definitions we feel like giving them, but are the normative meanings understood by the native speakers of the languages at that time.

2a. We cannot understand everything about an infinite God who is transcendent and "other" than us. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to learn and understand what God has revealed to us.

2b. God communicates in ways we understand. He is free to move us with poetry, explain things to us with analogies, and simplify things with anthropomorphic expressions. God can use idioms, like "sunset", and God can use our categories of things, like calling a rabbit by the Hebrew classification of animals that chew the cud.

2c. God’s Word contains both propositional truth and a presentation of Himself. It contains both positive language about what things are true, and negative language about what things are false.

2d. The human writers could refer to non-Biblical sources, such as Jewish history books (Book of Jasher Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18, etc.), and even Greek poets where they spoke what is true (Acts 17:23,28; Titus 1:12).

See Philosophy of Religion by Norman L. Geisler p211-291 for more info on God and human language.

3a. All scripture is from God, and God’s Word in the original manuscripts. It is all true on which all it speaks. Truth is not contradictory. Scripture does not merely contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God. (Romans 3:1-2; John 10:35; Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 33:4; Psalm 119:151)

3b. Scripture is not only accurate, it has the precision required for us to know God’s meaning. The precision extends even down to tenses and number of words, as in Psalm 82:6 and Matthew 22:32. However, scripture often uses approximations, especially of time and quantity.

3c. God does not lie. However, not telling us everything on a subject is not lying. For example, if at least three women were at Jesus’ tomb in Mark 16:1, Matthew 28:1 is still true in only mentioning two of the women. The New Testament has the exact substance of Jesus' teaching, but not always the exact words. (Matthew 22:37; Matthew 13:22; Mark 12:30; Mark 4:19.)

3d. Scripture is complete, in telling us all we need to know for salvation and for growing in faith. Scripture is not an encyclopedia, nor does it claim to tell us everything about everything.

3e. God allowed some transmittal errors, but His Word stands forever. Isaiah 59:21; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:89. His Word is preserved infallibly (without significant error) up through today. (Isaiah 55:11; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Psalm 119:89,91,144,160)

4a. We should cherish and love Scripture as precious to us (Psalm 56:10; Psalm 119:72,97,105,120). We are not to worship scripture, but praise God who gave us Scripture. (Psalm 119:12). We should delight in God’s law (Psalm 119:16,35,47) and "tremble" at God’s word (Isaiah 66:5). Our hope is in God’s word (Psalm 119:74,81).

4b. We realize that we are saved by Jesus, not by studying Scripture. John 5:39-40; James 1:22-25; 1 Corinthians 13:2

4c. Value Scripture (Acts 13:48; Colossians 3:16) for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and for help in temptation (Psalm 119:10).

4d. We should diligently read and study Scripture (Acts 17:11; Revelation 1:3). We should interpret it. Not twist or misinterpret it (2 Peter 3:16). We must not add to or go beyond God's Word (Proverbs 30:5-6; 1 Corinthians 4:6-7; Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19; Ecclesiastes 12:12; Mark 7:13)

4e. Some Old Testament commands have been fulfilled and are not to be done, such as eating pork, sacrifices, etc.. (Acts 10:9-16; 15:1,5-29; Mark 7:19; Galatians 5:2-4; Hebrews 9:9-10; 10:18)

4f. Scripture is not just suggestions for life, but it is authoritative in our lives (Psalm 119:33-34; John 8:37; John 12:48-50; John 14:23). We should believe all God teaches and obey all of God’s commands. (John 14:23-24)

For Mormon readers, this differs from Mormon teaching on the inspiration of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith allegedly supernaturally translated the Book of Mormon word and word and letter by letter, by looking at a seerstone in a black hat.

For Muslim readers, a Christian’s view of the inspiration of the Bible differs from a Muslim’s view of the inspiration of the Quran. Most Muslims believe the Quran on earth is an exact, "mechanical dictation" copy of a Quran on tablets in Heaven.

See the discussion on the Bible for the difference between inerrancy and hyper-literalness. See The Complete Book of Bible Answers p.16 for more info and seven incorrect views and why they are wrong. For a very extensive discussion, see Christian Theology by Millard Erickson p.175-259.

;Ps119:74,81,89, 92,105

A: 1 John 5:7,8 was likely an added sentence. We know this because we have the testimony of Greek manuscripts. Whether this sentence is in or out, does not change Christian doctrine.

According to Aland et al, it is in the "A" category that this sentence was not in the original manuscript. In other words, the "A" category is "virtually certain" that the 25 disputed words in 1 John 5:7-8 are a later addition.

Muslims in particular should not have much problem with this particular issue. We do not have such corresponding testimony of Uthman’s changes in the Quran because he burned the copies of the Quran that others could use to cross-check him. A few survive today, in a Museum in Cairo, and they do show changes.

Abd al-Masih. A Question That Demands an Answer. The Good Way P.O. Box 66 8486 Rikon, Switzerland. (no date) (61 pages)

Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. The Facts on Islam. Harvest House Publishers, 1991. (48 pages)

Geisler, Norman L. and Abdul Saleeb Answering Islam. Baker Books, 1993.

Gilchrist, John. Christ in Islam and Christianity. Jesus to the Muslims, 1985. (40 pages)

Gilchrist, John. Is Muhammed Foretold in the Bible? : A Response to What the Bible Says About Muhummed. Jesus to the Muslims, 1979. (39 pages)

Gilchrist, John. Origins and Sources of the Gospel of Barnabas. Jesus to the Muslims,. 1979. (32 pages)

Gilchrist, John. What Indeed Was the Sign of Jonah? Jesus to the Muslims, 1985. (36 pages)

Gilchrist, John. Is Muhammad Foretold in the Bible? Jesus to the Muslims, 1985. (37 pages)

Hahn, Ernest. How to Respond to Muslims. Concordia Publishing House, 1995.

Massey, Kundan L. Tide of the Supernatural : a call to love for the Muslim World. Here's Life Publishers, 1980.

http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur-bibmanu.htm

Sabiq, As-Sayyid. Fiqh us-Sunnah American Trust Publications, 1985. (5 volumes) (One of the collections of Sunni Hadiths)

Ahmad, The Promised Messiah and Mahdi. Islam international Publications Ltd., 1990 (This is by Ahmidayya Muslims, which are not considered orthodox by either Sunnis or Shiites.) (27 pages)

Al-Bukhari Sahih Al-Bukhari. (translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan published by al Maktabat Al Salafiat Al Madinato Al Monawart. (no date) (9 volumes) (The most authoritative collection of Sunni Hadiths)

Arbury, A.J. The Koran Interpreted. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1955. (Yusuf Ali’s translation is apparently more accurate than this one.)

Dashti, Ali. Twenty Three Years : A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammed. Geroge Allen & Unwin, 1985. (Ali Dashti apparently was executed after Khomeini came to power in Iran)

Holy, QUR-AN, The. (Arabic and English) Revised and edited by the Presidency of Islamic Researches, IFTA, Call and Guidance. King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex. (The English translation was by Abdullah Yusuf Ali) 1410 A.H.

Lippman, Thomas W. Understanding Islam : An Introduction to the Moslem World. Mentor Books, 1982.

Muslim, Imam. (rendered into English by 'Abdul Hamid Siddiqi) Sahih Muslim. International Islamic publishing House. (no date) (4 volumes)

Rahman, Fzlur. Islam. 2nd edition. University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Yahya Bin Sharaf An-Nawawi, Imam Abu Zakariya (compiler), S.M. Madni Abbasi (translator) Riyadh-Us-Saleheen. International Islamic Publishing House. (no date) (2 volumes)