This is the first article, written by Dr. Mababaya, that I have read or answered. His arguments against the Bible are, essentially, the same arguments that atheists and Jehovah's Witnesses have used in past decades. The key difference is that the atheists and Jehovah's Witnesses have learned to use a Spell Checker while Dr. Mababaya clearly has not mastered this relatively simple, but important, skill. Dr. Mababaya does not formulate a clear thesis in this paper, he simply attempts to show that there are contradictory verses in the Bible which prove that it is not the word of God and, by default, this proves the "truth" of the Qur'an without subjecting it to the same (or any) analysis.
Dr. Mababaya makes an enormous issue of the number of translations of the English Bible and accuses Christians of revising and rewritting portions of the Bible. It is important to remember that the source documents, which are written in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) have not changed. Only the English translations have been modified to make the text clearer to modern readers. Likewise, many English translations of the Qur'an have also been edited to make the message clearer to the contemporary reader. The important question, in both the case of the Bible and the Qur'an, is : do the more accurate translations alter any of the essential doctrines of the faith? The answer, in both cases, is no.
"For God is not the author of confusion but of peace..." (1 Corithians 14:33)
This is a major area of confusion between Christianity and Islam. The God of the Bible speaks in many ways. He speaks directly to men (Moses and other Prophets), He speaks by providing the Prophets with divine inspiration, and He speaks through history. The Bible is a combination of all three.
Like many would be Muslim apologists, Dr. Mababaya lacks any credible Islamic arguments against Christianity and he ignores the words of the Qur'an:
O ye who believe! take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport,- whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah, if ye have faith (indeed). (Sura 5:57)
and says:
Interesting! The fact that atheists disagree with the Bible must make them allies of the Muslims? Guess what, atheists do not believe in the Qur'an, prophethood of Muhammad, or Allah! In fact, if your are interested in what atheists think about Islam, check out these sites: 1, 2, 3.
Dr. Mababaya now quotes from the works of Robert G. Ingersoll, a man known as the "the magnificent infidel":
I wonder what Mr. Ingersoll would have thought if he had read the Qur'an?
Unable to get enough information from atheists, Dr. Mababaya turns to the Jehovah's Witnesses for answers! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this sect, they are considered heretics by orthodox Christians. Quoting their arguments against Christianity is intellectually dishonest. It is as dishonest as a Christian using the Nation of Islam's teachings to discredit the Qur'an!
Dr. Mababaya completely destroys his intellectual integrity when he calls Ahmed (not Ahmad) Deedat's quasi Ahmadiyya works "very scholarly"! Here is more on Deedat , along with some insights from Muslims who understand his arguments.
First of all, there are no "different versions" of the Bible, there are different translations. Second, we will see if you prove the existence of "inconsistencies and errors in the Bible".
Now will get the meat of the argument :
Of course not!
Error : Gross distortion of the text
"I am the Lord your God. Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not take for your self any carved image, or any likeness of naything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God., but showing mercy to thousand to those who love Me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:1-6).
"You are My witness, says the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me." (Isaiah 44:6)
The following are some Biblical verses that claim that there are gods beside God:
"You shall not after gods, the gods of the people who ar all around you." (Deuteronomy 6:14).
Read the verse in context:
Deuteronomy 6:13-15
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.
God is telling His people not to follow the gods (notice the small "g") of other nations. God is not acknowledging the existence of these gods, he is simply telling the children of Israel that He will not tolerate the worship of other deities.
Once again, you have distorted the context. Solomon is being very humble and pious in this passage. He is simply saying that it is a presumptuous idea that one could erect an edifice for a Being "whom the heaven and the heaven of heavens do not contain." The other "gods' (idols) of their neighbors could be easily contained in the Pagan temples. The God of the Israelites was greater than the Pagan gods because He exists and Solomon wanted to build a Temple in which God's worshipers might offer sacrifices to His honor.
Read verse 25 and 26:
For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
So, all of the other gods are idols. Does this imply that other gods actually exist? No.
and
"I said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High." (Psalm 82:1).
PSALM 82 A psalm of Asaph.
God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods": "How long will you [plural] defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. "I said, `You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Are these "gods" the same as God? No, read verse 7 "But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." Only God will "judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance."
This passage obviously refers to the Pagan gods, which do not exist since they made nothing.
Let's quote the verse properly:
The LORD will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, every one in its own land.
The true God is destroying the idols of the false gods in this passage.
Jesus is quoting Psalm 82. We should place this passage into the perspective of events beginning with verse 30:
30 "I and the Father are one."
Jesus said this!
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,
32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Now the enemies of Jesus accused him of claiming to be God. How did Jesus respond? Jesus made no attempt to refute this accusation.
34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods'? If he called them `gods,' to whom the word of God came - and the Scripture cannot be broken - "
Jesus's answer is that it is not blasphemy based on the Law (Psalm 82) to call certain people 'gods', and it is definitely not blasphemy if applied to Jesus since Jesus was more worthy to be called 'god' than any of the others in Psalm 82. In other words, it was not blasphemous for Jesus to claim divinity because he was, in fact, divine.
What About the Qur'an?
Are there other gods in the Qur'an besides Allah?
Sura 34:22 : Say: "Call upon other (gods) whom ye fancy, besides Allah: They have no power,- not the weight of an atom,- in the heavens or on earth: No (sort of) share have they therein, nor is any of them a helper to Allah.
Even though these "other gods" have no power or weight, they appear to exist if we interpret this Sura literally.
A more serious problem in the Qur'an is the issue. Sura 6:102 tells us :
Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no God save Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He taketh care of all things.
Suras 39:62, 40:62, and 13:16 repeat the same message that all things were created by Allah - He was the only One. Therefore, since Allah created all things, nothing is left to be created by anyone else, and no one else can legitimately be called a creator. Yet Sura 23:14 tells us:
.... . So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!
and
Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the Best of creators, ... ? (Sura 37:125)
So, if Allah created all things (and I believe that He did) who are the other creators and what was left for them to create if God already created everything? Also does the Qur'an imply that Baal exists? Once again, if we use the literal interpretation, the Qur'an says that people are crying unto Baal, which implies that he is listening. This faulty reasoning, based on excessive use of literal interpretation, is the same technique that you used on the Bible!
No.
Error : Distortion/Misinterpretation of the text
Isaiah 48:12 Versus Hebrews 7:1-3.
"Listen to ,me O Jacob and Israel , My called: I am He , I am the First , I am also the last" (Isaiah 48:12 ) .
The Bible characterizes Melcizedeck as greater than God for it says that "he has no beginning of days nor end of life"; Whereas, God is merely the "First".
"For this Melchizedeck, king of Salem….meaning, "king of peace". Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually." (Hebrews 7:1-3).
NO. This is not what this verse says!
Hebrews 7:1-3:
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.
We do not know about Melchizedek's ancestors, his parents, or when and where he was born, or when and where he died. What do we know about Melchizedek? We know nothing. It is AS IF he was never born and never died. In other words, he appears to be eternal. The writer of Hebrews DOES NOT say that he was in fact unborn and that he never died, but uses this APPARENT eternality of Melchizedek as a metaphor to explain the fact of the eternality of the Messiah who was to come.
In Heaven.
Error Quoting passages out of context
"Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:15-16).
"Thus says the LORD: `Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me?" (Isaiah 66:1).
The Bible shows that God dwells in darkness: "Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said HE would dwell in the dark cloud." (1 Kings 8:12).
No, read the passage in context:
Verses 10-13:
When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."
God, who is a spirit, was in the dark cloud only while in the Temple.
No. Verses 6-13
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
This passage says nothing about God's "secret place", it merely says that God, once again, "covered" Himself with a cloud when appearing to man.
What About the Qur'an?
Where is God according to the Qur'an?
Sura 11:7 tells us:
And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days - and His Throne was upon the water - that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct. ...
but,
Sura 50:16 says:
It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.
So, is my jugular vein also "upon the water"?
God is a spirit
Error: Mistranslation
"But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide His indignation." (Jeremiah 10:10)
What does this have to do with seeing God?
"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (John 1;18).
"And the Father Himself, who sent Me has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at anytime, nor seen His form." (John 5:37).
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17).
".. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom be honor and everlasting forever. Amen." ( 1 Timothy 6:15-16)
"By faith he forseek Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11;27).
"No has seen God at anytime. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfect in us." (1 John 4:12).
The Bible narrates that there were men who saw God:
"Then the LORD appeared to him and said; `Do not got down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you." (Genesis 26:2)
The Hebrew term for "appeared" in this passage is ra'ah {raw-aw'} which can be more accurately translated as "perceived". In any event, God did not appear in physical form to Isaac.
Once again, the Hebrew term ra'ah {raw-aw'}is used. Jacob did not see a physical being.
Once again, the Hebrew term ra'ah {raw-aw'}is used. The rest of this verse describes a vision that Moses and the "nobles of Israel" saw. There was no visible form or representation of the divine nature of God (Deuteronomy 4:15), but this vision was a symbol God's glory.
Once again, the Hebrew term ra'ah {raw-aw'}is used. Job did not see God's face (Ex 33:20), he sensed His presence in the veil of a dark cloud (Job 38:1). Job implies also that he now sees spiritually what he had indistinctly taken on hearsay before God's infinite wisdom.
Once again, the Hebrew term ra'ah {raw-aw'}is used. Also, this passage describes a vision. God was not seen in physical form.
No.
Error: Mistranslation / did not understand the story
"But He said, `You cannot see my Face; for no man shall see Me, and live." (Exodus 33:20)
There were Prophets who had seen God's face and lived as narrated below:
"And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: `For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved". (Genesis 3:30)
Actually, it is Genesis 32:30. In any event, Jacob's wrestling partner is called an angel (Hosea 12:4) and God (Genesis 32:28,30 and Hosea 12:5). The opinion of most Bible scholars is that he was "the angel of the covenant," who, in his visible form, appeared to animate the mind and sympathize with the distress of his pious servant Jacob. This angel was a prophecy of the time when the Word of God would become man in the form of Jesus.
The word for face, in this passage, is paneh{paw-neh'}which is more appropriately translated as "before" or "in the presence of". The passage doest not say that Moses saw God's face.
Once again, the text has been misinterpreted. God is speaking in person and not through an interpreter or by visionary symbols God is invisible (Exodus 33:20, Colossians 1:15 John 1:18); but there is unmistakable evidence of His glorious presence (Exodus 33:2 34:5).
God does not lie.
Error: Distortion of the verse.
"in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." (Titus 1:1)
"… two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." (Hebrews 6:18).
The following Biblical verses narrate that God created lies:
"The LORD said to him, `In what way?" So he said, `I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets, `And He said. `You shall persued him, and also prevail. Go out and do so. Now therefore, look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth if ask these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you, "(1 Kings 22:22:23).
God is represented, in this passage, as consulting about the fate of Ahab. This prophetic language must not be interpreted literally. God did not put lies in anyone's mouth He only gave permission to the lying spirit (see Romans 11:34).
Read the entire passage. The people were disappointed and disgusted with Abimelech's tyranny; and God permitted these disorders to punish the complicated crimes of the royal fratricide and idolatry. God did not lie, he simply allowed evil to destroy evil.
The words of God are pure.
Error: Distortion of the text.
"The Statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;" (Psalm 19:8).
"Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who put their trust in Him." (Proverbs 30:5).
God's words are not all pure as narrated in the following Biblical verses:
"When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: `Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD." (Hosea 1:2).
Hosea's wife Gomer is called "a wife of harlotry," in anticipation of her actions and the actions of the children of Israel. Gomer fell into lewdness after her union with Hosea, not before the union. This was a symbol of Israel, which lapsed into spiritual harlotry after the "marriage contract" with God on Sinai, and made even before with the patriarchs of Israel. Hosea would take his wife back as God would take back Israel, even though both were unfaithful.
Hosea purchased his wife from her lover, and stipulated that she should wait for a period of time before being restored to her conjugal rights. In the same way, Israel is to live for a long period without her ancient rites of religion, and yet be free from idolatry; then at last she shall acknowledge Messiah, and know Jehovah's goodness restored to her.
These verses have nothing to do with God's perfect purity, they deal with man's impurity.
God is omnipresent.
Error: Took verses out of context
"For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps. There is no darkness not shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves." (Job 34:21-22).
"And therein no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13).
God is not omnipresent as narrated in the Bible, to wit:
"And they heard the sound 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 among trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8)
Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking, they did not see Him walking. The sound was to notify Adam and Eve that God wanted to speak to them and the fact that He made a sound of "walking" (instead of running or stomping) indicated that He loved them.
The Hebrew term used for "came down" is yarad {yaw-rad'} which suggests that God focused His attention on the actions of the "sons of men" since they were trying to reach heaven by building a tower. He always knew what they were up to, however, He was now focuses on the building of the tower of Babel and would soon respond.
You have misquoted the next. Genesis 18:23 says:
Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
God is all-powerful.
Error: Quoting verses out of context
"Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstreched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32:17).
The Bible portrays as one who is not all-power at all times as evidenced below:
"So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the inhabitants of the mountains, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron." (Judges 1:19)
This war was of the Lord and by His command. God's omnipotent aid would have ensured their (the troop's) success, whether on the mountains or the plains, with foot soldiers or cavalry. It was distrust, or the absence of a simple and firm reliance on the promise of God, that made them afraid of the iron chariots (see on Jos 11:4-9).
First of all, there is no Malachi 8-9, the verse is Malachi 3:8-9. Second the term "rob" in this passage is literally translated as "cover" or defraud. Man is not actually taking something from God, he is attempting (unsuccessfully) to hide that which is God's.
What About the Qur'an?
Can man hurt Allah? Sura 33:57 says:
"Those who hurt God and his messenger ..."
Sura 57:11 says that we can loan God money:
"Who is he that will Loan to Allah a beautiful loan? for (Allah) will increase it manifold to his credit, and he will have (besides) a liberal Reward"
Yes,
Error : Misinterpretation of the text
"But if you god, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow." (2 Crhonicles 25:8).
The Bible shows that God has no power to help always, to wit:
"So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the inhabitants of the mountains, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron." (Judges 1:19)
This war was of the Lord and by His command. God's omnipotent aid would have ensured their (the troop's) success, whether on the mountains or the plains, with foot soldiers or cavalry. It was distrust, or the absence of a simple and firm reliance on the promise of God, that made them afraid of the iron chariots (see on Jos 11:4-9).
God does nothing wrong, He does not need to repent.
Error: Mistranslation
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent." (Numbers 23:19)
The Bible narrates that God did repent, to quote:
"And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So that LORD said, `I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (Genesis 6:6-7).
Verses 6-8
The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them."
The Hebrew word for "grieved" is nacham {naw-kham'}, which means to console oneself. God was sad because man had disobeyed Him and, because God is just, deserved punishment. God is also a God of love, so punishing His creation (because of justice) gave Him grief.
God is eternal -does not change
Error: Distorts the text.
"For I am the Lord, I dot change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." (Malachi 3:6).
"Then the LORD said to Moses, `Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, `To your descendants I will give it.' …'Go up to a land following with milk and honey; for I will not go upin your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for your are a stiff-necked people.'…And He said,' My Presence will go with you, and will give you rest. '..Then the LORD said to Moses, `I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." (Exodus 33:1,3,14,17).
"Therefýore the LORD God of Israel says: `I said indeed that your house of your father would walk before Me forever'; but now, the LORD says: `Far it from Me; for those who honor \Me I will honor, and those who depise Me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so t hat there will not be an old man in your house." (Samuel 2:30-31)
"Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it." (Jonah 3:10)
God did not punish the people of Nineveh because THEY changed the errors of THEIR behavior. God did not change, He simply did not punish the people after they repented. A disaster also hangs over each and every one of us, and only through accepting Jesus as out Lord and Savior can we avoid the consequences of our sins.
God knows all things
Error: Distorts the meaning of the verse.
"And they prayed and said, `You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen." (Acts 2:19)
The Bible says God has still to know what is in the hearts of men: "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wildness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heat, whether you would keep His commandments or not." (Deuteronomy 8:2).
No. God knows all things. He knew what would be in the hearts of the Israelites after 40 years in the wilderness. However, the Israelites needed this experience to humble and test them so that they would keep God's commandments. God knew what would be in their hearts and, after He taught them a lesson, He knew what was in their hearts.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace
Error: Mixing history with prophecy
"And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6).
The Bible clearly asserts that is a "man of war":
"The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name." (Exodus 15:3).
Exodus 15:3 is a song that Moses sang after the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. God would command His people to fight for His will. The passage from Isaiah is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. He is the Prince of Peace. God could, and did, use violence in both the Bible and Qur'an. Remember the great flood of Noah?
God's peace is an eternal spiritual peace, not a temporal political peace.
Error: Distorted the text
"Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen." (Romans 15:33)
"For God is not the author of confusions but of peace, as in all the churces of the saint." (1 Corinthians 14:33)
The Bible stresses that God is far from peaceful:
"Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who is strains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle - "(Psalm 144:1).
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
David fought according to God's will. God's will was, and is today, to establish and strengthen Israel according to His divine plan.
These are the words of Moses. The Hebrew word here is 'iysh {eesh}, which can mean man. However, this term has broader meanings including champion, male, and servant. In any case, this verse is a song that was sung by Moses after the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and it was a song of celebration. God delivered the children of Israel from their enemies. Those who follow God find the Lord's peace. This peace is a peace of the spirit. God never promised us that life would be easy. However, with God's peace, we can face our problems with God's strength and respond to our enemies'' hatred with love and insults with kindness. I find that this type of peace is often absent in the hearts, and behavior, of many of our Muslims friends.
Error: Mistranslation
"For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together." (Job 9:32)
"I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephaim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent." (Numbers 23:19).
The Bible says that God is man:
"The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name." (Exodus 15:3).
The Hebrew word here is 'iysh {eesh}, which can mean man. However, this term has broader meanings including champion, male, and servant. In any case, this verse is a song that was sung by Moses after the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. Moses was using human terms to attempt to grasp the majesty of God.
God alone has the attribute of holiness, however, we too can be holy
Error: Quotations taken out of context
"Who shall not fear You, O Lord and glorify Your name? For Your alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for your judgements have been manifested." (Revelation 15:4).
Holiness does not pertain to God alone as quoted in the following in the following Biblical verse:
"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." (Exodus 19:6)
"For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves, ad you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Leviticus 11:44).
"Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trust in You!" (Psalm 86:2).
"So the holy seed shall be its stump." (Isaiah 6:13)
God alone possess the attribute of holiness. However:
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10.
Perfect.
Error: Quotations taken out of context
"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:4).
The Bible shows that God's work is very far from perfect:
"What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saint, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!" (Job 15:14-16)
God made humans sinless and pure. God also gave us free will which man used (and continues to use) to rebel against God. In Job 15:14-16, Job is being tested by God. These words were not the words of God or even Job, they were the words of Eliphaz the Temanite who was throwing some of Job's words back at him.
God forgives sins through the blood of Jesus.
Error: Distorted the text.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and prayer and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
"To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have revelled against Him." (Daniel 9:9).
"Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7)
God is not forgiving according to this Biblical narration:
"When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." (Isaiah 1:15).
Once again, you have distorted the verse by quoting it out of context.
"Temp God"?
God is perfect and cannot be tempted.
Error: Distorting the passages
"Let no one say when he is tempted, `I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He himself tempt anyone." (James 1:13)
The following Biblical verses state that God could be tempted:
"And Moses said to them, `Why you contend with me? Why you temp the LORD?"
That is not what this verse says! Please read it in context:
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
Moses is telling the thirsty Israelites, who are about to kill him, to ask God for water - God did give them water.
No. This verse refers to the previous incident (Exodus 17:2) and says:
16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.
The verse says test, not tempt (or temp for that matter). God cannot be tempted.
God is just
Error: Distorting the text
"Yet the house of Israel says, `The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which fair, and your ways which are not fair?" (Ezekiel 18:29)
"But you denied the Holy one and the Just, and asked for a murderer to granted to you," (Acts 3:14)
Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!" (Revelation 14:4)
The Bible narrates that God is not a just, to wit:
"For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." (Matthew 13:12)
We need to read the verse in context:
God is merciful.
Error : Quoting passages out of context
"For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our GOD is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?" (Deuteronomy 4:7)
"The LORD is near to call who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." (Psalm 145:18)
The following Bibilical narrations show that God is not merciful to all who call upon Him:
"My God, My God, why You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?"(Psalm 22:1, also see Mark 15:34)
The Psalm was a prophecy of the suffering of Jesus. Jesus came into this world to die for our sins, that was His mission. Jesus was fully God and fully human. Therefore, when he took all of the sins of mankind (your sins as well as my sins) as He hung on the cross, He cried out in agony.
Read the entire Psalm, and you will understand what is going on. The Psalmist is mourning God's apparent indifference to his troubles and this is made worse by the evil of the world. God NEVER promised us that life would be easy. In fact, Christians have suffered greatly throughout history and many suffer today - especially in predominantly Muslims countries. In the end, God rewards the patience and the suffering of His people.
The sinner's "med"?
God saves all who accept Jesus
Error: Distortion of the text
My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a just judge, and God is angry with are wicked every day." (Psalm 7:10-11).
"He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all who love Him but wicked He will destroy." (Psalm 145:19-20)
The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He cast away the desire of the wicked." (Proverbs 10:3)
"And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:22).
God does not fulfill the need of those who fear and love Him (including Jesus Christ) but fulfill the sinners's need:
"and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, `Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?' That is, `My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ( Matthew 27:46)
As I said in the previous section, Jesus came into this world to die for us. He was fully man and fully God. Jesus was pure and sinless, yet He took all of the sins of the human race on His Body as He suffered and died on the cross. I cannot imagine the pain and agony that my Lord suffered that day on the cross, but I know that He did it so that I, as well as all of you, can be saved and live with Him forever.
WE ARE ALL SINNERS! Every last one of us (including and especially me) are not worthy to stand before Almighty God. WE ALL deserve His wrath and none of us deserve His mercy, much less His love. However, because God loves us, He sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins. Jesus paid for our sins through His death. All we need to do is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and live according to His word. We are acceptable in the sight of God ONLY through the blood of Jesus. We can NEVER make ourselves pure in the eyes of God. No amount of prayer, fasting, alms giving, or pilgrimages can ever wash away even the smallest of our sins. Only through the blood of Christ can we be saved - not by our own words, deeds or acts.
You have not proved this to be the case! God is very clear in the Bible.
For the guidance of those who truly seek the Truth and Divine Teachings, they should read the Holy Qur'an. Nowhere could anyone find any inconsistency in the Holy Qur'an for verily, the Holy Qur'an is the Truth from Allah (Al Sajdah 32:3).
There are many inconsistencies in the Qur'an.
What about the textual integrity of the Qur'an?
"Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it not been from other than God, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy. (Al-Nisa 4:82)
"Praise be to Allah, Who hath set to His Servant the Book, and hath allowed therein no Crookedness." (Al Kahf 18:1).
Once again, there are many inconsistencies in the Qur'an.
So God actually pre-destined people to stray? If this is true then we could all be deceived!
That was a rather abrupt ending to your article. I will wait for you to finish your thoughts and I will add my thoughts and comments to this page. Until then, may God bless you.
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