Douglas Groothuis

Defending Christian Faith, November 30, 2004

 

 

ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN TRUTH

part 2

 

 

IV.       Islam and Christianity

 

A.        Claim of abrogation/replacement:  Mohammed, “the seal of the prophets,” the last and greatest of the prophets of Allah (Koran, Surah 48:27 – 28)

 

B.        Christians are “People of the Book” (along with Jews and Zoroastrians, as opposed to polytheists, animists); mentioned often in Koran

 

C.        Six major claims against Christianity by Muslims

 

1.         Christian Scriptures have been corrupted; Koran has not

 

a.         Koran endorses authority of OT and NT (Koran, Surahs 4:48, 136; 5:47 – 51, 68 – 71; 10:94)

 

b.         New Testament is textually certain and historically verified (Luke 1:1 – 4; I John 1:1 – 3; 2 Peter 1:16)

 

c.         Jesus endorsed Old Testament as authoritative (Matthew 5:17 – 20; John 10:35); OT has been preserved authentically

 

2.         Jesus (Issa or Isa) was not crucified (Koran, Surah 4:155 – 59)—text seems ambiguous, but many Muslim deny Jesus’ crucifixion

 

a.         All the Gospels claim Jesus predicted his crucifixion and was crucified (Matthew 12:39 – 40; John 10:11; Matthew 27); ancient historians agree

 

b.         Jesus’ crucifixion was predicted ahead of time in OT (Isaiah 53)

 

3.         Jesus not divine, but merely a prophet of Allah (Koran, Surah 5:115 – 118)

 

a.         Jesus’ own divine claims:  Mark 2; John 5:16 – 18; 8:58

 

b.         Colossians 2:8:  Apostle Paul’s claims about Jesus deity

 

c.         John 1:1 – 3, 14:  Apostle John’s claims about Jesus deity

 

4.         The Trinity is illogical and ungodly:  say not “three”  (Koran, Surah 4:171)

 

a.         Koranic misunderstanding of the Trinity:  God, Mary, Jesus (Koran, Surah 5:116)

 

b.         God is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) in three persons:  Father, Son (John 1:1 – 3), and Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3 – 4)—co-equal and co-eternal.  Not three gods.  Three in one; not three equals one

 

5.         Jesus’ “gospel” (injihl) was no different from the Old Testament prophets:  worship Allah and obey his law

 

a.         Jesus message was crucially about himself as God’s Son, Savior, and Lord (John 14:1 – 6; Matthew 11:27)

 

b.         b.  The cross of Christ is necessary and crucial to salvation (Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:18 – 19, 28; I Peter 2:24)

 

c.         c.  Humans are sinful, not merely weak (Mark 7:21 – 23; Romans 3)

 

d.         We are forgiven, adopted into His family, assured of heaven through faith alone in the work of Jesus Christ alone through the grace of God alone (Acts 16:31; Romans 4 – 8; Ephesians 2:1 – 10; Titus 3:5 – 6)

 

6.         Islam has abrogated Christianity (Koran, Surah 48:27 – 28)

 

a.         In light of 1 – 5 above:  Response:  Jesus’ lordship is perpetual and universal (Matthew 28:18 – 20; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:15 – 23)

 

b.         Koran contradicts basic biblical teachings on God, Christ, and salvation (Galatians 1:6 – 9; 1 John 5:11 – 12); it cannot complete Christianity

 

V.        Christian Truth and the Islamic Challenge

 

A.        Learn to defend Christian truth (apologetics):  1 Peter 3:15 – 17; Jude 3; Acts 17

 

B.        Pray for discernment and wisdom in addressing Islam (Ephesians 6:10 – 18)

 

C.        Become conversant on Islam:  its doctrines, history, and present manifestations. Don’t bear false witness against it (Exodus 20:16)

 

D.        Look for opportunities to love Muslims and present the Gospel (Acts 1:8)

 

 

·         Resources on Islam and Christianity

 

1.         Gleason Archer, “Confronting the Challenge of Islam in 21st Century,” in Contend for  the Faith, ed., Eric Pement. Evangelicals Ministries to New Religions, 1992. See Evangelical Ministries to New Religions web page: www.emnr.org

 

2.         Kevin Bywater, “Islam as the ‘End’ of Christianity,” at: http://www.answering-islam.org/Intro/replacing.html

 

3.         Norman Geisler and Abduhl Saleeb, Answering Islam, 2nd ed.. Baker Books, 2001.  In-depth apologetic response

 

4.         Douglas Groothuis, Are All Religions One (booklet). InterVarsity Press, 1996. Compares Christianity with Islam and Hinduism

 

5.         Douglas Groothuis and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis web page: www.gospelcom.net/ivpress/groothuis.  Information on philosophy, ethics, and apologetics in general

 

6.         Dean Halverson, ed., Compact Guide to World Religions. NavPress, 1996. Excellent chapter on Islam by Halverson. Good material on other religions also

 

7.         Answering Islam web site: www.Answering-Islam.org. Comprehensive and scholarly resources on nearly every aspect of Islam in relation to Christianity

 

8.         Bernard Lewis, “The Revolt of Islam,” in The New Yorker, November 19, 2001.  Lewis is a leading scholar of Islam.  He explores its history and present attitude toward the West in a readable and profound way.  See also his book, What Went Wrong? (2002)

 

9.         Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam (2002).  Short, but insightful

 

10.       William M. Miller, A Christian Critique of Islam. Presbyterian and Reformed, 1976.  Written by a long-term missionary to Muslims with broad experience

 

11.       Chawkat Moucarry, The Prophet and the Messiah:  An Arab Christian’s Perspective on Islam and Christianity (InterVarsity Press, 2001).  Very thorough and well-versed

 

12.       Daniel Pipes, “The Danger Within:  Militant Islam in America,” in Commentary, November 2001.  An incisive look at some Muslim groups’ goal to make the US into an Islamic state. Sobering assessment. See also his book Radical Islam Comes to America (2002)

 

13.       “Tolerance and the Qur’an” at: http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Themes/tolerance.html.  Superb article written by a friend of mine, who must keep his or her identity secret for fear of persecution by Muslims