When discussing the Bible with Muslims, Christians quickly discover that one of the problems is the average Muslim's unfamiliarity with the manner in which historical data is collected and verified. They aren't aware that the closer one's source of information is to the events being recorded, the more likely it is to be reliable.
This is what we have with the New Testament, which was completed within the lifetimes of many of the original eyewitnesses and therefore could easily have been refuted had there been contradictory evidence. But not only does the Bible have internal confirmation of its facts, it also finds confirmation from secular sources, including those historians call "hostile sources."
Most Muslims also have problems following the Biblical timeline. This is understandable, of course, since the vast majority of Muhammad's followers have never read the Bible, and since any information they do have has usually come from Muhammad and his Quran.
Since most Muslims would benefit from a look at a snippet from the Bible timeline, one has been provided below. By this it is hoped that Muslims will see why Jews and Christians find Muhammad's claims so difficult to believe.
Please note that all dates listed are only approximations. They are not meant to be taken as exact dates:
John the Baptist is born 6 BC
All of the above takes place first mostly in Canaan and Egypt, then later, in the Promised Land, Israel. Almost the entire Bible was penned by Jews who were speaking about their own people and their own history. These were generally eyewitnesses to the actual events, or disciples or scribes of eyewitnesses. The single exception is the Book of Genesis, which was written by Moses. Genesis begins with the creation of the world and traces events until the death of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
If scholars are correct that the physician Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts was himself a Jew, then not a single author of the 40 who contributed to the Bible was a Gentile.
Now what about Muhammad?
Muhammad born 570 AD
Muhammad was born in Mecca more than 500 years after Jesus and 1,200 kilometers away from Jerusalem. Muhammad never stepped anywhere near Jerusalem or even near Israel his entire life.
Obviously, Muhammad was a non-Jew. While Muslims claim Muhammad was descended from the Ishmaelites, as has already been pointed out, not one Bible author was a non-Israelite.
Neither was Muhammad an eyewitness of any single one of the events written about in the Bible.
Neither did Muhammad ever meet any of the eyewitnesses.
Muhammad never met anyone mentioned in the Bible, or anyone who had anything to do with Bible events:
- not Jesus
- not Jesus' apostles
- not Jesus' apostles' disciples
- nor Jesus' apostles' disciples' disciples
- nor Jesus' apostles' disciples' disciples' disciples
- or even their grandchildren.
Instead, Muhammad got all of his claimed revelations from someone who he at first thought to be a demon, but later claimed was an angel.
There are quite a few more contrasts between Muhammad and our Biblical sources:
- neither Jesus nor the writers of the New Testament ever contradicted the teachings of the Old Testament, while Muhammad's teachings go against both the Old Testament and the New.
- both the Old Testament and the New speak of the same God, YHWH, Who is a God of unconditional love, grace and mercy. Muhammad's god is a god of war with a strong hatred for creation. Where the God of the Bible tells mankind to choose life, the god of Muhammad commands his followers to choose death.
- Jesus and the the writers of the New Testament repeatedly quote the prophets, prophecies and teachings of the Old Testament, while Muhammad was unaware of what the Bible really teaches.
- both the Old Testament and the New Testament ultimately point to Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of mankind, while the teachings of Islam point Muslims to a man, Muhammad.
- no one, neither a Jew nor a Christian, ever confirmed Muhammad to be a prophet of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Worse still, Muhammad came in the name of a god he called "Allah." Had Muhammad truly been sent by God, he would have known that coming to Israel in the name of another god meant instant death for the self-proclaimed messenger.
And while the Bible is known to be historically and geographically accurate, Muhammad makes several historical errors in his Quran. For example:
- Muhammad claims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was born most likely between 30-20BC, was the sister of Aaron, who had lived more than 1,500 years earlier (see date for Moses above)
- Muhammad claims that the Egyptians were already employing crucifixion during Joseph's time, though crucifixion was not invented until the 6th century BC, or more than 1,000 years later
- Muhammad also claims that it was a Samaritan who led the Israelites to worship the golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai with YHWH. But there was no such thing as a Samaritan during Moses' day. They would only begin to exist more than 500 years after Moses' death
And finally, what could arguably be his most egregious error:
Muhammad denied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, a historical fact which not a single reputable scholar today denies.
This was no minor oversight. The Law of Moses spoke repeatedly of God's hatred of sin and man's propensity for it. As early as Genesis 3, immediately after man first sinned, YHWH had already outlined His plan to redeem man and restore us to His Paradise.
To accomplish this, all of Scripture had pointed to the coming of The Messiah, the Son of God, Who would save mankind from our sins. Jesus was that Messiah, and on the cross He paid the Ultimate Price for the sins of man.
When Muhammad denied the crucifixion, he denied the one event that all heaven had been anticipating since the fall of Adam.
Muhammad denied the One Who could have saved his soul from eternal torment. He denied and rejected King Yeshua, Whose name means "The Lord Saves," and presented himself as an alternate to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Scripture's warning is clear.
Had Muhammad only thought to ask the Christians of his time, they could have read to him the words of the Apostle Paul:
8 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!
9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!" Galatians 1
Bible dates listed above were taken from:
http://biblehub.com/timeline/
See also:
Who Is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Is It YHWH... or Allah?
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/09/who-is-god-of-abraham-isaac-and-jacob.html
Who is the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:18-19?
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/02/who-is-prophet-of-deuteronomy-1818-19.html
The God Who Walks the Earth
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-god-who-walks-earth.html
This is what we have with the New Testament, which was completed within the lifetimes of many of the original eyewitnesses and therefore could easily have been refuted had there been contradictory evidence. But not only does the Bible have internal confirmation of its facts, it also finds confirmation from secular sources, including those historians call "hostile sources."
Most Muslims also have problems following the Biblical timeline. This is understandable, of course, since the vast majority of Muhammad's followers have never read the Bible, and since any information they do have has usually come from Muhammad and his Quran.
Since most Muslims would benefit from a look at a snippet from the Bible timeline, one has been provided below. By this it is hoped that Muslims will see why Jews and Christians find Muhammad's claims so difficult to believe.
Please note that all dates listed are only approximations. They are not meant to be taken as exact dates:
The Old Testament
Abraham lived c. 2085 BC
Isaac born 2066 BC
Jacob born 2006 BC
Joseph in Egypt 1898 BC
Moses born 1525 BC
Israel freed from Egypt 1446 BC
David king over all Israel 1003 BC
Solomon is born 990 BC
Last prophecy from Malachi 430 BC
The New Testament
John the Baptist is born 6 BC
Jesus is born 5 BC
Jesus begins ministry 27 AD
Jesus crucified, died, resurrected 30 AD
Apostles start preaching, healing 30 AD
Peter preaches to the Gentiles 37 ADNew Testament complete 90s AD
All of the above takes place first mostly in Canaan and Egypt, then later, in the Promised Land, Israel. Almost the entire Bible was penned by Jews who were speaking about their own people and their own history. These were generally eyewitnesses to the actual events, or disciples or scribes of eyewitnesses. The single exception is the Book of Genesis, which was written by Moses. Genesis begins with the creation of the world and traces events until the death of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
If scholars are correct that the physician Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts was himself a Jew, then not a single author of the 40 who contributed to the Bible was a Gentile.
Now what about Muhammad?
Muhammad born 570 AD
Muhammad was born in Mecca more than 500 years after Jesus and 1,200 kilometers away from Jerusalem. Muhammad never stepped anywhere near Jerusalem or even near Israel his entire life.
Obviously, Muhammad was a non-Jew. While Muslims claim Muhammad was descended from the Ishmaelites, as has already been pointed out, not one Bible author was a non-Israelite.
Neither was Muhammad an eyewitness of any single one of the events written about in the Bible.
Neither did Muhammad ever meet any of the eyewitnesses.
Muhammad never met anyone mentioned in the Bible, or anyone who had anything to do with Bible events:
- not Jesus
- not Jesus' apostles
- not Jesus' apostles' disciples
- nor Jesus' apostles' disciples' disciples
- nor Jesus' apostles' disciples' disciples' disciples
- or even their grandchildren.
Instead, Muhammad got all of his claimed revelations from someone who he at first thought to be a demon, but later claimed was an angel.
There are quite a few more contrasts between Muhammad and our Biblical sources:
- neither Jesus nor the writers of the New Testament ever contradicted the teachings of the Old Testament, while Muhammad's teachings go against both the Old Testament and the New.
- both the Old Testament and the New speak of the same God, YHWH, Who is a God of unconditional love, grace and mercy. Muhammad's god is a god of war with a strong hatred for creation. Where the God of the Bible tells mankind to choose life, the god of Muhammad commands his followers to choose death.
- Jesus and the the writers of the New Testament repeatedly quote the prophets, prophecies and teachings of the Old Testament, while Muhammad was unaware of what the Bible really teaches.
- both the Old Testament and the New Testament ultimately point to Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of mankind, while the teachings of Islam point Muslims to a man, Muhammad.
- no one, neither a Jew nor a Christian, ever confirmed Muhammad to be a prophet of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Worse still, Muhammad came in the name of a god he called "Allah." Had Muhammad truly been sent by God, he would have known that coming to Israel in the name of another god meant instant death for the self-proclaimed messenger.
- every prophet of God heard directly from YHWH Himself (many even saw Him), while Muhammad only received his revelations from the so-called angel, Jibril. Each one of God's prophets in the Bible knew Him personally and had an intimate relationship with Him. Not so Muhammad, who had to go through an intermediary.
- Muhammad claims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was born most likely between 30-20BC, was the sister of Aaron, who had lived more than 1,500 years earlier (see date for Moses above)
- Muhammad claims that the Egyptians were already employing crucifixion during Joseph's time, though crucifixion was not invented until the 6th century BC, or more than 1,000 years later
- Muhammad also claims that it was a Samaritan who led the Israelites to worship the golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai with YHWH. But there was no such thing as a Samaritan during Moses' day. They would only begin to exist more than 500 years after Moses' death
And finally, what could arguably be his most egregious error:
Muhammad denied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, a historical fact which not a single reputable scholar today denies.
This was no minor oversight. The Law of Moses spoke repeatedly of God's hatred of sin and man's propensity for it. As early as Genesis 3, immediately after man first sinned, YHWH had already outlined His plan to redeem man and restore us to His Paradise.
To accomplish this, all of Scripture had pointed to the coming of The Messiah, the Son of God, Who would save mankind from our sins. Jesus was that Messiah, and on the cross He paid the Ultimate Price for the sins of man.
When Muhammad denied the crucifixion, he denied the one event that all heaven had been anticipating since the fall of Adam.
Muhammad denied the One Who could have saved his soul from eternal torment. He denied and rejected King Yeshua, Whose name means "The Lord Saves," and presented himself as an alternate to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Scripture's warning is clear.
Had Muhammad only thought to ask the Christians of his time, they could have read to him the words of the Apostle Paul:
8 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!
9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!" Galatians 1
Jesus is Lord!
http://biblehub.com/timeline/
See also:
Who Is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Is It YHWH... or Allah?
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/09/who-is-god-of-abraham-isaac-and-jacob.html
Who is the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:18-19?
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/02/who-is-prophet-of-deuteronomy-1818-19.html
The God Who Walks the Earth
http://apologika.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-god-who-walks-earth.html
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