How Can We Help?
Skepticism is a good thing. Without skepticism, one might believe lies taught as truth. Many adults grow up being fed one lie after another lie. These lies normally start in childhood. Parents that dwell in lies will bear children that will be taught these same lies, and these lies will be covered to appear as truth.
I should know. I’ve had to accept that not everything I grew up learning was always right, even though I was taught to never question it and that the teachings were always right. Yet, many people, filled with pride, refuse to accept this truth and will continue to hold dearly to lies.
One piece of skepticism that rises due to the hatred/ignorance of Christianity is the lie that the Bible cannot be trusted and that it is corrupt.
I will focus on two primary groups that teach that the Bible is false or has been corrupted. The two primary groups are:
- Atheists
- Followers of Muhammad
Accusation #1 – The Bible is filled with contradictions. (sometimes both groups)
While there are many so-called “contradictions” within the Bible, one must both the context and nature of the verse. Translators also err. When researching contradictions within the Bible, I have yet to find a single one that was without a satisfactory explanation.
The only true contradiction found in the Bible is of historic assumption, which, if proven true, then Jews, Christians, and follower’s of Muhammad’s Islam are in trouble.
(See accusation #6)
Accusation #2 – The Bible has been corrupted by the Jews and Christians. (followers of Muhammad)
Islam thrives on claiming that the Bible has been corrupted by Christians and Jews, therefore, only one man was given the true law of God that was perfect. This man was Muhammad. Since the Qur’an claims both the Bible to be true but later claims it became corrupted, we must question the authenticity of the claim.
At what point was the Bible corrupted? Some claim the Bible became corrupted before Muhammad due to this verse:
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
Jeremiah 8:8 NKJV
However, the Qur’an is not clear at what point in history the Bible supposedly became corrupt. Either God was vague, or God didn’t know. Since there is no valid evidence (proof) for the claim that the Bible has been corrupted by both the Christians and the Jews, the claim falls short.
One should remember that the Bible carries the Torah. Christians do not differ in scripture, they differ in interpretation of the prophecies found within the scriptures. The biggest interpretation: Jesus Christ.
As for the word corruption, should minor translation issues and few scribal additions that are caught with textual criticism truly corruption? Or would corruption be the entire Bible has been re-written as accused by followers of Muhammad? To claim the Bible is corrupted is erroneous.
Accusation #3 – The Bible is a fairy-tale. (atheists)
A large amount of the stories in the Bible have been proven either as true or possible. There are sections within Genesis, Exodus, and the miracles of Jesus that are considered as false or exaggerated. This means that the Bible is historical and is, at least, a biased history book of the Jewish people and culture. One cannot say it is an entire fairy-tale unless they want to claim the Jews are also a fairy-tale.
Accusation #4 – There many Bible versions. Which one can we use? (followers of Muhammad)
In my possession are five Qur’ans, three of which come with the Arabic text. Each Qur’an has similar spelling, although even the Arabic does not always match, though they come from native Arab writers. Which one can I use to convert? The same for the Bible.
The history of the Qur’an proves that it has been, at the minimal, tainted. In fact, the Qur’an has been tainted several times, even during its reveal.
As for each version of the Bible, there are two ways of looking at it. By version, if you mean KJV and NKJV, then this does not matter. Either one still carry the message, only differing in English translation (you instead of thou). These newer versions tend to say the exact same thing, but in modern English or a slightly different sentence structure.
To prove this, I will select several verses and compare them:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with rejoicing, [25] to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 MEV
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, [25] To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 NKJV
Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy, [25] to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 ASV
God is strong and can keep you from falling. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy. [25] He is the only God, the one who saves us. To him be glory, greatness, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord for all time past, now, and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25 ERV
If one was to speak of versions as toward the Protestant Bible, the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, etc., then we must lay these claims to rest as well. (See accusation #5)
Accusation #5 – There are more books to the Bible.
(followers of Muhammad)
Several people like to mention various books called Bibles that various cultural groups use, and attack Christians with these versions. These books usually have several extra books over what is considered as “canon”.
The canon Bible considered each book, whether false or true, and compared them to several standards. A majority of other bibles include all books that the canon Bible holds, however, they include more books as well.
These extra books are what we label as Apocrypha and contain errors, whether historical, geographical, or other. Some books included are Gnostic or of other heresies.
Followers of Muhammad like to assume they have won against the Christian when they ask “Which Bible?” In reality, any Christian that comes to an understanding of how the canon Bible came to be and why would most likely agree that such an assumption is foolish.
Take the Gospel of Barnabas, portrayed as the true Gospel of Jesus by followers of Muhammad. This gospel also denies Islam. Thus, those who use it to destroy Christianity also destroy their own religion.
Take the Gospel of Thomas, which claims Jesus created clay birds and caused them to come to life. The Qur’an steals this from the Gospel of Thomas, but makes a twist and says God gave that power to Jesus instead of Jesus having that power, to begin with. This confuses readers with who Jesus really is and makes a false narrative about Jesus.
Even more so, the early Jews and Christians never knew that story. The “Thomas” that wrote the Gospel of Thomas never met Jesus and did not know any of His followers.
Accusation #6 – Creation is entirely flawed and so is the escape from Egypt. (atheists)
[Need to finish]
Accusation #7 – Men wrote the Bible because their god cannot write his own Bible and so it must be flawed. (followers of Muhammad)
According to Islam, you must have blind faith to believe that God gave His book to an angel that would give it to Muhammad who would pass it to mankind. This involves much more than what God did for the Jews and Christians.
For the Jews and Christians, God overshadowed men with His Spirit and authored what He wanted them to write. This means that God was the author, men were purely the pens (writers).
God does not change how He operates. He does not change. Neither would an angel contradict himself unless of course, the angel was not who he claimed to be. The Bible says that angels of darkness can appear as angels of light and teach new doctrines.
As shown, the entire premise that followers of Muhammad offer is purely grasping at straws to prevent themselves and their families from facing the reality; The Bible has a stronger case while the Qur’an falls short.
Accusation #8 – Christians are stupid and must be told what their book means. (followers of Muhammad)
Insults like this do not help anyone. Not only are insults like this useless, but the entire premise is also false. Christians have been around much longer than Muhammad’s followers. We know what we believe. We were beside the Jews as we came from Judaism. Muhammad’s Islam did not.
To claim “Christians are stupid and must be told what their book means” is not only foolish and ignorant thinking, it misses the entire point that another religion has the possibility of being right and the people that follow that religion have the possibility of being right.
Accusation #9 – The Bible is not corrupt but points to Muhammad. If your Bible does not point to Muhammad, it has been corrupted by Jews and Christians because they hate Muhammad. (followers of Muhammad)
Illogical statement. The Bible is either corrupt or it is not. Doublespeak does nothing for a discussion. There is no textual evidence that Muhammad was ever prophesied in the Bible. There are Islamic scholarly claims, but these claims are forced and twist verses out of context while trying to fit Muhammad in them. Ahmed Deedat and Zakir Naik are two that have commonly done this, both of which have only had good results within uneducated, ignorant, or illiterate groups.
Accusation #10 – The Bible has no evidence. (sometimes both groups)
As far as history is concerned, there are so many copies to compare to each other that the Bible is one of the most reliably copied book in existence. (I didn’t say true, as atheists wouldn’t agree. Some atheists historians might agree that when it comes to the least corrupted books out there, the Bible is very reliable (5,000+ manuscripts for the gospels alone).)