Do Christian beliefs about the Bible and Muslim beliefs about the Quran put them in a circular stalemate?
Christians believe the Bible is the Word of God. Muslims believe the Quran is the Word of God.
- The Quran is God’s Word, therefore the Quran is true.
- The Bible is God’s Word, therefore the Bible is true.
Are we stuck in a circular stalemate? No, and here are two reasons:
The historical fact of Jesus’ death on the cross
The first reason is that Muslims believe something about the crucifixion of Jesus based on what Muhammad recited but never observed. Christians believe in the death of Jesus on the cross because this was an event rooted in history.
The Muslim claim that Jesus did not die on the cross and the Christian claim that Jesus died on the cross cannot both be true. The question is whether you believe in what God has done in history or what came from the mouth of Muhammad centuries after the event.
If the beliefs of Muslims are rational (i.e. Muslim beliefs correspond to the world in which we live), then they need to stand on solid historical ground and not just on the unclear lips of Muhammad.
The Quranic Injīl and the Christian New Testament
The second reason we are not stuck in a circular stalemate is that the Quran says that a book from heaven was given to Jesus (Injīl) and Jesus gave this book to His disciples.
Quran 5:46
And We made to supervene on their tracks Isa son of Maryam, (Jesus son of Mary) sincerely verifying whatever of the Tawrah (The Book revealed to Musa “Moses”, of which the extant Torah is a corruption) was before him, (Literally: between: between his two hands) and We brought him the Injil, (The Book revealed to Isa “Jesus”, of which the extant Gospel is a corruption) wherein there is a guidance and a light, and sincerely verifying whatever of the Tawrah (The Book revealed to Musa “Moses”, of which the extant Torah is a corruption ) was before him, (Literally: between: between his two hands) and a guidance and an admonition to the pious. (Mohammad Mahmoud Ghali)
Muslims argue that the Christian gospels and New Testament is corrupt because it is not the same as the singlular Injīl given to Jesus from heaven. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament were written years after Jesus ascended to heaven. Many Muslims–including paraphrased translations of the meaning of the Quran–conclude from this that the Injīl has been lost.
However, the reality is that the Injīl never existed. Jesus never received a book from heaven and He never gave a book to His disciples. Muslim belief in the Injīl is itself circular:
How do Muslims know the New Testament is corrupt?
Answer: The Quran’ic claims about the Injīl given from heaven to Jesus.What is the proof that the Injīl existed?
Answer: The Qur’an.
The Quranic Injīl is an attempt to corrupt the New Testament.
To learn more see:
