HOW CAN WE KNOW

THE TRUTH

OF THE GOSPEL?

Iskander Jadeed

THE QUESTIONS:

How can you prove the Fatherhood of God to

Christ?

It is said that the Torah and the New Testament

have been changed. What is your opinion?

Do you have any evidence that Christ died on

the cross?

Is not the existence of "four gospels" evidence

that the New Testament has been changed?

M.Z.S. TRIPOLIS-LEBANON

HOW CAN WE KNOW

THE TRUTH

OF THE GOSPEL?

by

Iskander Jadeed

THE GOOD WAY • RIKON/SWITZERLAND

AH Rights Reserved

Order Number: RPB 4380 ENG

First English edition: 1987

English title: How Can We Know the Truth of the Gospel?

All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James

Version, Holy Bible, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All Qur'an quotations are taken from The Koran Interpreted, by

Arthur J. Arberry

The Good Way «P.O. Box 66*CH-8486 Rikon • Switzerland

Internet://www.the-good-way.com

e-mail: info@the-good-way.com

My Dear Friend,

I am very pleased to note that you have the

inclination to investigate the truths of the Gospel.

It is good that you have this desire, for we find

Paul, the apostle and hero of the Faith saying:

"Test everything. Hold fast to the good" (First

Epistle to the Thessalonians 5:21).

From the opening remarks in your letter, it

seems you want to discuss some Christian beliefs.

However, your enthusiasm carried you into the

realm of argument with "The People of the Book",

contrary to the Koranic injunction "... save in the

fairer manner" (Al-Ankabut 46).

But you have forgotten the warning of the Ko-

ran which says, "Yet how will they make thee their

judge seeing they have the Torah, wherein is God's

judgment?" (Al-Maidah 43). In your attempt to

object to most of the sensitive Christian beliefs,

you have used references from the Koran rather

than the Holy Bible which the Koran appointed as

arbiter for any disputes between Christians and

Muslims. Proof of this fact is that Muhammad

himself was referred to "The People of the Book"

to confirm the truth of any belief. The Koran says:

"So if thou art in doubt regarding what We have

sent down to Thee, ask those who recite the Book

before thee" (Yunus 95).

This command requires of every Muslim, in

settling any doctrinal dispute with The People of

the Book to accept the judgment of the Book

itself Accordingly, another text in the Koran says:

"Surely, We sent down the Torah, wherein is gui-

dance and light; thereby the Prophets, who had

surrendered themselves gave judgment for those

of Jewry as did the masters and the rabbis follow-

ing such portions of God's Book as they were

given to keep... and whoso judges not according

to what God has sent down - they are the unbe-

lievers" (Al-Maidah 45).

It follows then that the Christian is not bound

whatsoever to the texts of the Koran. On the

Contrary, the Koran calls him to cling to his Book,

saying: "Say, People of the Book! You do not

stand on anything until you perform the Torah

and the Gospel and what was sent down to you

from your Lord" (Al-Maidah 48).

I shall now reply to your objection to several

Christian doctrines:

I. TH€ SONSHIP OF CHRIST

In your attempt to challenge the Sonship of

Christ, you used two Koranic verses, Sura Al-

Ikhlas and Maryam, but you neglected to refer to

a verse in Sura Al-Anaam which says, "The Crea-

tor of the heavens and the earth - How should He

have a son, seeing that he has no consort, and He

created all things and He has knowledge of every-

thing?" (Sura Al-Anaam 102).

My purpose in referring to this verse, is to draw

your attention to the weakness of the arguments

Islam puts forward when it challenges the Sonship

of Christ. Before the rise of Islam some followers

of Christianity, mostly of heathen backgrounds,

spread a heresy which said that the Virgin Mary

was a goddess. Perhaps they identified her with

their goddess "Al-Zahra". This heretical group

called themselves "Maryamites" or the Followers

of Mary. The scholar Ahmad Al-Makreezy men-

tioned them in his book, "Al-Kawl-Al-Ibreezy"

(p. 26). Likewise another writer, Ibn-Hazm, refers

to this heresy in his book, "Al-Milal Wal-Ahwaa

Wal-Nihal" (p. 47). At present there is not a single

Christian who believes in it. In fact Christians

consider it to be an insult aimed at the majesty of a

holy God who transcends all bodily attributes.

Christian theologians fought this error vigorously

using every Scriptural and logical argument until

it disappeared by the end of the seventh century.

From the foregoing we can see that the Koran

did not criticize the Christian's doctrine but only

this Maryamite heresy whose origins were hea-

then. Because heathenism was common through-

out Egypt, Arabia and Greece its adherents be-

lieved that their gods married and had children.

Christians, however, do not believe the sonship of

Christ to be after the manner of physical procrea-

tion through a consort. They believe him to be the

Son of God in the sense of issuing from Himself in

the Divine Being. "He is the Word of God and

from His Spirit."

Paul the apostle referred to this truth when he

stated: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to

be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God -

the gospel he promised beforehand through his

prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son,

who as to his human nature was a descendant of

David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was

declared with power to be the Son of God by his

resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our

Lord" (Romans 1:1-4).

In reviewing the sayings of Christ we find clear

declarations confirming his divine sonship, for

instance: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,

for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my

Father in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each

of you..." (Matthew 18:35).

"Why were you searching for me? Didn't you

know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke

2:49).

And Jesus answered them, "My Father is

always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am

working" (John 5:17).

We also read in the Gospel, "I have shown you

many great miracles from the Father. For which of

these do you stone me?" (John 10:32).

The Gospel account of Christ's baptism in the

river Jordan, relates that a voice from heaven was

heard on that occasion saying: "... this is my Son,

whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matt-

hew 3:17).

And now let us return to the verse of the Koran:

"Who has not begotten, and has not been be-

gotten." Imam Al-Baidawi interprets it as follows:

"has not begotten," in the sense that he had no

sexual relationship and was not in need of a helper

(or consort), nor a successor... "and has not

been begotten" means, he lacks nothing and no

emptiness precedes him. So "birth" (or begetting)

as used in the Sura Al-Ikhals cannot mean

anything but birth in the sexual, physical sense.

And this, categorically, is not the belief of the

Christians!

II. TH€ nil€G€D PR€-€MIN€NC€ OF MUHRMMRD

Muslims consider Muhammad to be superior to

all other prophets.

If Christ were only a prophet, I would have had

debated with you to find out who is greater. How-

ever, there is no question that Christ is greater

than all other prophets and all the angels and

archangels. He is above all creation in heaven

and on earth: above that which is seen and unseen.

So it is unnecessary to discuss this subject further.

In John 1:1-5 we read about Christ: "In the be-

ginning was the Word, and the Word was with

God, and the Word was God. He was with God in

the beginning. Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been

made. In him was life, and that life was the light of

men. The light shines in the darkness, but the

darkness has not understood it." Hebrews 3:1-6

says, "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the

heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the

apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was

faithful to the one who appointed him, just as

Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has

been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,

just as the builder of a house has greater honor

than the house itself. For every house is built by

someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house,

testifying as a son over God's house. And we are

his house, if we hold on to our courage and the

hope of which we boast."

We also read in Hebrews 1:1-6, "In the past

God spoke to our forefathers through the pro-

phets at many times and in various ways, but in

these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed heir of all things, and through

whom he made the universe. The Son is the radi-

ance of God's glory and the exact representation

of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful

word. After he had provided purification for sins,

he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in

heaven. So he became as much superior to the

angels as the name he has inherited is superior to

theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say,

'You are my Son; today I have become your

Father?' Or again, when God brings his firstborn

into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels

10

worship him.'" Psalm 2:7 says, "You are my Son;

today I have become your Father." Further, we

read in Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the

invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

11

III. TH€ fllTCROTION OF TH€ GOSP6L

Any religious book may be accused of altera-

tion. But there is a difference between making an

accusation and providing evidence for your accu-

sation. Your first 'proof is that the New Testa-

ment forbids divorce while the Koran allows it;

and the Gospel allows wine while the Koran prohi-

bits it. This seems surely to be quite a weak objec-

tion not based on true understanding for two

reasons:

1. The Gospel did not prohibit divorce, but

sought to limit the arguments of the Scribes and

Pharisees in interpreting the law of the Torah

concerning divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1). Christ

urged the people to go back to what God ordained

in the beginning (Genesis 2:24), namely, that man

and woman remain together for life. This was to

preserve the welfare of the family, to safeguard

public morals and to preserve the respect for the

wife as mother and spiritual partner with the hus-

band. Nevertheless, Christ allowed divorce only in

the case of adultery by either partner, a deed that

would loosen the marriage tie (Matthew 5:31). We

12

have seen in recent years that some Muslim think-

ers and leaders have imposed laws forbidding

capricious divorce in order to safeguard the integ-

rity of the family and nation. This may have been

in response to the prophetic tradition which says:

"To God the most hateful concess is divorce"

(Sunan Abi Davood Book 13 Section 3).

2. The gospel does not encourage drinking

wine, on the contrary it warns against it saying,

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is

dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephe-

sians 5:18). It also says, "Do not be deceived:

Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor

adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual

offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunk-

ards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the

kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9-10).

Furthermore, the differences which exist be-

tween the Gospel and the Koran in legal matters do

not entitle you to judge that the Gospel has been

altered. If we were to start from this premise, what

is there to prevent the Christian from saying that

the Koran has been altered because it allows di-

vorce for reasons not recognized in the gospel?

13

IV. TH€ GOSPCL SRVS THAT CHRIST (I'SR)

UJHS CRUCIFI6D, BUT TH€ KORRN SRVS

THRT H€ UJRS NOT CRUCIFICD.

You seem to be like many people who try to

hold on to the letter of the Koranic text forgetting

that the Koran itself relates to us the Jewish na-

tion's testimony that they crucified Christ. For it

says, "We slew the Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary,

The Messenger of God" (Surat Al-Nisa 157).

The Jewish nation has handed down this tradi-

tion from father to son from the first century until

today. But their testimony is not the only one

regarding the crucifixion of Christ. The following

are the reports of others who also testified to this

great event:

1. The Prophecies: This is evidence which can-

not be denied. Centuries earlier the prophets were

inspired to write many of the details surrounding

the death of Christ on the cross; such as,

a) Selling Christ for thirty silver coins - "I told

them, 'If you think it best, give me my pay;

14

but if not, keep it'. So they paid me thirty

pieces of silver" (Zechariah 11:12).

2. Buying the potter's field with the money -

"And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the

potter' - the handsome price at which they

priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of

silver and threw them into the house of the

Lord to the potter" (Zechariah 11:13).

3. Mocking and deriding Christ before his cru-

cifixion - "Dogs have surrounded me; a

bank of evil men has encircled me, they have

pierced my hands and my feet. I can count

all my bones; people stare and gloat over

me" (Psalm 22:16,17).

4. The terrible wounds He received - "But he

was pierced for our transgressions, he was

crushed for our iniquities; the punishment

that brought us peace was upon him, and by

his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

5. He was silent in affliction - "He was oppress-

ed and afflicted, yet he did not open his

mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaugh-

ter, and as a sheep before her shearers is

15

16

silent, so he did not open his mouth" (Isaiah

53:7).

6. He was whipped and spat upon - "I offered

my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to

those who pulled out my beard; I did not

hide my face from mocking and spitting"

(Isaiah 50:6).

7. They laughed at him - "Many bulls surround

me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

Roaring lions tearing their prey open their

mouths wide against me" (Psalm 22:12,13).

h) They divided his garments among them-

selves and cast lots for his clothing - "They

divide my garments among them and cast

lots for my clothing" (Psalm 22:18).

i) He enquires why the Father has forsaken

him - "My God, my God, why have you

forsaken me? Why are you so far from the

words of my groaning?" (Psalm 22:1).

j) A spear would pierce his side - "... they will

look on me, the one they have pierced, and

they will mourn for him as one mourns for

an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as

one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zechariah

12:10).

k) He would be crucified between thieves and

buried with the rich - "He was assigned a

grave with the wicked, and with the rich in

his death, though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah

53:9).

1) Not one of his bones will be broken - "He

protects all his bones, not one of them will

be broken" (Psalm 34:20).

When we read the New Testament account we

see that all these prophecies were fulfilled to the

letter.

2. The Sign of the Cross: The early Christians

used the sign of the cross as a means of identifica-

tion when they were persecuted. They carved the

cross on their graves and in the catacombs where

they met, hiding from the tyranny of the Roman

emperor, Nero. Anyone visiting Rome can ob-

serve these signs.

17

3. The Preaching of Christ Crucified by His

Disciples: Peter said to the Jews, "Men of Israel,

listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accred-

ited by God to you by miracles, wonders and

signs, which God did among you through him, as

you yourselves know. This man was handed over

to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge;

and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to

death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised

him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of

death, because it was impossible for death to keep

its hold on him" (Acts 2:22-24).

4. The Proclamations of Christ Himself. The

writers of the Gospels reported that Christ men-

tioned his crucifixion and death frequently and

that their salvation from sin required his death on

the cross. The following is one example of such an

occasion: "Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusa-

lem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to

them, 'We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son

of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the

teachers of the law. They will condemn him to

death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be

mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third

day he will be raised to life!" (Matthew 20:17-19).

18

5. The Consistent Witness of Christian Tradi-

tions: Since the dawn of Christianity Christ's

followers have been celebrating 'The Lord's

Supper', which is also called 'the fellowship of the

Body and Blood of Christ'. This commandment

was ordained by Christ himself in the night that he

was betrayed. He told his disciples to do this in

remembrance of him. Christ said, "'I have eagerly

desired to eat this Passover with you before I

suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it

finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God'. After

taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, 'Take this

and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not

drink again of the fruit of the vine until the

kingdom of God comes.' And he took bread, gave

thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,

'This is my body given for you; do this in

remembrance of me'" (Luke: 15-19).

Christ gave a confirmation that he died to atone

for our sins and was the sacrifice for mankind. The

disciples practised this sacrament and passed it on

to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was

betrayed, took bread, and when he had given

thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body,

19

which is for you; do this is remembrance of me."

In the same way, after supper he took the cup,

saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood;

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of

me" (I Corinthians 11:23-25).

6. The Testimony of History: History also re-

corded Christ's death. Historians recorded this

event, devoting lengthy passages to it in their ac-

counts. Some of those historians were: Tacitus, the

heathen historian, in the year 55 A.D.; Lucian,

the Greek, writing in 100 A. D.; Josephus, the Jew,

who lived a few years after the crucifixion. All the

writings agree with the Gospel account in regard

to the birth, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrec-

tion of Christ.

7. The Testimony of the Roman Records: The

most important record is a report which Pilate

sent to Caesar Tiberias. In it he explains in detail

the activities of Christ, the accusations of the Jews

against him, and how it was necessary for him to

pass the death sentence on him by crucifixion in

order to avoid a riot. This document was one of

the foremost documents which the Christian schol-

20

ar, Tertullian, used in his famous defence of the

Christians.

8. The Testimony of the Jewish Talmud: It is

well-known to all that the Jews are the nation

which follow the Torah written by Moses. Few

know the other important book of Jewish tradition

known as the 'Talmud'. This book contains a col-

lection of traditions from their forefathers, which,

in many instances, is a substitute for the Law of

God. Jesus rebuked them in this matter by saying,

"And why do you break the command of God for

the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3).

In the Talmud we read on page 42 that, "Jesus

was crucified one day before the passover, and

that it had been foretold 40 days earlier that he

would be killed because he was a magician and

purposed to deceive Israel and lead them astray."

9. The Testimony of the Koran: There are at

least five passages in the Koran which confirm the

death of Christ. Three of them use the words

'death' or 'expiration':

1. Sura Maryam 30

2. Sura Al-Imran 55

3. Sura Al-Maidah 116-117

21

The others use the word 'kill':

1. Sura Al-Baqarah 87

2. Sura Al-Imran 183

10. The Resurrection of Christ: The resurrec-

tion of Christ is perhaps the strongest evidence of

his death on the cross, because the holy Gospel

tells us that "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked

Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a

disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the

Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took

the body. He was accompanied by Nicodemus,

the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,

about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the

two of them wrapped it with strips of linen. This

was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At

the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a

garden and in the garden a new tomb, in which no

one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish

day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby,

they laid Jesus there" (John 19:38-42). But on the

third day, before dawn, a great earthquake happen-

ed, for the angel of the Lord descended from

heaven and rolled away the large stone from the

22

door of the tomb. This frightened the guards, who

at Pilate's orders were guarding the dead after

they had sealed the tomb. It may be that the

dazzling form of the angel prevented the guards

from seeing that Christ had risen, when that took

place. However, the angel himself informed Mary

Magdalene and her companions that Christ had

risen, when they arrived early in the morning to

visit the dead.

Hence, the Resurrection is an incontrovertible

proof that the one crucified was Jesus Christ,

because Jesus himself had told the Jews, "Destroy

this temple and I will raise it again in three days"

(John 2:19). Everyone who denies this is virtually

accusing God, Christ and the angels of collusion

to deceive mankind.

The Jews' purpose in doing away with Jesus

was to stop the spread of Christianity, because

they perceived in His message an end to their

narrow fanatical racism. So when they succeeded

in convincing the Roman authorities to execute

Him, and He was laid in the tomb, they thought

they had attained their goal. But the Gospel of

God cannot be curbed by the forces of evil. It

23

didn't take long before it had spread to the far-

thest corners of the earth. There were thousands

who were attracted to the cross of Christ.

And so the Jews did not achieve their ends, but

only imagined that they had done so... Hence, the

words of the Koran, coming six hundred years

later. Those who were in dispute about him were

not sure of their facts and thought their own

thoughts to be true. They did not actually kill him,

because "He rose after three days!" The words of

the Koran, then, came as an affirmation of this

tremendous event: "Peace be upon me the day I

was born and the day I die, and the day I am raised

up alive" (Sura Maryam 34). And, "Jesus I will

take thee to Me and will raise Thee to Me, and I

will purify Thee of those who believe not..." (Su-

ra Al-Imran 55).

And now allow me to deal with the fanciful

tale which you mentioned in your letter which is

no more than a fable widespread among Muslims.

In short, it claims that a substitute was crucified in

place of Christ. Let me say that the prophetic

utterances before the Incarnation, as well as the

declarations of Christ himself makes of this "sub-

24

stitute" fable not only an unsuccessful invention

but also a very poor myth. Its worse fault is that it

makes God - the Exalted, the Esteemed, appear

unjust and as a deceiver. What greater injustice is

there than that he should cast the likeness of

Christ on another, who would then die in his

place, without the victim having a say in the

matter. And what worse deceit is there than from

God to inspire the prophets that Christ would be

coming to redeem the world by his sacrificial

death, thus removing their sin. Yet when the hour

would come he should change his plans, allowing

another to be put to death without explaining the

reasons, leaving people in doubt as to his honesty?

Did it not occur to you that the one wrongly

sacrificed would have filled the world with his

cries of innocence before being led to death?

Yes, such a story is so poor that everyone of

sound mind must reject it. Consequently, respec-

table Muslim scholars have rejected it, foremost

among whom is that authority Fakhr-Ed-Deen

Al-Razi. It was he who thoroughly investigated it,

concluding that it is a fabrication or a willful

distortion of received traditions. Read his com-

mentary on this subject in his exposition of Sura

Al-Imran 55.

25

V. RITCROTION OF TH€ SCRIPTURES

You said in your letter: "I believe that Fsa,

(Peace be upon Him), when he knew of their

conspiracy to crucify him 'left His book on earth.'

When the one who resembled was crucified, all

those books were burned. So certain people re-

wrote some of what they knew, adding much extra-

neous matter of their own invention. This explains

to us how there came to be a multiplicity of gos-

pels, each differing from the other. By contrast the

Koran was not fragmented nor altered. Likewise

the Torah was altered for it is no longer what

descended on Moses."

I do not wish to argue with you on the likeli-

hood that the Koran was fragmented or altered;

that is not my business. However, I first have the

basic right to enquire of you which books were

burnt completely? If you refer to the books of the

Gospel (Injil) this is an impossibility since they

had not been written as yet. If the books of the

Torah are meant, these were always strictly guard-

ed in the temples and synagogues. I do not know

if you mean literally that Jesus had a book which

26

he left on earth to fall into the hands of book-

burners; or that they altered its text or portions of

it.

I do not think that even a single Muslim in the

world would agree with you on this story which is

unacceptable to the logical mind. Especially since

the Muslim's Koran witnessed to the veracity of

the gospel, saying, "O People of the Book! You do

not stand on anything, until you perform the

Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to

you from your Lord" (Al-Maidah, 71). And, "So

let the People of the Gospel judge according to

what God has sent down therein. Whosoever

judges not according to what God has sent down

they are the ungodly" (Sura Al-Maidah, 47).

If we add to these verses the charge to Muham-

mad to believe in what was written in the Holy

Bible (Sura Al-Shura, 15) you are faced with an

embarrassing question, namely: Is it right that,

hundreds of years after Christ's ascension to

heaven, God should call Muhammad to believe in

a defective book?

I don't think you are ignorant of the fact that

27

Muslims in every generation and age were enjoin-

ed by the Koran to believe the Holy Bible. For it

says, "O ye believers! Believe in God and his

Messenger, and in the Book which He has sent to

His Messenger, and the Book which he sent down

before" (Sura Al-Nisa, 135). And, "He has laid

down for you as religion that which He charged

Noah with, that We have revealed to thee, and that

we charged Abraham with, Moses and Jesus: 'Per-

form the religion, and scatter not regarding it'"

(Sura Al-Shura, 13).

If we delve deeply in the study of the Koran we

find within its pages not only tens of witnesses to

the truth of the Torah and the Gospel but also

several promises from God to maintain His word

free from tampering and alternation. Among

them are the following:

"It is We who have sent down the Remem-

brance and we watch over it" (Sura Al-Hijr, 9).

"... And Thou shalt find no changing the want

of God" (Sura Al-Ahzab, 62).

"No man can change the words of God" (Sura

Al-An'am, 34).

28

To say that the Word of God has been changed

is an admission that His promises written in the

Koran to safeguard that Word have failed. This is

impossible since God is faithful and just, able to

keep his Word. This is especially true since His

truth and His holiness demand it. Lastly, what,

my friend, can you make of the Koran when it

says, "Say, Bring a Book from God that gives

better guidance than these (The Torah and the

Gospel) and follow it, if you speak truly" (Sura

Al-Qasas, 49).

And now in fairness to the truth, I cannot but

ask those who allege alterations to the Scriptures

to say when these alterations occured.

If they occurred before the rise of Islam, then

why did the Koran testify to the Holy Bible, confir-

ming its contents and attesting their truth? If the

alleged changes occurred after the spread of Islam

this claim is also invalid since there are ancient

manuscripts of the Holy Bible kept in museums

which predate Islam by three centuries. The text of

these manuscripts do not differ in any respect

from the texts of copies in current circulation.

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In this connection I cannot help asking if it

would be right for the Koran to testify to the

precious Scriptures as being Truth sent down by

God for man's guidance and mercy and subse-

quently attribute change to it? In practise, if such a

thing had happened it would have meant that the

Koran had failed in its task as guardian of the

Book. For it says: "And we have sent down to thee

the Book with the truth, confirming the Book that

was before it, and assuring it" (Al-Maidah, 48).

There is one final question concerning this sub-

ject: What is the position of those alleging change

in the face of solid (logical) factors which put an

end to the controversy about the Torah having

been changed? It is unreasonable to say that the

Jews changed it before Christ. Otherwise Christ

would not have attested to it and quoted from it.

Equally unreasonable is the view that they altered

it after Christ because it would have met with

opposition from the Christians. Indeed it would

have been impossible for the Jews and the Chris-

tians to agree on changing the contents of the

Holy Books, firstly because these are people at

odds with each other, and, secondly because the

30

Holy Bible had spread throughout the whole

world and in many languages. There wa> ao way

to collect the countless copies of it in order to

corrupt its text.

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VI. MflNV GOSPCLS

Your claim that the existence of more than one

Gospel and Epistle proves that their substance

has been changed, is regrettable. It seems you do

not realize that the four Gospels, the Epistles, the

Book of Revelation and the Book of Acts together

comprise the "New Testament". Therefore,

having a number of books in the New Testament

does not mean that the Gospel has been corrupted

any more than the existence of 114 Suras in the

Koran would constitute proof that the Koran is

corrupted.

TO EVERY QUESTION

THERE IS AN ANSWER:

If our interpretation in this book has not dealt

with the verse for which you desired explanations,

or if you have any question concerning the Word

of God, please write to us. We, prompted by love,

are willing to reply to any inquiries you may have

in your mind and heart. Send your questions to:

32

HOW CAN WE KNOW THE TRUTH

OF THE GOSPEL?

Dear Reader:

If you reply to 27 questions correctly, we will

send you another booklet from our list of publi-

cations.

1. What do you understand of verse 95 of Sura

Yunus?

2. Did the Koran attack the Maryamite Heresy,

and why?

3. Does orthodox Christianity accept or deny

the beliefs and heresy of the Maryamites?

4. Are the Koran's criticisms of the violent at-

tacks on infidelity and polytheism aimed at

Christians or Maryamites?

5. Show the difference between the beliefs of the

Christians regarding Christ and those of the

Maryamites.

33

6. Explain in what sense Christians regard Christ

to be "Son of God".

7. Give some of Jesus' statements which confirm

his divine Sonship.

8. What type of birth is referred to in the Sura

Al-Ikhals?

9. Is Jesus merely a Prophet? Are we right in

comparing Him with others?

10. Write a brief summary of your understanding

of the texts from Hebrews 1:1-6 and Psalm 2:7.

11. How did Christ explain the commandment

regarding divorce in the Gospel?

12. In what circumstance did Christ permit di-

vorce?

13. What is the teaching of the Gospel regarding

liquor and intoxicants?

14. Do the differences between the Koran and the

Gospel entitle us to claim that either or both

have been changed?

15. What is the testimony of the Jews which the

34

Koran relates concerning the crucifixion of

Christ?

16. Is the testimony of the Jews the only proof of

the crucifixion of Christ?

17. Mention some of the prophecies which are

connected with the death of Christ.

18. What sign did the early Christians use for

identification?

19. What are the contents of Acts chapter 2 verses

22-24?

20. Did Christ declare that He would be crucified

while He was still alive? Where?

21. What ritual do the followers of Christ observe

to demonstrate His death, resurrection and

return?

22. Is there anything in history which supports the

Gospels claim about the crucifixion of Christ?

23. What is the name of the Jews' second book?

Does it mention the crucifixion of Christ?

24. How many references are there in the Koran

supporting the death of Christ?

35

25. Which is the strongest evidence for the death

of Christ on a cross?

26. Who asked Pilate for the body of Christ

when he hung on the cross?

27. What happened 3 days after the death of

Christ?

28. What do you understand of the expression,

"only a likeness of that was shown to them"?

29. Who was the Muslim scholar who refuted the

story about the "likeness" or a substitute

being crucified in place of Christ?

30. Does the Koran testify to the veracity of the

Gospel?

31. Does the Koran call upon the People of the

Book to establish what is in their book of laws

or in others?

32. Were Muhammad and his nation called to

believe in the Holy Bible?

33. What do you understand of Sura Al-Qisas, 49?

34. Can the Koran survive if the claim persists

that the Bible was altered?

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35. Is it possible to collect all copies of the Bible

from every corner of the globe in order to alter

it?

36. What does the New Testament consist of?

Send us your answers, together with your full

address clearly written, to the following address:

37

Table of Contents

How Can We Know the Truth of the Gospel?