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A Study of IslamBy David E. PrattePart II - Mohammed vs. Jesus Since Islam claims that Mohammed is greater than Jesus, let us compare their character, claims, and proofs. I. Claims A. Islam Mohammed claimed he was the last and greatest of the prophets, even greater than Jesus. Islam claims that the exact words of the Koran were given to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel, and therefore the Koran is verbally inspired. [CRI-46-50,33; WR-99] Islam claims Jesus was a great prophet, but not Divine and not the unique Son of God. It admits Jesus did miracles, but denies He died as a substitutionary sacrifice to save people from their sins or that He arose from the dead. (Koran, 4:160,169; 6:90) [WR-100f; CRI-49,77] B. The Gospel We earlier studied passages where the gospel claims Jesus was the Divine Son of God, that He did die to save men from their sins, and that He arose from the dead. It offers eyewitness testimony as proof. Note that, whereas Mohammed made the general claim to be greater than Jesus, the actual specific claims of Jesus were greater than any Mohammed ever made. Furthermore, if Jesus really made these claims, then Islam must be false. If Jesus' claims are true, then Mohammed cannot be greater than Jesus as he claimed. On the other hand, if Jesus' claims are false, then Islam is still false, since it claimed that Jesus was a true prophet. Either way, if Jesus made these claims, Islam is false. Islam, therefore, denies Jesus ever made these claims. We have cited passages where He made the claims, but Islam denies those passages are genuine. So we must consider whether or not the Bible is an accurate record. And we must compare the evidence for Mohammed's claims to the evidence Jesus' claims. Anyone can make claims. What proof is there? II. Character A. Jesus The New Testament repeatedly claims Jesus never sinned (Hebrews 4:15 ; 1 Peter 2:22 ; etc.). Moslems generally admit Jesus never sinned. The Koran nowhere claims that He sinned. [CRI-47ff]. So we have complete agreement that Jesus was a person of pure morals, wisdom, courage, love, and every other quality of goodness. B. Mohammed Many Moslems claim that Mohammed also never sinned. But compare his life to Jesus' life: Broken treaties While ruling in Medina, Mohammed made a treaty not to attack Mecca for ten years. He then attacked them the very next year. [CRI-33f] Violence and assassination Mohammed used violence, including assassination, to defeat and convert men to Islam [WR-98; EB, XV-648]. Jesus converted people by teaching, persuasion, and example. He never used force, nor would He allow His disciples to use force, even when His enemies attacked Him. Polygamy Mohammed had 12 wives and 2 concubines at the time of his death. [CRI-32] Revelations for personal convenience and benefit
Mohammed himself never claimed to be sinless. In fact he admitted he and other prophets committed sin. But he never claimed that Jesus sinned. [CRI-26,50; WR-99] So, whereas Christians and Moslems agree Jesus was sinless, there is much reason to doubt Mohammed's sinlessness. Based on their character then, who was greater: Mohammed or Jesus? [WR-98; for other examples, see Hutto-El Dareer Debate, p. 106] III. Fulfilled Prophecy Jesus unquestionably fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, and He Himself accurately predicted future events. What about Mohammed? A. Islam Claims that the Bible Was Changed to Eliminate Prophecies of Mohammed. Some prophecies, that Moslems claim refer to Mohammed, were actually fulfilled in Jesus. But Moslems claim that Mohammed fulfilled other prophecies, but Jews and Christians changed their own Scriptures to remove these prophecies and destroy the evidence. [CRI-27,49f,70f,78; WR-101] For example John 16:7 predicts the coming of the "Comforter." Moslems claim this originally used the word "praised," which is the meaning of Mohammed. But to cover it up, the Scriptures were changed. [CRI-78; WR-101] But where is the proof of these changes in the Bible? As noted earlier, Moslems also argue that the Bible was changed to make it appear that Jesus was the Son of God, that he died for our sins and arose from the dead, etc. Where is the proof of these changes? There is none. However, there is much proof for the accuracy of the Bible. The claims of Islam would require wholesale changes in the Scriptures. As cited earlier, numerous Scriptures claim Jesus was the Son of God, etc. If the Bible did not originally teach this but did prophesy of Mohammed, then wholesale changes must have been made. For example, the context of John 16:7 plainly states that the "Comforter" is the Holy Spirit (John 14:16 , John 14:26 ; and John 15:26 ). If this originally referred to Mohammed, major changes must have been made in the text. The same is true for the many other teachings we have listed on which the Bible contradicts Islam. The Bible promises that God would preserve His word forever. 1 Peter 1:23-25 - God's word is incorruptible seed that will live and abide forever. It will not be like grass that grows and then fades. [ Isaiah 40:8 ] 2 John 2 - The truth will be with us forever. Moslems say that God failed to keep these promises, but He allowed the Bible message to become thoroughly corrupted. [ Matthew 24:35 ] Interestingly, the Koran contains similar promises that God would preserve it from corruption (15:9 p141). If Moslems believe God preserved the Koran without corruption, why would He not do the same for the Bible, which they also agree is from God? Further, the Koran claims to confirm the Scripture that Jews and Christians had (2:89 - p18). Since the Bible we have today is the same as existed in Mohammed's day, did the Koran confirm that which was corrupted? The Bible repeatedly rebukes those who change its message. Deuteronomy 4:2 ; Proverbs 3:5-6 ; Galatians 1:8-9 ; Revelation 22:18-19 and many other passages condemn changing the Scriptures. If Jews and Christians changed their Scriptures, as Moslems claim they did, then they knowingly and repeatedly violated these passages in their own Scriptures. Rather, because of these warnings, both Jews and Christians have shown great care in making copies of their Scriptures through the centuries. Work was checked repeatedly, counting numbers of words and letters on each page, and proofreading each page to make sure no changes occurred. The result is that many ancient manuscripts verify the accuracy of the Bible as we have it today.
If the claims of Islam are true, then all these writings should read as Islam claims that they originally read. But instead, all these ancient sources read just like modern copies of the Scriptures. There is no evidence of any kind that changes were made after Mohammed lived. How could it be that all the copies of the Scriptures that existed in Mohammed's time were found and changed, all at the same time and all in the same way, just to disprove Islam? Why can't Moslems produce some manuscripts that still contain the passages Islam says existed? Why didn't ancient Moslems find some of these manuscripts and save them? Why is it that we have so much evidence of the ancient content of the Bible, and none of the evidence agrees with Islam? If the Jews changed their Scriptures to eliminate prophecies of Mohammed, why did they not do the same with the prophecies of Jesus? Old Testament prophecy is one of the strongest proofs of Jesus' identity. Christians do not have to claim that these prophecies once existed but were removed. They are all right there in the Old Testament! Jesus and His apostles respected and used the Jews' Old Testament Scriptures. They claimed the Scriptures were from God and quoted them just as they were. To prove their case, they never needed to claim that parts of the Scriptures were changed. Why can't Moslems do the same? What motive would Jews have for removing the prophecies of Mohammed but not the ones of Jesus? The fact remains that Christians have proof of hundreds of prophecies in the Jews' Old Testament as it exists now that Jesus fulfilled. Yet Moslems can find no prophecies fulfilled by Mohammed anywhere in the Bible. They claim Mohammed is greater than Jesus. Why should they not have evidence at least as great as we have for Jesus? B. There Is No Evidence Mohammed Could Predict the Future. Unquestionably Jesus accurately predicted the future. Even Islam admits Jesus was a prophet. The ability to predict the future is one proof of a prophet. Yet Mohammed rarely attempted to predict the future, and when he did he failed. Mohammed once predicted there would be 73 sects of Islam, of which only one would survive. But Moslems admit there have been far more than 73. And today many sects, not just one, still survive. [EB, XII-711] Deuteronomy 18:21 - When a man predicts the future and the prediction fails, he is not from God, so do not be afraid of him. Islam claims that Mohammed is a prophet like Moses and Jesus. Both Moses and Jesus made prophecies, all of them came true, none failed. Mohammed made few prophecies, yet even so at least one of them failed. How then can Mohammed be a prophet like Moses and Jesus, let alone be a greater prophet than Jesus? IV. Miracles A. Many Eyewitnesses Testify that Jesus Did Miracles. The Bible records many testimonies from people who saw His miracles. Even Jesus' enemies and opponents during His lifetime admitted He did miracles. The Koran confirms that Jesus did miracles (2:250, p31). [CRI-48ff; EB, XV-648] So, there can be no doubt that Jesus did miracles. But remember that the purpose of His miracles was to confirm that all His claims are true. B. What Evidence Is There that Mohammed Worked Miracles? No eyewitnesses testify seeing Mohammed do Miracles. Usually, there are no serious claims that Mohammed did miracles to confirm his message. When people do make such claims, they base them, not on eyewitness testimony, but on tradition or fables written years after the alleged events. For example, one night Mohammed was allegedly carried to Jerusalem and from there ascended into heaven to see wonderful visions. However, no one saw it happen. His wife says he never left the bed. [CRI-24] There is absolutely no eyewitness testimony to confirm any miracles done by Mohammed. [CRI-25; WR-97] Moslems commonly claim that the writing of the Koran is a miracle. We will see later that it is entirely possible for someone to write such a book by human wisdom. Nevertheless, this is an invalid use of miracles. True miracles are events, in addition to the delivery of a revelation, done for the purpose of confirming the revelation to be from God (see references under evidences). While we should examine the revelation itself for evidence, that is a separate argument from miracles. When one claims that the revelation itself is a miracle to confirm the revelation, he proves that he does not understand the purpose of miracles. [WR-97] Others claim the rapid growth of Islam is a miracle. Islam did grow very rapidly, but much of it came by military conquest. If that proves Islam is from God, then what about Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar? Do the military conquests of these men confirm that their religious beliefs were revealed from God? Islam claims to believe in Moses and the Old Testament and in Jesus and the gospel. We have overwhelming evidence that Moses and Jesus did miracles to confirm the Divine origin of their revelations - evidence so clear even their enemies and Moslems admit the miracles. If Mohammed's teachings replace Moses' and Jesus' teachings, then Mohammed must also have done miracles like Moses and Jesus did. But Mohammed's evidence is insignificant compared to that of Moses and Jesus. How then can Mohammed be a prophet like Moses and Jesus, let alone be a greater prophet than Jesus? V. Resurrection from the Dead A. Jesus' Resurrection Is the Greatest Miracle of All. Many eyewitnesses testify to Jesus' resurrection. Moslems admit Jesus did other miracles, but deny He arose. Yet the evidence for the resurrection is far more abundant and convincing than the evidence for any other miracle He did. This evidence is recorded in many ancient copies of the Scriptures written before Mohammed's time. There is no evidence whatever that these records were corrupted in later years. Yet Moslems, who came some 600 years after Jesus, deny the eyewitness testimony. B. Moslems Do Not Even Claim Mohammed Arose from the Dead. Moslems hope someday they and Mohammed will be raised from the dead, but their hope is based on the teaching of a man still in His grave. The Christian hope is based on the example of one who arose to prove that we will all be raised. Moslems try to discredit the evidence of Jesus' resurrection, but that evidence is far more conclusive than any evidence that Mohammed did any miracles. How then can Mohammed be a greater prophet than Jesus? VI. Unity of Scripture A proof of the Bible is the unity of its teaching. Though some 40 different men penned its various books, yet these writings are completely harmonious with no contradictions. This is evidence that it is all the product of the mind of God, just like it claims. There are no conflicts in history or geography between the Old and New Testaments. Gospel writers often use Old Testament prophecy and teaching to confirm that the New Testament fulfilled the Old. A. Mohammed's Teaching Often Contradicts with the Bible. We might expect some difference in doctrine, since Moslems claim the Koran replaced the gospel. But there should be no conflict of history or eternal principles. Note some examples: [CRI-48; WR-95; EB, XIII-483]
Moslems try to rationalize by claiming that the Koran has been preserved accurately but the Bible has been perverted. Hence, whenever there is conflict, the Bible is wrong and the Koran is right. Yet consider again how much of the Bible this means has been corrupted. And remember that God promised He would not let His word be destroyed. There is no historical evidence that the Bible has been corrupted and much evidence that it has not been. If God can preserve the Koran without allowing it to be corrupted, why can he not preserve the Bible in the same way? (See above). Christians also claim to believe the Old Testament, but in order to prove our case we never need to argue that the Old Testament has been corrupted. On the contrary, Jesus and His apostles and all Christians take the Old Testament, just as it is, and use it to substantiate our case (Acts 17:1-3 , Acts 17:11 ;). Islam claims to believe in both the Old and New Testament. Yet to make their case, they must repeatedly claim that the Old and New Testaments are corrupt. Why can't they prove their claim, using the Bible as we have it, like Christians can do using the Old Testament? Why must they discredit the very messages they claim are from God? B. Mohammed's Teaching Contradicts Itself. The Bible does not contradict itself, despite being written by 40 different men from widely different circumstances. Just one man wrote the Koran so, if it had no self-contradictions, it would prove little. However, it turns out that this one man did contradict himself.
Jesus' teachings harmonize with all previous Divine revelation, without arguing that it has been corrupted. But Mohammed's teaching conflicts with previous revelation that he admits was from God. Jesus never changed His teaching and never contradicted Himself (1 Corinthians 1:13 ), but Mohammed contradicted himself and changed his teachings several times. How then can Mohammed be a greater prophet than Jesus? Conclusion The evidence confirms the gospel of Jesus, not Islam. Moslems make many claims for Islam, but there is no real proof that Islam is true. Anyone can make claims. Proving them is another matter. Christians accept Jesus and His gospel, but reject Mohammed and Islam, on the basis of proof. The evidence is that:
The evidence proves, not only that Mohammed was not a greater prophet than Jesus, but that Mohammed was not a true prophet of God at all. His teaching bears none of the proofs of true prophetic teaching, but it does bear all the earmarks of being the work of a false prophet. (Matthew 7:15-23 ; Matthew 15:14 ; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ; 1 Timothy 4:1-3 ; Acts 20:28-30 ; 1 John 4:1 ; 2 Timothy 4:2-4 ; Titus 1:9-14 ; 2 John 9-11 ; Romans 16:17-18 ; Galatians 1:6-9 ; 2 Peter 2 ) Why are not more Moslems converted to Christianity? Many Moslems reject the truth for the same reasons other people do: preconceived ideas, prejudices, family teaching, ignorance of the evidence, etc. In addition, Islam is a family and national religion. The government enforces Islam in many countries. One who converts from Islam becomes outcast by family, country, and society. He may face persecution, loss of his job, and perhaps imprisonment or death. Finally, Moslems are repulsed by the immorality they see in "Christian" countries. They will never be converted by people who practice fornication, adultery, immodest clothing, immoral entertainment, drug abuse, abortion, etc. We may view their religion as false, and it is. But they view our society as immoral, and it is. We deny that these immoral people are true Christians, despite their claims. God's true servants not only teach pure doctrine, but they also live pure lives. But the truth of the gospel of Christ is determined, not by the lives of its adherents, but by the life and teaching of Jesus Himself. Philippians 2:9-11 - Jesus has a name that is above every name. To Him every knee will bow and every tongue confess. It follows that Jesus is greater than Mohammed and someday every Moslem will confess it. Everyone ought to confess it now while they have the opportunity to be saved. © David E. Pratte, 2001 Permission is granted to reproduce this material under the following conditions: (1) It must be reproduced completely with no change in content. And (2) Proper credit must be given, including the address below. And (3) No charge or fee of any kind may be charged for this material or for any publication in which it is reproduced. Please contact us if you have further specific questions.
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