My Muslim friend, The Historical Reliability of the Gospel, part Three

The word Injil ("Gospel") is an Arabic translation of the Greek word Evangelion which means "happy message" or "good news," for it proclaims to all the absolute love of God towards sinners through the atoning death of Christ on their behalf; whoever truly believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Before addressing the belief that the Gospel of the Christians has been abrogated, we would say that anyone can accuse someone with whatever accusation he likes-but if there is no convincing evidence to back the accusation, it becomes null and void. Thus, those who say that the Gospel has been abrogated are obliged to mention:

• The original state of the verses abrogated
• The names of those who abrogated the Gospel, the time of abrogation and the purpose behind it.
• How the Gospel managed to be abrogated when, by the second century, thousands of Gospel texts had already spread to different countries in several languages.
• The method the abrogators used to cover up the alleged abrogation, which only the opponents of Christianity supposedly discovered and that hundreds of years after the alleged abrogation had taken place.

Since the opponents did not support their accusation with evidence, their accusation is baseless and ineffective. Nevertheless, we have examined the accusation from different perspectives, coming to the conclusion that the Gospel is free from any abrogation:

The Gospel was not recorded on stone or bone, as was the case with many ancient writings, but very accurately and carefully on papyrus and parchment scrolls. When these scrolls became old, new ones were prepared, as was the case with important Greek and Romans writings. It is clear that no part of the Gospel was lost, nor was a new text inserted in place of the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=891Yo4B_k80

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part Three

There are distinctives and attributes that were given to Christ in the Qur'an that were never given to anyone else who ever he was.

Jesus Christ alone, with no match on earth, emanated from God, for that reason, He did  not need a sexual, genetic birth: "The Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary, God's messenger and His Word that He committed to Mary and a Spirit from Him" (The Women 171). 

http://answering-islam.org/ 

My Muslim friend, The Historical Reliability of the Gospel, part Two

The word Injil ("Gospel") is an Arabic translation of the Greek word Evangelion which means "happy message" or "good news," for it proclaims to all the absolute love of God towards sinners through the atoning death of Christ on their behalf; whoever truly believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Before addressing the belief that the Gospel of the Christians has been abrogated, we would say that anyone can accuse someone with whatever accusation he likes-but if there is no convincing evidence to back the accusation, it becomes null and void. Thus, those who say that the Gospel has been abrogated are obliged to mention:

• The original state of the verses abrogated
• The names of those who abrogated the Gospel, the time of abrogation and the purpose behind it.
• How the Gospel managed to be abrogated when, by the second century, thousands of Gospel texts had already spread to different countries in several languages.
• The method the abrogators used to cover up the alleged abrogation, which only the opponents of Christianity supposedly discovered and that hundreds of years after the alleged abrogation had taken place.

Since the opponents did not support their accusation with evidence, their accusation is baseless and ineffective. Nevertheless, we have examined the accusation from different perspectives, coming to the conclusion that the Gospel is free from any abrogation:

The Gospel had spread in writing, without any revision, among the contemporaries of the Christ and by the second century was translated into several languages:

• After having spread orally throughout many countries in the East and West by the middle of the first century, the Gospel was then written down by people who knew everything about Christ. It was written either in a detailed biography-as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John did-or in the form of an explanation of His principles and teachings as did Paul, Peter, James and others who wrote independent of one another. This proves that they were honest and that there was no conspiracy among them. Each one wrote apart from the other.
• The authors were so different from one another that it would have been impossible for them to agree on an issue unless it had already been an accepted fact for them all. Matthew was a keen accountant; Mark, an enthusiastic young man; Luke, a scrutinizing physician; John, a clear-thinking, self-controlled old man; Paul, a profound philosopher, Peter, a courage striver and James, a well-known expert. While Luke the physician was a highly educated and broadminded Greek, most of the others were strict Jews. None of the authors could have imaged that what he was writing would one day be the Christian Book passing from one generation to the next down the centuries and into all countries. Had they known, one of them might have inserted or deleted something from the biography and teachings of the Christ, in order to make the text more compatible with and appealing to humanistic tastes and tendencies. But their only aim was to record the biography and teachings of the Christ honestly and plainly for the benefit of their contemporaries who had not yet heard about them.

In the second century, copies of the Gospel numbered in the thousands, appearing in several languages for the benefits of those who had adopted Christianity. According to the testimonies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian, the Gospel was recited during worship meetings and many believers from among the Jews and pagans memorized it contents. Since the Gospel was transmitted in thousands of copies and translated into several languages and because it had spread into different countries, being memorized by countless believers, it is impossible that it could have been falsified.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMyaKqtu0TE     

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part Two

There are distinctives and attributes that were given to Christ in the Qur'an that were never given to anyone else who ever he was.

 Jesus Christ alone was distinguished from all humans by being the Word of God, who is the very expression of the self of God and His eternal being: "The Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary, God's messenger and His Word.." (The Women 189; House of Imran 40). Notice, prophets conveyed and preached the Word of God, But Christ was the Word of God.

 Here is some Bible verses for you, my Muslim friend.

John 1:1-4

  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[it.

 

John 1:14

 ⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

 http://answering-islam.org/

 

 

My Muslim friend, The Historical Reliability of the Gospel, part One

The word Injil ("Gospel") is an Arabic translation of the Greek word Evangelion which means "happy message" or "good news," for it proclaims to all the absolute love of God towards sinners through the atoning death of Christ on their behalf; whoever truly believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Before addressing the belief that the Gospel of the Christians has been abrogated, we would say that anyone can accuse someone with whatever accusation he likes-but if there is no convincing evidence to back the accusation, it becomes null and void. Thus, those who say that the Gospel has been abrogated are obliged to mention:

• The original state of the verses abrogated
• The names of those who abrogated the Gospel, the time of abrogation and the purpose behind it.
• How the Gospel managed to be abrogated when, by the second century, thousands of Gospel texts had already spread to different countries in several languages.
• The method the abrogators used to cover up the alleged abrogation, which only the opponents of Christianity supposedly discovered and that hundreds of years after the alleged abrogation had taken place.

Since the opponents did not support their accusation with evidence, their accusation is baseless and ineffective. Nevertheless, we have examined the accusation from different perspectives, coming to the conclusion that the Gospel is free from any abrogation:

Neither the contemporaries of Christ nor their successors questioned the authenticity of any part of the Gospel text:

• Just ten days after the ascension of Christ into heaven, the Gospel began to spread orally among the people of Jerusalem who had lived with Him and knew everything about Him (Acts 2-7). Not even one of them disproved anything mentioned in the Gospel message. After that, in no more than three years, the Gospel spread to many Eastern and Western countries, being translated into the languages of these lands. Most of the inhabitants of these nations were permeated by Greek culture and influence then, so they did not accept the news until it had been thoroughly scrutinized from all angles (see Acts 17:10-12, 19:8-24). Historically, no one accused the evangelists of abrogating or distorting the Gospel.    
• Neither Jews nor pagans, despite their cynicism toward Christian beliefs and practices since the first century (owing to its spiritual essence, far loftier than mere human understanding), accused Christians of deleting from or adding to their Gospel.
• The heathen philosophers who accepted Christianity during the first centuries were famous for their research and debating. They themselves divided into factions over the explanation of particular verses in the Gospel. Each group was hostile toward the other and tried to find fault on various philosophical points. Yet, no group accused any of the others of abrogating the Gospel upon which all parties depended for research and discussion. Thus, their unfiled acceptance of the Gospel text proves they regarded it as authentic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8AQnTO1c1Y 

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part One

There are distinctives and attributes that were given to Christ in the Qur'an that were never given to anyone else who ever he was.
1) Jesus was the only person ever to be born of a virgin, distinguished from all humans and prophets without any exception. The Qur'an says about Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the Angel announced to her the coming baby, as saying: "She said, How shall I have a son, (me) whom no mortal has touched, neither have I been unchased. He said, Even so thy Lord has said, Easy is that for Me and that We may appoint Him a sign unto men and a mercy from Us. It is a thing determined (Mary 16-34).

http://answering-islam.org/