| The True Bible: in the Koran?!!! by Alvin Mitchell copy right 2005 by Alvin Mitchell |
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| This page explores a variety of issues and concerns as raised by "Denver". He wants to know: 1) does the koran negate the Bible?, 2) did Jesus ever claim to be God? 3) what does the Bible say about the shape of the earth? and, 4) is there truth in the Muslims claim that Christians blindly follow the traditions of their parents? Hi’, Denver: Unfortunately, I have not studied Islam or its Koran, nor do I for the most part consider it worthy of the expenditure of time and energy but, I can say that this idea put forth and propagated by the Muslims such that their Koran is superior to our Bible is or appears to be a standard Islamic pitch (Mormons do the same thing, as do Jehovah’s Witnesses—although they use the Bible), and is one full of you-know-what. It seems I remember hearing it said somewhere, once upon a time, something to the affect that the measure of a man lies within the strength of what he says (or was that, “the strength of his word”?), something along those lines, but, Whatever! I believe you get my point. We really have no real way of knowing which collection of documents have the greater value and trustworthiness, except as we examine and analyze each for strength and merit on the basis of its words (its content). The “he said, she said” approach gets us nowhere. That is, whether we are talking about the Bible or the Koran, or the book of the Mormons, either/or has some statement (or statements) to make. In some sense, every statement is accompanied and/or surrounded by some claim. In the case of the Bible, those claims can be divided into, at the very least, two categories: 1) the broadest class being history, and 2) the narrower, no less potent, realm of science (or physics). In fact, the Bible is in reality as it purports to be (even without saying so directly): it is a Book of actual history, not a book of religion (the Bible never, ever claims to be a promoter of any brand of religion; it never coined for itself the terms Judaism or Christianity—those were all invented more or less as “stigmas”, and attached by outside observers, to describe and, in the case of Christianity, to deride or belittle what they saw.). It might be argued, that the strength of either book’s statements hangs, in some measure, on the validity of its claims. This is certainly true in the case of the Bible, given its status as a historical reference. Moreover, all true, diehard, dyed-in-the-wool skeptics and critics—past and present—seek, have sought and no doubt will seek to find the roots of invalidation, in the woof and the fabric of the Holy Book’s claims and statements (many of which were for many years dismissed frankly, and flatly as myth, simply because of the “ignorance” of the world’s own nay-saying intelligentsia; that is, they put the burden for proof on The Book; that they had no “evidence” to support their denials, was and is even today, irrelevant—that despite the fact that the tables so obviously have been turned so that the proofs in favor of the validity of the Bible and all its claims is impressive, if not utterly staggering.). Therefore, if one can establish the credibility of any books claims (history, science, etc.), he can settle the question of its statements. [It should be noted here, that the statement (my guess is, thesis might be the more apropos term here) that the Bible makes is such that there is one God, in multiple Persons, who is Creator of all that is, and who Himself will someday be the Destroyer of it all, having made a Way out—for all men who will, to escape that impending doom— rooted firmly, squarely in Himself (consider www.biblestudyhour.net/The GospelataGlance.html). The history it espouses is one which, once pass the creation itself, mushrooms from one person to many, before contracting to one family which in turn again mushrooms to many families. Beginning with Abraham, its focus narrows or is shifted so as to highlight one family (from among the many) which in time grows to a multitude, while at the same time, throughout the history of that family, the focus continues to narrow as all fingers point unswervingly to One Individual spotlighted from among them. That Individual has been, and is the focal point for another mushrooming population, which continues its growth, to this hour, even as we speak, and, is due to reach its pinnacle through a spurt of near spontaneous growth, during the early years of the Apocalypse.] That said then, let us give due diligence to observance of the fact that the Bible, the Book of all books, is guilty of making all manner of historical claims, and not a few striking scientific ones. It is on the very basis of these claims that, prior to the year 1900, every informed, so-called “Bible” scholar, critic, skeptic and other nay-sayers could and did (maybe even rightly so) reject the Book as nothing more than a collection of myths. The reason? All too many of its key claims could in no wise be confirmed! In the case of history, this is not because there was none. Rather—as the years of archaeological endeavor after 1900 have so bountifully and marvelously proven—there was and is an awful lot of history to be uncovered and revealed; all chronicled in annals and journals of one sort or the other, waiting to be discovered, yet virtually forgotten by time itself. As for science/physics, pragmatically, the subject itself had yet to be invented, being still very, very much in its infancy, and utterly primitive by modern standards. By 1950, both of these intellectual disciplines were in full swing, each going full throttle. Today, while many skeptics and critics still refuse to acknowledge the superiority of the biblical narrative (many on the other hand have reversed their course to embrace the God of the Bible and His Christ), virtually every historical and scientific statement in the Bible can be up held and discounted as incontestable. Evidence of the prior existence of Old Testament peoples like the Hittites, and certain Assyrian and Egyptian kings, long blown off by archaeologists and historians as “bologna”, making God a liar, can now be documented and accounted for as historical realities. All the science/physics statements are now quantifiable, even to the point of the creation of the entire universe, out of “nothing”, just as the God of the Bible said He did (of course, the worlds of history and science still will not acquiesce to the Hand of an Intelligent Designer (the Almighty) in the Creation, but, since when is simple “denial”, rooted traditionally, typically in the intellectual ignoramus’ own sterling want for knowledge, ever the final solution or resolution to any matter? Man’s denials could not contain, constrain, or obliterate the credibility of the Word even when the Almighty concealed all the evidence, effectively tying His own Holy Hands, or blindfolding Himself, leaving puny man to prove Him out of existence!). Today, then, we conclude, all of history and all of science and physics coalesce to validate the Bible—by the hand’s of those who are its chief detractors, and greatest antagonizers—like no other book, like never before. Whether or not the Christian can ever answer all the criticisms of the skeptic, clearly the God of the Bible—unlike the mythical “alla”—has not left Himself (nor did He intend that His Word should ever have been) without a witness. On the other hand, the Koran can sustain no such validation (Nor can any other such book of “religion”). The claim of Islam is, it does not need any. In so many words, historical accuracy and validity carry no force, in the minds and hearts of today’s Muslims. Needless to say, as far as anyone seems to know, it carries absolutely no voice at all, scientifically. Whatever problems the Koran has, does not matter, as they simply ignorant them! The koranic claims are true simply because Muslims choose to believe they are, even when, as it does, its own narrative contradicts itself! Its claim that the current Bible is and was corrupted by Christians is totally spurious, given that by its own admission, their prophet Mohammed never saw another, other than the one that is supposedly tainted. Furthermore, why risk writing another book as obviously full of problems as is the Koran (according to some), when simply re-writing a corrected copy of the Bible would have sufficed, being more feasible and practical, if in fact “allah” knew it was error-free—as Islam says? If these errors introduced were seeable, and therefore discernible, why must they have been, apparently, insurmountable? Are Christian spun “mistakes” more potent than the Muslim “allah”? If allah knew that the mistakes were, then he must have known what the mistakes were, and knowing this he must also have known what the original perfect Bible looked like, in which case, why should he have allowed the mistakes of Christians to destroy the utility and viability of an otherwise flawless Book? The Koran is anything but above reproach. The book itself might make one fine trash receptacle, but—given that its contemptible status on the world stage must be enforced by sword and threats of violence, because it cannot command the attention, respect and reverence easily accorded the Bible—there is no way any book less “corrected” than our current Bible could possibly be contained within its framework. Did Jesus ever say that He was God? That is a very good question, Denver! Where in the Bible does Jesus say He is God? The fact is, sir, Jesus never stood up in any gathering and proclaimed that He was God. That is, He never declared definitively, in no uncertain terms, “hi everybody, I am God”! However, while it might well be argued that the focus during most of His ministry before the general public was on His humanity, it is equally true that Jesus frequently used language—particularly in His quiet times and during His teaching moments alone with the disciples, as well as before the often petulant and belligerent Pharisees and scribes—that left no doubt as but that He saw Himself as One having roots steeped in Divinity, not humanity (a truth typically lost on most everyone, including the apostles, except the better educated scribes and Pharisees, who were ordinarily more perceptive). Thus, when He made statements like “…he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven”, they did not always understand that Jesus was alluding to God as His actual Father (Matt. 7:21). They understood Him to be Joseph’s “kid”. Conversely, when He commented “My Father works up to this moment, and so, I do likewise”, nothing in terms of implications and ramifications was lost on the scribes and Pharisees, in His audience. They understood very well that even in the absence of any clear, definitive assertion, Jesus had yet in no uncertain terms equated Himself with Deity. This can be confirmed by Jesus’ follow-up statement, in which—instead of denying their interpretation and allegations, striving to appease their murderous instincts—He rather plies the stick of reason, knowingly, intentionally stoking the fires of their indignation by calling attention to first His humanity, and its attendant weakness and limitations (“…the Son, can do nothing of Himself…), then, to His roots in Divinity (as the Son can only do “…what He sees the Father do…”) (John 5:17-19, 26, 30, 36). Again, in John 6:38, 39, 46, 51, 57, Jesus points all eyeballs to His eternal past as He declares in His “Bread of Life” discourse that His origin is in Heaven (not among men) from which He came by consequence of God the Father’s having sent Him, to do the Father’s will, not His own. “Before there was Abraham (the patriarch of the Jews), I am”, the Lord asserted during and at the culmination of one of His heated, Life threatening exchanges with His ever present antagonists—following which declaration, they all took up stones by means of which to kill (John 8:58, 59). The reason for the Jews hostility? To anyone not familiar with his Old Testament, this statement might pass, “over the top” perhaps, as harmless. To those enlightened and informed, however, as were the scribes and the Pharisees, the two little, seemingly insignificant words “…I Am” thus applied were highly charged and therefore, highly inflammatory. These Jews knew full well that by so speaking of Himself, being only about 30 years of age, Jesus was not only claiming to have been around before Abraham, who lived and died 2000 years before, but, He was also claiming to have been God, given that no one could possibly have achieved such a feat, except God. Moreover, they knew that this is the exact same expression that the God of the Old Testament employed to name Himself (Heb., “Hayah”=Haw-yaw’, meaning “I exist”), in His discussions with Moses, at the burning bush. The Jews, for this reason, having taken His comments seriously—and that, not at all without ample justification—able as they were to connect all the dots, and savor the ramifications, took up stones and therewith sought to kill Himself. The implications of His language were pristine. There are a few other statements similar to these, Denver, in which Jesus never openly declares Himself to be God, but He nonetheless leaves the discerning amongst His hearers with no alternative as but that He wished them to see Him as One having a Divine beginning. It should be borne firmly in mind, however, that He made no effort to convince anyone during His earthly walk, that He was God, strange as that may seem (this is part of the “mystery” that God kept hidden from the world until the advent of the Christ, and will be taken up in more detail in my book “The Mystery:…”). The shape of the Earth The Bible nowhere teaches that the earth is flat (at least not to my knowledge). If such language is used, it is only so used in some metaphorical sense. Of all the passages that speak of the earth or the world, as near as I can tell, none speak with reference to the physical shape of the earth. The closest one can come is found in Job 26:7, where God is said to have “…stretched out the north over an empty place, even as He hangs or suspends the earth upon nothing”. Prior to the ‘60’s Sputnik and Gemini space missions, people had some pretty wild ideas about not only the shape of the earth, but its suspension as well—and, no way to prove them. Now, much space exploration and documentation later, we know: man has once more stumbled upon information—in a kind of bungling arrogance which leaves him holding achievements, from the least to the greatest—within which rests ultimately, only proofs of just how right and accurate the Word of the God who lives can be. Far as anyone knows or can ascertain, the self-deprecating Koran can lay hold to no such claim. Blind leaders of the blind As for your Muslim friend’s accusation such that you are blindly following the tradition of your parents, to a degree, he is right. This is true because, for the most part churches and so-called para-church organizations; religious/Bible colleges and universities, seminaries and such don’t really teach the Bible, per se, as rather they teach about it, around it, they mess over it (to their own eternal detriment), and so on, and so forth. They teach some evangelical or fundamentalist viewpoint (or some variant of these), which may or may not be fully in accord with what the Bible actually teaches. Those who represent the leadership in organizations like the Muslims, Catholics, and Mormons, can see and know this very well. They know that on average, the professing Christian is careless, and therefore clueless as to the content of his own Bible, given that number one he won’t study and number two he will not submit himself to anyone who does know and teach it. Therefore, in this the Muslim is right: in light of the circumstances, one cannot know what one has not bothered to consider. The church cannot learn its Bible through osmosis (having it near but never opening it!). So, there you go “Denver”. Let me know if these answers adequately serve you purpose, ok? Thanks again for visiting with us. Serving the Man who is the Great I Am, Alvin Mitchell |
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