“Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” ……Answer: The Muslim and Christian views of God have many similarities. Muslims and Christians agree that there is one God who is the Creator of everything in the universe. Both view God as sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just, and righteous. In these ways, the Christian and Muslim views of God are the same. However, there are also significant differences between Islam and Christianity's view of God. While Allah (Allah is the Muslim and Arabic word for God) possesses the attributes of love, mercy, and grace, Allah does not demonstrate these attributes in the same manner, or to the same degree, as the God of Christianity.……The most important difference, though, between the Muslim and Christian view of God is the concept of the Trinity. Christians believe that God has revealed Himself as one God in three Persons: God the Father, the Son of God (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.……God's Son became a human being, Jesus Christ, to take away the penalty and power of sin by dying on the cross. After rising from the dead, Jesus went back to heaven to be with His Father. He sent His Spirit to teach men the truth through His Word, the Bible. One day, Christ will return to judge the earth; those who have trusted in Him will go to heaven, but those who have rejected Him must be separated in hell from the holy God.……Therefore, the belief in the Trinity is essential to the Christian faith. Without the Trinity, there is no incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ, there is no salvation for sin. Without salvation, sin condemns all to hell. In Islam, Allah is not triune and does not have a son. Therefore, because of this key disagreement with the Christian faith, Muslims are not worshipping the God of Christianity.……So, instead of the question, “do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” – a better question would be, “Do Christians and Muslims both have a correct understanding of who God is and what He is like?” To this, the answer is a definitive no. Because of crucial differences between the Christian and Muslim concepts of God, the two faiths cannot both be true.……Because the Bible provides the solution to sin, we believe that Christianity has the correct view of God. Becoming a human being, God's Son died to pay for the sin of those who trust in Him. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

“Are there errors in the Qur’an (Koran)?” ……Answer: Though Muslims often argue for the divine origin of the Qur'an on grounds that 'no error, alteration, or variation' has touched its copies since its inception, such a view does not accurately represent the facts. While it is indeed correct to say that the Qur'an of today is a nearly perfect copy of its seventh century counterpart, the notion that these copies reflect the exact words as handed down by Muhammad is becoming increasingly problematic.……Historical sources prove that there were several different texts circulating in Syria, Iraq and Armenia prior to the final revision produced by Uthman. Zaid, Muhammad's long-time secretary, was called in by Uthman to oversee the final and definitive authorized version of the Qur'an. All other copies of the Qur'an were then burned so that there could be no challenge to the authorized text. It remains to be answered why Uthman would have had to produce an authorized version of the Qur'an, if indeed the Qur'an had been perfectly preserved from the beginning!……To quote Alfred Guillaume, one of the best known non-Muslim scholars on Islam:

"Only the men of Kufa refused the new edition, and their version was certainly extant as late as A.D. 1000. Uthman's edition to this day remains the authoritative word of God to Muslims. Nevertheless, even now variant readings, involving not only different readings of the vowels but also occasionally a different consonantal text, are recognized as of equal authority one with another!"

When one compares the different transmitted versions of the Qur'an, it becomes evident that there are in fact variants between them. While these variants are usually involving differences in individual letters, vowels or diacritical marks, the Muslim claim of perfect unity in the copies of the Qur'an is incorrect.……Moreover, since part of the Islamic claim is that God has been giving revelations to mankind throughout history, including the Psalms of David and the four Gospels, one wonders why it is claimed that Allah miraculously preserved the Qur'an in infallible copies, whereas Allah was apparently singularly incapable of accomplishing the same feat with the previous revelations.……Let us weigh the validity of the claim at hand. Just how excellent is the literary quality? In his book, Jesus Among Other Gods, well-known Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias, argues:

"Let us consider just one troublesome aspect, the grammatical flaws that have been demonstrated. Ali Dashti, an Iranian author and a committed Muslim, commented that the errors in the Qur'an were so many that the grammatical rules had to be altered in order to fit the claim that the Qur'an was flawless. He gives numerous examples of these in his book, 'Twenty-three years: The life of the Prophet Mohammed. (The only precaution he took before publishing this book was to direct that it be published post-humously.)"

In the book which Zacharias cites above, Dashti writes:

"The Qur'an contains sentences which are incomplete and not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries; foreign words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other than the normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the concord of gender and number; illogical and ungrammatically applied pronouns which in rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects. These and other such aberrations in the language have given scope to critics who deny the Qur'an's eloquenceTo sum up, more than 100 Qur'anic aberrations from the normal rules and structure of Arabic have been noted."

Are there errors in the Qur'an? ├ö├ç├┤ What about fulfilled prophecy? …Islamic apologists make the claim that the Qur'an predicts Muslims would be victorious at home and abroad (Surah 30:1-5). But this can hardly be utilized as an argument for a divine origin. The prediction that Muslims would be militarily victorious (especially when one considers Muhammad's overwhelming military force) is not very impressive.……Not only is the time between these predictions and their subsequent fulfillment almost nil, but some argue the prediction of Islamic victory is better understood as a pre-battle victory speech from Muhammad to boost the morale of his troops.……Islamic prophecy does not even come close to the level of the prophecies in the Bible, many of which are written hundreds of years in advance, such as the prediction that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).……Are there errors in the Qur'an? ├ö├ç├┤ What about scientific insights? …In A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Islamic apologist I.A. Ibrahim argues:

"The Qur'an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago, mentioned facts only recently discovered or proven by scientists. This proves without doubt that the Qur'an must be the literal word of God, revealed by him to the Prophet Muhammad, and that the Qur'an was not authored by Muhammad or by any other human being."

How valid is this claim? First, conformity to science is not proof of divine inspiration. As modern scientists will tell you, scientific models are constantly changing, so they are not an absolute gauge for what is true or false. Second, there are some highly suspect scientific statements in the Qur'an which are ignored by modern Islamic apologists. For example, Surah 23:14 makes the claim that human beings are formed from a clot of blood. Surah 18:86 claims that the sun sets in a spring of murky water. Clearly, even if the claims with respect to scientific insights were valid, the above statements would immediately falsify any such notion of divine inspiration.……Are there errors in the Qur'an? ├ö├ç├┤ Are there historical inaccuracies? …While the list of historical inaccuracies and anachronisms is vast, one has been selected for discussion here. Surah 20 relays the incident of the golden calf. In Surah 20:85-88, 95 we read:

"He [Allah] said, 'We have tempted thy people since thou didist leave them. The Samaratin has led them into error.' Then Moses returnedand we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire.' (Then he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, 'This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has forgotten.')Moses said, 'And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?'"

Now, let us consider this for just a moment. How can a Samaritan have led the Israelites astray at the time of Moses (approx 1400 BC) when the city of Samaria was founded by King Omri in about 870 B.C? The Samaritans did not exist until after the exile of the Northern kingdom of Israel and the resettlement of the area under king Sargon II in 722 B.C. with non-Israelites who then adopt a syncretism [mixture] between the religion of the Jews and their own polytheistic background. The Samaritans did not exist until 530 years after Moses. By this mistake alone, the Qur'an can be rendered unreliable and certainly not an inerrant work of God.……Are there errors in the Qur'an? ├ö├ç├┤ Conclusion…Having outlined just a handful of many problems and difficulties pertaining to the Qur'an as a divinely inspired work, one is all but forced to reject the Islamic claim that the Qur'an represents an error-free word of God to humanity. When a similar standard is applied to the Bible, the result is self-vindicating, for the Bible arrives high and dry as compared to the Qur'an.

“How can I, as a Muslim, be assured of paradise?”……Answer: Although our sins separate us from the holy God and His paradise, He sent a sinless One to intercede for us!……A Muslim believes that his choices on earth affect his entrance to either heaven or hell. A wise man once said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). This wise man was Isa/Jesus. ……No doubt Isa will be in paradise. But He warned that heaven wasn't easily obtained. He said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:13-15). The one way to paradise is not easy to find. Many people, deceived by false prophets, try to enter heaven the wrong way. Their end is hell. ……If you doubt that you can make it to paradise, the Qur'an instructs you where to find out: "And if you are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto you, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before you. . ." (Surah 10:94). ……Scripture (the Bible) tells us how we can be assured of paradise. ……Can good works earn us a place in heaven? …A true Muslim is submitted to Allah. That means Allah controls all he thinks, acts, speaks. If a Muslim does something Allah would not do (such as lie, worry, covet), he is not fully surrendered to Allah. That is sin. Can good works make up for sin? ……The Bible says, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:20, 23). ……God is just and will not let sin go unpunished-regardless of how well the Five Pillars are kept or how many good deeds are done. Even one sin is enough to merit hell fire (James 2:10). Since sin prevents our entrance to heaven, and God, being just, will not arbitrarily forgive sin, who will help us? ……Can Muhammad intercede for us? …While some hadiths suggest that Muhammad may intercede for them, Muslims accept the Qur'an as their ultimate authority. It teaches that a mere man-even Muhammad-cannot mediate on behalf of sinful men (Surah 2:48; 6:51; 35:18). ……Can Isa intercede for us? …A mediator to the holy God must be perfect himself. He must be no ordinary person. Thankfully, God sent the holy Jesus to intercede for sinful man: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6a). ……Many people witnessed Jesus Christ as a prophet, teacher, and miracle worker. They told "how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:38-43). ……All true prophets witness that Jesus is the only way sinners can be forgiven. Without Jesus as your Savior from sin, you will face Him as Judge with your sins exposed. Jesus says, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). ……You must turn from your sin and realize that you cannot earn paradise through good deeds. Believe that Jesus is the Savior sent from God to save you from the penalty and power of sin. If you refuse to follow Him, you must be separated from the holy God in hell. ……Those who trust in Jesus-not merely knowing about Him but relying on Him for salvation, submitting to Him as Master, and loving Him as the greatest treasure-will be saved from sin and hell. ……Jesus assures those who follow Him of heaven! "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes [on Me] has eternal life" (John 6:47). ……Have you trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord through reading this article? If so, please click on the “I have received Jesus today” button below.

“Is Jesus God's Son? How could Allah, being one, have a Son?”……Answer: Being from God, Jesus is called God’s Son. Jesus is one with His Father in deity yet distinct in the Trinity. ……One God, one Lord…As monotheists, Muslims, Christians, and Jews all agree that there is only one true God. Jesus Himself upheld monotheism. When asked for the greatest command, Jesus responded, ". . . The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:29-30). ……The Apostle Paul, leader of the early church, also taught monotheism: "There is no God but one. . . the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). ……As followers of Jesus, the early Christians preferred to reserve the title "God” for the one whom Jesus called “my Father and your Father” (John 20:17) and the title “Lord” for Jesus. This title indicates that Jesus is both Master and deity. ……The Son of God…Christians alone believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Rest assured, the Bible (which the Qur'an commends in Surah 4:136) does not teach a parental relationship between God and Mary. That idea is as blasphemous to Christians as it is to Muslims. Rather, the concept of Christ's being God's Son demonstrates the relationship between the two and the shared nature of deity. At Isa's birth, the angel told the virgin Mary:

"'Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!' But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. . . . of his kingdom there will be no end.' And Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel answered her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God'" (Luke 1:26-35).

Previously, God had spoken to man through His prophets, but then He sent One from Himself:

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers by the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance 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 the heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

This Jesus, who came to provide "purification for sins", has the exact same essence as God yet is distinct in Person as His Son. He was the instrument through whom God created the universe (John 1). Sharing the nature of God, Jesus is one with His Father in deity. ……The doctrine of Jesus as God's Son is hard to understand, but the Word of God clearly teaches it. Who are we to limit God to our own understanding? God has revealed Himself as one God manifest in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. ……Man's testimony that Jesus is divine…Is Jesus really God's Son? When people witnessed His miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection, they believed and testified that He was divine: "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God" (1 John 4:14-15).

Followers of Jesus testified after he calmed a storm: "And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God'" (Matthew 14:32-33).

Peter, Jesus' disciple, testified: "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven'" (Matthew 16:13-17).

A woman testified: "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world'” (John 11:25-27).

Military officer and soldiers who were guarding Jesus at his death on the cross testified: "When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" (Matthew 27:54).

Thomas testified after God raised Jesus from the dead: "Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.' Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:24-31).

Jesus' own testimony

When some Jews were plotting to kill Jesus, He testified: "This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill [Jesus], because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life'" (John 5:18-24).

At Jesus' trial, He testified: ". . . Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven'” (Mark 14:61-62).

God the Father's testimony

God testified at Jesus' baptism: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; see also Luke 9:35).

God's testimony is truth: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:9-13).

Religion vs. relationship…Although mankind consists of many races and nations, speaking many languages and adhering to many religions, we all share a common need. Our greatest need is this: to know personally our Creator. If knowledge of Him depended upon man’s investigations and experimentations, then it would be essential for us to find the answers to such questions as, “If God is one, how can Jesus be His Son?” But because knowledge of God depends upon His revelation of Himself, believing His revelation found in His Word, the Bible, is more important than having our difficult questions answered. In the Bible, trusting that God’s revelation is true and obeying that truth is called faith. ……We will die with many hard questions yet unanswered. But we must not die without responding personally to God’s promise of salvation through His Son. Before Jesus came to earth in the form of man, He was with God the Father. God sent His Son to be born of a virgin. As God in the flesh, Jesus lived a perfect life. ……He didn't deserve the punishment for sin: separation from God by death. But by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, he paid the penalty for sin and broke the dominance of sin for those who believe. ……God is calling sinners to turn from their own way to the living Lord Jesus in repentance and faith. “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18). ……Believe in God's Son today, trusting Jesus to save you from the penalty and power of sin and to give you eternal life in heaven. ……Through reading this article, have you trusted Jesus as Savior from your sin and Leader of your life? If so, please click on the “I have received Jesus today” button below.

Do the Qur'an and Muhammad affirm or reject the Bible? Should a Muslim read the Bible?” ……Answer: In the Qur'an, Muhammad commanded Muslims to read the Bible. ……What is your guide? If hadiths or imams differ with the Qur'an, which would you believe? Most likely, the Qur'an is your ultimate authority. As a Muslim, does the Qur'an give you permission to learn from the Bible?

If you are a Muslim, you have no excuse not to read the Bible. The Qur'an commands and praises it. Why don't you start today? Begin with the Gospel of Luke which tells the story of Isa. He alone can give you assurance of paradise. ……As the Qur'an says, reading the Bible will answer your questions: "If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt" (Surah 10:94).

“Does the Qur'an replace the Bible?”……Answer: Rather than replacing, the Qur'an urges Muslims to read the Bible.……Many Muslims have never read a Bible because they think the Qur'an has replaced it. The Qur'an, however, never claims to annul the Bible. The one instance of abrogation affected only the Qur'an's own verses (Surah 2:106). The Qur'an instructs ├ö├ç├┤ not forbids ├ö├ç├┤ Muslims to read the Bible (Surah 5:44, 46; 3:3; 10:94-95). ……While Muslim scholars have annulled dozens of verses in the Qur'an, Muslims still read them. Therefore, all Muslims should certainly read the "before Scriptures" which will never be superseded. God says "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away" (Matthew 24:35).……Some people say that just as the Injeel (Gospel) abrogated the Tauret (Torah/law), the Qur'an replaces the Gospel. However, the Gospel did not abrogate the Torah. The perfect Isa came not to abolish the law but to fulfill the law for those who cannot keep it. ……Isa/Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18). ……In fact, Jesus showed that God's law was even harder to keep than men think. He deepened the meaning of the law, saying, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. . . . You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28).……Have you met that perfect standard? The Gospel says none of us can keep the demands of the law. We deserve hell (Romans 3:236:23). Thankfully, Jesus Christ faultlessly kept the law of God. Find out how Jesus can transfer His goodness to you, so you may have assurance of paradise, click here.……Trust God's "before Scripture"; it can never be annulled. "The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever" (Psalm 119:160).

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