Challenging the Bible (s) :: Part One ::

“Civilization of the West is perversion of heart and mind,
Since its soul could not remain unpolluted….
But the heart in the unilluminated breast unblest with peace,
Dark is the Frankish (western) country with the smoke of its machines…
A civilization sick before its prime, at its last gasp…
Of this civilization of ungodliness beware!
At war (it is) with men of truth…
In snatching bread from the weak its wisdom lies”

– Muhammad Iqbal [1]

“And know that God invites (mankind) unto the abode of PEACE.”
– (Qur’an: 10:25)

Muslim theology, history, and civilization arose from the Qu’ran and a community’s “submission” to one God, Allah (swt). In contrast, the Judeo-Christian tradition arose from a man made theology and a Bible mired by “exclusivity, inaccuracy, and intolerance” to the rest of humanity.

Although Islam is the universal message to all humanity, comprehensive in scope, merciful in its doctrines, peaceful in nature, inclusive of the Torah and Gospel emanating from the same “One” God; Jews and Christians have rejected Islam since its founding.

“Say (O Muhammad): “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descendents, and that which has been vouchsafed by their Sustainer unto Moses and Jesus and all the other prophets: we make no distinction between any of them. And unto Him do we surrender ourselves.” – (Qur’an 3:84)

Throughout Islam’s history Allah (swt), Muhammad (s.a.w.), and the Holy Qur’an became fodder for derogatory, bigoted and blasphemous attacks by some Jews and Christians. Muhammad (saw) was attacked as the “a false prophet, terrorist, a demonic possessed pedophile, and the Anti-Christ”. Islam became a “false, satanic cult, an evil religion”. Islam’s God was a “false God”, an “idol”. [2]

Today’s headlines are replete with the same bigoted words against Islam spoken by government officials, religious leaders, media and academic pundits, first written in the 9th Century (C.E.) by an anonymous Christian in Palestine.

“By, “There is no God but God”, they, Muslims, mean a god different than the Father, son, and Holy Spirit.” – From “Summa Theologiae Arabica” [3]

Historically and scripturally the Talmudic Jews and Biblical Christians view only their religion as “truth”. This “exclusivist and intolerant” belief has been a source of conflict and wars between them and against other faiths they call “cults.”

"A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith." – Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Web Site

Perversion of Biblical truth began with the Old Testament’s first book, Genesis, whereby Ishmael (pbuh) was excluded from God’s covenant with Abraham and his “seed” (Genesis 17:7), meaning both his sons, Ishmael and Isaac, to become the “exclusive” covenant with Isaac alone (Genesis 17:21). This despite Ishmael being the elder son and the one circumcised with his father as the “sign” of the covenant, since Isaac wasn’t born yet. [4]

Jews falsely claim Abraham (pbuh) was a Jew, their exclusive patriarch, although the word Jew doesn’t appear anywhere in the Torah nor did Abraham speak Hebrew but spoke Semitic Akkadian. [5]

Thus one hallmark of the Bible’s origin is revealed–”unknown authors willingly perverting the word of God to suit their “Manifest Destiny” of self interest.

If the Scriptural truths didn’t suit this “manifest destiny’, then the religious elite simply perverted, corrupted, and re-wrote the “word of God” for self interest. The Middle East conflict today still harkens back to the perversion of Abraham’s Covenant and the “Promised Land” given exclusively to the Jews.

“O followers of earlier revelation (Jews and Christians)! Why do you cloak the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth of which you are so well aware?” – (Qur’an 3: 71)

“..for ye have perverted the words of the living God” – (Old Testament: Jeremiah 23:26)

More people died in the twentieth century alone at the hands of Christians and Jews than in all of history combined, yet Islam is the poster religion for “terrorism”.

“The Lord is a man of war," – (Old Testament: Exodus (15:3)

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." – (Jesus in Matthew 10:34))

In his book “The Barbarian Conversion” Richard Fletcher documents the savage spread of Christianity in and out of Europe through forced conversions and mass atrocities committed in the name of “God” against the heathen gentiles by what he terms “the covetous instincts” of the Papal church and European monarchies as summed up the below in the “Magdeburg Appeal”: (c. 1020 –” 1025)

“These gentiles are most wicked, but their land is the best, rich in meat, honey, corn, and birds….And so, most renowned Saxons, Franks, Lorrainers, and Flemings, this is an occasion for you to save your souls, AND, if you wish it to acquire the best land on which to live. [6]

The old crusading theme of proclaiming “With God’s help, either their religion or their nations be destroyed” manifests today in the “faith based -military-media-industrial” complex that has seen the conquest of Muslims lands from Palestine, Iraq, to Afghanistan.

Jews and Christians each claim to be the “chosen people” of their exclusive deity, “Yahweh” and “Christ”, respectively. While Yahweh in the Torah punishes Non-Jews, Christians say only those saved in Christ will have eternal life. Islam however teaches that God was merciful to all peoples sending them messengers to inform them of His love and promise of salvation.

“And both the Jews and the Christians say: “We are God’s children, and His beloved ones.” Say (O Muhammad): “Why, then does He cause you to suffer for your sins? Nay, you are but human beings of His creating.” – (Qur’an: 5: 18)

FROM “Challenging the Qur’an” to “Challenging the Bible (s)”

With all due respect to Jews and Christians, Islam’s “People of the Book”, it’s incumbent upon Muslims to respond to the ignorant hate filled attacks upon Islam and it’s Holy Qur’an. This is an informational article to all believers in God so that individual research and reason may lead us all to the truth.

No Article can do justice to a study of the Bible, thus it’s incumbent upon Muslims and Non-Muslims to use the internet sites referenced below for their own study and conclusions.

In it’s July 28 issue, Newsweek ran the story “Challenging the Qur’an” by Stefan Theil.

In it a German scholar using the pseudonym of Christoph Luxenberg argues with blatant pseudo-information regarding the Qu’ran that:

1. The Original Qur’an was destroyed.

2. It’s not written in its original language, a form of Aramaic, but “mis-transcribed” into another language, Arabic.

3. Contains misunderstandings due to “mis-translations”.

Ironically, these are the exact historical and scholarly criticisms of the Bible itself projected upon the Qur’an.

The issues concerning the Bible, its authority, origin, reliability, passage through history, and content have been debatable issues throughout the Judeo-Christian history. The questions of “who is a Jew” and “who was Jesus” are still issues of major discord among the various Jewish and Christian sects till this day

Jews must be accountable to God and humanity to explain why the God of all creation would at a point in time abandon all humanity and become exclusively the “God of Israel”.

Christians similarly must explain why throughout time, according to the Old Testament, has there always been “One” God, only to become “3” with Jesus, and subsequently “One” again with Islam. Were Adam, Abraham, Moses, and all the prophets deliberately misinformed by God?

Islam’s Qur’an holds the answers to these fundamental yet irrational statements.

Why are there more than 500 translations of the Bible used by over one thousand Christian denominations?

– Bibles used today are not in the original Hebrew of the Old Testament and Greek of the New Testament, but are copies of numerous translations centuries after the events.

– No original biblical manuscript of any biblical book has survived, most have been lost or destroyed over the centuries. Most biblical authors are unknown but Jewish and Church leaders assigned known names to the books. (http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Bible/English_Translations.htm)

Introduction to the Bible:

The Bible is a compilation of works written over a period of about 1,600 years, by mostly unknown authors, on three different continents, hence the thousands of contradictory statements.
(For Contradictions See: http://www.themodernreligion.com/comparative/christ/bible_inconsistencies.htm)

The Bible is divided into two sections: Old Testament:
Also called the Hebrew Bible or the Tanach (T.N.K.) is divided into 3 sections.
(a). Torah (Teaching) or Pentateuch: First 5 Books (Penta), falsely attributed to Moses (P).
(b). Nevi’im or Prophets: 8 Books
(c). Ketuvim or Writings: 11 Books

Although the "New Testament" contains the same 27 books, major differences arise between the "Old Testament" used by various Jewish and Christian groups: Jews have 24 O.T. Books (some books combined), Protestants have 39 O.T. books, Catholics have 46 O.T. books, with other denominations having different Bibles as well.

The Old Testament is filled with stories of Prophets committing genocides, ethnic cleansing, murder, incest, adultery, orgies, demanding enslavement of captives, lying, and polygamy. God is an angry, vengeful, jealous God who commands genocides, regrets creating man, and even speaks in explicit sexual language and commands the eating of cow dung and drinking of urine (2 Kings: 18:27). (For Sex, Incest, Prostitution, Adultery, Murder, and eating Cow dung (See:
http://johnw.host.sk/articles/bible_christian/in_the_holy_bible.htm)

Would GOD speak of such things? Most Jews and Christians are unaware, ignore, or are embarrassed to read such passages.

The Old Testament was written over many centuries after the events narrated. It was begun to be compiled by unknown “Rabbis” after the return to Palestine from the Babylonian exile (539 BCE) and its final form was decided upon by a Council of Rabbis in 90 C.E. under the leadership of Rabbi Johannan ben Zakkai.

Later, around 300 C.E., Rabbinic writings and tradition, not the Hebrew Bible, claimed sole legitimacy as Jewish scripture. [7]

1. The New Testament: 27 Books
(a). Four Gospels:
(b). Thirteen Letters attributed to Paul. (Paul’s writings are half the Bible; yet he never met Jesus. Christianity is primarily attributed to his teachings, not to Jesus)
(c). Others: including Book of Revelation, the book of end times prophecy.

With the exception of the first few years after Christ’s crucifixion, Christianity has never been a unified religion. Debates on much of Christian doctrine, the Trinity, Papal Authority, authority to translate and interpret the bible, which books voted into “sacred” stature had led to much turmoil, denominational splitting including the 15th Century Protestant Reformation, the formation of the Anglican Church (by Henry VIII over issue of his divorce), and even wars within Christianity. Over many centuries (often till today), Church leaders have “edited, added, deleted, translated, and suppressed” different books that contradict church dogma, even murdering heretics who disagreed with the church’s authority or teaching.

The first of many Councils called by Roman Emperors and Popes to resolve such conflicts was convened by Constantine in the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E. Since the Council of Laodicea 363 C.E. the New Testament has contained Four Gospels, but originally there were at least eighty. Recent discoveries of “biblical” books such as the Gospel of St. Thomas in 1946 is creating more uncertainties as to the content of the Bible. It was not Jesus or the Bible but the state-church union in Europe that decreed the doctrine of “Trinity”.

From the “Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy” by Dennis McKinsey” pg 18-19:

"The New Testament was not written by any of the disciples of Jesus nor by persons who even lived in that era. …When the church fathers compiled the N.T. in the year 397, they collected all the writings they could find and managed them as they pleased.

They decided by vote which of the books out of the collection they had made should be the word of God and which shouldn’t. They rejected several, they voted others to be doubtful, and those books that had a majority of votes were voted to be the word of God. Had they voted otherwise, all the people since calling themselves Christians would have believed otherwise. For the belief of one comes from the vote of the other."

From “Who Wrote The Bible?” A cover story in US News & World Report December 1990 issue

"Some scholars say so many revisions occurred in the 100 years following Jesus’ death that no one can be absolutely sure of the accuracy or authenticity of the Gospels, especially of the words the authors attributed to Jesus himself”.

How Many Verses do you prefer in your Bible?

Consider that the Authorized King James (AKJ) has 790,685 words, The New International Version (NIV) has 64,576 fewer words, The New King James Version (NKJV) 19,755 fewer words, and The Revised Standard Version (RSV) 30,534 fewer.”
(http://www.biblebelievers.com/Daniel1.html)

In America, the fastest growing Christian denominations are the
“Evangelists/Fundamentalists/Pentecostals”, literal believers of the Bible, intolerant of other faiths, including other Christians, determined to eliminate the separation of church and state, and export their faith by force if necessary. Their man, President Bush, believes he “was chosen by God” for this crusadic time, much like Pope Urban II in 1095, who spoke on behalf of “God himself” to launch the first crusade. (Bush Says God Chose Him to Lead His Nation: Observer November 2, 2003 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1075950,00.html)
(World Religions Book: http://www.detnews.com/2001/religion/0103/18/a05-200886.htm)

Christianity is rapidly becoming irrelevant in America while dying in Europe. To attract new adherents, like any business, many churches are constantly “Reinventing” themselves to compete in the post-modern technological era of intellectual laziness and “civilized” apathy. Despite its material wealth, the west has an impoverished lonely soul in need of a heart. It’s a civilization dying unblest with internal peace, ungodly, gasping for its last breath. Hence, will we Muslims share our spiritual wealth, Islam, with such hungry souls?

– See: “Reinventing Church” at http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1031/p14s01-lire.html)

– See: “Erotic Pictures to bring Bible back into Fashion” by Jessica Berry, May 27, 2001, (www.telegraph.co.uk)

– See: ‘A New Bible Magazine for Teens called “Revolve” (http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/09/01/cnna.etue/index.html)

[1]. “The Glory of Iqbal” by Shakyh Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi; Awakening Publications

[2]. “Muhammad in Europe” by Minou Reeves; New York University Press
“Islam in European Thought” by Albert Hourani; Cambridge University Press

[3]. “The Barbarian Conversion From Paganism to Christianity” by Richard Fletcher, University of California Press, Berkeley, pg.312

[4]. “Abraham, Friend of God” by Jerald F. Dirks; Amana Publications, pg. 129

[5]. Ibid; pg. 217

[6]. Ibid., “The Barbarian Conversion” pg. 486

[7]. “Jews, Christian, Muslims” by John Corrigan et.al.; Prentice Hall, pg. 14-15
“A History of God” by Karen Armstrong, Ballantine Books, pg. 12

Sources:

– http://www.jesus-seminar.net/ (Christian Scholars today disputing Bible’s narratives)

– http://www.themodernreligion.com/comparative.html#bible

– http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/contents.html (Best overall site on Biblical issues such as errors, contradictions, trinity, and truth)

– http://www.answering-christianity.com/ac.htm

– http://atheism.about.com/cs/errorsinthebibl/ (JCM pg. 14-15)

– http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/gerald_larue/otll/chap1.html (Overview of Old Testament)

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_the_Bible (Overview of Bible: mentions Islam has ONE book)

– http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/bible.htm (Overview of New Testament & Catholic teachings)

– http://freethought.freeservers.com/reason/quotes.html (Quotes on Christianity, including by America’s Founding Fathers)

– http://moose-and-squirrel.com/bozo/bozo.html (Quotes from the Christian Right, the real danger to America and world peace)

-http://www.beconvinced.com/RELIGIONINDEX.htm#ARTICLES%20ON%20THE%20QURAN%20&%20THE (excellent site on Islam and Comparative Religion)

– http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=are+jews+chosen+people (several sources disproving “Jews are Chosen People)

– http://www.geocities.com/iberianinquisition/persecution.html (Calendar History of Jewish Persecution by Christian Europe)

– http://www.detnews.com/2001/religion/0103/18/a05-200886.htm (World Book on Religion)

– http://coohmp.homestead.com/BOOKOFMOSHIACH.html (Site on later additions/deletions by church leaders to Bible)

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Brief Timeline of the Abrahamic Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

“Verily, those who have attained to faith (in the Qur’an), as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians –” all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds –” shall have their reward with their Sustainer, and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.” – (Qur’an: 2: 62)

Out of political correctness toward Jews, Christians changed their dating method from B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini: year of the Lord) to B.C.E. (Before Christian Era) and C.E. (Christian Era).

Before Christian Era: B.C.E.

– 3760 B.C.E. – Year 1 in the orthodox Jewish calendar (5764: This year in Hebrew Calendar)

– ca. 2,166 Birth of Abraham (P), son of Azar, in Ur, Mesopotamia (Iraq)

– ca. 2,080 Birth of Ismael (P) in Hebron, Palestine

– ca. 2,067 Circumcision of Abraham (P) and Ismael (P), 13 years old, in Mecca

– ca. 2,066 Birth and circumcision of Isaac (P) in Beersheba, Palestine

– Jacob, son of Isaac, renamed Israel by God. Had 12 sons (including Joseph (P)), become the 12 Tribes of Israel.

– ca. 1250 Moses (P) and the Exodus

– ca. 1020 – 1000 King Saul unites the 12 Tribes of Israel

– ca. 1000 –” 961 King David (P) rules, moves capitol from Hebron to Jerusalem

– ca. 961 –” 922 King Solomon (P): Built First Temple. After his death Kingdom Split, North/South
a. N. Kingdom of Israel: Invaded by Assyria, 722 BCE, (Lost 10 Tribes)
b. S. Kingdom of Judah: Forerunners of Jews

– ca. 597 Babylonian Exile (587-539): Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon destroys Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple and enslaves Jews in Babylon.

– ca. 538 Cyrus of Persia allows Jews to return to Palestine as subjects.
Second Temple Rebuilt in 515 BCE. VERY FEW RETURN, most remain in Diaspora

The return of Jews from Babylon, their second exile after Egypt, to the Promised Land fulfills Biblical Prophecy (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament). The Bible does NOT mention a third return of Jews from their present Diaspora to the Promised Land as claimed by Zionists and Present Day Jewish and Christian Fundamentalists. According to the Old Testament this final return will ONLY occur when the Jewish Messiah returns. Thus the alleged religious grounds for Israel’s founding is FALSE.

167 BCE – desecration of Jerusalem Temple by Antiochus IV

164 –” Jewish Maccabean revolt successfully retakes most of Jerusalem; "rededication" of the Jerusalem Temple (still celebrated as the Feast of Hannukah)

IMPORTANT: There were only two short periods of complete independence for the people of Israel in a unified kingdom in all of Palestine’s history.:
1. United Kingdom of Israel (ca. 1030 – -930): under Kings Saul, David, Solomon
2. The Restoration of Jewish Independence: under the Maccabean / Hasmonean Dynasty (ca. 164 – 63 BCE)

– ca. 6-4 B.C.E.: JESUS is born in Bethlehem.

CHRISTIAN ERA: C.E.

– ca. 63 –” ca. 600 : Roman Period

– ca. 37: Herod rebuilds/expands the Jerusalem Temple

– ca. 29/30 CE – arrest, crucifixion & death of Jesus according to Bible (maybe as late as 33)

– ca. 70 – Jerusalem captured by General Titus; whole city burned; destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans.

– ca. 85 or 90 – "Council of Jamnia" – Jewish rabbis meet to consolidate Judaism; also determine the "canon/books" of the Hebrew Bible; Christianity gradually separates from Judaism; emerges as independent religion;

– ca. 132-135: Second Jewish revolt, led by Bar Kochba, put down by Emperor Hadrian; Jerusalem completely destroyed; all Jews banned from Palestine in 135; Jerusalem rebuilt as Roman city called Aelia Capitolina; Israel renamed "Palestine"

– ca. 313: "Edict of Milan"; Emperor Constantine I makes Christianity a legal religion

– ca. 570 Birth of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in Mecca.

– ca. 610 Beginning of Islamic Call, first Revelation of Holy Qur’an

– ca. 622 Hijrah/Migration of Prophet (pbuh) from Mecca to Medina. Start of Muslim Calendar.

– ca. 632 Prophet’s Farewell Pilgrimage to Mecca. Death of the Prophet. Qur’anic Revelation ends with Prophet’s death after 23 years of Revelation.

– ca. 638 –” 1917: MUSLIM RULE of Palestine: except for 145 years during the Crusades (1099 –” 1244) and 1917 –” 1948 British Rule after WWI

Three Peaceful Muslim Conquests of Jerusalem: compared to Crusades/Zionism

– ca. 638: Caliph Omar (RA): peacefully conquers Jerusalem, allows Jews back, met by Patriarch Sophronius, invited to pray in Church of Holy Sepulcher but refuses for fear of future Muslim possession of Church; Cleaned garbage off Haram Al Sharif (Temple Mount) and built Al Aqsa Mosque. 691 CE Caliph Abdul Malik (RA) built Dome of the Rock Mosque on rock where Prophet (P) ascended to heaven. 701 CE his son Caliph Walid (RA) built AlAqsa Mosque.

– [ca. 1099 –” 1244: CRUSADES: destroyed mosques, synagogues, and massacred Muslims/Jews]

– ca. 1187: Saladin: peacefully recaptures Jerusalem despite massacres by Crusaders (Revered by Christians and Jews)

– ca. 1517: Suleiman the “Magnificent” peacefully retakes Jerusalem; rebuilds Walls of Jerusalem (down since 1219), rebuilds “Tower of David”, the seven gates plus the Gate of Damascus

– 1948 – Modern State of Israel founded by Zionists, non-religious Jews, and U.N. mandate

Notes:

According to the Bible, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians; a second Temple was rebuilt decades letter, but eventually destroyed again, this time by the Romans. The destruction of both temples, five hundred years apart, were central points in Jewish history, the first marking the beginning of the Babylonian Exile, the second marking the beginning of the Diaspora.

Sources:

[1]. “The Message of the Qur’an”, Translated by Muhammad Asad; Dar Al-Andalus, 1980

[2]. “Readings in Ancient History” by N.M. Bailkey and R. Lim (Boston, 2002)

[3]. “A History of the Arab Peoples” by Albert Hourani; Warner Books, 1991

[4]. “Jerusalem in History” Edited by K. J. Asali; Olive Branch Press, 2000

[5]. “The New Jerusalem Bible”, Doubleday, 1985

[6]. http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem (history of Ancient Israel)

[7]. http://www.nkusa.org/AboutUs/Zionism/opposition.cfm (Orthodox Jews opposing Israel, await the Messiah for Redemption and return to Holy Land)

Related Content:

Challenging the Bible (s) :: Part Two ::

Challenging the Bible (s) :: Final Part ::