Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun’s article
A Series of Answers to Common Questions
By
http://www.answering-islam.org.uk/Shamoun/allahs_oaths.htm
Shamoun has
written up a lengthy article on Allah and his oaths. This is a main longer continuation of
his argument against Allah in his previous article which can be found here (*), my rebuttal to that article can be found here (*). In this article I will be basically refuting Shamoun's
argument.
He wrote:
The following
has been adapted, modified, and enlarged from some of my papers and responses,
specifically from these two: Is Allah the God of the Bible?
<god.htm>, Allah of Islam, Is He Yahweh God
of the Bible? <../Responses/Abualrub/allahs_identity.htm>
We decided
that it would be better to present this topic separately, as opposed to having it buried
in our more lengthy discussions and rebuttals.
My response:
Here is my
rebuttal to that article if Allah is the God of the Bible (*).
Indeed it would be better to discuss this here rather than in your rebuttals, now I can
refute them as I don’t respond to rebuttals as I don’t speak for other people.
So I hope you do indeed write up articles on important topics separately rather than in
the rebuttals, allowing me to refute them all.
He wrote:
Our subject
deals with Yahweh, Allah, and oath making. According to God’s true Word, the Holy
Bible, Yahweh only swears and takes oaths in his own name. The reason why Yahweh does this
is because there is no one, or nothing, greater for him to swear by. Please note carefully
the following statements from the Word of God:
"and
said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the
LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only
son,’" Genesis 22:16
"I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My
mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow…"
Isaiah 45:23
"The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His
strong arm, ‘I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor
will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.’" Isaiah 62:8
"I swear by Myself, says the LORD." Jeremiah
22:5
"But
hear the word of the LORD, all Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the LORD,
‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or
swear, "As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives."’" Jeremiah 44:26
"For
when God made a promise to Abraham, because He
could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself." Hebrews 6:13
"For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath
for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute." Hebrews 6:16
The
consistent example set forth in the Scriptures is that believers swear and take their
oaths in God’s name:
"Now
Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that
he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh, that
I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you
will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.’"
Genesis 24:1-4
"Moses
spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, "This is what the
LORD has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by
a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of
his mouth." Numbers 30:1-2ff.
"Swear
to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you
will not destroy my name out of my father's house." 1 Samuel 24:21
Cf. Genesis
21:23-24; Joshua 2:12, 23:7; 1 Samuel 30:15; 2 Samuel 19:7; 1 Kings 2:42; Psalm 63:11;
Jeremiah 12:16; Amos 8:14; Zephaniah 1:5
Scriptures
also warn against swearing by other gods:
"Therefore,
be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses,
turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with
these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear
by them or serve them or bow down to them," Joshua 23:7
Since we live
in a fallen age where everything is not perfect, people often swear by other things
besides Yahweh. Yet the next passages envision a time where all peoples shall swear by the
name of Yahweh alone:
"By
myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be
revoked: Before me every knee will bow; BY ME EVERY TONGUE WILL SWEAR." Isaiah 45:23
"Whoever
invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the
land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden
from my eyes." Isaiah 65:16
The Lord
Jesus specifically says that to swear by anything other than God is evil or from Satan:
"Again
you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but
shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath
at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his
footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath
by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply
‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more
than this comes from evil." Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus’
reference to heaven as God’s throne and to the earth as his footstool shows that
these terms are used in connection with the extent of God’s rule, i.e. that God
sovereignly rules and controls all of creation. Jesus is basically saying that a person
should not swear by anything within heaven and earth, by anything that is part of the
kingdom and dominion of God.
We know that
the Lord Jesus’ statement was not a prohibition of all oaths and swearing, since
there are other NT references where many swore and took oaths in God’s name:
"After
this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for
Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was
under a vow." Acts 18:18
"‘Do
therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men
and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their
heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but
that you yourself also live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have
believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has
been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from
sexual immorality.’ Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself
along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification
would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them." Acts 21:23-26
"For
God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without
ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at
last succeed in coming to you." Romans 1:9-10
"But
I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to
Corinth." 2 Corinthians 1:23
"I
am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the
Holy Spirit," Romans 9:1
"(Now
in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.)"
Galatians 1:20
"And
the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him
who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and
what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay,"
Revelation 10:5-6
Jesus’
statement clearly meant that a person should not swear by anything besides God; and even
then it is better for a person to simply say yes or no since one may fail to do the thing
that one has vowed to do in God’s name, thereby bringing God’s curse upon
oneself:
"Be
not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God
is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with
much business, and a fool's voice with many words. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay
paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you
should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say
before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why
should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when
dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must
fear." Ecclesiastes 5:2-7
"But
above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath,
but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not
fall under condemnation." James 5:12
Putting it
another way, Jesus was warning his followers from being careless and nonchalant about
making oaths, preventing them from profaning God’s holiness by failing to fulfill any
oath they make take in the Lord’s name.
Thus, the
overall example and teaching of the Holy Bible is that persons are to swear in the name of
God alone.
Before we
proceed any further we want to address the issue of why people swear at all, why do
persons swear by appealing to God? The purpose for swearing by God, or in God’s name,
is to call him as our witness and the judge of our honesty and sincerity in what we are
saying. The implication is that if I am lying, or if I am not keeping my word, then God
may hold me accountable and punish me. I.e. this is attributing superhuman knowledge
(knowing my thoughts and heart) and power (to punish) to the one we are swearing by. Thus,
properly speaking only Deity can actually be appealed to for the guarantee of my
intentions and thoughts. Therefore it is blatant idolatry, or to introduce a different
term, deification, to use the name of anything else besides God in swearing.
My response:
Well let me
correct Shamoun on his opening statement. The Bible is not God's true word. That is a lie.
The Bible is indeed a corrupt book containing some truth in it, but sadly there are a lot
of lies and inventions and deletions in its pages. Sadly this article is not on the Bible,
so I will just leave at that because I have a lot to say on the Bible regarding whether it
is indeed the full book of God.
He wrote:
Regarding
Islamic law (shariah), it too sees this very point and views the swearing by anything
besides Allah as idolatry, or the sin of shirk (associating partners with Allah). The
Muslim scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyyah wrote regarding this very issue:
…
An exclusive right for Allah, such as vowing, for example, should not be given to anyone
or thing, except Allah alone. The Messenger of Allah, … said, … "He who intends to swear, let him swear by Allah or keep
silent." He, ... also said, … "He
who swears by other than Allah, will have committed Shirk." (Ibn Qayyim
al-Jauziyyah, Zad-ul Ma'ad fi Hadyi Khairi-l 'Ibad [Provisions for the Hereafter Taken
From the Guidance of Allah's Best Worshipper], translated by Jalal Abualrub, edited by
Alaa Mencke & Shaheed M. Ali [Madinah Publishers & Distributors, Orlando Florida;
First edition, October 2001], Volume 4, p. 320)
Islamic
narrations (ahadith) quote Muhammad as saying:
Narrated
'Umar:
The Prophet said, "If anybody has to take an oath, he should swear ONLY by Allah."
The people of Quraish used to swear by their fathers, but the Prophet said, "Do not
swear by your fathers." (Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Volume 5, Book 58, Number 177
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/058.sbt.html>)
Narrated
Ibn 'Umar:
Allah's Apostle met 'Umar bin Al-Khattab while the latter was going with a group of
camel-riders, and he was swearing by his father. The Prophet said, "Lo! Allah forbids
you to swear by your fathers, so whoever has to take an oath, he should swear by Allah
or keep quiet." (Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Volume 8, Book 78, Number 641
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/078.sbt.html>)
Narrated
AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not swear by your fathers, or by your mothers, or
by rivals to Allah; and swear by Allah ONLY, and swear by Allah only when you are
speaking the truth. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book
21, Number 3242
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/021.sat.html>)
My response:
Yup
He wrote:
With the
foregoing behind us we can now turn to the Quran. Within the Muslim scripture we find the
repeated claim that Allah is the same God worshiped by the biblical prophets. The Quran
even exhorts Jews and Christians to acknowledge that the Muslims worship the very same
Deity. All Quranic citations taken from Shakir’s translation, unless noted otherwise:
Say:
Do you dispute with us about Allah, and He is
our Lord and your Lord, and we shall have our deeds and you shall have your deeds,
and we are sincere to Him. S. 2:139
And
do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them
who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed
to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit. S. 29:46
Since the
Quran claims that its god is the same God of the Holy Bible we would expect to find them
being in agreement regarding the issue of oath making.
In fact, the
Quran, much like the Holy Bible, provides plenty of examples of Allah making oaths and
swearing to do something. It is therefore not surprising to discover that in one set of
oath making and swearing passages, the speaker, whom Muslims believe is Allah, swears by
the Lord or by Allah:
And
they will not - I swear by thy Lord - they will
not believe, until they have set thee up as judge between them on points where they
differ. Then shall they not find in their own minds any difficulty in thy decisions, and
shall submit with entire submission. S. 4:65 Rodwell
And I swear
by thy Lord, we will
surely gather together them and the Satans: then will we set them on their knees round
Hell: S. 19:68 Rodwell
"[Abraham
supposedly says] I swear by GOD, I have a plan
to deal with your statues, as soon as you leave." S. 21:57 Khalifa
By the Lord then of the heaven and of the earth, I
swear that this is the truth, even as ye speak yourselves. S. 51:23 Rodwell
But
nay! I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests
that We are certainly able S. 70:40
These
passages are somewhat perplexing. Since it is believed that Allah is the one speaking,
with the exception of 21:57, this means that Allah is either addressing himself in the
third person or is referring to someone other than himself. It may even imply that Allah
is multipersonal, that Allah exists as a plurality of divine persons, which means that one
of the persons is addressing the other(s) as Lord, God etc. Or it maybe the human author
of the Quran, perhaps even an angel, who is speaking in these passages. Now we obviously
do not believe that God authored the Quran, or that one of God’s appointed angels
gave Muhammad the inspiration. We only bring up these points for a Muslim to consider and
decide.
Whatever the
case may be, and in whatever manner a Muslim decides to resolve this, the swearing by God
is consistent with the Bible’s teaching that Yahweh swears only to and by himself.
But here is
where the similarities end and the major differences begin. There is a multitude of other
Quranic references where the speaker swears by a host of other things, i.e. Muhammad, the
Quran, the stars, humanity etc. Here are most, if not all, of these oath-making passages:
Verily,
by thy life (O Prophet), in their wild intoxication, they wander in distraction, to and
fro. S. 15:72 Y. Ali
I
swear by the Quran full of wisdom S. 36:2
I
swear by those who draw themselves out in ranks S. 37:1
Suad,
I swear by the Quran, full of admonition. S. 38:1
I
swear by the Book that makes things clear: S. 43:2
I
swear by the Book that makes manifest (the truth). S. 44:2
Qaf.
I swear by the glorious Quran (that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah) S. 50:1
I
swear by the wind that scatters far and wide, S. 51:1
I
swear by the heaven full of ways. S. 51:7
I
swear by the Mountain, S. 52:1
I
swear by the star when it goes down. S. 53:1
But
nay! I swear by the falling of stars; S. 56:75
Noon.
I swear by the pen and what the angels write, S. 68:1
But
nay! I swear by that which you see, S. 69:38
Nay;
I swear by the moon, S. 74:32
Nay!
I swear by the day of resurrection. Nay, I swear by the self accusing soul, that the
Day
of Judgment is a certainty. S. 75:1-2
I
swear by the emissary winds, sent one after another (for men's benefit), S. 77:1
Then
I swear by the angels who bring down the revelation, S. 77:5
I
swear by the angels who violently pull out the souls of the wicked, S. 79:1
But
nay! I swear by the stars, S. 81:15
But
nay! I swear by the sunset redness, S. 84:16
I
swear by the mansions of the stars, S. 85:1
I swear by
the heaven and the comer by night; S. 86:1
I
swear by the rain-giving heavens, S. 86:11
I
swear by the daybreak, S. 89:1
Nay!
I swear by this city. S. 90:1
I
swear by the sun and its brilliance, S. 91:1
I
swear by the night when it draws a veil, S. 92:1
I
swear by the fig and the olive, and mount Sinai, And this city made secure, S. 95:1-3
I
swear by the runners breathing pantingly, S. 100:1
I
swear by the time, S. 103:1
These
references are quite damaging for the Muslim position for at least two reasons. In the
first place, these texts show that Allah cannot be the same as Yahweh God. Yahweh swears
only by himself since there is none greater, Allah swears by a host of inferior things and
beings. Second, from the biblical perspective the swearing by other things besides God
becomes an act of deification, elevating inferior creatures to the same level of greatness
as God. After all, the reason why Yahweh swears by himself is because there is nothing
greater than him, which means that swearing by things other than God implies that those
other things are on the same level of greatness as Yahweh. It makes these other objects
just as great, just as exalted, as the infinitely great and holy God. Allah is thereby
making creation his equal, turning finite creatures into fellow gods who are comparable to
him in greatness.
My response:
Shamoun has
committed the BIGGEST mistake and fallacy in this article and his argument, his argument
is entirely based on an assumption! Here is what Shamoun says and this is the foundation
of his argument:
Second, from
the biblical perspective the swearing by other things besides God becomes an act of
deification, elevating inferior creatures to the same level of greatness as God. After
all, the reason why Yahweh swears by himself is because there is nothing greater than him,
which means that swearing by things other than God implies that those other things are on
the same level of greatness as Yahweh. It makes these other objects just as great, just as
exalted, as the infinitely great and holy God. Allah is thereby making creation his equal,
turning finite creatures into fellow gods who are comparable to him in greatness.
He makes two
mistakes in one. He first says 'from the
biblical perspective ' I for one
could care less on your Biblical perspective; we are discussing something about Islam, so
therefore it must be taken in an Islamic perspective.
The second
fallacy Shamoun makes is that he ASSUMES: Allah is
thereby making creation his equal, turning finite creatures into fellow gods who are
comparable to him in greatness.
As a result of his first mistake,
which is examining things from a Biblical perspective, this leads Shamoun to his second
fallacy which is to assume that since Allah swears by lower inferior beings. This makes
this inferior beings God and on the same level as God. That is the assumption. Shamoun
assumes that since God swears by something else this makes those things equal to him and
on the same level, and that is what he bases his whole argument on! On an assumption!
The fact of the matter is that when
Allah swears or makes an oath by something else other than himself, this does not mean he
is lowering himself to the level of the object he swears by, or elevates the object he
swears by to his level. Let us see what a few scholars have said regarding Allah's oaths:
According to Tabari,
'Qatadah maintained that, when God swears by certain objects, he does so in view of the
exalted status they have in His eyes.' Qatadah explains 92:2-3 by saying that night and
day are 'two great signs God wraps around the creation'.[7] Dahhak, commenting on
89:2-3, says that God has sworn by other days, and has singled out the day of sacrifice (shaf') and the day of 'Arafah (watr)
because of their known excellence over all the other nights.'[8]
AND
Zamakhshari
makes the following remark about 68:1: 'He [God] has sworn by the pen in order to exalt
it; for it points to the great wisdom that inheres in creating it and making it well, and
because it carries countless benefits and advantages.'[9] God has sworn by 'the piercing
star,' Zamakhshari says in reference to 86:1-3, 'in order to glorify the
extraordinary power and subtle wisdom it is known to represent.'[10]
AND
Razi,
commenting upon 44:2, observes that the fact that God has sworn by the Qur'an is proof of
the excellence (sharaf) of the
Qur'an.[11] He explains 89:1-5 as follows:
Know
that these objects of oath, by which God has sworn, must represent either some kind of
religious blessing (fa'idah diniyyah) or some
kind of worldly good (fa'idah dunyawiyyah) that
would necessitate the offering of gratitude, or a combination of both. Commentators have
accordingly differed sharply in their interpretation of these things, each interpreting
them in the light of his understanding of what is of the highest value in religion and of
the greatest benefit in respect of worldly matters.[12]
AND
His comment
on 90:1-2 is that the oath testifies to the great honour the town of Makkah possesses.[13]
Discussing 103:1, Razi cites four interpretations of the word `asr: 'time', 'the beginning or end of a day,'
'the `asr prayer,' and 'the era of Muhammad'.[14]
The common denominator of all four interpretations, as is evident from Razi's discussion,
is glorification of the MB.
Raken from http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Q_Studies/Miroaths.html.
So the fact is when Allah swears by
something else it is not to make himself in the same status of them. When he swears by
something else it is to show their excellence, by their benefits, and importance to us.
There are some differing opinions, none the less the Islamic perspective on Allah and his
oaths on inferior beings does not make the inferior beings on the same level as God.
He wrote:
Muslims may
wish to say that the Bible’s teaching isn’t normative for them, that the
teachings of the Holy Bible do not determine what is correct or incorrect for the
followers of Islam. This response ignores the passages we had cited earlier, namely, that
Muslims supposedly worship the same God of the biblical prophets. Again, consider these
references:
The
same did Abraham enjoin upon his sons, and also Jacob, (saying): O my sons! Lo! Allah hath
chosen for you the (true) religion; therefore die not save as men who have surrendered
(unto Him). Or were ye present when death came to Jacob, when he said unto his sons: What
will ye worship after me? They said: We shall worship thy God, the God of thy fathers,
Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God, and unto Him we have surrendered. S. 2:132-133
Pickthall
And
strive in the cause of ALLAH as it behoves you to strive for it. HE has chosen you and has
laid no hardship upon you in the matter of religion; so follow the faith of your father
Abraham; HE has named you Muslims both before and in this Book, so that the Messenger may
be a witness over you, and you may be witnesses over mankind. Therefore observe Prayer and
pay the Zakaat, and hold fast to ALLAH. HE is your Protector and an Excellent Protector
and an Excellent Helper! S. 22:78 Sher Ali
It also
ignores the Quran’s teaching that Muhammad followed the same guidance given to the
prophets before him:
And
that is OUR argument which WE gave to Abraham against his people. WE exalt in decrees of
rank whomso WE please. Thy Lord is indeed Wise, All-Knowing. And WE gave him Isaac and
Jacob; each did WE guide aright, and Noah did WE guide aright aforetime, and of his
progeny, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do WE reward those
who do good. And WE guided Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias; each one of them was of
the righteous. And WE also guided Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot! and each one of
them did WE exalt above the people. And WE exalted some of their fathers and their
children and their brethren, and WE chose them and WE guided them in the straight path.
That is the guidance of ALLAH. HE guides thereby those of HIS servants whom HE pleases.
And if they had worshiped aught beside HIM, surely all they did would have been of no
avail to them. It is to these whom WE gave the Book and dominion and Prophethood. But if
they are ungrateful for these favours it matters not, for WE have now entrusted them to a
people who are not ungrateful for them. These it
is whom ALLAH guide aright, so follow thou their guidance. Say, `I ask not of you
any reward for it. This is naught but an admonition for all mankind.' S. 6:83-90 Sher Ali
The hadiths
provide an exegesis, an explanation, of the above passage:
Narrated
Mujahid:
That he asked Ibn 'Abbas, "Is there a prostration in Surat-al-Sad?" (38.24) Ibn
'Abbas said, "Yes," and then recited: "We
gave ... So follow their guidance." (6.85,90) Then he said, "He (David) is
one them (i.e. those prophets)." Mujahid narrated: I asked Ibn 'Abbas (regarding the
above Verse). He said, "Your Prophet
(Muhammad) was one of those who were ordered to follow them." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 156
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html>)
Since
Muhammad was commanded to follow the guidance, the example, the teachings of the prophets
before him then his own teachings must be uniform with the previous revelation; especially
in the matters of the nature and attributes of God, i.e. theology proper. God’s
essence and qualities are immutable, i.e. they never change or cease to be, which means
that the Quran’s theology must be consistent with the previous revelation if it
indeed comes from the same God of the Holy Bible.
My response:
Nice deceptive tactic used by
Shamoun. Typical missionary I must say. Shamoun assumes yet again! The Quran does indeed
tell us to follow the guidance of the former prophets, and tells Muhammad the same thing.
Shamoun believes that guidance was saying Jesus is God. That there is a trinity, WRONG!
The fact is the same message has been sent from Adam to Muhammad, worship one God. The
same message, your corrupted belief and Bible is not that guidance, so you have made the
mistake. We Muslims don’t follow your CURRENT corrupt Biblical perspective. To follow
the TRUE Biblical perspective is to follow Islam. Something you don’t understand. The
only inconsistent book we have is the Bible; the reason why it is inconsistent with the
Quran is because the Bible is corrupt and went away from the truth.
He wrote:
Muslims may
want to also raise the issue of Bible corruption, that these biblical references are
corrupted. Apart from the fact that Muslims have no conclusive and convincing evidence to
support such a position, it is apparent that those Muslims who would even posit this
theory haven’t pondered this matter seriously. If the Muslims are correct then this
means that copyists and scribes corrupted the text so as to give God even greater glory,
exalting him even higher than the Quran exalts Allah!
My response:
Aha, Muslims have indeed showed Bible
corruption, even Christians themselves admit their own Bible is corrupt as in the case of
1 John 5:7. Well since you want Bible corruption, here is your Bible corruption:
God good to
all, or just a few?
PSA 145:9 The
LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
JER 13:14 And
I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the
LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
War or Peace?
EXO 15:3 The
LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
ROM 15:33 Now
the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Who is the
father of Joseph?
MAT 1:16 And
Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
LUK 3:23 And
Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of
Joseph, which was the son of Heli.
Who was at the
Empty Tomb? Is it:
MAT 28:1 In
the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
MAR 16:1 And
when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had
bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
JOH 20:1 The
first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the
sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Is Jesus equal
to or lesser than?
JOH 10:30 I
and my Father are one.
JOH 14:28 Ye
have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye
would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Which
first--beasts or man?
GEN 1:25 And
God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every
thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
GEN 1:26 And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
GEN 2:18 And
the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help
meet for him.
GEN 2:19 And
out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.
The number of
beasts in the ark
GEN 7:2 Of
every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of
beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
GEN 7:8 Of
clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that
creepeth upon the earth, GEN 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the
male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
How many stalls
and horsemen?
KI1 4:26 And
Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen.
CH2 9:25 And
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen;
whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
Is it folly to
be wise or not?
PRO 4:7
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get
understanding.
ECC 1:18 For
in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
1 Cor.1:19:
"For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and wil bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent."
Human vs.
ghostly impregnation
ACT 2:30
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the
fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
MAT 1:18 Now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to
Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
The sins of the
father
ISA 14:21
Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not
rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
DEU 24:16 The
fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to
death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
The bat is not
a bird
LEV 11:13 And
these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be
eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
LEV 11:14 And
the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
LEV 11:15
Every raven after his kind;
LEV 11:16 And
the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
LEV 11:17 And
the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
LEV 11:18 And
the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
LEV 11:19 And
the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
DEU 14:11 Of
all clean birds ye shall eat.
DEU 14:12 But
these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
DEU 14:13 And
the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
DEU 14:14 And
every raven after his kind,
DEU 14:15 And
the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
DEU 14:16 The
little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
DEU 14:17 And
the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
DEU 14:18 And
the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Rabbits do not
chew their cud
LEV 11:6 And
the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
'Gerah', the
term which appears in the MT means (chewed) cud, and also perhaps grain, or berry (also a
20th of a sheckel, but I think that we can agree that that is irrelevant here). It does
*not* mean dung, and there is a perfectly adequate Hebrew word for that, which could have
been used. Furthermore, the phrase translated 'chew the cud' in the KJV is more exactly
'bring up the cud'. Rabbits do not bring up anything; they let it go all the way through,
then eat it again. The description given in Leviticus is inaccurate, and that's that.
Rabbits do eat their own dung; they do not bring anything up and chew on it.
Insects do NOT
have four feet
LEV 11:21 Yet
these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs
above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
LEV 11:22
Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his
kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
. LEV 11:23
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto
you.
Snails do not
melt
PSA 58:8 As a
snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman,
that they may not see the sun.
Fowl from
waters or ground?
GEN 1:20 And
God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and
fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
GEN 1:21 And
God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought
forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that
it was good.
GEN 2:19 And
out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Odd genetic
engineering
GEN 30:39 And
the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and
spotted.
The shape of
the earth
ISA 40:22 It
is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a
tent to dwell in:
MAT 4:8
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Astromical
bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from anyplace. The
kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico),
Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of
the world were widely distributed.
Snakes, while
built low, do not eat dirt
GEN 3:14 And
the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all
cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt
thou eat all the days of thy life:
Earth
supported?
JOB 26:7 He
stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
JOB 38:4
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast
understanding.
Heaven
supported too
JOB 26:11 The
pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
The
hydrological cycle
ECC 1:7 All
the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, thither they return again.
JOB 38:22
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the
hail,
Storehouses
are not part of the cycle
Order of
creation
Here is the
order in the first (Genesis 1), the Priestly tradition:
Day 1: Sky,
Earth, light
Day 2: Water, both in ocean basins and above the sky(!)
Day 3: Plants
Day 4: Sun, Moon, stars (as calendrical and navigational aids)
Day 5: Sea monsters (whales), fish, birds, land animals, creepy-crawlies (reptiles,
insects, etc.)
Day 6: Humans (apparently both sexes at the same time)
Day 7: Nothing (the Gods took the first day off anyone ever did)
Note that
there are "days", "evenings", and "mornings" before the Sun
was created. Here, the Deity is referred to as "Elohim", which is a plural, thus
the literal translation, "the Gods". In this tale, the Gods seem satisfied with
what they have done, saying after each step that "it was good".
The second
one (Genesis 2), the Yahwist tradition, goes:
Earth and
heavens (misty)
Adam, the first man (on a desolate Earth)
Plants
Animals
Eve, the first woman (from Adam's rib)
How orderly
were things created?
#1: Step-by-step. The only discrepancy is that there is no Sun or Moon or stars on the
first three "days".
#2: God fixes things up as he goes. The first man is lonely, and is not satisfied with
animals. God finally creates a woman for him. (funny thing that an omniscient god would
forget things)
How satisfied
with creation was he?
#1: God says "it was good" after each of his labors, and rests on the seventh
day, evidently very satisfied.
#2: God has to fix up his creation as he goes, and he would certainly not be very
satisfied with the disobedience of that primordial couple. (funny thing that an omniscient
god would forget things)
Moses'
personality
Num.12:3:
"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the fact of the
earth."
Num.31:14, 17, 18: "And Moses was wroth...And Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore k