APOLOGIA
By Hendrik van der Breggen
The Carillon, March 16, 2017
Islam and
Christianity
What follows are some of my thoughts about Islam and
Christianity.
Before I begin, please know this: Vandalizing Mosques or
otherwise treating Muslims with hatred and disrespect is wrong, period.
But know this, too: Thinking carefully about Islam is NOT
Islamophobia. One can have non-phobic, reasonable concerns.
Let's proceed.
The focus of Islam is the Qur'an and Muhammad. Muhammad, according
to the Qur'an, is the “seal of the prophets,” i.e., Muhammad is God's latest
and greatest prophet. He calls us to submit to God and His Messenger
(Muhammad).
According to the Qur'an, Jesus is to be respected. But,
although born of a virgin and doer of miracles, Jesus is merely a prophet. Jesus
is not God in human flesh, contrary
to the New Testament.
According to the Qur'an, and contrary to the New Testament, Jesus
didn't die on the cross (somebody else did) and Jesus didn't resurrect bodily
after death.
About the Qur'an: Its revelation about Jesus comes to
Muhammad via an (alleged) angel, 600 years after Jesus' life, 1000 kilometers
away, in a cave.
About the New Testament: It contains historical testimony
for Jesus' life that is close to the events temporally and geographically (i.e.,
it contains accounts of eyewitnesses and close associates of eyewitnesses).
The Qur'an's
chapters are ordered from longest to shortest, not chronologically.
Chronologically, the Qur'an's peaceful verses occur before Muhammad gains power,
whereas its calls to jihad (war on unbelievers/ “infidels”) occur after Muhammad gains power. According to the
Qur'an, the later verses abrogate (cancel) the earlier verses.
According to the Qur'an's last revelation, Muhammad orders his followers to kill infidels, i.e., those who don't agree with his views about God.
According to Islamic tradition (hadith) and biographies of
Muhammad (sirah), Muhammad is a warlord, responsible for hundreds of murders
plus the enslavement of men, women, and children.
Also,
according to Islamic tradition and the Qur'an, Muhammad has a low view of women
(their testimony is worth half that of a man, more women than men will be in
hell, they can be beaten) and Muhammad married a girl when she was six,
consummating the marriage three years later.
Yes, the Bible has calls to war in the Old Testament. But
the Bible's calls to war are specific and limited to particular times and
places, whereas the Qur'an's call for jihad is Muhammad's latest revelation and
is open-ended—and continues.
According to the New Testament, Jesus promotes his message
by allowing his blood to be shed on a cross. But Muhammad, according to the
Qur'an and tradition, promotes his message by shedding the blood of others.
Yes, most Muslims don't follow the violent Muhammad, which
is good. They elevate his peaceful traits above the violent.
But why do this, if Muhammad's call to violent jihad is his
latest revelation and this latest revelation abrogates the earlier peaceful
revelation?
If Islamic “reform” means (at
least in part) getting back to basics, what are those basics?
We live in an open society. Surely we should encourage
investigation of the evidence of competing religious truth claims, while
showing respect to those who hold them.
Such investigation isn't a sign of disrespect, nor is it, in
the case of investigating Islam, a case of Islamophobia (just as investigating
Christianity isn't a case of disrespect to Christians or Christophobia).
Let's welcome Muslims to Canada, especially if they are fleeing
persecution. Let's also encourage careful thinking.
Love and truth-seeking can co-exist.
(Hendrik van der Breggen, PhD, is associate professor of philosophy at Providence University College. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of Providence.)
Recommended resources:
- William Kilpatrick, Christianity, Islam, and Atheism (book)
- Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (book, expanded edition)
- Nabeel Qureshi, No God But One: Allah or Jesus? (book)
- Robert Spencer et al., Islam: What the West Needs to Know (online video)
- R.C. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb, The Dark Side of Islam (book)
- David Wood, Answering Muslims (website, see David Wood’s many videos about Islam and his debates with Muslim apologists)
- William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (website, hear Craig’s podcasts about Islam plus see his debates with Muslim apologists)
No comments:
Post a Comment