Are Muslims Right About the Bible?
By Gordon Nickel, TGC.
A recent public debate between British Muslim polemicist Zakir Hussain and American Christian author Michael Brown helpfully illustrates the two most common Islamic approaches to the Bible. On the one hand, Muslims will often argue that the Bible predicts the coming of Muhammad. On the other hand, they will often undermine the Bible’s accuracy and authority.
For example, Hussain claimed Moses’s mention in Deuteronomy 18:15 of a future prophet to come was a prophecy about Muhammad. But when Brown carefully demonstrated that according to the verse the prophet would need to come from Israel (“A prophet like me from among your own people,” NRSV), the direction of the debate shifted. At that point, Hussain asserted the Masoretic Text had added the Hebrew word for “from your midst” to the verse, even specifying that the word wasn’t to be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The debate, accessible on Brown’s YouTube channel, points to the remarkable efforts some Muslims make to search the Bible’s text for claims about their messenger while casting doubt on the text when its content doesn’t agree with Islamic dogma. It also shows how, when all arguments fail, Muslims typically fall back on their accusation that the Bible is corrupt and falsified.
In the end, the debate exemplifies the necessity for Christians to know the Bible well and candidly declare its truths.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
