5 Reasons Why Islam is False

In no particular order; for more details on points such as these, see Norman Geisler's book Answering Islam:

1. According to Muslims, the Koran is considered the inerrant, holy scripture that comes directly as a revelation from Allah. However, there have been many examples of factual errors and inconsistencies throughout the book. Thus, either the Koran did not really come from Allah, since Allah cannot be in error or think inconsistently. Or Allah produced the Koran but he is not perfect. Either way, a major tenet of the Islamic faith is disproved; it is a false religion.

2. The Islamic scriptures teach that Jesus never actually died on the cross. He is alleged to have departed from the cross before fully expiring. This is simply historically inaccurate, however, as essentially no New Testament historian (even the most radically anti-Christian) believes Jesus survived crucifixion.

3. Muslims hold that God can have no Son and no equal, as Christians allege in their doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God). But there exists ample evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was in fact the Son of God, just as He taught. Moreover, Jesus testified to the reality and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. [On the historical Jesus, His identity, and His teachings in this regard, see the works of Gary Habermas, William Lane Craig, Darrell Bock, Craig Blomberg, Ben Witherington, and Craig Evans (to name some top scholars)].

4. The Islamic deity commands unjust and unholy wars. He is thus not morally perfect and is unworthy of worship. But any deity that is unfit for worship cannot be the greatest conceivable being, i.e., God.

5. There are good reasons to believe that the Bible is divinely inspired. Evidences include fulfilled prophecies, the remarkable coherence of the text despite its myriad authors and stories and time frames. The Bible's accuracy has been substantiated greatly by modern archaelogy and classical historical studies. The Bible contains no proven factual errors or contradictions (unlike the Koran) and is attested to as God's Word by Jesus Christ,whom we have good reason to believe was divine Himself. Since the Bible is God's Word and it contradicts the Koran, we can be sure that the Koran is not divinely inspired. Islam is inaccurate in this regard and thus demonstrably false.

Holiness: Mark of the true God

The function and purpose of the Old Testament Law, as revealed in such books as Leviticus or Deuteronomy is oftentimes puzzling to contemporary Christians. Why does God make such intricate and apparently overly restrictive demands of His chosen Israelite people? Why command a certain method of eating and dressing and appearance? Is God a legalist?

Often overlooked in such discussions is the fact that the Law as revealed in the Old Testament had a main (though not sole) focus, namely to discipline the Israelites into becoming holy -- that is, morally pure -- just as God is holy. As I've observed elsewhere on my blog (see my post quoting H.H. Farmer titled, "On Fighting the World"), the process of making humans holy is one that must be decisive and drastic. The gravity of human sins requires equally grave measures to defeat it.

Thus, in this sense, God's Law was severely restrictive, not because God hates pleasure and wants His children to suffer through a lackluster life full of bleakness. Rather, His law was drastic so as to reveal the Israelites' sinfulness in its light and thus their need to rely on God for guidance and redemption. It was a first, intrusive step towards turning their souls in the right direction.

But while this is all very significant in itself, another lesson embedded herein is equally so. That is, of all deities competing in the world's marketplace of religions, which one demonstrates (or purportedly demonstrates) such a dedication to holiness? It's not the god(s) of Eastern religions and Buddhism, who typically see no distinction between good and evil (both are illusions) and thus do not even pretend to be holy. It is not the Islamic god who does not have universal love, as does the biblical God and who demands unjust and unholy wars (jihad).

Go through all faiths and you'll find no plausible candidate but the God of the Pentateuch who displays such holiness or who is so set apart morally. Philosophers of religion are agreed that any being deserving of the title "God" must be a being "worthy of worship." In short, He must be a being with the great-making attributes of moral purity (holiness), omniscience, omnipotence, etc. He must be maximally excellent.

If we therefore limit our choices of potentially real gods to those worshipped in the religions around the globe, we find that merely one deserves the name of God with a big 'G.' He is Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus.

APOLOGETICS EVENT

The following is an event I'm helping to organize involving two apologetics-oriented lectures from philosophy professors from universities here in Western New York. If you are from western New York, or know someone who is, or you'll be in western New York, or know someone who will be, please tell them about this!!

CAN WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD?: SCHOLARS SPEAK OUT

Is the universe a mere accident or the creation of a divine designer? Can a sincere search for God help us to know Him? Come hear answers to such questions in these lectures free of charge and open to the public:

Dr. James Beebe (Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Buffalo):

"Design or Chance?: The Fine-Tuning Argument for the Existence of God"

Dr. John Zeis (Professor of Philosophy, Canisius College):

"Believing in Order to Know"

ALSO:

• Q&A Sessions with the speakers
• Free literature
• Books for sale on the related topic
• Refreshments

DATE: DECEMBER 8, 2007

TIME: 2:00-4:00pm

LOCATION: GRUPP FIRESIDE LOUNGE

(CANISIUS COLLEGE STUDENT CENTER)

PRICE OF ADMISSION: FREE