Because culture and religion are so intertwined in Islam, Muslims often have a hard time recognising that all Westerners are not Christians. The West has a Christian cultural heritage, but this has largely been left behind, making religion a mostly private affair. Crime, immorality and drunkenness are neither promoted nor allowed by Christianity, but opposed for the sins they are and for the hurt and tragedy they foster.
Secondly, many Muslims find it difficult to see that most Western Countries do not allow the Church political dominance. This partly reflects the biblical teaching that coercion and true religion do not go together. Muslims sometimes think that Jesus left a law and political agenda similar to Muhammad’s, which he didn’t. The law he left is the Law of Love, summed up as, ‘In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’ (Mt 7:12). This still operates to some degree in the West, allowing freedom of speech, even to the point where Muhammad is insulted in The Satanic Verses and Jesus is degraded in The Last Temptation of Christ. Christians are taught to love their enemies and pray for those that persecute them (Mt 5:44).
Thirdly, Muslims tend to misunderstand that becoming a Christian is primarily a personal decision, not a cultural or family identity. No-one is born a Christian. Each must decide for themself to trust in Jesus’ death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus said, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'. (Jn 3:16)
I appreciate the tolerance that this sentiment tries to express. However, it is unfair to Christianity and Islam to say that they teach essentially the same thing. Islam claims to be the final religion (Sura 61:9). Likewise, Jesus claims to be the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6). They are mutually exclusive. Islam holds that sincere repentance is enough for God to grant forgiveness. Christianity teaches that this is not enough, but must be united with trust in the atoning death of Christ. These are incompatible, involving differing views of the nature of sin, God’s character and forgiveness.
Most Muslims are convinced that the Bible has been corrupted and cannot be trusted. This matter is of such importance that it should not be treated lightly. The Bible and the Qur’an each claim to contain the truth that will lead to eternal life, yet they do not agree. Here are three issues commonly misunderstood by Muslims concerning the Bible:
1. Different translations of the Bible mean that there are different Bibles. This is completely wrong. There is only one Bible, in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There are different translations of this one book because of the changing nature of language, which translations need to reflect. Language is also rich in meaning. Additional translations bring out nuances that may be missing in others, but the meaning is the same. The original languages have never been regarded as divine, defying tranlsation. The Bible asserts that revelation can be adequately conveyed in human languages. It is meant to be understood, loved and obeyed (Dt 30:11-14). That is why Christians take so many pains to see the Bible translated accurately.
2. The four New Testament gospels are corruptions of one original. There is no evidence that Jesus left a book called ‘The Gospel’. In actual fact, he promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the disciples into all truth as they wrote the Scriptures that spoke of him (Jn 14:25,26; 15:26,27).
3. The many variant Bible manuscripts mean that the text is unreliable. I have found that most Muslims do not realise the Qur’an to be in a similar situation. In the reliable Islamic traditions it is recorded that the companions of Muhammad had collections of the Qur’an that differed from each other. For example, the number and order of the Suras, the spelling of words and the use of different words in the same contexts. If one examines these variations fairly, they will realise that the situations for the Bible and the Qur’an are the same. These variations in detail don’t affect the overall reliability of the text, as none of them affect any major doctrine in Islam or Christianity. Both books have been preserved amazingly accurately. The difference is in their message, not that one has been corrupted whilst the other has not.
Muslims are often ignorant of the history of the Bible’s transmission that bears this out. The Old Testament has been the Jewish Scriptures since before Jesus and still is today. The New and Old Testaments together have been the Christian Scriptures since the days of Jesus’ apostles, six centuries before Muhammad. They have not been changed either before or after Muhammad.
Christian belief about Jesus’ deity comes from his own words and actions and the testimony of his closest friends in the New Testament. If you read the gospels fairly you will see that Jesus identified himself as God and did many things that are the prerogative of God alone. Christians are as sensitive to blasphemy as Jews or Muslims. They have only accepted Jesus as God by examining the evidence.
These are just a few of the major misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians. We need to discuss our faiths fairly, clearly and with respect and sympathy. We all agree that God is to be served with our entire lives and hearts. Let us therefore approach each other sincerely and seek to correct our mutual misconceptions.
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