The Bible and the Koran
by Dave Brown
Return to the Pilgrims Page
For those who know the bible a brief review is all that is needed. The purpose of this article is to refute the Muslim recruiters that I have encountered primarily on Twitter. They are relentless and quite often make the statement that there is no difference between the teachings of the Koran and the Bible. To those who are the least bit familiar with both of these books, this is an obvious bait-and-switch technique, and we have no reluctance at all to declare it blatantly dishonest. We say this because we know that anyone writing such things should have done their homework – and we expect that, for the most part, they have.
We will try to keep it brief by covering just three subjects: (1) the killing of infidels, (2) the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and (3) the divinity of Jesus Christ. As is true of all of our articles, we will just present the writings and let the reader decide. Excerpts from the Koran will be in italics. We will not give book-chapter-verse Koran reference because it is very easy to get an on-line version and just take a unique combination of words and do a search (most on-line Korans have this feature). Searching it out will verify that it is indeed excerpted from the Koran, and it will also provide you with the context so that you can be assured that we are not changing the meanings of anything by taking it out of context.
Death to Infidels
Those familiar with the New Testament know that not only is death not a mandate to those who fail to believe, but Jesus Christ and the apostles never even used any type of coercion. If you do not come to Jesus of your own free will (Revelation 22:17), you cannot come at all. The decision is not to be made by any group or organization – it is an individual responsibility. But to emphasize the difference even further and in a very dramatic way, here is what Jesus taught about our enemies:
Matthew 5:44-45
44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;
45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
No follower of Jesus would ever entertain the idea of killing someone who failed to convert, or killing someone who was a Christian and converted to another religion, and they would oppose any government that took this position.
The following are excerpts from the Koran for your consideration:
And kill them wherever you meet them and drive them out from where they have driven you out; for persecution is worse than killing. And fight them not in, and near, the Sacred Mosque until they fight you therein. But if they fight you, then fight them: such is the requital for the disbelievers.
They wish that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you may become all alike. Take not, therefore, friends from among them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah. And if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and take no friend nor helper from among them;
And when the forbidden months have passed, kill the idolaters wherever you find them and take them prisoners, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
Those critical of the bible most often cite Old Testament passages where God used the army of Israel to punish nations who had become so corrupt as to sacrifice their children by burning them in the fire (Genesis 15:16). This was a different culture and a different time, and I know of no Christian who believes this applies to us today – we might just as well go out and all build arks.
Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
No Christian needs to be told that the story of the crucifixion and resurrection is in the bible. But for those of other religions who might be reading and completeness we will present just two passages:
Luke 23:33
And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Luke 24:45-48
45 Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;
46 and he [Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 Ye are witnesses of these things.
The event above took place after Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection is the most crucial aspect of the Christian religion (1 Corinthians 15). Here is what the Koran says about it:
And their saying, ‘We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah;’ whereas they slew him not, nor crucified him, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no definite knowledge thereof, but only follow a conjecture; and they did not convert this conjecture into a certainty;
Divinity of Jesus Christ
No one claims that the Koran teaches the divinity of Jesus, although claims have been made that the Bible does not teach this. The Koran says, and we would expect Muslims to believe, that Jesus was merely a prophet. This brings to memory the question that Jesus asked his disciples in …
Matthew 16:13-17
13 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
14 And they said, Some (say) John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
15 He said unto them, But who say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
Can we not see that there is a MAJOR difference between someone being a prophet (even a GREAT prophet) and “the Christ, the Son of the living God?” In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to relegate him to the same status as a prophet, no matter how great. But this insult is not to the man Jesus Christ, but to the very Father, Son and Holy Spirit who proclaimed that Jesus was God.
Jesus is a Divine Being is detailed and proven in another article, so we will not repeat it all again here.
Conclusion
All Christians I know believe in freedom of religion, and that is the biblical teaching, as indicated above. If you want to embrace Islam or any other religion, this is your freedom. You are also free to speak and write (as I have here) a defense of what you believe. I will support your right to engage in this effort even if I do not agree with what you say. However, I will draw the line at anyone deceptively stating what the bible teaches, and when you say that there is no difference between Koran and Bible teachings, that is exactly what you are doing, and it is just not true. Anyone reading this article can see that clearly. If it is necessary to lie to convert people to a religion, then that religion cannot be worth converting to.
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?
Return to the Pilgrims Page
We will try to keep it brief by covering just three subjects: (1) the killing of infidels, (2) the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and (3) the divinity of Jesus Christ. As is true of all of our articles, we will just present the writings and let the reader decide. Excerpts from the Koran will be in italics. We will not give book-chapter-verse Koran reference because it is very easy to get an on-line version and just take a unique combination of words and do a search (most on-line Korans have this feature). Searching it out will verify that it is indeed excerpted from the Koran, and it will also provide you with the context so that you can be assured that we are not changing the meanings of anything by taking it out of context.
Death to Infidels
Those familiar with the New Testament know that not only is death not a mandate to those who fail to believe, but Jesus Christ and the apostles never even used any type of coercion. If you do not come to Jesus of your own free will (Revelation 22:17), you cannot come at all. The decision is not to be made by any group or organization – it is an individual responsibility. But to emphasize the difference even further and in a very dramatic way, here is what Jesus taught about our enemies:
Matthew 5:44-45
44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;
45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
No follower of Jesus would ever entertain the idea of killing someone who failed to convert, or killing someone who was a Christian and converted to another religion, and they would oppose any government that took this position.
The following are excerpts from the Koran for your consideration:
And kill them wherever you meet them and drive them out from where they have driven you out; for persecution is worse than killing. And fight them not in, and near, the Sacred Mosque until they fight you therein. But if they fight you, then fight them: such is the requital for the disbelievers.
They wish that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you may become all alike. Take not, therefore, friends from among them, until they emigrate in the way of Allah. And if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and take no friend nor helper from among them;
And when the forbidden months have passed, kill the idolaters wherever you find them and take them prisoners, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.
Those critical of the bible most often cite Old Testament passages where God used the army of Israel to punish nations who had become so corrupt as to sacrifice their children by burning them in the fire (Genesis 15:16). This was a different culture and a different time, and I know of no Christian who believes this applies to us today – we might just as well go out and all build arks.
Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
No Christian needs to be told that the story of the crucifixion and resurrection is in the bible. But for those of other religions who might be reading and completeness we will present just two passages:
Luke 23:33
And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Luke 24:45-48
45 Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;
46 and he [Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 Ye are witnesses of these things.
The event above took place after Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection is the most crucial aspect of the Christian religion (1 Corinthians 15). Here is what the Koran says about it:
And their saying, ‘We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah;’ whereas they slew him not, nor crucified him, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no definite knowledge thereof, but only follow a conjecture; and they did not convert this conjecture into a certainty;
Divinity of Jesus Christ
No one claims that the Koran teaches the divinity of Jesus, although claims have been made that the Bible does not teach this. The Koran says, and we would expect Muslims to believe, that Jesus was merely a prophet. This brings to memory the question that Jesus asked his disciples in …
Matthew 16:13-17
13 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?
14 And they said, Some (say) John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
15 He said unto them, But who say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
Can we not see that there is a MAJOR difference between someone being a prophet (even a GREAT prophet) and “the Christ, the Son of the living God?” In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to relegate him to the same status as a prophet, no matter how great. But this insult is not to the man Jesus Christ, but to the very Father, Son and Holy Spirit who proclaimed that Jesus was God.
Jesus is a Divine Being is detailed and proven in another article, so we will not repeat it all again here.
Conclusion
All Christians I know believe in freedom of religion, and that is the biblical teaching, as indicated above. If you want to embrace Islam or any other religion, this is your freedom. You are also free to speak and write (as I have here) a defense of what you believe. I will support your right to engage in this effort even if I do not agree with what you say. However, I will draw the line at anyone deceptively stating what the bible teaches, and when you say that there is no difference between Koran and Bible teachings, that is exactly what you are doing, and it is just not true. Anyone reading this article can see that clearly. If it is necessary to lie to convert people to a religion, then that religion cannot be worth converting to.
What are the conditions of salvation given by Jesus?
Return to the Pilgrims Page