RGeeB wrote:Is there a case for Christ from the Koran?
He is only another prophet by that account.
Don't get it.
Well, a few would agree that the Koran is a counterfeit of the Christian gospel. Its subtly appeals to man's pride by removing the concept of grace, inspite of both containing a lot of similar stories and texts.
However, following K's post above and also the fact that God is capable of using anything to spread His message of salvation - I guess the Koran can be used to intially make a Muslim aware of the Christian approach.
Sorry, but it's more than removing grace. What is considered as authority for belief is a major departure point: the final authority for Protestants, Catholics and Muslims are quite different, i.e., Protestants-Bible alone, Catholics-Bible, tradition and the Pope, Islamists-Bible, Muhammad's writings (which supersede the Bible) and tradition.
Although there are many parallels between the Bible and the Qur'an, hadith, etc., there are also many traditions which are passed along to Muslims and affect their beliefs. One of these, for example, is the Muslim belief that Isaac was not the son of promise, but it was Ishmael. This, of course, means that God's promise of blessing to Abraham's descendants would pass to the Arabs through Ishmael and Muhammad, not to the Jews and gentiles through Isaac and Jesus. Not all Muslims believe this, but many do.
Muslims overlook the many other references to "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" in the Bible. In effect, this shakes a fist in the face of God because it rejects who Jesus is and denies His redemptive sacrifice. The Qur'an itself has many contradictions and I fail to see how it could be used as a tool of salvation.
To compare the Bible and the Qur'an on equal footing, for example, is a road paved with many obstacles to overcome. Yes, God can use anything, even something meant for evil He can use for good (e.g., selling Joseph into slavery). But there was always a faithful agent like Joseph which God used. But I believe it's quite a stretch to assume that God would use the writings of a false prophet to accomplish His will.
Then you have to face the same obstacle which Saddam so effectively used to defy the UN mandates for a decade or more. Almost without exception, Arabs believe that their goals or causes are mandated by Allah and that any means, including deceit and ignoring signed treaties, are justified in reaching their goals. There has never been a treaty which they honored to the letter. Same with the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords. Arafat has yet to live up to one of the many agreements he signed in the last treaty, yet Israel has fulfilled all of its obligations.
So then, what kind of reasoning can one use in dealing with such a mindset? Are Muslims going to see the logic in comparing the Bible and their holy writings? Not at all, they will defend their well ingrained beliefs in spite of all truths presented to them. They simply ignore what does not agree with their beliefs. Their thinking pattern goes like this:
Q: Why is that true?
.......A: It's in the Qur'an.
Q: How do you know the Qur'an is true?
.......A: Muhammad is Allah's prophet.
Q: How can you be sure?
.......A: It's in the Qur'an.
What happens is that they leap to the conclusion they have been raised to believe, then use somewhat circular reasoning to justify this end. How do I reach such a conclusion? I have tried to reason with Muslims via Email, but this has been my experience. And I have researched this theory and found authors who agree that reasoning has little impact on the Arab mindset. But, of course, you may disagree with this. I will defend it, but I do not insist that you should agree with me. That's what a forum is for.
StanMan
