Witnessing to Muslims

1. The authenticity of the Bible

The Muslims claim that both the Old and New Testaments have been changed, and that the Bible is, therefore, not trustworthy. For this reason they believe it was necessary for God to give another book, the Koran, to replace it. They believe that the Koran contains the essence of all the heavenly books, including the Old and New Testaments.

Can the Word of God really be changed?

In addressing this issue, it is important to direct the Muslim's attention to the fact that the Bible is God's Word. The following are a few good questions you might consider when asking your Muslim friend:

If th Bible is God's Word, how could man change it?

Isn't God able to protect His Word from being changed?

Since the Bible is God's Word, whom are we accusing when we say it's been changed? Aren't we accusing God Himself by saying that He was not able to protect it from being changed?

Who changed the Bible? When was it changed?

Which parts were changed? And for what reason?

By asking him such questions, you will find out that he does not have answers to any of them. The Muslim simply says, "It was changed," and that just shows that he has absolutely no proof or evidence to support his allegations.

What does the Bible say regarding itself?

Because the Muslim agrees that the Bible is God's Word, you may also want to direct his attention to what it says about itself:

Mathew 5:1 "...until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Mathew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will not pass away."

1 Peter 1:24,25 "...the grass withers and the flowers fall off, but the Word of the Lord abides forever."(Also Isaiah 40:8)

1 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof , for correction, and for training in righteousness."

2 Peter 1:21 "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

C. What does the Koran say about the Bible?

The Koran itself does not say the Bible has been changed. In fact, it says that unless one obeys the Torah and the Bible, they are nothing. It mentions the Torah and the "Zambur" (the Old Testament with the Psalms) and the "Injil" (which is the New Testament) many times. When the Koran was written, no mention was made of the Bible having been changed. Thus, when Islam began in the 6th century, 600 years after Jesus Christ, the Bible was accepted as true.

D. What about the issue of translation

The Bible we have in our hands today was translated form the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. Whether it was printed in 1999, 1970 or 1950 it was translated form the original language. We have a complete Bible that dates back to the Third century A.D 300 years after Christ and 400 years before Islam. It is a complete, original Bible and we have several of these in existence: one in a museum in London and another in the Vatican in Rome.

However, someone may say, "Well, maybe it was changed before the year 300." We have thousands of original copies of various sections of the Bible that date back to before the year 300. If these pieces were put together, the result would be hundreds, if not thousands of complete Bibles dating back to before the year 300. The oldest of these manuscripts dates back to around the year 100 AD. We also know that the first books of the New Testament were written in 40 or 50 AD. Evidence of this may be found in the writing s of the Church Fathers, by whom many books and articles were written prior to 100 AD. The entire New Testament, with exception of five sentences that have nothing to do with theology or doctrine, can be reconstructed from the quotes of the church fathers found in these writings. In essence, we have the original copies from the same times as the writings of the Apostles who wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

What is interesting is that in the days of Christ, the region of the Middle East where Christ was born and brought up was under the influence of Greek civilization. The Greek judiciary system required two witnesses to appear before a judge to bring evidence in a trial. God in His sovereignty, however, has provided us with four witnesses, all of whom are in agreement concerning the events of the life of Christ. II Corinthians 13:1 says, "... every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Finally, the Bible is not a scientific book, but where it mentions science it is accurate. It is not a history book, but where it mentions anything historic it is again accurate. It is not a geography book, but where it mentions geography it has proven to be true and accurate. The Bible, as it is in our hands to day, is the true Word of God and is able to stand up to any type of test, research, or criticism.