The Bible and the Qu'ran: Let's Compare

The Bible and the Qu'ran are in essence very different books. The Bible was written over the course of hundreds of years, in different genres (parables, advice, dreams, etc), by a wide variety of authors, (nomads, leaders, scholars, fishermen, etc). Thoughtful Christians do not take every word of the Bible literally but they should believe it absolutely. The Qu'ran was written by one man over the course of his own lifetime and is meant to be taken as literal commands. Whereas the entire Bible is an unfolding of drama of redemptive history and claims to be and is un-contradictory, (there are however mysteries which appear contradictory but are not). The Qu'ran provides an easy way out for it's contradictions (and they are there); very simply, the later, more violent writings supersede the earlier more peaceful writings. Those more gentle and tolerant passages in the Qu'ran were written very early in Mohammad's prophetic career. If you put the Bible and the Qu'ran side by side and read them closely you will find they teach radically different concepts. At the very heart of the Christian Faith is the concept of grace; Jesus gave His life and rose from the grave. That great redemptive act in history was the THE act whereby Jesus established his people. Mohammad built his religion by conquering with the sword. Although that approach may be effective in the short term, the essence of what the Qu'ran teaches is not a message of grace. Peace.

Creeds, Cults, and the Bible

Did you know the Table of Contents in your Bible is a creed? Where do you think our Bible came from? It didn't fall out of the sky! It was given to us within an historic context, written over thousands of years. Douglas Wilson has said, "Before we come to the Word of God in Genesis 1:1, we come to the word of the church in the table of contents." In other words, what Wilson means is you won't find anywhere in the Bible itself where it says, "These 66 books are the ones we need to use." The table of contents is a creed (or a statement of belief) because we, as Christians are trusting somewhere along the line that somebody with some kind of authority, recognized those 66 books as the inspired Word of God..and got it right. Keith Mathison has a great book on this; The Shape of Sola Scriptura

Interestingly enough, the Bible must be read, and it must be interpreted. If the final appeal to authority is to the mind of the individual, we've got a serious problem. This is where cults come from; i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses (Arians) and Mormons (Gnostics). Those cults hold to ancient heresies which have already been dealt with in the church. Why do these "newer" cults advocate the same doctrine taught by ancient heretics? Because somewhere along the line, their leaders encouraged their followers to abandon the historic creeds and confessions of the faith.

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Great Bargain for Thine Library!!!

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More Thoughts About the Bible and Marriage

I admit, many are ignorant when it comes to the subject of biblical marriage. Just because you see people doing nasty things like Abraham having a child with Hagar, David committing adultery with Bathsheba, and various persons engaged in polygamy in the Bible, it doesn't mean God approves.

While we're on the subject, what exactly does a "biblical marriage" look like if you have people doing stuff like that in the Bible of all places?

Jesus defines marriage in this way: "He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?" Matt. 19:4 (ESV)

"Okay," you say, "but what about those people who raped women or committed incest and got away with it?

Stealing has always been wrong, even before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, just as murder was always wrong, (ie, Cain and Able). I would view rape as a severe form of stealing. As for incest..., Yes, I believe Cain married his sister, but the same conumdrum comes about with Noah and his family after they leave the ark. But the world has to be populated/re-populated somehow. God establishes all moral standards and the laws against incest did not come down until many years later.

"But hasn't the Bible been edited throughout the years?" You say.

Yes, in one sense it has. There are "editions" out there which are very bad (ie. Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation, etc), but it's important to remember the Bible was divinely inspired in the original autographs. Translations are NOT inspired. However, most scholars will agree, the English Bible we have today is very reliable/accurate when compared with ancient Hebrew/Greek texts....

And besides, the very fact all those wrinkles and warts are left on those people only serves to seal the authenticity of it!

Healthy Toy Alternative- ESV Children's Bible

With so many unhealthy toys out there imported from foreign countries that have less than perfect standards when it comes to that little element called lead, why not give your child A wonderfully safe gift this Advent season? The (click here) ESV Children's Bible is on sale at Westminster Bookstore for $14.94. (by the way, that's 40% off of retail!)

There are over 200 color illustrations and the cover can be safely chewed upon. We know the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, but this one has no lead!

"How sweet are your words to my taste,sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103