The Salvation in the Bible and Qur’an…

Christianity and Islam share much common ground. Both the Christians and the Muslims trace their roots to Abraham. Both believe in Jesus as the Messiah and His second coming.  Both believe in prophecy, God's messengers (apostles), revelation, scripture, and the resurrection of dead. But both agreed not to agree on the doctrine of salvation. Actually there are different teachings on salvation even within the Christians and the Muslims. Some Christians believe in salvation by faith alone, the others believe in salvation by faith plus works; the teachings of salvation are different from church to church. The Scripture clearly teach that we are saved (justified) by faith in Christ and what He has done on the cross.  This faith alone saves us. Eph. 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works …" However, James says in James 2:24, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."

Is the Qur’an ALL inspired by God?

Before I answer this question let me ask you: Is the Bible all inspired by God? And what does that mean? Christians do believe that the Bible is inspired, but not nearly everyone is clear as to what that means. We read in the Bible:

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

The teachings about the immortality of the soul in the Qur’an.

First of all please keep in mind that I am not a scholar neither am I an expert in the Qur’an. Do I understand all of the Qur’an; certainly not. Do I have any problem with verse(s) in the Scripture? Sure I do. My doubt is not about the veracity of the Qur’an or the Bible but my doubt is about the veracity of my understanding. Since I rejected my religious leaders precepts that require blindly following the opinion of the scholars and clerics, and since I accepted the God Words as the only source of my religion, whenever I encounter a problem with my understanding of a verse, I follow the divine advice to act patiently in seeking knowledge (Qur’an 20:114, Jeremiah 33:3), ask the experts (Q. 21:7) without following them blindly (Q. 17:36), and know that God is the one who will teach me and ultimately provide explanation  (Q. 75:16-19, Q. 2:186, John 14:26). I try to convey the best of what I know and if I make a mistake, please bring it to my notice...

Jews, Christians and Muslims agreed… Not to follow The Word of God.

The Jews, hundreds of years after Moses's death created Mishnah and Gemarrah and uphold them and the invented laws in them rather than the TORAH (revealed word of God). Thus, the Jews give up on the Old Testament and never recognize the New Testament.

In the city of Nicene 300 years after the death of Jesus, the pagan Trinity was accepted, and is now the primary source of a Christian's belief in defiance of the Bible which advocates the absolute worship of God Alone. By believing in trinity the Christians denied the Father and the Son. They forbid the Holy Scripture and “speak great words against the most High … and changed times and laws… (Dan 7:25) So, the Christians ignored the Bible and went astray.

What does the Qur’an says about Jesus: The Word of God…

In the Qur’an 4:171 Jesus is called, God’s Word. In Chapter 3:45 the Quran states that the angels, when announcing the unique conception of Jesus to Mary, told her that Allah was giving her good tidings “of a Word from him.” The expression here used, in the original Arabic, is kalimatin-minhu. Broken up, it means kalima (word), min (from), hu (him). Note this—Jesus is the only human being who ever lived who is called a Word from God. The same title is applied to him in the Bible:

He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13). See also John 1:1 and John 1:14.

What does the Qur’an says about Jesus: The Messiah…

Al-Masih Isa - "the Messiah Jesus". We read that when the angels first appeared to Mary they said of the holy child they had been sent to announce: Ismuhul Masihu Isabnu Maryam - "his name shall be the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary" (Chapter 3.45). Even before the conception of Jesus, therefore, the angels gave him the one title that is applied to him on no less than eleven occasions in the Qur'an, namely Al-Masih - "the Messiah".

What does the Qur’an says about Jesus: Is He merely another prophet?

The Qur’an teaches that Jesus is Kalimatullah, meaning The Word of God, Ruhullah, meaning The Spirit of God (4:171), Al-Masih, meaning The Messiah (3:45; 4.157; 4.172;  5.17; 5.72; 5.75;  9:31) Wajeeh, meaning worthy of esteem in this world and the next (3:45), Mubarak, meaning blessed (19:31). We read about His virgin birth in Qur’an (3:42-47; 19:16-31), His marvelous works (3:49; 5:110), His death, resurrection and ascension (4:157; 19:33,34; 3:55; 4:158) and we read about His second coming in (43:57-61).

You Are What You Worship

You Are What You Worship

Every religion is based upon some conception of God. Unfortunately many religions are based upon a conception of false gods, and some are even based upon false conceptions of the true God.

One thing is sure, for those who choose to worship, their whole life and character is molded by the type of person they perceive their God to be.

Hell - eternal torture by a loving God?

What is Hell?

The word HELL in the Bible is translated from GEHENNA- (Ge.hen'na) [Gr. form of the Heb. Geh Hin.nom', "Valley of Hinnom"]. This name appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Gehenna was a the deep, narrow Valley of Hinnom, later known by this Greek name, and lay to the south/southwest of ancient Jerusalem and is the modern-day Wadi er-Rababi (Ge Ben Hinnom). (Jos 15:8; 18:16; Jer 19:2, 6) Judean Kings Ahaz and Manasseh engaged in idolatrous worship there, which included the making of human sacrifices by fire to Baal. (2Ch 28:1, 3; 33:1, 6; Jer 7:31, 32; 32:35) God said this was "a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart" (Jer 7:31; 32:35). God looked at this as a terrible thing. Why would he use this as a picture of what he himself wanted to do? Where God planning to do the same, or was this the place they choose, away from God?

The Ten Commandments in the Qur’an

Comparison of the Ten Commandments with similar passages in the Qur’an

#1

 You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)

Do not associate another deity with God.(Q 17:22)

 Know therefore that there is no god but God. (Q 47:19)

#2

 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God... (Exodus 20:4-5)