Traditionally, most Muslims declare that the Bible has been corrupted, and that the Christian God is a false God. This mostly due to the fact that the Bible contradicts several core ideas in Islamic doctrine such as the oneness of God (the idea of the Trinity) and that Jesus never died on the cross (the idea of Jesus died on the cross) and so forth.
All the same, the Koran(s) – the supreme book(s) of Islam - still commands Muslims to declare that their Islamic God, is the same God as the Christian have, and to this God they submit (sura 29:46). The Koran(s) also states that the Torah and gospel are revealed by the same God, as guidance for mankind. And those who disbelieve in these revelations (in the Torah and the gospel) will be severely punished by God (sura 3:3-4). The Koran further claims that Gods words can not be changed (sura 18:27), this while both the Torah and gospel are recognized as revealed by God as well. Implicitly that means that they can not be changed either (as they are then the words of God too). The Koran also claims that those (people) who do follow the words of God (in the Torah and the gospel) will be the successful/fortunate ones (sura 7:157). Furthermore, the Koran commands that the people of the gospel (Christians) should and must
judge things by the gospel (sura 5:47) - otherwise they would be disobedient to God. This is further reinforced in sura 5:68 in which the Koran declares "O People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord." Despite the fact that the Koran and Islam is in clear conflict with the gospel, as exemplified above.
Once we apply the Koran(s) claims and commands together - we are ultimately forced conclude that
Islam is false (because it contradicts the scriptures), if we judge things
by the gospel, as instructed. The only other possible alternative here is then that the gospel is not the word of God and is thus false - in such a case, we are still forced to conclude
Islam is false as it clearly affirms the authority of the same. This makes Islam an unsustainable and absurd proposition, and as a result it implodes (in terms of credibility). This sums up the circumstance of what has been called the “the Islamic dilemma” essentially. As, no matter what we do, we are forced to the conclusion that
Islam is false, due to a series of claims and commands of the Koran (regarding the Torah and the gospel).
• How does one deal with this absurd circumstance in Islam?
• What would you do, facing this dilemma?
- A