By Ibrahim Poncardas Romas

Leaflet # 02




C (CHRISTIAN): Do you not believe the Bible to be the Word of God?

M (MUSLIM): Before I say yes or no, we should clarify what is the meaning of "Bible". The word "Bible" is derived from the Greek "Biblia" which means books.


C: Yes! The Bible consists of different books, but they are words of God.

M: When we Muslims say "word of God," we refer to the pure word of God. We cannot accept books as the word of God if they are concoctions. The Bible today consists of the words of translators, writers, and narrators, and contradictions, revisions, fabrications and fallacies. Then, generally, does it seem justified to consider those words to be the word of God?


C: What do you mean?

M: I believe my words are very clear, but perhaps you cannot believe them to be true. Look! When we say "word of God," we must have criteria, because not all books are the words of God. The Bible must be 1) perfect 2) holy 3) free from fallacies and 4) free from contradiction.


C: Is the Bible not perfect and holy? I believe the Bible has no fallacies or contradictions.

M: Allow me to state the reason why we Muslims do not accept the whole Bible to be the Word of God.


C: Okay, tell me.

M: The Bible in your hand today I say, is not perfect. God is perfect, therefore His word must be perfect.


C: Why is the Bible not perfect?

M: First, the Bible now in your hand is a translation from the so-called "original writings". No sane translator can claim that his translation is perfect or that it has as accurate as the original.

C: What is your proof?

M: We Muslims have our sacred book written in Arabic—the Qur’aan. There are Muslim translators and writers who have attained excellence in English and Arabic, yet in their translations from Arabic to English they admit that such translations are not the same as the original, whether in expression or in exact meaning. Today, no single Muslim will believe that any translation of the Qur'aan from Arabic to another language will bear the same value and occuracy as the Arabic Qur'aan.


C: What I need is proof, not explanation.

M: If you need direct proof, look at your own Bible: In 1611 - Christian Era (CE), you have the "King James Version." Then you changed it to the "New King James Version." Revised Standard Version then the "New Revised Standard Version. For the Catholic Version now you have the "New Catholic Version."


C: English is a growing language. That is the reason they sometimes changed a word but its meaning is the same.

M: If you insist that only some words were changed but the meaning is still the same, then what is the meaning of begotten?


C: Why do you mention this word?

M: Because I am proving to you that translators of the Bible have not only changed the word itself, but changed the meaning, which substantiates my point that the Bible today is not perfect due to mistakes and the common defects of translation. Christian Ministers, Priests, Pastors, etc. do not fail to utter the word begotten in John 3:16. But in the translations of modern scholars in the middle of 19th century and in all subsequent translations of the Bible, the word begotten (past participle of "beget") has been eliminated. Because the word "begotten" denotes sexual connotation which is not applicable to God. "To beget," means to sire through sexual intercourse as animals do. According to science, human beings belong to the Animal Kingdom. God is far above and disassociated from animal nature and instinct.


C: But that is only one! It will not change my belief that the Bible is perfect and it is the word of God.

M: I only laid down one reason why Muslims do not accept the Bible to be the Word of God. Another is 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." That passage can no longer be found in all modern translations of the Bible. Please open the English translations of the Bible in the early 19th century and compare them with the modern translations: you will find that they have not only changed the words, but the meaning and Biblical stories in it.


C: Give me one story only if you are telling the truth.

M: Okay, and please feel relax. Do you remember the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, then the Scribes and Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus? That story is in John 8:1-11. It is either put inside brackets or in a footnote with the indication that it is "not found in the Most Ancient Authorities; Many Manuscripts and early Translations do not have this passage." The "New International Version" of the Bible, Copyright 1973, 1978 on the top of Chapter 8 of John says; " THE EARLIEST AND THE MOST RELIABLE MANUSCRIPTS AND OTHER ANCIENT WITNESSES DO NOT HAVE JOHN 7:53, JOHN 8:1-11." Thus they separated John 8:12-59. Would you still insist that the Bible is perfect?


C: God is Perfect, therefore His word must be perfect!

M: I agree with you, God is Perfect. That is why I put perfection as one of our criteria to identify the word of God. However I am only using your own Bible to show that there are omissions and additions in your so-called "Word of God"! If God Himself delets or adds His own words, no problem at all! But human beings have done it.


C: Perhaps I can agree with you that the Bible is not perfect.

M: The second criterion that the word of God must be holy: Look at the Bible, what is the difference between it and pornographic Penthouse and PlayBoy Magazines?

C: WHERE IS PORNOGRAPHY?

M: THE STORY OF THE TWO PROSTITUTES DAY AFTER DAY: Ezekiel 23:1-49. .AND NUDISM: 2 Samuel 6:20, Genesis 9:19-21, 2 Samuel 11:1-27. HOW HOLY IS THE BIBLE? IT CONTAINS ONANISM (COITUS INTERRUPTUS), SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AND INCEST STORIES. In Genesis 38:9, Genesis 19:31-37, Genesis 35:22, 2Samuel 13:1-14, 2Samuel 16:22, Genesis 38:15-50.


When there is no other food, a person who is starving may eat food containing with impurities to save his life. But what do you think of a person who he eats impure food while he has the option of pure food? The Qur'aan is the option: it is a perfect (pure) word of God that will answer all your problems. People are very meticulous when choosing their spouse, car, clothes, and even tooth brush… But concerning their Book which teaches “everything in life,” they do not use reason or mental capability. Ironic, isn’t it? They say, “the Bible is the book of all books,” yet it is full of descripancies and has been revised from time to time. Even Christian scholars admitted the defects in the Bible. Read the preface of the “Revised Standard Version” of the Bible—1971. The “Jehovah ‘s Witnesses” in their “Awake Magazine”—Sept. 8,1957, they said, “50,000 errors in the Bible”, and the Seventh Day Adventist’s prophetess Mrs. Ellen Gold White, stated; “The Bible we read today is the work of many copyists…But copyists have not been infallible, and God most evidently has not seen fit to preserve them altogether from error in transcribing.” Bible commentary, vol. 1, p.14., by Ellen G. White.

Great Christian leaders of the world do not sincerely believe the Bible to be the “Word of God”: If they did, they would not formulate laws or legalize things that contradict the basic teachings of the Bible. Instead, they separate the laws of the Bible from affairs of the State. Why do they uphold democracy, socialism, capitalism, etc. rather than the way (system) designed by God? If the reason is due to History (that the Bible had not been effective to resolve the illness in the society), then logically the Bible is not the Word of God. Because the Word of God is perfect and practical.

Finally, the Catholics and Protestants are fighting over the credibility of the Bible, about which Bible is authentic.