Expert: Mrs. Priscilla Lyons - 1/4/2011

Question
QUESTION: I used to wonder about God, so I studied the bible and wondered who wrote it..because some of the chapters were so confusing,eg:(For I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. (Jeremiah 3:12)
Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever. (Jeremiah 17:4)
If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. (John 5:31)
Jesus answered: Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. (John 8:14)
And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18)
the whole world is under control of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)
And Jesus said, For judgement I am come into this world. (John 9:39)
I came not to judge the world (John 12:47)
)" , I simply couldn't believe that God would sent down such a disorganized book(but my hunch is that the guy named peter wrote his heart out in the bible and filled it up with gibberish), but all I found was a bunch of unverified stories which confuses the readers. First I saw that there were over 9 versions of the bible, and each of them were different. It said that Jesus was God's son....but then I started thinking that if God is not a human, then how could he have kids. This guy was saying that look, jesus didn't have any father, so his dad must have been God himself! But when I told him that Adam and Eve didn't have any parents either. Does that make them god's children too? Well, all this was so confusing , that I started looking into some other religion to see what they had to say about God etc.Then Bible considers everyone to be sinners, and that God had to send his "son" to get rid of sins.This was strange that God would kill his innocent "son" in order to get rid of evil satan.! it sounded pretty cruel to me.Why would His "son" have to die for other peoples sins, or for satan, who makes people sin? Christianity also calls religious law a curse,and so that if someone follows religious laws ,they are in a curse.I have studied both testaments, here are some of the conflicting verses I found in The Old Testament:
1}(a)"And David took from him a thousand chariots and SEVEN HUNDRED horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen"..-II Samuel 8:4 (b)"And David took from him a thousand chariots and SEVEN THOUSAND horsemen,and twenty thousand footmen"..-I Chronicles 18:4..So the question is 700 or 7000? 2}(a)"And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,and he moved David against them to say,Go,number Israel and Judah".-II Samuel 24:1(b)"And SATAN stood up against Israel,and provoked David to number Israel."-I Chronicles 21:1.So, is the Lord of David then Satan?God forbid!3}(a) "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had NO CHILD until the day of her death"-II Samuel 6:23.(b)"But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah,whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth:and THE FIVE SONS of Michal the daughter of Saul,whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzilai the Meholathite."-II Samuel 21:8,So, did Michal have children or not..?,there are a lot more contradictions in the old testament , showing that it could not have been holy.in the Psalm, The Muslim holy city of Makka is mentioned(original word for makka was Baca,as it's referred to in the Quran,Prophet David mentions in his Psalms 84:6:"Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also filleth the pool."The well here is a well known well of Zamzam,still present now,close to the Ka'bah.
can you explain these verses to me?I'm confused..
thanks

ANSWER: Thanks for writing, Sara.  Taken as a whole, the Bible warns about the extremes of different issues, which we are so prone to take, instead of having a proper balance.  If you read the verses you mentioned in context, you will understand more clearly, but reading the whole Bible through, over and over throughout all the years of your life, is of more value than anything else in the world.  No doubt that is why communist and Muslim countries try to control and limit the powerful Word of God.
   Jeremiah 3:12 continues in verse 13 to complete the thought that the Lord will not keep anger for ever if your iniquity is acknowledged, and in verse 14, if you turn back to the Lord.  Jer.17:4 gives the result of sin that is graven on your heart and worshipped in your life (verse 1)--no chance of avoiding God's anger and judgment.  Verse 5 is a strong appeal to avoid the very dangerous fallen human tendency to trust in ourSELF, which separates us from our Creator, as happened to Adam and Eve when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
   In John 5:31 Jesus is reinforcing verse 30, "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father."  We also should be bearing witness to the work of God, not our own work.  In John 8:14 Jesus says He bears record of Himself because He knows Who sent Him and He knows His mission, but the Pharisees don't.  We also should give a testimony of the unique work of God in our personal life.
  I John 5:19 "The whole world lies in darkness"  The evil one affects everybody and everything with darkness (the thief steals, kills and destroys John 10:10), but God is much more powerful (Matt.28:18) and in Him is life and light (John 1:4).  The message we are to teach all nations (verse 19-20) is that each individual who believes this enough to die to oneself and be born again to new life under the direction of God's Spirit (burial portrayed by baptism under water and rising out of the water to new life), will live forever through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
   John 9:39 gives the result of the life of Jesus--God's standard of perfection has been met by Jesus and is now known to mankind.  We are all judged imperfect by that standard.  John 12:47 says that His mission wasn't to condemn but to bring life by lighting (making clear) the truth that our sins condemn us to death, so we will recognize our need for His perfection to meet God's standard.  He came to save us, to give us His perfection by paying for our imperfections.  We are only condemned when we die without the new life Jesus offers (Hebrews 9:27).
    As for the rest of your "question," a better question to ask would be, why would God include all the details of names, places, numbers, dates, etc. knowing that people would use so called discrepancies as an excuse to refuse God's salvation.  You don't even believe what you wrote, "THE FIVE SONS of Michal the daughter of Saul, WHOM SHE BROUGHT UP FOR ADRIEL (they obviously were not her children by birth, but by marriage to Adriel, who fathered them by another woman) the son of Barzilai the Meholathite."-II Samuel 21:8
   Unfortunately, you won't benefit from my time and effort for you this morning, if you're set on trusting your own efforts instead of submitting to God.  I am not perfect, but my Savior is, and He can be your Savior also.  He can answer your true searching, if you want that.  Jeremiah 29:13 "You shall seek Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart."  
   Sincerely,
   Priscilla

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi! thanks for the reply.I tried my best to study the Koran, but I couldn't find a single verse which contradicts itself..My question was how could God sent down two books(Old and New Testament) with so many contradictory statements, while He would sent down the Koran without any mistakes.because didn't Jesus say God can't make mistakes .One of my friend sent me these verses..and once again, I really didn't understand what it was about. I was wondering if you could tell me the meanings..
Isaiah,chapter 60:
1} “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Compare with Chapter 74:1-3,Quran “O, you(Muhammad),wrapped up in garments! Arise and warn! And your Lord magnify!”
2} “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” The advent of Prophet Muhammad{PBUH} was at a time of darkness when the world forgot the Oneness of God as taught by Abraham and all other prophets including Jesus.
3} “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”
4} “Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee…” Within less than 23 years the whole of Arabia was united.
5} “…because of abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” Within less than a century Islam spread out of Arabia to other countries.
6} “The multitudes of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah:all they from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and incense: and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.”
7} “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.” The tribes of Kedar(Arabia)who were divided were then united. “The house of my glory” referred here to the House of Allah in Mecca .It is a fact that the villages of Kedar(now whole Saudi Arabia at least) are the only country of the world which remains impenetrable to any influence of the Church.
8} “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually: they shall not be shut day nor night; the men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.”It is a fact that the mosque surrounding the Holy Ka’bah in Mecca has remained open day and night since it was cleansed by Prophet Muhammad[PBUH] from the idols 1400 years ago. Rulers as well as subjects came for pilgrimage.
Thanks a lot!
Sara

Answer
I guess I wasted a lot of my time and yours yesterday, so I'll just refer you to an expert on the Koran as well as the Bible.  You can find a lot of information on this website: www.thebereancall.org

The Koran also contradicts itself: Allah created everything "in the twinkling of an eye" (54:49,50), "in two Days" (41:9,12), "in four Days" (41:10), "in six Days" (7:54, 10:4;32:4), "a Day," equaling "a thousand years" (32:5) and also "fifty thousand years" (70:4); Jesus is not the Son of God (4:171), yet He is (19:17-21), etc.
There are scientific errors in the Koran. Even Arabian legends are recounted as actual happenings. The Koran contains much superstition and occultism, especially its references to jinn (genies).

Question: Sam Harris writes, "Every devout Muslim has the same reasons for being a Muslim that you have for being a Christian. And yet, you do not find their reasons compelling. The Koran repeatedly declares that it is the perfect word of the creator of the universe....Can you prove that Allah is not the one true God? Can you prove that the archangel Gabriel did not visit Muhammad in his cave? Of course not!" How can one tell which "holy book" is true and which is not? Isn't it one man's word against another man's?

Response: We can prove that each of Islam's claims is false. Harris displays abysmal ignorance both of Christianity and of Islam. There are many profound differences and only a few superficial similarities. The "God of Israel" inspired 40 different prophets over a period of 1,600 years to write the Bible. Most of them never met any of the others, yet their prophecies all agree with and supplement one another. There are no prophecies in the Qur'an, any more than in the Hindu Vedas or sayings of Buddha.  Every one of the 40 biblical prophets has 39 independent witnesses, most of whom lived in different cultures and times in history and never even met one another, yet their testimonies agree. This is a powerful witness to the truth of the Bible.

For the veracity of the Qur'an, there is only one—Muhammad. He began his career with more than 20 murders and perpetuated  his power by murdering thousands more through disciples following his example. This evil continued until his death. Islamic historians admit that far from dying like Jesus Christ as a willing sacrifice, Muhammad died ignominiously, poisoned by the widow whose husband he had murdered.

Christians have a multiplicity of prophecies and witnesses, testifying to Christ's sinlessness. The Qur'an itself urges Muhammad to confess his sins, but, at the same time, it admits the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. Proof of the Bible is found in hundreds of prophecies recorded centuries before their fulfillment. The Qur'an has none.  

Many eyewitnesses have attested to the fact of Christ's resurrection. Some of the greatest legal minds and many historians declare that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is established on such solid evidence that it would stand up in any court. Islam has nothing comparable.