We pray that God will bless you with understanding for the wonderful birth and life of Jesus Christ. May the blessings of God be upon you in peace and joy, just as the angels sang for the whole world at the birth of Jesus.
THE BIBLE IS CONFIRMED BY THE QUR’AN
Many people of the Islamic faith have been taught that the Bible is full of errors. Some say that Christians and Jews have changed the holy books given to the prophets. It is important to note that Muhammad, the one who began Islam, never said this about Christians. The Qur’an, the book of Islam, never says this in any of the suras. It is true that Suras 2.75 and 3.78 speak of Jews corrupting the meaning of the Bible; that is, they were accused of explaining the Bible incorrectly. However, it seems that the Bible was not attacked by Muslim scholars and imams until the year A.D. 1056 by Ibn Azzim. This was over 400 years after the death of Muhammad, prophet of Islam. Many great Islamic scholars like Al Tabari and Al Bukhari confirmed that the Bible was reliable and holy in its words. They based their comments on Qur’an writings like Suras 5.43-44, 68 and 2.136. These Suras say that what God revealed to prophets before Muhammad is true and holy, and taught clearly that the Taurat of Musa and the Injil of Isa were the words of God. We ask our Muslim friends simply to let God speak through his holy books, all of his books. Read his words and let God speak in truth through his prophets as you pray for understanding.
HOW DID MARY BECOME THE MOTHER OF JESUS?
Some people think that Christians believe that God had some type of bodily contact with Mary before Jesus was born. This is not true. The Bible makes it very clear that Mary had not been touched by a man and that it was the Holy Spirit of God who did this. It was a miracle. The Bible teaches that Mary was only a human, and never says that Mary was God. There have been some church people through the centuries who have wrongly believed things about Mary. They even say that she answers prayers and gives salvation. This is a false belief, and nowhere is it taught in the Bible. This is why it is important to look personally at the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. See for yourself what is there. We must not judge the faith revealed by Jesus Christ by looking at the ways some people have turned away from the Bible or changed it. Let us go back to what Jesus himself said and did in the Gospel.
WHY WAS JESUS TEMPTED? JESUS IS LIKE ISRAEL
Just as the people of Israel, the children of Abraham, had to pass through times of suffering and testing, so also Jesus passed through those same experiences. Just as the people of Israel in the days of Prophet Moses came out of Egypt to serve God, so did Jesus Christ. Just as the people of Israel were tested for 40 years in the wilderness, Jesus Christ was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. Just as Satan tried to prevent Israel from performing the work of God, so he also resisted Jesus and tried to destroy his work through temptation. The people of Israel were created by God, chosen by God and clearly shown to be God’s people through the prophets like Abraham, Moses, David and Isaiah. In the same way, Jesus was also born of God, and clearly shown to be the chosen one. God worked in history to show that Jesus Christ was the perfect servant of the Lord, the fulfillment of all prophecy.