Audio Presentations of Islamic Apologetics coming soon!

In writing this post I wrote about how I'm going to start commenting on the debates that are online or the podcasts that are online. I had to stop myself because it became too lengthy. So I have decided to focus on using audio in presentation format. I will pause the audio clips of events or other videos at certain portions and address the issues. I think that is the most concise way of doing this. Writing is difficult because you have to constantly make sure that you keep a certain scholarly standard, and it is not easy to do by yourself especially if you have no editor and in the case that you are not working for an official magazine or publication or something of the sort. Stay tuned you guys will start seeing some in a few days, and hopefully a podcast!

Peace be to all and thank you!

Peace be to all and thank you!

In writing this post I wrote about how I'm going to start commenting on the debates that are online or the podcasts that are online. I had to stop myself because it became too lengthy. So I have decided to focus on using audio in presentation format. I will pause the audio clips of events or other videos at certain portions and address the issues. I think that is the most concise way of doing this. Writing is difficult because you have to constantly make sure that you keep a certain scholarly standard, and it is not easy to do by yourself especially if you have no editor and in the case that you are not working for an official magazine or publication or something of the sort. Stay tuned you guys will start seeing some in a few days, and hopefully a podcast!

Peace be to all and thank you! 

A scandal involving Nouman Ali Khan?

I randomly ran into this video which was talking about a scandal regarding our friend. First of all matters like this should be kept as private as possible. It is obvious in our religion that much harm results from people committing sin openly and unabashedly. If someone is trying to keep something they did wrong private, then that should be respected. Those parties directly involved should sort it out. So to all you Muslims out there stop talking about this. By talking about this you are denying him the right of being innocent unless proven otherwise. And that is a terrible thing, as is stated in the Holy Koran regarding the heavy burden of accusing someone of an indecent act. Stop speculating stop searching just leave this issue alone and leave it to God to sort the matter.

Essays answering active evangelism

It is clear to anyone following the flow of ideas in debates going on daily in the public sphere, such as internet outlets like youtube, that there has been no decrease in presenting objections to Islam. Much of it is very old and is pretty much refuted in the holy Quran. Due to a great deal of misunderstanding on the part of both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, it is increasingly difficult to simply rely on people getting the facts on their own.

There alot of times during the day where arguments become clearer in my head or resurface after being forgotten. I am trying to take note of them as soon as I think of them so that I lose as little as possible.

I am going to try to compile these thoughts into a book of mini essays. I think this will be a great format for anyone looking for answers who do not want to sift through a whole book to get an answer. I have to admit that I have been a bit disappointed in some Muslim responses. When Muslims do not understand the position they are trying to refute, the need becomes larger. I am of course proud of alot of defenders of Islam such as the likes of Shabir Ally and Adnan Rashid. It is no longer feasible to rehash the points left to us by Ahmed Deedat, my God rest his soul and grant him peace. The Christian apologists are not caught by surprise like they were during his time.

Dr. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries is one of many evangelists that stand out in terms of their careful research and willingness to listen to Muslim dialogues among themselves. A lot of my writings will tackle some of his issues. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by the breadth of knowledge that he and others have on the subject. However, listening to his debates, and the debates of others such as William Craig, Jay Smith, and others have calmed those worries because the arguments presented are so poor. This is one thing I think is a proof of the truth of the Islamic message. If the best objections are that weak, then getting the answers out there in an accessible format will not be difficult, God willing. I will try to post some of the essays on this page. I hate posting incomplete essays though I think that may be necessary at this time. The essays can always be finalized and the wonderful blog format allows posting information even if the essay is not completed, and it seems that people browsing the internet seem to be ok with that. I am trying to get volunteers to help translate some of the information I am writing about into different languages, and God willing, this shouldn't be too difficult to do. More later.......

Our podcast

Peace to all,

I am in the process of creating a podcast channel and I am exploring all my options. Anyone interested in helping can contact me, and of course, I will still start answering more questions very soon.

More on what Islam promises and a criticism of a commonly held Christian belief

Peace,

I would like to quickly discuss 2 things today. The first is regarding the comments of Dr. Banister on the goals of Islam and the Quran being more focused on getting to heaven in contrast to God himself being the ultimate goal. The second is regarding what some consider to be Islam's fake morality.

Without question, Islam has made God and a relationship with him to be the ultimate desire. You can read the whole Quran, which God himself has dictated directly. You do not find this claim in any other religious book, nor does any other book claim to be so. There is a feature of the Quran which is called by 99 attributes or names that God has given himself. God states that his mercy perfuses into ALL things and that his anger is only directed towards a group. For example this verse reveals that without question:

Al-Araf Verse 156 reads:
وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَـذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَـا إِلَيْكَ قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاء وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَـاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ {156

"Grant us well-being in this life and in the life hereafter for we have turned ourselves to You." The Lord replied, "My torment only afflicts those whom I want to punish, but My mercy encompasses all things. I shall grant mercy to those who maintain piety, pay their religious tax, and those who have faith in Our revelations."(translated by Sarwar)

Another claim that Christians use in their evangelism is to criticize Islam for its penal code stating that it does not represent Islam changing a person's heart, from which then the person will do good. However, it is not hard to find among the gospels something much more radical than worldly punishment. For example,
 in Matthew 18:9 it states:

"And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire!"

So much for the change of heart being the driving force for Christians to be good, in contrast to Muslims who are commanded to purify their intentions for the sake of God alone.

It is really that simple. One of the themes I want to keep revisiting is that one of the reasons that shows the truth of Islam is how weak and desperate the arguments againsst it are by even the most talented apologists. More later...

Some details on my upcoming podcast and blog topics

As of today, I will try to make almost daily posts, many of them dealing with the claims of many Christian apologists. A sample of names include, but is not limited to Dr.'s  James White, William Craig,  Jonathan McLatchie, John Lennox, Ravi Zacharias, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Michael Brown, David Wood,  Nabeel Qureshi , Jay Smith, Andy Bannister and many more. Stay tuned.

Refuting Dr. Bannister's assertians on Islam and Christianity about who Jesus and God are.

8/13/17

I was listening to the podcast called "Unbelievable" hosted by  Justin Brierley. In the preliminary portion of the show, Dr. Andy Bannister, who stated that he has a PHD in Islamic studies, stated a couple of things about Islam that really bothered me. I will make some quick comments.

First he said that Christianity is the religion that accepts the premise that Jesus was who he said he was. This is incorrect. A better definition would be that Christianity is a religion in which one believes in certain sayings and deeds attributed to Jesus by the New Testament. So more accurately, Andy Banister is not accepting the testimony of what Jesus said, but what others claim that Jesus said. This would include the Greek gospels of Mattew, Mark, Luke, and John, the letters of St. Paul, and basically the New Testament. These writings were all written in Greek and none of them were written during the life-time of Jesus. It would therefore be an extreme oversimplification for someone to say that as a Christian, one is accepting that Jesus was speaking the truth about who he claimed to be(in contrast to other claims).

Another thing that Dr. Banister said was that his studies in Islam reveal that Islam does not claim to lead people to God, but to a paradise of inferior things such rivers of wine, and the other descriptions of delights that those who make it to paradise experience. First, even if this was true, it would have no bearing on whether or not Islam was true or not, as it is up to God to reward his servents as He sees fit. But more importantly there are so many verses in the Quran which show this assertian to be false. See for example Quran 5:15.

More on these issues later, and I hope my brief responses show how wrong Dr. Banister and other apologists are on these issues.

Question from James in Miami,

The doubting Thomas in front of all the apostles tells Jesus that he is Lord and God.Neither Jesus or the apostles contradict this,  How can you be against the  apostles with Thomas' declaration and Jesus accepting?






Response:

Thank you for the question. There is a great deal that can be said here, though I will have to be brief. Please email me if you want more info.s

The scene with Doubting Thomas, who, after refusing to believe that Jesus was alive, strangely is with the other apostles in the upper room of the Last Supper

Does a lie or theft one has commited in the past make a person evil?

Please skip this next paragraph to get a detailed explanation. As promised, I will give short answers when I can to get to the point!

Response to this video, and to others who use this same way of thinking:

TTP Summary: Telling a lie does not make you a liar deserving damnation, nor does one become a thief if they have stolen once in their lives. Just as telling the truth at times does not make someone an honest man, and one who gives in charity or returns a stolen good does not necessarily make one a generous saint.

This logic is silly and we must call out those who do it.

Full Discussion
Recently I saw a video on the internet entitled "A Baptist tries to convert an agnostic to Catholicism" on youtube1 in which Todd Friel showed casual religious encounter with two students in which a Baptist and Agnostic interacted. At the very end, C, informs them that they are bad people, as they both have stolen and lied in their lives.

I am honestly tired of hearing these type of simple-minded caricatures. This really goes back to the notion of whether or not humanity is born into a state of evil, and consequently, needs a savior to erase this evil. I will answer a part of the video, and the logic for this answer will suffice as evidence for the rest of the video.  Mr. Friel tells these young adults that since they have stolen in their lifetime, and they are both thieves. Furthermore, he states that since each one of them has told a lie, that both of them are liars.

This is honestly one of the silliest assertations made by many Evangelicals today. If telling a lie once, or even 20 times, makes a person a liar, then it should also be accepted that a good deed can make such exaggerated enormous descriptions. I wish I was there.  The students should have said that they have told the truth at times. Or perhaps they have donated goods to the needy, or to whoever was a victim of theft. Would that then make them truthful, and charitable people? Not necessarily. Doing something bad does not necessarily doom one to being an evil person, just as a good act does not necessarily make a person a saint.  Mr. Friel needs to do this so he can create a huge theological point, which can then set him already on the winning side of Christianity as a true believer. This is obviously nonsense, and its time that people call  these people out on this. Please contact me if any clarifications are needed.