…Anyone can stand up and claim to have a message from God or about God. But the question is, as people who sincerely want to know, how are we to determine whether or not someone is actually speaking the truth from God? How are we to know if they are speaking divine truths or if they are just pretending or delusional?
… Essentially, there are only two choices. Mohammed can confirm previous scriptures and apostles and attempt to claim validity for himself by means of those past apostles and scriptures. Or, Mohammed can deny those previous scriptures and apostles and stand alone by himself as one voice speaking against them.
To understand the significance of this, we must understand that Mohammed admittedly performed no miracles…to attest to his message [and this] is made even more ironic by the fact that according to the Koran some of the previous apostles, which the Koran appeals to for validation, did perform miracles.
…While a strong case will be made that Christianity and its sacred texts actually deny Islamic beliefs and Islamic sacred texts, this is not the case with Islam. Islam actually endorses and in fact relies upon the divine legitimacy of both Judaism and Christianity as religions established by God. We will demonstrate this point thoroughly by quotes from the Islamic sacred text, the Koran.
…In the Koran, Islam’s dependence upon Judaism and Christianity comes primarily in two forms. First, the Koran constantly asserts that the apostles who founded Judaism and Christianity are God’s apostles and of the same merit as Mohammed himself. Second, the Koran actually specifically and unequivocally affirms the God-inspired nature of both Jewish and Christian scriptures. As we establish these two forms of endorsement, we will also discuss the practical necessity, which motivates Islam to make such affirmations of Judeo-Christian apostles and scriptures.
But, the fact that Islam itself affirms the divine origin of Judeo-Christian apostles and sacred texts dramatically alters the dynamic of our analysis of the two religions. Instead of having a scenario in which each religion denies the other’s claims and sacred texts, Islam actually endorses and relies upon the divine trueness of Judaism and Christianity.
So long as both religions declared each other to be false, we’d have to decide which of the two (if either) was true. But since Islam inherently and repeatedly relies on Judaism and Christianity being of divine origin, the claims and sacred texts of Judeo-Christianity would have to be compatible with Islam. If the sacred texts of Judeo-Christianity contradict Islam while Islam upholds their reliability and divine origin, then Islam is in contradiction of itself.
On the one hand, Islam claims Judeo-Christianity and its sacred texts originate from God and from other apostles like Mohammed. But on the other hand, what if these religions and their sacred texts deny or contradict Islam? This would mean either one of two things.
First, Mohammed and Islam are in contradiction of what the Koran itself repeatedly declares to be God’s apostles and God’s scriptures. Or second, Judeo-Christianity and its sacred texts are incorrect on all points and issues where they contradict Islam. But if the Judeo-Christian apostles and scriptures, which the Koran affirms as God’s work, are in error, then they cannot be God’s work as the Koran claims. And that would mean that the Koran is in error for affirming them as God-given predecessors, in which case Islam would also be nullified.
In either case, if the Judeo-Christian beliefs and sacred texts contradict Islam and the Koran, then Islam is in error through contradiction, not just contradiction with Judeo-Christianity, but contradiction with itself because of the endorsement claims made by the Koran.
[Long analysis here]
Conclusions about Islam
So, we conclude from this intensive study that we must reject Islam’s claims… There are two main reasons for this rejection. First, though Islam has historically identifiable origins, these origins do not provide any reason for concluding that Mohammed’s teachings are an accurate view of God, the universe, and mankind. Instead, the circumstances surrounding the origin and rise of Islam can clearly be understood simply as a product of normal human affairs and ambitions.
…the evidence that Islam does offer to substantiate the accuracy of its claims has shown to be invalid. Islam contends that it is the final successor to the Judeo-Christian tradition, which it claims expected Islam and which Islam also claims to fulfill and confirm. However, as we have shown above [the long analysis] neither Judaism nor Christianity allows for the teachings of Mohammed. And additionally, Islam undermines the fundamental claims made by both of its supposed predecessors.
Islam is also invalidated by its claims to come from and uphold the Judeo-Christian tradition, which Islam claims is from God. Since the Judeo-Christian tradition in no way permits Islamic teaching, then Islam must be in error either in its own teaching, which deviates from that of Judaism and Christianity, or Islam must be in error in its assertion that the Judeo-Christian tradition is of God.
Despite the fact that Islam is an Evidentiary religion, an examination of that evidence has revealed that it does not substantiate the claims of Islam. But instead, the evidence offered actually contradicts Islam. So, for both of the reasons summarized in the preceding paragraphs, we reject the claims of Islam.
