We are living in a time where in the name of tolerance we try to find something good anywhere and everywhere and whatever the situation may be. Mindful people claiming to be from various faiths in the USA, have established themselves into what is known as Interfaith dialogue. On the surface, when you look at it, you find that in the forefront Judaism, Christianity and Islam as ‘Abrahamic faiths’ and not as Judeo-Christian faith is presented. They claim that ‘The Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran all contain exceptional teachings instructing us to love God, to love one another, and to care for all people.’ 

Did Paul corrupt Jesus’ teaching? A response to Muslims’ objection

Many Muslims believe that the present teaching of Christianity is the work of the apostle Paul. They claim that it was Paul who created his own version of the Christian faith at the expense of those whom Jesus had chosen. They state that there was a struggle between Pauline and Judeo-Christianity and eventually Pauline Christianity triumphed. They speculate: perhaps it “won” because it was more “attractive” through incorporating some “pagan” ideas. According to this theory, the struggle started when Paul disagreed with Peter (Galatians 2:1-16) and then with Barnabas (Acts  21:17-20).

On one hand, the majority of Muslim scholars reject the integrity of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and, yet on the other, they quote from it to support Muhammad’s message and him as being the prophet sent by the same God who sent Jesus.

An Ex-Christian convert to Islam, at a Muslim-Christian gathering, quoted the following Biblical passage to support Muhammad’s prophethood:

In their conversations many Muslims tell their Christian neighbors and friends that they believe in Jesus and love him more than Christians. So where does such an acceptance come from? The source for a Muslim is primarily the Qur’an and what Muhammad said about Jesus.  The Qur’an affirms Jesus’ supernatural birth. The miracle starts with Mary the Virgin being ‘dedicated to God’s service from the womb’.

When Christians use the testimony of the Qur’an in support of the Bible’s integrity, some Muslims argue that the references in the Qur’an do not relate to present day versions of the Torah and the Gospel. They say that the “Scriptures” of the Jews, as well as the “Scriptures” of the Christians at the time of Muhammad, 571-632 CE, were different than those available today.