www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Help debating Islam

Greetings and salutations!

This is my first post here, and I hope it will be far from my last.

The issue as to why I felt I needed to come by here was out of recommendation from another brother in Christ. This was because I have been invited to debate at a mosque in a nearby city, and need help in having my arguments made appropriately.

The muslims whom I will be facing are very well educated, in terms of their own religion, and are familiar with passages which they can attack in the Bible, usually when taking them out of context.

I would appreciate it if anyone here could think of something I could use to retort their attacks, and perhaps some powerful arguments against the reliability of the Qur'an.

Thank you in advance,
In Christ,
Jacomus

Jacomus, Welcome to the forum. There are so many well educated folks here that can help you, but admittedly I'm not one of them. There is a thread already running about Islam here:

https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/233834/page/1#Post233834

There may be some suggestions there.I'd suggest recognizing the heresies like Arianism and explaining how they were resolved. St. Gregory of Nyssa's words on the Trinity would be invaluable, because muslims have a lot of trouble with the Trinity. I'd also talk about icons to explain why statues and representations of Christ are allowed. Muslims have a lot of respect for the MOther of God so you might want to reason things out via her.Why such a miraculous Incarnation just for a mere human?Remind them that the Mother of God is the first human to fully obey God. Muslims do put a lot of premium on obedience and submission. Also emphasize the respect for women and femininity that is modelled after her.That'll be an important point because the way western women dress even in church is worthy of little respect. You also might want to know something about Church tradition and how the Bible was compiled because Muslims are really skeptical of the Bible and it's many translations, editions,and omissions. If you take a Bible I'd recommend one with the Apocrypha because it contains all the books of the Bible.The Church Fathers provide guidance in understanding the Bible. Also, the communal nature of Church Tradition might be stressed because Muslims are very community oriented and would relate to that. No offense to you, but I think the Catholic, Orthodox or Eastern Catholic viewpoints are more likely to sway them than the Protestant because the protestant is so individual oriented and the communal protestant churches are falling apart.(Perhaps it's different for the Lutherans and Anglo-Catholics.

Jacomus,instead of proving them wrong, which only hardens people and excites their pride, meet them on common ground and proceed from there. Whatever they respect and hold dear start from there and expound upon it.

Just a few thoughts, but I do hope a few of our theology powerhouses joins in with more and better help than I can give.
Please let us know how it goes.

Peace,
Indigo

I sent you a private message. To read it, click My Stuff then My Messages in the tool bar above.

I'll pray for your efforts to preach Christ to those who do not know Him.

Tread carefully, but with truth.

I thought the saying was tread lightly, but carry a big stick.

Dear Jacomus,

Be careful! Do not attack their religion in any way. I did hear a former Muslim say that one should try to mention the Word of God. By mentioning that God has a Word, and that the Word is something that they will accept, you will then be able to mention that the Son of God was the Word made flesh. This will be comprehensible to them, since the idea of God having a Son, in the human sense, would be repugnant to them. It is denied quite a few times in the Koran.

I would mention that the purpose of Christ coming into the world, was to redeem us. By accepting His redemption we are accepting that we are sinners in need of repentance. By accepting ourselves as sinners, and thereby in need of redemption, we are opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit...and therefore God's Love. We believe that the kingdom of God is within us, and it is this love of God that enters our hearts, that makes us able to attain paradise.

This is what I would say, but I will also add that you must pray, pray, pray, before you speak. And if possible, pray, pray, pray each time you answer a question. You are being given a great opportunity.

Also they will ask questions as to why there are different denominations, so be prepared to answer it in a way that will not denigrate any Church...because that will be a turn off.

I think mainly explaining to them that we all speak different languages, think differently, and do things differently, and it makes us change things here and there. Basically though, we believe in the same things as far as the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ as the Son of God is concerned.

God Bless, and may He be with you,

Zenovia

Perhaps, but sticks don't help in a debate if you are in the minority.

Hi Terry,

1. They won't accept any argument about the reliability of the Quran, because it was said by an angel etc. The closest you'll get is that "if there is an error, it's because the arabic can't be translated correctly into English etc."

2. You might engage on where they got there bible passages from; did they read it themselves, did they get citations from Islamic literature etc? Ask them about the people of the book thing; they got on OK with Christians in Spain for a while and that was after the crusades; what sort of common heritage is implied by "people of the book" and what does that mean? Calling them relativists isn't attacking Islam depending on how you say it!

3. Depending on the sect, you might be able to debate whetehr the hadith has become the book Muslims follow more than the Quran, and ask them why so much Fiqh is from the Hadith if the Quran is the word of God? groups which place less emaphasis on the hadith seem to be more open to critque and liberal thought, so encouraging a return to the primary holy texts could be good.

Ned

Don't Do It!!! It appears from your post that you are not trained and I can only see this as going badly.

I would highly recommend you seek help and guidance from a spiritual Father.

Yours in Christ!

Dear Ray S,

I dissagree with you. I think he is being given a great opportunity, and he should use it. What he shouldn't do, is say anything about the Muslims faith unless it is about some common ground like the commandments. Instead, they should be told what we believe in a way that they can understand...and who knows? Maybe some of them will begin to see the light. Dialogue is so important.

I recall reading that they were having a Muslim contest in Dubaii. Each boy was to recite the Koran. Basically that is what it was, a recitation. The one who memorized the most, was the winner. There were no questions, no discussion, no reasoning and comprehension. Just being able to memorize the Koran made them the most knowledgable and devout Muslim.

The Muslims have to start reasoning a little, that's why dialogue with them is so very important.

God Bless,

Zenovia

let's approach the two previous posts in a balanced manner: yes, you need to be WAY careful in this holy endeavour, and that the same time, be bold in the Spirit.
Islam holds that the Injil (Evangel, the NT) is the written Word of GOD, and the Tawrat (Torah, OT) is as well. Islam holds that the Virgin Birth of Jesus is fact (all Allah has to say is "be" and it is so. shame the liberals who call themselves Christians are blind to that fact). Jesus is the Messiah, and it is He Who will judge humankind in the Name of GOD(did you know that about Islam?). know your theological enemy!
some years ago, Jimmy Swaggert, a pentecostal-fundamentalist televangelist, got his hiney whipped in a debate with Islamic missionaries. a video was made of the debacle, and the Muslims use this as a tool to proselytize. it was quite obvious that Swaggert did not know what in blazes he was talking about. learn what the Muslims use against us, learn the answers. and by all means, get ongoing support from fellow Christians who know what they are talking about.Norman Geisler, a well known apologist (Evangelical) for Christianity has some intelligent and coherent texts on Islam, check them out. also search for texts written by ex Muslims who are now saved. for Pete's sake, don't rely on any rubbish from Chick Publications! GOD be with you,bro.
Much Love,
Jonn

Thank you all for your support.

Perhaps I should have made this clear in my first post, but I am not a complete beginner to these debates. For the past 2-3 months, I have been heavily engaged in debates, and prior to this I spent large amounts of time researching Islamic theology.

I am well familiar with their methods and points of attack, I have been in a smaller mosque debating with them twice before. Now, however, it is being taken to a new level, going to one of the largest mosques in Sweden to debate with their Imam.

I was in need of more things to bear in mind before I go there to-morrow, which is why I'm here; and indeed, you have proved most helpful. Thank you for all your tips, I will spend all day researching them.

In Christ,
Jacomus

And I will offer prayers for the success of your efforts.

good to learn of this!
so, my post is for ALL of you out there!
Much Love,
Jonn

If one were to want to be controversial, you could raise the issue of archeological discovery. There is a "paper grave" of old koranic writings found in Yemen some years ago that have variants, small things really, but more than the accent marks that muslims will usually admit have been added to the Koran.

The absolute unchanging nature of the Koran is taken very seriously by many muslims and there might be useful points of attack contrasting between christianity which has the Word transmitted in written form (Scripture) and orally (Tradition) with a continuous application of what muslims call ijtihad and a muslim faith which claims to only have written scripture and interpretive hadiths but has current destroyers trying to erase the inconvenient past and who knows how many previous waves who have done a very good job of stuffing inconvenient truths down the memory hole.

I would urge a great deal of preparation before adopting this line of attack because depending on your locale and the security arrangements you might have a riot on your hands. In the articles I have read about the findings in Yemen, there is a constant subtext that the academics studying the finds are rather concerned about mob violence and are very careful how far they will go in pointing out obvious conclusions.