I am struggling with something that I have been struggling with for a while.  I have always been a Fundamentalist Christian (that is the title I gave myself), and I converted from Catholicism.  However, after a few years of being a Protestant, I started to look at Islam.  Last week, I converted.  In the beginning, I never felt better.  But now, I am doubting myself and wondering if I should return to Christianity.  I would convert back, but there are some things that bother me about it that I cannot get over.  Chiefly among them is the fact that the Bible has been changed so much and edited so much over the years.  How can I trust it?  Also, I do not understand the Trinity and why God would need a Son.  I think just worshiping God Himself makes a lot more sense.  So can you help me with these two things?  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Stuck Between A Crucifix And A Crescent

Dear Stuck,

The Bible is exactly the same today as it was when it was originally written.  The Dead Sea Scrolls prove that fact.  When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, they predated any other copy of the Old Testament by hundreds of years… and yet, they matched with the newer texts by over 99.9%.  The differences were only minor (such as spelling) and never affected the meaning of the text.  There are over 16,000 different manuscripts, texts, and archaeological references to Scripture that have been collected throughout the centuries, and they paint a picture of a perfectly (we would say divinely) preserved Bible.  We also recommend you read “Who Wrote The Bible” for further reasons that the Bible is definitively from God.  The Bible you read today is proven to be the same Bible that God originally wrote.  The Q’uran can’t make that claim because it isn’t from God.

And the fact that the Bible is accurate answers your second question – there are three parts to God (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Matt 3:16-17).  It may be hard to understand… but it is what it is.  We can’t make God into what we want Him to be… we must accept who He really is.  Even if Islam is a more comfortable religion for your personality – that doesn’t make it right.  We must serve God in truth (Jhn 4:24), even if it isn’t convenient.  If you would like help finding a faithful Bible-believing church in your area to ask further questions, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I’m trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.

I saw your post today entitled “Short Suffering” and couldn’t help feeling a little worried.  As a christian living in America, shouldn’t we be concerned about the increasing number of Muslims in our country?  I read somewhere that in twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the US to elect a Muslim president.  Makes me worry that the period of suffering might be right around the corner.  Do you have any thoughts on this?

Sincerely,
Counting The Days

Dear Counting The Days,

One of the most enticing and alluring propositions in the world of religion is to try and pin specific dates to unfulfilled prophecies.  Yet, in the end, that allure always ends up as a wild goose chase.  As we said in the previous post, we cannot be dogmatic on the exact meaning of “the little time” of Rev 20:3.  If we can’t be dogmatic on that, then we certainly cannot be dogmatic on when such a time period would begin.  All we know is that the Lord does not abandon His people (Ps 37:25).  The Lord commands that we not be anxious or worry because He will always provide for those who seek first His kingdom, the church (Matt 6:31-33).  Where the Bible speaks, we will speak, and where the Bible is silent, we will be silent… and in this, the Bible is silent.  We’ll leave the prophesying up to the Lord; each day has enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34).