As Christians, we must be prepared to give a sincere, compassionate, and rational answer when asked about our faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible instructs us in this manner, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3: 15). This is critical when developing a friendship with a Muslim. Many Muslims have never met a Christian or handled a Bible.
One of the first objections Muslims have for Christians is: “Hasn’t the Bible been corrupted or changed and, therefore, not trustworthy?” The following testimony of a Muslim convert and his conversation with his Christian friend, David, may help you as you guide a Muslim in his or her investigation of the authenticity of the Bible.
"David and I were rooming together. David pulled out a Bible. I said to him, “David, you do know that the Bible has been changed, that the Bible has been tampered with. It’s not the same Bible that was revealed to Christ hundreds of years ago.” He was ready for the question—far more ready than I anticipated. He said, “We can test how much it has been changed through a science called textual criticism.”
I began to look into it and I found out that the Bible hasn’t really been changed all that much. … I began to realize, in fact, that no doctrine of the Bible has ever been changed. … A few years later, I began to realize that maybe I was wrong. It took quite a few years of debating this and researching this … about three and a half years to come to this point to realize the Bible was true."[1]
One way to begin a conversation about the truthfulness of the Bible is to point out the fact that Muhammad, in the first part of his “ministry”, praised portions of “The Book” (our Bible) in the Quran on several occasions, including:
The Quran instructs Muslims to believe “The Book” and threatens those who do not (Surah 2:121; 3:84; 10:94).
The Quran says “The Book” gives direction, guidance and light for those who obey it (Surah 3:3; 5:44; 6:91).
The Quran states that “The Book” came from Allah (Surah 2:87, 5:46, 29:46).
The expanded question becomes, “Was the change made before or after Muhammad’s death?” If it was before, why does the Quran praise the Bible? And how could it be after Muhammad since we have thousands of copies of the Bible from before his time that say the same things as our present Bible?
Don’t be afraid to interact with Muslims about the Bible. Show your confidence in the Holy Bible that has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Muslims may have many questions about its trustworthiness, but we can be confident that the Bible we hold in our hands is the same as what was revealed through the apostles. It is not a man-made book, but a God-breathed book.
Check out these online resources to further your knowledge of the truthfulness of the Bible:
[1] Global Initiative: Reaching Muslim Peoples, Journey to Understanding: Equipping Christians to Engage Muslims with Faith (Springfield, MO: Global Initiative: Reaching Muslims Peoples, 2018), 124.