Articles by Norman L. Geisler
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Norman L. Geisler
President & CEO of Southern Evangelical Seminary
Professor of Theology and Apologetics
B.A., Wheaton College
Th.B., William Tyndale College
M.A. Wheaton Graduate School
Ph.D., Loyola University, Chicago, IL
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Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute
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"ANSWERING ISLAM: AN INTERVIEW WITH NORMAN L. GEISLER"
(an article from the Interview column of the Christian
Research Newsletter, Volume 7: Number 1, 1994) by Ron
Rhodes.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter
is Ron Rhodes.
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_Norman L. Geisler is a theologian, teacher, and the
dean of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North
Carolina. He has recently co-authored a book with Abdul
Saleeb entitled *Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light
of the Cross* (Baker Books). In this issue of the
*Newsletter,* Dr. Geisler is interviewed on a variety of
issues related to this book._
*Newsletter:* _Why do Christians need to be concerned
about Islam?_
*Geisler:* One out of every five persons on the face of
the earth is a Muslim. _One out of every five!_ In the
United States Islam is growing at an astronomical rate.
There are more Muslims than Methodists in the United States.
These are people who are diametrically opposed to
Christianity's most central belief -- that Jesus Christ died
on the cross and rose from the dead. Historically and
theologically, many Muslims have been committed to the
annihilation of unbelievers -- which includes us.
Muslims believe Christians have committed the
unpardonable sin of attributing "partners" to Allah --
namely, belief in the Trinity. In Saudi Arabia they recently
cut somebody's head off for blaspheming the prophet
Muhammad, which, by definition, my co-author (Abdul Saleeb)
and I do on practically every page of our new book. Islam is
a serious threat to Christianity.
*Newsletter:* _But this book is not written in a hostile
fashion towards Islam, towards the Qur'an, towards Muhammad,
is it?_
*Geisler:* No, it's not. We take an objective,
dispassionate, scholarly approach in dealing with (1) what
Muslim's believe (and, by the way, we believe a Muslim could
pick this book up and agree with how we've described Islamic
beliefs); (2) a Christian response to Islamic beliefs; and
(3) an apologetic defense of what we believe as Christians.
*Newsletter:* _Muslims are monotheists, right?_
*Geisler:* Yes. Monotheism is the belief that there is
one God. Jews and Christians are monotheistic. But Muslims
are the most rigid monotheists in the world. They believe
there's not only one God but that there's only _one person_
in God (i.e., God doesn't have a son). They confuse unity
and singularity. Any other persons associated with God is
considered blasphemy. It's the great sin. God has no
partners, Muslims say.
*Newsletter:* _So, to say that Jesus Christ was the Son
of God and that He was equal with God would be considered
anathema._
*Geisler:* You just lost your head in Saudi Arabia!
*Newsletter:* _Muslims say Muhammad was a prophet. And
Muhammad in the Qur'an said Jesus Christ was a prophet.
Assuming that prophets do not speak error, wouldn't this
present a logical problem for Muslims? After all, according
to John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So,
Jesus the "prophet," being one-hundred percent correct,
refutes Muhammad and all of Islam, right?_
*Geisler:* That's correct. And that's a good approach to
use. But you need to keep one thing in mind here. What
Muslims say to that line of reasoning is that while they
believe in the Christian Gospels, which represent Christ,
they've been corrupted down through the centuries. And so
Christians must answer that allegation.
We do this in our book, _Answering Islam,_ by showing
that we have manuscripts of the New Testament that go back
hundreds of years _prior_ to the time of Muhammad. Now, keep
in mind that Muhammad referred to the New Testament Gospels
_of his day_ -- and indicated their reliability. After all,
he said to Christians: "Go and look in your own Gospels."
Well, if the Gospels of his day (A.D. 600) were accurate
-- and we've got manuscripts that go back even before that
-- then they're in a pretty tough dilemma to explain why you
shouldn't follow the logic you suggested above: Jesus is a
prophet; He always teaches the truth; and if He taught He
was the _only way_ to God, then how can Christianity not be
true?
*Newsletter:* _What specifically does the Qur'an teach
about Jesus Christ?_
*Geisler:* It's strange that while Muslims think Jesus
was only a man -- a prophet superseded by Muhammad -- at the
same time the Qur'an teaches that Jesus Christ was the
Messiah, the Word of God, a speaker of truth, a sign unto
men of mercy from God. It teaches that Jesus was virgin
born, sinless, performed supernatural miracles (including
raising people from the dead), and bodily ascended into
heaven. All of this is affirmed of Jesus Christ in the
Qur'an. The crucial thing Muslims _don't_ believe is that
Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead.
One must emphasize to the Muslim that the Jesus of the
New Testament claimed to be God, not just a prophet. We have
a whole chapter in our book on the deity of Christ. Jesus
said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). In John 8:58
Jesus said to some Jews, "Before Abraham was, I am," thereby
claiming to be God (cf. Exod. 3:14). He received worship on
many different occasions. One of His disciples bowed before
Him and said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28),
acknowledging His full deity. Jesus forgave sins, which only
God can do (Mark 2:5-7). Jesus resurrected people from the
dead, which only God has the power to do (John 11:38-44). So
Jesus in many different ways is shown to be God, not just a
prophet. The Bible and the Qur'an are irreconcilable on
these ideas.
*Newsletter:* _Interestingly enough, the Qur'an does not
claim Muhammad was a miracle worker, does it?_
*Geisler:* You're right! And that's a very important
apologetic point. Nowhere in the Qur'an does it record
Muhammad performing any supernatural feats of nature. In
fact, he disavowed such an ability. When asked, "Why don't
you perform miracles like the other prophets did?" he
responded: "_This_ is my miracle, the Qur'an." The Qur'an is
said to be the _only_ miracle of Muhammad.
*Newsletter:* _Speaking of the Qur'an, this book does
not portray God as a heavenly Father, does it?_
Geisler: No, it doesn't. There are 99 names for God in
Islam. We have them listed in our book. Out of the 99, there
is no mention of "Father." And the reason for that is that
Muslims are rigid monotheists. They believe that being a
Father implies that he has a son, and that is considered
blasphemous. God has no partners.
*Newsletter:* _What is the Islamic concept of God in
terms of human beings relating to him?_
*Geisler:* The Islamic God is very remote, very
transcendent. He is not immanent; he's not personally
involved with his creatures. The main thing in Islam is not
fellowship with God, but service and allegiance to God.
There is no fatherly concept of God at all. It's very
different from the concept of God found in the Christian
Bible. In Christianity, believers are adopted into God's
family (Eph. 1:5) and can personally address God as Father
(Rom. 8:15). It's a relationship of great intimacy. Not so
in Islam.
*Newsletter:* _Islam and Christianity, then, set forth
clearly different views of God and Jesus Christ, among other
things. Both systems cannot be true._
*Geisler:* Right! There's a big difference between the
two systems. The answer to the question of truth is of
eternal importance. If there's a substantial difference
between the two systems -- and if your eternal soul depends
on a correct choice of one system or the other -- then it
behooves everyone to examine seriously all the evidence and
make a truly informed decision.
We can't just say, "Well, I believe it, I was taught it,
I was reared that way." The question is, _Which one is
true?_ If Islam is true, Christianity is false. If
Christianity is true, Islam is false.
Remember what Jesus Christ said: "I am the way, the
truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by
me" (John 14:6). If Islam is right, then _Jesus Christ was
lying_ when He said that. Muslims say Jesus was a prophet,
and prophets can't lie. So they're in a real dilemma here.
*Newsletter:* _Any closing thoughts for Christians who
want to become equipped for the work of apologetics?_
*Geisler:* One of my teachers -- a man who spent some
twenty years in the Middle East, and made a great impression
on my life -- used to say that with regard to education and
preparation for serving Christ, _Get all you can! Can all
you get! And sit on the lid!_ Then you'll have everything
you need to defend the faith as opportunities arise.
Becoming equipped for the work of apologetics is an absolute
necessity for Christians today.
_For a catalogue of Dr. Geisler's tapes you can write
Powerhouse, P.O. Box 859, Clayton, CA 94517. To contact Dr.
Geisler personally you can write him at: Southern
Evangelical Seminary, 5801 Pineville-Matthews Rd.,
Charlotte, NC 28226-3447;_ or phone: (704) 543-9475.
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End of document, CRN0072A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Answering Islam: An Interview with Norman L. Geisler"
release A, July 31, 1994 R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their
help in the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS
circulation.)
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