 Okay, so the recording is about to start and let's get ready to, I'm just waiting for the start. Okay, welcome back everyone. We're going to get into our second lecture here today on Christian apologetics. We're going to go now into talking about sharing Christ with a Muslim. So we do the same thing again. We try to look at some of the perspectives on some of these things here between the Christian faith and Islam. So about God, we believe in this, in the one Triune God. Islam believes in Allah, an eternal one, but this is a point where Muslims or people from the Muslim faith have a problem with the Christian faith when we talk about the Triune God. You know, we say God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And so that is a big problem. You say, no, no, that's three gods, not one. And we have one God, Allah. So that's a point, that's a difficult point to deal with when we are speaking to somebody from Muslim faith. And so we will talk about that. We'll address that a little later on. What do we do when it comes to presenting the Triune God of the Bible? Man, we see, we recognize that we are sinful here with the okay, basically people are good. The issue of sin doesn't seem to be a very big issue as far as Islam is concerned. And from a perspective of us, it affecting our relationship with God. But from a perspective of a social community standing, it becomes a big deal because then it's more of, you know, you're affecting the community. You're doing things that are not right and people take action against it. So here we have the Bible and they have the Quran, which is a recording of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Jesus Christ, we know it was called, it became man. He's called solely provision for salvation. They view Jesus as a prophet, a man, and not as God incarnate. And again here, there is a problem. They have a problem with us calling Jesus the son of God. So how can God have a son and doesn't make sense? And then of course, there is the rhetorical question, the mocking question, saying if God had a son, then who was God's wife, you know? So that the whole phrase, the son of God, is a problem here. Then there's this whole thing about life's purpose. We know, we've got to know God personally and do as well. Here the whole ultimate thing is to submit to Allah and if you're in submission to Him, it's going to work out fine. So submission is a big point here. In Hinduism, what I forgot to mention was about the Trayun God concept. They also have the Vishnu Brahma Shiva, which was actually the notes, but I forgot to highlight that. So they have that and because they have this idea of multiple gods and when we say Trayun God doesn't seem too hard for them to embrace. But when you, in Islam, the emphasis on one God, Allah, and only Allah. So the Trayun God concept or this becomes a big problem. And then in Islam, as contrast to Hinduism, Hinduism was emphasis on works in Islam. It's submission being submitted to Allah and just do what Allah wants you to do. Heaven, we see that it's God's free gift of salvation through Jesus. But in Islam, it's those chosen by Allah. So here's a point to keep in mind. There is this whole element of I don't know. Maybe I'll make it, maybe I will not make it, but I don't know the issue of salvation. If Allah chooses me, if Allah forgives me. And maybe if I die in my service for Allah, then I have a higher chance of being chosen by Allah to be in Heaven. Be forgiven and enter Heaven. The concept of Hell is there. Here those who have rejected Jesus Christ and here those who have been rejected by Allah. Those whom Allah has not given permission to enter Heaven will end up in Hell. So in Islam, like we mentioned, submission, Islam basically means submission to God. So submission is a big thing. You just submit to Allah and do what he wants you to do. And so implicit in that idea is doing whatever Allah wants, whether it makes sense or not. And you are walking in submission to him. And often that submission to him, then because of this whole idea of decreased by religious leaders, which is the religious leaders of Mufti, who issues a fatwa, which is his decision on his understanding of an interpretation of Islamic faith. There is an implicit obedience to that. And your implicit obedience to the fatwa is your implicit submission to Allah. So that's kind of the thought process that goes on there. So we know that Islam had its origins with Muhammad. He was born in some part in Saudi Arabia in Mecca, around 1680. He's believed to have received direct messages from God. But the reality is Muhammad didn't have that great of a life. He had many wives and his was not a flawless life. But yet he is respected as the prophet of God. And his teachings have been recorded in some ways and put into the Quran. And so that's how the Muslim faith came in. Now the confession of faith is very, very important here in Islam. What do they state? I bear witness there's no God but God. And Muhammad is the prophet of God. So there's only one God who is Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. So it's like, you know, we have the apostles creed that of course the class are faith. Here it is the Shada which says there's only Allah's God and Muhammad is his prophet. So that's two fundamental confessions that they make all the time. And so part of Islam, you've got these five pillars. The first one which is this confession, there's no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. And then the second has to do with praying five times a day. Third, giving arms to the poor. Fourth, you fast the month of Ramadan. Make at least one pilgrimage during your lifetime to Mecca. And then you also engage in Jihad in a holy war. Not only against Wali Las but also against those who are opposed to Islam, the faith of Islam. And so this aspect has, you know, of course been a big thing in the world in recent times in this holy war against those who are opposed to the faith. And this can be projected in any way, you know. But then that's part of what is considered as a holy war. So there are different sects within Islam. The Shiites, the Sunnis and the Sufis, and they vary on how the path they take, the Sharia or the expression of the law. How that takes. So there's difference here. And so even the Arab world is kind of divided. And now we don't see too much about the Sufis but the Shiites and the Sunnis. The Arab world is kind of divided among the Shiites and Sunnis. And sometimes it gets, the conflict gets very intense here to the point of war and so on. And all is because of the expression of the Sharia or the law or the interpretation of how you express Islam, the Sharia law. It's, you know, based on that there is the different sects, groups within Islam. Now, again, what we can say is there are people are very strict in keeping the practices of Islam are very strict in this. And then you have those maybe the more modern thinking, open-minded Muslim who, while has roots in these practices, may not be doing that so rigidly these days. So especially in the Western world and, you know, in urban centers you have Muslims who have their roots. I mean, they don't, they know these things, but they may not necessarily practice them very strictly. They're more open and more liberal in their thinking. But then you also have the fundamentalists very far in these practices of Islam. Another interesting thing about Islam is its respect for the local leader. So they find that the local leader would be, you know, like the religious leader or the leaders will be referred to as a Mufti. And this leader has the right to issue or interpret the Islamic faith and express their opinion on all kinds of matters, anything. And what they then, their decision then becomes a fatwa. That means you are then expected to follow that decision made by the local Mufti leader. Of course, he's expected to make it based on the understanding of Islamic law. But then that becomes a hard rule, a set rule to be followed, whatever is voiced by the local leader, the Mufti. So that's an interesting thing because really the fatwa then dictates the life of that community, the Muslims in that community. Or it could even dictate an individual's life based on whatever the Mufti says. And so that's something very interesting. And in Islam, it is unacceptable to ascribe any human being equal to God. And so that's why the whole issue of Trinity, the whole issue of Jesus being the Son of God or Jesus being God is unacceptable. It's very hard for them. So that's a little bit of background, a quick overview of somebody from the Muslim faith. So immediately we can see that there are going to be challenges, you know, for us trying to communicate Jesus as the Son of God. Trying to communicate the Triune God is going to be difficult. And then they also have major questions about Christ himself. That is, how can we say Christ is God is deity? Did Jesus really die this atoning sacrificial death on the cross? And did he actually rise from the dead? Because as far as the teachings within Islam is that all these three are questioned and denied. So that also becomes a major difficulty for us in communicating Christ with the Muslim. So how do we bring the message of Jesus, the message of Christ to the Muslim in terms of presenting the Gospel, right? So keep in mind ultimately it's God who is going to touch their hearts and minds and they're going to have a personal encounter with Jesus. And so that's something we just have to trust and depend on the Holy Spirit to do. But from our part we want to be able to present the Gospel, the message of Jesus as clearly as we can in a way that will address questions that they probably have in mind. So like I mentioned earlier, you know, not every Muslim is the same, right? And not all of them believe the same. So there are people, the modern Muslims have a very open minded, have a beginning to question a lot of what a traditional Muslim just accepts by tradition. The modern Muslim will question, you know, why is that? That is not right and so on. So we keep in mind that depending on who you're speaking to you need to be able to understand where they are. Is this person a traditional Muslim? Is this person a modern Muslim who's open to a lot of new thought and who himself be or herself be questioning a lot of things in their own faith? So, you know, keep that in mind as you're speaking to somebody of a Muslim faith. Important is to, of course, establish genuine friendship, get to know them. And, you know, when there's a friendship established, it then opens up them up to be able to listen to us. What are some of the things that we need to highlight as we present Jesus to them? So one of the things I would recommend is don't use the word Father, Son, Holy Spirit, you know, because then immediately it's going to get into a debate on the Trinity. Who is the Father? Who is the Son? Who is the Holy Spirit? It's going to be very difficult. So avoid using that terminology, at least in the beginning. I also avoid using terminology like the Son of God, because that's going to be, you know, a difficult thing to explain. So talk about Jesus. Talk about God who became man, who came to save us. And God, Jesus, God who became man. So when you use simple language like that, then you don't have to get into trying to explain the Trinity or trying to explain incarnation and so on. It's, you know, that will come later on. You know, once they understand the message of salvation, the gospel, then God will give them the understanding, opening our minds up to the Trinity and terms like the Son of God, the Son of Man and Son of David and those terms that we take for granted, we understand the context. But those things can come later on. So how do we present Christ? So first of all, we start talking about a loving God. So that is a big, big difference. Because in the mind of most Muslims, and I'm speaking in general terms, in the mind of most Muslims, Allah is a distant God. Somebody who has to be submitted to somebody whom we don't know for sure. And I don't know for sure if he's going to accept me or reject me, but I'm going to just be submitted to him and hope that my submission will please him. But when you hear about a God who's loving or cares for you and who seeks relationship with you, then that's a different kind of a God immediately that we are talking about. So presenting the God of the Bible as this loving God who seeks personal relationship. That means he wants to know you and he wants you to know him, as opposed to being a God who is far and distant, unknowable and who just seeks your submission. Now, the second point of contrast is, or second point to bring out is that the sin that we do, like we mentioned earlier, they are the concept of right and wrong. But they're looking at sin as in affecting the community, affecting the individual and the community. So that's why people are punished in the strict expression of the Sharia law. People are clogged, beaten, arms and limbs cut off and those kinds of things. Why do they do that? Because their battle is against sin, but they're looking at sin as something that's affecting people, the individual and the community. They're not doing it essentially as sin affecting God. So we need to bring in this whole idea of, hey, the sin we commit is affecting the relationship between God and man. That means it's affecting you and God. It's not just about you affecting somebody else and that does happen. And it's not just about, you know, okay, we cut your hands off so you can't go and steal again. That's not the solution. There is sin that affects your relationship with God. And if the severity of, from an earthly perspective, okay, somebody goes and steals, so the solution is cut his hands off according to Sharia law so that he doesn't trouble other people. If that's the severity of sin, then think about the severity for sin in relationship with God. What would God, what is, you know, God was a perfect God, holy God, just God. What would he do with our sin? You know, so you just extend a thought process that they already have and how sin affects people and community to sin affecting relationship with God. And it's a change of perspective because while they do accept sin, they're looking at it from affecting people and we are saying, hey, sin affects you and God. And think about how it would affect God, your relationship with God. And then from there comes the soul, the next step of forgiveness. In the Muslim mind, forgiveness is there, but it's unpredictable, meaning God will grant forgiveness if he chooses to. He will forgive, so you tell him you're sorry. You tell him you're sorry. He'll forgive. But where is the guarantee? Right. And there is, there is no guarantee that he, you know, it depends on his, his decision. So you, if you commit wrong, you go and tell God, I'm sorry. And yeah, maybe he'll forgive you, maybe he won't. But we don't know for sure. Now, in contrast to that, this is where we bring in the idea of Christ's sinless sacrifice. Okay, that sin has to be paid for. There has to be a punishment for sin. So this is one I thought that is missing in the Muslim faith, which is how can God forgive sin? So their idea is God can forgive sin if he wants to, and he chooses to. But then we need to bring in the whole idea of judgment, right, for sin, individual sin. We do that by just saying, look, even on the earth, when somebody does something wrong, there is a consequence. You know, the high court or the judge in the court is not just going to say, well, yeah, you did something wrong, I'll just forgive you because I feel like forgiving you. No, the judge can't do that. Why? There is a consequence for that sin. And there's got to be some payment. There's got to be some penalty for the wrongdoing. And so we bring that in and say, okay, see, God can't just forgive sin arbitrarily. There has to be a penalty. And this is where we bring the sacrifice of Christ to a tone for the sins of the world. Right? This may or may not always be convincing, but, you know, we could use, you know, how Abraham went to offer Isaac and God provided a substitute. We can bring in the idea of substitutionary death through that illustration or that incident. Because they do recognize Abraham in their own history as, you know, they do recognize Abraham, is on Isaac and how God provided substitute. So that could be used to talk about and point to a substitutionary death. Right? But forgiveness again is, you know, we have to have to think through this whole thing how God can forgive sin. Based on the atoning work of Christ on the cross. We need to introduce the idea of penalty for sin because that that concept is not necessarily strong there. And also the idea that we can have assurance for sin or forgiveness for sin, because even that is not strong there. And then two other points of importance would be the fatherhood of God, which is going back to this relationship between God and man, that we're introducing now God as who's willing to be your father and you coming into his family as a son and daughter, son or daughter. And I think this is very powerful. This is very, very important. Because, like we said, Allah is a God who is distant. He's more of a potentate ruler who is king or has to be obeyed or has to be pleased through submission, your life of submission. But we are talking about God who wants to be your loving father and invites you to be your son and daughter. And it's possible because of what Christ did on the cross. And because of that substitutionary work, your sins are forgiven and you can stand before God as his son and daughter without any guilt, shame and condemnation. So that truth is again a very powerful, impactful truth to present to a Muslim, which is a big point of distinction. And lastly, to emphasize that the Christian life, now Islam, remember, is a way of life. It's supposed to be a way of life in submission to God. But sadly it ends up becoming a way of life that is dictated by some man, the Mufti, who issues Fatwas. So although it was intended to be a way of life in submission to God, in practice, it becomes a way of life that is dictated by another man, really, the Mufti of that community. When it gets down to the nuts and bolts of everyday life. And unlike that, the Christian faith, Christian life is a life of faith, a walk of love, and we all follow the word and are led by the Holy Spirit. So we all read the word of God for ourselves. And God personally leads us by speaking to us, which is very different from what actually happens in the Muslim way of life, which is dictated by Fatwas issued by the local Mufti. So we present that as well as a point of contrast. So what we are saying is if we understand the basic, the essence of the Muslim faith, we will be able to present Christ and the Gospel of Christ in a way that highlights the differences. The highlights, this is who Jesus really is. Of course, they have to make a decision. Now, we said earlier that they are going to question the deity, the death and the resurrection of Christ. They're going to question that. So this is where we, you know, what we learned in the previous lesson on the resurrection of Christ. In the previous two lessons on, you know, on uniqueness of Christ and the resurrection of Christ, we can present that, but do that after we've had a chance to explain why Christ is different. Then we, you know, we can answer these questions as to why we believe in his death and resurrection that he indeed died on the cross and indeed rose up from the dead. Because he's God who became man, he's deity. And this is what Christ claimed, claimed for himself. This is what the Bible states about him. So he's more than just a prophet, but he is God who became man. We can present those things as an in response to their questions. And very likely they're going to ask these questions on the deity, death and resurrection of Christ. Okay, so let me pause here and let's take some questions. Christopher, go ahead, please. Yes, Pastor. There are statistics that indicate that there are more people who are moving towards the Muslim faith. And again, I'm not sure of the capacity of this, but there's just also the statistic that says that, you know, in 30, 40 years, the Muslim faith could be the Muslim religion could be the largest religion in the world. And I just wanted to understand, you know, at a high level, you know, what could be a possible explanation for this and explanation on why this is happening. And also, I'm not sure if this is, I think it's not covered in this topic, but in the subject matter of apologetics, is there sufficient sort of detail about, you know, how to counter some of that, you know, move and how, you know, how Muslims are actually positioning their own, you know, faith so that, you know, people are moving towards that faith. And so that is just one question. The second question is a related question, which could relate to, you know, any sort of move to a non-Christian faith. I just wanted to understand, is there any influence of the evil one in this, you know, phenomena that's happening. So that is the second question. So I think the, okay, so let's talk about the first question where there seems to be a big draw towards the Muslim faith. And I actually haven't seen that statistic, but you know, I'm sure we will be able to find it online and I'll go look for it. But my immediate reaction or thoughts on that one is simply because of its call to action. So in some ways, other faiths seem more passive, whereas Islam, especially the radical form of Islam is an immediate call to action. Look, we've got something going. And a lot of people, and I'm speaking on one side of it, right? It's not everything about why people are being drawn to Islam or what could draw people Islam. But I'm talking about for the disillusioned population, people who seem like upset, and this happens all over the world. We've seen it happen in India, in Europe, North America, all parts of the world, where people who, young people especially, who seem to be disillusioned what's happening. They seem to be very attracted to this fundamentalist idea of especially what's happened in and around the Islamic State. That it's a call to action. We're here to take over the world. We're here to do something. We're here to, you know, make a difference. And that's part of, you know, the whole radicalization that happens. And that's what attracts them to it, the young people. So I can think of that one reason why there's this big movement or there has been this pull on, especially the disillusioned, the disenfranchised. They feel like, okay, now here's something that's worth giving my life for. Because here's something that's calling, saying, we're going to take over the world. We're going to, okay, so yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, thanks for sharing that Samuel. So Samuel highlighted that. Thanks for looking it up. So, so that's one thing. And I think what Samuel's notes is highlighting is the birth rate. So maybe that's the other reason for their growth, which is, you know, the way they expand as a population. And so based on that, I guess you could see the numbers. But on the other hand, what is very interesting, Christopher, is there is a movement of people away from Islam as well. Meaning in terms of personal choice of faith. And I think it was maybe two years back I read this book. It's a very powerful book. The title of the book is called Son of Hamas. And this is a book of, this is a personal story of, of us. And as the title says, this young man was, was the son of one of the leaders of the Hamas. So they're the, and then a part of the Palestinian group that was against Israel and all the war that was going on. And he shares his own story of how he came to Christ. You know, so he's growing up in this, in this area in the region of conflict. Palestine and Israel. And he's seeing all the war that's happening that's going on, why they're killing each other and so on. And during that time, you know, amongst them, somebody comes and gives him a copy of the New Testament. And, and he sees the lives of these Christians there that they're not violent. They're not like killing people randomly and they're not doing that. And then he's reading the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, the sermon and the mount really impacts him because Jesus is not promoting violence unlike what he is seeing happen in Islam. He's talking about love and, you know, it's just totally different. And so just by watching these Christians by reading the New Testament. And of course, you know, God touches his life powerfully. This man, this young man, who's the son of the leader of the Hamas comes to faith in Christ. And now then his life is at risk right now. This is, he's like the next in charge. You know, he's probably going to be the next leader of the Hamas and, you know, he's expected to lead. But he comes to faith in Christ and then, you know, somehow he's able to make his way out of escape. He now lives in the United States and so on. So, but it's an amazing book to read. Which gives you the inside, you know, thinking of, you know, here are, here's a struggle that Muslim is going, a typical Muslim is going through, you know, seeing what's happening in Islam and then reading the teachings of Jesus. And then somehow coming to accept Jesus Christ, not just as a prophet, but as who he said he is. And that's an amazing story. So, so my response to your question is the radical form of Islam has its attraction to the disillusioned, the disenfranchised kind of group. But that also is, you know, I think will taper down to some extent. But at the same time, internally there's a move of people away from what they're seeing happen in Islam. And they are being drawn to the love and the compassion and the teachings of Jesus Christ. And that's also happening. But it's not easy, right? It's not easy for them to come out openly and say, I'm a follower of Christ because of the risk to their lives. Yeah, Pastor, the second question was about the influence of the evil one in this, in this, in this matter. Yeah. So that definitely is there, right? So, you know, what a Satan's strategy as far as people are concerned, right? He deceives nations. He blinds the minds of people. And so there definitely is the work of the enemy in blinding people and keeping people away. And then leading them off into things. So the answer is yes. You know, the Satan, this has this influence over the minds of people, keeping them away from the light of the gospel. Okay. Any other questions? I hope these two lessons were useful. I know they are kind of brief, but they give you a little bit of framework, understanding on how to share Christ with somebody who's from Hindu faith, somebody who's from the Muslim faith. Ultimately, we have to, you know, our goal is to present Christ as meaningfully as we can to these people. Ultimately, we have to depend on the work of the Holy Spirit and expect God to impact their lives supernaturally, you know, through an encounter, through healings, through miracles, and so on. Okay. So that's how we will approach this. So we're going to pause for now. We will pick up our next topic, which is on suffering. That's a big question. Why is there suffering in this world if God is a good God? Why does all these things happen to people? Bad things happen. And why do even Christians suffer? Right? So we will pick that up next week, look through that, and then hopefully we'll be able to cover that next week. We'll take up other social topics thereafter. Let's close in prayer, and then we'll take a break, and I'll meet you in the keys to supernatural. Could somebody please pray with us as a class and then dismiss us? Who would like to pray? I'll pray. Holy Father, we thank you Jesus for your wisdom, your lecture, your, the knowledge that you're imparting us, Lord. And we thank you, Lord, through this learning that we come to understand your love, Lord, and the love that you died for the whole world, Lord. And who, even if it's a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist, Lord, you love them the same way you love us. You died for them. And whoever comes to you, Jesus, your hands are open, your hearts is ready to receive them into your pasture, into your hands. We thank you, Jesus, that as you equip us, Lord, prepare our hearts, Lord, and prepare our mind, let your Holy Spirit fill us more and more, and give us wisdom, Lord, so that we may understand and grasp what you just taught us. And be ready to preach your word and to be your witness, Lord, in all of the earth and wherever we use in us. We thank you, Jesus. In your mighty name, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you everyone for being on the class today. I hope you'll make use of these things that we've learned. And I'll take a quick break and we will see you.