"Is the Qu'Ran the Word of God"

[newcreature]

So I came across a link to this book on Google+. After reading the abstract, it sounds pretty good. Has anyone read this book? If so, what did you think of it? Is it soundly written from a Christian perspective? Is it worth my time? I appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Is the Qu'Ran the Word of God
By Aaron Goerner

Is the Qur'an the Word of God?: Aaron Goerner: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

 

[Contra_Mundum]

All I can say is that it looks like a reasonable treatment.

One thing that as Christians, we might "agree" with the typical Muslim on: that Islam is (perhaps) the most "natural" religion in all the world. It is, as a matter of fact, one of the most obvious religions that a man might have invented (partly informed, of course, by its coming into existence after the revelation of Christianity, and borrowing bits from it).
It has discipline.
It has formulaic religiosity.
It's a macho religion that defers to the strong.
It glorifies vengeance.
It promises a generous afterlife only to those who die in its service in this one.
It promises a sensualistic paradise to those whose lusts are untamed in this life.
Sin is all outside the person, the result of outside forces.

The god of Islam is a cipher; not just sovereign but arbitrary. It has no fixed character. This deity is, in fact, just another anthropomorphic god, this time patterned on the whimsical, autocratic (invariably male) despots of the East.

The Islamic god is above "righteousness," or "justice," does not embody such ideas, and is certainly not subject to them. It may be "merciful" among other expressions, but this deity is not the ultimate expression of mercy, or any other "human" value. Men hold up these concepts between them and this Islamic god, and understand that god through the lens of this quality or that.



Reformed Christianity teaches that God is the fount of all excellencies, of all that we should value because of what he reveals to us that he considers worthy. He "accommodates" himself to our level of comprehension, so that we are able to predicate truth concerning the ineffable God.

For the god of Islam, accommodation is a weakness, not an act of love. It condescends to nothing, and no one. This deity remains transcendent, inaccessible, and inscrutable. It never enters into covenant with man; it promises him no sustenance or fellowship; it only expresses its own will. For some reason, the god of Islam wants its human subjects in general to be happy, and happiness means submission. Happy people stay put, and staying put makes people happy; and "sufficient" pleasures are made available to them in their "place." If there was proper submission there wouldn't be discontent and sin, nothing that prompted man (remember, all outside temptation) to displace the static order/hierarchy of things.


So, in the end it's plain to us that Islam is a thoroughly man-centered religion. It's about us and our happiness. It isn't at all about "glorifying God, and enjoying him forever." Islam is, indeed, a most natural religion for a man who doesn't need to be saved, and who will never come anywhere near the presence of God.

Jud 1:24-25 "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

 

[newcreature]

I found your reply very helpful. Thank you for comparing and contrasting Islam with Reformed Christianity. I didn't understand much about Islam, though I always believed it to be a very self-righteous religion. I think I will buy the book. I have found myself in multiple opportunities to witness to Muslims and never know what to say to them.