No sooner had I gotten to the mall than a young man approached me with flyers in his hands. He introduced himself and on asking for my name, I told him, “Lucas”. After the pleasantries, I told him that if he wants to invite me to an event, I am not interested.
“Oh! No!” It is a Church program”, he said. I touched my beard and my trouser and said, “Muslim”. The young man apologized and left. Moving a few steps further, I saw that they were many, each one trying to share as many flyers as possible. As fate would have it, another one, a female, approached me and this is our Evangelist Esther. She is not an ordained Evangelist but pulled some Evangelical stunts.
Again, I touched my beard to signify my being Muslim but she seemed not to innocently understand or it was just pretense. Well, I told her that I am a Muslim and not interested but Esther persisted. She said anyone can wear a beard, it doesn’t mean they are Muslims. I asked, “like my own?”, and she replied in the affirmative.
I told her that I am a Muslim and as such, I can’t accept her invitation and unsurprisingly, she said it doesn’t matter if I am a Muslim, it’s all about God, then, a little wittiness ensued.
Me: Oh! So, if I invite you to the Mosque, you will honour the invitation?
Esther: Yes, why not?
Me: Very nice. I want to invite you to our mosque for worship
Esther: Okay. I will.
Me: When will you be willing to come?
Esther: I invited you first, I will come after you honour mine.
Me: Haha. So, that’s it?
Esther: Yes
Me: Okay, but what time is your event?
Esther: Tomorrow
Me: Good! Our own worship which is Maghrib is 6:50 pm tonight. You should come first
And so, Esther laughed and asked for my name. “I am Samson”, I said. Now curious, she asked why I am a Muslim and answer Samson. In response, I told her that she may not need that for now but if she insists, I will tell her. Esther who is now ready to convert an assumed lost sheep asked me to share and so, AlhamduliLlah followed Bismillah for the chance to give da’wah.
I started off by telling her that my fundamental issue is with the Bible itself because I don’t know which one is actually the word of God. For example, the Protestant Bible has 66 books, Catholic Bible has 73 books, Ethiopian Bible includes around 81 to 84 books and the Greek Bible which has no official number has somewhere between 75 and 79 books. So, which Bible is actually the word of God?
Moving on, I mentioned that I saw back then, that what the Pastors teach is different from Biblical teachings as in the case of Trinity versus Monotheism. When I asked if she believes in Trinity, she said “Yes”, and explained it as God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then, I asked what is the nature of this Trinity? Is God’s Triune nature a three-in-one or one-in-three? Esther asked if there is a difference and I explained.
Three-in-one is like an egg having a yoke, albumen, and shell while one-in-three is like three different phones accessing the internet on the same router. After deliberating for some seconds, she said God is like a router manifesting himself in three ways but still one. I told her traditional Pastors will choose the egg theory. I further asked if I am not appearing to her like Lucifer. She said no and said I could proceed.
I asked her to check the Bible. In Isaiah 43:10-11, Mark 12:29, and Deuteronomy 6:4, the Bible proves that God is one. Also, Jesus, during his time on Earth never addressed himself as God because it is not logical for God to sleep, hunger, cry, and at worst, be in the belly of Mary for nine months.
“The way to worship God is another issue I have with Christianity”, I said. When Satan tempted Jesus with the kingdoms of the World, he asked him to bow down to him because he knew bowing is the way to worship God ad he wanted to feel like God. Jesus rebuked him and affirmed that bowing is for God in Matthew 4:10. Nowhere in the entire Christian Bible did Jesus dance, roll, jump, twerk, wriggle, bend, etc., in the name of worshipping God against what is obtainable in the Church today where the difference between praise and worship is just how fast the song and drumbeats are.
Esther, now with folded arms, watched as I went on and on till I asked her to say something to what I have said. She said she would get my number and get a higher authority to answer the questions because she doesn’t have all the answers. I responded by telling her that not knowing the answers is on one side while having no idea is another thing. I emphasized that what she heard is strange to her and that she has no idea. Not to be easily defeated, she said she knows what I am talking about but she just doesn’t have all the answers. I insisted that she has no idea and decided to show her.
I asked her to tell me the difference between the RSV, KJV, and the NWT Bible. She doesn’t know and I proceeded. “Some Bible versions have removed some verses present in the King James version from their own version. For example, RSV, NIV, ESV, etc. The ESV has removed 64,575 words from the Bible including Jehovah, Calvary, and Holy Ghost. Romans 16:24 is absent in NWT but present in the KJV. Acts 3:13 ad 26 of RSV replaced son with servant ad within KJV, 2 Chronicles 22:2 contradicts 2 Kings 8:26. Do you have an idea?”, I said and asked.
Now looking clueless, I decided to talk about Islam. I told her that Muslims believe in Jesus but not in the way Christians do. We do not take him as the son of God, God, or God the son. He is a Prophet from God who did miracles and we revere Mary, his mother. The Qur’an came to clear the manipulations of the scripture as done by the scribes and only Islam can save Christians from the effect of Roman culture on Christianity.
We exchanged numbers and spoke briefly this afternoon, may Allah guide her. Aameen.
Dear Muslims, respect other people’s faith as we’ve always done. Those who do not respect your faith can be served doses of enlightenment.
Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman
