WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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…the main factors that divert a person from submitting to the truth and accepting it.
In this research, I will address the beliefs and ideas I previously held, as Christians believe them, to see the extent of their validity and their conformity with or contradiction to reason. I will also address some Islamic beliefs and the questions I used to hold regarding Islam. I have tried in this research, as much as possible, to avoid emotionalism so that this study may be scientific, with the goal of revealing some facts to the dear reader… And God is the one who guides to the truth.
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**Chapter One**
The Holy Bible
The Old Testament
The New Testament
Jesus and His Life in the New Testament
The Crucifixion and Resurrection
Atonement and Original Sin
Who is the Christ in the New Testament?
The Holy Trinity
The Law
Conclusion
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### The Holy Bible
The Holy Bible—as Christians believe—is the collection of books inspired by God, related to the creation of the world, the history of God’s dealings with His people, as well as the collection of prophecies about what will be until the end, and the religious and moral advice that suits all mankind in all eras. The Bible contains all types of writing: prose, poetry, history, stories, wisdom, literature, teachings, philosophy, parables, and warnings (1).
The number of (inspired) writers who wrote the Bible is forty. They come from all social classes: shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, leaders, prophets, politicians, kings, and others…
The writing of the Bible took sixteen hundred years. All these writers were from the Jewish nation, except for Luke, the author of the Gospel that bears his name, as he is thought to have been a Gentile from Antioch. The original copies of the Bible do not exist now; rather, all that exists are copies taken from those originals.
Christians also believe that the Bible—as the foundation and source of the Christian faith—is free from errors and mistakes, contains everything related to faith and spiritual life, and is the word of God and the rule of faith and practical life for all mankind (1).
The Bible is divided into two Testaments:
1 – The Old Testament.
2 – The New Testament.
We will examine each of these Testaments independently. Because Christians believe that the Old Testament was a preparation for the New Testament and that the New Testament is its completion, it is more important than the Old Testament, so we will elaborate on it more.
(1) *Bible Dictionary*, p. 762.
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### The Old Testament
Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and some chapters were found in Aramaic, a language similar to Hebrew. The Old Testament currently in our hands is taken from the Masoretic version prepared by a group of Jewish scholars in Tiberias from the 6th to the 12th century AD (1).
The Old Testament consists of 39 books, or 43–44 books according to the Church, by adding books or parts of books described as (deuterocanonical). The Jews divided the books of the Old Testament into three sections:
1 – The Torah or the Law.
2 – The Prophets (the former and the latter).
3 – The Writings.
This was at a gathering of scholars of the Law from various countries in Palestine in the year 90 AD (1).
(1) *Bible Dictionary*, p. 763.
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As for their order, it is as follows:
**A – The Torah or the Law:** These are the five books of Moses (peace be upon him):
1. **Gen:** Genesis (the first of the Torah, also called the Book of “Creation” according to the Septuagint, and called *Bereshit* in Hebrew).
2. **Exo:** Exodus (the second according to the Septuagint, and called *Shemot* in Hebrew).
3. **Lev:** Leviticus (the third according to the Septuagint, and called *Vayikra* in Hebrew).
4. **Num:** Numbers (the fourth according to the Septuagint, and called *Bamidbar* in Hebrew).
5. **Deu:** Deuteronomy (the fifth according to the Septuagint, and called *Eleh* in Hebrew, also called *Devarim*).
**As for the rest of the books:**
6. **Jos:** Book of Joshua the Prophet.
7. **Jdg:** Book of Judges.
8. **Rut:** Book of Ruth.
9. **1 Sam:** 1 Samuel.
10. **2 Sam:** 2 Samuel.
11. **1 Ki:** 1 Kings.
12. **2 Ki:** 2 Kings.
13. **1 Chr:** 1 Chronicles.
14. **2 Chr:** 2 Chronicles.
15. **Ezr:** Book of Ezra.
16. **Neh:** Book of Nehemiah.
17. **Est:** Book of Esther.
18. **Job:** Book of Job.
19. **Psa:** Psalms of David (the *Zabur*).
20. **Pro:** Proverbs of Solomon.
21. **Ecc:** Ecclesiastes (attributed to Solomon).
22. **Sng:** Song of Songs.
23. **Isa:** Book of Isaiah.
24. **Jer:** Book of Jeremiah.
25. **Lam:** Lamentations of Jeremiah.
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26. **Eze:** Book of Ezekiel.
27. **Dan:** Book of Daniel.
28. **Hos:** Book of Hosea.
29. **Joe:** Book of Joel.
30. **Amo:** Book of Amos.
31. **Oba:** Book of Obadiah.
32. **Jon:** Book of Jonah (son of Amittai).
33. **Mic:** Book of Micah.
34. **Nah:** Book of Nahum.
35. **Hab:** Book of Habakkuk.
36. **Zep:** Book of Zephaniah.
37. **Hag:** Book of Haggai.
38. **Zec:** Book of Zechariah.
39. **Mal:** Book of Malachi.
These books have a different order in the Hebrew versions regarding their placement (1).
**As for the (deuterocanonical) books:**
1. Book of Tobit.
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2. Book of Judith.
3. Book of Baruch.
4. Books of Maccabees (1).
The Church considers the books of the Old Testament to have been recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it accepts them as part of the Holy Scriptures, even though there is a difference between the Old Testament of the Jews and the one accepted by the Church. This difference goes back to the differences among Jewish theologians themselves; some state that the Spirit (i.e., the Spirit of God which inspires) has not descended upon anyone since the disappearance of the later prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Other groups of Jews (the Essenes in Qumran, and the Jews scattered across the world) held to the continuity of revelation. The Church, in turn, clung to this continuity, relying on the testimony of Christ (peace be upon him) and the Apostles.
It also holds to the **Septuagint** (2)—which is the translation of the Old Testament by the Jews of Alexandria into the Greek language—and they consider it their own book for the same reason (1).
The belief of Church leaders that the Old Testament is a heavenly and inspired book is based on the testimony of Christ (peace be upon him) and the Apostles regarding the Old Testament; they considered it an inspired, spiritual, divine book, and their citing it is evidence of that (2).
It is clear from this introduction that the books of the Old Testament appeared gradually over about fifteen centuries to form the Old Testament for us, and that Christians view this entire Testament as a preparation for and announcement of the coming of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), citing many prophecies contained within it that were fulfilled in Christ (peace be upon him).
In truth, I am not here to research the Old Testament and its history in detail. God willing, we will present independent research about the Bible in both its Testaments, in which we will address the Old Testament extensively. However, I must point out here some points that stopped me during my study of it, including:
(1) *Al-Huda ila Din al-Mustafa*, p. 7.
(2) (The Septuagint): (Began in 250 BC and finished around 150 BC. This translation was ordered by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who ruled Egypt in 280 BC. It is said the number of these translators was 72, hence it was called the Septuagint. The Jews claimed that God revealed the words of this translation to the scholars who performed it. But when Christians began using its verses as evidence against Jewish customs and teachings that prevailed in their era, the Jews returned to the Hebrew original and neglected this translation.) *Bible Dictionary*, p. 768.
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