Dear S::

Thank you for writing. It is always good to hear from you.

Let me answer your letter point by point. First, you say that Islam was the first people to start the algebra, veterinary, optical, etc. I would suggest that you read a book called, The Rise of Early Modern Science, Islam, China, and the west. By Toby F. Huff. Islamic scholars inherited these studies from the Greeks before them, improved on some things, and transmitted them on to others. Muslims claim that the zero was invented by them, but the Indians invented the zero in math. There are lots of claims that Muslims have made that are not provable. The worldview of Islam made the rise of modern science impossible. There is the recent example of a Saudi imam who declared that the earth is flat, much to the embarrassment of his peers.

Second, you indicate that the writers of the Bible changed a lot of things. Sam, you must back up your claim on this. What evidence do you offer to prove this? Different translations do not prove this. Translations are used because language is a changing things. When the first English Bible was translated in 1611 some of the words have changed meaning and are not in use anymore. New translations are based on the Greek and Hebrew texts and these have not changed. What is important are the ideas.
There are lots of translations of the Qur’an and you can compare them and the ideas are the same.

Third, concerning the facts of the crucifixion, the important issue is this: Does the New Testament indicate Jesus dying on the cross and his resurrection. It does not matter that some supposed Christian thinks the death did not take place. Do you know what Salmon Rushdie thinks about the Qur’an and Islam? I don’t quote him to you. I quote the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the basic materials for Islam. When Uthman(I believe) destroyed the great library in Alexandria in the 7th century, he said, “what is not in the Qur’an is not worth knowing.” So he ordered the destruction of this great library. So the Qur’an is basic for Islam. The New Testament is basic for Christians.

Fourth, you indicate that you write “with my heart and with my mind <logic not mystery>” I don’t think you are as logical as you claim. You are willing to believe that Gabriel gave a revelation to Mohammed, but you are not willing to believe that Gabriel gave a revelation to Mary. You are willing to believe the enemies of Christianity, but are not willing to believe the enemies of Jesus as described in the Gospels. For example, they knew the meaning of his claim.

Luk 22:70 Then they asked, "Are you the Son of God?" Jesus answered, "You say I am!"
Luk 22:71 They replied, "Why do we need more witnesses? He said it himself!"

You seem to reject the words of Jesus and do not understand their meaning.

But Jesus kept quiet and did not say a word. The high priest asked him another question, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the glorious God?"
Mar 14:62 "Yes, I am!" Jesus answered. "Soon you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of God All-Powerful, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
Mar 14:63 At once the high priest ripped his robe apart and shouted, "Why do we need more witnesses?
Mar 14:64 You heard him claim to be God! What is your decision?" They all agreed that he should be put to death.

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you.
Joh 17:2 And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him.
Joh 17:3 Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.
Joh 17:4 I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do.
Joh 17:5 Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

Joh 14:8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need."
Joh 14:9 Jesus replied: Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father?
Joh 14:10 Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.

Sam, I don’t want to reproduce all the statements I sent you before. I think you can rationally see that Jesus’ claims are in the Gospels, his enemies knew what he claimed, and they put him to death because of the claims he had made. Only God can forgive sins, Jesus pronounced forgiveness to people, and the enemies regarded this as blasphemy.

Sam, we are talking about important things as you well know. You will not find Mohammed in the Bible and the Bible has not been corrupted. What is important is for you to find Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life. God’s love is so great that He came in human form to express his love, tell us about the real nature of God, and bring forgiveness to us.

I know that you are going to reject this but I want to say to you that you can
have peace and forgiveness by a simple beginning prayer, “Lord Jesus, I confess my sins to you and I want to give my life to you. I invite you into my life that I might have everlasting life in your presence forever. I pray in your name.”

You may be angry with me for this prayer, but keep it back in your mind. Jesus Christ loves you and is pursuing you. Perhaps he will give you a vision of Himself as He has done for lots of Muslims.
My prayers are with you. With best wishes, D.