Summia,
I honestly do not mean to offend you or your beliefs. I love everybody. If I love you, I must tell you the truth of what I believe even if it differs from what you believe. Trust me, I am not very patient either, you were asking where we went and threatening to close the thread, so I asked for you to be patient with me, as I am the one who was absent. I am not saying you are not a patient man, I am sure you are. I just ask you to have patience with me, a busy man. I understand you love Mohammad very much as I love the Lord Jesus Christ very much. I know it hurts when people tell me wrongful things about my Saviour, too, but I understand that they do not know Him or follow Him as I do and come from a completely different background, religion, perhaps even atheism, than I do and so I expect people not to agree with me. I am sure what I have learned about Mohammad and what you have learned are a bit different for sure.
As far as whether my Bible has changed over the centuries, from my studies only slight variances that do not change the meaning of the text have occured. We see this also from the Dead Sea Scrolls when compared to the earliest manuscripts we did have, they were virtually identical. We believe, I am sure as you believe about your scriptures, that God is able to preserve His Word for us. I surely would not question whether your scriptures changed significantly in the last 1400 plus years, I pray you will respect my scriptures as well. Our scripture even makes promises that God will preserve His Word to us forever. We believe if anyone tried to significantly change the text of the Bible, and people did try, that it would be caught right away. The copyists were very exact in their copying, especially the Jewish scribes who counted every letter backwards and forwards on each page, and went by very strict rules for copying.
And, you are correct, the Bible does not say specifically that Mohammad would change anything in the Bible, but it warns of false teachers and false prophets who would try to deceive people with false teaching and false doctrine. The point I made that although the Bible says Abraham placed Isaac on the altar, Mohammad said it was Ishmael, and although the Bible says Jesus was crucified on the cross, Mohammad said he was not, is, to me, teaching something other than what the Bible says. For me, if someone teaches something contradicting what the Bible says, which to me is God's Word, that person I have to consider a false teacher.
Although many of Mohammad's teachings were good, when it came to certain things, he differed from my Bible and I believe what the Bible says above all else. There are many things our religions have in common, yet many things we do not. We must respect each other and our differences and perhaps learn from one another. I know we will not agree on everything, you believe Ishmael was placed on the altar and I believe Isaac was, we just have to accept that. I believe Jesus died on the cross to pay for all my sins as a completely free gift of love, you do not believe that and I respect that. I am not a great debator, I really hate arguing with people about my beliefs, but I am willing to share my beliefs and when time permits try to give some explanation as to why I believe what I believe.
Again, I am sorry if I have made you angry in any way. I am too blunt and straightforward in saying exactly what I believe sometimes and I know people have been upset by it in the past. I will try to consider your feelings in future posts as I would want the same done for me. Well, Summia, I will 'talk' to you later. I love you with the love of God and pray for your well being. Take care, friend, and forgive me for any offenses, now and in the future.
Peace and Love,
Mike