This chapter is painful for me to write, not because I have any doubt that what I am about to say is the trust, but because I know that it may hurt many of the people on here that are very dear to me and I will even dare to say I have come to love as my own. I will say now this is not an attack on any person or even an attack on Islam, per se. And I will say I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of people who do not "play fair" or respect another person's religion. I have also seen my religion, God, and prophets slandered, mocked, and insulted to no end, so trust me when I say you have no friend who knows better what it is like to have her religion mocked. I do not write these things to mock or insult others. Neither are they aimed at a certain or specific person. If I talked to you about these things, I probably did with four others as well.

What I do write is to tell what I know is true, and what I understand from what the Bible says. I invite you friend, acquaintance, stranger, please stay and listen. This is not an attack. This is a conversation, an explanation, of what I believe and why. If hearing someone gently or even harshly point out why they believe or even know why your religion is not true, that is a problem. One must learn to overcome the anger they feel. It is what God expects from all of us. If Mohammad is as generous and forgiving as you say he is, then follow his example and please do not face this with outrage.

That being said, I am not writing this also to point out whether Islam is sexist, racist, violent, or any other accusation. There are enough people who already have discussed this. I think there are good defenses on both sides. I believe Mohammad was a man who did have moral standards of right and wrong better than most of the atheists and agnostics of today have. He was not a total monster as some make him out to be. He is also not as innocent and near perfect as others make him out to be. That aside though, this conversation is not to confront the morals of your religion or prophet. Many others have done that much better than I ever could. Perhaps at some time I will, but not today.

What I wish to discuss today, is the doctrine of Islam versus the doctrine of Christianity. Many people I have talked to may ask why? Why do you reject Allah, the Quran, and Islam? Can you not see the beauty behind it and the order it has, that it is true? And the answer I have to this is that I believe the Bible has superior answers to the questions of life than Islam can, and because the Bible has better answers to the meanings of life, it is true.

Now again, please hear me out. I have listened many Muslim apologetic videos. Alli Dawah, Zaiker Naik, Shabir Ally. I have heard what they have to say. I've read book after book on wattpad, both by young and old, scholar and passionate teenager, why Islam must be true and its doctrines trustworthy. I have sincerely considered them, and just because I have arrived at a different answer than you does not automatically make me wrong. If anything, you should want to know genuinely why and consider why it might be true.

The big questions of life everyone asks are these -

Why is there suffering?

Why are we separated from God?

Why is there sin?

What is the solution to sin?

What is the highest moral calling?

What is our relationship with God?

The Bible answers all of these in a much more logical way than Islam does.

To begin, why is there suffering? From all Muslim sources I have seen, it is because God willed it. He wanted pain and suffering to test humanity. Death is just all part of His big plan. (Now if I am wrong, please correct me with sources, I am open to other possibilities, this is just what I have read in many people say). In Christianity, evil arises solely from humans and devils, not because God desired pain but because He wanted humanity to have a choice. Let's say God forced us to be good and love Him. What a farce that good and love would be! Yet like this, even if we choose the wrong thing, when we choose the right ones it is so much more meaningful because it wasn't a robotic program forced into our brains, but a conscious decision. Sin and death exists, but only because we choose to sin and bring death upon the world. Christianity teaches God does not desire this, but He is to good to force righteousness on us. God is ultimately purely good and desires good for all, evil is not part of the plan.

Second why are we separated from God? We realize we do not on a normal basis speak directly to God. We do not literally see Him. Many people say God feels very far away. Why is this though? Islam says the reason is that this is just how it must be. Humans are humans, God is God. The two are separate and may never meet. There is no real reason other than that is how it must be. So, what is Christianity's reason? God is pure, holy. We are sinners. God can not allow the holy into His most divine presence. How can He? If we were allowed in Heaven, Heaven would no longer be perfect. If you insult a person to their face every day, your relationship will be broken. Our daily actions insult God, therefore, our relationship with God is broken. That is why we are separated from Him.

So, why does this sin exists in the first place? Islam teaches that this is because it is all part of God's plan. Christianity teaches that sin is a result of God's goodness. If you love someone, you give them a choice, even if it is the wrong choice. Imagine if your parents loved you because they had to? Your children? Could you be happy with a spouse who loved you with a love that was not their choice but that was forced upon them? I would think not. My friends, then how can we expect God to be happy with a love that He has forced on us? He therefore must give us a choice, either we may love or not love Him. If we reject Him, we likewise reject the benefits of love, but at least we are given a choice.

What is the solution to this sin then? How can we make amends with God for sinning? Islam says that there really isn't. We must be good. If we mean well, God will just have mercy on us, yet if we mean bad, we will be punished, maybe permanently, maybe temporarily. But we each must bear our own sins. Christianity says something similar but ultimately so very different. The Bible says we on our own can not make amends for our sins. If I break the law, before a judge, there is no excuse for my sin. If I say, "Well, I was bored. I was hungry. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn't know the law. ." In no country in the world would such an excuse be accepted. Yet God, who is more holy, more just, and more righteous is expected to just smile and excuse our sins? God is merciful, yes, but God is holy. In Christianity, the key character trait of God is holiness, the angels spend all day and night saying "Holy, holy, holy." What is the key character trait of Allah?

Because of this, all sin is a big deal. If we are honest, we can not bear our own sins. Let's say, a whole village commits murder. Because everyone did it, everyone in this village tries to excuse the sin saying, "I'm only human," "Everybody makes mistakes," and "Everyone did it." If you think this scenario is not believable, I ask you to look to Nazi Germany, the reign of terror in France, and the pre-Christian and pre-Muslim cannibal tribes in Africa. Human nature wants to excuse guilt. In the same way, we as a society are all liars, all lust, all do what we call "little" sins. The only reason they are "little" though is because everyone does them and we don't want to face the reality that this sin is a big deal to God. We are like the villages and cities of murderers who excuse what they have done with a shrug. We claim these sins are not that big a deal, but my friend, we are only lying to ourselves. If you lie in a court of law, you can go to prison. Yet we expect to not be punished with hell when we lie in the world God has created for us?

Anyway, because of this, sin is solved differently. In Islam, the solution to sin is repentance. If you feel sorry enough, if you ask forgiveness enough, if you are sincere enough. But again, this does not hold up in real life. If you did this in court, the judge would laugh in your face and say, "You SHOULD be sorry." Then sentence you. Again, we expect an even more holy God to be different? I know what you are thinking, (at least many of you), but what about the mercy of God? My friends, the mercy of God does not cancel out the justice of God. Rather, they must BOTH be satisfied. To punish us with no hope of redemption does not satisfy mercy. To let us go free though with no consequence to anyone does not satisfy justice. Someone must be punished for justice to be ok and someone must be set free for mercy to be ok.

That is why the idea of Jesus Christ is so perfect. This idea is foreshadowed all throughout history. Beginning with Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, God was preparing the world to accept His gift. Abraham goes with his son, about to kill him, and God provides a lamb to die in his place. That is a picture of us, about to die for sin, and Jesus comes to die in our place. The sacrifices in Israel as well. When someone sinned, they had to make a sacrifice in place of the sin, just like Jesus was sacrificed in place of our sins. The goat offering, one was killed, the other set free, just like we can be set free and Jesus killed.

People argue that this is not fair. But to be honest, as we see above, the fair and just solution is to let each person bear their own sins and pay for it themselves in hell. Those are the two options. If you think you do not deserve hell, I ask you to look at the words of Christ, who said

Matthew 5:21-22 - Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Have you ever been said a bad word about someone? You are, according to Christ, in danger of hell. Have you ever been angry at someone with no real reason? You are again, in danger of hell.

The people who opposed Jesus the most were the Pharisees. The main issue Jesus had with them was that they thought they were holy enough to go to heaven on their own. They thought they didn't need Christ. Jesus said that all their hope of being holy though wasn't enough. They needed something more.

Matthew 23:25- 26 -Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

If any of you think you can be good enough to go to heaven, I challenge you to write every sin you ever commit for even a week. I doubt you will feel the same. It is something I have done and it is humbling.

Now, what is the highest moral calling? In Islam it is rules. There are rules for how to dress. Rules for how to speak. Rules for how to treat others. Rules for marriage. Rules for every facet of life from murder to food. In Christianity, it is principles. Jesus Christ, when asked if one should pay taxes, did not give a rule. Rather He gave a principle. Give what's God's God and what Ceaser's Ceaser. When asked if divorce is wrong, Jesus did not quote a law. He said all marriage was meant to be like Adam and Eve. He gave a principle. Laws are rules that control outside behavior. Jesus gave principles to change our inside. Many times people think if you are good outside, the inside will change, but that just isn't true. Jesus knew that what mattered is the inside. If the inside is good the outside will change. That is why there are no rules on slavery. Rather there is a principle that says love all people as yourself. You can't love someone like that and make them your slave! One queen in Africa freed all her slaves after getting saved not because the Bible had a rule, but because she read Jesus say that and realized that the principle of love goes deeper than a set rule. I read this week that even if there was a rule, no rule could make the ex-slave owner care about the freed slave or look at them as an equal. That is why the greatest "rule' is really a principle to love God with all of your being and love your neighbor as yourself. It is not really a rule at all, but a principle that will keep us from all sin.

Matthew 22:36-40 - Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Finally, what is my relationship with God? In Islam, I would be a slave. A slave has no real choice. A slave is obey or die. A slave can not truly love their master and a master can not truly love their slave. Slavery takes away the ability to choose, to think, to be. In Christianity, I was a slave to sin and the law, but now am free to serve God willingly. I am an adopted daughter of God, a princess. I do not obey God because I fear hell or death or punishment. I obey God because I sincerely love Him and want to make Him happy. Some people mock Christianity, saying that there is no motivation to do good if we are not threatened with hell. I say to you then, is it not amazing then, that millions of Christians devote their lives to helping others and staying away from sin, even though they know that it will have zero affect on their salvation? If anything, it means more that they are doing good because they are doing it willingly from a pure heart, not because they want to earn favor with God or escape hell. Now certainly, not all Christians are like this, but my friend, I thought God was merciful? Is He not merciful to the sinner without bias or discrimination? Is He not supposed to be fair? If so, it makes sense that He is willing to have grace on even the worst sinner.

Thank you for reading. Again, this is not to hurt my friends, insult them or their religion, but tell the truth. So many times I see Muslims get offended at anyone saying anything against Islam and calling people liars and cursed, yet when they speak against a religion it's ok because they think it's true. My friends, that is hypocrisy and a double standard. Every person has the right to say what they know is true, and rather than get offended or mock them, sincerely try to see their side of the story. Ask God to give you the truth. Don't get offended. I know just as well as you what it is liked to be mocked and judged for following a religion. I've been told I believe in a zombie, a sky daddy, a lie. I've been told I'm going to hell, I'm a polytheist, I am a bigot. I have been accused if never having read the Bible (I've read it through nearly twice, and it's way bigger than the Quran), that God will curse me. I've seen every single doctrine in the Bible misused and misinterpreted and trappled on and lied about. So I know what it's like to feel like people hate your religion. So please give this a chance. Consider that it might be true and please open your heart and mind to the beauty of Jesus Christ and perfect truth of the Bible. Thank you again for listening.