Debunking Christianity: Where Does the Bible Talk About the Trinity? Is Jesus God?

May God bless you in this four page series on Quran and Bible. The arrow above at the right opens the next page.

Is Jesus God?

What is the Trinity?

It is hard to answer one question without answering the other... 

I will start with the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian doctrine which asserts that there is one God who exists in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the first, second and third persons of the Trinity, respectively. In this doctrine, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God, but there is only one God. All three are God, in essence.

According to Christian doctrine, Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus is God (God in essence). To explain this, some Trinitarians may say... I am the son of human and I am human (human in essence). After my body dies and decays, my spirit will remain. So, I am a father, son and spirit, three persons in one human. This human trinity helps some to understand the concept of the divine Trinity of Christianity.

At this point, you probably see that the Christian doctrines of the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity are intertwined. The doctrine of the Trinity is not one doctrine. It represents a variety of interrelated doctrines.

The divinity of Jesus is one of the many doctrines in the Trinity.

When the Bible says that Jesus is the "Son of God", it is not saying that Jesus is a physical son (God having sexual relations with Mary). In Arabic, the words "ibn" and "walad" are similar but different. "Ibn" means "son", sometimes figuratively, sometimes denoting heirship. But "walad" means "child" in the sense of the flesh. So, Jesus was the "walad" of Mary and the "Ibn" of God. So,  we would not call Jesus in Arabic "Walad Allah." We call Him "Ibn Allah", meaning He came from God. 

 

In Arabic, the phrase "son of..." is used to signify where one is from. For instance, a person from Lebanon would often be called a "Son of Lebanon." A man from Morocco would be called a "Son of Morocco." And because the Nile is the most famous part of Egypt, an Egyptian will often be called "Son of the Nile." One could also be called "Son of Education", meaning that he is a very well educated person. The phrase may also be used to express one's main interest. In the same way, Christ is called "Son of God" because He came from God (John 16:28).

Farther down this page I will present scriptures from the Bible and the Quran which relate to these doctrines.

As you read on, you will see that both the Quran and the Bible represent that there is one God who speaks of himself in the plural as "we" or "us". So, both books refer to God as singular and plural. But the Quran disputes the Trinity. So, one must decide which book to believe. The content and authorship of each book provide clues to their reliability. Lets take a brief look at both holy books.

Bible

The Bible was written by 40 authors over a period of 1500 years, so none of its authors could control its content. The Bible contains no provision diverting spoils of war to its authors or their relatives. The Bible does not guarantee entrance into Heaven for those who do things which are financially beneficial to its authors or their relatives.

Quran

About 600 years after the Bible was completed, the content of the Quran came to exist gradually over a twenty-three year period in the mind and memory of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and was partially recorded in written form before his death. The Quran was completely converted from memory into written form after Muhammad's death by his successor Abu Bakr. Different versions of the Quran were later burned by Uthman (Sahih Bukhari 6.61.510). Umar served as a witness to authenticate the content of the Quan, so that four men determined the content of the Quran, all four being close relatives of each other, all four being rulers of the Islamic Empire and all four benefitting from provisions in the Quran granting up to one-fifth of the plunder taken from conquered peoples to themselves... granting one-fifth of the plunder to "Allah, the Messenger" (Muhammad), "his close relatives, orphans, the poor and needy travelers" (Surah 8:41, 36-41, 69). 

"That the Quran be collected"… "in one book"… "was something which Allah's Apostle did not do" (Muhammad did not do during his life) but Abu Bakr collected it from "palmed stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart" so that "a large part of the Quran" may not "be lost" since "a large part" was only in memory of certain men (Sahih Bukhari 6.61.509). Since the Quran was not collected "in one book" until after the death of Muhammad, he was not alive to verify that the "one book" was correct... and since "a large part" was collected from the memories of men after his death, Muhammad could not verify that this "large part" was remembered and recorded accurately.

As the Islamic empire rapidly conquered many nations to become the largest empire the world had ever seen, much financial benefit was available to Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Uthman through the plunder provisions of the Quran which granted one-fifth of the plunder to Muhammad and his relatives. The Quran promises sexual pleasure in Heaven to males who die fighting wars for God. In Heaven they receive pleasure with women who have swelling breasts "full-bosomed maidens of equal age" (Surah 9:111, 78:33, 78:21-40). These provisions could have helped satisfy the growing need for more soldiers in an expanding empire to increase the plunder for Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Uthman. Since the Quran says that the criteria for entrance into Heaven is being good (Surah 7:42, 4:124) and since it is impossible to know if that criteria has been met, fighting in wars for God is the only sure way to enter Heaven, making the Quran's criteria for entering Heaven an excellent motivator for men in the days of the Islamic Empire to join the army, to increase plunder for Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Uthman. 

Bible

The Bible's criteria for entering Heaven has nothing to do with what a person does, be it good or evil. The Bible's one and only criteria for entering Heaven is faith (John 3:16). Eternal life comes by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:1-9, 8-9). To receive by grace means to receive a blessing which one does not deserve. So, the believer is certain of entering Heaven because of God's grace and the believer's faith. It is therefore inconsistent with the Bible to believe that any particular action would be necessary or sufficient to gain entrance into Heaven. So, neither saving others or killing others can guarantee or prohibit entrance into Heaven. The sole criteria is faith: 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

The Gospel is that Jesus Christ "died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 1-8).

The Bible does not guarantee Heaven to those who fight wars for God.

To read Syed Muhammad Khan's article about the growth of the Islamic Empire in the "World History Encyclopedia", click here.

If you would like to discuss the contents of this page, please contact me using the "Ask a Question" link at the bottom of this page.

We will plunge deeper into the scriptures of these holy books later in this page so that you can assess whether the content of either book may have been adjusted to the benefit those who determined the content of each book, so you may assess the credibility of the Bible and the Quran in regard to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Whether we were born into Muslim, Christian, Hindu or other cultures, it was God decided what culture we were born into. By examining what sacred writings actually say, without having bias in favor of the culture we were born into… and trusting God to illumine our hearts, we can know if a sacred book originated from God or man.

The deity of Jesus and the Trinity are Christian doctrines which are sometimes difficult for Christians to understand and typically perplexing to Muslims and Jews. 

Regarding these doctrines, I shall maintain a distinction between what scripture actually says and what people say that scripture says. I will also present these doctrines in a way that is respectful to the scriptures which are holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews, with whom I have had many enjoyable and respectful conversations about religion, politics, morality and life.

The word trinity means a group of three.  You will not find the word "Trinity" anywhere in the Bible. The word Trinity represents a variety of doctrines which some Christians would say are true, even though they appear to be false and contradictory at first glance. The difficulty is... in this doctrine, the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are all God, but there is only one God. 

So,

The Father is God.

The Son is God.

The Holy Spirit is God.

And,

The Father is not the Son. 

The Son is not the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is not the Father.

In other words, one God in three persons. That is the doctrine of the Trinity in condensed form.

When I say that the Father is God... the Son is God... the Holy Spirit is God... I did not say, "the Father = God"... "the Son = God"... "the Holy Spirit = God". An apple is fruit but that doesn't mean that apple = fruit.

Even those who hold to the deity of Jesus and the Trinity acknowledge that the doctrines are difficult to explain... that God can be one and also three. I will critique some viewpoints regarding the mathematical aspects of the Trinity later in this page. 

But first, let's examine some scripture from three religions which assert that there is one God, who is also a plural God. Christianity, Islam and Judaism. We will briefly examine scriptures from Genesis in the Bible and Surahs 15, 54 and 66 in the Quran.

God is a "We" in the Bible and the Quran

In the Bible we see that God is presented in the plural, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26a, ASV). This quote is from the book of Genesis, which Judaism and Christianity hold as scripture. It is clear that Christians didn't change this scripture after the coming of Christ to make Genesis 1:26 consistent with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity with Jesus as God, being the second person in the triune God. You can go to chabad.org and  sefaria.org and see that the Jewish Bible has the same exact quote as I have shown for Genesis 1:26a. God the creator is clearly in the plural... "us"... in both the Jewish and Christian Bible. 

But, like the Jewish and Christian Bibles, the Quran also presents God in the plural: Allah is called "We" in the Quran. In the Quran, "We" created the earth and vegetation, constellations and man (Surah 15:19, 16, 26 respectively). Allah then refers to himself as man's creator in the singular as "I" in Surah 15: 28. Allah (in the plural as "We") sends wind and rain (Surah 15:22), causes life and death (Surah 15:23) and sent the flood in Noah's day (Surah 54:9-13). Allah (in the plural as "We") breathed of "Our Spirit" into Mary the mother of Jesus (Surah 66:12). 

Notice the word "Our" in the phrase "Our Spirit". This is the breath of a plural Spirit of a plural deity going into Mary.

Corpus.quran.com has multiple English translations of these verses but "Our Spirit" for 66:12 is not in all of them. Quran.com shows both Arabic and English. You can hover over the Arabic words to see the Arabic words which mean "Our Spirit". Start at the top right of the Arabic text since Arabic is read from right to left.

So, the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all present God in the PLURAL. This is noteworthy since they are all known for their insistence that there is only ONE God. Now we will see that the scriptures of all three religions also present God as ONE God. 

This raises an interesting prospect. The debunking of God as a plurality debunks not one but three religions. 

There is One God in the Quran and the Bible

The Bible says, "Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one" Deuteronomy 6:4 (World English Version). This quote is from the book of Deuteronomy which both Judaism and Christianity affirm to be scripture. "Yahweh" is the personal name of God. Click here for more on this. Matthew 28:19 commands, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". Notice that the word name is singular, not plural. His name is "Yahweh". He has one name because he is one God. The name Jesus literally means Yahweh saves. The singular name, Yahweh, applies to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Quran in Surah 5:73 says, "There is only one God". 

So, both the Quran and the Bible present God in the singular.

God is Both Singular and Plural in the Quran and the Bible

If we look at the scriptures of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions, we see that they are unified in asserting that God is both singular and plural. I am focusing on what the scriptures actually say rather than what men say that the scriptures say. Followers of any religion should be suspicious when religious leaders say that the words of their scripture don't mean what they say. This applies to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and etc. I believe that religious leaders try to change the meaning of scripture to avoid a contradiction of one verse with another verse... or a contradiction of one verse with what religious leaders have taught. Having faith does not mean that we don't also follow an honest, logical and scientific approach to scripture. Words mean what they say. Religious leaders must present an honest response to scriptures of their faith which appear to create contradictions with other scriptures of their faith or contradictions with the teachings of the leaders of their faith.

The scriptures of all three religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism present God as plural and singular.

Explanations of the Plurality of God in the Bible and the Quran

The Christian Bible presents detail to the plurality of God in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit... In the Bible, these three persons are deeply involved in the ways that God expresses his infinite love for his children:

• Father: God as authority (John 12:49, 44-49)
• Son: God in flesh (Hebrews 1:8, 2:5-18, 2:17)
• Holy Spirit: God as Spirit in believers (John 14:17, Acts 5:3-4, Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:34-35, explained later )

The books of the Bible which are endorsed in Judaism show God as authority (Psalm 89:9) as being God in the flesh (Isaiah 7:14, Genesis 32:24-31) and as the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11). You can go to chabad.org and sefaria.org and see English translations of these passages in the Jewish Bible. If they disagree with the Christian Bible, you can use the Interlinear version at biblehub.com to examine the Hebrew words underlying the English translations, with definitions of the Hebrew words.

The Quran presents Allah in the plural (Surah 15:16, 19, 22, 26; 54:9-13, 66:12)) and as singular (Surah 5:73) but not as a trinity (Surah 5:73). The Quran doesn't provide detail, whether God's plurality is two, or more than three, since it can not be three according to Surah 5:73. There are the 99 names of God in the Quran.  The Quran presents God as the one Spirit of a plural God in Surah 66:12.  Allah (in the plural as "We") breathed of "Our Spirit" into Mary the mother of Jesus (Surah 66:12). 

Some say that the plurality of Allah in the Quran is a plurality of attributes but not a plurality of persons. In this view, multiple attributes are intended by Allah when He presents Himself as "We". Others say that the word "We" in the Quran represents grandeur. Followers of the Quran are not unique in this response to words that appear to create contradictions. Some followers of the Bible do the same thing with words in their scripture which appear to contradict other scripture or contradict their beliefs. Nevertheless, the words mean what they say whether the words are in the Quran or the Bible. Blue is not pink. Water is not the sun. I is singular and we is plural. Words are what they are rather than what we want them to be. Otherwise words become meaningless and communication becomes impossible. Kings do have grandeur. And kings may say "We" will do such and such. But "we" is still plural, not singular. Kings represent millions of people and can use the word "we" to indicate this. But "we" is still plural, representing a plural number of people. We who desire truth must understand the meaning of words honestly. When we read words we don’t like, we can’t simply say that words don’t mean what they mean.

Now "we" will look at scriptures in the Bible saying that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each God. With both holy books we will use the same standard. Words mean what they say, not what we want them to say.

Bible: The Father is God

"to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:7).

Bible: The Holy Spirit is God

1) "But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? ⁴ While you kept it, didn't it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn't it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven't lied to men, but to God" (Acts 5:3-4).

2) Jesus, the Son of God, was born through Mary, a virgin, because she "was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). Because of this impregnation by the Holy Spirit, Luke states: "Therefore also the Holy one who is born from you will be known as the Son of God" (Luke 1:34-35). So, Jesus was the Son of God, because God the Holy Spirit impregnated her. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit had sexual relations with Mary. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit... with supernatural power... which was used to cause a virgin to give birth.

Bible: Jesus is God

1) "looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13)

2) "¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... ¹⁴The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John testified about him. He cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.'" ¹⁶ From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him. " (John 1:1, 14-18).

So, "the Word was God" (1:1), "became flesh" (1:14), was a "he" (1:14), was "the Son of the Father" (1:14), was "testified" of by "John" (1:15), came "after" John  in the flesh (1:15), but was "before" John as deity (1:15), brought "grace" (1:16), since grace was "realized" through him (1:17) who was called "Jesus Christ" (1:17). As additional explanation, Jesus was before John because Jesus is God but after John because he was born as a human after John was born.

3) For other passages revealing Jesus as God see also Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 1:5-6, 2 Peter 1:1, 1 John 5:20, 1 Timothy 1:1, Philippians 2:5-11, Isaiah 9:6 (a child will be born named "Mighty God"), Isaiah 7:13-14 (promise made to "house of David, in other words, the lineage of David, of a child to be born to a virgin to be named Immanuel, which means God with us, the promise being fulfilled in Matthew 1:23), Acts 16:29-34 (In verse 31 the Philippian jailer hears that salvation comes by faith in Jesus. In verse 33 he was baptized as profession of that faith and in verse 34 we see that his faith was in God, revealing that faith in Jesus is faith in God, because Jesus is God.)  

Debunking the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian doctrine which asserts that there is one God who exists in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this doctrine, the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are all God, but there is only one God. In defense of the Trinity, some will say... 

"What I am is different from Who I am". 

I am one human. That is what I am. I am also a father, a son and husband. That is who I am. In applying this to God (whose name in the Bible is Yahweh)... Yahweh is one God.  That is what Yahweh is. Yahweh is God. Yahweh is also Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is who Yahweh is. That is how some will explain that God exists in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

But, even those who hold to this view acknowledge that it is difficult to explain... that God can be one and also three. 

At first glance, science, logic and mathematics seem to indicate that 1 + 1+ 1 must always equal 3. For example,

   1 Apple 

+ 1 Apple

+ 1 Apple

= 3 Apples 

But the Bible doesn't say that there are three Gods in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christians will say that they are three persons in the Godhead resulting in one God... so, the three apple analogy doesn't apply. Let me show you:

   1 Person (God the Father)

+ 1 Person (God the Son)

+ 1 Person (God the Holy Spirit)

= 1 God (whose name is Yahweh)

Color has also been used as an explanation of the Trinity.

The primary colors are red, blue and green. These colors cannot be created by mixing other colors. But every other color can be created from these three by mixing them in various proportions. If red, blue and green light shine on the same spot, the result is white light. Three become one.

   1 Color 

+ 1 Color

+ 1 Color

= 1 Color

By the way, white is a color. Though some in artistic fields may not consider white to be a color, according to physics white is a color. That's because it is formed by combining three colors. Colors combined are color. Each primary color is a separate color from the other two, can interact with the other two colors... and each of the three individually are color. And all three combined are color. 

The Trinity has the same traits.

According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus (Matthew 1:18), filled Jesus (Luke 14:1), empowered Jesus (Matthew 12:28) and led Jesus (Luke 14:1). Then, at Jesus' request, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to dwell within those who are born again (John 14:16-17). So, the three persons of the Trinity interact with each other. Like color, each person of the Trinity is a separate person, can interact with the other two persons... and each of the three individually are God. And... all three combined are God.

   Color Red

+ Color Blue

+ Color Green

= Color White

   God the Father

+ God the Son

+ God the Holy Spirit

=God the Trinity whose name is Yahweh

So, that is how some use color to explain the Trinity. To see in depth explanations of the Trinity, click here.

Like these two analogies using apples and color, all defenses and criticisms of the Trinity are based on what we know. But, we know that the things we know do not necessarily reveal the things we don't know. For example, primitive man would have mocked at things which we now know as reality like automobiles, rocket ships, electrons, computers and the atomic bomb. Primitive man would have been greatly mistaken to presume that such things could not someday exist. 

The Trinity is a spiritual matter. We can not prove or disprove spiritual matters on this side of death. After death, we will know the answer. But in the meantime, we have two spiritual books, the Quran and the Bible. Both claim to have spiritual truth which is handed down to man from God. How else can man know truth about God, unless God reveals it? But, the Quran and the Bible disagree on this issue of the Trinity. So, how can we know which one to believe? Which one can be "debunked"? 

When we are presented with two holy books which disagree, one must look at the content of the holy books, those who determined that content and how each book came to exist. What if the content of a book appears to be something written not by God to illumine mankind... but written by men for personal gain. For example, if one holy book reflects the elements of a get rich scheme, one would conclude that the other book is correct about spiritual matters like... the Trinity. Also, if one book appears to demean women, so that it appears to have been written by males for the benefit of males, instead of being written by God for the benefit of mankind, that would guide us to trust the book with a proper view of women. So, this page will compare the Quran and the Bible in many aspects which are relevant to trustworthiness. This comparison will consume the remainder of this page. Accordingly, the remaining sections in this page are titled:

• Male Dominance
• Polygamy

• Holy Book or Get Rich Scheme?
• The Quran Says that the Bible is True
• Content of the Quran and the Bible
• Quran and Bible: Permanent or Temporary Content?
• How Mankind Received the Quran and the Bible

If you would like to discuss the contents of this page, please contact me using the "Ask a Question" link at the bottom of this page.

Male Dominance

Looking back thousands of years, the vast majority of societies in history have tended to be male dominated but much progress towards equality has been made in modern times, more so in some societies than in others. In this section we will examine the Bible and the Quran to see if women are allowed to be prophets, rulers,  judges or witnesses in court... and also to see if either Holy book allows husbands to beat their wives.

In the Bible, prophets and rulers were typically male. But 3200 years ago, in roughly 1200 BC, about 1800 years before the Quran was written, when God appointed sixteen consecutive judges to rule Israel (Judges 2:16, 2:18, 2:1-20), Israel was ruled by a female judge named Deborah (Judges 4:4). She was a mother (Judges 5:7), wife (Judges 4:4), judge (Judges 4:5), prophet (Judges 4:5) and a military leader (Judges 4:4-24, especially 4:8,14). As a judge she ruled in civil cases over the "sons of Israel" (Judges 4:5).  So Deborah, a woman, ruled over the men. Deborah  commanded the army in the victorious battle of Mount Tabor (Judges 4:6, 14). In that battle, Jael, the wife of Heber killed the enemy general, Sisera. She killed him with her own hands, using a tent peg (Judges 4:17-24). 

After Israel was ruled by sixteen consecutive judges and until conquered by other nations, it was ruled by forty-two kings and one queen (Athaliah in 2 Kings 11:1-16). So, Israel had two female rulers. One out of every twenty-nine were female.

Besides Deborah, there were other female prophets in the Bible, including Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20; 2 Chronicles 34:22-28), and "the prophetess" (Isaiah 8:3), Anna (Luke 2:36-38), Philip's daughters (Acts 21:8-9) and Elizabeth (Luke 1:41-45). The Old Testament of the Bible (Joel 2:28-29) said that women would prophecy at the coming of the Messiah (Jesus). The New Testament of the Bible (Acts 2:17-18) said that women did prophecy at the coming of the Messiah (Jesus). So, women as prophets are spread throughout the Bible.

The Quran was written 600 years after the last book of the Bible was written. In the Quran, women are not prophets and do not rule over men. The Quran is the most important source of guidance in Islam, followed by the Hadith and the Sunna. The Sunna says that Muhammad taught that women lacked common sense (79a). The Hadith, Al-Bukhari 1052 says that most of the inhabitants of Hell are women... that the reason they are in Hell is because they were ungrateful to their husbands. Sunna 79a explains that the proof that women lack common sense is because the evidence of two women in testimony is equal to one man, which comes from the Quran (Surah 2:282). Answering-christianity.com presents a Muslim's perspective of Deuteronomy 19:16-19, misunderstanding it as establishing a rule that, in the Bible, only men can testify in court. However, that passage is only an example of a dispute between two men, to establish the penalty for false testimony. The passage from Deuteronomy was building on many previous passages in the Law of Moses which stated that two or three witnesses are necessary to convict (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15, Numbers 35:30)... The Bible never states that the witnesses must be men or that a woman's testimony is worth less than a man's. The Bible actually states that a woman can be the judge over men's disputes (Judges 4:5) and records women testifying in court when no men testified and receiving a ruling from King Solomon at the beginning of his reign when he was a wise king (1 Kings 3:15-28, 4:29-34, 11:1-4). While Jewish teachers (Mishnah, Shevuot 4:1) said that women could not testify, that was the teaching of men in a male dominated society, not the teaching of the Bible. It was to a woman that Jesus first appeared after his resurrection (Mark 16:9, 16:1-11). It was to women that God chose to first reveal the message through angels that Jesus had risen from the dead (Matthew 28:1-10), so that women would be the first witnesses to the resurrection, the resurrection being the centerpiece of the Christian faith... giving women the first place as God's chosen witnesses, for the climax of all scripture which had been written up to that time (the resurrection of the Messiah being the climax). 

Wife Beating

Surah 4:34 of the Quran instructs a husband who senses ill-conduct from his wife to instruct her, to sleep in separate beds, and hit her. If she becomes obedient, the husband should not seek a way against his wife. But if a split between husband and wife is anticipated, a mediator from his and her family should be appointed (Surah 4:35). The Bible never instructs or authorizes a husband to strike his wife under any circumstances. The Bible commands husbands to "not be harsh" with their wives (Colossians 3:19). The Bible commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25) and to help their wives to grow closer to God, growing towards perfection, by giving God's words from the Bible to her (Ephesians 5:26-27). Essentially, husbands are to die to help their wives grow towards perfection. Women having husbands who will not obey the Bible (1 Peter 3:1) were to teach them by their good behavior without words (1 Peter 3:1-2), possibly because men in male dominated societies who refused to obey the Bible might react violently to wives who tried to verbally correct their husbands bad behavior... and also possibly because it is pointless for a woman to attempt to purify her husband with scripture if her husband will not listen to scripture.

Corpus.quran.com has multiple English translations of all verses from the Quran and you can select "Word by Word" in the left navigation bar to see the definition of each Arabic word. Biblehub.com shows multiple English translations of all Bible verses and you may select "Interlin" in the upper gray toolbar and then click the number above each word to see the definitions of the original language words.

In summary...

3200 years ago, the Bible endorsed women being prophets, to dispense God's judgements to mankind and also endorsed women ruling over men, to be judges in courts of law over men. Under the Quran, women are precluded from these functions to this day. In the Bible, husbands are instructed to die for their wives to help them grow closer to God. In the Quran, husbands are instructed to hit their wives to make them obedient.

What you now know about male dominance in the Quran and the Bible will help you to evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by males for the benefit of males... Then you may be able determine if you can trust what they say about the Trinity. 

Polygamy

Men were allowed to have multiple wives in major religions and ancient cultures. Before we in our modern age rush to judgment, we should consider the conditions of ancient life. Peoples were farmers and nomads...possibly living in tents. If a woman lost her husband, she had few options to provide for herself or protect herself. She could not lock the flap on her tent. There were no guns in those days. And a gun is a creates equality between a man and a woman, since a man has no advantage with this weapon. But only primitive weapons like swords, knives and etc were available for women to defend themselves with. Families had to protect their food and property. There was no police department to call.  So, marriage to a man who had other wives could be a better option than prostitution or starvation. We have not experienced the circumstances of ancient life and should not judge their actions as if they had the advantages of modern life which we enjoy. 

I have read that Hinduism and Buddhism allowed polygamy but have not seen evidence of that in their scriptures. 

In the Bible, monogamy was always God's intention (Matthew 19:5-6). But the Bible has many examples of men with multiple wives, especially Israel's kings. Kings were prohibited from having "many wives" in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 17:14-17). In a gross violation of Deuteronomy 17, King Solomon had 1000 wives (1 King 11:1-3). According to my examination, the Bible does not expressly prohibit polygamy in the Old Testament of the Bible. The Old Testament was completed about 2400 years ago. But in the New Testament of the Bible which was written 2000 years ago in the first century, only one wife was allowed (Ephesians  5:33, 1 Corinthians 9:5, 1 Timothy 3:2). So, polygamy has been prohibited in the Bible for about 2000 years.

The Quran allows four wives per man (Surah 4:3), a rule which is still in effect today. 

What you now know about polygamy in the Quran and the Bible will help you to evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by males for the benefit of males... Then you may be able determine if you can trust what they say about the Trinity. 

Holy Book or Get Rich Scheme?

In this section we will see if the content or compilation process of the Bible or the Quran are consistent with a get rich scheme. 

Both the Bible and the Quran have content pertaining to war, content determining if plunder may be taken from other nations in war and content determining who receives the plunder. All nations have policies regarding war and plunder. The purpose of this section is not to judge whether nations have a right to receive plunder from adversaries in war. The focus in this section is... 

Do policies regarding war and plunder in either book look like they were designed by the author to enrich the author? 

In other words... does either book contain elements of a get rich scheme?

In general...

This section will show that the Bible has a temporary provision authorizing the taking of plunder in war, in a specific geographical area, at a certain time in history, with no special reservation of plunder for any of the forty individuals who determined the content of the Bible.

In general...

This section will show that the Quran has a continuing provision authorizing the taking of plunder in war, in any geographical area, during any time in history, with a special reservation of one-fifth of the plunder for the four individuals who were involved in determining the content of the Quran. 

Please do not rush into judgement against either book. While we may not like the realities of war, war is a part of life. We should not judge ancient peoples until we place ourselves in the realities of their lives, in the days in which they lived, one, two, three or four thousand years ago. After you see the details of these provisions from each book, you may be able to discern if either book contains the elements of a get rich scheme, to enrich those who determined the content of either book.

Then you may be able determine if you can trust what they say about the Trinity. 

The Bible

The Bible has roughly 783,000 words (in the English translation). It contains 66 little books by forty different authors written over 1500 years, containing thousands of years of history, including historical time markers which corelate with archaeological findings and secular history. The sixty-six books present many common themes, messages and fulfilled prophecies, some of which span up to 6000 years. It was written by people who lived in vastly different time periods, from many occupations: shepherds, priests, kings, musicians, fishermen, a farmer, physician, tent maker, tax collector, slave, scribe, singer, judge, government administrator and cup bearer to the king of Persia. Based on available information, only David and Joshua were in the military and they contributed roughly 5% of the content of the Bible. Moses wrote 19% of the Bible. Ezra wrote 7%. No other author wrote more than 7%. Since it was written over 1500 years, no individual or group could control its narrative. The Bible is typically about 1200 pages long if small print and narrow line spacing are used. The first 900 pages were written in Hebrew or Aramaic and translated into Greek before Jesus came and are called the Old Testament. The last 300 pages were written in Greek after Jesus came (roughly 2000 years ago) and are called the New Testament. The Old Testament contains the Law of Moses, Prophets and Writings. In Islam, the Law of Moses is called the Taurat or Tawrat. The Writings contain what Islam calls the Zabur. The New Testament includes what Muslims refer to as the Injil.  The Law of Moses included ten rules which are called the Ten Commandments. Roughly 3400 years ago the Law of Moses also included a temporary and expired command to conquer a specific group of very wicked people as a judgement from God and to take plunder in certain specific areas. Children who died in those wars, being those who were younger than the age of accountability, received a free pass into heaven (2 Samuel 12:23, 12:1-25). This command to conquer was a judgment on the people then living in Palestine because of their great wickedness (Deuteronomy 9:4-6) as exemplified by their sacrificing of their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods (Deuteronomy 18:9-10, 12:29-31), practicing sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:10), having sex with parents, children and siblings (Leviticus 18:1-25, 18:7, 9, 24, 25), having sex with animals (Leviticus 18:23-24), having sex in pagan temples as part of pagan worship (Genesis 38:21) and etc, essentially being a depraved religious cult (Leviticus 20:23, 1-24). That command to conquer is no longer in effect because it was a part of the Law of Moses. And the Law of Moses is no longer in effect. 

The Law was temporary (until Christ):

• "Then why is there the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise has been made" (Galatians 3:19). 

Galatians 3:16 had already stated that Christ is the offspring, to whom the promise was made. So, the Law was added until the coming of Jesus Christ, who came about 2000 years ago. So, the Law of Moses has not been in effect for 2000 years. For more on the expiration of the Law of Moses with which this command to conquer is connected, click here.

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the government was not given control over religious life. Only the descendants of Aaron could be priests in the Old Testament (Exodus 40:12-15) and kings did not come from the descendants of Aaron. In the New Testament, all believers became priests (1 Peter 2:9).  The New Covenant was established in the New Testament to succeed the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses. The New Covenant, which exists to the present day, does not have or grant powers of civil government. So, the Bible does not provide for religious life to be controlled by the government. The Old Covenant is no longer in effect. The New Covenant which has been in effect for roughly 2000 years never included and does not now include permission or a command to conquer other nations or receive plunder.

What you now know about the authors of the Bible and the time period of its transmission will help you to evaluate whether the Bible came from God or if it was written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able determine if you can trust what it says about the Trinity. Next we will consider the Quran.

Quran

The words of the Quran originated with the Islamic Prophet Muhammad roughly 600 years after the Bible was completed. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad could not read or write, but friends recorded part of his revelations on bark and stones¹ over a period of about twenty-three years² and preserved the remainder by memorizing it (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, number 509). Footnotes are at the bottom of this section. The Quran contains roughly 168,000 words (English Translation). It contains 114 chapters (Surahs) with many common themes and messages. After the death of Muhammad, the Quran was compiled by scribe Zayd ibn Thabit at the command of the successor to Muhammad's empire, Caliph Abu Bakr, being compiled from numerous written fragments on "palmed stalks" and "thin white stones" and "a large part" from the memories of individuals (Hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, number 509). So, "a large part" was in peoples memory and never reduced to writing during Muhammad's lifetime. Islamic scholars say that two witnesses to authenticity of the memorized and written sources were required and that Muhammad's relatives, Caliphs Umar and Uthman, were two of those witnesses³. The Quran's content was again determined at a later time by Caliph Uthman who burned versions of the Quran which deviated from the one compiled by Caliph Abu Bakr (Hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, number 510). 

Caliphs are Islamic rulers with control over civil life, religious life and the military... 

The caliph of Islamic cultures is most similar to what is considered an emperor in other cultures. 

After Muhammad started the Islamic Empire in the city of Mecca and expanded it to conquer nearly all of the Arabian peninsula, Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman conquered the rest of Arabia, Egypt, Iran, much of North Africa and parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This was one of the most rapid and successful subjugation of many peoples and lands in the history of warfare. Muhammad had no sons who were living at the time of his death to take over the empire. But leadership passed to other relatives of Muhammad.

The first caliph, Abu Bakr was Muhammad's father-in-law. The second caliph, Umar was also Muhammad's father-in-law. (Muhammad had eleven wives.) The third and fourth caliphs, Uthman and Ali were two of Muhammad's sons-in law. According to the Quran (Surah 8:41, 36-41, 69) one-fifth of the plunder taken from conquered peoples went to Allah, the Messenger (Muhammad), his close relatives, orphans, the poor and needy travelers. Because of Surah 8:41, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali could benefit financially from plunder, being close relatives of Muhammad. Abu Bakr and Uthman participated in determining the content of the Quran and Umar had influence over the content of the Quran as a witness and the Quran's content contained those provisions granting plunder to those three relatives of Muhammad. There were uprisings in the Islamic Empire after Abu Bakr succeeded Muhammad, after Uthman succeeded Umar, and after Ali succeeded Uthman.

Muhammad died from being poisoned by a Jewish woman. Abu Bakr was successor to the Islamic Empire after Muhammad's death and the first Caliph. He died from natural causes at the age of sixty-one roughly two years after he became Caliph. The second, third and fourth Caliphs, Umar, Uthman and Ali were all assassinated while they were Caliph. 

Assassinations were not uncommon for ancient kings and conquerors. In the Bible, assassinations of rulers occurred in both Israel and Judah. (After a civil war, Israel divided into Israel and Judah.) In Israel and Judah, the only queen (2 Kings 11:1-16) and 11 of the 42 kings are recorded in the Bible as having been assassinated as well. But none of those assassinated were involved in determining any content of the Bible. Before kings ruled Israel, Israel was ruled by judges. None of the 16 judges of Israel were assassinated. 

Significance

The content of the Quran was determined by four men (Muhammad, Caliph Abu Bakr, Caliph Umar and Caliph Uthman). Caliphs Uthman and Umar had influence over the content of the Quran through being witnesses regarding authenticity.  Three of the four men were assassinated... with uprisings after Abu Bakr succeeded Muhammad, after Uthman succeeded Umar, and after Ali succeeded Uthman... Evidence of bloody political power struggles when the content of the Quran was determined and in the lives of those who determined it... all consistent with empire building and empire builders. The provisions of the Quran granting plunder to those who determined the content of the Quran or had influence over the content of the Quran is significant... to observe whether or not the Quran has the elements of a get rich scheme.

The Quran includes a subjective, continuing and current command and authorization to kill.... to conquer all those who don't agree with the Quran (Surah 9:29), to receive plunder (Surah 8:41, 36-41, 69) and take captives (Surah 8:70), but only after inflicting a massacre (Surah 8:67), while guaranteeing Heaven to those who die fighting, killing and dying for God in war (Surah 9:111) and to receive "full-bosomed maidens of equal age" in Heaven (Surah 78:33, 21-40). Surah 9:29 is explained in great detail in the next section below titled, "Content of the Quran and the Bible".

Summary

The content of the Bible has forty witnesses, being written by forty people from many occupations and families, originally written in three languages and over various time periods spanning 1500 years. It contains the Old Covenant of Law, which included the Ten Commandments and God’s temporary command to execute God’s judgment on a wicked group of people. This Old Covenant of Law is no longer in effect, having transitioned into the New Covenant of the Spirit, a spiritual kingdom which has never been controlled by earthly governments and has nothing to do with conquering nations or receiving plunder. Plunder was limited to a small area, in a limited time period.

The content of the Quran has one witness (Muhammad) and was determined by four military rulers, three of whom were assassinated, resulting in regime change in the Islamic Empire... all four of whom controlled the Islamic Empire, were conquerors, were related to each other and benefited financially out of one-fifth of the plunder through Surah 8:41, as they waged war to build a vast physical empire. Plunder could be taken from all who did not agree with the Quran (Surah 9:29), meaning that violence against those with small deviations in faith from the Quran were justified, resulting in an nearly unlimited number of people from whom plunder could be taken.

More will be explained later in this page about periods of violence in both the Bible and the Quran.

What you now know about those who compiled the Quran and the Bible and the history of the  transmission of each will help you to evaluate whether the Quran and the Bible came from God or if either was written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine if you should trust what they say about the Trinity. 

Footnotes for this section:
1) https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/the-first-codex-abu-bakrs-compilation-of-the-quran

2) https://al-islam.org/prophethood-and-prophet-islam-ibrahim-amini/revelation-and-preservation-quran

3) https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/how-was-the-quran-collected/

Now we will see what the Quran says about the Bible.

The Quran Says that the Bible is True

Surah 5:44 says that the Jews  should make judgments by the Torah (called Taurat in Arabic). The Torah is in the Old Testament of the Bible. The term Torah can refer to the entire Old Testament of the Bible. Surah 5:47 says that the people of the book (Christians) should make judgements by the Gospel (which is called the Injeel or Injil in Arabic). The Gospel is in the New Testament of the Bible. Surah 4:136 commands Muslims to believe in the scriptures revealed before (Torah and Gospel).  See corpus.quran.com for multiple translations into English. Here is Surah 4:136...

"O believers! Have faith in Allah, His Messenger, the Book He has revealed to His Messenger, and the Scriptures He revealed before. Indeed, whoever denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has clearly gone far astray." (Surah 4:136)

The Bible as we know it today had been completed for over 500 years before Surah 4:136 was written. So, Muslims are to believe the Scriptures revealed before, the Bible. But some Muslims say that the Christian Bible was corrupted by the Christians and Jews after the Quran came to exist (corrupted in the last 1300 years). By saying that the Bilbe is corrupt, they are denying the Bible, which Surah 4:136 has warned them to not do. In spite of this warning, some Muslims say that Muslims should not believe the current Christian Bible. But what is accomplished by God in revealing scripture, if God lets men corrupt scripture so it should not be believed? To this some Muslims say that everything that was in the original Bible is also present in the Quran... that the Torah, Injil and Quran all said the same thing, just in different languages, so people could have God's word in their language. But, the Torah was originally written in Hebrew, then translated into Greek (the Septuagint), so that the Torah in Greek was available hundreds of years before Jesus was born. The Gospel was then written in Greek after the death of Jesus. There are over 60,000 manuscripts available to clearly establish these things. Since the Torah was already in Greek, there was no need for God to reveal the exact same message in Greek through the Injil. Also, if God did not want men to translate his word into different languages and therefore must reveal his truth directly into every language, why wasn't this message revealed directly into the other thousands of languages in the world, instead of just Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Arabic? Click here for more on this.

Some Muslims claim that the Quran has not been corrupted but that the Bible has been corrupted. These claims raise questions:

• If God kept the Quran from being corrupted, why didn't he protect the Bible from being corrupted?
• If the Bible was God's word, how could man change it?
• Isn't God able to protect His word?
• Who changed the Bible?
• What parts were changed?
• Why were they changed?

I have not seen an credible answer to any of these questions. If you know of reasonable answers, please contact me using the link at the bottom of this page.

So, it appears that the content of the Quran instructs Muslims to believe the Bible and therefore endorses the Biblical Trinity, while also contradicting the Trinity.(Surah 5:73).

By characterizing the doctrine of the Trinity as polytheism (Surah 9:29-36), the Christians are included in that group of people who the next section reveals are those who Muslims should conquer and plunder with up to one-fifth of the plunder going to  Muhammad or his relatives, the first four Caliphs. So, the elements of a get rich scheme are present in the Quran's condemnation of the Trinity as polytheism, since the Quran instructed them conquer polytheistic peoples and by characterizing Christians as polytheists they could profit from conquering Christian lands in obedience to the Quran, which history says that they in fact did conquer and profit. Surah 9 is explained in great detail in the section below titled, "The Content of the Quran and the Bible".

What you now know about what the Quran says about the Bible will help you to evaluate whether the Quran came from God or if it was written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine if you should trust what it says about the Trinity. 

Next we will consider the content of the Quran and the Bible.

Content of the Quran and the Bible

Regarding the content of the Quran and the Bible we see similarities and differences. Both urge man to worship God, to be good, avoid evil and expect a final judgment from God after death. 

But definitions of evil can be different in the two books. For example, 

1) Murder: 

The Bible prohibits murder (Romans 13:9). The Quran prohibits murder of a believer (Surah 4:93). "Believer" means Muslim. 

2) Theft: 

As I wrote earlier, the Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Law of Moses is in the Old Testament and is no longer in effect. The penalty for stealing in the Law of Moses (no longer being in effect) was restitution, to pay back four times what was stolen (Exodus 22:1). There is no civil penalty in the New Testament for theft. That is left to governments to decide. The penalty for stealing in the Quran is amputation of both hands (Surah 5:38).  

3) Fornication and Adultery: 

The penalty for adultery with a married woman in the Law of Moses (which is no longer in effect) was stoning for the man and the woman (Leviticus 20:10). There is no civil penalty for adultery in the New Testament. That is left to governments to decide. The penalty for adultery between two unmarried people in the Quran is 100 lashes for the man and woman (Surah 24:2). The penalty for a married woman for adultery in Sahih al-Bukhari 2314 is stoning.  

4) Surah 4:34 of the Quran instructs a husband who senses ill-conduct from his wife to instruct her, to sleep in separate beds, and hit her. If she becomes obedient, the husband should not seek a way against his wife. But if a split between husband and wife is anticipated, a mediator from his and her family should be appointed (Surah 4:35). The Bible never instructs or authorizes a husband to strike his wife under any circumstances. The Bible commands husbands to "not be harsh" with their wives (Colossians 3:19).

Corpus.quran.com has multiple English translations of these verses and you can select "Word by Word" in the left navigation bar to see the definition of each Arabic word. Biblehub.com shows multiple English translations of all Bible verses and you may select "Interlin" in the upper gray toolbar and then click the number above each word to see the definitions of the original language words.

So, the Biblical penalties in the current age for theft and adultery are left to governments. Quranic penalties in the current age for theft and adultery are amputation of both hands and 100 lashes, respectively. All murder is prohibited in the Bible. Murder of believers (Muslims) is prohibited in the Quran. The Quran requires a husband who senses ill-conduct in his wife to beat her. But the Bible prohibits harsh treatment of wives by their husbands.

The Quran has one penalty for stealing, whether one steals a car or a loaf of bread. The penalty for stealing a loaf of bread in the Quran is to cut off both hands. 

"As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands for what they have done—a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise" (Surah 5:38).

Some present day Muslim scholars and teachers have placed limits on this rule. So, men are changing the application of what the Quran says. This raises a very important question:

Do you believe that God dictated Surah 5:38 to Muhammad?

Do you believe that God's law is that a thief should lose both hands for stealing a loaf of bread?

If your answer is "no"... and if you are correct... then the Quran is not the word of God and cannot speak with God's authority about the Trinity. 

A rich man or military ruler would be the most likely author of Surah 5:38. Such a law would make it very efficient to protect a rich man's wealth and keep strict order within an army. A poor man or hungry soldier would not invent such a law.

What you now know about the content of the Quran and the Bible will help you to further evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine which one is the most reliable source about the Trinity.

Now we will compare the Bible and the Quran in regard to conquering other countries.

In the Bible we see an objective, temporary and expired command from God. 3400 years ago God commanded the descendants of Jacob (Israel) to conquer a specific group of wicked people who lived in a small area called Palestine. This command is objective because God specifically identified the peoples in a particular point in time who were to be conquered, why they were to be conquered  and specifically who was to conquer them. This command was a judgment on the people then living in Palestine because of their great wickedness (Deuteronomy 9:4-6) as exemplified by their sacrificing of their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods (Deuteronomy 18:9-10, 12:29-31), practicing sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:10), having sex with parents, children and siblings (Leviticus 18:1-25, 18:7, 9, 24, 25), having sex with animals (Leviticus 18:23-24), having sex in pagan temples as part of pagan worship (Genesis 38:21) and etc...  essentially a depraved religious cult. That command to conquer is no longer in effect because it was a part of the Law of Moses. And the Law of Moses is no longer in effect. For more on the expiration of the Law of Moses with which this command to conquer is connected, click here. Jacob's descendants were motivated to be courageous and to trust God when they attacked those areas (Joshua 1:6-10). But, the Bible does not guarantee eternal life in Heaven for those who died fighting, killing or dying for God in that war or in any holy war. Heaven is guaranteed to those who believe in the Son of God (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:1-9, 8-9). Heaven is life in God's visual presence (Revelation 22:4, 1-5), where there will be no evil (Revelation 21:27, 1-27) and no suffering (Revelation 21:1-4). God had told the descendants of Jacob that if they acted as those in Palestine acted, they too would be conquered (Deuteronomy 8:19-20, 28:15-68). Then, after Jacob's descendants conquered those people, God sent other nations to conquer Jacob's descendants because of their great wickedness (2 Kings 17:1-23,17:8, 17:22-23, 24:1-4). 

In these specifically identified military campaigns which took place roughly 3400 years ago, Israel was allowed to take plunder in some of the specifically identified conquered lands (Deuteronomy 20:1-20, especially 10-16). An extra portion of the plunder was not provided to leaders. These verses are part of the Law of Moses (Taurat) which was temporary according to Galatians 3:19 and no longer in effect after the first coming of Jesus two thousand years ago, since the seed to come in Galatians 3:19 was defined as Jesus Christ in Galatians 3:16. Click here for a complete explanation of the temporary nature of the Law of Moses. 

So, the Bible never included and does not now include permission or a command to conquer or injure those who are not Christian or those who do not agree with the Bible.

This command to conquer the land of Palestine does not have the elements of a get rich scheme because the command was just one of many commands attached to a covenant whereby the descendants of Jacob would be severely judged in they didn't keep ALL of God's commandments, including commands to worship only one God, not commit adultery, not steal, not covet (Deuteronomy 4:44 - 5:21) or etc (entire book of Deuteronomy). Physical prosperity in the land of Israel was the promise of God to Jacob's descendants if they obeyed the Law of Moses (See the entire book of Deuteronomy, especially 7:11-8:1, 28:1-68, most especially 8:1 and 28:63-64).

"if you will not listen to Yahweh your God's voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you and overtake you" (Deuteronomy 28:15). The curses are numerous and severe and are explained in Deuteronomy 28:16-68.

So, the command to conquer was not a get rich scheme. It was one of many commands leading to rewards for obedience and consequences for disobedience to the end that they would be God's people and would be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6). But judgment rather than wealth was the final result for the descendants of Jacob, because they did not live up to God's standard.

In the New Testament, disciples of Jesus are told to preach the Kingdom of God and expect to be persecuted and killed for doing so... So, disciples are to die for leading others into the spiritual Kingdom of God (Matthew 10:5-23, especially 10:7, 16-21).

Now, let's consider the Quran...

The Quran includes a subjective, continuing and current command and authorization to kill.... to conquer all those who don't agree with the Quran (Surah 9:29), to receive plunder (Surah 8:41, 36-41, 69) and take captives (Surah 8:70), but only after inflicting a massacre (Surah 8:67), while guaranteeing Heaven to those who die fighting, killing and dying for God in war (Surah 9:111) and to receive "full-bosomed maidens of equal age" in Heaven (Surah 78:33, 21-40). Surah 9:29 mandates the conquering of those who don't agree with the Quran. This is not defensive warfare. This is aggressive, violent war against every non-Quranic religion. The Quran instructed the Prophet (Muhammad) to motivate believers to fight disbelievers (Surah 80:65). The command to conquer unbelievers is subjective because the people to be conquered are not specifically identified as those in a particular city or country. Surah 9:29 is an open ended command to conquer any and all who don't believe in the Quran ("those who do not believe.... don't embrace the religion of truth... those who do not comply"). 

Some suggest that the context of Surah 9:29 does not represent aggressive war but instead only requires defensive war. So, I will quote Surah 9:29 and then explain Surah 9:1-59, to provide accurate context. 

Surah 9:29

"Make war upon such as those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay the tribute out of hand, and they be humbled" (Surah 9:29, The Koran, translated by J. M. Rodwell, 1909)

Scriptures are the Quran. The last day is judgment. The Apostle is Muhammad. By truth the Quran is intended. 

So, according to Surah 9:29, Muhammad would provide the Quran to other nations, and if they did not believe the Quran, Muhammad's army would attack. I do not know how much time the nation would be given to convert before being attacked.

This verse is clearly not about the defense of an Islamic nation. A defending nation does not receive tribute for successfully repelling an invasion.  Tribute is paid by a conquered country to the conquering country. The objective of Surah 9:29 is collection of tribute from other nations by conquering those nations through war.

Here is the context of Surah 9:29 from Surah 9:1-59:

Polytheistic Arabs (9:1) will be granted 4 months to stay in the land (9:2) after which the disbelievers (polytheists) will be punished (9:3). Polytheists with whom Muslims have an unexpired treaty are exempt from this punishment until the end of their treaty, if they perfectly follow the treaty. And after expiration of said treaty, Muslims are to kill them all (9:4-5). Some translations may say to kill those "who violated the treaty", but at quron.com you can hover over the Arabic words to see that the words "who violated the treaty" are not in the Arabic text. All translations at corpus.quran.com do not have the words "who violated the treaty". So, all polytheists are to be killed after the expiration of the treaty. But if the polytheists will convert, pray and pay alms, they will be let go (9:5). If these polytheists want protection to study the Quran (9:6) and if they convert, then they are brothers in the faith (9:11). But if they break their treaty and revile the religion of the Quran, followers of the Quran are to attack their leaders (9:12). The treaty Allah is talking about is the treaty with Meccans who attacked Muslims first (9:13). Then in 9:14-19 we see... fight them, Allah will help you. Polytheists should not maintain the Sacred Mosque. Believers are blessed forever (9:20-22). Love Allah more than family (9:23-24). Allah gives Muslims victory and grace (9:25-27). Polytheists are impure and should not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year (9:28). The context has now changed to "after this year" (9:28). Fight anyone who doesn't agree with the Quran until they pay the tax (9:29). This is justified since they are impure (9:28). 9:29 is a general call to attack those who don't agree with the Quran, specifically stating who is to be attacked (those who don't agree with the Quran). Violation of a treaty is not mentioned anywhere in 9:29. Christians and Jews are categorically polytheists (9:30-34) and will go to Hell (9:35). Fight the polytheists (9:36), which categorically is defined to include Christians and Jews (9:35). Again, there is no mention of any treaty violation. Fight the polytheists (including Christians and Jews) as they fight against you (9:36), meaning that they will resist as Muslims "march forth" to attack them (9:38). The journey to attack is a long one (9:42) and those who will not march and attack are ruining themselves (9:38).The journey being long, it is clearly not defensive warfare. Further criticisms of those Muslims who don't take the long journey and attack (9:39-59). Reluctance to take the long journey to attack is additional evidence that this is not a defensive war. 

In summary, a treaty was made by followers of the Quran and polytheists. And the Quran said that after expiration of the treaty they were to attack the polytheists (9:3-5). It didn't say to attack them if they attacked first after expiration of the treaty. The Quran said to attack them at expiration of the treaty. At the end of one year, Muslims were to attack the polytheists (9:28-29). The expiration of one year could also be the expiration of the treaty mentioned in 9:4-5. So, there are either one or two commands to attack the polytheists, neither of which are conditioned on the polytheists attacking the followers of the Quran first. 

Comparison of the Bible and the Quran

In both books we see judgment executed by man on other men at God's command. If you don't believe that God has a right to judge and punish wicked men... you will not believe that wicked dictators like Hitler should be punished... and you will discount both the Bible and the Quran. If you don't believe that God may execute judgement against wicked people through people, as both the Bible and Quran do, you will also discount both the Bible and the Quran. Both books present God's execution of judgement through people. But in the Bible this was limited to specifically identified people, at one time and one place, with plunder in some specifically identified lands. But in the Quran it is not limited, being applicable to all ages as seen in the expansion of the Islamic Empire through history. The Bible commands its adherents to show others how to receive eternal life (Matthew 28:19) and have peace with God, expecting to be persecuted and killed for their obedience (John 15:26-16:2). The Quran commands Muslims to violently conquer take plunder from those, who in the opinion of the Caliph, don't accept the Quran's message.

What you now know about the content of the Quran and the Bible in regard to conquering other countries will help you to further evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine which one is the most reliable source about the Trinity.

Summary

The Bible's content was written by prophets and eye witnesses of Christ and instructs its adherents to give their lives to bring eternal life (Heaven) to the lost, eternal life being life in God's visual presence (Revelation 22:4, 1-5) with no evil (Revelation 21:27, 1-27) and no suffering (Revelation 21:1-4). While the content of the Bible did instruct the descendants of Jacob 3500 years ago to conquer a small, specifically identified people in Palestine as judgment because of their wickedness and allowed plunder to be taken in some of that conquered area, that instruction is no longer in effect. The government did not control religion or determine the content of the Bible.

The Quran's content was determined by military rulers and includes the obligation to conquer those who don't agree with its content and assigned a portion of the plunder received in subjugating other nations to Muhammad and his relatives.  Muhammad's relatives, Abu Bakr and Uthman determined the content of the Quran which assigned part of that plunder to themselves, which could have been close to one-fifth of the total plunder. As motivation to the soldiers there is a share of four-fifths of the plunder and sexual pleasure with multiple females in Heaven. (Click here to learn about the Quran's jizya tax levied on people of other faiths.) The government determined the content of the Quran.

So, looking objectively at the Quran, it contains the elements of a violent get rich scheme at the expense of others while the Bible doesn't. The Quran's content as determined by conquerors was beneficial to conquerors financially and in raising and maintaining armies since it promised earthly financial and heavenly sexual rewards to soldiers. Those who don't believe that God would write such instructions will be inclined to favor the Biblical understanding of the Trinity as the truth. 

I am not saying that those who identify as Muslims today know about or believe these passages of the Quran. But, that is what the Quran says.

What you now know about the authors, compilers, content and history of transmission of the Quran and the Bible will help you to further evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine which one is the most reliable source about the Trinity.

Now, lets see if the content of the Quran and Bible was permanent or temporary.

Quran and Bible: Permanent or Temporary Content?

According to the Quran, Muhammad could change the Quran through what is called abrogation (Surah 2:106), to replace one verse with a better one. So, the Quran as the word of God could change during Muhammad's lifetime. But Surah 33:40 of the Quran stated that Muhammad was the last Prophet. So, after the death of Muhammad,  the Quran can not be changed, since only a prophet can change the Quran. So, the four wife maximum in the Quran is here to stay. So, is the requirement to attack non-Muslims, amputation as the penalty for theft and other provisions of the Quran. While the Bible doesn't have abrogation, it does have transition. The Old Covenant, called the Law of Moses, is in the Old Testament of the Bible. The Law of Moses, created a theocracy with the Aaronic Priesthood and animal sacrifices roughly 3500 years ago. But after Israel broke the Old Covenant 2600 years ago (Jeremiah 3:6-10, especially verse 8) Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant 2000 years ago by his crucifixion and resurrection. As a result of this fulfillment, the Old Covenant of Law transitioned into the New Covenant of the Spirit, which is contained in the New Testament. The New Covenant of the New Testament was foreshadowed by Old Covenant in the Old Testament. The New Covenant is a little like a graduation. To summarize change in both sacred texts, the Quran could be changed, to replace one verse with a better one, but only during Muhammad's remaining life, being according to tradition, roughly twenty-three years from his first revelation to his death. The Old Covenant of the Law of Moses in the Bible was fulfilled by Jesus Christ and transitioned into the New Covenant of the Spirit, so that New Covenant believers are not under the Old Covenant Law of Moses. To summarize a little more concisely, portions of the Quran could be replaced while in the Bible an older covenant transitioned upon fulfillment into the current covenant.

So, the content of the Quran was temporary and subject to change until the death of Muhammad. Thereafter it is permanent. The content of the Bible was always permanent, though God's covenant could be fulfilled and transition into a different covenant.

What you now know about permanence of the content of the Quran and the Bible will help you to further evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by men as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine which one is the most reliable source about the Trinity.

Now, let's look in detail at how the Quran and the Bible were transmitted through history, and who controlled their content.

How Mankind Received the Quran and the Bible

I will explain the transmission processes of these two scriptures.

 

For the Bible, sixty-six books were written in whole, at different times, the earliest being written 3500 years ago and the latest 2000 years ago, written by forty people, prophets or by apostles of Jesus or other eye witnesses. The Old Testament was hand copied over the centuries by scribes and priests. The New Testament is the portion of the Bible which was written after the birth of Jesus. It was hand copied over the centuries by men to distribute to the world and replace copies that wore out. There was no central control in the transmission of the New Testament. People had copies and made copies. The Roman government would try to burn them. We can't examine what Rome burned, since burned copies can't be recopied and handed through history. Over 60,000 manuscripts and scrolls are available for analysis, to objectively determine what the original Old and New Testament documents said.  

Regarding the transmission of the Quran, the words of the Quran originated with only one man, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad could not read or write, but friends recorded part of his revelations on bark and stones¹ over a period of about twenty-three years² and preserved the remainder by memorizing it (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, number 509).

Since Muhammad could not read, he couldn't personally verify that the revelation was written as he dictated.  

As written in the Hadith, Al-Bukhari 6:509 and 6:510, Muhammad did not have the whole Quran written into a book ("something which Allah's apostle did not do", 6:509). 1400 years ago, after the death of Muhammad, Zayd bin Thabit was asked by Caliph Abu Bakr to search for "fragmentary scripts", 6:509. Zayd collected the Quran from "palmed stalks", "white stones" and "from the men who knew it by heart", 6:509. That collection was given to Caliph Umar, then Hafsa. So, some undefined quantity was merely in peoples memory ("a large part" according to Al-Bukhari 6:509). Muhammad was not alive to verify that this collection of fragments or verses from peoples memory was correct.

 

In 6:510, Uthman collected that collection from Hafsa, and burned the copies that deviated from that version during a civil war in the Islamic Empire, so no one can examine the content of the burned versions. The Quran was then hand copied over the centuries by men. So, the Quran has a controlled process, controlled by kings Abu Bakr and Uthman.  In the Quran, you have Uthman's version as evidence of what the original was from Muhammad.

The men who decided what would go into the Quran were military conquerors. The following link shows the expansion of the Islamic empire through Muhammad, Al-Bakr, Umar and then Uthman. It is written by Syed Muhammad Khan. The importance of this history is that it indicates that the men who decided what would go into the Quran were military conquerors who built a huge empire (Muhammad, Bakr and Uthman).

 

Click here to read about the Islamic Empire.

The Bible does not contain many details about transmission. But Al/Bukhari has provided much detail about the Quran.

 

Both the Quran and the Bible have been transmitted through men. So, neither can claim that either book has come directly from God, without passing through a human in some way.

 

The original books of the Bible were written as complete books, by a prophet or an eye witness, so the written originals were first hand accounts. The original Quran as a written book was compiled from 3^rd hand sources at best, 

1) Muhammad 

2) fragments or memory 

3) Zayd... two sources removed from the eye witness / prophet (Muhammad).

Being thousands of years younger and having been compiled and controlled by a government, there are fewer variations between ancient manuscripts of the Quran than we see in ancient manuscripts of the Bible. The burning of versions of the Quran which differ from the government's approved version created uniformity. But it also makes it more difficult to use the science of textual criticism to estimate or determine the exact content of the original revelation. Muhammad's first revelation is dated at about 610 AD and he died twenty-three years later. So, some portion of the Quran was only in people's minds for possibly twenty-three years, until Abu Bakr began to convert these memorized accounts to writing. This creates additional uncertainty regarding the actual content of messages received by Muhammad from Allah. 

We can not prove scientifically whether the commands in the Quran to attack unbelievers was included in messages from God to Muhammad or not. But it is clear that those verses did serve the interest of the rulers who determined that those verses would be a part of the Quran. And what the Quran says about the Trinity was controlled by the same men.

Now you should know enough about the authors, compilers, content and history of transmission of the Quran and the Bible to evaluate whether they came from God or if they were written by men for the benefit of men and as a get rich scheme... Then you may be able to determine which one is the most reliable source about the Trinity.

To learn how to enter Heaven according to the Bible, click here.