...It may be an exercise in futility to try to convince any significant number of Muslims that their foundational document is a man-made fabrication. But, even supposing that were so, there is still a benefit in conducting a close examination of the Koran. One thing you find is that there are striking differences between the Koran and the New Testament. That’s something Christians need to learn or relearn, because it serves as an antidote to the enervating multicultural message that all religions are the same—and therefore, as Robert Spencer puts it, “basically equal in their ability to inspire good or evil.” Another thing you find if you dig into both texts is that the Christian revelation stands on a much firmer historical and rational footing than the Koran. Christopher Hitchens claims that the Koran and the New Testament are pretty much alike—both of them fabrications. Well, maybe…but, if so, the New Testament would have to be judged a much more skillfully executed fabrication than the Koran. It has the ring of truth. The Koran, on the other hand, rings rather hollow. Why is that important to know?—because success in resisting Islamization depends a lot on confidence, and right now the West is profoundly lacking in what Mark Steyn calls “civilizational confidence.” It might make a difference to our confidence if more people came to realize that their own foundational revelation has far more the look of the real thing.
Moorthy Muthuswamy worries that Westerners won’t undertake a deconstruction of Islam because the mode of analysis would undermine their own faith. As he sees it, “Some of the arguments used to question the religious foundations of Islam…can also pose difficulties for other faiths, including the majority religion in America.” Yes, to some degree perhaps, but they are the kind of difficulties Christians need to wrestle with if they are going to firm up their faith, and move beyond the intellectually flabby condition into which many Christians have fallen. There is a test of resolve coming. When Christians are put to that test they had better know what they believe, why they believe it, and why it is worth defending. It would also help if they knew what they are up against…before they find out the hard way.
William Kilpatrick’s articles have appeared in FrontPage Magazine, First Things, Catholic World Report, National Catholic Register, Jihad Watch, World, and Investor’s Business Daily.
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/07/08/an-invented-tale-2/