# Common arguments > Claims that come up over and over, from both sides, each linked to the article that answers it. A claim with no article yet is marked “Article coming”. Page: https://apologetics.wiki/common-arguments ## Islam Shelf: https://apologetics.wiki/islam ### The Bible Christians read was corrupted, so it is no longer the Torah and the Gospel God revealed. What you will hear. The Qur’an’s tahrif verses speak of concealing, misreading, and twisting words, and the biblical text is substantially the same before and after Muhammad. Texts: [Qur’an 2:75](https://quran.com/al-baqarah/75) · [Qur’an 2:79](https://quran.com/al-baqarah/79) · [Qur’an 4:46](https://quran.com/an-nisa/46) · [Qur’an 5:13](https://quran.com/al-maidah/13) · [Sahih al-Bukhari 7363](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7363) Article: [Was the Bible Corrupted? The Qur'an and Early Muslims on Tahrif](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/was-the-bible-corrupted) ### God cannot have a son, because he does not beget and has no consort. What you will hear. Christians deny a physical begetting too. The Son is the eternal Son, not a child God produced with a partner. Texts: [Qur’an 19:88](https://quran.com/maryam/88) · [Qur’an 112:1](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas/1) · [Qur’an 5:18](https://quran.com/al-maidah/18) · [John 1:18](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/18) Article: [Can God Have a Son?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/can-god-have-a-son) ### The Qur’an forbids saying “three,” and Christians worship God, Jesus, and Mary. What you will hear. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. A triad of God, Jesus, and Mary is not the Trinity, and Christians reject it. Texts: [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171) · [Qur’an 5:73](https://quran.com/al-maidah/73) · [Qur’an 5:116](https://quran.com/al-maidah/116) · [Deuteronomy 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4) · [Matthew 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19) Article: [The Trinity](https://apologetics.wiki/article/the-trinity) ### Jesus is the Messiah, a word from God, and a spirit from him, and he is still a created prophet. What you will hear. Those titles are the Qur’an’s own honours. The Gospel says the Word who was God became flesh. Texts: [Qur’an 3:45](https://quran.com/ali-imran/45) · [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171) · [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1) · [John 1:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/14) Article: [Jesus in the Qur'an and the Gospels](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) ### If Jesus prayed, called the Father greater, and did not know the hour, he cannot be God. What you will hear. The Son truly became man. Texts about his human life do not cancel the texts that call him God. Texts: [Mark 13:32](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/13/32) · [John 14:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/28) · [John 17:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/17/3) · [Qur’an 19:30](https://quran.com/maryam/30) Article: [If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray) ### When the Qur’an says it confirms the earlier scriptures, it means the original Torah and Gospel, not the Bible Christians read today. What you will hear. The Qur’an speaks of those books as present with the people of Muhammad’s day, and it tells them to judge by the Gospel they have. Texts: [Qur’an 3:3](https://quran.com/ali-imran/3) · [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47) · [Qur’an 10:94](https://quran.com/yunus/94) Article: [Does the Qur'an Confirm the Bible Christians Read Today?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-the-quran-confirm-the-bible) ### Qur’an 5:47 tells the People of the Gospel to judge by what God revealed in it, and Qur’an 10:94 tells Muhammad to ask those who have been reading the Book before him. A Christian objection. Those verses put the Torah and the Gospel in people’s hands in the seventh century. A corruption story that removes that Bible also removes the book the Qur’an tells them to use. Texts: [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47) · [Qur’an 5:48](https://quran.com/al-maidah/48) · [Qur’an 10:94](https://quran.com/yunus/94) · [Matthew 5:17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/5/17) Article: [Does the Qur'an Confirm the Bible Christians Read Today?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-the-quran-confirm-the-bible) ### By the Qur’an’s own descriptions of what God alone does, Jesus does those same things in the Gospel. A Christian objection. The Qur’an says God gives life, is the First and the Last, and comes with the angels. The Gospel says Jesus does the same. Texts: [Qur’an 22:6](https://quran.com/al-hajj/6) · [Qur’an 57:3](https://quran.com/al-hadid/3) · [Qur’an 89:22](https://quran.com/al-fajr/22) · [John 5:21](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/5/21) Article: [Does Jesus Do What Only God Does?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-jesus-do-what-only-god-does) ### The Injil was a book given to Jesus himself, and it is not the four Gospels. What you will hear. The Qur’an speaks of a Gospel Christians already had and could judge by. In the New Testament the gospel is the message about Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Texts: [Qur’an 5:46](https://quran.com/al-maidah/46) · [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47) · [Mark 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/1/1) Article: [What Is the Injil?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-the-injil) ### Paul invented Christianity by turning the prophet Jesus into a divine saviour. What you will hear. The death, resurrection, and deity of Jesus are in the Gospels and in a creed Paul says he received. The Jerusalem apostles accepted his gospel. Texts: [1 Corinthians 15:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/3) · [Galatians 2:9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/galatians/2/9) · [Qur’an 3:52](https://quran.com/ali-imran/52) Article coming: Did Paul invent Christianity? ### The Qur’an was carefully collected under Abu Bakr and Uthman, and God has guarded its text. What you will hear. Sahih al-Bukhari records that collection, the burning of other copies, and a companion’s objection. That history is the fair comparison when the Bible’s manuscripts are challenged. Texts: [Qur’an 15:9](https://quran.com/al-hijr/9) · [Sahih al-Bukhari 4986](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4986) · [Sahih al-Bukhari 4987](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4987) Article: [How Was the Qur'an Compiled and Preserved?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-was-the-quran-compiled) ### Jesus was not crucified. It was made to appear so, and God raised him. What you will hear. The crucifixion is in the four Gospels, in the creed Paul received, and in Tacitus. Jesus said it would happen. Texts: [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157) · [Mark 15:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/15/24) · [1 Corinthians 15:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/3) Article: [Did Jesus Die on the Cross?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross) ### Muslims and Christians worship the same God, the God of Abraham. What you will hear. Both confess one God and reject many gods. Christians also confess that this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is God. Texts: [Qur’an 112:1](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas/1) · [Deuteronomy 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4) · [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1) Article coming: Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? ### Jesus foretold a messenger named Ahmad, and the Helper in John 14–16 is Muhammad. What you will hear. John’s Helper is the Holy Spirit, who stays with the disciples, teaches them, and glorifies Jesus. No Gospel manuscript says Ahmad. Texts: [Qur’an 61:6](https://quran.com/as-saf/6) · [John 14:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/16) · [John 14:26](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/26) Article: [Is Muhammad the Paraclete or Ahmad?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-paraclete) ### Muhammad is the prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18, the one the Qur’an says is written in the Torah and the Gospel. What you will hear. Deuteronomy 18 promises a prophet from among Israel, and the New Testament applies that promise to Jesus. The Torah and the Gospel do not name Muhammad. Texts: [Deuteronomy 18:15](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/18/15) · [Acts 3:22](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/3/22) · [Qur’an 7:157](https://quran.com/al-araf/157) Article: [Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18) ### There is only one Qur’an. The readings are ways of reciting it, not different books. What you will hear. The canonical readings are not the same thing as the seven ahruf, and the collection reports record companions reciting differently enough to dispute. Texts: [Qur’an 15:9](https://quran.com/al-hijr/9) · [Sahih al-Bukhari 4986](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4986) Article: [How Was the Qur'an Compiled and Preserved?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-was-the-quran-compiled) ## Jehovah’s Witnesses Shelf: https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses ### Jehovah created Jesus first, and then created everything else through him. What you will hear. Hebrews 1 applies the psalm about the LORD, the unchanging Creator, to the Son. John 1:3 leaves nothing that exists apart from the Word. Texts: [Hebrews 1:10](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1/10) · [John 1:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/3) · [Isaiah 44:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/44/24) · [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:10](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001010) Article: [Is Jesus the Creator or a Creature?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-the-creator-or-a-creature) ### Before his life on earth, Jesus was Michael the archangel. What you will hear. Hebrews 1 sets the Son apart from every angel. No text calls Jesus Michael. Texts: [Hebrews 1:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1/5) · [Hebrews 1:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1/6) · [1 Thessalonians 4:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-thessalonians/4/16) · [Jude 9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/jude/1/9) · [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:6](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001006) Article: [Is Jesus Michael the Archangel?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-michael-the-archangel) ### Jesus is not worshipped. People only do obeisance to him, and worship belongs to Jehovah alone. What you will hear. Hebrews 1:6 applies a worship text to the Son, and Revelation 5 gives the Lamb the same praise as the One on the throne. Texts: [Hebrews 1:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1/6) · [Revelation 5:13](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/5/13) · [Revelation 22:8](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/22/8) · [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:6](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001006) Article: [Should Jesus Be Worshipped, or Only Given Obeisance?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/should-jesus-be-worshipped) ### The Father is greater than Jesus, so Jesus is not God. What you will hear. The Son’s human life and his place in the work of the Father do not make him a creature. John 5 says the Son is honoured as the Father is. Texts: [John 14:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/28) · [John 17:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/17/3) · [John 5:23](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/5/23) · [New World Translation of John 14:28](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/14/#v43014028) Article: [If Jesus Is God, Why Did He Pray?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray) ### The faithful and discreet slave is the Governing Body, which gives Jehovah’s people their spiritual food. What you will hear. Matthew 24:45 is a parable about servants staying faithful until the master returns, not a charter for one modern organization. Texts: [Matthew 24:45](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/24/45) · [Luke 12:42](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/12/42) · [Acts 17:11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/17/11) · [New World Translation of Matthew 24:45](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/24/#v40024045) Article coming: Who is the faithful and discreet slave? ### Jesus said all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father. A Christian objection. John 5 says the Son gives life and judges, and that refusing the Son is refusing the Father. Texts: [John 5:18](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/5/18) · [John 5:23](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/5/23) · [New World Translation of John 5:23](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/5/#v43005023) Article: [The deity of Christ](https://apologetics.wiki/article/deity-of-christ) ### The New World Translation is a faithful Bible, and where it differs it is only clearer English. What you will hear. Read the Society’s study notes beside the Greek text they publish, then read the same paragraph in the King James Version. Texts: [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1) · [Colossians 1:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/16) · [Acts 7:59](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/7/59) · [New World Translation of John 1:1](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/1/#v43001001) Article coming: How reliable is the New World Translation? ### The Trinity depends on 1 John 5:7, and that verse was added later. What you will hear. The sentence is not in the early Greek manuscripts, and the Trinity does not rest on it. The confession is older than that addition. Texts: [1 John 5:7](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-john/5/7) · [Matthew 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19) · [New World Translation of 1 John 5:7](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/1-john/5/#v62005007) Article coming: Does the Trinity depend on 1 John 5:7? ### Prayer is offered to Jehovah alone, through Jesus, not to Jesus himself. What you will hear. Stephen called on the Lord Jesus, and Paul describes Christians as those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Texts: [Acts 7:59](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/7/59) · [1 Corinthians 1:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/1/2) · [New World Translation of Acts 7:59](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/acts/7/#v44007059) Article: [Should Jesus Be Worshipped, or Only Given Obeisance?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/should-jesus-be-worshipped) ### John 1:1 says the Word was a god, not that the Word was God. What you will hear. The Word was with God and was God. A second god beside Jehovah contradicts Isaiah 43:10, and Thomas calls Jesus his Lord and his God. Texts: [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1) · [John 20:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/28) · [Isaiah 43:10](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/43/10) · [New World Translation of John 1:1](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/1/#v43001001) Article: [John 1 and the Word](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/john-1-and-the-word) ### Jesus was raised as a spirit and only appeared in a body. What you will hear. The risen Jesus says a spirit does not have flesh and bones as he has, and he tells Thomas to touch his wounds. Texts: [Luke 24:39](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/24/39) · [John 20:27](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/27) · [John 2:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/2/19) · [New World Translation of Luke 24:39](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/luke/24/#v42024039) Article: [Was Jesus Raised Bodily?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/was-jesus-raised-bodily) ### The holy spirit is not a person. What you will hear. Scripture speaks of the Spirit as one who can be grieved, who teaches, who speaks, and who can be lied to. Texts: [Ephesians 4:30](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ephesians/4/30) · [John 14:26](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/26) · [Acts 5:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/5/3) · [New World Translation of Ephesians 4:30](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/ephesians/4/#v49004030) Article: [Is the Holy Spirit a Person or an Impersonal Force?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-the-holy-spirit-a-person) ### The New World Translation adds the word “other” in Colossians 1:16, so the verse reads as “all other things.” A Christian objection. The Greek says “all things.” The added word is what lets a created Son stand inside a verse about the Creator. Texts: [Colossians 1:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/16) · [John 1:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/3) · [New World Translation of Colossians 1:16](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/colossians/1/#v51001016) Article: [Is Jesus the Creator or a Creature?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-the-creator-or-a-creature) ### “Firstborn of all creation” means Jesus was the first creature God made. What you will hear. Firstborn often means the pre-eminent heir. The next verse says all things were created by him. Texts: [Colossians 1:15](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/15) · [Colossians 1:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/16) · [Psalm 89:27](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/psalms/89/27) · [Revelation 3:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/3/14) Article: [What Does “Firstborn of All Creation” Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/what-does-firstborn-of-all-creation-mean) ### The divine name Jehovah belongs in the New Testament wherever the writers meant the Father. What you will hear. No Greek New Testament manuscript contains that name. The apostles used “Lord” for the Father and for Jesus, including Old Testament lines about the LORD. Texts: [Acts 7:59](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/7/59) · [Romans 10:13](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/romans/10/13) · [Joel 2:32](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/joel/2/32) · [New World Translation of Acts 7:60](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/acts/7/#v44007060) Article: [Does “Jehovah” Belong in the New Testament?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/does-jehovah-belong-in-the-new-testament) ### “The Alpha and the Omega” is Jehovah, not Jesus. What you will hear. In Revelation 22 the one who says “I am Alpha and Omega” is the one who is coming, and John answers, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” The one who died and lives in Revelation 1 calls himself the first and the last. Texts: [Revelation 22:13](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/22/13) · [Revelation 1:17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/1/17) · [Isaiah 44:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/44/6) · [New World Translation of Revelation 22:13](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/revelation/22/#v66022013) Article: [Who Is the Alpha and the Omega?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/who-is-the-alpha-and-omega)