Why when a person is trying to prove a point of faith they will quote a source that the other does not accept?

Question

As a Christian Catholic if I was having a debate with a Muslim and I quoted the Christian New Testament, why would I think it would prove anything to the Muslim since he does not acccept the New Testament as devinely inspired?
Also if he wanted to prove a point by quoting the Koran, why would he think it would prove anything to me since I do not believe the Koran is divinely
inspired?
Now I can certainly quote the New Testament to explain what I believe and he can quote the Koran to explain what he believes.
But we both have to realize that we are not proving our faith by doing so.
It does seem like some people, in some of the answers, will quote a source that is not believed or acceptable by another.

Answer 1

Yes, but often the questions are what do you believe and why? A Christian would base their faith and answer for those on the Bible's teaching as would the Muslim on the Koran.

I agree with you when the questions are more like, "Why don't you Christians believe that Mohammad is a prophet?" because nothing in the Bible would point to his meeting the Biblical criteria of being one. Occasionally, one can point out difficulties in the opponents position by using the opponent's own sacred text

All one can do then, is point to historical, archaeological, and logical evidences to why a position is/is not true. Whether that evidence rises to a standard of sufficient "proof" is up to the one weighing such evidence.

Answer 2

Belief is fundamental to the way we see the world. We cannot/do not choose what we believe, it is the result of our upbringing and how we evaluate that. This then is expressed as the level of belief we call a religion or a 'philosophy'. We often seek out others of a similar set of beliefs so that we can feel safe and also communicate about those beliefs

Each of these belief group has its own 'bible' (literal meaning 'The Book'). What the wise people of the group has said in the past is recorded for others to follow or to be inspired by or both.

Books are added as the belief group evolved and meets new challenges.

The devotees to a particular belief are so much a part of that group that it is hard for them to understand the people of another groups beliefs. To them, the way they see the world is absolute and the book which contains and expresses those beliefs is absolute too.

I had a friend who, because I do not drink tea, coffee; alcohol or smoke etc. etc. asked me why I did not become a Mormon (he was one). I replied that - to be a Mormon I needed to believe in a God. He spent years perplexed by this because he could not understand any one not believing in a god. All his arguments were based on the bible and the book of Mormon. His arguments for gods existence never changed me one iota because both the books he used are irrelevant to me and my beliefs. Now if he had used an argument from a manual on physics or chemistry or biology - may be.

Answer 3

I also have thought the same thing after a few days in this category. I do not know scripture that well off the top of my head nor do I copy and paste. I have prayed that I will be given guidance in answering a question. Some questions on this site are absolutely ridiculous but some have true feeling behind them whether good or bad. I hope God will provide Christians with the best answer to help bring more people to him.

Answer 4

Actually, Muslims do accept the New Testament as divinely inspired. They just believe that the New Testament has been corrupted over the years by mistranslation.

Little do they realize that we have manuscripts of the entire New Testament that were in existance hundreds of years before Muhammed and they are virtually identical to the New Testament that we have today.

I think if a Muslim realized that, they would be much more inclined to read the gospels.

Answer 5

This is a circular argument.
You are back to the fact of one major religion vying against another major religion using that religion's text to prove that their way is the right one.
If people don't like or believe what I believe, that's their choice and I will be quiet and not try to convince them further if I get into a situation similar to the one you described. There are certainly going to be others who will be interested in what I believe and will want to know more about the teachings of the religion I follow.

Answer 6

The Bible is the inspired word of God. He gave His word to trustworthy adult adult males. There are 66 "books" secure in the Bible. each e book helps the different. The Bible is referenced by making use of historic past. The Holy Spirit revealed the Bible. Jesus is God. He inspired the two Testaments. God saves those that are made by making use of their father and mom customary. He desires to undertake you. God's efforts have been on the bypass. God is the certainty that faith is outfitted on. faith is something that grows as you learn how to believe something. Like faith in a chair or faith in an airplane. they did no longer build the airplane devoid of finding the certainty. we've a soul. we've a physique. we've a spirit. we are created in God's image. it particularly is ethical. no longer an test. He stored us. All matters finished as anticipated. because of the fact of this Jesus went to the bypass. the place 2 or extra are accumulated, he's there. God grew to develop right into a guy. Jesus is God and worth to be the Lamb. He knew they could and had His plan of salvation. There are 2 standards. Love God. Love guy. God solutions all prayers and speaks to certainly all and sundry. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and proves the scriptures. you have been convicted , so which you have heard His voice. you ought to study too rapid. attempt to decelerate. it ought to help which comprise your comprehension.

Answer 7

What ring of authority do your words have over the scripture you believe? What would it take for a muslim to come to Christ? He has to first believe that the Almighty God would have to have a divine plan that a blood covenant is the only covenant that God would recognize. That would be step number one. And it started before Ishmael or Isaac. And of course it did basically in the Garden of Eden when God Himself killed His own selected creation and shed its innocent blood. God always does something with a grand purpose in mind. Than Abraham being human like all of us are couldn't wait for God to give him progeniny like the sands of the sea and had Ishmael out of ordinary wedlock. Now it is unfortunate that the Koran says that it was Ishmael on the alter instead of Isaac. Now add to that the statement how can God have a son. Since it was God who created everything to begin with, why should they stumble over that. To them that is a big hurdle. They fail to see that God had to complete the blood covenant by sending His best obedient and perfect One to take on the sins of the whole world [innocence taking on the sins of mankind so that He could declare us NOT GUILTY] and now the blood covenant is now fulfilled, the bride price paid for His Bride that is those who believe !!! Now that is a hard pill for any muslim to swallow, so prayer is the only way left. That is something that we can do together, Amen???

Answer 8

Your observation just illustrates why it is so easy to have religious wars, and there have been so many. Opposing sides see no way to dialogue since faith-based articles of truth espoused by one side are not accepted by the opposing side. Then it just comes down to a proposition of might makes right.
This exposes the weak underbelly of all religions. None have a way to prove the truth of their beliefs that could be accepted by any means other just acceptance based upon blind faith.
On the other hand, the truths of mathematics and, later in history, the truths of science cannot really be debated and opposed except with mathematical or scientific methods which are accepted by all. Therein, when opposing views, beliefs, theories, and hypotheses are analyzed, and tested, something closer to the truth usually comes out, because everyone buys in to the use of the same principles and methods to get at the truth.
That is why you see science and mathematics advancing by leaps and bounds and religions still stuck in the warring mode.
By the way, I am not religious at all. Never could I be a Christian because in Numbers 31, Moses orders his troops to hack to death innocent little Midianite children and babies that are prisoners of war. Then in Matt 17, in the Transfiguration Cloud, Moses shows up to validate Jesus. This renders Christianity morally backrupt in my view.

Answer 9

One could prove faith without quoting a source first, the facts of life and Love are enough to help us do that. When people have seen/witnessed the evidence of the facts we presented, they can now ask us about our source.

Answer 10

I do not quote to try to make others believe what I believe. I do it to point out MY source. It doesn't matter to me if they accept it or not. I am not trying to change the world. I believe what I believe and what you believe is just fine with me. I expect that whatever it is that you believe, you have a source that you trust, why else would you believe it. If you have a source, surely you are going reference your source, it only makes sense that you would do that. So it doesn't matter to me.

Last week the catholics decided that there is no limbo. It doesn't matter to me because I never believed there was to begin with. The sudden change makes on difference to me at all. The source is one that has been trusted for many century's by many people, but I am not one of them. So when they quote the source, it meant nothing to me but I understood why they quoted it.