In Dallas, DART buses have ads on the side of them. Recently, one of the ads is for the Islam Hotline. A message says “Islam, Got Questions?, Get Answers!” There is a toll free phone number to call to ask your questions.
So… I took down the number and decided to call.
First attempt
The first time I called. Ring. Ring. Ring. Disconnect. Hmmm. Technology failure, I guess.
Second attempt
Ring. Ring. Ring. Press one for English. 1. Thank you for calling the Islam Hotline. Please wait while your call is connected to the next available associate. Some funky sounds, etc. Disconnected. Hmmm. Technology failure again.
At this point, I am thinking, “hey this is ok, at least people can’t get ahold of anyone and hear any information.”
Third attempt
Ring. Ring. Ring. See Second attempt. Except this time the transfer connects to a voice mail system. So I leave a message with my name and number and ask for a return call. No return cal was ever received.
Fourth Attempt
I finally got through. I was speaking to a live associate! I said, “I got this number from a DART bus in Dallas and it said to call with questions.”
“yes”
So I asked, “If you die tonight are you assured that you would go to heaven?”
“no. I can only hope to”
“Really? So how do you get to heaven?”
“Believe in the Oneness of God who created everything including the prophets Moses, Jesus and Mohammed…. Then you might have salvation.” He said that believing in the oneness of god was enough for Allah to forgive my sin.
As I began to ask a few other questions, I was basically told that the Bible is corrupt, that Jesus is not God, etc. He even asked me if I thought that Jesus spoke in English. I pointed out that the Quran says to trust the scripture that came before it. I was called out on that and had to go look up the surah and quote it back to him. Each time I tried to say anything I was interrupted, treated rudely and told that I was not listening when in fact it was the man on the other end of the phone that would not listen to anything I was asking. He continued to speak over me, answer questions before I even finished speaking. In short, I could not get a word in edge wise. I eventually found the Surah that says that he should trust the Bible but again he interrupted and spoke over me. I pointed out that Jesus claims to be God, but he denied it. He denied the Bible was from God. When I pointed out that the Bible claims to be from God he said “show me the verse in the synoptic Gospels that says that and I will become a Christian.” When I told him that the verse is in the New Testament, but not in the synoptic Gospels then he refused to listen to me. I pointed out tha the was breaking the second commandment by creating a God to suit his own purpose because he said that his god would put this in the synoptic Gospels.
At that point, I tried to take him to the Good Person test by asking, “Do you consider yourself to be a good person?” Instead of answering he quoted something to me in Arabic. I told him that that was offensive because I had no idea if he was cursing at me in Arabic or something. Instead of apologizing to me, he tried to justify his actions and tell me what he has said.
He then tried to invite me to trust Allah. I told him that since Allah is Satan that I would not do that. He rebuked me again in Arabic. So I repeated the words of Christ to him, “unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3)
At this point he hung up on me.
WOW!
I was shocked. Answers? What answers? Certainly none are available here. The hostility that I received would certainly not encourage me to seek further. The man was rude and interrupted every time I tried to ask any question. Plus, he does not have any real answer for the question that everyone must deal with, “what happens when I die?” Perhaps or maybe Allah will forgive? What kind of answer is that?
The Answer is found in the Bible!
The Bible says it is appointed once for man to die and then face judgment based on the Ten Commandments. Ever told a lie? Stolen anything? Used God’s name as a curse word? Looked with lust? Jesus calls that adultery. If God judges you by these standards will you be innocent or guilty? If you are honest, you will agree you are guilty and deserving of Hell. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
God does not want you to go to hell. He sent his son Jesus to live a perfect life, fulfill the law, die on the cross raise from the dead and to pay for the sin of the whole world. Your fine has been paid in full. The Bible says that if you will repent (turn away from) of your sin and trust in Jesus then you will have eternal life!
You can read further about the Gospel on our website.
Islam is not the answer. Islam hot line does not have the answer. The answer is Jesus!
Only the Bible has the answer for this question. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Why is this such a big deal? I invite you to watch the video What Islam is Not to see where this leads.
Please repent and trust Jesus. Then go and make disciples of Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Now it is your turn. There are lot’s of questions to be asked on the Islam hot line. Why not give them a call? Ask your questions. Then share the Gospel with them. Here are a few questions I can think of:
- Is Islam peacful?
- What about all the terrorism we hear about in the news?
- Is Osama Bin Laden a Muslim? Will he go to heaven/
- What evidence is there that the Quran is true? We have historical, archeological, prophetic and scientific evidence of the Bible. What do they have?
If you call and ask any of these questions or some questions of your own, then please post a comment and let me know how the conversation goes and what they say. Be sure to leave them with the Gospel!
