Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

by Nabeel Qureshi

In the appendix to Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus, there is a dialogue between the editors of the book and the author: “Why do you believe these core tenets of Christian orthodoxy to be in jeopardy based on the scribal errors you discovered in the biblical manuscripts?” Ehrman’s response is illuminating: “Essential Christian beliefs are not affected by textual variants in the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.” Even this skeptic, a bona fide New Testament scholar, had to concede that no cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith is jeopardized by textual variants. Many atheists and Muslims who have followed in Ehrman’s path have exaggerated his claims way out of proportion to what he actually stated. The textual history of the New Testament is robust and fascinating. When the dust has settled, we can be assured that what we have today, in all essentials, and even in the overwhelming majority of particulars, is what they wrote then.