Another Easy One For Muslims... Or Not!

My friend being inspired to write his book

It's not just Christians who won't answer simple questions about their 'faith'. Muslims are no less prone to showing their faith relies on them applying a much lower standard to their god and their dogmas than they do to normal life, and how circular reasoning and logical fallacies are the common currency of religious belief. It seems that intellectually dishonest double standards are essential for religious faith.



For example, I challenged Christian to apply their beliefs about Jesus to a scenario set in modern times with Help! What Should I Do? In this scenario I said someone had told me about someone he's heard about who was now dead but could do miracles and claimed I would live forever if I believed in him. I asked why should not believe him? I've not had a sensible reply in nearly 18 months at the time of writing and yet this is exactly the scenario Christians accept without question in order to maintain their belief in the biblical Jesus.



I also asked Christians, Jews and Muslims which of the stories in their favourite holy book they would believe without more evidence if a passing stranger told them was happening right now a mile or two down the road, in Why Believe The Holy Books?. None have them have been able to think of any, and yet they believe what a stranger told them in their favourite holy book. Why the double standard?



So let's see if Muslims can fare any better with this one:

Scenario: A man I know is writing a book. Every few weeks he adds another section; sometimes a verse or two, sometimes an entire chapter. He claims the book is being dictated to him by a messenger who just appears and claims to have been sent on a special mission by a god. Apparently this god thinks humans have gone wrong and need to be put back on the right track by being given special instructions on how to conduct every aspect of their lives.



Those who don't do exactly what this book says and don't believe everything in it, will suffer horrendous punishment of the most unimaginably kind, but those who obey it absolutely, and never question or doubt it, will live forever in perfect peace and happiness. He says people who don't accept his book are being mislead by an evil spirit and should be forcibly converted or killed. Only people who believe his book should be allowed to govern the country or have any power and authority.



He's put all these things in the book which he says must be true because a god said so. He's even put that in the book as proof that it's true.

The question is, how can I tell if he's lying? And should I take that risk or should I do what his book says?



What questions can I ask this man that would show if he's lying or not?



Why would those questions not have shown that the prophet Mohammad was lying about the book he wrote if you had asked him the same questions?



Or does belief in the Qur'an require the same intellectually dishonest double standards as Christian belief in Jesus does?

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