A Debate
Did God Speak To Muhammad?
Is Jesus God?
First Night Proposition: There Is Historical Evidence That God Spoke To Muhammad
Second Night Proposition: There is Historical Evidence That Jesus Is God
The Debaters
Ben Bilyeu
Christian
Cookeville, TN
Abdullah Aqeel
Muslim
Knoxville, TN
The rational basis of a religion (if any) is only determined by analysis and not by faith, reverence for a 'holy book' or blood, sweat and tears! The most enlightening method of scrutiny that may be brought to bear upon an ideology is debate, especially a public debate where the respective contenders present the best evidence, the best arguments to an unsympathetic and hostile adversary. The debate contrasted the credible grounds for the ancient Christian faith: There is Historical evidence that Jesus is God affirmed Ben Bilyeu, and for Islam: There is historical evidence that God spoke to Muhammad, affirmed by Abdullah Aqeel, and is illustrative of adversarial inquiry.
The debate reveals immediately and in an undeniable manner, the fact that the ground for Islam is will -of- the -wisp- subjective! Mr. Aqeel was pressed repeatedly to corroborate the grandiose claim made by Muhammad to have had a personal transcendental experience with God, but that documentation was never given-because it does not exist! However the objective ground for the Christian faith, i.e., the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth was presented numerous times by Ben Bilyeu!
The worth of any belief system is contingent upon the rationale upon which it rests! This debate reveals that empiricism, objectivity and corroboration are strata upon which the Christian faith rests, a foundation non-existent for Islam! Because of the plethora of evidence, one may conclude that the Christian faith, could have had a more capable apologist, but when the evidence for the Muslim faith is discerned, one cannot arrive at that same conclusion for Islam. This debate transpired April 13 and 14, 1981 in Johnson Hall, Tennessee Tech University. 2CDs (2hrs) $12.95 + $1.50 s/h
