IS THE QURAN THE WORD OF GOD?

 SESSION 11 

 Main Focus Summary 

Part 10: IS THE QURAN THE WORD OF GOD? 

Chapters 37-40 

"In our [Musliml circles, the Quran really was above dispute. For multiple reasons, the Muslim community is convinced beyond any doubt that it is the Word of God: Its text is inimitably excellent, it foretells prophecies that have been fulfilled, it holds hidden scientific truths waiting to be discovered, its marvelously calculated text could only be the product of a divine mind, and the text has been preserved perfectly, down to the very stroke of the scribes' pens" (272). 

The arguments for the divine inspiration of the Quran all prove unconvincing when we begin to dig beneath the surface. The literary excellence of the Quran proves to be untestable, subjective, and non-sequitur; the prophecies of the Quran are not compelling; the science of the Quran is actually problematic; the numerical patterns are often distorted data combined with exaggerated interpretations; and the Quran has not been preserved in any miraculous sense. 

Because there is no compelling argument, there is no reason to accept the Quran as the Word of God" (283 emphasis added).