"October 31. My Moonshee said, 'How can you prove this book (the
gospel), to be the word of God?' I took him to walk with me on the
shore that we might discuss the matter, and the result of our
conversation was that I discovered that the Mussulmen allow the gospel
to be in general the command of God, though the words of it are not
His as the words of the Koran are, and contend that the actual words
of God given to Jesus were burnt by the Jews; that they also admit the
New Testament to have been in force till the coming of Mohammed. When
I quoted some passages which proved the Christian dispensation to be
the final one, he allowed it to be inconsistent with the divinity of
the Koran, but said, 'Then those words of the gospel must be false.'
The man argued and asked his questions seemingly in earnest, and
another new impression was left upon my mind, namely, that these men
are not fools and that all ingenuity and clearness of reasoning are
not confined to England and Europe. I seem to feel that these
descendants of Ham are as dear to God as the haughty sons of Japheth;
I feel, too, more at home with the Scriptures than ever; everything I
see gives light to, and receives it from, the Scriptures. I seem
transported back to the ancient times of the Israelites and the
Apostles. My spirit felt composed after the dispute by simply looking
to God as one who had engaged to support His own cause; and I saw it
to be my part to pursue my way through the wilderness of this world,
looking only to that redemption which daily draweth nigh. How should
this consideration quell the tumult of anger and impatience when I
cannot convince men 'the government is on His shoulders?' Jesus is
able to bear the weight of it; therefore we need not be oppressed with
care or fear, but a missionary is apt to fancy himself an Atlas.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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