I found out that a Christian friend was reading the Qur’an and I was dismayed that a Christian would read teachings such as this. I encouraged this person to stick to God and read the Bible rather than read teachings such as this. Should Christians be reading these false teachings to better know what these other religions are about and maybe to better witness to these folks? Thank you,
Daniel
Daniel,
Thank you for your question! The Bible speaks to this issue in many places where it warns us against following false religions and the doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1-2, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Our enemy, the devil, is always busy. Prowling around like a roaring lion, he is always seeking those whom he might devour (1 Peter 5:8). Deceit is one of the primary ways the devil devours his victims. The devil’s tactic with Adam and Eve was deceit. He deceived them by tempting them to doubt God’s word, thereby influencing them to doubt God Himself.
The Bible says in 2 John 7-11, “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. 11 Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”
A case in point is the nation of Israel itself. Throughout its existence, Israel was warned by God not to involve themselves in the religions and false deities of the nations nearby. They did so and became infected with false worship and false teachings. These actions broke the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-6). God judged them by sending them away into captivity when Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and then Babylon defeated the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586-587 B.C.
It is interesting to note how the FBI catches counterfeiters. The FBI has the agents in the counterfeit department study genuine currency. By thoroughly studying genuine currency, they are readily able to spot the false currency. If a person masters the truth that is found in the Bible, he will be able to refute whatever heresy the devil throws at him.
It is not necessarily wrong for someone to learn something about another religion for the purpose of looking for ways to witness to them about the truth of Jesus Christ. Extreme caution must be advised, however, because when you are encountering the devil’s lies there is always the danger of being deceived yourself.
– Pastor Chris