Three Questions by a Christian and their Answers — Page 50
50 inviting the retort, "You fool, are you the only one who knows of these matters, and do you think we are ignorant?" Though the Christian critic has tried to find fault with the Holy Quran, he has ignored the writings of the New Testa- ment, which genuinely attract such criticism. For example, it is written in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark that you will see the Messiah coming to judge mankind when the Sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. 48 Here, the same sci- ence of astronomy presents us with the problem of how the stars can fall upon the earth and break into pieces and get lodged in some nook of the earth, and yet mankind should survive and emerge unscathed, regardless of the fact that the falling of even a single star is enough to destroy all its inhabitants. Another point worth considering is how, when the stars have fallen on earth and have wiped out all earthly creatures, will the words of Jesus, 'You shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven,' come true? Who will witness the descent of Jesus when mankind shall be lying dead under the debris of thousands of stars? How will the earth itself remain secure and firm in its orbit, when its own survival is dependent upon the gravity of the stars? And who shall be the chosen ones (mentioned in the Gospels) whom Jesus as will gather together from the farthest parts of the earth, and whom shall he warn and reprove, while the falling of stars necessitates universal death and destruction, 48 Matthew 24:29 [Publishers]