Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 167
167 according to some rules, only then can the winner be judged. If one horse runs this way and the other that way, how would any - one know which one has won? In the same way, no opinion can be drawn from religious debate and scrutiny unless it is undertaken within some limits. Also, before the coming of the Promised Messiah as , anyone who came across some great teaching or read it in a book would at once ascribe it to his own religion and present it as proof of its excellence. There would be no real debate on religion, instead, scholars and debaters would merely talk about their personal beliefs and opinions. Consequently, seekers after truth were unable to decide between the various religions. The Promised Messiah as explicitly demonstrated the futility of this form of debating. He laid down the principle that if a Divine scripture has been revealed for our guidance then it must contain everything that it wants us to believe, as well as the reasons why we should do so. Of what good is the Word of God if it contains neither the claims nor the arguments for its teachings? In that case, the religion could not be said to have come from God; it would be of our own making since we are the ones who are suggesting its claims as well as providing the arguments to support them. When discussing any religion, it should be ensured that all the claims that the proponents of that religion make can be found in their respective scriptures. The same goes for the proofs and arguments that they put forth. This was such a solid principle that advocates of other religions could never reject it. If they did, they would in effect be admitting that the claims they make on behalf of their religion are not to be found in their scriptures. And, if the claims are to be found in the