STORY OF DISCOVERY:
"My name is Noah Smith. I am a dentist currently working in England. I was raised as a Christian,
and my parents are born again Christians. Although I grew up with the teachings of the Bible, and
believed in God, but my faith was never too deep. I was like most youth are, partying and playing.
I knew in my mind that someday, I would change my ways and become a good Christian. I also
wanted to find out about other religions and understand what makes people believe the religions
other than the Christianity.
When I was in the last year of my college, I made plans to reform myself and become a born-again
Christian.
So, I started attending fellowship meetings very regularly, and did my best to put God's Word into
practice.
I read the Bible before large congregation, with great enthusiasm, understanding that it was actually
God’s Word.
But even though I was very fond of Bible, it did not seem like a book with a single and consistent
message. Then there was a contradictory view of what God wanted from us in the Old Testament
than what is required in the New Testament.
It also seemed as if Jesus left too early, without establishing a church, rituals, with too many
unanswered questions. The disciples weren't ready yet. If Jesus had already redeemed us and
completed his mission, why is there a need for the Holy Spirit?
I was cautious but confused, however, I tried not to use my own opinions about Scripture. I even
prayed for guidance before I would typically read it. But the more I read the Bible, the more
contradictions I came across.
I believed that there was a higher power watching over and protecting me. So, I did not stop and
continued to study the Bible even when it didn't make sense to me.
The problems that bothered me were, the difference between the message of Jesus and Paul, and
between the Old and New Testament.
I realized that most of the New Testament is actually written by Paul, but he contradicts Jesus in so
many ways, For example:

Jesus not only followed but confirmed the law and the prophet, but Paul threw it away.

Jesus Says not to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but Paul says it is OK.

Jesus talked about 12 disciples, but Paul self-declared him to be the 13th.

Paul never quotes the Lord’s Prayer, a Beatitude (any of the sayings from the sermon on the
mount), or even a single Parable of Christ.

How can Paul be trusted when he was neither “disciples ”, (that is, a person trained directly
by Jesus); nor was Paul an “apostle,” (i.e. an authorized missionary trained by Disciples).
I realized that Jesus' message was overshadowed by other writers. When Jesus walked, talked and
preached with his disciples, he never mentioned of Paul or Saul, in fact Jesus cautioned of many false
preachers who were going to rob his teachings.
Being born again, I believed that the Bible was true, I suppressed my doubt as I was fully convinced
that the truth would soon shine on me.
FURTHER READING AND DISCOVERY :
There were many things in the Bible that didn't make sense, but I thought that maybe I was too
young to understand and took it to a more knowledgeable Christians. Most of all I was confused by
1) The Trinity- Why God is a Trinity of three persons and not simply one being. Why exactly three?
How can you say that there is one God when each person (Father, son and holy spirit) in the Trinity is
different? The Father is superior in power, wisdom and authority. Jesus cannot be holy spirit, nor the
holy spirit can be the son.
2) Where does the Bible say that God is "three in one"?
3) It is so plainly declared in the Old Testament, in thousands of verses where God so clearly says:
“I, the Lord your God, am one God,”
but nowhere in in the New Testament God says:
“I, the Lord, your God, and I am a trinity " Why is such a major difference? This obviously puzzled
me.
4) I also questioned that if Jesus died to pay the price of sin, why is there still sin, suffering, death
and the Day of Judgment to come?
5) Why is the blood sacrifice necessary for forgiveness, especially when God says in the Bible that
‘I do not want blood sacrifices?’ Even us, humans are told to forgive the sins of others without
crucifying their own sons.
6) Does Hitler who killed millions, get to go to heaven if he accepts Christ as his lord and saviour?
7) Was Jesus God or man? The Bible tells that God is not a man, then how can Jesus be son of God
while he was a man.
8) Who to pray to? I remember as a child wanting to ask God for something. I was not sure whether
to pray to God or to pray to Jesus.
I believed that God cannot be a man; He is the Creator of the universe;

God is unlimited, but man is limited.

God is immortal (never dies); man is mortal( death is for every created thing including man).

God has no beginning; man has a beginning.

God is not born, man is born.

God does not have a body (bones, flesh and skin), man has a body. God is invisible, man is
visible.
So to say that God became a man was a huge impossibility and total contradiction of God. This
bothered me a lot.
These questions continued to trouble me. I spoke with some ministers and several attempts were
made to explain especially the Trinity. None of them convinced me. I kept reading the Bible and
searching for the truth.
I was told that the trinity was part of the essence of God and a mystery, I sincerely asked God to
guide me to absolute truth. I could not ignore the basic questions like:
· Who is to be worshiped, God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
· Daniel, Isaiah, and other prophets described God as just ‘one’ person sitting on the Throne.
· Why did Abraham and Moses never talk about the Trinity?
· Did Jesus or the apostles teach or even know that their God was three persons?
· Who did Jesus pray to? If Jesus is not God, everything changes.
I never lost faith in God, but it was hard for me to believe in the Trinity, when the word trinity does
not appear in the Bible. I just decided that Christianity was not the right path for me.
So, I had to give up my passion to become a priest. I wandered faithless, looking for something to
hold on to. In my search, I continued my discussion with knowledgeable Christians, Catholics and
people of other faith. Eventually, I got in touch with some Muslim friends.
No Compulsion In Religion: Most of us know about Islam basically through the media. But I do not
to judge people or things until I see or find out about them myself and hear both sides of the story. I
found out that Islam actually respects the teachings of other religions rather than disqualifying them.
Muslims believe that there is some truth in other religions, but either it was incomplete or a
deviation from God's original message. This interested me to learn about Islamic beliefs.
Easy To Speak To Muslims: I learned that Muslims also believe in one God, who is the God of
Abraham and Moses, Jesus and Jacob. They believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus and in his
miracles. The discussion with them was very comforting as they always spoke of Jesus with great
respect. I noticed that they will always say "Jesus - peace be upon him" Muslims believed that Jesus
was born of the Virgin Mary.
MY SEARCH FOR TRUTH: When I learned that Islam commands worship of the only God and
prohibits any form of idolatry and partners with God, I became very interested. However, in my
discussions, I did not act like a sheep, but went back to consulting the Bible and Christian sources, at
the same time, I also started reading some Islamic books. Muslims told me it our duty to seek the
Truth when it comes to faith, as we do in everything else, for example, when we study a business or
our professions.
False Information About Islam: When I first told my parents and friends about my interest in Islam,
they told me that it was a "hate religion" and cautioned me not to mix with Muslim. I learned that
many of the things Christians say about Islam are simply not true. It is a very peaceful region that
stands for equality for all humanity. It does not distinguish between white or black, Arab or nonArab, etc. It emphasizes that it is both your faith and good deeds that make you superior before
God. It gives you a direct relationship with God without any intermediary. It orders you to respect
Jesus. It makes your responsible for your actions and warns of coming judgment in the next life.
Reading the Qur'an helped me understand many unresolved questions about God and the purpose
of human creation. The more I read about Islam, the more it made sense to me.
GOD IS ONE AND ALONE, NOT TRINITY:
Islam teaches that God is the Creator of heaven and earth; who is ever-living and who never dies.
God is unchangeable, infinitely powerful, wise and does not become man. Muslims do not associate
any partner or creation with God.
In Islamic teaching, God is God, and everything is His creation, be it angels, Jesus, Muhammad. No
one is the son or daughter, sister or brother of God. All depends on God, but God is independent of
everything.
Prophets To All Nations: I learned that since the time of Adam, God has sent prophets to all nations
(not just the Jews) to preach the message that there is only one God worthy of worship. All the
prophets reminded their nations of the day of judgment when all will be resurrected and judged by
God.
Original Sin: I learned that Islam does not accept the principle of original sin. The Holy Quran says in
this regard: “Thus did Adam disobey his Lord and fell into error. But his Lord chose him (For His
Grace): showed a mercy on him and gave him guidance. (Quran 20:121-122).
Therefore, Islam teaches that there is no need to crucify an innocent person for Adam's sin, because
God forgave Adam at that time. Adam and his children were sent down to earn their paradise by
living a life of submission to God.
Islam teaches that we do not need a saviour as each of us has the ability to the right thing and
avoiding the wrong. God knows our weakness and is very forgiving. Our sin does not harm God, it
harms the one who does it. If every person sins or does good, it does not diminish or increase the
glory of God. We will be rewarded for our actions in the life hereafter.
Prophets Were Only Human Beings: According to Islam, all messengers were human, not God. So,
neither Jesus nor Mohammed was sent to be worshiped. They were the perfect guide to be
followed. I realized that this is what I believe. I felt that Jesus' message must have been changed
somewhere by those who wrote about him. I discussed my journey with my parents, and they were
shocked. Within a few months, by the grace of God, I became a Muslim. Conversion completely
changed my life and looking back, I know I made the right decision, thank God.
CHANGE IN ME: Instead of living my life in a selfish way pleasing my desires, I try now to help others
and please my Lord. I have now been a Muslim for five years and I am still learning new and amazing
things about the religion. I'm more focused now and want to do my best. My friends at university are
often surprised by my change, especially by my work. PARENTS MORE OPEN: My parents and many
of my friends initially believed that I was brainwashed and thought that it was only a phase. But
more than five years have passed, this is not just a phase. My parents have started to realize the
truth of Islam, and I pray to God to show them the right way. I invite you to learn about Islam - the
most mature fruit of a prophetic message and the last religion from God. Thank you. I am now
married have, by the grace of God a beautiful toddler boy named Ismael (Ishmael from the Bible).
We are trying to improve as Muslims, and we would like to travel abroad to a Muslim country.
Ideally, we would both love to study Islam to a higher level, so we are looking for opportunities to
fulfil this dream. Thank you. All questions or comments welcome.