Yusha Evans
He is an American young man born into a Christian conservative family. They lived in North Carolina, in the south of the United States.
He has been brought up by his grandparents in a religious environment. He attends Methodist-church regularly, and participates actively in youth Christian associations’ programs. These include excursion, camping, and sports and preaching programs.
Yusha has built up a strong relationship with the young church preacher who studies theology at “Bob Johns” university. Yusha used to help him in his school works, especially in Biblical textual criticism.
These dealt with scripture's manuscripts.
These exercises have acquainted Yusha with the old languages of the Book, i.e. Hebrew and Greek.
Both Yusha and his friend the preacher agreed to read the Bible. After all, they considered it to be the message of God to humanity.
Therefore, it is befitting for them, being religious, to read this message in its entirety.
They didn’t want to repeat or hear the sections read by the preachers in the church.
In his reading of the first book of the Bible, Yusha got this initial shock. Reading Genesis, he found that the prophet of God Noah-peace be upon him- was bibulous. (Refer to Genesis; 9-20/27).
Evans sees that an alcoholic is not fit to sell hamburgers in a restaurant let alone save humanity from the deluge. Yusha asked himself, how God could select a drunkard as a conveyor of his divine revelation.
Every time Yusha turns a page of his Holy Bible, he gets another jolt. He has found that in the Holy Bible, every noble prophet of God has committed a faux pas; and what a faux pas it was! Biblical books see no compunction in attributing them disgraceful acts.
These shameful acts would be shunned by the lowliest of people, let alone the decent ones.
How would a wise person believe that the virtuous prophet Lot, (PBUH), has committed incest with his two daughters in a state of inebriety? (Refer to Genesis; 19-30/37). The stories told about his brothers the prophets in Genesis are unbelievable.
However, the story of David (PBUH) as narrated in Samuel (2) 11/2 was the worst. It has tasked Yusha Evans mind and emotion.
You see. He was impressed with David’s character and his heroism. Suddenly, all came to a standstill when he read that horrid story.
It tells the story of David fornicating with his commander’s wife Uriah the Hittite. Fearing a scandal, David killed him afterward. How can one reconcile a conniving adulterous killer be a messenger receiving revelation of justice and virtue and teach to people?!
Yusha knew that all the stories in the Bible about these many prophets cannot be true. He went to the priest of church and begged him to save what has left of his faith.
The answer he received confounded him. The priest said: “Son, don’t let trivial matters destroy your belief. Your salvation lays in your faith and not in knowledge…
son, the stories of the Old Testament tell the stories of the people of Israel, they are hard hearted. It is better you moved to the New Testament. Things will be best."
Yusha devoured the pages of the Old Testament and moved to the new one. He thought things would be different. Alas, he met with a greater shock, and a harder blow. All the four books of the Bible are attributed unanimously to [Mathew, Mark, Luke and John].
However, no one on the face of this earth can provide documented information about these authors. People claim they are the writers of God’s revelation; even so, they didn’t own such a thing.
Among all this turmoil, Yusha discovered a positive touch. The gospels, as well as the Torah, ascertain the oneness of God Almighty.
They also establish Christ's bondage to Him.
Furthermore, they denounce polytheism and considered to be the greatest sin. Needless to say that this is completely contrary to what the priests used to parrot in the church. What consensus one would expect to reach between the doctrine of trinity and the words of Christ: “And this is the way to have eternal life; to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” (John 17/3).
The Church’s trinity calls to worship three gods, while the Messiah invited people to worship one unique God.
Additionally, Yusha noted that Christ (PBUH) called the people repeatedly-according to the Gospels- to abide and apply the laws of the Torah. In this vein, he said: “Don't misunderstand why I have come.
I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them” [Mathew 5-17].
This commandment contradicted what has been stated in Paul’s evangelical letters.
These, nullify the divine Law, because Christ became “By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law” [Ephesians 2/15].
Therefore, Paul’s letters consider Moses’ law useless, because: “18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, and now a better hope has taken its place. And that is how we draw near to God” [Hebrew 7-18/19].
It is unable to save believers, because: “10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse… 11 Consequently, it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law”.
Faced with all these surprises, Yusha’s faith began reeling under heavy blows. Even what has the priest told him was useless in saying: “Josh, you are diving into deep waters...
Now you started having doubts about the New Testament. You might be possessed.”
Yusha thought if the priest didn’t have an answer, why don’t I try the theology professor? So, together with his friend the preacher went to “Bob Johns” university. This time around, he got an ample answer, but it was shocking one.
The professor specialized in teaching the Holy Bible has told him that this book is authored by humans. It has been subjected to distortion and changes through the years due to the scribes' interference and mistakes and religious backgrounds.
At the end of their meeting, the professor didn’t forget to provide him with some guidance. Yusha has already heard such banal expressions so often from priests in the church. “Son, keep faith, the mind cannot deal with these matters.”
These hackneyed words whirled into Yusha’s mind, who decided to leave Christianity and its doctored book. He embarked on a journey to look for the true religion; he started studying diverse religious books and tests their veracity. He decided that only holy books are the real barometer to judge religions.
Yusha studied Hindu, Buddhist, Confucius, Taoist books, and other religions, and came to the conclusion that these books do not represent the religion he’s looking for.
Eventually, Yusha embraced atheism as a way of life. He was angered by the “God” who hasn’t helped him in his arduous search in finding Him. Finally, Yusha embarked on a life of fun; frivolity and wild parties.
One religion Yusha didn’t read about, because he found no desire whatsoever to do so. He has always thought that he knew everything about it. During his studies, he has read a book titled “Why I do not want to become a Muslim."
It is quite obvious from the book’s title that the person who authored it hates Islam. The volume is filled with erroneous ideas and information on Islam. The author claims that Islam is the religion for Arabs only.
They worship a black box in the middle of the desert. They persecute women, and would kill anyone whose is different from theirs. The book is similar to all other books written by biased westerners is full of exaggerations and aberrations.
Yusha befriended a Muslim who invited him to visit the mosque on Friday. He answered the call and went. He was apprehensive and suspicious of what goes on around him. The Imam is delivering a sermon in Arabic.
Perhaps, he was telling the congregation to kill him. He thought about fleeing the premises and started-in his mind- planning his escape route. He started counting the people between him and the door, and how to overcome them.
However, before putting his plan into action, the preacher started speaking in English. He told his listeners about a unique Almighty God, creator of heavens and earth.
He listened riveted to what is being said. The sermon made him feel that he was, during all these years, a victim of a lying and conniving author that wasn’t sincere in his writings.
Worshippers gathered around Yusha after Friday’s sermon. Everyone was vying for a reward. Everyone wanted to tell him about Islam. In reply, he merely said: have you got a book that you believe in? They handed him the Qur’an, and wanted to explain things to him.
“Please, let your book speak for itself” he said.
Yusha returned home, and started reading the Qur'an from the first page. Describing that night, Yusha said: “I gave my heart to the Qur’an on that memorable night in my room. I cried and cried, because I was looking for the truth all this time.” It’s a book that speaks about the Almighty God and His noble prophets (Abraham, Lot, Moses, David, and Jesus); names, known too well to Yusha.
They are the same names abused in the Old Testament. The Qur’an, however, gives them a distinguished position as role models and best examples to emulate. This is something rather different than in the Torah. Allah says in Sura Al-An’am, verses 89 and 90:
“These were the men to whom We gave the Book, and authority, and Prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new people who reject them not. (89) Those were the (prophets) who received Allah's guidance: Copy the guidance they received; Say: "No reward for this do I ask of you: This is no less than a message for the nations. (90)”
Yusha liked the story of the Messiah (PBUH) in the Qur'an very much. It was “the best story I have ever heard in my life." He saw in the talking of Jesus in the cradle an exoneration of his mother and clear proof of her innocence of the horrible accusations of the Jews to her.
This proof is totally absent in the Holy Book.
The reader cannot find anything that would exonerate the Virgin Mariam and refute the lies of the Jews against her.
It took Yusha three days to finish reading the entire Qur’an. He saw in it the true signs of virtue and the real facts of guidance. On the next Friday, and in December 1998, Yusha declared embracing Islam.
He testified to the oneness of God, and to His prophet as the final and seal of the prophets.
Finally, Yusha joined the convoys of the faithful (believers).
