had as full acquaintance with the details in each case. The difficulty rises
from our limited knowledge.
50. M. How can you assert that your Bible is free from interpolation when in the
last chapter of Deuteronomy we find an account of the death and burial of Moses, which
certainly cannot have been written by him?
C. The Jews hold that it was written by Joshua, Moses' successor. Whether this
chapter is considered part of Deuteronomy or of Joshua does not make any real difference,
as the chapter does not claim to be from the hand of Moses 1.
51. M. Your Bible is defective, since certain books mentioned in it, e.g. the
book of Jashar and many of the works written by Solomon, are no longer extant.
C. These were never included in the Bible, hence their loss in no way affects the
question.
52. M. The Gospel acknowledges its own defectiveness (John xx. 30; xxi. 25).
C. Not at all. These verses show that certain things were not written in the
Gospel. They cannot therefore have ever formed part of the written Gospel to which your
Qur'an bears testimony, and hence cannot be said to have been taken away from it.
Moreover, John xx. 31 shows that what