“Why do you believe that Christianity is true?” That was the question that Abdu Murray would ask Christians as he grew up in the USA. Starting in middle school, Abdu was passionate about Islam and sought to convert those around him to his religion. About ninety percent of the time, the response he received was something like, “Well, I guess it's because I was raised Christian.” He would then respond by asking, “Do you really think that’s a good reason to base your eternal destiny on?” Many times that, and subsequent questions, would put enough doubts into people’s hearts that a vacuum would be created; and into that vacuum, Abdu would insert Islam.
One day Abdu met two “annoying” Christians who didn’t respond like everyone else. These Christians – Dave and Peter – were annoying because they actually had responses to his challenges. Time after time, they would return to talk with him and when they didn’t know how to respond, they would seek out the answers. Eventually, in his determination to silence them, Abdu got a Bible and started reading it. He was absolutely certain that it was corrupt and couldn’t be trusted. But then he read Luke 3:8 where John the Baptist challenges those who were trusting in their ancestry for their salvation: “And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” Suddenly Abdu realized that although he had asked many other people why they believed, he had never really considered it himself. He was trusting his own Islamic authorities and the traditions he had received without critically evaluating them. This cracked a door open in Abdu’s mind and he slowly started evaluating all religions, including his own, to see which one was true.
As Abdu studied, learned, and thought, he started to realize that Christianity had much more going for it than he had been willing to admit. Eventually, he became intellectually convinced that the gospel was true but his heart wasn’t willing to budge. As he considered why he felt this way, he realized that he did not want to pay the price of converting. Nevertheless, God’s Spirit continued to work and today Abdu is a follower of Jesus. As a result, he has become passionate to tell others about the life, death, and resurrection of his Saviour.
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External Video (below): Abdu Murray's 2017 Testimony