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 Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:44 am
I'm Muslim and I believe Jesus was a Prophet and Messenger of God and Messiah of the Children of Israel
I disagree with the Pagan concept of "Son" of God
"And unto Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and the earth and those who dwell in His presence do not scorn to worship Him nor do they weary. They glorify Him night and day; They flag not. Or have they chosen gods from the earth who raise the dead If there were therein gods besides Allah then verily both (the heavens and the earth) would have gone to ruin. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne from all they ascribe (unto Him). He is not questioned as to that which He does, but they will be questioned. Or have they chosen other gods besides Him, say: Bring your proof (of their godhead), this is the reminder of those with me and those before me, but most of them know not the truth so they are averse (to it). And we sent no messenger before you but we inspired him (saying): There is no god save Me (Allah) so worship Me. And they say: The Compassionate has taken unto himself a son. Nay! but (they) are but honored servants. They speak not until He has spoken and they obey His command. He knows what is before them and what is behind them and they cannot intercede except for those whom He accepts and they quake for awe of Him. And whosoever among them says: I am a god other than Allah, the same shall We reward with Hell. Thus do We reward the wrong doers."
The Qur'an, Al-Anbia(21):19-29
"And the angles said 'O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name is Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, High honored in this world and the next, of those near stationed to Allah."
The noble Qur'an, A'al-Umran(3):40.
We as Muslims do not differ with Christians in the fact that Jesus (pbuh) was indeed born miraculously without a human father. Muslims only differ with Christians in the Christian's claim that Jesus (pbuh) must have a father. Trinitarians believe that if he has no human father then his father must be God. Muslims believe that he had no father whatsoever, and this was the essence of his miraculous birth.
"The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam, he created him from dust, then said to him: 'Be' and he was"
The noble Qur'an, A'al-Umran(3):59.
"They say: Allah has taken a son. Glorified be He! He has no needs! His is all that is in the heavens and that is in the earth. You have no warrant for this, do you say regarding Allah that which you know not?"
The noble Qur'an, Yunus(10):68
"The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. They both used to eat (earthly) food. See how we make the signs clear for them, then see how they are deluded!"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah (5):75.
"And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
John 17:3.
Notice the above words of the Bible: "YOU the ONLY true God." Most Christians always manage to see a hidden abstract meaning for the verses of the Bible. Even when they read the above verse they always manage to understand something totally different than that which they are reading. They always interpret the word "you" to be "we," and thus, understand the above verse to say "WE the only true god." Jesus (pbuh) is obviously talking to a distinctly different entity than himself and telling that entity that He ALONE is the only true God. Is Jesus (pbuh) incapable of saying "I the only true God" or "We the only true God" if that is what he meant? Can we see the difference?
Mr. Tom Harpur says in the preface to his book:
"The most significant development since 1986 in this regard has been the discovery of the title "Son of God" in one of the Qumran papyri (Dead Sea Scrolls) used in relation to a person other than Jesus.....this simply reinforces the argument made there that to be called the Son of God in a Jewish setting in the first century is not by any means the same as being identical with God Himself."
For Christ's Sake, pp. xii.
Anglican Bishops declare that Jesus is not God
Muslims are not the only ones who believe that Jesus (pbuh) is mortal and not a god. The Jews also believe this, in addition to the very first groups of Christianity such as the Ebonites, the Cerinthians, the Basilidians, the Capocratians, and the Hypisistarians. The Arians, Paulicians and Goths also accepted Jesus (pbuh) as a prophet of God. Even in the modern age there are churches in Asia, in Africa, the Unitarian church, the Jehovah's witnesses, and even the majority of today's Anglican Bishops do not worship Jesus (pbuh) as God.
In the British newspaper the "Daily News" 25/6/84 under the heading "Shock survey of Anglican Bishops" We read
"More than half of England's Anglican Bishops say that Christians are not obliged to believe that Jesus Christ was God, according to a survey published today. The pole of 31 of England's 39 bishops shows that many of them think that Christ's miracles, the virgin birth and the resurrection might not have happened exactly as described in the Bible. Only 11 of the bishops insisted that Christians must regard Christ as both God and man, while 19 said it was sufficient to regard Jesus as 'God's supreme agent'"
But what is a messenger of God? Is he not "God's supreme agent" ?. This is indeed what God Himself has already told us in the noble Qur'an 1400 years ago, and exactly what Jesus (pbuh) himself testified to in the Bible:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
John 17:3
Astounding, isn't it? With every passing day, the most learned among the Christian community are slowly recognizing the truth and drawing closer and closer to Islam. These are not Muslims who issued this statement. These are not "liberal" Christians. These are the most learned and most highly esteemed men of the Anglican Church. These men have dedicated their whole lives to the study of the religion of Jesus, and their study has driven them to the truth which God had already revealed to them in the Qur'an 1400 years ago: That Jesus was not God. That God is not a Trinity. And that the stories of the ministry of Jesus in the Bible have been extensively tampered with by the hands of mankind.
"And when Allah said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he said: Be You glorified. It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then You knew it. You know what is in my [innermost] self but I know not what is in Yours. Truly! You, only You are the Knower of things hidden. I spoke unto them only that which You commanded me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness over them while I dwelt among them, and when You took me You were the Watcher over them, and You are Witness over all things."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):116-118
The Church, as Heinz Zahrnt put it "put words into the mouth of Jesus which he never spoke and attributed actions to him which he never performed." One of those who has shown that most of what the church says about Jesus is baseless is Rudolph Augustein in his book "Jesus the Son of Man." Another very comprehensive study of this matter can be found in the book "The Myth of God Incarnate" which was written by seven theologian scholars in England in 1977 and edited by John Hick. Their conclusion in this matter is that Jesus was "a man approved by God, for a special role within the divine purpose, and..... the later conception of him as God incarnate ... is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us." See also John Mackinnon Robertson's "Christianity and Mythology" T.W Doane's "The Bible Myths and their Parallels in Other Religions" (A good summary of these studies is available in M.F. Ansarei, "Islam and Christianity in the Modern World").
A University of Richmond professor, Dr. Robert Alley, after considerable research into newly found ancient documents concludes that
"....The (Biblical) passages where Jesus talks about the Son of God are later additions.... what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can reconstruct. For the first three decades after Jesus' death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of the existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus."
Is there any confirmation of this in the Bible, yes! If we were to read the Bible we would find that long after the departure of Jesus, his faithful followers continued to "keep up their daily attendance at the Temple" (Acts 2:46) It would be beyond belief to imagine that had Jesus indeed preached to his apostles that he was God, and if Jesus had indeed commanded them to forsake the commandments, that they would then disregard all of this and continue to worship in a Jewish synagogue on a daily basis, let alone the great Temple itself. It is further beyond belief that the Jews of the Temple would stand idly by and allow them to do this if they were preaching the total cancellation of the law of Moses and that Jesus was God.
Can any Trinitarian Christian, even in their wildest fantasies, imagine that the Jews in an orthodox Jewish synagogue would stand idly by while he took out his cross and prayed to Jesus in the midst of their synagogue and was publicly calling others to worship Jesus and forsake the commandments? How much more preposterous to imagine that they would have nothing to say to someone who did that in their most sacred of all synagogues, the Temple, on a daily basis yet. This is further evidence in support of the Qur'an, that Jesus only called his followers to a continuation of the religion of Moses and not by any means to the total cancellation and destruction of that law.
In the previous section, we read the following verses of the Bible:
"Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] none else." Deuteronomy 4:39.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3
"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:" Exodus 34:14
"Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no savior." Isaiah 43:10-11.
"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God." Isaiah 44:6
"That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else." Isaiah 45:6
"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else." Isaiah 45:18.
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else." Isaiah 45:22
Now we should begin to ask ourselves: If there was no god before or after God Almighty, then how was Jesus (pbuh) "begotten" as a god? The answer is: he was not. He was a mortal man, not a god. We even have the testimony of the majority of today's Anglican Bishops in defense of this basic truth. If we want the testimony of a trustworthy witness then how much more trustworthy a witness shall we ever find than the majority of the most learned and respected conservative Christians of the Anglican Church?
The Bible only preaches that Jesus is God and that God is a Trinity to those who do not know it's innermost details and the truth of the history of the Church as these men have come to know it. But let us move on in our study of the Biblical verses so that we can see only a small sampling of the evidence that has made the truth clear to these men.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:45 am
How many "Sons" does God have?
Many people tell us "but the Bible clearly says that Jesus is the Son of God. How can you say that Jesus is not God's only begotten son when Jesus says it so clearly in black and white in the Bible?" Well, first of all, as seen in the previous section, we first need to know the language of his people, the language of the Jews to whom he was speaking. Let us see how they understood this proclamation.
Let us begin by asking: How many sons does the Bible tell us that God Almighty has?
Jacob is God's son and firstborn: "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" Exodus 4:22.
Solomon is God's son "He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son": 2 Samuel 7:13-14.
Ephraim is God's firstborn: "for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." Jeremiah 31:9 (who is God's firstborn? Israel or Ephraim?).
Adam is the son of God "Adam, which was the son of God." Luke 3:38.
Common people (you and me) are the sons of God: "Ye are the children of the LORD your God" Deuteronomy 14:1. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:" John 1:12. "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;" Philippians 2:15. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: ... now are we the sons of God" 1 John 3:1-2. "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:7. "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD," Job 2:1. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD," Job 1:6. "when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men," Genesis 6:4. "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair" Genesis 6:2
As we can see, the use of the term "son of God" when describing normal human beings was not at all an uncommon practice among Jesus' people.
Well then, was Jesus the only begotten son of God? Read Psalms 2:7
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me (King David, King), Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.".
Indeed, the Jews are even referred to as much more than this in the Bible, and this is indeed the very trait which Jesus (pbuh) held against them. When the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus (pbuh) he defended himself with the following words
"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, 'I said, Ye are gods?' If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken..."
John 10:34:
(he was referring to Psalms 82:6 "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High..") As we can see from these and many other verses like them, "son of God" in the language of the Jews was a very innocent term used to describe a loyal servant of God. Whether the translators and editors chose to write it as "Son of God" (with a capital S) in reference to Jesus and "son of God" (with a small S) in reference to everyone else does not diminish the fact that in the original language, both cases are exactly the same. Are we beginning to see what drove the most learned men of the Anglican Church to recognize the truth? But let us move on.
Grolier's encyclopedia, under the heading "Jesus Christ," says:
"During his earthly life Jesus was addressed as rabbi and was regarded as a prophet. Some of his words, too, place him in the category of sage. A title of respect for a rabbi would be "my Lord." Already before Easter his followers, impressed by his authority, would mean something more than usual when they addressed him as "my Lord.".... it is unlikely that the title "Son of David" was ascribed to him or accepted by him during his earthly ministry. "Son of God," in former times a title of the Hebrew kings (Psalms 2:7), was first adopted in the post-Easter church as an equivalent of Messiah and had no metaphysical connotations (Romans 1:4). Jesus was conscious of a unique filial relationship with God, but it is uncertain whether the Father/Son language (Mark 18:32; Matt. 11:25-27 par.; John passim) goes back to Jesus himself" .
There seems to be only two places in the Bible where Jesus (pbuh) refers to himself as "son of God." They are in John chapters 5 and 11. Hastings in "The dictionary of the Bible" says: "Whether Jesus used it of himself is doubtful." Regardless, we have already seen what is meant by this innocent title. However, Jesus is referred to as the "son of Man" (literally: "Human being") 81 times in the books of the Bible. In the Gospel of Barnabas, we are told that Jesus (pbuh) knew that mankind would make him a god after his departure and severely cautioned his followers from having anything to do with such people.
Jesus was not the son of a human man (according to both the Bible and the Qur'an). However, we find him constantly saying "I am the son of man." Why?. It was because in the language of the Jews, that is how you say "I am a human being."
What was he trying to tell us by constantly repeating and emphasizing to us throughout the New Testament "I am a human being," "I am a human being," "I am a human being"?. What had he foreseen? Think about it!.
Do Christians emphasize this aspect of Jesus? The New Testament Greek word translated as "son" are "pias" and "paida" which mean "servant," or "son in the sense of servant." These are translated to "son" in reference to Jesus and "servant" in reference to all others in some translations of the Bible (see below). As we are beginning to see, one of the most fundamental reasons why Jesus (pbuh) is considered God is due to extensive mistranslation. We shall see more and more examples of this throughout this book.
Islam teaches that Jesus (pbuh) was a human being, not a god. Jesus (pbuh) continually emphasized this to his followers throughout his mission. The Gospel of Barnabas also affirms this fact. Once again, Grolier's encyclopedia says:
"...Most problematical of all is the title "Son of Man." This is the only title used repeatedly by Jesus as a self-designation, and there is no clear evidence that it was used as a title of majesty by the post-Easter church. Hence it is held by many to be authentic, since it passes the criterion of dissimilarity."
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:46 am
Because God was his "Father"?
Is Jesus (pbuh) a divine son of God because he called God "Father"? Well, how do all Christians refer to Him? What does Jesus himself have to tell us in this regard? Let us read
"OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN"!!!
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..."
Matthew 5:45
and "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Matthew 5:48:
...etc.
There are countless verses in the Bible to this effect. To understand what is meant by the reference to "Father" we need only read John 8:42:
"Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me."
So the love of God and His prophets is what makes God someone's "father." Similarly,
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do."
John 8:44
Obviously neither the Devil nor God is the physical father of any of them. The term "Father" in that day and age was used by the Jews in the same sense that Christians use the word "father" today to address a priest. It was not meant to be taken literally. Otherwise, the Bible would bear witness that every believer in Jesus (pbuh) is also the "physical" son of God.
Further, please note that Joseph is called a "father" to Pharaoh in Genesis 45:8, and Job is called the "father" of the poor in Job 29:16. Once we read all of this we begin to understand how the Jews used to understand the reference to God Almighty as "Father."
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:49 am
Because he performed miracles?
Well then, is Jesus the son of God because he raised the dead? If so, then what about Ezekiel who is said to have raised many more dead bodies than Jesus ever did. Ezekiel is said to have raised a whole city from the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-9)
If we are looking for Godly powers and miracles as proof of godliness then what about Joshua who is said to have stopped the sun and moon for one whole day: (Joshua 10:12-13). Can anyone but God Almighty do this?
Elisha is said to have raised the dead, resurrected himself, healed a leper, fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn, and healed a blind man: (2 Kings 4:35, 13:21, 5:14, 4:44, and 6:11.)
Elijah is said to have raised the dead, and made a bowl of flour and a jar of oil inexhaustible for many days (1 Kings 17:22 and 14.)
To say nothing of Moses (pbuh) and his countless miracles. Of his parting of the sea, of his changing of a stick into a serpent, of his changing of water into blood, ..etc.
And so forth......
Even Jesus (pbuh) himself tells us that miracles by themselves do not prove anything:
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect"
Matthew 24:24
So even false Christs can supply great wonders and miracles of such magnitude that even the most knowledgeable among men shall be deceived.
Jesus (pbuh) had a beginning (the begetting) and an end ("and he gave up the ghost") Melchizedec, however, is said to have had no beginning of days nor end of life but was "made like unto the Son of God" !.
"For this Melchizedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man [was], unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils."
Hebrews 7:1-4
Solomon is said to have been with God at the beginning of time before all of creation, Proverbs 8:22-31.
Well then, is Jesus (pbuh) god because he performed his miracles under his own power while others needed God to perform them for them? Let us then read:
Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
Luke 11:20: "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils."
Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God."
John 5:30: "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
John 10:25: "the works that I do in my Father's name."
John 8:28-29 "...I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."
Acts 2:22 "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know"
So we see that even the apostle of Jesus (pbuh), Peter "the Rock,"* bore witness many years after the departure of Jesus not that Jesus was "God, the Son of God, who did miracles through his Omnipotence," rather, he openly bore witness before all those present that Jesus was "a man." He then went on to make sure that the masses would not be mislead by Jesus' miracles into thinking that he was more than a man by emphasizing that it was not Jesus who did the miracles, rather, just as was the case with countless other prophets before him, it was God Himself who did these miracles and that God's prophets are simply the tools through which He performed His miracles. In other words, the point that Peter was trying to drive home to these people was for them to remember that just as Moses' parting of the seas did not make him God or the son of God, and just as Elisha's raising of the dead did not make him God or the son of God, so too was the case with Jesus.
What was the goal behind the performance of these miracles? Let us read John 11:42 where we find that just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he made a point of making sure that the crowd would not misunderstand what he was about to do or why he did it, so he publicly stated before God while they were listening that, just as was the case with all previous prophets, the reason why he was given these miracles was in order to prove that God had sent Him and he was a true prophet:
"And I knew that Thou hearest me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.".
John 11:42
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:51 am
Because he was filled with the Holy Ghost?
Well then was Jesus (pbuh) the son of God because he was filled with the Holy Ghost? Let us read
Luke 1:67 "Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost."
Luke 1:41 "Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost."
Acts 4:8 "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost said."
Acts 13:9 "Then Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.."
Acts 2:4 "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak."
Is Jesus(pbuh) a god because he was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb? If this is the case then John the Baptist should be a god also, as claimed in Luke 1:13-15.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:52 am
Because he was the "Image of God"?
Some will now say: But in the Bible we read:
"....Christ, who is the image of God."
2 Corinthians 4:4
Surely this makes Jesus God. Well then, we should also read
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Genesis 1:27
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:53 am
Because he was "from above"?
In John 8:23 we read
"And he (Jesus) said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world."
Does this make Jesus (pbuh) a god ? No! Why not read
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world"
John 17:14
and "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
John 17:16
There are many more similar examples.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:54 am
Because he was the "Messiah/Christ" and the "Word"?
Many people believe "Messiah" to be a mystical Biblical term which had been reserved by God from the beginning of time as a direct equivalent of "only begotten Son." For this reason, when they see that Jesus is referred to in the Bible as "The Messiah" they immediately translate this to mean "The Son of God." In order to clear up this misconception, let us first define the true meaning of the word Messiah and then show it's exact usage in the Bible.
The word "Messiah" is the English version of the Hebrew word mashiyach {maw-shee'-akh}. The literal meaning of this word in the Hebrew language is "to anoint." In our present day, it is customary for those who are appointed to high office (ie. the President of the US, Supreme Court justices, etc.) to attend a solemn ritual wherein that person is consecrated into office. During this ritual, certain rights of passage or ascension must be performed, such as repeating a solemn oath and so forth. Once such rituals have been successfully completed, only then is that person considered to have officially received the rights and obligations of this office.
In a similar fashion, in ancient times it was a common practice among the Jews to "anoint" those who were appointed positions of high authority. If we were to read the Bible we would find that every priest and king of ancient Israel was "anointed" by their people as a sign of official consecration to office. Further, we find that it was not at all uncommon for inanimate objects and even pagans to be "anointed." For example:
Solomon:
1 Kings 1:39 "And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon."
David:
1 Samuel 16:13 "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah."
Jewish priests:
Leviticus 4:3 "If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering."
Cyrus the pagan:
Isaiah 45:1 "Thus saith the LORD to his Messiah, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;"
A pillar:
Genesis 31:13 "I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred."
The tabernacle:
Leviticus 8:10 "And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that [was] therein, and sanctified them."
A cherub:
Ezekiel 28:14 "Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
Sick people:
Mark 6:13 "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed [them]."
Jesus anoints a blind man
John 9:6 "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,"
When this word was translated into ancient Greek, the words used were "Messias" {mes-see'-as} and "Christos" {khris-tos'} (see John 1:41, 4:25). This is where we get the word "Christ" from, it was originally derived from the Greek word for "anoint." Jesus was indeed "christened," or "anointed," or "baptized," by John the Baptist before the beginning of his ministry as seen for example in Matthew 3:16 among many other verses.
This is not to say that just because the word "Messiah" was applied to others that it was not a specific designation for Jesus. It only goes to show that this title does not imply a position as "Son of God."
For example, all of the prophets of God are "friends of God," however, only prophet Abraham received this title as an official designation for himself (James 2:23). In a similar manner, all of the prophets of God in ancient Israel were all "anointed" prophets, however, as an official designation, this title was reserved exclusively for Jesus. This is indeed confirmed in the noble Qur'an:
"And the angles said 'O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name is Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, High honored in this world and the next, of those near stationed to Allah."
The noble Qur'an, Aal-Umran(3):40
In fact, prophet Abraham is also fondly referred to by Muslims as the "Khaleel-ullah" ("Friend of God"), and prophet Moses is referred to as "Kaleem-ullah" ("The one spoken to by God"). However, just because prophet Abraham is the "friend of God," this does not imply that all other prophets (Noah, Moses, etc.) are all "enemies of God."
Similarly, just because Jesus (pbuh) is a "word" from God and a "spirit" from Him does not imply that that he is "part of" God, or that this designation is exclusive to him. For example, in the Qur'an we read:
"So when I (God) have fashioned him (Adam) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you (Angels, and those in attendance) down in prostration before him."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Hijr(15):29
"Verily! Our (Allah's) Word unto a thing when We intend it, is only that We say unto it "Be!" - and it is"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Nahil(16):40 (please also read chapter 14)
To make such terminology clearer, let us take the example of the term "house of God," or "My house" as seen in the Bible and the Qur'an in 1 Chronicles 9:11, and Al-Bakarah(2):125. If God is not confined to a specific house or location (both Muslims and Christians agree to this), then what is meant by the words "house of God"? Every house on earth belongs to God, however, we do not call bars or brothels "houses of God" but we do call houses of worship "houses of God." The true meaning is that God is showing favor upon this house by associating it with His name. God bestows such titles upon those whom He wishes to bestow His favor upon from among His creation by virtue of the piety and worship which is displayed to God in association with this creation. It was the selfless dedication and piety of Jesus (pbuh) towards his Creator which was rewarded by God by associating Jesus' spirit with His name.
In a similar manner, the reference to Jesus being a "word" from God does not mean that Jesus is "part of" God. For example, in many places in the Bible God refers tp His "word." We can see this for example:
"Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah."
Numbers 20:24
Does "my word" here mean "Jesus"? There are numerous other examples.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:55 am
Because he was called "Lord"?
Was Jesus God because people addressed him as "my lord." Not according to the Bible. In the Bible we find that this was a common practice with many others besides Jesus. For example:
Prophet Abraham:
"Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord (Abraham) being old also?"
Genesis 18:12
Esau:
"And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:"
Genesis 32:4
Joseph:
"And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him."
Genesis 44:20
David:
"And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, [upon] me [let this] iniquity [be]: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid."
1 Samuel 25:24
...etc.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:56 am
Because God "gave His only begotten Son.."?
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
The above is the King James "translation" of John 3:16. If we were to open up the Revised Standard Version of the Bible on this exact same verse we would find it now translated as
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, ...."
What is going on here? The RSV is the work of thirty two Biblical Christian scholars of the highest eminence backed by fifty cooperating Christian denominations. They produced the RSV in an effort to correct the "many" and "serious" errors they had found in the King James Bible. So why have they scrapped the word "begotten" from this cornerstone of Christian preaching? The reason is because they have decided to be honest with us when translating this verse.
The Greek term for "begotten" in ancient Greek is "gennao" {ghen-nah'-o} as found for example in Matthew 1:2. In the verses under consideration, however, the word used was not "gennao" but "monogenes" {mon-og-en-ace'}.
"Monogenes" is a Greek word which conveys the meaning "unique" and not "begotten." Thus, the true translation of this verse is "His unique son."
Some of the more honest translations of the Bibles, such as the New Testament by Goodspeed and J. M. Powis Smith (published in 1923) have indeed given the same translation as that of the RSV. However, such "tell it as it is" Bibles were not generally met with a lot of enthusiasm since they forced the reader to face the fact that much of what the translators of the KJV have "translated" for them was not in fact part of the Bible.
We have already seen in previous sections that the Bible bears witness that God has "sons" by the tons. So what does the Bible mean by "only son" or "unique son" when referring to Jesus? It means what the Bible has told us and the Qur'an has confirmed for us, namely, that Jesus was "unique" in that he was born of a human mother without a father. God merely said to him "Be!" and he was.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:57 am
What about "Unto us a child is born"?
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6
When someone reads this verse of Isaiah they immediately see a clear prophesy of God coming to earth in the form on a human child. Is this not what the verse says? Does it not say that Jesus shall be the "incarnation" of God on earth? Actually, it does not. Let us study it together.
Firstly, it is important when applying a prophesy to someone to not selectively pick and choose catch phrases from the prophesy and disregard the rest. In this prophesy we find that the very first stipulation presented for this person is that he shall carry the government upon his shoulders.* However, as is popular knowledge, Jesus (pbuh) never in his whole lifetime ever formed a government nor became a head of state. In fact we find him saying in the Bible quite explicitly:
John 18:36 "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
Matthew 22:21 "Then saith he (Jesus) unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
So according to the Bible, Jesus never tried to establish a government nor to challenge the authority of the pagan emperor Caesar over himself and his followers. Now, if someone were to go the extra mile and to make the case that Jesus commands a "spiritual" government in the hereafter, then we need to know whether the hereafter shall be a place of governments, kings, laws and regulations?
Secondly, when we study the words "mighty God" carefully, we notice an interesting fact. For some reason, the words used are not "Almighty God" but rather "mighty God." Naturally, this makes one curious as to what the original Hebrew text actually says. So we decide to study it.
The word for "Almighty" as applied exclusively to God in the OT is the Hebrew word "Shadday" {shad-dah'-ee}. However, this is not the word used in this verse. The actual word used in this verse is the Hebrew word "Gibbowr" meaning "mighty" and not "The Almighty." Now, although to us such a difference might seem subtle and insignificant, still, to the Jews, the difference was quite pronounced. Let me elaborate.
In the famous Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary by James Strong the word "gibbowr" or short "gibbowr" {ghib-bore'}, is translated as; warrior, tyrant:-champion, chief, excel, giant, man, mighty (man, one), strong (man), valiant man. On the other hand the word "Shadday" {shad-dah'-ee}, is translated as, the Almighty:-Almighty.
The word translated as "God" here is the Hebrew word "El" {ale} which in addition to it's use to refer to God Almighty in the Bible is also used to refer to mighty men, to demons, to angels, and to idols. As we have already seen in the previous section, it was a common practice in the Bible to use the word "god" to convey an air of authority or power. Some of the examples presented were:
"I have said, Ye (the Jews) are gods; and all of you are children of the most High"
Psalms 82:6
and "And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh"
Exodus 7:1
as well as "the god of this world (the Devil) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not."
2 Corinthians 4:4
When reading such verses we begin to understand the reason why Isaiah 9:6 refers to a "mighty god" and not an "Almighty God." If the author did indeed mean to convey that this person would be the "incarnation" of God Almighty who would come down to earth in the form of a human being in order to walk among us and die on the cross, then why did this author chose to "water down" his statement by only referring to him with the generic term used for humans, demons, idols, and angels, and not the specific term reserved for God Almighty alone?
And finally, we study the term "everlasting father." In the Bible, the term "everlasting" or "forever" is often used as a figurative term and does not necessarily convey its literal sense, for example,
"and my servant David [shall be] their prince forever." Ezekiel 37:25.
and "The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD ... He asked life of thee, [and] thou gavest [it] him, [even] length of days for ever and ever." Psalm 21:1-4
..etc.
The same goes for the use of the term "father". It does not necessarily mean; "the Heavenly Father" (God), or the biological father. Let us read for example:
Joseph is called a father to Pharaoh. Genesis 45:8,
and Job is called the father of the needy. Job 29:16.
..etc.
So, just as king David shall be an "everlasting prince" so too shall this person be called an "everlasting father." This is the language of the Jews. This is how it was meant to be understood. We can not simply interpret a verses in a vacuum of the culture, customs, and verbal constructs of the people who wrote them. We must always be careful when "translating" such verses to make sure that we translate them as they were intended by the author and as his people had come to understand them.
I am sure that the people of this age would be quite upset if one of them were to write to their closest friend "you are an angel and a prince" and then centuries later a Japanese speaking person were to say: "See? The author has just born witness that his friend is a divine creature with wings that came down to earth and became royalty. He says so very clearly right here!"
Well is all of this only my own personal attempt to pervert the verses and manipulate their meanings? Far from it. Many Christian scholars have known and recognized the true meaning of this verse and translated it into English accordingly, however, their translations were not met with a whole lot of enthusiasm and thus, they did not receive the same degree of publicity as has such translations as the King James Version. For example, Mr. J. M. Powis Smith in "The Complete Bible, an American Translation," quotes this same verse as follows:
"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; And the government will be upon his shoulder; And his name will be called 'Wonderful counselor is God Almighty, Father forever, Prince of peace'"
"The Complete Bible, an American Translation," Isaiah 9:6
And again, if we were to read the translation of another Christian, for example Dr. James Moffatt, we would find that in his translation "The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments" the verse reads:
"For a child has been born to us, a child has been given to us; the royal dignity he wears, and this the title he bears - 'A wonder of a counselor, a divine hero, a father for all time, a peaceful prince'"
"The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments" Isaiah 9:6
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:58 am
How did Jesus' people know him?
So if the followers of Jesus (pbuh) considered God to be their "Father," then how did they regard Jesus? To answer this let us read together:
"And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet."
Matthew 14:5 (compare with Matthew 21:26)
"And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."
Matthew 21:11
"But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet."
Matthew 21:46
"And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:"
Luke 24:19
"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet."
John 4:19
"Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world."
John 6:14
"Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet."
John 7:40
Indeed, how did Jesus himself describe himself? Let us read:
"Nevertheless I (Jesus) must walk to day, and to morrow, and the [day] following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem."
Luke 13:33
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Matthew 13:57
This is once again confirmed in the noble Qur'an:
"And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Verily! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was [revealed] before me in the Torah"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Saf(61):6
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:59 am
Is God a man?
In the Bible we read "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?", Numbers 23:19
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:59 am
Does God pray to Himself?
Now, does God pray? Let us read the Bible:
Mark 14:32 "and he (Jesus) saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray."
Luke 3:21: "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened."
Luke 6:12: "And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Matthew 26:39: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."
All of these verses do not speak of Jesus (pbuh) "meditating," "interceding," "consorting," or "consulting," but PRAYING. But to whom? To Himself? To another side of his own personality? Is Jesus not "the same essence" as God, and all are one Trinity? If Jesus and God are not "the same essence" then this means that there is more than one God in existence, and thus, we have just directly opposed verse, after verse, after explicit verse of the Bible, all of which emphasize that there ever was, and ever shall be, only one God.
Further, Jesus (pbuh) and his disciples are continuously being described in the Bible as "falling on their faces and praying" which is exactly the way Muslims pray today. They pray the way Jesus (pbuh) did. Have you ever seen a Christian "fall on his face" and pray to God as Jesus (pbuh), Muhammad (pbuh), and all Muslims do?
Mr. Tom Harpur says:
"In fact, unless we are prepared to believe that his prayer-dependence on God was nothing more than a sham for our edification, a mere act to set us a good example, it is impossible to cling to the orthodox teaching that Jesus was really God Himself walking about in human form, the Second Person of the Trinity. The concept of God praying - let alone praying to Himself - is incomprehensible to me. To say that it was simply the human side of Jesus talking to God the Father (rather than his own divine nature as Son of God) is to posit a kind of schizophrenia that is incompatible with any belief in Jesus' full humanity"
For Christ's Sake, pp. 42-43.
Think about it, when we are told that Jesus was in the garden earnestly begging and pleading with God to please, please save him saying "let this cup pass from me" and "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" etc., then:
Was this all just a stage play for our benefit?
If not, then since there is only ONE God, and Jesus and God are ONE God, then was Jesus praying to himself? Why?
God has given us the answer in the Qur'an over 1400 years ago. He says:
"And from those who said: "We are Christians," We took their covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message which was sent to them. Therefore We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will inform them of what they used to do. O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger (Muhammad) come to you, explaining to you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Indeed, there has come to you a light from Allah and a plain Scripture. Wherewith Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness by His will into light, and guides them to a straight path. They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say : Who then has the least power against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He creates what He will. And Allah is Able to do all things. The Jews and Christians say: We are sons of Allah and His loved ones. Say; Why then does He punish you for your sins? No, you are but mortals of His creating. He forgives whom He will, and punishes whom He will. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and unto Him is the return (of all). O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger (Muhammad) come unto you to make things plain after a break in (the series of) the messengers, lest you should say: There came not unto us a messenger of cheer nor any Warner. Now has a messenger of cheer and a Warner come unto you. And Allah is Able to do all things."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Maidah(5):14-19
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:03 pm
Does God have a God?
In John 20:17 we read:
"Jesus saith unto her, ...I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your."
Not only is God Jesus' father, but He is also his GOD. Think about this carefully. Also notice how Jesus is equating between himself and mankind in these matters and not between himself and God. He is making it as clear as he possibly can that he is one of US and not a god. Why did he not just say "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ." ... and stop !?
Why did Jesus feel it necessary to add the words "...and to my God, and your God." What additional information was he trying to convey to us with these extra words? Think about it carefully.
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