REBUTTAL TO: QUESTIONS TO CHRISTIAN ANTI-ISLAMIC SITES REGARDING CHRISTIANITY

Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, the web administrator of Bismika Allahuma wrote to me and told me to answer the questions given in the link http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/lordexarkun/Islam/questions_anti-islam.html. For some strange reason he believes that these arguments prove that Jesus wasn't God. However we will investigate his claims to see if they are truthful or not.

1. Did Jesus (pbuh) ever explicitly say 'I am a god' or 'I am 'God' or 'worship me' or any other words to that effect? Sam Shamoun, another member of answering Islam, counters by saying - "Try asking Mohd to show a single verse in the Quran where Jesus (allegedly) says "I am not God, do not worship Me", or "I am not the Son of God," or "I didn't come to die for your sins or lay my life as a ransom for many" in those exact words.

He might quote S. 5:117 where God asks Jesus if he taught people if whether he claimed that he and his mother were TWO GODS apart God. Notice that this is not what we are asking for since we don't claim that Jesus is A GOD apart from the One God."

Now did Jesus explictedly say that he was God? Here we will continue our analysis by looking at these verses:

"Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, AND HIS REDEEMER, the LORD of hosts: "I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. Isaiah 44:6

Here in Isaiah, YAHWEH and HIS REDEEMER claims to be the first and the last and that there is not God besides either one. Did Jesus say this along with claiming that he is God? Yes:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Rev. 1:8

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Rev. 1:18

"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." Rev. 22:12-16

It doesn't take a genius to see that Jesus, with his own words, is claiming to be the Almighty by saying he is the first and the last along with calling himself the Almighty in Rev 1:8. So Did Jesus explictedly say he was God? Yes:

Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, AND I WILL BE HIS GOD and he shall be My son. Rev. 21:5-8

Jesus is talking and he says that HE WILL BE THEIR GOD and all who overcome will be his sons!! This is a verse where Jesus clearly said that He is God (Elohim), i.e. Rev.21:8. You can even read it in regular Arabic:

hadaa kullahu nasiybu almuntasiri, wa 'akunu 'ilaahan lahu wa huwa ibnan liy.

This verse strikes down Muslims dumb/deceitful question/challenge: "tell me where did Jesus ever said that he is God? It directly answers and refutes their challenge. There is no need to go answer this matter by using any other way. This fact is shown more by these verses dealing with who revelation is about:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Rev. 1:1-2

"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." 22:16

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 22:20

So what did his testimony deal with?

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, AND I WILL BE HIS GOD and he shall be My son. Rev. 21:8

Need we say more? no.

Further, did anyone at all, anywhere in the Bible, from cover to cover, ever say that God is triune, a trinity, three, or three-in-one?

Did anyone say that he wasn't? No, so there is no need to elaborate on this since Mohd is basically assuming, without evidence that nobody believed in the Triune nature of God.

2. Out of all the signs that Jesus could have given about himself, he chose to give the sign of Jonah:

This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
[Luke 11:29, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 16]

Jonah was swallowed alive by a whale and remained in its belly alive for three days. For Jesus to have properly fulfilled the prophecy, he would need to enter the tomb alive and come out alive. Why should Jesus give this, of all signs, if he was to die and be resurrected?

Actually this is a bogus assumption since this wasn't how Jesus himself saw it at all:

But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH. Matt. 12:39-40

Jesus was to be in the heart of the earth for three days. This means that he was in the earth for 3 days through death. Did Jesus understand that he was to die? Yes:

Matthew 16:21, "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Matthew 17:22, "As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered unto the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.' And they were greatly distressed,"

Matthew 26:1-2, "When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."

Mark 8:31, "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

Mark 9:31, "For He was teaching His disciples and saying to them, 'The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and when He is killed, after three days He will rise."

Mark 10:32-34, "And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him and spit upon Him and scourge Him and kill Him; and after three days He will rise.'"

Luke 9:22, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised."

John 3:13-14, "No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life."

If we use Mohd's methology, Jesus would be a false prophet since Jewish tombs were ABOVE THE EARTH. Not below. However Jesus knew that this refers to him dying so this all the evidence we need.

3. The Eternal God is Eternally Holy. Jesus was made Holy by God. Hence, how can one claim Jesus was God, from the beginning?

Actually this is another assumption because proving this idea would mean that Mohd has to show us Biblical reference of this fact. However Jesus said that he existed before the world and the begininning:

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." John 17:5

"For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:33

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." John 6:38

"At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven.’" John 6:41

Unlike what Islam claims, Jesus himself says that he comes from heaven, which shows us that he is preexistent. This explains why Jesus told God to give him the glory he had with him before the world existed.

4. IF the physical death (Greek 'thanatus'), did spread to all men through the SIN of Adam [Romans 5:12], and IF the act of Jesus was indeed the payment of debt or its satisfaction and reconciliation with God and the justification and life (Greek 'zoe') for all men [Romans 5:18], then why are men still dying the physical death? The existence of physical death, clearly indicates that every living person is individually answerable for his or her SINS and is not yet SAVED by the Act of Jesus.

Actually this is another assumption since both Paul and Jesus were talking about eternal death in hell. The greatest separation between God and man occurs in hell, where sinners are forever severed from fellowship with God:

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. THE LAKE OF FIRE IS THE SECOND DEATH. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15 It is appointed to all men that they should die. To show you proof that this is so read what Jesus said on issues of death:

Jesus said to her, "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. He WHO BELIEVES IN ME, THOUGH HE MAY DIE, he shall live. And whoever lives and BELIEVES IN ME shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." John 11:25-27

The existence of physical death means nothing about Jesus not saving people from their sins since this theory is unbiblical and therefore is nothing but another assumption by Mohd. Even Jesus himself never understood this alien theory this way. Also Paul didn't look at it this way either:

"God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-" Romans 3:25

According to the NIV translators, one of Mohd's friend favorite Bible (Osama Abdallah), the Greek phrase for "a sacrifice of atonement" means that Christ was presented "as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away sin." Hence, Jesus curbed the Father's wrath by taking it upon himself while on the cross.

The second type of "death" which the Holy Bible refers to is physical death. This is where the soul departs from the body and the body returns to the ground from which it came:

"And to the man he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it," cursed it is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat the bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return'." Genesis 3:17-19 NRSV

"Remember him - before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:6-7

At the moment of death, Christ's eternal Spirit and human soul departed from his physical body. On the third day the eternal Spirit of Christ, along with his human soul, reunited with his body when he arose in immortal glory:

"And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last." Luke 23:46

"Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken." John 2:19-22

"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John 10:17-18

For Christ to raise himself from the dead clearly that he was still consciously existing during the time his body lay in the tomb.

"Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 'We heard him say, "I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man."' Yet even then their testimony did not agree." Mark 14:56-59

"Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!'" Mark 15:29-30

Hence, in light of these passages Mohd has no legitamate argument. When we allow Scripture to define death we find absolutely no problems with the divine Son of God dying on behalf of the elect as well as the death he delievers people from being the second one.

Finally, not only is Mohd's definition of death unbiblical it is also contrary to the Quran:

"Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision." S. 3:169

This echoes the words of the Lord Jesus Christ:

"But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Luke 20:37-38

No need to say more on this issue.

5. The righteous Jesus (pbuh) came to confirm the Torah, not to destroy it [Matthew 23:2-3]. But why Paul took it upon himself to abolish the teachings of the Torah? [Acts 13:39]

Actually this is an age old misunderstanding. Paul didn't come to abolish the law:

The same uncompromising doctrine of moral law that Jesus taught was taught by Paul!

Paul and the ritual law.
For Paul, as for Jesus, ritual was merely a pointer to the moral law. Outward appearance was only important in sofar it said something about the inner state of the soul.
 

Paul: Romans 2:28 " For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."		 Jesus: " There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man."
  Paul seemingly disobeyed the law of circumcision, but in reality obeyed, because he was faithfull to the law of love. Jesus seemingly disobeyed the laws of the Sabbath and that of ritual purity, but in reality obeyed, because he was faithfull to the law of love. If Paul seemed to "relax" the ritual law it was because he followed the example of Jesus!

For Paul, as for Jesus, any ritual that added unnecessary burden or bondage to believers without aiding them in the law of love could be discarded:
 

Paul: Galatians 2:3 "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 
4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage..." 		  Jesus: Matthew 23: 4 "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."
Paul was talking here about people who wanted to burden believers by forcing them to be circumcised. Jesus accused the Pharisees of forcing people to obey ritual laws that did not bring them closer to God. Forcing people to adhere to ritual laws that no longer fulfilled the objective it was designed for was regarded as sin by both Jesus and Paul!

A modern day parallel would be to force people to pray in a language they don't understand.

What does Paul call the "Curse of the law"?
Paul simply states that because God made a law, we were all condemmed under that law, since all mankind has sinned. It is not the law that is bad, it is the breaking of the law that causes the condemnation. We see that it is only by creative editing of scriptures that one can come to the conclusion that Paul contradicted Jesus in his doctrine of the Law, or that he changed the law of Jesus.

We see that Mohd's theory hold no weight whatsoever against the deity of Jesus Christ. God Bless All.

E-mail me Quennel Gale at queball20@yahoo.com

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