Qur’ān 19:15 starts with Allah saying “peace be upon him the day he was born”, who is the “he” spoken of in this verse that Allah is blessing? We’ll get into that shortly.
The goal of this article is to prove the Qur’ān confirms the deity of Christ. It sounds strange to use the Qur’ān to prove Jesus Christ is God, but in dealing with Muslims it’s vital to provide evidence from their own book. Since Muslims reject the Bible it makes no sense proving the deity of Jesus Christ from the Bible with them in the beginning.
Once a Muslim’s realises the falsehood of the Qur’ān it’s then the door is wide open to share the Gospel with them, this is important when using polemics. To begin we’ll start with the above verse sūrat maryam ayat 15. Allah bestows peace to the individual spoken of, the following verses afterwards gives us insight its Yahya (John the Baptist). To prove this is speaking of John we need only to read the proceeding verses most notably ayat 12.
To further confirm we read in the Tafsir al-Jalalayn which says Allah was speaking about John (Yahya) the Baptist who we know according to the Bible is the cousin of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke 1:13-1:80. Other Islamic scholars who agree are Ibn ‘Abbas as well as Ibn Kathir.
If Allah says “Peace be upon him” referring to Yahya, and if Allah is the only one who can say “Peace be upon him”, then how do Muslims explain the following verse? If Allah alone can bestow peace upon others, there are no prophets including Muhammad who can bestow peace upon someone else what will Muslims do when Isa (Jesus) does?
According to Surah 19 ayat 33 Isa (Jesus) is saying “Peace be upon me”, this is not Allah bestowing peace on Jesus, no! This is Jesus is bestowing peace upon Himself, therefore, if God can only bestow peace upon others this would mean by Jesus saying “Peace be upon me” this is proof that He’s God.
We can also confirm once again through the Tafsir that this verse is speaking of Jesus. According to Ibn Kathir in the following ayats which leads up to 19:33, Kathir says…
Apparently Isa (Jesus) according to the Islamic narrative spoke from his cradle. This is not an original writing from the Qur’ān, in actuality Muhammad got this from from The Syriac Infancy Gospel known as the Arabic Infancy Gospel. It’s a New Testament apocryphal writing about the infancy of Jesus. Here’s the passage in the Infancy Gospel in which Muhammad stoled and placed in the Qur’ān 19:29.
“… Jesus spake when he was in the cradle, and said to his mother: “Mary, I am Jesus the Son of God, the Word, which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel Gabriel, and My Father hath sent me for the salvation of the world.””
The Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir tells us that Isa was breastfeeding and upon hearing Mary’s accusers claiming she was guilty of sexual immorality stopped breastfeeding and answered them saying “peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!” in Surah 19:33.
If Jesus is not God how can He speak from the cradle as an infant? Christians do not believe this is inspired writing from God but Muhammad clearly plagiarised this from the Infancy Gospel as it was written to prove Jesus was more than a Man. How do Muslims explain this blatant act of thief from their prophet?
How do they explain Isa speaking to them from the cradle as an infant, none of the prophets according to Islam done such a thing. This is not a normal event.
Lastly, we see that the Qur’ān confirms the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in which we find in Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:31, Luke 9:44. The Qur’an says that Isa (fake Jesus) will die and be raised alive, but this also contradicts Surah 4:157 which says Jesus didn’t die. If Jesus is not dead then He’s God because a mere man cannot live for over 2000+ years.
A mere man can only live at most a little over 100 years, the average life expectancy is anywhere between 75-82 years. And as mentioned if a person is fortunate to live 100 years he will die. Now Isa is according to Islam over 2000+ years old how can this be if Jesus is only a man? It would be impossible unless Isa (fake Jesus) is more than a man.
When referencing the Qur’ān’s teaching of Allah’s face or any other mentioned part the typical Muslim response is “There is nothing like unto Him.” ayah 42:11. Indeed Allah has a face in which Muslims are to pray towards, one of the top Islamic scholars al-Jalalayn comments in the Tafsir.
We’ll look to answer this mystery more sufficiently as we take a closer look at the similarities of Allah and the Dajjal.
Islam teaches there’s a coming day in which the Dajjal will come to deceive people into thinking he’s the Messiah. Muhammad burrowed this doctrine from such Biblical text such as Matthew 24:23, Mark 13:21, 1 John 2:18 and Revelation 13:1 to name a few.
The Dajjal in Islam
The above Hadith is graded Sahih (authentic) in case Muslims claim it’s a weak (Da’if) Hadith, this Hadith is accepted by Muslim scholars. Notice the description of the Dajjal as being short in stature, hen-toed, woolly-haired and one-eyed, these descriptions denotes he has a physical body. It’s important to keep in mind that Muhammad is assuring Muslims that their Lord is not one-eyed. Therefore we can gather that Allah looks identical to the Dajjal except for the distinguishing feature that Allah is not one-eyed.
According to the Islamic narrative the Dajjal is an evil individual in Islamic eschatology who’ll claim he’s the awaited Messiah but in fact he’s the false Messiah, arriving on the scene before the Day of Resurrection. This is important later we’ll see how this comes into play. Also there’s no such thing as the “Antichrist” in Islam the actual terminology is Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah).
Continuing to prove the Dajjal looks like Allah we will read other Hadith’s which exposes Allah as having a shape, 2 right hands, a foot and so on.
The above Hadith Sunan an-Nasa’i describes Allah as having two right hands
This Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari says Allah will come in a shape the Muslims won’t recognise, they’ll essentially reject Allah. Allah will then change his shape only then will the Muslims recognise him and will follow Allah.
Sahih al-Bukhari describes Allah as having a foot and he will his foot over hell and say “Qati! Qati!” (enough enough) stoping additional people from being tossed into hell. These are all descriptions of body parts Allah has. Just as we read earlier the Dajjal has one eye and Muhammad is telling Muslims not to be confused Allah doesn’t have 1 eye.
If Allah is nothing like his creation why are we being given vivid descriptions of body parts? If we learned that Allah has eyes, shape, hands and a foot how can Muslims reject the Christian belief that God became a Man in the Person of Jesus Christ?
How will Muslims Recognise Allah?
The Qur’ān says that Allah will uncover his shin on the Day of Resurrection Surah 68:42. The Arabic actually says “the leg”, again the question has to be raised if Allah is not a man how can he have legs?
We come to the conclusion that the god of Islam is made up of body parts just like any human. The Islamic sources tell us he has eyes, hands, feet and a shape. The Qur’ān says Allah has a face, yet Muslims profess that Allah is nothing like his creation, but the Qur’ān and Hadith are using terms which are found in creation.
If Dajjal is claiming to be the Messiah how is he claiming to be god? Muhammad said he’s afraid because Muslims will mistake him the Dajjal for their “Lord” otherwise known as Allah.
Christians believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah, our God became a real Man. The Islamic sources also have this concept because Muhammad tried to take the teachings from the Bible without understanding them making many mistakes and contradictions in the Qur’ān and Hadith.
In this article we are going to prove that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person distinct from the Father, contrary to the Christadelphian belief in which they reject the Personhood of the Spirit of God.
We reject the doctrine – that the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father.
The Christadelphians claim the Holy Spirit is not a Person, when the Lord Jesus was baptised we see something interesting. We have Christ in the water, the heavens were opened “the Spirit of God” came down upon Jesus and we have a voice from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” there’s no mistake that the voice from heaven was God the Father.
But we have a classic view of the Trinity in this passage (1) Jesus Christ in the water (2) The Holy Spirit coming down as a dove (3) A voice from heaven which is God the Father. 3 distinct Persons are involved in Matthew 3:16-17.
The Christadephians would still reject this claiming this is not enough proof, ok let’s see if we have more evidence for the Personhood of the Holy Spirit? There are certain categories in which we can prove the Holy Spirit possesses Personhood.
Intelligence
The Holy Spirit shows the capability to know, think and understand, He searches all the deep things concerning God. The Holy Spirit is capable of knowing all the divine truth of the Godhead. This is a character trait of Personhood. Just as the Lord Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things concerning Him (John 14:26).
How can “energy” be grieved? It cannot because energy doesn’t have a capacity to feel emotions. Only a Person has the ability to be grieved, and if they experience grief they can also experience the capacity to love as well.
Will
Lastly, He has the ability to decide and act according to His will. According to this verse in Corinthians the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts as He wills. Thereby, this shows the Spirit of God through His actions of giving is a Person.
These 3 passages show the Holy Spirit is possesses the ability of intelligence, the capacity of emotion feeling love and grief, and He can also give gifts according to His will. This are characteristics only a Person can have. The Holy Spirit is not some “force”, “energy” or power emanating from God.
1) God is weeding out His children from Satan’s children (Matthew 13)
Matthew 13
It’s ironic that Matthew 13 is mentioned because it concerns the Gospel message, something the WMSCOG doesn’t teach. The chapter concerns the parable of the sower and the different soils and their reaction to the Gospel message. In the case of Raven I wonder which of these soils she identifies herself as and why?
2) Everything on earth that is made, is made to teach us what is in heaven. It is a copy and shadow, heaven is the reality and earth is the shadow. (Like the family system on earth, consisting of a dad, mom and children teaching us that we have a spiritual family) (Heb 8:5, Rom 1:10)
Hebrews 8:5 Talks about a better ministry which is in Christ, how He is our Great High Priest serving as our Mediator. In that the Old Testament priest who served in the temple was not perfect it was inferior compared to Jesus Christ and His ministry as our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), that’s the context of Hebrews 8:5
The best practice is reading not only the highlighted verse but also the surrounding text to get a clear view of what’s being taught. And we see it certainly doesn’t refer to a “family system on earth” as Raven suggest. Here’s the following verse:
Notice these words “a more excellent ministry”, “mediator of a better covenant” and “better promises” this is what the context is speaking of, Jesus as the one who fulfills the role of our Mediator.
Romans 1:10 is talking about how Paul brought the message of the Gospel, he was talking to believers in Christ. Paul was thankful for the believers in Rome and prayed that he might visit them again in the near future and wanted his journey to be according to the will of God. That’s all the verse is speaking about.
3) The old covenant was written to teach us, all the stories are prophecy about us spiritually. We are living in the New testament times. Revelation isn’t the only book about us, the whole bible is. (Romans 15:4)
Romans 15:4 is an Old Testament reference found in the Psalms, while they were not written directly to us, they hold vital lessons for us. When we go through problems no matter what they might be the Scriptures teach us to remain steadfast in our faith, and they give us comfort. That we have nothing to fear because the LORD will hold us up.
But not all of the Bible is prophecy, much of it is also historical, poetical and doctrinal. The WMSCOG looks to spiritualize the entire Bible and in doing so has convoluted the message and clear teaching of the scriptures.
4) God speaks in parables, that only He allows His chosen to read with correct understanding, it is spiritually sealed. That is why there are 850+ denominations because only God can interpret His own salvation work, human minds can only try/attempt to know and teach the gospel but do not succeed. This is why God had to come again in the flesh, to correct what was ruined so that we could know the way to have salvation. (Isaiah 2:3, Matt 13:10, Rev 5:1-4)
The Lord Jesus spoke in parables for a purpose, it was the plan of God because if the Jews would have accepted Christ as the Messiah in the beginning they wouldn’t have crucified Him which was necessary for our salvation. The crucifixion had to happen, it was the infinite wisdom of God to save us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus spoke in parables.
Raven mentions denominations. While I do not subscribe to denominations what she doesn’t understand is any denomination which believes in the primary essential truths is what determines if a person is a Christian, which are (1) the Trinity (Father, Son, The Holy Spirit) (2) Jesus is God (3) Salvation is by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone (4) Believers baptism. If any denomination denies any of the foundational truths then they are heretical.
Secondary beliefs does not determine if someone is Christian, some secondary beliefs are (1) how someone is baptised (full immersion in water backwards or forwards) (2) the role of women in the church (3) how corporate worship is to be conducted (4) shall one pastor lead or a plurality of elders.
5) Women are supposed to wear veils during worship, so she can worship God directly and correctly (cancelling out her “head”, which is man (world system is Christ, man and then woman) (1 Corinthians 11:3-9)
The covering for woman is for a few reasons (1) Headship in the order of creation, man (Adam) was created first then woman (Eve). (2) Because of the angels “For this cause ought the woman to have power on [her] head because of the angels.” (1 Corinthians 11:10). (3) This is to be done during corporate worship, men pray uncovered and woman are to be covered.
The veil is not how women can directly worship God, women just like men can worship God directly through Christ, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain” giving all believers direct access to God (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).
In the book of Hebrews we’re told how Christ paved the way for us to approach God (Hebrews 6:19). And we now have boldness when coming into the presence of God because Jesus Christ made the way for us through His blood.
6) New covenant does not mean we stop doing everything God commanded, the law was established through the old covenant, we still keep it even in this time of 2020, just in a different way (not animal sacrifices etc.) (Matt 5:17, Matt 19:17)
Raven believes that because Christ said He came to fulfil the Law that we also must follow the Old Covenant, I’m wondering if she knows that the Bible says the Old Covenant is waxed old and vanishing away?
The ignorance of WMSCOG is that they don’t understand why Christians worship on Sunday. Immediately after Jesus victoriously rose from the dead, some Jewish converts were confused about certain practices such as circumcision, which day of worship to observe, and whether or not to observe the Jewish feasts. These issues were addressed by Paul in Colossians 2:14-17 and Galatians 5:6. Paul enters the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath in order to preach the Gospel to the Jews (Acts 17:2, 18:4) and afterwards gathers with believers on Sunday (Acts 20:7).
Remember Saturday is not the first day of the week, it’s the 7th day of the week, but here we see on the first day of the week which is Sunday; the disciples came together.
It’s ver unfortunate that people like Raven and others are being mislead into thinking they are capable of keep the Law. We are not perfect and the reason why God gave the Law ultimately was to show us how incapable we are to keep it. The Old Testament Law is called a schoolmaster in the book of Galatians and Paul tells us what was the purpose of the schoolmaster.
The purpose of the Law was to show us how sinful we are so that we would run to Jesus Christ for salvation, it’s through our faith in Christ that we are justified and made right with God. It’s not by keeping certain days like the Sabbath.
Lastly, notice how Raven says “I am sorry if you are one of those people who have experienced church and it be a nightmare for you, or something unholy happened that broke your trust and faith.”
We should never judge God by what a group of men have done, we always look to God Himself to see who He is, there are people out there who claim to love God and would do a person wrong. But that’s man who messed up not God. The WMSCOG claims to be the “true church” they are not the only cult which claims this. Here are a few quotes from some other cults.
Notice the similarities between the WMSCOG and these other cults which claim their church is the only true church.
Watchtower Quotes (Jehovah Witnesses)
Jehovah Witnesses claim any group outside of their own are considered “False religions”, and the only way to understand the Bible is through them.
If you remember what Raven said she mentioned “You will not find another church that teaches Gods mysteries” in other words in her mind only the WMSCOG alone is the “truth”. No. Only Jesus Christ alone is the Truth (John 14:6) and I hope that Raven and other WMSCOG members will come to know this for themselves, it’s not about a church; it’s about a Person and that’s Jesus Christ.
If you’re a current WMSCOG member this is not an article written to be a personal attack against you, but a wake up call. A call to you to be “noble and search the scriptures daily whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11), just like the Bereans we also need to dig into the scriptures and “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Salvation is not found in WMSCOG or any other group, Eternal Life is only found in Jesus Christ. We must be sure that we are following the real Jesus Christ of the Bible, Jesus said that their will be many false Christ (Matthew 24:23-28; Mark 13:21-23). The WMSCOG preaches a false Christ but it’s up to you to look into the scriptures and sift through the evidence, I hope for your own sake that you’ll put your feelings to the side and see if these things are true.
A good source for learning more about the erroneous teachings of the WMSCOG from ex-members some of which were leaders in the group. Is a channel called Great Light Studios run by a believer named Jordan, he has current and ex-members come on and discuss teachings from the WMSCOG. Feel free to check them out.
The World Mission Society Church of God originated in South Korea and it’s led by a woman in her mid-70s, also known as Jang Gil-ja, Zhang Gil-jah, Chang Gil-jah, “heavenly mother”, “god the mother”, “New Jerusalem mother”, and “mother Jerusalem”. Created by Ahnsahnghong, who’s believed to be her late husband, and it’s also claimed that he was the second coming of Christ, along with Jang Gil-ja are together known as “Elohim God”.
If Ahnsahnghong was the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, yet Ahnsahnghong died February 25, 1985 then how can WMSCOG explain this verse in the Bible which says Jesus only died once and cannot die again?
Raven’s Revelations wrote an article titled “7 Christian Truths Pt. l“. I was curious to learn how WMSCOG members interpreted scripture, and test these beliefs to see if they actually aligned with the scriptures.
“I want to keep my “preaching/sharing” to a minimum when it comes to online. However, since people skim through here and this is a Christian (Spiritual) blog, I believe it’s best to incorporate some things here and there. It is not to argue or become controversial, it is just sharing knowledge. Not my own, but God’s.” — Raven’s Revelations
The preface is that what’s shared is not her Raven’s “knowledge. … but God’s.” We’re told it’s God’s knowledge, she also says “I am not an expert or a teacher, but I have been taught and do believe what the Word says”. Raven admits to not being an expert or teacher but she’s been taught, does this means the WMSCOG alone has “the truth”?
She mentions “Even though next to these truths there will be referenced bible verses, it doesn’t mean you will fully understand where the truth came from through that verse…but it’s a start to plant the seed.” Raven is implying she has special insight (revelation) to the meaning of these verses, this truly lives up to the name of her blog.
Lastly, like all the rest she directs you to the WMSCOG website at the bottom of her page. Members are taught that WMSCOG alone knows the Bible. And unless you’re part of their church then you cannot have salvation, this is the mindset groups like this produce.
1) “We have a Heavenly Father, but also a Heavenly Mother. (There is a male a female image of God). We come from a complete family (Gen 1:26-27, Gal 4:26, Rev 19:7 & 22:17)”
As humans we need a male and female to produce offspring, but not so with God, He’s not subject to the laws of creation, God doesn’t procreate (produce offspring sexually) which is a blasphemous thing to insinuate. The WMSCOG interpolates this idea into the Bible by saying believers are children of God, hence, therefore there must be a Father and mother.
This is simply not true, we are children of God because the LORD has given us His Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:8).
The WMSCOG frequently quotes Galatians 4:26 illustrating the existence of “god the mother”. Galatians mentions a “Jerusalem above“ that is spoken to be the “mother” of believers in Christ. So, what exactly does this imply? The premise of the context in Galatians is speaking of Faith VS Works, there’s no reason to suppose this passage teaches a “mother god”?
WMSCOG misinterprets the context of the passage, Paul never mentions a “god the mother”, the context is addressing the fact that believers are free in Christ. Paul says this was an allegory to convey a particular message (Galatians 4:24). Paul takes us back into the Torah concerning the dispute between Sarah and Hagar.
Paul makes a distinction between 2 covenants namely the Torah (The Law) and the New Testament the grace of God. In Genesis 21 were reminded of Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was born from Hagar the bondwoman and Isaac was born from the free woman Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Hagar (slave) represented the Old Testament Law and Sarah a free woman the New Testament how we are made free, with that ground work laid we can see what the passage in Galatians says. The next verse says that the children of Hagar (Agar) are in bondage with her, also mount Sinai is identified with Hagar as that’s where God gave the Law to Moses.
The verse also says these children of Hagar answer to Jerusalem, back in Genesis Hagar was under the authority of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Abraham is told by Sarah to have a child with Hagar because Sarah cannot have children due to her barren womb. Abraham shouldn’t have done this as God promised him s son from Sarah. After Hagar give birth to Ishmael to Sarah’s amazement she finds herself pregnant and gives birth to Isaac.
When Ishmael mocked Isaac Sarah told Abraham to send away Hagar and Ishmael for he will never be heir with Isaac (Genesis 21:9-10). When Paul refers to Jerusalem as “our mother,” he’s not referring to a 2nd deity referred to as “god the mother.” The Jerusalem mentioned above is the “new covenant” of righteousness through faith, Paul’s encouraging believers to remember they are not children under the old covenant = “Hagar”, but rather under the new covenant = “Sarah”. In Gal 4 Sarah is paralleled with the “Jerusalem above,” and so Sarah herself is another symbol or representation of faith. Hagar is also used as a symbol of “works.”
All individuals who pursue righteousness through deeds, according to Paul, are Hagar’s children. This poses a huge problem for WMSCOG doctrine, if WMSCOG desires to interpret Sarah’s and Jerusalem’s symbolism as a teaching about a “god the mother,” they must also take into account the reality that Hagar is a “mother” also. If Sarah is a representation of “god the mother,” then Hagar must be a representation of another god. This concept is problematic for WMSCOG doctrine.
Revelation 19:7 & 22:17
Raven mentions Rev 19:7 & 22:17 as proof “there is a male a female image of God” this passage is called the Marriage of the Lamb, the Lamb being Jesus Christ (John 1:29; 1:36; Rev 5:6). If WMSCOG claims that if Rev 19:7 is speaking of the wife of the Lamb, are they then stating that Jesus’ wife is His own mother?
Revelation 22:17 mentions the bride again if this verse is speaking about “god the mother” then is Jesus marrying His mother? Obviously, these claims are ridiculous and I would hope that members of WMSCOG are not claiming this.
“We may wonder if 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ ever taught about God the Mother. He did. Jesus Christ explained through the parable of the Wedding Banquet that God the Mother would appear in our time. He starts the parable by comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet.” — WMSCOG
They then quote a verse in Matthew to substantiate their position. “‘The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.’”Matthew 22:2
Again are they saying Jesus Christ married “god the mother” by quoting Matthew 22:2 it says “a wedding banquet for his son”
Both Revelation 19:7 and 22:17 is speaking about the Lord Jesus being married to the collective body of believers (saints) in Christ, also known as the bride of Christ.
2) Passover is the way to eternal life and it is once a year (communion and other ceremonies is a mimicking of that, that does not provide eternal life.) (John 6:53-54, Matthew 26:26-28, Leviticus 23:4)
WMSCOG teaches that we must “keep the passover” for eternal life. This couldn’t be further from the truth literally. Concerning eternal life Jesus said:
Only through Jesus Christ can a person receive eternal life, keeping the passover was given to the children of Israel in the Old Testament only for that dispensation which is contain in the Law of Moses. God never intended for anyone to earn everlasting life by keeping the Law, in the book of Romans and Galatians we read that no one will be justified by the Law (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:11).
The disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, but they did not literally eat and drink Jesus’ flesh and blood. The Lord Jesus simply expressed that we would never be saved unless we apply the value of His dying for us on Calvary via faith. We must believe in Him and trust Him as our personal Savior.
The Saviour instituted the Lord’s Supper, the essential emblems (bread and wine) were on the table as part of the Paschal meal; the Lord Jesus taught them the meaning. He took the bread, blessed and broke it. He gave it to the disciples and said “take, eat, this is My body” His body had not yet been given on the cross, it’s clear that He was speaking figuratively using the bread to symbolize His body not literally.
The Passover commemorated Israel’s redemption from their bondage in Egypt. The Passover lamb was type of Christ, the Lamb of God our passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Lord Jesus’ blood was shed to redeem us from slavery to our sins. Additionally, the Pharisees
3) The Sabbath (day of rest) is Saturday, not Sunday or whenever we want (it was moved by Satan through Roman Emperor Constantine after the last Apostle John died). (Leviticus 23:3, Luke 6)
WMSCOG doesn’t understand that while the Sabbath is Saturday, Christians worship Christ everyday but the reason why we come together on Sunday (Lord’s day) is because Christ rose from the dead on Sunday.
The WMSCOG are not reading verses in their immediate context that’s how these groups suck people into their false teachings. It’s nothing new there were false teachers in the day’s of Jesus and the apostles we should expect them even today.
The early church came together on the 1st day of the week (Sunday) for the Breaking of Bread found in Acts. A new dispensation was brought in as the believers now gathered on Sunday after the Lord Jesus was risen from the dead.
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, the Pharisees had questioned the Lord Jesus because His disciples picked corn on the sabbath day when they were hungry. They asked: “Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?” (Mark 2:24). Jesus seeing their hypocrisy answered saying:
God in the Old Testament allowed king David to eat the showbread which was unlawful, but at the time king David was not reigning yet, the Lord Jesus being the King of kings had His disciples eat corn and the Pharisees didn’t show any compassion towards them. One of the great commandments in the law is to “love your neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:34-39; Mark 12:28–34; Luke 10:25–28 ).
4) Christmas, St. Patrick, St. Valentines, Thanksgiving and other man-made holidays are pagan and most have the underlying worship of gods (Sun god Mithra mostly) (Daniel 7:25).
Raven’s Revelations talks about holidays as being pagan and then misuses Daniel 7:25 to make her point. The problem is that this verse has nothing to do with holidays, this verse is speaking of the anti-christ which would come in the future.
Paul addressed this issue in the book of Romans, one person may regard or esteem a day while another believer doesn’t.
This argument about holidays is a moot point because there are Christians who don’t celebrate and there are those who do, the important critical issue are not if someone celebrates Christmas. The important issue is who do they believe Jesus Christ is and what the Bible teaches in terms of the foundational truths of the Christian faith.
5) We are on earth because we sinned in heaven and the way to go back to heaven is to repent. We don’t remember anything because we were cut off from the 4th dimension and put on the prisoners’ outfit (our flesh). Where we can no longer fly, or be immortal. (Revelation 12:9, Job 38:4 & 21) Satan was the one to deceive us in heaven and is the reason we are all here on earth, everyone on earth was once an angel and God casted him and us down to earth instead of hell because of His mercy and love. The story of Adam and Eve is about us.
None of the 66 books of the Bible state that humans existed and “we sinned in heaven”, mankind came into existence after the 1st man and woman were created by God in the garden. Humans do not come from angels, how do we know this? Christ became Man, He took onto Himself human nature not angels, we read about this in Philippians and Hebrews.
The fist chapter of Hebrews tells us no angel was called God’s Son (Hebrews 1:5). Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus Christ being a Man never took on the nature of angels. Christ became one of us in order to bear our sins in His body.
Revelation 12:9 is speaking of Satan and those angels which rebelled against God and were cast out of heaven. This has nothing to do with Adam or the human race which came from the 1st man and woman.
Raven’s argument is that “we sinned in heaven and the way to go back to heaven is to repent”, by quoting Revelation 12:9 she’s saying humans were cast out of heaven along with Satan. If she wants to take that stance then there couldn’t be any salvation for us if this verse is talking about mankind. Satan is forever condemned along with those who followed him, unless she’s willing to say Satan can be saved?
When reading verses they must be placed in their context and harmonize with all of the Bible. Satan and his followers are eternally condemned and cannot be saved, therefore, this verse in Revelation cannot be referring to mankind.
The book of Job uses poetic language and in Job 38:4 God is asking Job a rhetorical question, God asked “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” In other words Job was not there when God laid the foundations of the earth. How can Raven reconcile this if humans were angels and immortal? God disagrees with her and is saying, you were not there when He created the earth.
The same is true with Job 38:21, reading the chapter you’ll realise that God is questioning Job and proving that Job is a created creature and God is the Creator. Just as the potter and the clay, the clay cannot ask the potter why did you make me like this (Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9; Romans 9:20)?
6) In the last days (which we are in) God is coming back in the flesh with a new name FIRST, before He comes in fire to judge the world (rapture is not biblical, but a theory)(Hebrews 9:27-28, Rev 3:11-12)
Verses 9:27-28 contrast between the 2 Covenants, the Torah (the Law) and the New Covenant which Jesus Christ Himself made possible by His sacrifice. The Law condemned sinners to death “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”, the New Covenant introduces the infinite sacrifice of Christ to atone for our sins “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many”.
The Rapture known in Greek as the harpazō ἁρπαγησόμεθα “shall be caught up” is biblical. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Paul says to the believers in Thessalonica told the believers that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven, and call believers to meet Him in the air. This is the harpazō (Rapture) which is also known as a violent snatching away.
Paul reminds us that all believers who are in Christ, those who are asleep (the grave) and alive before the Rapture, will be caught or snatched up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is not something unusual to scripture. Paul was caught up into paradise in 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
Revelation 3:11-12 talks of Christ’s coming and that believers are to remain steadfast, and not to allow anyone to rob them of their crown. Believers will be made overcomers and made a pillar in the inner sanctuary of the LORD. Believers will given a name by the Lord and this Jerusalem is the city which will come down out of heaven, this is not referring to a person called “mother god” but a city “and the name of the city of my God”.
7) Satan runs this entire world, although God is king, the world is Satan’s playground only for a certain amount of time. Satan wants to deceive as many people as he can, even through church and priests, in order to bring as many people to where he is headed when this is all said and done. (John 12:31, 2 Corinthians 4:4)
It’s true that Satan “runs this entire world” but God is only allowing it for a certain duration of time. The important issue is are you in Christ that’s the only place anyone will be safe from the deception of Satan. And WMSCOG is being used by Satan to deceive many people into believing a false gospel.
The world was judged when they crucified the Lord of Glory Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:8), likewise the prince of this world Satan was defeated at Calvary. He tried to stop Christ but instead the Lord Jesus provided a way for all guilty sinners to be reconciled to God through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
Satan here is called the god of this age, he’s been very successful in keeping people blind to the truth of the Gospel. Keeping them in darkness and away from the the light of the Gospel and the Light of Christ who is the Light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5). Satan places barriers making it harder for men and women to come to Christ for salvation, cults like the WMSCOG preaches a works based salvation which clearly contradicts Ephesians 2:8-10. Salvation is apart from works (Romans 4:6; Psalm 32:2; Philippians 3:9)
Conclusion
I commend the fact that she (Raven’s Revelations) has a love to want to know God, that’s a wonderful thing. What’s sad is seeing her love and zeal for wanting to know God has lead her astray by a cult. The Bible speaks about this in the book of 2 Timothy, it tells us to beware of false teachers.
I would highly suggest that if Raven really wants to know what the Bible teaches then she needs to step back from the WMSCOG and read the Bible on her own. I don’t know how long she’s been involved with this group but others who came out of it said the longer you stay in the harder it is to learn the Bible properly, because of all the false teachings you have to unlearn. My prayers goes out ti individuals like these because they have been exploited even though she genuinely wants to know who God is.
The Watchtower’s position is that Jesus Christ is the first created creature Jehovah made, they cite passages such as Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14 to prove their point. But upon further look does this make sense according to what the Bible teaches? The Lord Jesus clearly stated that He existed before He came to Earth through the virgin birth.
When discussing the deity of Christ with Jehovah Witnesses they will bring up the word firstborn in Colossians 1:15-17 and this is how it reads in their New World Translation.
If we take a look at the Watchtower’s Kingdom Greek Interlinear (also found on their website) the deception becomes more clear. This same passage reads:
Why does the Watchtower insert the word “other” when it’s not found in the Greek text, if you read it with and without the word “other” you can see the significance of how the word “other” alters the text to fit with the WT’s view that Jesus is a created creature.
The word “other” is rendered in 2 different ways in the Greek. One is allos and the other is heteros.
ἄλλοςállos, al’-los; a primary word; “else,” i.e. different (in many applications):—more, one (another), (an-, some an-)other(-s, -wise).
ἕτεροςhéteros, het’-er-os; of uncertain affinity; (an-, the) other or different:—altered, else, next (day), one, (an-)other, some, strange.
Looking closely at the Greek text you will not find either one of these words in Colossians 1:15-17. Here’s the Greek text:
According to Colossians verse 15 Jesus Christ is the firstborn of every creature, JW’s claim the word firstborn means Jesus was “created”. If so then how do they interpret Jesus being the firstborn from the dead In verse 18?
The word firstborn in Greek is prōtotokos (πρωτότοκος) which can mean a literal birth, but the word is also used figuratively as well. The context of the passage dictates how the word firstborn is to be interpreted. The rest of the passage tells us that Jesus Christ created all things in heaven, in earth visible and invisible. The Lord Jesus is the one doing the creating, again in verse 18 it says that Jesus would have the preeminence (Superiority).
According to the Watchtower Jesus is the first created creature by Jehovah, if this is so then how did Jesus exist outside of time? Time is created by God and if Jesus is only a “creature” how can a creature exist outside of time, unless He’s God. Additionally, if Jesus was created before the heavens and earth, where did Jesus exist if there was no heaven for him to exist in?
By asking these questions we see how quickly the theology of Jehovah Witnesses doesn’t hold up. It’s not our intention to tear down JW’s but we’re challenging their beliefs in order to make them think. If they would put down the Watchtower magazine and read the Bible (not the NWT), then they might see how wrong the teachings of the Watchtower are.
God is never referred to in the female tense then how are members from WMSCOG deceived into believing such a thing? Like all cults the WMSCOG twist scriptures to get their doctrines into the heads of many people who are lacking understanding of what the Bible teaches.
This quote makes the fallacy of equivocation mistake. The logic used is because humans experience the makings of a family which consist of children who are born from a father and mother, therefore, it makes sense that God the Father would need a “mother god” in order to create. It’s a carnal way of thinking, the WMSCOG creates a humanistic God. They’re trying to reduce the Eternal God of the Bible bringing Him down to our human standard. On the WMSCOG site under “god the mother” they cite a few scriptures stating these are proof of “god the mother” under the heading God the Mother Exists they cite Romans 1:19-20.
There’s no evidence proving any existence of “god the mother” in the above verses. The WMSCOG uses this to allude to their being a “god the mother” in saying it’s a “mystery”. The context of Romans 1:19-20 is speaking of unbelief and the consequences thereof. The unregenerate man looks at creation, he enjoys its sunsets, gazes at the stars, and realises the vastness of the sea. Then he begins to see himself in the true light and where does he fit in all of this? He contemplates how all of this came to be (Job 7:17; Job 15:14; Psalm 8:4; 144:3; Ecclesiastes 6:11; Hebrews 2:6)?
Romans 1:19-20 is telling us that mankind has no excuse when the time comes that we will stand before our Creator to give an account of all that we’ve done in this life. God has given us more than a sufficient amount of evidence for His existence. There will not be 1 Atheist who will appear before the Almighty God and claim that God didn’t reveal Himself to them, because the creation testify’s of the Creator (Psalm 19:1; 97:6).
Another verse they use to argue that the Bible teaches a “god the mother” is found in Genesis.
All Christians believe in the Godhead, we believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the one God spoken of in Deuteronomy 6:4. Nowhere in the Bible is “god the mother” spoken of, when Christ told the disciples “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” wouldn’t this have been a perfect time to mention “god the mother”?
Yet, the Lord Jesus never mentions anything about any female deity, in Genesis 1:26 Elohim which is the plural Hebrew word for “gods”, it’s also a generic term used for even false gods. In Exodus 32 when the people asked Aaron to “make us gods” the word there is also Elohim. God in His infinite wisdom knew that He was to be distinguished from other “gods” which are not gods at all but idols.
This is the reason Moses asked God saying “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” Moses knew that there were many “gods” the Bible speaks of Molech, Baal, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, the heathens often caused the children of Israel to worship false gods. God made sure we knew He alone is the True God telling Moses IAMTHATIAM (Exodus 3:14). The True God Yahweh wanted to be certain that He was recognisable as the true God among all the idols that littered the land.
If the WMSCOG cannot bring clear scriptures from the Bible to substantiate their claim, then we must reject this false idea of “god the mother” just because as humans we need a male and female to produce offspring. God is not subjected to the laws of creation, He doesn’t procreate which is a blasphemous thing to even insinuate by saying that since believers are children of God therefore there must be a Father and mother.
This is simply not true, we are children of God because the LORD has given us His Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:8). If you’ve found yourself part of WMSCOG I highly suggest that you leave and don’t come back, instead go to Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus Christ is not God the Father, which is another erroneous teaching we will explore, He’s the Son of God who can save you from your sins. God bless.
The Black Hebrew Israelites always claim that God is only concerned with Israel and not non-Israelites. They even go as far as to say the word Gentile refers to Israelites who somehow don’t know they are an Israelite and have been living in places in the Bible like Ethiopia, Phenice, Cyprus, Antioch, Seleucia etc. But the Bible is very clear in making distinctions between Israelites and Gentiles.
Passages such as Acts 11 after Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius a Roman Centurion we’re told that God granted eternal life to the Gentiles in the same way He has given to the Israelites, shows a distinction these Gentiles are not Israelites who were living in these places. That’s not to say there weren’t Jews in other lands but God’s word keeps us from confusion in every occasion when it refers to Jews in another land we read words like synagogue and proceeding are indicators of what land Pisidia in the case of Acts 13:14.
The BHI will refer to Isaiah 14:1-2 and claim that Israelites are going to posses non-Israelites as slaves in the future. Is that what the Bible says, that Israelites will have non-Israelites as slaves or did this already take place? That’s what I’m going to demonstrate here.
This is the jumping off text the BHI use for their argument that they will be given slaves. If we read the verse in isolation it does seem to say that Israel will possess non-Israelites as servants, but we must ask the question is did this already take place?
In the Bible we’re told that Israel suffered 3 major captivities, Egypt, Assyrian and Babylonian. The previous chapter in the same book Isaiah gives us the context to Isaiah 14:1-2.
Isaiah 13:17-19 says that the LORD “will stir up the Medes against them”, who is “them” in this verse? If we continue on it tells us who the Medes are stirred up against “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,”. We learn that the Medes otherwise known as the Medo-Persia kingdom were stirred up against Babylon and that kingdom will be likened to when “God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah”. We’ll see how this comes together in the book of Daniel. Continuing on the prophet Jeremiah made a prophecy concerning the children of Israel going into captivity.
Here we have the prophet Jeremiah telling us that the LORD gave the lands to “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon”. Also, 2 verses down God says that any nation which rebels against God’s will which is that these nations would put themself under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and if they refused they would be punished. How will God punish them? The LORD says that nation will be punished “with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence” until they have been consumed.
Remember king Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan Gentile who ruled over a Gentile nation called Babylon.
Hananiah makes a false prophecy saying the Babylonian captivity will only last for 2 years and the people rejected Jeremiah as he had told them previously the captivity would last for 70 years. Unfortunately, the people harkened to the false prophecy of Hananiah and suffered for it and Israel went into Babylonian captivity.
Daniel gives the account of what happened when Israel was in the land of Babylon, in chapter 5 Belshazzar a descendant of king Nebuchadnezzar made a feast. While they feasted Belshazzar commanded that they bring the golden and silver vessels of worship which were used in the temple by the priest of Israel. The golden and silver vessels were then defiled by Belshazzar as they poured wine into the cups and drank out of them, and while committing idolatry as they “praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone”.
The finger of God writes on the wall “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” and in fear Belshazzar has his astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers to interpret but were unable to interpret what was written on the wall. The queen tells him of Daniel, that he has a gift for interpreting dreams as he has done before for his father Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is brought before the king and predicts doom for Babylon because of this abomination he committed in desecrating the the golden and silver vessels of the house of God.
Daniel tells Belshazzar his kingdom has come to an end and that the kingdom of Babylon is given to the Medes and Persians. Darius the Median took the kingdom and ruled Babylon once Belshazzar was slain that very night. This was a fulfillment of Isaiah 13:17-19 in which the LORD said He “will stir up the Medes against them” and overthrew them (Babylon) like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Here’s where it all comes together after the 70 years of captivity king Cyrus a Gentile was raised up by the LORD as a shepherd and by a decree made by Cyrus, the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and city. Not all of Israel chose to return to Jerusalem, Daniel stood behind in Babylon as well as others, only a remnant went back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the temple.
But not only Israelites returned to Jerusalem, Gentile nations, non-Israelites, would assist returning with them to live in the land. Israel’s former overlords would become bondservants to help in the rebuilding of the city and temple this is recorded for us in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
1 Chronicles 9:1
1 Chronicles 9:1 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they [were] written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, [who] were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.
The verse here in 1 Chronicles 9 tells us all Israel was “reckoned by genealogies”, those who returned came back in subsequent waves. Here in 1 Chronicles we’re told that “ the first inhabitants” were “the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims”. In Jerusalem we have “Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh” which returned.
Here’s the knock out remember Israel would “possess” servants and handmaids, in Ezra 2 we’re given a long list of the rest of the people who returned but in verses 65 it says “Beside their servants and their maids”. and if we read further down to verse 70 it makes a clear distinction that these servants are Gentiles from the time when Cyrus back in Daniel gave the decree for the Israelites to return to their land and rebuild it.
And those particular servants and handmaids spoken of in Isaiah 14:1-2 at the beginning of this article are these Gentiles here in Ezra 2:65 who cleaved to the house of Israel and helped in rebuilding the temple and walls of Jerusalem. The BHI would try to argue that this is a future event but as we can see through the plain reading of the text this event has already taken place.
Conclusion
This is the deception of the BHI doctrine, they pull a verses out of context and run with it making an erroneous doctrine out of it claiming they will be able to own non-Israelite people as slaves in the kingdom. The BHI is a man made movement which started on 125th Street Harlem, otherwise known as 1West which is in reference to the address where the movement began.
It’s very unfortunate that there are many people who have been deceived into believing that God cares about a persons ethnicity. And if you’re not born in a specific ethnicity then you’re either part of His chosen people or and if not your condemned; this is obviously not the God of the Bible we serve. God is not concerned about what group of people you’re born into. What He does care about is if we’ve placed our faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ.
Next time we’ll take a look at the history of this cult and the different camps which came out of the BHI movement, until then stay in the word of God and be blessed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every nation had a prophet and was the way to worship God?
Muslim argument: ”For every single nation their prophet was the way to worship God (by following his teachings). In the time of Noah, he was the way. In the time of Abraham, he was the way. In the time of Jonah, he was the way. In the time of Moses, he was the way. In the time of Jesus, he was the way. And finally, in the time of Muhammad, this is his dispensation, his teaching is the only way because he is the last Messenger from God Almighty to all mankind.”
Response: Note the false assumption “every single nation their prophet was the way to worship God” nowhere in the Old or New Testament does it state there was a “prophet” in every nation? Prophethood came from Israel not from the other nations.
Muslims believe that each prophet was “the way” in contrast to John 14:6 in which Jesus Christ says: John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The error of Muslims is they fail to realise that Christ is not saying He is one of the “many ways”, no, He’s saying He’s the Only way. None of the Old Testament prophets claimed to be the way to God. So where do Muslims gather this idea from?
If Muhammad is the last messenger then why it is Jesus is coming back in the future but Muhammad is not? This is evidence that Muhammad is cannot be the “last messenger”. If he was there would not be anyone coming after him. Yet Muslims believe “Isa” (Islamic Jesus) is coming back to destroy the anti-christ which contradicts their belief that Muhammad is the “last messenger”. It’s contradictory to say Jesus is only a man yet according to Islamic sources Jesus is alive with Allah since AD 33 that’s over 2000 years, while Muhammad is dead.
They believe according to Islam Jesus is only a prophet and not God, therefore, they reduce the divinity of Christ to a mere man. While Jesus Christ was indeed a Real Man, He was much more than that He was God in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). There are many scriptures which testify that Christ is the Creator of everything, that He existed with God the Father since eternity past; and that He’s alive forevermore. The scriptures also call the Lord Jesus God Almighty, the Father calls Him God and Jesus Himself says He’s God and lastly the prophets also called Him God.
How do Muslims account for the fact that Jesus would be over 2000 years old, do mortal men live that long? We can see how quickly that argument fails when it comes to saying Jesus is only a man. They don’t know what dispensations are, a dispensation is a stewardship in that how God has ordained certain responsibilities for a specific economy. For instance in the time of the tabernacle one of those responsibilities was the sacrifices and how they are to be conducted through the Levitical priesthood for the Israelites to have continued fellowship with the LORD.
Jesus is one of the mightiest prophets?
Muslim argument: “Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the mightiest prophets and messengers. Here are the proofs: “But when they tried to arrest him (Jesus), they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet” [Matthew 21:46] People around Jesus (peace be upon him) considered him a prophet.”
Response:Christians believe that Jesus Christ occupies more than one office, He’s Prophet, High Priest and King (Messiah). Therefore, citing Matthew 21:46 of Jesus Christ as a prophet doesn’t take away the fact that He’s God. It’s not uncommon for Muslims to remove a verse out of its context in order to prove Christ was not God, but this same verse which follows the preceding verses in Matthew 21 refutes the Muslim argument proving the Christian position. In verse 42 it’s talking about the stone which Israel rejected.
Pointing out that Jesus Christ is a Real Man doesn’t disprove the Christian position (1) Christians believe Jesus is a MAN why do the Muslims ignore the above text in regards to the deity of Christ? They want to except verses which speak about the humanity of Christ while ignoring the deity of Christ. This is called a double standard. (2) Christians believe Jesus is a PROPHET but it doesn’t remove the fact that the scriptures say Jesus Christ created the heaven and earth (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10-11).
How can Allah be Al-Haqq if he deceives?
Muslim argument: “The truth is crystal clear. I’m confident in my belief. Allah is Al-Haqq. (True one) Good that you’ve learnt a name of Allah. Learn more. You’ll find answers for many questions of Christianity in Islam.”
Response: How can Allah be Al-Haqq if Allah calls himself the greatest of deceivers, someone cannot be called the Truth if they tell lies and dabble in deception.
And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned, and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah. — S 3:54
The English translations are actually deceptive in the Arabic the word is not “planners” the word in the Arabic is Makr وَمَكَرَ and if you check the Arabic dictionary the following words associated “cunning”, “deceptive”, “scheming”, “guile” and “slyness”. These are the words that describe Allah as being the best of deceivers.
The Lord Jesus Christ is never deceptive because He’s without any sin, therefore, He is The Truth which proves He’s God because only God is the source of all truth.
Pray for Muslims to come to know who Jesus Christ is the Saviour of sinners, because they are without the One who offers them eternal life. May the Lord Jesus Christ open the eyes of Muslims that they would receive salvation.
The Christadelphians are a non-Christian restorationist group who hold the unbiblical view of unitarianism. They’re no different from Muslims in the sense that they believe God is a solitary one or monad. As oppose to the biblical Christian view that God is complex in His unity as one in being yet three distinct Persons who are of the one being of God.
The straw-man argument Christadelphians use as well as Muslims is that Christians believe in three gods. This cannot be more further from the truth, as Christians only believe in one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). The following are actual portions taken from their own website. I’ll provide biblical Christian responses to each segment.
The God of the Bible
“The Christadelphians believe that the God of the Bible is one, the Father alone (1 Corinthians 8:6). God stands alone and unrivaled in the universe, the source of all good and evil (Isaiah 45:5-7). We reject the idea that the devil is one of Gods’ angels that was permitted to rebel in the very heavens (thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven) and now wrestles with God for control of the world. We likewise reject the idea of a God with multiple independent personalities as not being in harmony with the teachings of scripture.”
In the Ketuvim (writings) the Psalmist in prayer to the LORD spoke of God as creating the heavens and earth, that He laid the foundation of the earth. The Psalmist David also says God is immutable which means that He never changes and will remain forever even though the heavens and earth will perish.
The Christadelphians have a problem because they would have to answer for the fact that in Hebrews chapter one, the context is Jesus Christ better than the angels. Hebrews 1 echos Psalm 102 as the Father is speaking of the Son calling Him (Jesus Christ) God and tells us that Jesus Christ created the heavens and earth; and that Christ never changes and will remain forever.
If God is a solitary one as they claim how do they explain that the LORD in Psalms 102 is the one who “laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens [are] the work of thy hands” and then the writer of Hebrews 1 says Jesus Christ “laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:”?
Jesus is a Man, not God!
“We believe that the Bible is quite clear in its presentation that Christ is a man. The Son of God, but certainly not God Himself. The bulk of mainstream Christianity has staked its life on the assertion that Jesus is God. However, this is to be rejected for the following inescapable reasons, and many more:”
1 “God is one. There can only be one true God. It is undeniable that Jesus referred to himself and the Father as separate. To fly in the face of this the most fundamental of Biblical teachings, in any way, is to venture out onto very thin ice.”
We agree there’s only one true God, the issue is they cannot comprehend how the Father and Christ Jesus can be God. They are both of the same essence, the same way if we take two humans the two are obviously distinct. They are two different persons, but does that mean they are not the same? It depends on how you look at it, because they are the same. Both individuals are human to their nature, therefore, they are the same.
The same is true of Jesus Christ, of course Jesus is going to call the Father the only true God because He is; but the Father along with Jesus Christ is the only true God because He’s of the same substance as the Father.
Here’s John 17:3 in Greek the word θεὸν is referencing the Father, the Greek word καὶ conjoins θεὸν with Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν (Jesus Christ) as the one true God μόνον ἀληθινὸν
In Greek which is what the New Testament was written in uses the copulative kai which conjoins the two subjects in the verse. Namely the Father and Jesus Christ as being the only true God. This is why in 1 John the Lord Jesus is called the true God.
2 “Mortality and immortality are mutually exclusive characteristics. God is immortal, and cannot die. Jesus died. If you alter this, all Scripture is inexorably weakened.”
The Christadelphians make a Logical Fallacy claiming because Mortality and immortality are exclusive, hence since Jesus died, therefore, He cannot be God. If this is true then how do they explain how we as humans will die but yet our souls will live on eternally either in heaven or hell?
While they deny those who are not saved will end up in hell, how do they reconcile when Christ said they would go away to everlasting punishment found in Matthew 25.
The context of the above passage is Christ speaking of unfaithful servants, those who showed no compassion for his fellowman. As they failed as being faithful stewards, because they didn’t show any compassion for the needy they didn’t have any compassion for the Lord Himself. Hence they were cast into everlasting punishment.
3 “Jesus always very clearly pointed out his subservience to God; in power, teaching and life itself. To assert their equality is untenable.”
The Lord Jesus took the place of a servant (Philippians 2:7) thereby humbling Himself becoming a man (Philippians 2:8). He came not to be ministered unto but to serve (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45) so that He could give Himself as a ransom at the cross of Calvary. God became a Man according to Philippians 2:5-8.
4 “Mortal humans cannot exist in the direct presence of God. As Exodus 33:20 says, no man can see God and live. Therefore, to say Jesus was fully God and fully man violates scripture, since thousands of people saw Jesus.”
It seems that Christadelphians don’t read the Bible, if God was not seen then how do they explain all the people in the Old Testament who saw God?
Abraham sat down and ate food with God in Genesis chapter 18, God appeared to Moses (Exodus 6:2-3), Jacob wrestled God seeing God face to face (Genesis 32:24-30).
The Lord Jesus Christ unveiled His glory on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 16:28—17:13; Luke 9:27–36; 2 Peter 1:16–18 ), Christ called Himself God Almighty (Revelation 1:8), lastly we have the account of one of Christ disciples (Thomas) calling Jesus God, if Jesus is not God this would have been the perfect moment that the Lord Jesus should have said He’s not God.
In the Old Testament God said He would not share His glory with anyone (Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 48:11), and then we see in the New Testament the Lord Jesus said He shared glory with God the Father before creation was made (John 17:5).
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Conclusion
The Christadelphians cult is deceived into thinking that Jesus is only a man, just like Muslims claim. Christians have always believed Jesus Christ is a real Man, but He’s also God because He took unto Himself a human nature; this is called the Hypostatic Union. In addition to the 2 erroneous doctrines they hold to there are more, therefore, they cannot be saved as long as they keep these false teachings. We’ll touch upon those other teachings in a later article, Lord willing.
Recently Muslims in Birmingham UK attacked Mufti Abu Layth another Muslim, they came to his house at night wearing mask as to conceal their identity and proceeded to toss stones through the windows. Screams coming from within the home were of his wife and 2 daughters ages 6 and 9. Who his 2 daughters were traumatized to the extent that they were hysterical and couldn’t sleep because of nightmares.
It was the result of Muhammad Hijab calling for action against Abu Layth in regards to the current fighting happening between Israel and Gaza Palestine. This is the true face of Islam, even Muslims cannot get along with one another to the point that they would target a man’s home and family. Unfortunately, this is what Islam teaches, Muslims are required to believe in the Quran but also the Hadith (the Sunnah of the “prophet”), Tafsir and Sira.
Just to get a little insight as to the horrific teachings of Islam we should look at how Muhammad conducted himself. As Islam is founded upon him. Here are some of Muhammad’s teachings from Islamic sources.
There’s no peace in Islam because they (Muslims) don’t have the Prince of Peace the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6). In addressing the disciples before His crucifixion the Lord Jesus told them He would give them peace.
Because Islam is without Jesus Christ they (Muslims) will never know peace until they come to Jesus Christ for salvation. As Christians we pray for all men that they would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and in this crazy time prayers go out to Mufti Abu Layth. May this be a huge awakening that he needs to leave the dark religion of Islam and embrace the Light of Jesus Christ for eternal life, as Christ is the Light of the world.
Muslims claim they know what they’re saying when they try to refute the Godhead (Trinity), but they can’t, I like to challenge Muslims to respond to what’s written here if they are able? A blog called The Quran and Bible Blog the owner of the blog also called “Mr. Q” has put forth this challenge.
Yep, here we go again. Christians throw their hands in the air and say “you just don’t understand!” Hey Trinitarian, can you explain the trinity. Maybe use an analogy?
I’m going to answer this question with the analogy he asked for, let’s see if he’ll be able to refute this. All Christians believe in 1 God (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are the 1 God collectively, fully and completely, the Trinity is found throughout creation.
Analogy: Time is composed of Past, Present, Future all 3 are time yet all 3 (Past, Present, Future) are distinct one from another but all three still remain as time.
It’s very disappointing when Christadelphians, a non-Christian cult visits a Muslim blog in order to refute the Trinity. Here’s a conversation between one of the Christadelphian pages here on WP and the owner of the said blog.
Christadelphians: Please do know and let others be aware that not all Christians do believe in the false human doctrine of the Trinity. quranandbibleblog: That is true, but the vast majority are Trinitarians. Christadelphians: Shamefully yes! mr.heathcliff: what are your arguments against the trinity, thanks Christadelphians: The Trinity is a false human teaching which entered Christianity, bringing division and a chaotic Christendom where many other dogma’s had to be created to have the trinity theory working. God clearly declared Jesus to be His only begotten beloved son, His sent one and authorised one.
It seems Muslims and Christadelphians have become bedfellows, strange that a group who claims to believe in the Bible would agree with Muslims who deny the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Notice the Christadelphian didn’t gave any biblical references to prove his point, he only gave his opinion. Lord willing, I’ll continue to write more on the Christadelphians cults teachings. If you’d like to read some articles on the erroneous doctrines of the Christadelphians in the meantime feel free to read these older post.
Let’s look at some passages in the Bible and wait for any Muslim to respond.
Trinity In the Old Testament
The Trinity is found in the Old Testament scriptures, in Genesis the very first verse in the Bible says “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) the word for God there in Hebrew is Elohim which is a plural word which means Gods. Remember in the beginning I mentioned “All Christians believe in 1 God”, I say this again because Muslims love to use straw-man arguments claiming Christinas believe in 3 gods; when we do not and shows a lack of knowledge and genuineness on their part. From the beginning this verse is telling us that God is complex in His unity with a plurality in the Godhead.
Another classic verse is when God said “Letusmake man in our image, after our likeness:” (Genesis 1:26). Note the words “us” and “our” this suggest a plurality. Again this is used later in Genesis 11:7 in the case of the tower of babel the LORD says “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Again we see the words “let us”, surely if God created communication He can convey the thought that God is complex in His unity.
Genesis chapter 18 says the LORD appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, in this account God shows upp with 2 men and sits down with Abraham even having a meal which Sarah prepares.
Two of the men are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah to witness the lewd abominations they were committing. God planned on judging those cities for their sinful ways. But one of the men stood behind with Abraham which was the LORD Himself, and He prophesied to Abraham that Sarah will give birth to a son (Isaac). Sarah laughs because she knows that they were not able to bear children, especially now that they are old. But the man sitting before Abraham who reveals Himself as the LORD says:
The LORD and Abraham are face to face during this time discussing the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, as the LORD planned on destroying those cities. Abraham tries to intercede for the cities asking if God would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if any righteous men were found in those cities.
The two men who went ahead to Sodom turned out to be angels, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing [them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;” (Genesis 19:1).
The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to have sex with the two men “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 19:5) Lot then tells the men of Sodom not to commit this sin and offered his two virgin daughters to the men of Sodom (Genesis 19:6-8).
After the men would not hear the words of Lot, the 2 angles pull Lot back into his home and proceeded to blind the wicked men of Sodom (Genesis 19:9-11). The angels then tell Lot to gather his sons in law and daughters, because God will destroy the city.
The interesting part is how God destroyed the city in verse Genesis 19:24 we read:
Notice there are 2 individuals here called LORD, one was on the earth and the other in heaven. If you read closely it says “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;”
Can Muslims explain how this verse says the LORD rained down fire from the LORD out of heaven? There are other verses which can be brought up just from the Old Testament to prove the plurality in the Godhead, but for now this is sufficient enough evidence to prove Muslims and Christadelphians are in gross error and don’t know who God is.
Trinity In the New Testament
Moving unto verses in the New Testament that proves the Trinity, I draw your attention to a passage found in the synoptic Gospels concerning the baptism of Jesus Christ.
This passage clearly makes a distinction between 3 Persons, we have (1) Jesus in the water, (2) the Spirit of God descending in Luke saying “in a bodily shape”,(3) we have a voice from heaven which is obviously God the Father saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. This sounds like the Trinity to me.
A few critical questions need to be asked at this point. Is Jesus talking to Himself saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”? Obviously not because Jesus is in the water and the voice is coming from heaven, unless this was the first instance of “ventriloquism” which the Bible doesn’t teach this and therefore, there’s a clear distinction between Jesus Christ and the voice from heaven (God the Father).
The same question can be asked about the Spirit of God, is the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ? Again Christ is in the water and the Spirit of God is descending (coming down) upon Jesus Christ. That means Jesus is not coming down upon Himself, again we have a clear distinction of 2 Persons.
I’d like to hear how Muslims and Christadelphians would reconcile this passage? The Muslim will most likely say that the Bible is corrupted which is what they say when they don’t have an answer. But in saying this they prove Muhammad is a false prophet because according to the Hadith told Christians to judge by the Gospel, why would Muhammad direct Christians to judge by a book that’s supposedly “corrupted”?
Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel. — S 5:47
Muhammad even went as far to say that he believed in the Torah which was revealed by “Allah”.
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar: A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to Quff. So he visited them in their school. They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in thee and in Him Who revealed thee. He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. The transmitter then mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi'(No. 4431). — Sunan Abi Dawud 4449 Grade: Hasan (Al-Albani)
Non-Christian cults which are bed fellows with Muslims
It just goes to show that the enemies of Christ will become partners just to try to go against what Christians believe. We have Muslims jumping in bed with the Christadelphian cult, Jews and anyone else to form a coalition against Christians. But that’s ok, truth stands and prevails in the face of falsehood. Christians only need to stand on what Christ has done for us, and His death burial and resurrection has stood steadfast since the first century.
The resurrection of Christ has been under attack ever since the beginning when the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the apostles had to endure harshness from unbelievers when preaching Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23), and we as believers today have to endure the same. May we continue to preach Christ to the lost, and keep Muslims and Christadelphians as well as all those who haven’t been saved.
If you’re familiar with this group you’ll know that they claim to be the “true Hebrew Israelites”, perhaps you’ve seen them on the street corner yelling out random Bible verses mostly from the Old Testament. And if you listen closely at some point you’ll hear verses that aren’t so familiar, that’s because they are reading verses from the Apocrypha. At his point you might be wondering what is the Apocrypha?
Unfortunately, most Christians are unaware of the teachings from this cult because they aren’t interested in learning on how to defend their faith from these groups, and sadly there are people falling victim to this racist cult which is only concerned with the colour of their skin. It’s my intention to bring some light to the body of Christ. Black Hebrew Israelites use the books of the Apocrypha in conjunction with the Bible to prove that Blacks are the “real Jews”. They are especially well versed when it comes to the Old Testament scriptures and deceive people into thinking they are Israelites. The Lord Jesus Christ said:
The Apocrypha is comprised of the following books: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees.
The word “Apocrypha” means “hidden, concealed, obscure” and the Black Hebrew Israelites believe these books are on the same level of inspired scripture, even though these books are not inspired scripture and riddled with contradicting doctrines such as necromancy, divination, witchcraft and sorcery. Clearly the Bible is against such teachings found in (Leviticus 19:31; 1 Samuel 28:10-20; Isaiah 8:19; Jeremiah 27:9; Malachi 3:5; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15).
Let’s look at some of the teachings from the Apocrypha and how that contradicts the Word of God.
In Tobit we have a story which takes place in Ninevah, Tobit is wanted by the ruling authorities because of burying Jewish bodies (Tobit 1:17-19). Tobias (Tobit’s son) is to be married to a young woman named Sara. Tobit becomes blind from bird feces falling into his eyes (Tobit 2:10). Then an angel by the name of Raphael helps Tobit to concoct a magic spell to help heal his father’s eyes, as well as drive away a devil from his soon to be bride Sara.
Every child of God recognises that magic is an abomination to Yahweh and should not be practiced. In the OT God tells the nation of Israel in the book of Leviticus “Regard not them that have familiar spirits” if the children of Israel did they would “be defiled by them” (Leviticus 19:31). In the book of 2 Kings we have the account of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh king who did “evil in the sight of the LORD”, he brought back the idolatress high places of worship which his father Hezekiah had destroyed. It says that he “wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.” (2 Kings 21:6).
The book of 2 Maccabees is a historical account the first book covers the Maccabean Revolt the book is dated to 100 BC. A Jewish elder by the name of Mattathias leads a campaign against Antiochus Epiphanes IV. The problem with this book is that it promotes prayers for the dead, this teaching meshes with the teachings of the Roman Catholic church promoting the concept of purgatory.
A teaching which is alien to scripture, additionally reading the verse again we see that 2 Maccabees 12:46 also teaches a person who is dead can be loosed from sins. The Bible never tells us that we can pray away someone’s sins, in-fact we see the opposite found in the book of Hebrews.
Once a person dies they are subjected to judgement, its this writers hope that the individual has Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Otherwise they will face God not as their Saviour but as their judge at the Great White Throne found in the book of Revelation.
The Apocrypha gives the false notion that a person can change their standing before God after death, this simply is not the case and therefore we must reject this as the word of God.
Views of the body and soul from a Neoplatonism perspective
The Wisdom of Solomon 8:19-20 “As a child I was naturally gifted, and a good soul fell to my lot; or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body”
Definition of Neoplatonism: Platonism modified in later antiquity to accord with Aristotelian, post-Aristotelian, and eastern conceptions that conceives of the world as an emanation from an ultimate indivisible being with whom the soul is capable of being reunited in trance or ecstasy.
The view found in The Wisdom of Solomon is that the soul preexisted before before the body came into existence. This cannot be true because our souls had a beginning we are not eternal, only after the soul was created will it live on forever in either of one of two places, heaven or hell.
The thought of a preexistent soul is a foreign concept neither found in the Old Testament or the New. When God created Adam He formed him out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils making him a living soul (Genesis 2:7). It was at that time that man became a living soul and not before, we are not an “emanation” from God as Neoplatonism teaches.
In Tobit these two particular verses of giving alms teach a works based salvation by giving alms “Because that alms do deliver from death” (Tobit 4:10). This is in clear contradiction to what we know from the Scriptures.
The Bible clearly teaches that we are powerless to save ourselves from death or to purge away our sins. In Romans we’re told that the law cannot save us but shows us that we’re sinners.
It’s only through the sinless Lamb of God that we can have our sins purged and we delivered from death through the second birth. This is what the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:1-8. John the Baptist when he saw Christ exclaimed that it was through Him sins would be put away.
As shown the Black Hebrew Israelites not only twist the scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16) but they also incorporate erroneous books into their teaching and claim the Apocrypha is the word of God. This can’t be true as we know there are no contradictions in the Bible, therefore, we must reject the teachings of the Apocrypha and Black Hebrew Israelites.
We will continue to dive into other teachings from the different camps of the Black Hebrew Israelites, Lord willing, as their doctrines change from camp to camp. And it’s not my intention to use any straw-man arguments when identifying certain teachings, as I acknowledge that not all Black Hebrew Israelites have the same beliefs.
1a: inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence b: a conclusion deduced by surmise or guessworkThe criminal’s motive remains a matter of conjecture. c: a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disproved 2 obsolete a: interpretation of omens b: SUPPOSITION
Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was not crucified according to the Quran, we read in Surah 4:157 which says:
Muslims claim that Allah didn’t allow Jesus to be crucified but saved him before he was crucified and made someone else look like Jesus and that person was crucified instead. This raises serious questions, (1) according to the Tafsir (commentaries) we have different opinions about what happened.
al-Jalalayn: And for their saying boastfully ‘We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary the Messenger of God’ as they claim in other words for all of these reasons We have punished them. God exalted be He says in repudiating their claim to have killed him And yet they did not slay him nor did they crucify him but he the one slain and crucified who was an associate of theirs the Jews was given the resemblance of Jesus.
Here we have al-Jalalayn claiming the Jews said “We slew the Messiah” how can this be when the Jews in the time of Jesus until today don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah yet they are calling him the Messiah? He also says they didn’t crucify him but another person was crucified who was an associate. If Allah allowed an innocent person to die this would make Allah unjust and a murderer, in addition Allah was also a deceiver as he made another person to resemble Jesus and that person was killed. This makes Allah a liar.
Ibn ‘Abbâs: (And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger) Allah destroyed their man Tatianos. (They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them) Allah made Tatianos look like Jesus and so they killed him instead of him; (and lo! those who disagree concerning it) concerning his killing (are in doubt thereof) in doubt about his killing; (they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture) not even conjecture; (they slew him not for certain) i.e. certainly they did not kill him,
Here we have Ibn ‘Abbâs saying the Quran says they killed the Messiah, he even goes as far to name the individual who was killed a follower of Jesus called Tatianos. There’s no one in the Bible who goes by this name so where are they getting this information from? This once again brings Allah’s morals into question as an innocent man named Tatianos was killed and not Jesus, thereby, Allah deceived people into believing something false in which he would have created Christianity because we believe Jesus Christ was crucified.
Al Qushairi: It is said that God caused the one who slandered [Jesus] to resemble him and he was killed and crucified in his place. … It is [also] said that Jesus said “Whoever agrees to have my resemblance cast upon him so that he is killed in place of me will have the garden” and one of his companions agreed.
Here we have a blasphemous statement, the commentator Al Qushairi comments that “God” made someone who slandered Jesus to be killed, but also that Jesus said whoever has this done to him will have the garden? One can come to the conclusion the “garden” means paradise. So not only did was this man killed because he slandered Jesus which would be a sin, also is given paradise because he was killed in the place of Jesus? So Allah rewards people for committing sin according to this tafsir.
Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi: This verse is explicit on the point that the Prophet Jesus Christ was rescued from crucifixion and that the Christians and the Jews are both wrong in believing that he died on the cross. A comparative study of the Qur’an and the Bible shows that most probably it was Jesus himself who stood his trial in the court of Pilate, who sentenced him to death, but they could not kill or crucify him, for Allah raised him to Himself. … “Those who have differed”: the Christians. They do not agree in their versions of crucifixion. The very fact that they offer so many different accounts of the matter is by itself a proof that they possess no definite knowledge of it and are, therefore, in doubt about it. One version is that the person who was crucified was not Jesus but someone who bore his likeness, whom the Jews and the Romans had disgracefully put on the cross, while Jesus was standing nearby and laughing at their folly. Another version is that the one who was nailed to the cross was Jesus, but he did not die on the cross and was alive when he was taken down from it. Some others say that he died on the cross but came to life afterwards and met his disciples more than ten times and talked to them. Still others say that death due to crucifixion occurred on the physical body of Jesus and he was buried but the Divine Spirit within him was raised. There are still others who say that after his death Jesus came to life with his body and was raised with his body. Obviously, if the Christians had any knowledge of the truth, they would not have given so many different versions of it.
Here we have Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi claiming that Jews and Christians don’t agree about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Both Jews and Christians affirm that Jesus was crucified. All Christians believe Jesus Christ was the one on the cross, he died and was buried in a sepulchre and rose from the dead physically in the same body after 3 days.
Shabir Ally: You will notice in some of my recent interfaith dialogues that I have suggested the scenario in which Jesus was taken down alive from the cross and assumed into heaven from the tomb–a scenario which my dialogue participants seem hard-pressed to deconstruct.
Muslims even try to claim that Jesus was taken down from the cross alive, this is called the swoon theory, they make a huge mistake in claiming this. They forget that Jesus was suffered a enormous scourging.
Mark 10:33-34 [Saying], Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
The Romans also plunged a spear into His side and blood and water came out. This is recorded in the book of John.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
The Jews agree that Jesus was crucified on the Jews for Judaism site we read “How would the Jewish authorities have treated Jesus’ corpse?” They said in response to this question “To bury the body of a crucified individual (or anyone else) was a matter of obeying God’s commandments. Joseph of Arimathaea (or whatever his name) was probably the Sanhedrin burial agent whose task it was to take care of the crucified once they had died. The approach of the Sabbath and the concern that a corpse not be left hanging after sunset (Deuteronomy 21:23) added to Joseph’s concern to get the body of Jesus (and the 5 two victims) buried before sunset. Perhaps there was a Roman concession to local religious custom concerning a corpse hanging overnight, especially at the onset of the Sabbath or a festival. Joseph complied with the Torah’s requirement even though he may have had no personal reason to honor the crucified individual. One may assume that if it is true that two other individuals were crucified along with Jesus and died that same day that Joseph also asked for their bodies and buried them as well.”
The Jews don’t deny that Christ was crucified, they believe he was killed; they only reject Jesus as their Messiah. Therefore, going back to out definition of conjecture which means according to the definition “inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence”. The Muslims are the ones who are confused (conjecture) as to if Jesus was crucified, who was the one killed was it Tatianos or someone else, and why would the Jews call Jesus the Messiah when they clearly teach otherwise? This proves the Quran is a false book.
Lastly, we have surmounting evidence outside of the Biblical narrative confirming the crucifixion of Christ for those who are not sympathetic to the Christian faith. Those would include:
Quotes proving the crucifixion of Jesus as historical fact
(1) Tacitus (Jewish historian) written c.116 C.E The founder of this name, Christ had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. (2) Gerd Ludemann (atheist) Jesus’ death as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable. (3) Marcus Borg The most certain fact about the historical Jesus is his execution as a political rebel. (4) Pinchas Lapide (a Jewish scholar) Jesus’ death by crucifixion is “historically certain.” (5) Paula Fredriksen (another Jew) The single most solid fact about Jesus’ life is his death: he was executed by the Roman prefect Pilate, on or around Passover, in the manner Rome reserved for political insurrections, namely crucifixion.
The biggest one is by the Muslims favorite New Testament scholar who they like to use his material in attacking the Bible, Bart Erhman on the crucifixion of Jesus says:
Muslim argument: The Injeel, Torah and Jabur are indeed sent by god. Unfortunately they have been corrupted. Jesus is God’s Son as the Christians believe. But how come you pray to Jesus when you’re the ones that claim Jesus to be God’s Son? God is totally overshadowed by Jesus. Jesus this, Jesus that. What role does God play in Christianity? Bible was a Hebrew book and all you came up with a Greek version of it. And Jesus is said to have died for your sins. So, you mean to tell me God killed his Son for the sins you committed? Why and how the killing of Jesus resolved you of your sins? And why was he sent to earth in the first place?
Response:“they have been corrupted” If the Bible is “corrupted” as Muslims claim why does the Quran direct Muslims to ask “the people of the book (Jews and Christians)” in Surah 10:94. How can Allah direct people to another group (Jews and Christians) to ask for guidance if the book they believe in is corrupted? That makes no sense! In saying the Bible is corrupted Muslims are attacking their Quran because the Torah and Injeel (Gospel) is “Allah’s words” according to the Quran.
And Allah says no one is able to “change” or “alter” his words (Surah 6:34; 6:115; 10:64). Therefore, we must come to the conclusion either the Quran is correct in saying the Bible cannot be corrupted which means Islam is false because it contradicts the Christian faith, or the Quran is wrong and the Bible was corrupted which means Islam is false because Muslims believe in a book which wrong.
“how come you pray to Jesus” Let’s look at this from a logical standpoint every individual has parents. For example a father and son. A father and son are the same in regards to nature? The son is just as much human as the father is human? Christian’s don’t believe Jesus Christ was born the same way we humans are, and we don’t believe Jesus was created because He’s eternal. We pray to Jesus because (1) Jesus is God and deserves our worship (Revelation 5:12). (2) He told us to ask Him anything in His name to pray in His name (John 14:13; 14:14; John 15:16; John 16:23-24; John 16:26). Prayer is communication, therefore, if we claim to have a relationship with Christ why wouldn’t we pray to Him? If you love someone then you will be willing to communicate with them. But a more direct response is we pray to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
“Bible was a Hebrew book and all you came up with a Greek version of it” This statement proves the lack of understanding of how the Bible was composed. The New Testament is not a “Greek version” of the Old Testament which is written in Hebrew. Both the Old and New Testament agree to who God is as He revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Quran comes a lot later and then contradicts the Bible.
“And Jesus is said to have died for your sins. So, you mean to tell me God killed his Son for the sins you committed? Why and how the killing of Jesus resolved you of your sins?” Yes, Jesus died for my sins and the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 John 2:2). God sent His Son into the world (John 3:17; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 4:9) but God didn’t kill His Son, it was wicked men who put Christ on the cross (Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:44; Acts 2:22-24). The Lord Jesus was the perfect atonement for the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:13-14; Hebrews 10:1-4) just as we see in the Old Testament how God commanded the children of Israel to sacrifice animals for the sins of the nation of Israel as a temporary atonement for sins found in the book of Leviticus.
Muslim argument: That would mean since Jesus is God’s Son. So he is as much God as his Father is? Okay, understood. But God is totally overlooked in Christianity. Jesus is worshipped instead of God. I mean, did God retire? Is it monarchy? Let’s just say Jesus is God for argument’s sake. If he was indeed God then why didn’t he just forgive all of humanity without having Himself killed. And if it was indeed God’s plan to forgive humanity by killing off his Son, then were the killers of Jesus good people since they helped God in executing his plan?
Response:“So he is as much God as his Father is? Okay, understood. But God is totally overlooked in Christianity. Jesus is worshipped instead of God.” Christians worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Hols Spirit. We believe in 1 God and only 1 God. The Bible says there’s only 1 God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:8). If we as humans are just as much human as our father then Jesus Christ being the Son of God is just as much God as the Father is God. In the Bible we see a distinction between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit yet all 3 are called God.
And because Jesus is just as much God as His Father that would make Jesus God because He shares the same essence as the Father.
In Genesis 19 Abraham is visited by 3 men, 2 of them turn out to be angels which are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah. The 1 man who stays behind turns out to be God and He tells Abraham that Sarah his wife will have a son. Sarah was barren she was not able to bare children and laughed. The man then said “is there anything to hard for the LORD?” Later Sarah gives birth to Isaac.Later in the chapter it says that when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because it was a place of evil. The verse says the LORD rained down fire from the LORD in heaven.
Here we have 2 persons called LORD, 1 on the earth who is before Abraham, and 1 in heaven.
“If he was indeed god then why didn’t he just forgive all of humanity without having himself killed.” If Muslims are familiar with the Torah, we see that God commanded Israel to build an altar in order to do sacrifices. The reason why they had to do this was for the atonement of sin. It was a temporary atonement for sins, so they sacrificed animals in the temple for this reason. The issue is that as humans we are more valuable than animals because we are made in God’s image, animals are not. Therefore, the blood of animals couldn’t atone for anyone’s sins. In the OT it says a life for a life etc. Meaning if a man killed another man, he could be punished by his life being taken away. Life for life.
This is why there’s an issue animals do not have the same value as a human, so the blood of that animal cannot atone for sin. God’s purpose in telling Israel to do it was a constant reminder of their sins so that when the Perfect Man Jesus Christ came who is also God He would be the perfect sacrifice. He (Jesus) had the value beyond measure because He is without any sin, and because He’s God His blood would be powerful enough to atone for the sins of the entire world.
Also, the reason why God cannot forgive you without the death of Jesus is because if He did that would make God unjust. He must serve justice and destroy all evil in the end, therefore, God made a way out of the judgement by sending His Son to be a propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2).
Muslim argument: God is one. Yet you mentioned God the holy father, God the son and God the holy spirit. Who is bigger God here?What are the functions assigned to these three gods? The whole analogy is vague and invalid. God doesn’t have to answer to anyone for his actions. But He has to kill his Son because He is just?!That would mean killing an innocent for the actions of the criminals which I reckon are us. Also, if our sins are indeed forgiven then we don’t need Jesus or God for that matter.We are innocent and therefore we’ll take our seats in heaven after our death. God is just so He killed an innocent and spared the lives of the culprits!
Response:“You said God is one. Yet you mentioned God the holy father, God the son and God the holy spirit. Who is bigger God here? What are the functions assigned to these three gods?” There’s no such thing as a “bigger God” all 3 Persons are the 1 God, they are co-equal. Christians do not believe in 3 separate gods. We believe in 1 God.
“What are the functions assigned to these three gods?” The Father is in heaven, the Son comes into the word to redeem mankind, the Holy Spirit indwells believers thereby placing them in Christ making them spiritually alive (born again).
“But He has to kill his son because He is just?!!!!! That would mean killing an innocent for the actions of the criminals which I reckon are us.” God didn’t kill Jesus Christ, the Romans killed Him, but Jesus gave His life willingly Jesus said:
Jesus Christ was innocent and He gave His life for guilty sinners. Those who are saved willingly received the free gift of eternal life that we don’t deserve and cannot earn. If someone offers a gift it’s accepted freely you don’t have to pay for it. There’s no forgiveness of you sins without the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When a criminal commits a crime do you not agree that justice must be served?
The book of Isaiah written 740 BC speaks about the death of Jesus saying:
“We are innocent and therefore we’ll take our seats in heaven after our death.” No one is innocent, a lie, anger, using God’s name in vain, lust, these are all sins, therefore 1 sin is enough for a person to end up in hell for all eternity.
Muslim argument:Why didn’t God save his Son when wicked men kill him? And God could have pardoned all of humanity without the death of Jesus since He has no one to answer to. So, a bigger God divided into three different entities just to take up different roles? Jesus died for our sins but we are not forgiven! Then what He died for? Bible is the God sent scripture which tells us about Jesus. Without that we have no connection to him whatsoever. What did He do for me? He didn’t wipe out my sins. He didn’t wipe out the sins of our ancestors who lived during his time since it would mean helping the sinners and blasphemous people. Then why He died for? Do you see the irony?
Response:“Why didn’t God save his Son when wicked men kill him?” That would be called universalism and Islam teaches only Muslims will enter Jannah, therefore, to say why can’t God just forgive everyone goes against the what Islam teaches. Because God decided since eternity past that the Son of God would come into the world to redeem mankind (Revelation 13:8). It was God’s provision in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world (John 4:42; 1 John 4:14).
“God could have pardoned all of humanity without the death of Jesus” No. Because if God arbitrarily forgave people that would make God unjust, God cannot do anything against His own character, He’s Holy, Righteous and Just. God must punish all sin and, therefore, He cannot turn a blind eye to sin (Isaiah 59:18; Romans 2:3-6; Revelation 22:12).
“a bigger God divided into three different entities” Here’s a straw-man argument, Christians do not believe God is “divided into three entities”. We believe God is 1 in Being and within that 1 being there are 3 Persons, God is complex in His unity from the beginning in Genesis we have a plurality when God says “Let us make”, “Let us go down there” (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 11:7). In the NT we have Jesus Christ forgiving sins (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21), and we have scriptures which has all 3 Persons present at the same time (Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).
“Jesus died for our sins but we are not forgiven! Then what He died for?” We’re told in the Bible that Christ died for our sins to save us from the wrath of God. This is easily explained by apostle Paul in Corinthians.
Muslim argument:If someone commits the crime then that “someone” should be punished. The judge will not sentence the best man because his blood will purify him, in this case that is whole of the humanity. How is this even justice? Would it be justice if my brother says okay I will go hang for my brother because I love him very much? And will the judge punish an innocent man for the crime of another even though He wanted to face the sentence in exchange for the freedom for their loved ones?
Response:“if someone commits the crime then that “someone” should be punished.” Exactly! Someone has to be punished, God must dish out justice against all evil. What Muslims don’t understand is that Jesus Christ took the punishment we deserve upon Himself. Isaiah chapter 53 explains this. God can forgive the sinner on the righteous basis of what Christ has done and remain just and righteous because He sacrificed Himself and removed the wrath of God from those who place their trust in the real Jesus Christ who is God.
For example, picture the wrath of God as a truck speeding down a road. And someone was crossing the street but didn’t see the truck coming. A stranger runs and pushes them out of the way saving their life but instead he got hit by the truck. That’s what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He took the wrath of God on Himself, so that we didn’t have to be condemned.
As long as Muslims reject the Son of God, they can’t be saved because they’re rejecting God’s provision in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
“And will the judge punish an innocent man for the crime of another even though he wanted to face the sentence in exchange for the freedom for their loved ones?” That’s exactly what happened! A family member who would risk even give their own life for those they love. That’s a picture of the amazing love of Christ, that He would sacrifice Himself for guilty sinners. What amazing love that the Father has bestowed upon those who would come into the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ!
More arguments from Muslims which proves they are sadly mistaken as to who Jesus Christ is, the Christian position is we believe Jesus Christ is eternal but He’s also a real Man through the virgin birth. He always existed eternally with the Father in heaven as the Word of God(John 1:1) and came down from heaven(John 3:13; John 6:38, 51, 58). Therefore the straw-man arguments Muslims bring as you’ll see below prove they don’t understand that Christ has 2 natures and we can explain both sides as Jesus Christ being the Son of God and Jesus Christ the Son of Man.[Muslim Statement][Christian Response]
1. Christians say: “Jesus being born without a father proves he is God:”The first mistake is Christians don’t believe Jesus Christ is biologically born in the same sense as us humans are, we had a moment in which we started to exist but Jesus Christ always existed. Muslims falsely claim this as a “Christian belief” and putting it out as what they think we believe but get it completely wrong. Jesus is the Word of God and He always was with the Father before creation ever existed (John 1:1), the Word of God (Jesus) made/created all things (Genesis 1:1-3; Psalm 102:25; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10).
Here’s a preposterous statement from the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir: “(How can He have children when He has no wife) for the child is the offspring of two compatible spouses. Allah does not have an equal, none of His creatures are similar to Him, for He alone created the entire creation. Allah said;”
Muslims claim that Christians believe God would had sexual intercourse to produce a Son! This is complete blasphemy on Islam’s part and grossly wrong. A non-Christian cult like Mormons believes this but not Christians, and to further prove the point that Islam teaches this is found in in the Quran.
1. Muslims say:“Adam was born without a father & mother does that make him God too?” Actually Adam was not “born” he was created from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), this makes Adam a creation but Jesus Christ is the same God who formed Adam from the dust of the ground.
2. Christians say:“Jesus is God” Amen! He is God the Lord Jesus said He was God in the book of Revelation calling Himself the Alpha and Omega the Almighty (Revelation 1:8). In Isaiah it says that Immanuel would come through the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) and this name means God is with us (Matthew 1:23). Where also told in Isaiah that the child born through the virgin birth is called God (Isaiah 9:6). So the prophets call the child God and Jesus Christ who is the child born through the virgin birth calls Himself God.
2. Muslims say:“But Jesus made it very clear telling us to believe in only one God – If Jesus was God for sure he would of made it very clear by saying to the people me & God are your two Gods. Jesus, said “Hear, O Israel the Lord Our God, the Lord is one. (Mark 12:29-31)” Does a car have 1 door or more than 1, and if more than 1 door is it still 1 Car? The problem Muslims have is that they cannot grasp the concept that God is complex in His unity as demonstrated with the car analogy. The three Persons of the Godhead are of one essence that no one else shares that essence outside of God therefore all 3 Persons are the one God. Yet they are distinguishable from each other. The word Being is what you are, while the word Person is who you are they don’t have the same meaning.
3. Muslims say:“Jesus said why do you call me good?” “No one is good—except God alone (Luke 18:19)” It’s quite sad that Muslims use a verse like this and say Jesus was not claiming to be God and they accept that, even though that’s not what the verse is saying. Why is it they believe Luke 18:19 and say “Jesus is not calling Himself God”, but ignore other words from Jesus saying He is God like Revelation 1:8 calling Himself the Almighty? That’s called having a double standard. There’s not just one verse in the Bible but many, if you “accept” Luke 18:19 as Jesus claiming not to be God then by that same standard you must also accept Revelation 1:8 when Jesus says He is God.
4. Christians say:“Jesus is human & God” Correct Jesus Christ is both fully God and Man, it’s called the hypostatic union which refers to the two natures of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:8-10).
5. Christians say:“Jesus is human & God” See response in #4
5. Muslims say:”But the bible says For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2:5)” Quoting the verses which highlight the humanity of Christ don’t refute the Christian position, Christians have always believed Jesus is both God and Man and we have verses which speak to both natures of Christ. As Mediator Christ fulfills this role as a real Man, in the Torah the position of high priest could only be held by a man of 30 years age or older. Jesus was a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Leviticus 8; Exodus 29; Numbers 4; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6). Oil (anointed) was applied to the individual, and a verbal blessing was given, lastly water was applied (baptism).
7. Christians say:”Jesus has willingly died for our sins” See response #6
7. Muslims say:”Christians please explain why Jesus was begging God to save him if he was on a mission to save mankind. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)” See response #6
8. Muslims say:“How did you gain from the Jesus sacrifice if you must still repent for your sins just like us?” When a person places their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation means they’ve already repented, salvation happens in an instant. Additionally, that person is given the Holy Spirit as God promised (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). Muslims don’t believe in the true Jesus Christ who is God therefore they cannot cannot be saved as long as they reject who Christ is to His nature being God Almighty (John 1:1; 20:28; Colossians 1:16-17; 1:19; 2:9; Titus 2:13; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8; Revelation 1:8).
Muslim Argument #1 Accept Jesus Christ from his original teaching. Christianity is all about what Paul preached. Did Jesus Christ demolished circumcision law of Moses and kosher Paul strictly forbade the covenant were Jesus Christ followed all the commandments. JW have their own bible, Jews have their own, Catholic have their own.Theres over 30,000 denominations of Christianity you all have your own way of belief how would you substantiate that? Was 25 December birth of Jesus? Majority of Christians celebrate it. God in the Old Testament is one and only who forgive sins by repentance in New Testament he changes his mode of salvation.Theres three person in Trinity according to Christian scholars each is regarded as God so theres 3 Gods so that makes Christianity an idolatrous faith.
Christian Response:Muslims say Christians believe in 3 gods, this far from the truth. They misunderstand the Trinity and it’s teachings. Christians worship 1 God (Deuteronomy 6:4) and the 1 God is comprised of 3 distinct Persons who share the same Being (essence/substance/nature) seen throughout the Old and New Testament (Matthew 3:16-17). We can explain the singular and plural verses showing there’s One God complex in His unity.
“Christianity is all about what Paul preached.” The apostle Paul preached Christ who’s the same God of the Torah. In the book of Genesis we have the LORD calling down fire and brimstone from the LORD in heaven (Genesis 19:24). Here we see there are 2 individuals who are called LORD. We also have the child born in Isaiah 9:6 called “the mighty God”. Therefore, Paul preached Christ is God, and we see in the Old Testament the child born of a virgin is called “the mighty God” and “Immanuel” which means “God with us” we’re told in Matthew (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Matthew 1:23).
“JW have their own bible, Jews have their own, Catholic have their own. Theres over 30,000 denominations of Christianity you all have your own way of belief how would you substantiate that?” First Jehovah Witnesses are not Christian, the Jews share the same Tanakh we Christians have in our Bible. As for denominations that has no bearing on the shared foundational Christian beliefs. Whether they identify as Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal etc they all believe in the Trinity, that Jesus Christ is God, and salvation is only through Jesus Christ alone and in the infallibility of the Bible.
“Was 25 December birth of Jesus?” Lastly, whether a Christian believes Jesus Christ was born on 25th of December or not is secondary and has no bearing on a person’s salvation. “God in the Old Testament is one and only who forgive sins by repentance in New Testament he changes his mode of salvation.” In the Old Testament we see that God is complex in His unity as mentioned before in Genesis 19:24 the LORD in heaven rains fire from heaven from the LORD on earth (2 people here). In other passages we have the Angel of the LORD who claimed and did things only God can do like “multiply people”, “and swear by Himself” and is called the LORD.
Genesis 16:10 “the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly” as you can see the Angel of the LORD spoke in the first person saying “I will”. In Genesis 22:11-16 The angel of the LORD said Abraham didn’t keep his son from Him saying “for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.” Again using personal pronouns in the the first person said “from me”.
Lastly, this Muslim used a straw man argument as Christians do not believe God “changes His mode of salvation” which would be modalism a heretical teaching, as we don’t believe in 3 gods. Muslims don’t understand the difference between 1 God in Being (essence, nature, substance) but the 1 God is comprised of 3 distinct Persons. For example the long buses we have driving down the street can be easily seen as 1 bus, yet this 1 bus has 3 doors in which people can enter and exit. While it’s 1 bus we see it has multiple components while still remaining 1.
Muslim Argument #2The bible is tampered and altered by the church fathers to support the doctrine of Trinity.
Christian Response:“The bible is tampered and altered” Muslims are under the assumption that the doctrine of the Trinity was created by the church fathers. They are unaware that we get our doctrine from the scriptures not from the early church fathers, a classic verse showing all 3 Persons of the Godhead is found in Matthew 3:16-17.
There’s no verse in the Quran which states the Bible was “corrupted,” because the Bible and Quran are in contradiction to each other Muslims are forced to claim the Bible was changed. All the while their Quran affirms the Bible was never corrupted. The Quran says that the books of Moses, the Psalms, and the Gospel/Injeel were all given by Allah.
Muslims have a dilemma because their own Quran confirms the Bible, but it gets worse the Quran says that the Torah, Pslams and Gospel are the words of Allah and cannot be changed.
When a Muslim claims the Bible was altered they are denying their own Quran as it affirms the Bible saying it cannot be altered. Why then are Muslims telling us that the Bible is corrupted? Because the Quran contradicts the Bible in many ways especially when it comes to the Person of Christ. The Quran denies Jesus Christ is God and the Death, Burial and Resurrection found in Surah 4:157 and Christians are told to judge by things in the Gospel
They claim there’s only 1 Quran yet there are more than 40 Arabic Qurans and are they the same? Majority of Muslims use the Hafs Quran version more specifically the 1924 Cairo edition. Here’s an example of 2 different Qurans the Hafs and the ibn Jamaz
Surah 18:86
Hafs Quran: hami’atin “murky” Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of MURKY WATER: Near it he found a People: We said: “O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.”
ibn Jamaz Quran: haameiyatin “Extremely hot” Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of EXTREMELY HOT WATER: Near it he found a People: We said: “O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.”
Q: Does the sun set in murky or extremely hot water? There’s quite a difference between dark and gloomy, and extremely hot water.
Muslim Argument #3 Typical Christian dispute when you cant substantiate the errors and contradictions in the Bible and according to JW theres over 50 thousand errors in the bible. As far as the Quran is concerned there are different pronunciation and dialect but over all the message is intact. Scholars from different faith acknowledged the Quran is in its original form.
Christian Response: Interesting that Muslims would appeal to a non-Christian cult like the Jehovah Witnesses as they have misrepresented the Bible by adding words into their own translation in order to promote their own theology. Notice the Muslim says “different pronunciation and dialect” there’s a double standard here. Muslims are quick to point out that there are “multiple versions of the Bible,” this statement is incorrect there are multiple English translations of the Bible but there aren’t “multiple versions of the Bible”. If there were this would imply the underlining text of Hebrew and Greek had multiple versions which they don’t. Therefore our Bible has not changed, additionally, notice the Muslim says “over all the message is intact” how can this be if there are multiple Arabic Versions which is the underlining text the Quran is founded upon?
Thank the LORD we don’t have this problem with the Bible. But why do Muslim say the “overall the message is intact” for the Quran when it’s not yet they don’t hold the same standard for the Bible. Our English translations may phrase a verse slightly different but as they claim the “over all the message is intact” and what message is that? It’s the Good News of the Death, Burial and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ who has procured salvation by His perfect work at the cross of Calvary.
The claims of “50 thousand errors in the bible” is unfounded and not provided by Muslims and hasn’t provided any scholars who claim “the Quran is in its original form”.
“Scholars from different faith acknowledged the Quran is in its original form” On the contrary Muslim scholars are starting to say the opposite here are 2 well known Muslim scholars who have contradicted themselves.
Contradicting Quotes from Muslim scholar Dr. Sheikh Yasir Qadhi on the preservation of the Quran: “So the Caliph Uthman standardized the copies of the Quran. And therefore, from his time up until our time there has never been two copies of the Quran that are different even in one letter or one word and this is because of the farsightedness of the Caliph Uthman” — Dr Sheikh Yasir Qadhi
“ah and the Quran ah there’s only one Quran there are no various versions or whatnot its one standard copy of the Quran across the Muslim world…and uh there’s really not been any variants versions of the Quran the Quran is the Quran for all sects and schisms and groups of Islam…and we also all Muslims take pride in the fact that there is but one Quran there’s no variants of the Quran” — Dr Sheikh Yasir Qadhi
“And when we say the various different ways to recite the Quran we’re not talking about different voices or different styles we’re talking about slight differences in pronunciation slight differences in letters. Especially those who have been exposed to some of our brothers who live Algeria or Morocco or other north African countries they recite the Quran in a slightly different way. Not just a voice or not just a speaking style but also changes in letters and words and Harakat” — Dr. Sheikh Yasir Qadhi
“The standard narrative has holes in it” — Dr Sheikh Yasir Qadhi
According to Dr Yasir Qadhi the first quote says there has never been two copies of the Quran which are different in one letter or word, he goes unto say in the next quote there’s only one Quran with no variations without any variants, then he says there’s different pronunciations and different letters and changes in words and Harakat.
Another Muslim scholar who has changed his view over the course of time it seems is Dr Shabir Ally from Toronto here are some of his quotes concerning the preservation of the Quran. Contradicting Quotes from Muslim scholar Dr. Shabir Ally on the preservation of the Quran:
“Today most Muslims read the Quran in a text that is referred to as the Egyptian edition of 1924. That’s how scholars refer to it most Muslims may not realise that this is the designation for that manuscript for that text to Muslims, in general, this is simply the Quran. But this is not the only text of the Quran that is read throughout the world in North Africa there is a slightly different text that is based on a slightly different reading and then to in some parts of Africa there is another reading of the Quran and a matching manuscript that is prevalent and here too we find some slight variations that do not affect Muslim beliefs and do not affect Muslim practices in any significant degree.” — Dr Shabir Ally
“how do we make sense of all of this? We want to retrace the history of how these manuscripts became divergent. How is it we have a variety of readings of the Quran and manuscripts to match?” — Dr Shabir Ally
Here we have another scholar who is confessing there’s different Quranic text read in different parts of the world, he goes onto say that the Quranic manuscripts became divergent and they have a variety of readings. This destroys the claim that there’s only one Quran with no change in letters or words.
Muslim Argument #4 The verses are clearly states the event authored by God himself. Yasir Qadi spoke about the pronoun-citation and dialect not holes in the content. You are trying to hang on every straw you should listen to Tovia Singer and Bart Ehrman.
Christian Response:Pronoun-citation there’s no such word that exist, the word is pronunciation. As shown above their own scholars admit there’s different versions of the Quran. Tovia Singer denies “Isa” (Islamic Jesus) now Muslims are going to bed with Jews who reject Jesus Christ and Muhammad.
Bart Ehrman the Muslims favorite agnostic said the Muslims are wrong about Paul in that Muslims claim Paul invented Christianity, he (Ehrman) said “some people say that Paul invented Christianity and that can’t be true, Paul was persecuting Christians before he became a Christian and so if he invented Christianity he would have nobody to persecute”. As you can see how this argument from Muslims backfire on them.
Let’s see what your other scholars say about the preservation of the Quran.
Muslim Argument #5Tovia Singer’s believes in monotheism and rejects NT as man written fabrication. Again different variations and dialect which do not effect Muslim practices and for your information the ideology of Jesus Christ remains intact. Bart Erman brings out the falsification if his statement overwhelms you then be it. God is God and man is man only relation is creator and creation period.
Christian Response:“Tovia Singer’s believes in monotheism” It seems Islam stops the brain from working, Christians also believe in monotheism. Tovia Singer is against Jesus Christ, he doesn’t believe Isa is the Messiah which the Quran says Jesus (Isa) is the Messiah. Therefore, Muslims who appeal to the Jews are refuting their own beliefs as their Quran affirms Jesus is the Messiah.
Appealing to Jews who in actually don’t agree with the Muslim position is illogical. And once again Christians believe in 1 God and 1 God only. The problem is Muslims don’t understand what the Trinity doctrine is this is why they’re confused.
As for Bart Erhman, he doesn’t deny the Bible, he’s an agnostic who believes the historical facts of the Bible. What he denies is if God exist. Those are 2 different subjects, he believes in the historical aspect of the Bible, but in terms of God he doesn’t know if God exist.
Congrats to Muslims proving Islam is false appealing to to men who: (1) Denies Jesus is the Messiah, even though Muslims believe Isa is the Messiah (Surah 4:157), but they don’t know what the word Messiah means. (2) A man who rejects the notion of the existence of God, even though Muslims believe in Allah “the god”. Can they not see how these 2 people refute the Muslim position? As a Christian we don’t need to appeal to an Atheist and Jesus rejecting Jew to prove our position.
First I’d like to say that who ever is running the following blog (answeringsceptics) is doing a good job refuting Muslim claims. Therefore, I would like to encourage them to continue the needed work in challenging Islamic arguments; it’s appreciated.
When Peter was confronted by Paul in Galatians 2 for hypocrisy on Peter’s part when he used to sit with the Gentiles, then separated himself from them when James arrived. This brought up the necessary need to discuss doctrine in regards to if the Gentiles had to be circumcised as the Jews were. Here 2 believers in Christ had a disagreement and needed to discuss this important issue. And we should follow suit, as Christians we shouldn’t shy away from doctrinal differences and foster friendly healthy debates.
As I perused the answeringsceptics blog I came across the post titled “Refuting Critics – On Speaking In Tongues”. Feel free to read the article and compare between what it says and the Bible. I also encourage you to do the same with this post as well and come to your own conclusions.
Believers in Jesus Christ affirm that speaking in tongues was proof of an individuals salvation according to certain text found in the Bible, the position I’m taking is these verses were meant for that time for a specific purpose and not for our time. We’re told in the Bible to “Study to shew thyself approved” (2 Timothy 2:15). There are Christians who claim unless you speak in tongues you’re not saved. What we’re seeking today is to prove if this is what the Bible teaches?
This is a friendly rebuttal to answeringsceptics in which they argued for speaking in tongues. I will be taking the negative position. While the Bible does state people spoke in tongues, my contention is it was a temporary sign for a specific purpose at that time (not for today).
Is Isaiah chapter 28 talking about speaking in tongues? The chapter is dealing with the coming judgement upon Ephraim and their predicted captivity by the Assyrians. In verse 28:7, 8 Isaiah confronts Judah, just as Israel they’re drunken in their own “vomit and filthiness” and now they “stumble in judgment”. The leaders mock the LORD complaining saying “them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts”.
God responds saying because you don’t want to heed to my message, I’ll send a foreign invader (Assyria) to you as an invading nation who’s language you will not know. Their foreign tongue will be a sign of judgement on the people who rejected God and His message.
The Lord Jesus in Mark 16:17-18 is speaking of what would happen after His ascension recorded in the book of Acts chapter 1 which was for the apostolic age. (1) Cast out demons “For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them:” Acts 8:7, Paul cast out a demonic spirit from “a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination” Acts 16:18, and recorded in Acts 19:11-16. (2) “they shall speak with new tongues” refers to the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) as well as the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius the centurion (Acts chapter 10); Paul at Ephesus (Acts chapter 19). (3) “They shall take up serpents” when Paul was at the island called Melita and was bitten by a poisonous snake and was unharmed (Acts chapter 28). (4) Drink poison is not recorded in the book of Acts but was attributed to John and Barnabas by church historian Eusebius. (5) Lastly laying hands on the sick (Acts 3:7; 19:11; 28:8, 9).
The purpose of these signs were to authenticate the apostles who were bringing the message of the Gospel. People in those times wanted to know the message of the Gospel was of heavenly/divine origin. We find the answer in the book of Hebrews chapter 2 and Acts 15:8 which says:
As we come across these verses the question arises “Do these signs exist today?” I believe these signs were for that dispensation, before the entire cannon of scripture was made available for us today. Most of these signs are found in the book of Acts as mentioned.
In the article answeringsceptics stated that “Notice those bold, underlined words. Speaking with new tongues is one of the signs of believers (Christians); in other words, speaking in new tongues is one of many signs that one (non-believer) can differentiate between Christians and non-Christians. If that’s true, then there is no way that speaking in new tongues here means being polyglot because you and I know that many non-Christians are polyglot.”
Might I ask where in the text above (1 Corinthians 14:22) does it say “new tongues”? It doesn’t the only place you’ll find the words new tongues is referenced in Mark 16:17 and as I mentioned this is talking about what would take place in the book of Acts which was the beginning of the church age.
If our friend wants to use Mark 16:17 in meaning these new tongues were somehow an angelic language then how can they explain the beginning chapters of Acts in which the people on the The Day of Pentecost heard them speaking in tongues and replied “And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” The people understood these languages as their mother tongues “wherein we were born”.
I’d like to point out that these tongues were for a sign (1 Corinthians 14:22), this was not a permanent sign that would continue on throughout this dispensation. It served its purpose in authenticating the apostles before the cannon of scripture was complete. We no longer have a need for these sign gifts as we now have the completed Word of God.
The problem with using 1 Corinthians 14:2 to support “speaking in tongues” as answeringsceptics suggest is if you read Greek you’ll notice the word “unknown” doesn’t appear in the original text. The translators added the word to convey a thought, for example if a congregation of English speaking believers came together and one of them began to speak French all of a sudden that would be speaking in tongues. The language would still be a recognizable language, it wouldn’t be an angelic heavenly language.
The word “unknown” in our English Bible is found in [brackets] or italicised in order to indicate that word doesn’t appear in the original text. The Greek word for unknown is άγνωστος and it’s not found in that verse.
The verse actually reads For he that speaketh in an tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
The reason why the verse says he doesn’t speak unto men but unto God is because there needs to be an interpreter. Without interpretation the entire assembly has no idea what’s being said, but God does because God understands all languages, but we do not understand foreign languages on the fly.
Once again please notice that the word “unknown” found again here in 1 Corinthians 14:14 is not found in the Greek text. We have the same situation in 1 Corinthians 14:2
Once again the Greek word άγνωστος (the Greek word for unknown) is not found in the text itself.
answeringsceptics says goes on to say: “As we see, Paul is saying, (1) it’s his spirit that prays when he prays in tongues (2) not even him understands what he is saying. This refutes the “Paul was polyglot” theory.”
If we continue to read in context the very next verse tells us
Paul is contrasting 1 Corinthians 14:14 with 14:15 and never intended for anyone to speak in ways that others wouldn’t understand. Quite on the contrary, he was saying when speaking we should speak and sing with understanding. The notion of Paul being a “polyglot” is not in view, the truth is God gave the ability for men to speak real languages at a moments notice.
Our friend answeringsceptics quotes 1 Corinthians 13:1 and places a focus on tongues of men and of angels, insinuating that because angels was mention therefore it must mean Paul was speaking an angelic language that’s out of the realm of this world. The question is when angels appeared did they speak in an angelic language?
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias to declare he and his wife Elisabeth would give birth to John the Baptist did Zacharias “speak in tongues” to Gabriel (Luke 1:5-25). The same angel appeared to Mary in the chapter foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ and there’s no indication Mary “spoke in tongues” to Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38). It seems that angels spoke in the language Zacharias and Mary understood, not in a language which is not understandable.
answeringsceptics then quotes 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 and claim Paul’s heavenly vision is proof of speaking in tongues because of the words “unspeakable words”, lets read this verse in context. First the word for unspeakable in Greek is ἄρρητα (arrētos).
ἄῤῥητοςárrhētos, ar’-hray-tos; (as a negative particle); unsaid, i.e. (by implication) inexpressible:—unspeakable. Biblical Usage: (1) unsaid, unspoken (2) unspeakable (on account of its sacredness). Note the words spoken are highly sacred not that they are a heavenly language not understandable to men.
Did Paul not know himself? Obviously this passage is about Paul’s vision and he did know the man because he’s talking about himself, are we to believe Paul didn’t know himself. Notice when we get to unspeakable words the following words after say “which it is not lawful for a man to utter”. Paul is not telling us these words couldn’t be understood because he says these words were not lawful for him to utter or speak. In other words he was not allowed to speak of what he heard. How can answeringsceptics take this passage and say “Because natural men cannot understand it”, Paul is a man did he understand what was spoken? Yes he did, but it was not lawful ie. not permitted to tell of it.
We see this with John in the book of Revelation when the angel who had the little book found in chapter 10.
Here we have John who heard the 7 thunders uttering and he thought to write down what he heard, but a voice from heaven told him to “Seal up” or conceal what he heard and not to write what was spoken. In other words it was not lawful for John to record what he had just heard. The same as Paul he heard things which was not permitted for him to speak about.
answeringsceptics quoted 1 Corinthians 2:14 commenting: “People only spoke in tongues when they received the Holy Spirit. This is another proof that it has nothing to do with men’s languages, otherwise I don’t see the difference between those whom the Holy Spirit came upon and “polyglot” non-believers.”
Let’s read again the context of 1 Corinthians 2:14
This passage is speaking on wisdom and teaching which unbelieving men reject because they don’t understand spiritual things. Nowhere is this passage indicating there’s a language which unbelievers can’t understand. answeringsceptics is superimposing their idea of speaking in tongues into passages. The key words in the passage is “wisdom”, “teach”, “discerned”, “instruct” the theme is of learning what’s being taught.
The word for discerned and its meaning in Greek is ἀνακρίνω (anakrinō) properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine:—ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search.
Now we get to the key passage which causes so many believers great confusion, the verse I’m referring to is Acts 2 otherwise known as The Day of Pentecost, proponents of speaking in tongues typically use this verse to prove that speaking in tongues is something we all should experience in these days.
The question that must be continually asked is where in Acts 2:1-4 does it ever imply that “speaking with other tongues” means a language which is not understandable or heavenly? Why do proponents of speaking in tongues ignore the following verses? If we go through the passage God gives us the answer.
The Spirit of God tells us at the time of Pentecost there were “Jews and devout men out of every nation”, this was a mixed multitude of people who heard the preaching of Peter. The text goes on to say they “were confounded” or confused and here’s the important part of the text “every man heard them speak in his own language.”
The text says they understood the words the disciples were speaking and this is mentioned after the verses about “speaking in other tongues” (Acts 2:1-4) The Word of God gives us the answer that “speaking in other tongues” was not a language that was not understandable. These men and women began to speak in other languages, how can we know this? God gives us a list of those languages:
Here’s the nail in the coffin, they said “we do hear them speak in our tongues”. Again why does answeringsceptics claim speaking in tongues is a special language only given to believers? How do proponents of the speaking in tongues doctrine explain this passage? The wisdom of God had it so that these men and women heard and understood the message helping to spread that message across multiple languages.
In the case of Acts 10:44-46 we’re told in this chapter that Cornelius a Gentile and others of his household got saved. Peter is a key person in the book of Acts when it concerned opening the way for Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles to become converts. Its referred to as Peter’s Confession of Christ or the doctrine of the keys found in (Matthew 16:13-19) other corresponding verses are found in (Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–20 ).
Following Peter closely in the book of Acts he was the key person who would preach Christ on to that particular group of people. In chapter 2 it was Jews, in chapter 8 Samaritans and chapter 10 Gentiles.
The pattern is clear, speaking in tongues was a sign to non-believers proving God brought a message, authenticating the apostles; and lastly proof to those (Jews) who were seeking a sign (Matthew 12:38; Matthew 12:39; Matthew 16:1; Matthew 16:4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; John 2:18; 1 Corinthians 1:22). Those people who saw something they couldn’t explain and could only attribute the sign as something from God would come to a place in which they now had the fear of God upon them. Speaking in tongues was a sign also when the assembly gathered as a way of convincing the unlearned or unbeliever who was among them observing.
Notice 1 Corinthians 14:22-25 says tongues was a signnot for believers but for those who didn’t believe. Paul also says if the whole church (local assembly) is together and all spoke in tongues and an unbeliever or unlearned person was present they might think the Christians were crazy (mad). In this same passage prophesy is given a more important place than speaking in tongues, Paul says but if all prophesy and a unbeliever or unlearned individual was present they would be convinced, this would result in that person falling down on his face and worshipping God. In other words that person would come to believe in God.
If speaking in tongues were so important why isn’t Paul giving us that impression? Continuing in the same chapter he goes unto say:
Again the word “unknown” is not found in the original text but was inserted by the translators help the text read more fluently. Paul asked the question why when they came together everyone wants to give a psalm, teaching or has a tongue? The problem in the Corinth church was everyone wanted to be in a prominent role, there was confusion when they came together. Notice “tongues” was not of great importance as Paul stated if there was no interpreter that individual should remain silent.
In the chapter before Paul addresses the importance of love (1 Corinthians 13) saying love never fails but prophecies will fail, tongues will cease (stop). Why? Because when that which is perfect comes (Christ, God’s Word) we will have no need of those things because we have the full cannon of scripture in our hands.
answeringsceptics comments “They also suggest that the purpose for speaking in tongues is to preach the Gospel to people whose languages they don’t speak nor understand; but these passages show that these believers were not about to preach to anyone, they spoke in tongues simply because they received the Holy Spirit as He gave them the utterance. It was for their own benefits as Jude tells us to use it to attain our most holy faith (Jude 1:20); not for preaching! (See Romans 8:26-27 for more)”
The context of Jude is that false teachers and mockers would come going after their own ungodly desires, they separate themselves and don’t have the Holy Spirit. It seems answeringsceptics is trying to suggest that this text is about “speaking in tongues” when it’s talking about ungodly men and warning us to keep ourselves in the love of God.
answeringsceptics uses the above passage in Romans to suggest it’s talking about speaking in tongues. How does one come to that conclusion when it’s saying the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” meaning the Spirt sustains us in our weakness when we’re unsure of what to pray for in our life. The Spirit of God assist us with intercession which cannot be expressed. It’s the Spirit that groans and not us “he” (that is the Holy Spirit) “maketh intercession for the saints”. If someone “speaks in tongues” that would mean they are uttering which is contrary to the passage.
He said we ought to always speak in tongues; this has nothing to do with preaching the Gospel. It rather means speaking in tongues in prayers, confessions or in worship:
Paul tells the believers in Corinth to desire earnestly to prophesy and don’t forbid men to speak with tongues. This shows the importance of both gifts, prophesy was to be desired, while the other was not to be banned. Prophecy was more valuable than tongues because unbelievers could be convicted by it and believers edified. Tongues without interpretation had no other purpose other than to speak to God and to one’s self, displaying their own proficiency with a foreign language given by God.
I would like for answeringsceptics to provide evidence in the Bible in which someone spoke in tongues and it was not understandable, a language of heavenly origin. There’s no verse or passage in the Bible that tells us about a heavenly language not known to man.
Paul tells us to “be not drunk with wine” when a person is drunk they are controlled by a substance, in this case wine which is also called “spirits” (plural). The apostle is instructing us instead of being drunk with wine to be controlled or “be filled with the Spirit”. The Holy Spirit should control believers lives. During the day of Pentecost the people tried accusing those from the upper room of being drunk with new wine (Acts 2:13) but we know it was the Spirit which was controlling them.
The results of being filled with the Spirit are “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”, believers gather and recognise the Psalms as inspired scripture in-which we can speak or sing. Hymns accompany our worship of the Lord as well as spiritual songs.
answeringsceptics used Ephesians 5:18-19 to prove speaking in tongues is a heavenly language, again unless I’m missing something the verse is talking about Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It doesn’t say speaking in an unknown language.
Conclusion: In every instance in which speaking in tongues are mentioned the word “unknown” is not found in the original Greek text. This greatly proves that “speaking in tongues” as answeringsceptics suggest is unbiblical, I would like to see how answeringsceptics would interpret these passages knowing the word “unknown” is not found? The entire argument is based upon this one word inserted by the translators in order to make the English more comprehensible when reading.
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul asked a retorical question, and it addresses the issue at hand. We see that he asked if all are apostles, prophets, workers of miracles or have gifts of healing? The obvious answer is no, only 12 were chosen to be apostles including Paul. There are no more prophets as we have all of God’s word available to us and no further revelation has been given. And not everyone had gifts of miracles and healings even though they were believers (Matthew 17:17-19; Mark 9:28; Acts 19:11-20). Then the question is asked “do all speak with tongues?” the answer like the rest is no, not all spake with tongues.
Therefore to suggest or imply that everyone should have the gift of tongues is contrary to the word of God and is alien to the entire concept of the body with its many different members each of them with its own function within the body of Christ.
I hope that after reading this and comparing both post with God’s word you can come to your own conclusion about this in house issue between believers.
Muslim Argument #1It seems you (Christians) don’t do a single good deed you totally depend on atone of sins. Mohammed gave 10 of his companions glad tiding for heaven and pray for them he spoke in humble so that we become humble, he left no notion so we didn’t become arrogant like Christians. No matter which angle you approach Islam it does not change the fact that Jesus Christ was a messenger and prophet of God try and refute that. When I was a Christian I never had the sickness towards Mohammed as you all do I always admire the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ in Islam theres no other religion accepts Christ apart from muslim. So stop this nonsense and study the bible thoroughly by your own intellect without any other intervention from anti Islam apologist.
Christian Response: Christians do perform good deeds but we don’t point to them as a way of justifying ourselves before God. Our “good deeds” do not merit salvation, but our good deeds are a byproduct or proof of our salvation. This is the point in the book of James, it’s not about proving anything to God but proving salvation before men.
How are Christians “arrogant” when they don’t point to themselves but Christ for justification as our Redeemer. Islam teaches good deeds can earn salvation that’s the hight of arrogance itself. Muslims say Muhammad “spoke humble” is this true? Here are the words of Muhammad you can decide for yourself if he was humble.
Its safe to say Muhammad was not humble in any way. Muslims claim to honour Jesus Christ as a prophet and nothing more, but there are too many passages in scripture which we would have to ignore for this claim to be true. (1) Christ forgave sins, in both Mark 2:7 and Luke 5:21 in which the Lord Jesus heals a man “sick of the palsy” and Christ forgives his sins. The Pharisees respond saying “Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Great question!
Some verses which show in the Old Testament that the LORD God forgives sins, yet we see in the New Testament that Jesus Christ forgives sins.
If God can only forgive sins why do we see that Jesus Christ also forgiving sins? We’re forced to come to the logical conclusion that Jesus Christ is more than a mere prophet, He’s God in the flesh. Christians worship Christ as God there can’t be any higher honour given.
Muslim Argument #2 No 1 – Jesus Christ never used disgusting language towards any religious figures Mohammed instructed us never to disrespect religious figures.When we reject the Trinity it should not be taken as an insult because it’s a belief and dispute between Christians and Muslims. You are afraid of your faith being scrutinised otherwise you would not had done the comparison between two prophet born and raised in different era. Jesus Christ is accepted by Muslims and we believe he taught monotheism he is in the lineage of prophethood from Adam to Mohammed.Miracles are part of prophethood a sign given by God for those people at that time its not for us as we are unable to give any prove or evidence I don’t believe its scientifically proven our faith and belief Is our acknowledgement.
Christian Response: While its true Christ never used “disgusting language” He did call the religious Pharisees “hypocrites”, “whited sepulchres full of dead men’s bones”, “full of extortion and excess” etc. Was Christ using “disgusting language”? No. Whenever the teachings of Islam are examined Muslims get upset and resort to ad hominem’s; that’s a sign of someone holding a weak position.
Muhammad calls Jews and Christians the worst of creatures.
Muhammad destroyed all the pagan idols surrounding the Kaaba, “Vanish” means to be destroyed.
4443. It is related that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered Makka and there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’ba. He began to poke them with a stick in his hand, saying, ‘Truth has come and falsehood has vanished’ (17:81) and ‘The Truth has come. Falsehood cannot originate or regenerate.'(34:49)” (The Sahih Collection of Al-Bukhari, Chapter 68. Book of Tafsir:)
As for monotheism, Christians also affirm there’s only 1 God (Deuteronomy 6:4), we don’t believe in 3 gods. Therefore, bringing up monotheism as a talking point is a straw man. Trinitarianism has always believed in 1 God.
Another error is Islam teaches Adam was a prophet, from where do they get this idea? Neither the Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim or New Testament teach that Adam was a “prophet”. Adam was the first man created but he made no prophesies. Anyone who claimed to be a prophet had to pass the requirements God gave to us in testing if a person was a real prophet.
Muhammad never came in the name of Yahweh, and he brought the name of another god called Allah. Muhammad made no prophesies which came true, and in the Hadith Muhammad was poisoned and said his aorta was cut. Why mention his aorta? The Quran says that anyone who spoke falsely would die having his aorta cut, and this is how Muhammad died. So I guess Muhammad prophesied that he was a false prophet.
Muslim Argument #3 What makes a person Christian? Well the experience I had before and after my conversion you spend your entire time attacking Islam and Muslims. How I was a Christian I tell you something I was a Bible basher and it was my strength I converse with Muslims within my Christian boundaries not by interrogating or misquoting their scripture.
Christian Response: The Muslim doesn’t give a testimony of their “salvation” but resorts to personal attacks when they don’t have an answer. Giving rants about how they use to be a Bible basher and conversed with Muslims with Christian “boundaries”. The Quran indeed breeds “Bible bashers” because the Quran denies
Muslims hate when Islam is questioned, they’re taught to not use their brains to just follow blindly. Yasir Qadhi in the popular interview with Hijab, YQ says there’s a red line Muslims are not to cross when it comes to questioning Islam.
YQ also says that academia doesn’t adhere to this red line and have been asking pressing questions which their Ummah cannot answer. Muslims will even deny their own Muslim sources when quoting the Quran and Hadith’s because Islam can’t be defended for instance, Islam teaches men can have sexual relations with girls who have not reached the age in which they’ve had their menstrual cycle.
The Surah which follows is from Chapter (65) sūrat l-ṭalāq (The Divorce).
This Surah is explaining how Muslim men are to wait 3 months when divorcing to make sure she’s not pregnant. In order for someone to divorce they must first be married. When 2 people are married they come together to consummate (engage in sex) the marriage. Muslims also use the Tafsir (commentaries from Muslim scholars) and Hadith’s (sayings about Muhammad’s life) in order to know what the Quran teaches. Here’s the Tafsir’s which explains this particular Surah.
Lastly, let’s look at how Muhammad lived his life, because this gives us insight as to how Muslims are to live since they follow Muhammad. Here in the Hadith we’re told Muhammad married a girl at the age of 6 and had sexual intercourse with her at age 9.
In conclusion we see that the illogical fallacies Muslims use when engaging Christians on certain topics. When familiar with these arguments we can respond in a loving and truthful way.
Muslim Argument #1 “ilah ilah why have you forsaken me God killing himself. What a cruel Father brutally murdered Son over someone else disobedience. Do you really believe thats a merciful God? Would you let your son punished for your crime? Trinity is the most illogical ideology majority of Christians become atheist.We Muslim follow and honour Jesus Christ.Who was a prophet of God and ascend to heaven alive.”
Christian Response: To the Muslim, God is cruel because they don’t understand the grace God has given to us guilty sinners. He didn’t have to send His Son to be subjected to a gruesome death, to save us leaving us to a fate of eternal death without any hope. But because the True God loves His creation He made a way out of the condemnation.
Muslims point to what Christ said on the cross in Matthew 27:46 “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” or Mark 15:34 “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Aramaic for the phrase “my God”) insinuating that the Lord Jesus was referring to “Allah”. Is this the case? Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani is the Hebrew form, as in saying Elio, Elio, etc. This is the Syro-Chaldaic language (use by the Jews in the time of Christ) its referenced in Psalm 22; which means “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
They fabricate that the word Eloi to mean “Allah”. Muslims will try to find a word in the Bible which sounds similar to an Arabic word, in this case the Arabic word ilah> becomes Eli > which is reinterpreted by Muslims to mean Allah.
They fail to realise the New Testament was written in Koine Greek not Hebrew. ἠλίēlí, ay-lee’; of Hebrew origin; my God:—Eli. In Hebrew אֵלʼêl, ale; shortened for strength; as adjective, mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity):—God (god).
Do some digging on the Muslim site corpus.quran.com and come across the word ilah, you’ll see it doesn’t mean what they’re trying to convince Christians of. I looked up the word on the mentioned site and it states the word is used “147 times as the noun ilāh” but more specifically “my God” is not found. The closest you’ll get is ālihatī (my gods). And to top it off the word “Allah” means the god, it’s a name, its only a generic term.
The Muslims claim the Jews said they killed Jesus Christ but that He was not killed, they refer to Surah An-Nisa.
And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. — Surah 4:157
The problem the Quran has is the Jews wouldn’t say they killed “the Messiah” as they don’t believe Christ is the Messiah. The second issue is the Jews were not in the position to carry out the crucifixion, it was the Romans who crucified the Lord Jesus, not the Jews. Crucifixion was the Roman’s way of carrying out capital punishment and they were specialist in what they did as professional killers. The Quran also gets that wrong.
In the Bible we read how the Romans cast lots for the vesture of Christ.
Psalm 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
John 19:23-24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus,took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also [his] coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
The Lord Jesus rose from the dead and therefore He’s alive. We see that Christ spoke of this (HIs resurrection) all throughout the Gospels. (Matthew 20:19, Mark 10:34, Luke 18:33, Luke 24:7). And He ascended into heaven shown in the book of Acts.
Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
If Muslims truly honoured Jesus Christ they would be called followers of Christ which means they would be called Christians. Also, they wouldn’t try to claim Christ was never crucified, by saying so they are calling Jesus Christ a liar because Christ Himself said He would be killed. Lastly, they would be bringing the Gospel message of Christ but they don’t, they follow Muhammad and not Jesus Christ.
Muslim Argument #2So tell me you don’t do good deeds? “Is that why crime rates are high in, out of all monotheistic faith you’re the odd one out. Incest becoming normal, fornication become norm.”
Christian Response: Muslim don’t know how many good deeds will get them into Jannah (Paradise), not even Muhammad knew if he would make it to Jannah. In the Quran it says:
… you have no power to help me against Allah. … Say: ‘I am not an innovation among the Messengers, and I know not what shall be done with me or with you. …
Surah 46:8-9
Also Abu Bakr, the first Muslim leader after Muhammad’s death, was unsure for his own eternal destiny?
…Whenever he was reminded of his position in Allah’s sight, he would say: ‘By Allah! I would not rest assured and feel safe from the deception of Allah (la amanu limakr Allah), even if I had one foot in paradise.’”
Khalid Muhammad Khalid, Successors of the Messenger, Abu Bakr Has Come, p. 99
Muhammad and Abu Bakr were unsure of their salvation? Muslims will also claim without giving proof from the scriptures concerning the above claim of “Incest becoming normal, fornication become norm” among Christians. Just because a person claims to be a Christian and commits such acts doesn’t prove they were a Christian to begin with. We know the Bible speaks against all forms of fornication (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; Acts 15:20; Acts 15:29; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 6:13; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:8).
It seems the truth is Islam teaches fornication, there’s a practice in Islam called Mu’tah Marriage. It’s a temporary marriage two parties make an agreement to have sexual relations for a short period of time. It was also practised by men at the dawn of Islam during trips.
Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (r.a.a.) said: “Temporary marriage was at the beginning of Islam. A man comes by a town where he has no acquaintances, so he marries for a fixed time depending on his stay in the town, the woman looks after his provisions and prepares his food, until the verse was revealed: “Except to your wives or what your right hands possess.” Ibn ‘Abbas explained that any relationship beyond this is forbidden. [narrated by Tirmidhee]
Narrated Abdullah: We used to participate in the holy battles led by Allah’s Apostle and we had nothing (no wives) with us. So we said, “Shall we get ourselves castrated?” He forbade us that and then allowed us to marry women with a temporary contract AND RECITED TO US: — ‘O you who believe! Make not unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, but commit no transgression.’ (5.87) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 13o)
Muslim Argument #3 I’ll give you clear response. ‘Atone of sins ‘cause of misconducts. All prophets brought one core belief of oneness of God depending on age and time of people of that time which majority of the message was corrupted. Mohammed is one of the successful messenger that his people followed him to every jot and title. Yahweh was not a specific name given to people when Moses asked God said I AM WHO I AM!
Christian Response: The Oneness of God is a huge teaching in Islam, but the argument says: “All prophets brought one core belief of oneness of God”, this is not true the Prophets in the Tanakh spoke about the people turning to God from their sins. The “Oneness of God” was not a major theme found in the scriptures.
The Bible speaks mainly about how the nation of Israel in the Tanakh continued to fail in worshipping God, they were committing Idolatry and other acts of sin. It also speaks of mankind’s standing before Almighty God as sinners in need of salvation. It also speaks about the One who would come to give Himself as a sacrifice (Atonement) for our sins that we may have forgiveness with God, theses are the main threads running through the scriptures; starting from Genesis—Revelation.
Some scriptures to consider are found in Genesis 22:1-18, Exodus 12, Psalms 22, Isaiah 53, also Zechariah 12:10, Hebrews 11:17-19. The whole reason God instituted the sacrificial system was to point to Christ as the Lamb of God first found in the book of Exodus when Moses told the Israelites to put the blood on the door post. Lastly, Christians have always said that God gave His name to Moses saying I AM THAT I AM in Exodus 3:14. The Muslim says that God’s name is I AM THAT I AM then why use Allah, which means “the god”? This shows Allah and Yahweh are not the same.
Muhammad died like a false prophet according to the Quran which would destroy the claim that he was a successful messenger.
And if he (Muhammad SAW) had forged a false saying concerning Us (Allah), We surely should have seized him by his right hand (or with power and might), And then certainly should have cut off his life artery (Aorta), — Surah 69:44-46
Muhammad ate poisoned meat and was suffering he said to his child bride Aisha.
Narrated ‘Aisha: The Prophet in his ailment in which he died, used to say, “O ‘Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison.” — Sahih Bukhari 5:59:713
We can only come to the logical conclusion that Muhammad was a false prophet because he died like one.
Whatsoever Things Are True 