CHRISTIAN
|
CONCEPT OF
GOD IN CHRISTIANITY |
|
I |
Position of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam: |
|
|
(i) |
Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus (pbuh). No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus (pbuh). |
|
|
(ii) |
We believe that he was one of the mightiest Messengers of Allah (swt). |
|
|
(iii) |
We believe that he was born miraculously, without any male intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe. |
|
|
(iv) |
|
|
|
(v) |
We believe that he gave life to the dead with God’s permission. |
|
|
(iv) |
We believe that he healed those born blind, and the lepers with God’s permission. |
|
|
II |
CONCEPT OF GOD IN CHRISTIANITY: |
|
|
1. |
Jesus Christ (pbuh) never claimed Divinity |
|
|
One may ask, if both Muslims and Christians love and respect Jesus (pbuh), where exactly is the parting of ways? The major difference between Islam and Christianity is the Christians’ insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ (pbuh). A study of the Christian scriptures reveals that Jesus (pbuh) never claimed divinity. In fact there is not a single unequivocal statement in the entire Bible where Jesus (pbuh) himself says, "I am God" or where he says, "worship me". In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in which he preached quite the contrary. The following statements in the Bible are attributed to Jesus Christ (pbuh): (i) "My Father
is greater than I." (ii) "My
Father is greater than all." (iii) "…I cast
out devils by the Spirit of God…." (iv) "…I with
the finger of God cast out devils…." (v) "I can of
mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just;
because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent
me." |
||
|
2. |
The Mission of Jesus Christ (pbuh) – to Fulfill the Law |
|
|
Jesus (pbuh) never claimed divinity for himself. He clearly announced the nature of his mission. Jesus (pbuh) was sent by God to confirm the previous Judaic law. This is clearly evident in the following statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in the Gospel of Mathew: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." "For I say
unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven." |
||
|
3. |
God Sent Jesus' (pbuh) |
|
|
The Bible mentions the prophetic nature of Jesus (pbuh) mission in the following verses: |
||
|
(i) |
|
|
|
(ii) |
|
|
|
4. |
Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his Divinity |
|
|
Consider the following incident mentioned in the Bible: "And behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ And he said
unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is,
God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ " Jesus (pbuh) did not say that to have the eternal life of paradise, man should believe in him as Almighty God or worship him as God, or believe that Jesus (pbuh) would die for his sins. On the contrary he said that the path to salvation was through keeping the commandments. It is indeed striking to note the difference between the words of Jesus Christ (pbuh) and the Christian dogma of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus (pbuh). |
||
|
5. |
Jesus (pbuh) of Nazareth – a Man Approved of God |
|
|
The following statement from the Bible supports the Islamic belief that Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet of God. "Ye men of
Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you,
as ye yourselves also know." |
||
|
6. |
The First Commandment is that God is One |
|
|
"Shama Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adonai Ikhad." This is a Hebrew quotation, which means: "Hear, O
Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord." It is striking that the basic teachings of the Church such as Trinity and vicarious atonement find no mention in the Bible. In fact, various verses of the Bible point to Jesus’ (pbuh) actual mission, which was to fulfill the law revealed to Prophet Moses (pbuh). Indeed Jesus (pbuh) rejected any suggestions that attributed divinity to him, and explained his miracles as the power of the One True God. Jesus (pbuh) thus reiterated the message of monotheism that was given by all earlier prophets of Almighty God. |
||
|
NOTE: All quotations of the Bible are taken from the King James Version. |
||
|
III |
CONCEPT OF GOD IN OLD TESTAMENT: |
||
|
1. |
God is One |
||
|
The following verse from the book of Deuteronomy contains an exhortation from Moses (pbuh): "Shama
Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adna Ikhad". |
|||
|
2. |
Unity of God in the Book of Isaiah |
||
|
The following verses are from the Book of Isaiah: |
|||
|
(i) |
|
||
|
(ii) |
|
||
|
(iii) |
|
||
|
3. |
|
||
|
(i) |
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:" "Thou shalt
not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God." |
||
|
(ii) |
"Thou shalt have none other gods before me." "Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that in the earth beneath, or that is in the water beneath the earth." "Thou shalt
not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God." |
||