CONTENTS

PREFACE

ISLAM IS THE ONLY ONE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2 

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM ARGUMENT ON THE GODHEAD OF CHRIST
(FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS)

6.1     Jesus the Literal Son of God

6.2     Jesus Addressing God as “Father”

6.3     I and The Father Are One

6.4     Jesus Received Worship?

6.5     Jesus Pre-Existence

6.6     Jesus The Only Savior?

6.7     The Word Was God

6.8     The Word Created Everything

6.9     Thomas Addressed Jesus as “My Lord and My God”

6.10   Matthew’s Trinity Formula

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

 

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CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM ARGUMENT ON THE GODHEAD OF CHRIST  (FURTHER CONSIDERATION)

  

6.1    Jesus “The Literal Son of God”

 

          Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the “real or literal” son of God; the second person of the Holy Trinity, the one whom God sent to earth to redeem man of their sins. Thomas Schultz in his “The Doctrine of The Person of Christ With an Emphasis Upon the Hypostatic Union” writes that: 

“Christ’s Sonship and the First Person’s fatherhood do not connote inferiority either of essence or position.” [1] 

Muslim Answer: 

In answering the Christian claim, Imam Ibn Taimiyyah says: 

“There is never found in the books of the prophets or their message the application of the term ‘father’ with the meaning of the father of the divine nature, nor [is it found that] by their application of the term son is meant anything divine, either the Word or the Life (Holy Spirit). Rather the expression “son” is only found to signify a creature, and the term “son” is only applied to a created son. (For example the Old Testament book of Psalms state that God says concerning prophet David: “You are my son, today I have become your Father”(2:7, NLT), Further in 89:27: “I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth (NLT).” Consequently it follows that from this that calling Christ “son” refers to his humanity. This shows the falsity of their view that the son and the Holy Spirit are the two attributes of God, and that Christ is the name of the divine and human natures. It is clear that the texts of the Books of the prophets disprove the belief of Christians and contradict their Creed.”[2] 

If Christians still want to insist that Jesus is the Son of God then he is not the only God’s Son because the Bible itself conferred the title “Son of God” or even “God” to other than Jesus Christ itself. The following passages from the Christian Holy Book illustrate this very well:

 

“This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22, NLT) 

“Now this is what the Lord says: I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child” (Jeremiah 31:9, NLT) 

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NLT)

If such use of words to Jesus are an argument for being the Son of God, then the nation of Israel and Ephraim also must be gods even of higher status than Jesus Christ, for the firstborn or the oldest child deserves more respect than his younger brother, Jesus.[3] It is therefore necessary for all these words to be taken in a metaphorical sense and that the words Son of God used for Jesus in some statement does not prove that Jesus was the Son of God in the real sense of the word.

 

The Gospel also elucidates that this word ‘Son of God’ is used in the meaning of ‘righteous’ when referring to Christ. [4] The Gospel of Mark says: 

“When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, truly, this was the Son of God.” (15:39, NLT)        

While the Gospel of Luke describe the same event in these words: 

“When captain of the Roman soldiers handling the executions saw what had happened, he praised God and said, surely this man was righteous.” (23:47, NLT)                                                                            

Commenting on Mark and Luke above, Maulana Rahmatullah says: 

“It may noted that Luke uses the words ‘righteous man’ in place of Mark’s words ‘the Son of God’. This expression has been used to signify ‘righteous man’ by other people as well, exactly as ‘the Son of Satan’ has been used to mean an evil-doer.”[5] 

Concerning rendering others “the title God” Maulana Rahmatullah further says: 

This title occurs profusely in the Bible in connection with angels, man…  and inanimate things… In some places explanations have been given but at other times the metaphorical significance is so obvious that it leaves no room for doubt or misunderstanding ... for example, Genesis 31:11-13 has: 

 “Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, Jacob! And I replied, Yes, I’m listening!. The angel said, look and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you. I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me.” (NLT)

The same word “God” is found also in Joshua 13:21-22: 

“The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the Lord, and he said to his wife, “We will die, for we have seen God.” (NLT)[6] 

All the above statements sufficiently prove that the words “Son of God” or “God” was not used in a literal sense and not used just for Jesus. It was typically used to describe those who are close to God.[7] Unfortunately, some Christians still argue that the word “Only Son” in (John 3:16, NLT): “For God so loved the world, that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believe in him will not perished but have eternal life” Gives Jesus special status among all the Sons of God. Thomas Schultz in his “The Doctrine of the Person of Christ With an Emphasis Upon the Hypostatic Union” says that: 

“Although others in the scripture are called “sons of God” for example, angels, Adam, Ezekial, and Christians, Christ is the Son in a unique and exclusive sense … it was a claim to deity and not merely to Messiah-ship.”[8] 

Muslim Answer: 

Dr. Gary Miller, a former Christian evangelist from Canada who embraced Islam comments:  

“The Christian point of view would raise a problem of ambiguity. The same word translated as “only Son” is also found in Hebrew 11:17:

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God's promise was ready to sacrifice his only Son, Isaac.” (NLT)

Here the word “only Son” refers to Isaac. But the Bible shows that Abraham had another Son. Genesis 16:15, has:

“So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael.” (NLT)

Hagar did bare Abraham’s first child whose name was Ishmael. This shows that Isaac is not the only son of Abraham as Ishmael is also his offspring. Thus the word “only Son” used for Jesus in John 3:16 can also be interpreted as (of) Hebrew 11:17 above.”[9]


[1]           Theological Discussion (Dallas Theological Seminary), 1962, 182

[2]           Al-Jawab Al-Sahih (Edited and Translated by Thomas F. Michel), 275 (emphasis are mine)

[3]           Izharul Haq, Part 3, 277

[4]           Izharul Haq, Part 3, 274

[5]           Izharul Haq, Part 3, 274

[6]           Izharul Haq, Part 3, 226-232

[7]           Izharul Haq, Part 3, 276, Secrets Of The Dead Sea Scrolls, 39

[8]           Jesus: A Biblical Defense Of His Deity, 76

[9]           The Divinity of Christ and Christian Evangelism (cassette)