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Page last edited on 23 April, 2003
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[ More on Concept
of God in World Religions ]
Concept of God in Christianity
by Dr. Zakir Naik
I |
Position of Jesus (pbuh) in Islam: |
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(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). |
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(ii) |
We believe that he was one of the mightiest Messengers of Allah (swt). |
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(iii) |
We believe that he was born miraculously, without any male
intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe. |
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(iv) |
We believe he was the Messiah translated Christ (pbuh).
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(v) |
We believe that he gave life to the dead with God’s permission. |
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(iv) |
We believe that he healed those born blind, and the lepers with
God’s permission. |
II |
CONCEPT OF GOD IN CHRISTIANITY: |
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1. |
Jesus Christ (pbuh) never claimed Divinity |
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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."
[The Bible, John 14:28]
(ii)
"My Father is greater than all."
[The Bible, John 10:29]
(iii)
"…I cast out devils by the Spirit of God…."
[The Bible, Mathew 12:28]
(iv)
"…I with the finger of God cast out devils…."
[The Bible, Luke 11:20]
(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."
[The Bible, John 5:30]
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2. |
The Mission of Jesus Christ (pbuh) – to Fulfill the Law |
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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."
[The Bible, Mathew 5:17-20]
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3. |
God Sent Jesus' (pbuh) |
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The Bible mentions the prophetic nature of Jesus (pbuh) mission in the
following verses: |
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(i) |
"… and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s
which sent me."
[The Bible, John 14:24]
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(ii) |
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."
[The Bible, John 17:3]
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4. |
Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his Divinity |
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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.’ "
[The Bible, Mathew 19:16-17]
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).
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5. |
Jesus (pbuh) of Nazareth – a Man Approved of God |
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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."
[The Bible, Acts 2:22]
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6. |
The First Commandment is that God is One |
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The Bible does not support the Christian belief in trinity at all. One
of the scribes once asked Jesus (pbuh) as to which was the first
commandment of all, to which Jesus (pbuh) merely repeated what Moses
(pbuh) had said earlier:
"Shama
Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adonai Ikhad."
This is
a Hebrew quotation, which means:
"Hear,
O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord."
[The Bible, Mark 12:29]
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.
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NOTE: All quotations of the Bible are taken from the King James
Version. |
III |
CONCEPT OF GOD IN OLD TESTAMENT: |
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1. |
God is One |
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The following verse from the book of Deuteronomy contains an
exhortation from Moses (pbuh):
"Shama
Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adna Ikhad".
It is a Hebrew quotation which means:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord"
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 6:4]
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2. |
Unity of God in the Book of Isaiah |
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The following verses are from the Book of Isaiah: |
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(i) |
"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."
[The Bible, Isaiah 43:11]
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(ii) |
"I am Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides
me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 45:5]
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(iii) |
"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none
like me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 46:9]
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3. |
Old Testament condemns idol worship
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(i) |
Old Testament condemns idol worship in the following verses:
"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."
[The Bible, Exodus 20:3-5]
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(ii) |
A similar message is repeated in the book of Deuteronomy:
"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."
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 5:7-9]
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