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Help me please to convince a muslim that Jesus is God
Hi,
I would like to convince a muslim that Jesus is God. Someone sent me a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW99U4JWNEc and he wanted my opion on it. I told him that nobody can convince me that he isn't God so I won't even pay attention to this video. My English is also not very well, so I am afraid that I might make mistakes. He answered me, where's your proof from the bible that Jesus is god? don't be stubborn and watch it and try to disprove them, who knows if ur convincing enough i might even be interested in Christianity.
So this is maybe a beautiful chance for someone to convince, but I don't know what to tell him exactly.
Any help? Thx. GBU.
I would like to convince a muslim that Jesus is God. Someone sent me a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW99U4JWNEc and he wanted my opion on it. I told him that nobody can convince me that he isn't God so I won't even pay attention to this video. My English is also not very well, so I am afraid that I might make mistakes. He answered me, where's your proof from the bible that Jesus is god? don't be stubborn and watch it and try to disprove them, who knows if ur convincing enough i might even be interested in Christianity.
So this is maybe a beautiful chance for someone to convince, but I don't know what to tell him exactly.
Any help? Thx. GBU.
Comments
Introduction [start time 00:00]
Reason #10 - God Can not be Born! [start time 04:00]
Reason #09 - There is unequivocal textual evidence [start time 05:05]
Reason #08 - No one has seen God! [start time 09:20]
Reason #07 - This was the not belief of early Christians [start time 11:31]
Reason #06 - Jesus Ate, Slept, and Prayed [start time 14:38]
Reason #05 - Jesus claimed that God's Knowledge is greater than his [start time 16:44]
Reason #04 - Jesus Explicitly states that he is not God [start time 20:10]
Reason #03 - Son of God? [start time 22:50]
Reason #02 - God does not change [start time 29:29]
Reason #01 - God is the object of Worship! [start time 43:05]
Conclusion [start time 46:42]
Dear +Marmar+
I think first u should follow the advice of Christ4Life and find out if your Muslim friend is really willing to hear the word of God, or if he is just looking for argument. Is he really sincere in his quest for knowlege.? Because when Christ Himself told the Jews, His own people, that He was God; they tried to stone Him, to degrade Him:- John 8:58-59 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
I watched the video. They said they believe Christ is the Word of God. John 1:1 states:- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So if they really believe Jesus is the Word of God, they should understand He is God. John 12: 40 :- "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes. Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." These are the words of Isaiah the Prophet who lived in ancient times and worshipped Jesus as God because he (Isaiah) knew the Holy Trinity.
They say no one has seen Gods face. Deuteronomy 5:4 :- The Lord spoke to you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
There are many Holy Scriptures where God states how He spoke to His chosen people face to face in the Old Testament days.
They say Chirst is not the Son of God. Matthew 17:5 :- While he was still speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" I would ask as a servant of God, Muslim brothers and sisters: Hear Him!
I am not a great scholar as they spoke about. And the Word of God is easy to understand if one truely desires to.
They said that Christ does not wish us to worship Him. John 9:38 :- Then he said "Lord, I believe!" And he worshipped Him.
Christ did not say to this man, stop worshipping me, indeed He (Christ) encouraged it. Many other Holy Scriptures prove this.
I mean all Holy Scriptures refute what they said in that video.
+Marmar+ I will leave it at that for now. God be with you
Hi,
I would like to convince a muslim that Jesus is God. Someone sent me a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW99U4JWNEc and he wanted my opion on it. I told him that nobody can convince me that he isn't God so I won't even pay attention to this video. My English is also not very well, so I am afraid that I might make mistakes. He answered me, where's your proof from the bible that Jesus is god? don't be stubborn and watch it and try to disprove them, who knows if ur convincing enough i might even be interested in Christianity.
So this is maybe a beautiful chance for someone to convince, but I don't know what to tell him exactly.
Any help? Thx. GBU.
lol.. there's 10001 reasons why Mohammad is no prophet!!
Well, the Prophesies in the Bible speak for themselves.
I recommend you read the theological books from Fr. Tadros Malaty
They say no one has seen Gods face. Deuteronomy 5:4 :- The Lord spoke to you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
Actually, there was one that saw God's face but not entirely. I am talking about Moses on the Mount of Sinai.
But after that happened, no one could look at Moses's face anymore because his face was too bright to look at, and if they looked at Moses's face without him having a bag on his face, they would just fall to the ground.
[quote author=+Marmar+ link=topic=13091.msg153761#msg153761 date=1332872667]
Hi,
I would like to convince a muslim that Jesus is God. Someone sent me a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW99U4JWNEc and he wanted my opion on it. I told him that nobody can convince me that he isn't God so I won't even pay attention to this video. My English is also not very well, so I am afraid that I might make mistakes. He answered me, where's your proof from the bible that Jesus is god? don't be stubborn and watch it and try to disprove them, who knows if ur convincing enough i might even be interested in Christianity.
So this is maybe a beautiful chance for someone to convince, but I don't know what to tell him exactly.
Any help? Thx. GBU.
lol.. there's 10001 reasons why Mohammad is no prophet!!
Well, the Prophesies in the Bible speak for themselves.
I recommend you read the theological books from Fr. Tadros Malaty
Although I understand where you are coming from, I do not think she should start by telling him why his religion is wrong. Most people believe because they learn about Christ, not because they think their own religion is faulty.
muslims (and most other people!) respond best to love and care. they don't have good arguments against that.
so i recommend u just stay friends with this person and don't be drawn in to endless discussions which wind around in circles. make your point, listen to your friend's point and then move on to another subject.
may God guide u and protect u.
[center]Jude 1:22-23 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.[/center]
It teaches us wisdom: Wisdom: Let Us Attend!
[center]Proverbs 9:7-8 He who chastises evil men shall receive dishonor to himself. And he who reproves the ungodly man shall be blamed himself.+ Do not reprove evil men, so they may not hate you; Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.[/center]
The Muslim men in the video didn't seem evil, but very misinformed about Christianity and the Holy Scriptures. In need of being 'pulled out of the fire'.
[center]GODS WILL BE DONE[/center]
I may not agree entirely with it but I benefit from parts of it
I don't think today's gospel has been preached correctly and wholely
which is why I think we will be judged by our deeds not our belief unless we know the truth and refuse to receive Gods forgiveness which is only by the blood of christ Jesus teachings are the way the truth and the life people will not escape being judged with ever ever lasting fire for not seeking to do God's will for everyone has a conscience
Jesus says His words will judge us
So Christians and non Christians will both by judged on whether they obey God or not and whoever received more grace will be judged more harshly
However I don't think it is our job to preach the gospel outside of the churches permission and guidance for when Jesus commanded people to preach they were sent by God and had authority and signs and assurance from Jesus
But how dare this person call you stubborn whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin it is better for him that a millstone be hung around his neck and he be thrown into the depth of the sea
If you have doubts will it cause you to turn away from Christ and be offended and never return to Christ? I think you can answer these people only if you have a rock solid relationship and you are firm in the belief of Gods love to you
But the devil is powerful and can throw us into despair because we do not know God
I believe you should not try to deal with these people unless you were a priest and did not have other responsibilities
Stay away from wolves
So we must leave judgement to God
But I agree if God wants to draw people to Himself He should do miracles and answer prayer which He probably does for unbelievers
Or, even better , please PM me, and I will give you a complementary code for your friend to download this free of Charge.
In the app, he will have the ability to read all the books of Fr. Tadros Malaty in a very easy and simplified way explaining our theology.
Indeed, GOD IS ONE!
GOD IS ONE
We believe in ONE God.
We cannot keep on saying this enough.
Like the Sun gives birth to its rays, and so does the Father give birth to His Word, or His "Uttered Word" , or "Uttered Mind".
Are the rays of the Sun, the Sun itself? Does the big planet called the Sun come to Earth to bring us its warmth, or do we feel the warmth of the Sun through its rays?
The entire PURPOSE of my app was for stuff like this.
Look at the topics i've focused on in the app? Look at the material on there. Yes, I will be replacing Hayat TV with CYC in the near future, but i've only added that in there because of Dr. Sameh, the Anglican priest. He's a Coptic Orthodox apologist.
The books are so clear to read: you have it in PDF, HTML frames, or iBooks . No one has enough time to read , and so reading this on the metro, etc is perfect.
Christ is the Son of God as the rays are the son of the Sun. Christ is Light from Light, and True God from True God. He is ETERNALLY begotten! What does this mean?
A Perpetual Son to a Perpetual Father.
As we understand the nature and intention of the Sun from its rays, we understand the nature, intention, will and love of God the Father Almighty from His Son.
Please download it, or PM me, or email me at [email protected] for a free Code.
I talked to my FOC about it and I already decided what to do.
GBU all. Pray for me please and Holy Pascha week.
Someone emailed me a video that was 10 reasons why Jesus is not God, and I refuted it. Let me see if I can find it and I can send it to you.
Yeah, that was the video he sent me too.
#10. God was not born because He has always existed. The logic of this sounds airtight, but only to those who completely lack any sort of theological training. God was not "born", Christ came and took flesh. This man asserts that Christ had no father, this is far more improbable than having God as His father. The importance of God taking flesh is to redeem mankind. To walk in the footsteps of Adam's failure and correct his wrongs. They discuss this on the presupposition that God and Christ are two distinct beings, saying, God has no beginning, Jesus did. No. Christ has always existed because He is God, Jesus took flesh by being born of St Mary. You probably could not convince anyone because it is a difference of perception and interpretation. In the islamic concept nothing really makes sense, why did Christ teach non-violence and then Mohammed taught it in two suras, then became violent. The whole concept of salvation in islam makes no sense because it is so vague. But, a man cannot die for everyones sin.
#9. There is no scripture in which Christ states He is God. Here again, muslims are unable to grasp the concept of the Trinity. He quotes scripture referring to "one God" as if we believe that Christ is a god and God the Father is another "god" separate and distinctly different from Jesus. This is a problem in grasping what it means for God to be present in different forms or persons. They seem to be putting restrictions on God as if His essence is capable of being understood. The explaination of John 1 is a laughable one. He claims that if a person read this with no knowledge of the Trinity, they would not interpret that verse as meaning that Christ is God. But it clearly states: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.." There is nothing more clear than this. This single sentence states that in the beginning was the Word (Christ) and the Word (Christ) was with God. So before all things Christ was, meaning He is God. "And the Word was God." Again, this is pretty explicit and clear. No ambiguities. The Word (Christ) was God, meaning that in the beginning, both Jesus and God the Father were one in the same. He continually uses this "God states He is one and therefore Jesus cannot be God" argument. It is just silly. Jesus is the same God as God the father, in a different form. "I and my Father are one." John 10:30 When Christ says to go and baptize in the NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that is pretty clear He is equating Himself to be God. Or even in Genesis, let US make man in OUR image, that is the Trinity. Not three gods, three distinct persons in ONE GOD.
#8. No man has seen God at anytime, therefore Christ cannot be God. This is kind of a funny one. He says that in John 14:9 "anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father" is taken out of context, yet Jesus reiterates Himself a few times, had He only been a man he would be speaking blasphemy. Any man equating himself to God the Father is crazy. Then, this confused man continues that "God is too great to become a man." That is an oxymoron, God is too great to do something? Soooo God is limited and not capable of everything?
#7. The deity of Christ was not believed by His followers or the early church fathers. The apostles, for a short time, did continue to go to the temple, there is no dispute about that. But this man asserts that first and second century Christians did this. This is false. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. St. Mark went to Egypt around 50 A.D. so what did the Christians do there? People use the Nicaea argument still to this day, and it is just plain historically inaccurate. Writings from Irenaeus, a disciple of the apostles, Polycarp of Smyrna, another disciple of the apostles, Ignatius of Antioch, ordained patriarch of Antioch by St Peter the Apostle, ALL teach the Trinity and the deity of Christ. The term Trinity itself was coined by Tertullian. He defined an already existing belief. When asked if the word Trinity is in scripture, he rightly says no, but then refers to the Comma Johannum which was added when the bible was translated into English. He states this is the ONLY place it was found in scripture but that it is a forgery, and he is right it was added. Oddly enough, he completely ignores Mt. 28:19 in which Christ commands His disciples to go baptize "in the NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". Early Christians DID believe in the deity of Christ, it was not until arius that this was disputed.
#6. Jesus ate, slept, and prayed. This is stupid. God took flesh to redeem all mankind, a beautiful theology ruined by idolators, fools who worship mohammed. The only reason this argument is made is because they lack an understanding of the nature of Christ. God and Man. He took flesh in order to redeem us all from the stain of sin. I am going to skip this in the video as this is a very dumb point to make and is, or should be, already refuted by the above. This is again denying the power of God. He was not in need of prayer, He was showing us HOW to live.
#5. Jesus claimed that God's knowledge was greater than His. When Christ says in Mk. 13:32 that not even the Son knows the day or hour, it is not a literal statement (St. John Chrysostom) but meant as a figure of speech. Meaning that Christ will not reveal the exact day or hour to anyone and nobody should be brazen enough to ask of him. (Orthodox Study Bible p. 1351) He then references John 14:28 as evidence that Jesus is lesser than God (The Father). I am amazed at how literal he translates this verse (as it would suit him to do) but the very first chapter of this book he interprets far from literally! John 14:28 is not stating that Jesus is created or is NOT God, but rather that God the Father is the eternal cause of the Son, the Fountainhead of the Trinity. This poor man states that all the other scripture we Christians use is too ambiguous, but that is according to him. It seems anytime Christ is direct, he interprets the scripture as having a deeper meaning and any scripture that has a deeper meaning, he interprets literally. It is the same trick that the protestants use, and probably the same spirit guiding the two.
#4. Jesus explicitly state that He is not God. This poor soul starts off by quoting John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." This is similar to the explaination I gave of John 14:28. It is not meant that God the Father is the One true God and Jesus is just a man, but that God the Father is the Fountainhead of the Trinity. He also mentions when Christ spoke to Mary Magdalene that he was going to "My (Christs) Father and your father, My God and your God." This is the same understanding as explained above. With the whole of scripture it is clear that Christ is God, and therefore this statement has more meaning than a literal one. As we discussed this poor deceived soul could not adequately explain John 1, which clearly shows the deity of Christ, he explains everything as being literal (when it suits him) except this verse that cannot mean Christ is God. It is interpretation, not evidence.
#3. Son of God is not an exclusive title used only by Christ. To claim to be the Son of God, as in literally having the same essence of God is exclusive to Christ. This mans argument about Adam and Eve being fashioned by God, having no mother or father is a silly argument. Being made by Gods hand and having the same essence of God are two very different things. Christ is the only born Son of God, having His same essence from God the Father, and the flesh of our virgin mother St. Mary. So this argument, that he supposedly had with some pastor, is a weak argument at best because the creation of Adam and Christ taking flesh are two very different things. Adam was not God taking flesh but a created man by the hand of God.
***Their little discussion about the possiblity of Christ being God in between #3 and #2 also demonstrates the lack of understanding in islam. We were created as perfect beings, spotless and unblemished and immortal. Christ took flesh that He might restore the flesh to its original state, or give us that opportunity to work on our restoration. So stating that God could not possibly take flesh and become man because "God cannot die" is absurd.***
#2. God cannot change. This "point" is another demonstration of the muslims inability to grasp sound theology. John 1 states that "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Therefore Christ has always been just as God has always been. Granted, Christ was not always "with flesh" but He certainly has always been in existence. The assertion that there is some sort of change is a misunderstanding. The assertion that God needs anything is also a misunderstanding. The flesh of Jesus needed the very same things that you and I need, this does not demean God in any way and there certainly is no change on Gods part. The one thing that this poor soul seems to keep repeating is that God is limited in the islamic view. They seem to teach that there are things God cannot do, because we cannot understand them. Like the point he had made earlier that if a child cannot understand the Trinity then how can that be God? We believe that God is limitless. We understand that God took flesh to redeem the stain of sin on the flesh of all humankind. God willingly took flesh and willingly humbled Himself for our sake. He states that God cannot do things against His nature, like go to heaven or hell, well, is taking on the flesh of man against His nature? How else would mankind be redeemed from the stain of sin? How else would we be freed from death? Taking flesh of man is not making God less than God, it is God taking the flesh of man to save His creation from the bondage of sin.
#1. God is the essence or object of worship. I am not sure what he is talking about, Mt. 15:18 does not say what he states. It states: "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man." I cannot even find the verse he is speaking of anywhere in scripture. What I think he may be referencing is when Christ was speaking to the pharisees when they asked Him: "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" To which Christ replied by citing Isaiah "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." This is not a prophecy of Christ about Christians, it was a prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah about the pharisess! So either this poor soul is blatantly lying, or truly has no understanding of the things he reads, it is clear that Christ cited this prophecy of Isaiah to the pharisees and not of a people in a later time. This poor mans assertion that worshipping Christ is "in vain" is garbage. As stated previously, the disciples of the apostles worshipped Christ as God. So this means that the followers of Christ ALL had it wrong and they all taught it wrong to their disciples as well. But, he ignores this fact and instead chooses to believe, against factual history, that the deity of Christ was invented at the council of Nicaea a few hundred years after Christ. Then why is there a plethora of writings ante-nicaean that prove otherwise? Christ is God, not just a man, therefore we worship Christ our God. This man then refers to Mt. 19:17 where the rich man comes to Christ for advice, but the rich man considers Christ no more than "a good teacher". The response Christ gave was not denying His divinity but was designed to lead that man to this knowledge. If you read a bit further to verse 28, Christ is pretty clear about His authority
Hi,
I would like to convince a muslim that Jesus is God. Someone sent me a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW99U4JWNEc and he wanted my opion on it. I told him that nobody can convince me that he isn't God so I won't even pay attention to this video. My English is also not very well, so I am afraid that I might make mistakes. He answered me, where's your proof from the bible that Jesus is god? don't be stubborn and watch it and try to disprove them, who knows if ur convincing enough i might even be interested in Christianity.
So this is maybe a beautiful chance for someone to convince, but I don't know what to tell him exactly.
Any help? Thx. GBU.
Here is a point by point response:
Orthodox Christian answers to the 10 Islamic misinformation about Jesus cited in this video.
10) Christianity teaches that God has always existed and never came into existence. He is the
“I AM” as He revealed this name to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Word of God, the Logos, His Mind, took upon Himself Human Nature. This does not mean that God began to exist. The Bible says that the Logos was God ... and the Logos became flesh. It does not say that the Logos began to exist. Is there anything God can not do? If God chooses to become a man to enter a Virgin’s womb and be born as a man and take on human nature, can anything stop God from fulfilling this purpose? Christianity teaches that God is ever existing and almighty and that He can and did do this: He became man while remaining God. The Lord Jesus, as the Son of God has no beginning. He is the Mind (Logos) of God. If we say that the Logos had a beginning, that would mean that there was a time when God had no mind, and this would be heresy and God would not have been God at some time in the past. The Jews asked Jesus, “You are not yet even 50 years old and have you seen Abraham... who do you make yourself to be” and He responded, Before Abraham was “I AM,” using God’s name. The Jews understood that He was saying He was God because the Jews wanted to stone Him and said they were stoning Him because “you, being a man, make yourself God.” He united to Himself a human body and made that body soul and spirit hypostatically united to His divinity. The Hypostasis, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is from everlasting without a beginning. The Person, Jesus Christ, always existed as God before he entered the Virgin Mary’s womb to unite to Himself human nature.
Jesus Himself asks the Jews to think about How Jesus is the Son of David and at the same time why does David call him, “Lord”?
Jesus also says to His Father, “Glorify Me with the glory I had with you before the world began”
ROMANS 9:3-5
“… my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ETERNALLY BLESSED GOD !
• My Lord and my God!“ -John 20:28 (notice how Christ does not correct Thomas for calling Him God) while the same writer just for bowing down to an angel in the book of Revelation is immediately corrected and told, “see that you do not do that”. Whether Here Christ responds to Thomas with a blessing, “Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed”
• “… and the Word was God…and the Word Became flesh… “ John 1: 1-28
• "Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be
equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men." - Phil. 2:5-7
Therefore the Jews sought to kill Him, because He …. also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
-John 5:18
John 8:58 - Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 10:30-33 - Jesus answered them, “I and My Father are one.” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” HIS OWN ENEMIES UNDESTOOD THAT HE WAS CALLING HIMSELF GOD. How is it that Islam does not understand that He is calling Himself God?
• He was in the world and the world was made through Him" (John 1: 10).
• For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him -Col. 1:16
• "I have come down from heaven" (John 6:38),
• “…the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:1.
• "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh -1 Timothy 3:16
• "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. “ -Col. 2:9
• “the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." -Acts 20:28
“…looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, ...." Titus 2:13.
There are many other Bible Verses that clearly speak of His divinity and pre-existence and equality with the Father. The Bible says that Jesus is UNIQUELY the ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, coming from Him
-Existed before He was born
-says that he who sees him has seen GOD
-says that he can forgive sins on his own authority
-says that he will judge the living and the dead
-says that all authority in heaven and on earth is His
-says that God the Father Glorifies Him with the glory that He (the man) had before the world began
-asks how he can be called "the Son of David" while at the same time David calls Him Lord?
-says that He is the First and the Last, the Good Shephard, the Saviour, the King, all these things God says about Himself also in the Old Testament.
Why doesn’t Jesus just say, “I am God worship Me”
“Christ Jesus ...
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
/did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:6-8
• Islamic mentality is not that of the God of Love but of God the Master only, to whom all are slaves. Do what I say and believe what I tell you. But Christ wants us to experience Him and by experiencing Him and His love we automatically love and worship Him. Islam does not grasp that God can humble Himself like a King descending to dine with lowly peasants who Love Him because of His grace towards Him. Islam expects Jesus to say, “I am God, get on your knees and worship me!” But our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus says, ““Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. …He then instructs the disciples not to reveal His full identity until He is resurrected so that He can complete His mission on the cross. Islam would prefer to have him, do the opposite and say, “I AM GOD, EVERYONE get down on your knees and worship Me.” He told us to do this, but with His love and with demonstration of Who He Is.
The man born blind whom Jesus healed did not know if He was a sinner or not, then told the Pharisees who questioned him about who healed them and said, He is a prophet alright, then when He interacted with Jesus, the Bible says, “He Worshipped Him.” When he healed the paralyzed man, Christ forgave sins and the people murmured, “This is blasphemy, who can forgive sins but God alone?” He demonstrated He has the power to forgive sins because at the same time after saying this, He was able to miraculously cure the man. If He was just a man who was blaspheming and saying something only God has the prerogative of saying, God would not have permitted him to heal the paralyzed man. But He did, proving that He also was able to forgive sins.
8) About the objection that “No one has seen God at anytime,” Jesus Did say, He who has seen Me has seen the Father” No one has seen God at anytime refers to God’s essence or substance. Moses and the Israelites saw God’s manifestation, but not face to face as in His essence. He even told Moses, “No man may see my face and live”
About the objection that God’s essence can not be limited or contained in a Man, God was not in anyway limited or lessened. He was always infinite and everywhere while also being incarnate as Jesus. This is just as He can appear in more than one place and talk to more than one person at once, so He can be everywhere at once and still Incarnate. Jesus Christ even said to Nicodemus, “No one has ascended to Heaven except the Son of Man, WHO IS IN HEAVEN.” Here Jesus is saying He is on earth and in heaven at the same time.
Jesus said He had glory with the Father from before the world began. He could not be just a man if He existed before the world began.
7) We know Christianity came from Judaism. Christianity is the fulfilment of it. Jesus DID say, I will destroy this temple and rebuild it in three days. He also stated that “upon this Rock, I will build My Church” What was this rock? It was the faith that, Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” He also stated that there is a **NEW** covenant in His Blood- this is not the same as the Old Covenant but a fulfilment of it and of bringing all the world into the faith of Abraham.
Here is in fact, what the early Christians believed in the first and 2nd and 3rd Centuries:
• Justin Martyr (100-166 AD) the teachings of the Logos, because he is divine." In reference to the Logos, he writes, "It is only reasonable that we worship him”
• Irenaeus (120-203 AD) was a pupil of Polycarp; Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John (In his book, Against False Gnosis, Irenaeus asserts that the Church believes ". . . in one Christ Jesus, our Lord, the Son of God, was incarnate for our salvation. . . that to Christ Jesus, our Lord and GOD and Savior and King, every knee should bow”. . . (Fremantle, p. 338).
• Tertullian (160-220 AD) His major work was The Apology. In Tertullian's day, Christians were being charged with being ". . . worshippers of a mere human being." Tertullian responded, "We must make, therefore, a remark or two about Christ's divinity."
• He continues, "He is the Son of God and is called GOD from unity of substance with God. For God, too, is a Spirit . . . . Thus Christ is Spirit of Spirit and GOD OF GOD… in His birth GOD AND MAN united". …, "Surely Christ has a right to reveal Deity, which was in fact His own essential possession"
108A.D. -Ignatius of Antioch (108AD): "For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by
Mary in accord with God's plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the
Holy Spirit" (Letter to the Ephesians 18:2 [A.D. 110]).
170 A.D. -Tatian the Syrian (170 AD): "We are not playing the fool, you Greeks, nor do we
talk nonsense, when we report that God was born in the form of a man" (Address
to the Greeks 21).
190 A.D. -Clement of Alexandria (190AD): "The Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both
of our ancient beginning-for he was in God- and of our well-being. And now this
same Word has appeared as man. He alone is both God and man, and the
source of all our good things" (Exhortation to the Greeks 1:7:1 [A.D. 190]).
210 A.D. -Tertullian: "God alone is without sin. The only man who is without sin is
Christ; for Christ is also God" (The Soul 41:3 [A.D. 210]).
225 A.D. -Origen: "Although he was God, he took flesh; and having been made man, he
remained what he was: God" (The Fundamental Doctrines 1:0:4 [A.D. 225]).
Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. Romans 9:5 (first Centurey)
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh (first Century)
The video says that St. Paul never was taught by Christ, but here is his testimony that he was and he died for this testimony so he is to be believed completely:
“the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”
ACTS 20:24
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 1 Cor: 11:23
Around Acts 9:5, Acts 22:8, and Acts 26:14 St. Paul describes how Christ appared to him and taught Him what He must do. So the statement in the video that Christ never spoke with or interacted with St.Paul is not correct.
The video says that St. Paul came up with the Idea of the “Only Begotten Son” and “Trinity” but in Matthew, Jesus tells His disciples to go and baptize all nations in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The gospels, including St. John speak about the Son of God and St. John in particular speak of the ONLY begotten Son of God, not St. Paul.
The Holy Trinity is clearly taught in the Bible even if the word “trinity” is not there. The word “monotheism” is not there either, but it is clearly taught in the Bible.
“Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-9. He is fully God, having the same nature, same essence as the Father who humbled Himself and became a man.
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.
And the Gospel of John says that the Word was God... and the Word became flesh. It doesn’t say that Jesus is the express of God’s message. It says that the Logos BECAME flesh.
The video host says that Jesus is not the creator and that scripture does not teach this: But it does. Muslims have a right not to believe the Bible, but they do not have a right to teach that the New Testament does not teach that Jesus is the creator, because it clearly does, very explicitly:
The Bible also says about Christ, “ALL THINGS WERE MADE THROUGH HIM and without Him nothing was made that was made”
John 1:10
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:15-17
1. John 1:3
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
5) The guest on the video says how could the Father and the Son not have the same knowledge if they are the same Person. Christianity teaches that Jesus is not the same Person as the Father. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons who are the One God from all eternity. They are inseparably always the One God. God the Son emptied himself and did not wish to reveal to the disciples the end of the world. In His Humanity, Christ can choose not to make use of His Divinity to overcome hunger, or pain, or sleepiness, and could have even avoided death using His Divinity, but he emptied Himself and became a servant, obedient even to death. St. Athanasius says that He even assumed our ignorance just as he assumed all of our other weaknesses, except for sin. In His humanity, it was not for Him to reveal the time of the end of the world. This issue along with the issue of His Father being “greater than” Him, again have to do with Him as a Man. The Key again is understanding that Christ comes from two natures. All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Me, Christ says after His resurrection, but He still does not reveal the end of the world’s date even when asked then.
The video says that the Concept of Trinity can not be explained to a child, which it ought to be if God intended it to be believed. The fact is, a child can not easily comprehend what it means to have a spirit that survives death. There is no human who fully can grasp God even as a singularity. If God could be completely understood or contained in our mind, He would not be God, it has been said. We do not believe in God because we fully understand Him, but because this is How He revealed Himself to us from the Begninning. In Genesis, God the Father Speaks (his Mind, which is the Logos/Jesus) and the Spirit of God creates life and hovers over the waters... this is the Holy Trinity. We explain Him like time, Past and Present and Future are time, but the past is not the present is not the future. Length, width and depth are space, but the three are distinctly three dimensions. These are analogies to help explain the Holy Trinity. God the Father speaks His Mind, which is always within Him and not having any beginning. God’s life is always in Him and this is His Holy Spirit. This is the Trinity.
4) “That they may know you, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” This does not contradict or negate the many explicit verses that Jesus shares the same Divine nature as the Father. God the Father IS the only True God. Jesus, as He Himself taught explicitly, came from Him and was with Him before the world began. God the Father is the Only True God. God the Father would not be God the Father if He had no Logos, no Mind, which is His only begotten Son whom He speaks from Inside Him from all eternity. God the Father would not be the Only True God without the Holy Spirit who is His life, because He would then not be the Living God. Jesus Christ equates the importance of knowing Him (Jesus) with the Only True God because without knowing Jesus, one can not really have communion, reconciliation and knowledge of the Father because, the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON has declaired Him, as He said.
“I am ascending to My Father and Your Father, to My God and Your God”. Again, the Key is understanding the Biblical teaching that Christ is from Two Natures, Divine and Human. He is fully God and fully human. The Father is Jesus’ Father by nature, by His very essence from all eternity. He is “your Father” by adoption when you believe in Christ, not by very nature as is Jesus. The Father is the God of Jesus on account of Jesus’ Humanity, with whom He became consubstantial. The Father becomes truly our God when we believe in Jesus who became Man for us. He made us truly sons and daughters of God by adoption because He is the True, Natural Son of God by essence and Nature.
When the guest says that its not like Christ is saying, “I ascend to Myself” he doesn’t understand that the Trinity is that God the Son is ascending in His incarnate form to His Father, not to Himself- Just as when He was praying in Gesthemani, He was not praying to Himself but to His Father.
3) The guest in the video says that “Many are called “Son of God” But there is NOT ONE SINGLE CITATION OF ANYONE CALLED “ONLY BEGOTTEN SON” OF GOD or “ONE AND ONLY SON” of God ANYWHERE in the Bible EXCEPT when referring to Jesus.
If Christ is the One and Only Son of the Father, that means the other Sons are of a different nature or are metaphorical. Christ is literally the Son of the Father, having the same nature as Him.
The guest says, ONLY begotten is because of not having a human father, but this is not why Christ is called only begotten, it is because He is uniquely and naturally the eternal son of God who existed with Him before all eternity. The guest quotes an uninformed pastor that gives the answer that it is on account of His virgin birth, but this is not why the Son is called Only Begotten. Adam was also born without a human father, but he is not called Only Begotten.
The video says the Christ came only for the Jews. The entire new Testament teaches that Christ came for the Jews first and ALSO the gentiles. Christ himself said that many will come and sit at Abraham’s table, as was the case when He healed the Roman Centurion’s son.
About others being called Lord, many were called “Lord” in Judaism, as in “master”. This is true, but none of them were worshipped, like the man born blind who worshipped Christ, or as when St. Thomas said, “My Lord and my God”
About the objection that God having a Son is that God will give birth to Himself. This is not the case. The understanding of the Holy Trinity is that there are Three DISTINCT Hypostasis in One God. Muslims don’t have to believe this, but when trying to understand Christianity, they need to acknowledge that that this is what Christianity teaches. Christianity does not teach that the Father gave birth to Himself as a Son. God the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, without beginning, and the Holy Spirit is eternally proceeding from the Father. We do not say that the Father is Eternally Begotten of the Father as the video suggests.
The host says, if the Father can die, then the Father can die. But again, they ignore the fact that Christ came from two natures. Fully God and fully Man. Christ, the Son of God experienced death because He BECAME MAN. The Father did not experience death because He was not incarnate, only the Son became Incarnate.
2) “God can not change” We know that. Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The Old Testament also says about God that He does not Change. He is the same always. Christ becoming man does not change God. God became Man, He did not change into a Man, but took upon Himself the nature of a Man. This is what Christianity teaches. We even confess in the liturgy that He united humanity to His divinity without CHANGE, alteration, confusion, or separation. Again this argument is based on Islam’s inability to acknowledge that Christianity has always taught that Christ comes from two natures. Jesus took upon Himself Human nature while remaining God. He did not change. When we say that God spoke to someone in the Old Testament we do not say that God changed from one minute of not speaking to the next minute of speaking to that person. Likewise, when we say that God became incarnate and took upon Himself Human nature WHILE REMAINING GOD everywhere, He does not change in anyway, but reveals Himself to Humanity very intimately. God becoming man does not mean there was any change in God.
It is Humanity that has needs and weeknesses. He became incarnate to participate in our humanity and elevate it and save it. Becoming Man DOES NOT change God or lessen Him, but it shows His immence love for us as humans, something Islam is incapable of grasping. These are not just words. This is the Love of God expressed in reality, in Love, in intimacy with humanity. It is also the fulfilment of old testament prophecies.
The guest also says that Christ was not Crucified. This is not what the scriptures teach. The scriptures clearly teach that Christ was Crucified and the Romans themselves testified that that we worship a man named, “Christos” that was Crucified (e.g. Nero).
To the objection: There is no God but God. There is only one God.
We know there is only One God.
This One God is revealed to us from Genesis to Revelation as Father, Logos and Holy Spirit. The Logos of God, who has the same nature as the Father and the Holy Spirit became Man for our salvation. God can appear to a million people in different places and have different conversations with them AT THE SAME TIME and He would still be the ONE SAME GOD. When He became Incarnate and when His Holy Spirit leads the Disciples and the Church, He does not change and become Three Gods but He remains One God.
Just as we are human beings with a single human nature... yet that ONE Human is three: body, soul and spirit. And likewise, time is one entity, but it is three... past present and future. There is only one linear time we experience now, but it is past present and future. Analagously, God is Father, Logos, and Holy Spirit: One God. Amen.
As for Arabic Bible having the word Allah in it, this is because of Arabian/Islamic influence of Arabic Islamization of middle eastern countries. Arabic speakers use Allah as a generic term for God, like Theos. It is not, as is for Muslims, the proper Name for God. The Muslims believe that God’s name is Allah. Christians do not believe this. His name is NOT Allah. He told Moses that His name is “I AM” where we get, Jehovah and other derivatives. This in fact, is the name Jesus used to address Himself when He said, “before Abraham was, I AM.”
He quotes Jesus quoting Isaiah saying, “
Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[e] honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”[f]
Jesus is NOT saying don’t worship me in these verses. He is speaking about how the Pharisees worship God in vain. This point actually goes against what the guest is saying. Jesus KNOWS that the Pharisees here ARE NOT going to worship God property BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT believe in Jesus and behave appropriately.
We also stated before, that MANY WORSHIPPED JESUS and Jesus NEVER rebuked them.
Matthew 14:33
Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Matthew 28:17
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
John 9:38
Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him
Acts 10:24-26
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”
IN Revelation, St. John bowed down to a messenger and the messenger rebuked him saying, “see that you do not do that...”
JESUS NEVER RESPONDS IN THIS WAY TO ANYONE WHO WORSHIPS HIM.
Thomas worshipped Jesus and said to Him My Lord and My God and Jesus responded with a blessing and not a rebuke.
John 9:37-39
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas,[a] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29-29
God is the Almight First and Last. Revelation 1 says that Jesus is that Person:
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,“What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches... “
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Jesus Christ died and was raised from the dead. He calls Himself the First and the Last. Above, The Almight, Alpha and Omega also calls Himself, the First and the Last.
Jesus is God incarnate who was crucified and resurrected because the Old Testament says, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Christ came and fulfilled this in His once for all sacrifice for us. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God”.
When someone said to the Lord Jesus that he would not be Curcified, Jesus said, “Get behind Me Satan, for you are mindful of the things of men and not of the things of God.” The teaching that Jesus would not be crucified is from Satan, according to Jesus. This is our Salvation.
We do good deeds because of our Love for God and to live as saved citizens of Heaven belonging to Christ.
JESUS the Christ is FULLY DIVINE and FULLY HUMAN. AMEN.
“God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1hdpAATLKwfUTVzRVphaDRNVkU
New International Version (NIV)
13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ