False charges against the Gospel of Christ, my Muslim friend

According to Matthew

Objection:
The Gospel of Christ According to Matthew was written in Hebrew; but it was lost,owing to corruption at the hands of Christian sectarians. The present copy is a translation and the name of the translator is unknown.

Response:
This gospel record was originally written in Greek, the predominant language during the time of Christ. Since it was God's intention to proclaim His will and purpose to mankind, it is unreasonable that the Bible would have been written in an uncommon language, lest its intended usefulness should be diminished.

Matthew was a tax collector before he was called to apostleship. Being employed in this profession, it was necessary for him to know Greek, the most common language of the day. All the apostles and disciples of Christ wrote their letters in Greek for their readers, regardless of whether they were of Jewish or Gentile background.

Many of the expressions found in this Gospel account are harmonious with those found in the other three Gospel records. The idea that Matthew wrote this Gospel account in Hebrew most likely stemmed from a statement in a letter which Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, wrote to Eusebius in AD 116: "Matthew wrote his gospel in the Hebrew tongue."

Papias did not mention that he personally saw Matthew's  account of the Gospel in Hebrew but rather that the Greek version circulated among the people before his time. Thus, the statement that the Gospel of Christ according to Matthew was written in Hebrew is mere conjecture, as opposed to the proof that shows it was written in Greek. Moreover, the passage in this Gospel account, quoted from the Old Testament, were taken from the Greek Septuagint edition. Had the Gospel According to Matthew been written in Hebrew, as alleged by the objector, the quoted passages from the Old Testament would also have been taken from the Hebrew.

Though Matthew's account of the Gospel was written in Greek, we could allow the possibility of its being written in Hebrew as well.  The sacred, inspired books do not lose their meaning and beauty when translated into other languages. The historian Josephus wrote his Wars of the Jews both in Hebrew and Greek to widen its appeal. In any case, this Gospel record was in circulation among Christians not too long after Christ's ascension into heaven.

In AD 178, Irenaeus stated that Matthew also published a Gospel account in Hebrew, for the convenience of the Jews; thus, there was a Greek copy, too.

In AD 230, Origen said: "Regardless the four Gospels which the whole Church under heaven clings to vigorously, I have learned from reliable authority that the first one was given by inspiration to Matthew who was a tax collector before he became a follower of Jesus Christ. He published it for the believers in Judea in Hebrew. Those words indicate that his account of the Gospel of Christ was available in Greek for the benefit of all Christians. Then it was made available to the Jews in Hebrew.

https://www.answering-islam.org/

Christ is called "His Word" in The Women 171, my Muslim Friend

John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

My Muslim friend, I do not have to believe in the Qur'an but you have to believe in the Bible.

You may think that I am making up ideas but know this.

Surah 4:136 reads: O ye who believe? believe in Allah and His Messenger and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Day of Judgement hath gone far, far astray."

Surah 2:136, "Say ye: 'We believe in Allah and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ishma'il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord we make no difference between one and another of them; and we bow to Allah (in Islam)."

I will now talk about John 1:1. The Islamic philosophy came to confirm the eternality of the Word. El-Mu'tazila (The Muslim isolationists) denied the eternality of God's Word, on the ground that God alone existed from eternity before time and no other existence should share in the eternality of God.

In other words, they could not accept the fact that God's Word is eternal. On the other hand, the Asharite group, whose philosophy has been commonly accepted among Muslims, answered the Mu'tazila's charges, branding them as a loathsome cult and heresy, and insisting that the Word of God is eternal and that it is the expression of the very Self of God. Then the Asharities supported their case with a very convicting argument. 

They said that if the Word of God was created, it would mean that God is changeable; for in creating the Word, He would be considered going on for a while without the Word, and then He reached a point in eternity where He created the Word. Thus, He became a God with the Word. Such a case necessitates a change in the unchanging God. It is by necessity and definition that God does not change; consequently, His Word was with Him from the beginning.

According to John Chapter one, Christ is God's Word; also the Qur'an tell us in (Women 171) that Christ is "His Word". Because Christ is the Word of God; it is a must that Christ, the Word of God, should coexist with God, from the beginning, not as an independent being but as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, in the One God.

Thus, we find that the main Islamic philosophy introduced the greatest intellectual proof for the eternality and divinity of Christ, who is the Word of God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytyntyd2fTw

The Necessity of Inspiration for the Historical Books, my Muslim Friend

Objection:

The historical books, such as the Gospel of Christ according to Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles, could be written without inspiration. It would not harm Christianity if these were like any other literature.

Response:

The historical books of Scripture were written through divine inspiration. Reading from both the Old and New Testament is of spiritual merit. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Jesus Himself quoted from these books; this shows us that He regarded them as divinely inspired and trustworthy.

The aim of the historical books is not only to show us a record of the experience of godly men and women but also to reveal the grace of God to us. The pages of Holy Writ reflect God's love and care for us, His kindness and greatness, His angels and the themes they long to understand, such as redemption.

God gave us the historical books to function as a double-edged sword, exposing the secrets of the human heart and soul. These annals contain the history of the world before it was populated and provide us with knowledge of the unseen world.

These writings indicate that angels take part in the lives of believers on earth and that they will do likewise in heaven. Writers, theologians, poets, philosophers and sages did not describe angels, but the Bible tells us that they are in heaven and on earth, worshiping God in His presence, serving men on earth and helping believers in hardships. The Bible describe the work of angels, as it relates to mercy and judgement and from them we know that angels will accompany Jesus Christ at His second coming from heaven on the Day of Judgement, gathering believers from all around the earth.

The Bible reveal the role of Christ in the Old Testament sacrifices, the exodus from Egypt, the pillar of fire, the manna, and the rock from which Moses provided water for the children of Israel (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Thus we can see that secular historical books bear no resemblance to the historical holy books. The Bible necessitate divine inspiration in matters that are beyond the ability of human beings to explain, such as the creation of the world and all it contains, the Final Judgement and the shrouded mysteries of the human heart. Divine inspiration is also essential in describing Christ-His characteristics, merits, love sacrifice, death, resurrection and grace.

It is indispensable that the historical books of the Bible be inspired, for human beings are fallible and often fall into error.

https://www.answering-islam.org/
     

My Muslim friend, the coming of the Righteous Judge

The Lord Jesus told us, in Chapter 14 of the book of John that He will come back again, to reward everyone according to his work: the believer will inherit heaven and the sinner will be in the fire of hell. Then the prophet of Islam came to confirm that fact when he said: "As soon as the last hour comes, the Son of Mary will come back as the Righteous Judge (of the living and the dead)."

Who is really the final Judge of the living and the dead? Who is the Righteous Judge? Mohammad told us, that Christ will come again to judge the world, but he did not tell us how He will be coming back; simply because the Bible told us how. The Bible tells us that the coming of the Judge:

Jude 1:14 says, "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones"

Then, the Lord gave a frightening description of that day in Matthew 24:29-31.
Matthew 24:29-31 says, "Immediately after the distress of those day“‘the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

The statement quoted above goes hand in hand with the statement made by Christ, to His disciples, as He declared to them that He is the Judge of the world in John 5:22. 

John 5:22 says, "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son."

Then, the Judge tells us, on what basis He will use to judge the world in John 12:48.

John 12:48 says, "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day."

In other words, every person that has accepted Christ as personal Savior and obeyed His Word becomes one of Christ's saints; and all those who have rejected Him, and refused to accept His call, to become His followers, they will confront a frightening judgement, ending in the fire of hell. 

Matthew 13:40-42 says: "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The most important question, at this time, is: Where do you think, you will spend your eternity? But please remember, without that Righteous Judge on your side, your fate will be miserable. But He who paid your debt to redeem you with the grand Sacrifice, of Himself, He is ready to give you the privilege of becoming a child of God.

John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

Now then, if you want to guarantee your eternity, you should believe on Christ, today.

The Self-Incriminating Contents of the Apocryphal Books part three

Some events mentioned in the forged books did not actually occur until after the days of their alleged authors; thus, the men to whom they are attributed could not have written them. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Jew greet Pilate with the expression, "your excellency," even though they were were not familiar with form of address, for it was not vogue at the time. We also read about Christ making the sign of the cross on Adam and all the saints before He rescued them from hell, despite the fact that the sign of the cross was not widespread until the fourth century.

The style of the forged writings is the strongest proof of their unreliability. For instance, names cited in the Gospel of Nicodemus, purporting to be Jewish, are in fact Greek or Roman; and the overall language is Latin, not Greek which is the language of inspiration. Also, the letters attributed to Paul lack the anointing of divine apostolic, words. At the beginning of The Letter to Seneca, for instance, we read: "I commit you to God's keeping, O splendid master."  Such phraseology is foreign to the style of the apostles and was not even used until long after their time.

There are certain matters attributed to the apostles and disciples that conflict with history. In the alleged correspondence between the Apostle Paul and Seneca, it is mentioned that Paul was in Rome. Then it goes on to say he was at a place he never visited, and then there is a complaint of his absence. In the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth letters, the names of the Roman consuls are misquoted. In one incident, Paul warns Seneca not to mention the Christian religion in front of Nero, and this of course contradicts his religious zeal. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, we read that Pilate mentioned the history of the children of Israel; yet in another he is said to have been ignorant of it.

The accuracy of the names of people and places in the New Testament is confirmed by contemporary historians, be they Christian or pagan. This makes the soundness of the Gospel record evident. The contents of the spurious gospels, on the contrary, are at variance with the writing of contemporary authors and these errors prove the falsity of their claims.

The Christian religion exhorts its adherents to cling to sound doctrine. As was quoted earlier, the Apostle Paul and John said: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed....For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Galatians 1:8, Revelation 22:18-19). Indeed, the presence of such strict commands in the Bible makes it unthinkable that anyone would dare to add or subtract anything from its pages. Christians were even forbidden to accept oral teachings unless these were documented in writing and substantiated by remarkable signs.

https://www.answering-islam.org/

         

My Muslim friend, the person of Jesus

If you read some of my blogs in the past, you have read about the distinctives of the Lord Jesus in the Qur'an.

The Lord Jesus Christ, is an inherent attribute that is exclusively distinctive of God, and that God did not share any of those distinctives with any human, at all, not even with His preferred prophets, simply because God does not give His glory to others nor share it with them.

In the meantime, you find that the Lord Jesus did not only enjoy one of those attributes, but the Qur'an itself has testified and pointed out that Christ had in Himself at least fifteen of the attributes that are exclusively God's. All those Qur'anic testimonials were just to confirm the Bible accounts that tell us that the Almighty God Himself became incarnate in the form of a man, which is something that is easy for an Omni-potent God.

The Bible says: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God....and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
"And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh..." (1 Timothy 3:16).

Thus, the truth was clear in the following verse of the incarnation: "Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:6-11).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB4JYaCnXws

The Self-Incriminating Contents of the Apocryphal Books part two

In the Gospel of James the Less, a futile argument between Mary's mother and her maid is described. We are also told that angels used to serve Mary and that an argument ensued among the priests regarding the craftsmanship of the temple veil.

In the Gospel of Thomas, we can read some vain accounts about Jesus' childhood  and upbringing. Some miracles of vengeance are attributed to Him while He is learning the alphabet.

In the Gospel of Mary and of Thomas, and in the Childhood of Christ, silly "miracles" are attributed to Mary and Jesus. For instance, Mary is presented rectifying mistakes that Joseph made in his carpentry work, as well as other trivialities.

Whoever carefully studies the accounts of the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will be impressed at the way each event is mentioned-no hypocrisy, affectation or decoration; events are related simply, as they happened. The apostles did not refrain from mentioning events that events showed them to be human men with fears, unbelief, anger or pride; for these are feelings or attitudes they really had experienced and their aim was always to present the truth. Nothing frivolous, false, sensational or comic was ever included to make the characters appear superhuman. And when miracles are documented, their aim is always to support a message or teaching; they were never performed for selfish, destructive or sensational purposes. This is in contrast to forged gospels and letters of the apostles which are full of melodramatic, trivial and sensational incidents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGbITk2TrtQ

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part Thirteen and fifteenth

13) Christ, alone, was described as a sign and mercy from God, unto the world. (Mary 20). The world was condemned to hell, under the heavy burden of sin and needed a Savior. For this reason, the only Savior, came to die for our sins, that God's mercy could become available to everyone that believes on Him. 

14) For this reason, Christ was the only one that could guarantee His followers high honors and assurances in heaven. The Qur'an "And I will set thy followers above those who disbelieved till the Day of Resurrection." (House of Imran 55).

15) The Lord Jesus Christ will exclusively be the righteous Judge of the living and the dead. The Arabian Messenger, Mohammed, confirmed that fact when he was quoted by El-Bukhary, saying: "The Last Hour will not come until the Son of Mary come down as the righteous Judge.) Notice, Muslims say that God the Judge of the world at the Judgement day. However, their prophet confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ will be Judge.

https://www.answering-islam.org/

The Self-Incriminating Contents of the Apocryphal Books part one

The Apocryphal books support practices contrary to truth, such as the veneration of relics. In the Gospel of the Childhood of Christ, we read that when the magi came to Jerusalem and presented their gifts, according to Zoroaster's prophecy, "St. Mary" gave them some wrappings from the child as a blessed and highly desirable gift.

The "Birth of Mary" was composed by some who wanted to elevate the Virgin Mary above her rank, for there is nothing in the inspired Bible to support their personal views. In it, we read of angels foretelling her birth and serving her as a child and of her performing miracles herself or with the help of the child Jesus. We also read that Christ miraculously climbed the steps of the temple unassisted when he was three years of age, despite the facts that each step was half a yard high. This work was written sometime during the fourth or fifth century.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0L4nc7K-FQ&index=5&list=PLuXxHEHGRVu-vjEheufbmFS8-vEkIOh06 

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part Twelve

Among all those who have walked on the face of this earth, the Lord Jesus Christ could solely exchanged responsibilities of authority with God. The Qur'an says: "And I was a witness over them, while I remained among them; but when thou didst take me to thyself, Thou was Thyself the watcher over them." (The Table 117).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGcucVyX45Q&index=1&list=PLuXxHEHGRVu-vjEheufbmFS8-vEkIOh06

The Apocryphal New Testament writings, Part Three

Objection: The Christians have lost 11 parts of the Gospel which were attributed to Christ. They have also lost nine letters from John, two from Andrew, Mathew, Philip and one from James; accounts of the Gospel by Bartolomew, Thomas, James and Matthews and some acts of Christ's apostles-four of Thomas and two of Matthew. There is another collection of books which the Christians also lost; there are attributed to authors whose names we cannot find anywhere.

Answer: 

All of the Church authorities living in Asia Minor, Africa, and Europe used quotations from the Bible in their writings. They relied on the Bible when debating or arguing with their adversaries.

All Christians recited the inspired Holy Scriptures for their worship in churches, just as the Jews relied on the Torah in their synagogues. Consider the following words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians: "Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea" (Colossians 4:16). Moreover, at the beginning of the second century Justin Martyr that Christians from the towns and villages were in the habit of meeting on Sunday for worship and that during their meetings they recited the letters of the apostles and the words of the prophets. Tertullian mentioned that the Christians met to read their scared writings and sing songs on Sunday.

The inspired letters of the apostles and disciples of Christ were translated into many languages. Doctrinal expositions and interpretations were based on them; this is the distinguishing mark of the inspired Scriptures-a quality that does not characterize the spurious Apocryphal books mentioned by the objector.

Interestingly, the enemies of the Christian Church have always quoted from the inspired Bible in their attacks against Believers. They never quoted from the Apocryphal books, for it was known that the Christians did not include them in the Bible. Some of these fabrications had begun to circulate toward the end of the second century and most of them during the third. But these were promptly rejected and disowned. Let us examine some of the Apocryphal books:

A) The Epistle of Abhar Emir al-Raha or the Epistle of Jesus Christ. No one had heard of either of these until the fourth century when Eusebius exposed them.

B) The Epistle of Paul to Laodicea. The scholar Jones said that it was contrived by a monk prior to the Reformation and that it was based on some verses from Paul's genuine epistles; thus, it is of modern origin and was not written in Greek, as were Paul's manuscripts.

C) The Six Letters to Seneca and his replies. These were not heard of until the fourth century. Both Jerome and Augustine mentioned them, warning that they were forged.

D) The Gospel of the Birth of Mary, from the third century. It was upheld by heretics, is full of contradictory statements and resembles the Gospel of James whose author was a Greek Jew.

E) The Two Gospels of "The Childhood of Christ." attributed to Thomas. These were believed in by the Marcionites in the second century. The Koran has taken some of the stories of Christ's childhood from them.

F) The Gospel of Nicodemus, also called the "The Acts of Pilate," which was forged by Lucius Charinus at the beginning of the fourth century. This man achieved fame as the forger of the "Acts of Peter, Paul, Andrew" as well as of other disciples of Christ.

G) The Doctrines of the Apostles. This work was named as such not because the disciples wrote it, but because it was made up their beliefs and the saying of Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, in the fourth century.

H) The Acts of Paul and Tekla. This was written by a Christian priest, in admiration of the Apostle Paul, around the beginning of the second century.

The majority of the titles which the objector mentioned are nonexistent. They appeared after true Christianity was established and had spread throughout the world. However, some ancient Christian authorities referred to these books when they debated with antagonists. They wanted to show them that they were well-informed and familiar with all that pertained to religion. Origen said: "The Christian churches uphold four gospels only. As for the heretics, they have many gospels, such as the Gospel of the Egyptians and of Thomas. We read them so that we will not be accused of ignorance and because those who uphold them imagine that they possess great knowledge." Ambrose said, "We read them not out of a desire to accept them but to know their contents, for we categorically reject them."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxfFrAUBV-U     

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part ten and eleven

10) The Lord Jesus was the only one that could raise the dead with the word of His blessed mouth: "And I will bring to life the dead" (House of Imran 49; The Table 110).

11) The Lord Jesus Christ exclusively enjoyed the prophetical title of the Messiah: "The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was God's messenger and His Word committed to Mary." (The Women 171). 
The Torah described the identity of the expected Christ, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth.... and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jeremiah 23.

http://www.answering-islam.org/ 

The Apocryphal New Testament writtings, Part Two

Objection: The Christians have lost 11 parts of the Gospel which were attributed to Christ. They have also lost nine letters from John, two from Andrew, Mathew, Philip and one from James; accounts of the Gospel by Bartolomew, Thomas, James and Matthews and some acts of Christ's apostles-four of Thomas and two of Matthew. There is another collection of books which the Christians also lost; there are attributed to authors whose names we cannot find anywhere.

Answer: 
The leading Christian scholars of this time compiled lists of the writings which the early Church regarded as sacred. The first such index was arranged by Origen who lived 100 years after John the Apostle. Origen was a very learned man who traveled widely, spending long periods in Judea, investigating and deliberating. He inquired among the churches and other sources regarding the sacred writings. Eusebius, in his history, mentions Origen's list which includes the four accounts of the Gospel of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the Acts, all the letters of the Apostle Paul, the two letters of the Apostle Peter, three letters of the Apostle John and the book of Revelation. This collection is identical with the New Testament we have today. There is no mention of the other works that are mentioned by the objector. Thus, the Christians of the early Church recognized only those books which have come down to us. Other men who complied similar lists are:

A) Athanasius, who suffered for his belief in the divinity of the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.

B) Cyril, a contemporary of Eusebius.

C) A council of bishops that met in Laodicea. This council forbid the reciting of anything but the inspired books.

D) The Bishops of Salamis, Cyprus, in a book he wrote against heresies.

E) Gregory Nazianzen of Constantinople, in a brilliant poem.

F) Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin.

G) Rufinus, a church chronicler who lived from AD 345-410.

H) Augustine, Bishops, North Africa (AD 354-430).

I) A council of Church leaders at Carthage, which Augustine attended.  This council forbid the reciting of anything but the inspired books.

J) Dionysius, the Areopagite.

All of the Church authorities living in Asia minor, Africa and Europe used quotations from the Holy Scriptures in their writings. They relied on the Bible when debating with their adversaries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wuHHUFE9YI     

The distinctives of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Qu'ran, part eight and nine

8) The Lord Jesus stands separate above all humans. He was uniquely incomparable in knowing men's secrets: "I will inform you too of what things you eat and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you if you are believers." (House of Imran 49).

9) The Lord Jesus Christ was matches in making the miracles and the wonders which no other could make: "And I will also heal the blind and the leper. (House of the Imran49).

http://answering-islam.org/Who/index.html