Answering "answering-islam.org"

Part 8 

Objections (Continued)

 

Critic:-

God's Word in the Bible tells us this about the issue of hypocrisy: None of the Israelites were forced to leave Egypt with Moses. This was their free choice. When they reach Mt. Sinai and God makes a covenant with them and gives them his law, they are again asked if they want to accept this covenant. Then, after the land of Israel is conquered at the end of the book of Joshua, God asks Israel yet again through his servant Joshua:- "So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 24:13-15

Not: Don't you dare choosing other gods! But: Freely choose now.

Jesus has very much the same desire. He does not want any followers who stay with him for the wrong reasons. In the Gospel according to John we read in chapter 6, after Jesus spoke some very tough truths: From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 6:66-67. Jesus did not pronounce any judgment on those who left him. He only asks his inner group of disciples whether they want to leave too or stay.

Answer:-

The Critic makes the mistake of comparing the teachings of one religion with the practices of people in the other. People were certainly put to death for blasphemy and apostasy under Christianity. And why does the Critic not mention the Witch hunts and tortures by the Inquisition, persecution of Heretics and other religions, Sectarian Wars and other Christian malpractice? And was not Moses commanded to kill the Israelites who had apostatized and begun to worship the Golden calf (Exodus 32).

As already stated: "There is no compulsion in religion; the right way is henceforth distinct from the wrong. And whoso rejects Taghut (false deities) and believes in Allah, he has grasped a firm handle which will not break; but Allah is both Hearer and Knower." Quran 2:256.

The Critic quotes from the Old and New Testaments, from the teachings to contradict what people do. But it has already been pointed out that Islam accepts the teachings of previous religions and that different circumstances and problems require different actions and remedies and that there is a difference between a teaching and the people who apply it to different degrees. One can quote the Quran or the Hindu and Buddhist Scriptures to show how people who call themselves Christians fall short of it.

Critic:-

In the book 1 Kings 18:21 we read: " Elijah went before the people and said: How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.

And in the prophet Isaiah, the whole chapter 58 is about the reasons why God has rejected the false fasting of Israel and what true fasting is about. And in Matthew 6, Jesus talks about true and hypocritical giving of alms, true and false prayer, true and false fasting. And probably the harshest words of Jesus were against those who are religious leaders but hypocrites. You will find those in Matthew 23.

Paul also talks about the danger of counterfeit faith, "having a form of godliness but denying its power" and he advises "Have nothing to do with them." (2 Timothy 3:5). Jesus also speaks about this issue and taught that the measure to be taken is to excommunicate the willful and unrepentant sinner from the church community, but there is no authority given to the leaders to do any physical or material harm to them. (Matthew 18). Nor is there any kind of punishment for those who leave the church out of their own initiative.

One of the clearest passages on God's opinion in regard to hypocrisy and apostasy is found in Revelation, chapter 3:15-16. I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I will spit you out of my mouth.

This is clearly showing God's preference for an honest atheist or even polytheist [cold] over somebody who is "believing" but living his "faith" half-heartedly, i.e. without a full submission and obedience to the Lord out of true love for him [hot].

God is the God of truthfulness and honesty and desires the same from his creation. The Islamic law that condemns hypocrisy and at the same time forces people into hypocrisy is inconsistent and unworthy of the God of truth. Therefore this is another issue that creates doubts that it comes from the God of truth as I know him from his word, the Holy Bible.

Answer:-

Jesus brought a teaching. He did not legislate. He regarded the Hebrew Law as valid (Matthew 5:17-18). But the Christian Church abolished it and had to adopt the Roman Secular Law instead. Islam restored a Divine Law. The Critic still takes a stance against a Divine Law and does not understand that Religion is not exclusively a spiritual matter. It also has a social dimension. The social system must be suitable in order that spirituality can flourish in it. This is one of the interpretations of the parable about the New Spirit requiring New Vessels.

We know that you cannot really convert anyone by force. As the Quran says:

"We are Best Aware of what they say, and thou art in no wise a compeller over them. But warn by the Qur'an him who fears My threat." 50:45

"But had thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou force men to become believers? It is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of Allah.." 10:100-101

But Islam is not like Christianity, which has a limited application. It also deals with the worldly and practical affairs - with social, political and economic matters as well as with Cosmological, Sociological and environmental ones. It has not only teachings but also Law and techniques.

Surely, the critic knows that there are differences between the Old Testament and New Testament and therefore, between Hebrewism and Christianity, between the instructions of Moses and those of Jesus. Why does he expect Islam, as brought by Muhammad under different conditions and historical context for the Arabs specially and the whole world in general, to be an exact imitation of Christianity. Is he not wholly unreasonable?

Critic:-

In a nutshell: It is hypocritical to condemn hypocrisy but to deny the freedom of dissent by punishing those who do. Based on the above observations, Islam seems to be a system that is inherently hypocritical. How can this be solved? If it cannot be solved, then this is a strong indication that it is not designed by the God of truth and truthfulness.

Answer:-

If hypocrisy is evil should not evil be punished? Is it condoned or condemned by God? Is it not hypocritical of the critic to want it to flourish? Or perhaps that is just what he wants in order to allow hypocritical criticism.

Critic:-

My Questions to Muslims:- In the discussion of the Qur'anic denial of the crucifixion of Jesus the most coherent Muslim explanation presented is the theory that it might all have looked to the people just as it is reported but it was only "appearance". Looking in depth at this argument is the purpose of the present article.

The deception of believers.

Qur'an states that the disciples of Jesus were true submitters to God! For example, his is found in the following verse: When Jesus found unbelief on their part [i.e. the children of Israel (verse 49)], he said: "Who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah?" Said the disciples: We are Allah's helpers, we believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims. Sura 3:52

When the Bible reports the crucifixion and the Qur'an denies the crucifixion, the first idea (for a Muslim) to resolve the tension might be to claim that the disciples made up the whole story, i.e. they lied and deceived. But this claim would be in contradiction to the above verse, which testifies to the disciples sincerity and them being true believers. The theory that it was all "appearance" and the disciples might have seen and experienced it subjectively just as it is reported, allows not only to harmonize the two claims of the Bible and the Qur'an whether the crucifixion happened but it also saves the disciples from being deceivers.

Then what is the problem with this approach? As I have shown in the article on the historical reality of the Crucifixion, the Christians at all times have believed that Jesus died on the cross, including the very disciples of Jesus who were sincere and honest men, whose desire was to follow God [as even the Qur'an affirms in Sura 3:52-53], and who were so sincere about it that all but one of them died as martyrs for their convictions. My problem then is that Allah is deceiving not only his enemies but also the followers of the Messiah, whom He had sent Himself.

If the Qur'an says that such deception of the honest seekers of truth is part of the character of Allah, then I do not know on what basis I can trust the Qur'an itself. If God ever did deceive those who desired to know and follow him, how can I have any assurance he did not do it again and the Qur'an is not part of this deception?

I hope you see the problem and don't do away with it lightly. This is in fact my biggest problem with this passage, even bigger than the historical aspect of it. And I think this is one of the most difficult questions that Muslims will have to answer.

Answer:-

This has been answered above. No. I do not see any problem. The critic speaks as if illusion and misinterpretations do not exist in the world. Is he saying that it is not something that God has permitted or that God has no power to prevent it if He wished? Did He not create Satan and give him permission to tempt and mislead man? Is this not part of the testing of man?

The critic is creating a problem where none exists. It is perfectly possible to sincerely believe something that is not true but also to misinterpret the meaning and significance of events and what is written about them. Apart from this the Quran does not say that the immediate disciples of Jesus were deceived. The Quranic verses tell us that the disciples agreed to help Jesus. It does not say that they were to propagate the doctrine of crucifixion, trinity and vicarious atonement.

Critic:-

I could accept that God tricks or deceives his enemies, e.g. those Jews or those Romans who want to kill Jesus. But God deceives not only his enemies, he deceives the very group who are the closest followers of his messenger. He makes the disciples of Jesus believe that Jesus died on the Cross. Three days after the (real or apparent) crucifixion Jesus appears to the disciples and he explicitly states that he was dead and that he is risen. Again, we have the choice whether the disciples made it up [which contradicts their life testimony and the Qur'an]. Or Jesus lied to them [both Muslims and Christians will revolt against this thought]. But if those are not true, then it is again God, who made it appear so and continues the deception beyond the event of the Crucifixion into 40 days of multiple appearances of Jesus to all of the Apostles as well as many other people. As before the responsibility of the deception rests with God. And it isn't only several dozens of the original Jewish followers, through their testimony God has supposedly no problem of deceiving billions of sincere Christians to be believers of a falsehood. They are lead by God's plan to believe that the Crucifixion and Resurrection are true, but there is more. The Resurrection is the final proof for the disciples to recognize the deity of Christ [as the approval of God on Jesus' claims about himself] and hence God's responsibility for the faith in the Resurrection is also his responsibility for the faith in the deity of Jesus. This means God is the one who deceived people into committing shirk, the one sin he most condemns and abhors.

Answer:-

The alternative that the deception might be work of Satan has been ignored. And so also has the possibility that the critic has misunderstood. When Jesus appeared to the disciples they thought he was a ghost. But he convinced them that he was still with flesh and bones. So he was not dead. On the other hand many people are found to be apparently dead but revive or are revived. Nor did he appear to them three days after the crucifixion. He was said to have been crucified on Friday night and appeared to them on Sunday. He did not then fulfill the sign of Jonas - "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:40)

We read:- "Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. And said to them: Thus it is written and thus it behooves Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" Luke 24:45-47.

Luke was not one of the Apostles and must have got his report from others. But even so his words indicate that it is a question not of seeing with the eyes but of understanding. Jesus does not say "I" or Jesus, but speaks about Christ. Has the critic read the Gospel of Thomas which denies that Jesus was crucified? The Quran affirms that Jesus was sent to teach repentance and forgiveness of sins, and also as example and a sign of the Day of Resurrection (43:58-63).

Critic:-

"The gospel of God - the gospel He promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 1:1-4

And this is not just a later theological reflection but an immediate reaction as we see in the confession of Thomas when he meets the risen Jesus, recorded in John 20:27-29 : "Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Does Jesus rebuke Thomas for his declaration of faith? No, Jesus affirms him. He even says you really should have believed this earlier. And then in the next verse John goes on to summarize, that "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Answer:-

Note that "through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God." Does not mean "was the son of God."

However, Paul's doctrines are different from those of Jesus and even these have probably been misunderstood. Thomas exclamation " My Lord and my God" cannot be taken literally to mean that Jesus was God. Many people say "My God" when surprised or awed. Jesus tells Mary "Touch me not; for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God." This obviously differentiates between Jesus and his Father or God, but tells us that He is the same as the Father or God of the disciples. Obviously, God is not a literal Father. The Scriptures have been given interpretation much too literally by Christians and the critic brings the same attitude to the interpretation of the Quran.

The phrase "Son of God" is defined in John 1:12, Romans 8:14, John 3:3-7. It refers to those who are led by the Spirit or Word of God. Jesus also refers to it in John 10:33-38 where he quotes Psalms 82:6 "I have said: Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High." Obviously the word "god" is not being used in the sense of the "Most High". In Islam Allah refers to the "Most High" and not to these "gods". If these differences are not understood then the critic is misled by his fixation on the forms of words, on literalism.

Note also that Jesus taught Christians how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. They were to pray thus:- "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Nothing is said about praying through Jesus, of forgiveness by the death and resurrection of Jesus or about the Trinity.

Critic:-

The confession of Thomas is the climax of the Gospel as recorded by John. And the faith of Jesus to be God who came to live among us is finally proven to the disciples through the encounter with the risen Lord. With this report again, we have to ask: Are the disciples liars? If not, is then Jesus the liar? If not, then it is again God who makes it appear so and so the deception originates with him.

Answer:-

No, it is the critic who has a naive and superficial understanding.

Critic:-

The Muslim theory of "God made it appear to them so" does not make any sense whatsoever. It makes God a liar and deceiver who leads people to believe the one thing he supposedly hates most. I don't know how Muslims can believe this. I can't. And cannot imagine that anybody can explain this satisfactorily.

I agree, the appearance hypothesis does solve the historical problem, but it creates more problems than it solves. It is horrendous in its theological consequences in regard to the character of God.

Therefore the crucial question is: IF Allah deceives those honest submitters, how do you know you can trust him in what he says in the Qur'an? There is no reason to believe that the companions of Muhammad (or even Muhammad himself) were not just as deceived by Allah as the disciples of Jesus were deceived by him and the Qur'an itself is not part of the scam and deception tactics of this Allah. If this is the nature of God, I cannot trust anything he does or says. And then there is no point in becoming a Muslim.

But in fact, I do believe that God is truth and he is trustworthy, and therefore Sura 4:157 gives me strong reason to doubt that the source behind the Qur'an is the God of truth.

Answer:-

That which God does is by definition the Good. Allah is trusted to do that which is beneficial by the Prophets and their followers. It is God who judges and it is not human beings who can judge God.

As pointed out before Quran 4:157 says that the Jews did not crucify or kill Jesus. This is perfectly true even from New Testament sources and by the words of Jesus (John 10:17-18) But it would be good thing for the critic to doubt whether his Church has not deceived him. But it seems that he would rather deny the Word of God.

Critic:-

The Holy Scriptures give the clear testimony: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 Light signifying moral purity and darkness representing everything that is depraved and evil. And God condemns lying as evil many times in his word.

"I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14:6

Answer:-

The Quran affirms that God is Truth (22:62) and Light (Quran 24) Yes, we do not deny that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life, but obviously not literally. He was not the only one to lead to God, but at the time he lived he was the only one. Bush is the president of the United States. But there were others before him and there will be others after him.

Critic:-

There are countless promises from God to those who trust him, that God will not fail those who trust him.

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you have never forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9:10

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is the God besides the LORD? And who is like the Rock except our God?" Psalm 18:30-31

"Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in him." Psalm 32:10

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because everybody who domes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 .....etc. etc.

Answer:-

Yes we know all this. The Quran tells us so. How is it that the critic thinks the Quran is wrong when it agrees with the Old and New Testaments which he thinks are true? Why, if it is false does it contain truths about God. Is Satan divided against himself? This is what Jesus said when he was accused of doing Satan's work:-

"And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." Matthew 12:25

And how does the critic explain the following:-

"But ... the idolators, and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." Revelation 21:8

Critic:-

Interestingly enough, this is not the only place where the "Qur'anic Allah" seems to be at ease with deception or at least half-truths. In Sura 8:43 a dream is mentioned. The verse reads:

"Remember in your dream (Muhammad), Allah showed them to you as few. If He had shown them to you as many, you (Muslims) would surely have been discouraged and would have disputed in your decision. But God saved, for He is a Knower of the secrets of the hearts. "

This verse, which came after the battle of Badr, refers to a dream that Muhammad had before the battle, but it leaves more problems than it solves. It does not claim that the dream showed a victory, and it depicts God as showing the 300 Muslim fighters that there will only be a few enemy soldiers instead of 1000. Thus, it shows God using deception to achieve His aims in His own community of believers.

Why does God not show Muhammad (truthfully) that they are many and then also show him that they will be victorious? There is no reason that God should use deception.

Answer:-

This is certainly a perverse interpretation. Or a particularly naïve one. What the verse does is to tell us that it is not so much the real thing or event which affects our behaviour but our perception of it. Things can be exaggerated or diminish in perception. And this depends on the context of other experiences, motives and inner states such as the quality of faith or fear. Prejudices, however, causes a loss of perception and understanding. What the verse does is to give a more naturalistic and demythologized explanation for how God helps man.

Critic:-

For me personally this is a real difficulty and it contradicts the character of the true God. Is this the way the God of heaven and earth, Mighty and All-powerful, named the Truth and the Holy One, acts and carries on His affairs?

Yet we see this same type of action in other places. In Sura 19:26 God tells Mary to say that she is fasting when in fact she is eating water and dates.

In Sura 34:12-14 God keeps the Jinns working by fooling them that Solomon is still alive?

Answer:-

These perverse interpretations tell us about the critic's own mind rather than anything about what he is commenting on. One could take a great number of verses from the Old and New Testaments to show that various personalities were depraved. One could, for instance, point to the fact that Jesus cursed the barren fig tree, caused the devils to go into innocent swine and drown them, was unmarried and associated with harlots, insulted the Pharisees, and lost his temper in the temple, upsetting the merchants and causing a commotion, and draw uncomplimentary conclusions from these events. But Scriptures exist to enable intelligent pondering.

Critic:-

But all the above are small in comparison to the main issue of Sura 4:157 where supposedly Jesus didn't die, he wasn't crucified, it just looks like it, and as such God fools the disciples of Jesus and through them millions of serious believers about the identity of his messenger and about the way of salvation.

Does this not make you uneasy in your spirit? How do you convince yourself that these actions which the Qur'an attributes to Allah are not lying actions? And if they are, how can you continue to believe that the Qur'an comes from the God of Truth?

Answer:-

The whole of these arguments can be dismissed as showing lack of comprehension based on superficialities. It is probably also insincere in that the critic must have some doubts that the doctrines he follows are not in the New Testament and that there is more to the scriptures than his superficial views of them. But perhaps this is well suppressed.

If you start with a prejudiced mind then you will see a distorted picture. This distortion confirms your prejudices. This makes a closed circle, a trap of your own making from which you cannot escape. Those who are sincerely seeking truth are free from such a trap and many of these become Muslim and surrender to God.

There are numerous ways of interpreting scriptures, but this critic has chosen a way designed to undermine faith, for not a very moral purpose. It is obviously not the way Muslims interpret the Quran. It does not, therefore, have much to do with Islam.

It is true that Muslims have also departed from their religion as have Christians, but much of Christianity, it seems to us, consists of what Jesus condemned in the following words:-

"This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth, and honours me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:8-9

However, I am sure there are sincere Christians, as there are Muslims, who having accepted Jesus, do try to follow his teachings, and pray to the Father as Jesus taught them in the Lord's Prayer, though they may do so through Jesus, but do not committing idolatry. They will have their reward in Heaven.

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