jesus never claimed divinity

8/14/2019 Jesus Never Claimed Divinity

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Prophet Jesus (PBUH) Never Claimed DivinityBy Dr. Jamal Badawi

No religion in the world outside Christianity makes itan article of faith for its adherents to believe in, loveand hounour Jesus except Islam. Reading the Quran

bears testimony to the (see for example 19: 16-36, 3:33068, 5: 72-77).

According to the Quran, Jesus was one of the greatestmessengers of God. According to most Christians.Jesus was God-incarnate, full man and full God. Butcan the finite and the infinite be one? To be full Godmeans freedom from finite forms and fromhelplessness. And to be full man means the absence ofdivinity. If what is meant by the unity or Jesus with

God is allegorical unity of spiritual communion, therewould have been no problem as this applies to otherProphets as well.

It is the insistence that this unity was real whichraised serious questions, which could not be answeredfor nearly 2000 years, nor is there any prospect ofresolving them in the future. Modern research wasable to uncover the mythical roots of deifying Jesus(see for example John Hicks The Myth of God-

Incarnate, J.M. Robertsons Pagan Christs, andChristianity and Mythology, T.W. Doanes The Bible

Myths and their Parallels in Other Religions). It may behelpful, however, to briefly examine the mainarguments for the claimed divinity of Jesus.

Numerous references are cited, largely from John andPaul, to support this claim. If the same standards wereapplied to other reliable witnesses that others were alsoGod-incarnates, would they be accepted as divine? Is itnot fair to ask first whether Jesus (or others for the

matter) claimed to be divine?

Alleged claims

There is no single scriptural text in which Jesusclaimed explicitly to be divine. Nor is there any implicittext, which can be interpreted exclusively to mean aclaim of divinity.

On the contrary, there are numerous clear and direct

texts in which Jesus denies equality with God orpossessing any of Gods divine attributes (see forexample John 8: 28-29, 14: 10, 24. 28. 31. Mk. 13: 32,

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10: 18). In a serious matter like belief in God, animplicit evidence or an allegorical statement is farfrom adequate. Nor is it reasonable to claim that Jesuskept that serious matter as a guarded secret and hencecaused confusion to multitudes for centuries.

Miracles

No miracle attributed to Jesus signifies that he wasGod-Incarnate. There is no major miracle attributedto Jesus, which does not have some parallel in theBible. Including resurrection (see for example Heb, 7:3, I kings 17: 22, 20: 35-36, II Kings 4: 7, 34, 44, 6: 17,20, 13: 22, Ezk 37: 1-14). How revealing is Jesusstatement, I can do nothing on my ownauthority (John 5: 30).

There is no difference between Muslims and Christianson the imperfection of human nature, the necessity foratonement, the pursuit of salvation and the primacy ofGods grace and forgiving qualities. The difference,however, relates to the way of seeking forgiveness andstrength to overcome sin. The Quran teaches thatGod is both just and Merciful. But since He createdhumankind and knows its weaknesses, He does notrequire bloodshed to forgive. One who sincerely

repents and inculcated a relationship of love for god,and obedience and submission to Him. Can be assuredof Gods loving forgiveness.

To claim that salvation can be secured only throughthe blood of Jesus, as the lamb of God and the perfectsacrifice is untenable on many grounds. Let usexamine one issue. Who died on the cross (according tothe Biblical story)? If it was Jesus the man, then it isnot the perfect sacrifice. No man, however perfect, canatone for the sins of all mankind or meet the

requirements of perfect sacrifice. And if the one whodied on the cross was God. Then was god dead forthree days? It is consistent with the Old Testamentto utter this? And if the Giver of Life Himself is dead,who else can bring Him back to life? Who looked afterthe universe before His resurrection? If the AllMerciful and Loving God wanted to forgive, whatprevents Him from doing so in a direct, simple andstraightforward manner? Why must the requirementof justice be satisfied by grave injustice, the suffering

and agony of the innocent Jesus? Would this grossinjustice, if it were true? Be consistent with the qualityof divine love? How appropriate is it for a Judge, who




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instead of sentencing a criminal or forgiving him,which is within his authority, to order the execution ofhis only son so that the criminal will go free andappreciate how much the Judge loves him? Where didthe notion of the suffering and dying God come from?How does that related to the almost identical myths

preceding the introduction of this doctrine to thesimple yet profound absolute monotheistic teachings ofJesus?

Mystery

Reference is frequently made to the witness of thedisciples. Paul, the Church or others as an experientialproof of the divinity of Jesus. But isnt that experienceshaped in the first place by the acceptance of the

dogma that Jesus is divine? Isnt that like saying that

you have to accept the post-Jesus, man-made dogmathat he is divine, so that you can experience thistruth, which in turn will be your proof that he isdivine? I wonder if there is a problem of circularlogic in this type of proof? What can we say tomultitudes of humans who report similar experienceswhile believing in diverse deities? Should they be toldthat their experiences, sincere as they may be, are notnecessarily proofs of ultimate Truth; that they could be

misleading experiences determined bypresuppositions?

As to the testimony of Paul, we find that the Book ofActs indicates that Paul was accused of not telling thetruth about the teachings of Jesus, an accusation whichhe did not deny but tried to justify (see Romans 3:7-8).

The witness of the Church throughout history is not aviable argument either. Squabbles, reversal ofdecisions claimed to be with the help of the holy spirit,

decisions like the Crusades, inquisition or theexecution of free thinkers and scientists are by nomeans an experiential proof of the divinity of Jesus,nor were they testimonies of the forgiving love of Godor His dwelling in or through those who claimed to beChristian and staunchly believed that Jesus wasGod-incarnate.

Surely, there are things which our limited minds cantfully understand or imagine (e.g. that God has no

beginning or end).

But this is different from requiring a human, blessed




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with God-given reason, to accept an obviouscontradiction which could not be adequately explainedafter 2000 years and millions of volumes.

Conclusion

It is amazing how most Christians, after nearly 1400years of the revelation of Gods final testament; theQuran are still unaware of it, let alone being aware ofwhat it says about the nature of Jesus and his message,the absolute oneness of God and the subordination ofall creatures to Him alone.

It wont hurt to find out; to use both heart and mind inthe pursuit of the light of truth. For many, that processof search may end up with the discovery that his/her

private convictions about Jesus as a great Messenger ofGod and his servant and Prophet are neither satanicalnor heretical. One may find out that he/she is moretrue to God and to His Messenger, Jesus, by avoidingerroneous man-made dogmas.

These dogmas are offensive to God and to Jesus,associating other with God in His exclusive divineattributes. Indeed, associationism (shirk) is thecardinal sin that can never be forgiven should one

depart this earthly life insisting on it. To conclude, onepassage from Gods word, the Quran, seems fitting:There has come to you from God a (new) light and a

clear book. Wherewith God guides all who seek His goodpleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leads them outof darkness, by His Will, unto light, and guides them toPath that is Straight(5:17-18).

Related books and articles:God Concept In IslamA Call to the Real Salvation

The Truth About Prophet JesusThe True Message of JesusChrist in Islam by Ahmed DeedatJesus in the Glorious QuranThe Life of Isa ( Jesus ) -peace be upon him- in Light ofIslamThe Bible Denies the Divinity of JesusJesus & the BibleWas Jesus Sent to be Crucified?Beyond Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis and the Betrayal ofChristianity

60 Questions For The ChristiansJesus & the Da Vinci CodeRelationships of the Great: Prophet Muhammad Presents




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