A couple posts back, Amjad was kind enough to ask if she could throw some questions at me. If I'm not mistaken, they'll deal with Jesus & the Bible in relation to Islam (if I misread, I'll post a retraction). But it sounds good to me...
Anyway, I created this post the way some people choose clothing, for the sake of the comments.
I hereby invite Amjad (thanks for the question), and you (yes, YOU), and your friends, and any other interested parties to jump in. Anyone can pose a question, anyone can write an answer, and my job will be to add my two cents and hose down any flamers--don't worry, they typically avoid this blog.
Additionally, if you want to raise a question on a different topic, don't be shy. Most of us can walk and chew gum at the same time, so tracking different conversations shouldn't be a problem...
Monday, November 19, 2007
Open Question Thread: You Make the Call
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4 comments:
hi again...
i'm very happy that you accepted my idea!
i will post my questions,but first i want to confirm the idea that I donot intened to be offensive...i respect ur belief and your bible...
thanks for this apportunity.
by the way, you can ask me anything regarding Islam,arabs,or Saudies..i'll be happy to help
back to business:)
my questions are:
you believe that Jesus was sent to save people and sacrifice himself so people can be purified from their sins...
you depend on this verse to prove that:"16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."(john(3:16)
but what i donot understand is
1-why did not other injeels "except John's" mention that Jesus is the son of God,although it is a basic beleif in Christianity?
2-you can see here in this verse :"24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."matthew 26:24
u can see here that Jesus said"woe" which indicates that the man was doing something wrong. If you believe Jesus was sent to be sacrificed,then the man who betrayed him should be considered as a pious man cus he did God's well!?donot you think so?
donot u think Jesus should had said "paradise or praise to the man who betrays the son of man instead of woe!"?
finally:
if you read the bible,u will notice that Jesus was sad and prayed alot to be saved from the hour of his murder ...for example,"27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." john 12:27
if Jesus was sent to be sacrificed, then do not you think Jesus must have a party in that hour instead of carying and praying to be saved?
sorry for the long post...
waiting for ur replays
thanks
Amjad
Great questions, if you ask me, and the subject of a great blog post somewhere down the line.
I think the question becomes whether you believe in the possibility that Jesus was fully human and fully God. From that perspective, as God, He would know that He was going to be betrayed, and by whom, and for what reason. That Judas betrayed Him is not a cause for celebration, no matter how much it was anticipated and no matter what the outcome. The ends do not justify the means. Judas did it out of love of self, not love of Jesus. But, as Jesus was also fully human, He must have sensed a dread of the pain that was about to come and a disappointment that His time was short. When He is asking to have this burden removed from Him, its one of the most human things He does. But He goes through with it anyway, even knowing what it will entail, because He knows that this is God's will.
A lot of the problem with the Triune God is that He can seem very schizophrenic at times. But God is what God is. There is no further explanation for that.
Can I ask you a question, Amjad? Do you forsee any situation in which our religions will ever be reconciled to each other? I'm just curious as I've been reading the Bible lately and have recently concluded Abraham's story and was wondering where Islamists see themselves in that story in relation to the Jews.
hi will robison
thanks for being open-minded and for answering my questions...
regarding your question if there is any possibility of having a reconciliation between our two religions?
very good question"which i think indicates that you love peace"
i donot know if you r christian or jew to give you an example of my opinion...
the answer is:
you can read the history of Islam in the early days. you will find that muslims,jews and christians lived togather in peace,in harmony,everyone respected the freedom of the other. This is due to the perfect understanding of true religion by the three different believing people.
to set an example,u can read in the authentic historical books of Palastine that the khalifa"muslims' leader",
Omar bin alkhataab,when he was asked by Christians to come from Madeenah" a city in the arabian peninsula" in order to recieve the keys of jerusalem, he agreed to come and entered it on foot. There was no bloodshed or massacres. Those who wanted to leave were allowed to leave, with all their goods. Those who wanted to stay were guaranteed protection for their lives, property and places of worship.
so, i think they can live in continuous peace if they respect "the freedom and religion" of each other. I mean if they let everyone practise his religion without any kind of opression or injust.
This freedom of choice and belief is considered a basic notion in Islam. God says:"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things."(2:256)
Regarding Ibraham ,peace be upon him,if I donot get you wrong then my answer is that we believe that arabs are of Ishmael's sons who was the eldest son of Ibraham,peace be upon them all.Muslims can be arabs,and non-arabs. Also, not every arab is muslim. There r christian and jew arabs.
please let me know if i got u wrong regarding the second question...:)
are you satified :) ?
it made me happy when you asked...keep going!
Hi Amjad, thanks for the questions. About offending me--I have 7 siblings, 4 of them brothers, and we disagree for fun--so no worries there. Let's see...
1-why did not other injeels "except John's" mention that Jesus is the son of God,although it is a basic beleif in Christianity?
Actually, Christ's deity is stated and implied in all the gospels and throughout the new testament. Jesus made these claims himself, praised his disciples when they recognized his deity, and was executed because he claimed to be equal with God. Reading the gospels will make this clear...a quick and dirty way to confirm it is to do word searches in the gospels. For example, "Son of God."
donot u think Jesus should had said "paradise or praise to the man who betrays the son of man instead of woe!"?
In the Bible, Jesus says that God will accomplish what he wants to, with or without our help--but we are still responsible for the part we play. This is not an easy answer, but Jesus asserts God's ultimate control, or sovereignty, while saying that our choices are still real. That's why "good" and "evil" are meaningful distinctions.
Yes, God's plans will be accomplished. But some of us will be praised for our part in them, and others will have brought about God's purpose in spite of their own intentions. Case in point: Judas.
if Jesus was sent to be sacrificed, then do not you think Jesus must have a party in that hour instead of carying and praying to be saved?
I think what you're overlooking here, Amjad, is that Jesus was a man. "Fully God, fully man," is the way Christians state it. So while Jesus rejoiced to know that his Father's plan was being carried out, the sorrow and agony he felt were very real.
I should also point out that God has always felt emotions, including sorrow, as he watches over and interacts with us. And this is even though God knows that joy will win out in the end.
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