-------------
After the "I hate religion but love Jesus" became viral, it was just a matter of time before people attempted to do their own take on. There was a Roman Catholic version I came across, and then there was this...a Muslim version. The video itself can be watched below:While I wasn't an overly huge fan of the original video (see here), this video literally made me fall out of my chair (yes, literally). The best way I could sum it up is that it is every bad Muslim argument made against Christianity that has been refuted over a hundred times already. I write that last sentence not to be disrespectful, but to speak plainly - anyone who has studied apologetics against Islam in the past twenty years (indeed, since the time of John Damascene) knows that everything mentioned in this video has already been responded to a thousand times over.
I decided to write a response precisely to give that: a response. This video is not just a "Hey I'm Muslim and this is what I believe," but it's clearly an evangelizing tool to bring people to Islam, and it is specifically aimed against Christians. Therefore, I present this for anyone wondering if what the gentleman says in the video is truthful, or perhaps they just want to see a response from the other side.
Let me give just a few notes on my method for this. I've transcribed the entire video and written down the lyrics, which I'll respond to in piecemeal. As I'll be quoting scripture, I put the lyrics in bold so that people can visually see when I'm quoting the video and when I'm quoting something else. Whenever a passage from the Quran or the Bible is sourced in the video, I'll put it in brackets.
You say Jesus was God, and God had descendedHere's the first sign of a problem: we're dealing with Muslim presupposition versus Christian presupposition.
We say Jesus was man, for Jesus was dependent
Some people might read that last sentence and think, "Well duh, genius." There is, however, a point in my making that statement: Muslim comparative religion is an exercise in circular reasoning. In Judeo-Christian history, God always revealed forward: what came before confirmed what came later (for example, Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Christ). In Islam, however, God reveals backwards: all previous revelations (the Bible) must be read in the context of a future revelation (the Quran). The man says "you say...but we say...", and the Muslim point of view is accepted as the accurate one. This, despite the fact that Islam's view of Christ and God's teachings takes place 600-years after the final revelations of God, in a land separated from Christ's people, and dealing with men who had no connection with God's people at all. We are supposed to forgo the writings of men who were eyewitnesses to the events for the opinion of a man who claims to have spoken to an angel and who had no other way of confirming himself except by his own revelations.
Despite what many Muslims might say in regards to Christians and blind faith, all Muslim presupposition boils down to "I believe the Quran is the final revelation because the Quran says so." Whereas Christians can freely look backwards and read the Old Testament in context to confirm gladly the New Testament (just as the apostles did to the Jewish people), Muslims are forced to essentially rewrite and reword the Bible in order to have it fit the Quran. Keep this in mind as we progress through this video, as it will become more and more apparent.
Our God is all great, and cannot be comprehendedI find it interesting that the gentleman in the video leads us to question whether or not God died or "pretended," given that all four gospels (which he will quote from as the video progresses) confirm that Jesus died on the cross (Matt 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30), something the Quran explicitly denies (S. 4:157). Even secular or non-Christian history is against the Quran on this. For example, the Talmudic traditions concerning Jesus - while denying his messianic status - confirm that he was, indeed, executed.
You say God was murdered - or do you believe that he pretended?
You see God gave us brains, and God gave us logic,
But I guess God wanted us to use them in everything else except for this topic
Yet to get to the heart of the matter, the man asks us "Can God be murdered?" and guesses that God wants us to use our logic on everything except this topic. The very nature of the question, however, comes at the crucifixion from a Gnostic mindset: either Jesus was fully man and could die, or was fully God and couldn't die. He seems to not understand the basics of the hypostatic union, which has been talked about for centuries and which many have used their "logic" to examine and discuss.
The basics of it is this: Christ was fully man and fully God. At the Incarnation, the Son in the Trinity did not cease being God, nor did he become half-man, half-God like the demigods of Greek mythology. The eternal Word took on flesh and dwelt among us, as scripture says:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]The word used for "dwelt" (ἐσκήνωσεν) is the same language used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) in regards to the Tabernacle, the place where God dwelt within the Holy of Holies. Here, now, God dwells among men not in a building, but in Christ, the Incarnate Word.
So yes, it would be impossible for God, as an entire entity, to be murdered - it would not, however, be impossible for the God-man - the eternal God taking on flesh and dwelling among us - to be murdered.
It's like wearing a cross and proclaiming that you love Jesus,Let's ponder for a moment: what does the cross represent? If all it represented was an empty murder with no meaning, then I suppose the gentleman would have a point. However, that isn't the case: the cross represents the great humility of the Son in the Trinity, and the victory of God over sin, conquering death through death and sanctifying His true chosen people.
Well if God was murdered on the cross, the cross really shouldn't please us
I mean would you be wearing an axe if it was used to chop your mother up into pieces?
You see this is what happens when you believe in faith but fail to believe in reason
Cross symbolism, in fact, did not start with the later Christians, but with Christ himself. He said that those not willing to take up their cross and follow him were not worthy to be believers (Matt 10:38; Luke 14:27). He said those desiring to follow him had to take up their cross (Matt 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). The earliest Christians spoke of the power of the cross (1 Cor 1:17; Gal 6:14), and said that by it we are reconciled to God (Eph 2:16; Col 1:20). So the cross as symbol was not an invention 200 years after Christ nor 2000 years after Christ - it was right there in the midst of Christ's ministry and the early church itself.
I will concede there are those who wear the cross and blaspheme doing so. Many celebrities and false Christians wear the cross yet knowingly act against for what it stands, and thus they quite literally "walk as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phi 3:18). Many more treat the cross as a kind of idol, forgetting he who died upon it and what that death stood for. That does not, however, mean the use of cross as symbolism is in and of itself disrespectful to God, as if we are enjoying the murder rather than what came about from that murder.
Permit me to put it another way. When I go to the Vietnam Wall and run my fingers along the names imprinted there, I am not doing so to glorify death and destruction in war, nor am I doing so because I believe running my finger along a few names is going to do something magical or spiritual to the person whose name that represents. Rather, I do it out of respect for what that wall represents. I run a finger along a name and act in a respectful manner because I recognize behind that name was an individual like myself (if not younger than my current age) who made the ultimate sacrifice which I could never imagine giving myself. I recognize that the wall represents a memorial to those who died during the war, and I honor it as much as I can in that regard.
In like manner do I glorify in the cross. I do not do so because putting two sticks together will heal me of diseases, or because I think it's cool that Romans used to drive nails through people's bodies. Rather, I glorify in the cross because it was on that cross another person took the full brunt of God's wrath on my behalf and paid in full the debt that was owed to God for my sins.
You see we used to worship the creator until Satan turned us to the creationOn the contrary, we don't worship creature over creation, because the Son of the Trinity is not creation. That was the position of some historical heresies, such as Arianism (which believed the Father created the Son), but not historical Christianity. Scripture confirms that the Son coexisted with the Father before all existence - indeed, it was through the Son that creation came into being. Scripture tells us:
We began to worship the people, and neglect the one who made them
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. [John 1:1-3]Christ himself confirmed this - first to the Jews, by confirming that he held an eternal nature similar to God:
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." [John 8:58]And then in his prayers to the Father:
"And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." [John 17:5]No mere creature would ever speak this way. If they did, then they were either serious about what they said, or they were great blasphemers (as the Jews thought Jesus was in John 8:58). If, however, Christ was serious in saying what he said, then Christians are in their perfect rights to worship him, and not as creature but as eternal creator.
We begin to believe that God had died, but how can a god even be created?This was the first sign to me that the gentleman in the video either has absolutely no idea what Christians have already said in response to these kinds of arguments, or he is completely ignoring them. No one believes that God was "created," either at the incarnation or elsewhere. Various heresies throughout history have often taught that (for example, Arianism), but that is not what historical Christianity has believed. Neither God nor the Trinitarian Son came into existence at the incarnation (see previous responses). To argue this way is to misunderstand what Christians believe.
A miraculous birth, and therefore the Son of God was begottenI believe what the gentleman is trying to argue here is that you don't have to be God to be virgin born, but God can just make a man born if He so wills this. This is certainly true, but in arguing this way he ignores everything in scripture that attests to the deity of he who was incarnated, as well as Christ's own statements regarding his eternal nature (again, see my responses above). Whether or not God could make a man be virgin born is not an issue to anyone, and therefore to argue this way is just a non sequitor.
See, the creation of Jesus was easy, but you seem to have forgotten
That God says "Be," and it is, just like with Adam, [S. 3:59]
A concept too complex for the church to merely fathom
By the way, I find it interesting the gentleman says the incarnation was "a concept too complex for the church to merely fathom," when I highly doubt this man has read any of the historical Christian works. How many Church Fathers has he read? How many of the Reformers has he read? How many of the most famous Christian theologians in the past 300 years has he read? I invite him to read works on the incarnation by Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, and Charles Spurgeon, and then tell me that the church is unable to "fathom" the incarnation.
But he was the creator of the universe, for all we know even moreI would wholeheartedly agree that we cannot fully comprehend God. However, the explicit purpose of Christ is to truly make God known to us. As scripture says:
And so what if we can't see him, I mean what you acting like, our universe is small? I mean there's still so much we've still yet to explore
I mean there's still so many things as human beings we still haven't seen, touched, heard or saw
I mean our eyes can't even handle the sight of the sun
So how can we possible handle the sight of our Lord?
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. [John 1:18]The language in this passage emphasizes that no one has literally seen God in a deep, knowing sense, but the "only God" (the true meaning of μονογενὴς) who "is at the Father's side" - that is, Christ has a close relationship with the Father, one that emphasizes his coeternal and coexistent nature. This is why Christ, and only Christ, can say "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). No mere prophet could ever make such a claim.
Just to add something else Christians have often brought up: it is somewhat ironic that Muslims claim we can't fully know God on any major level...when Allah has ninety-nine names that describe who he is. Clearly from the Muslim perspective, there is some level by which we can understand God.
You see Jesus used to pray [Matt 26:39], but in your opinion who'd he pray to?This is a common argument for Muslims to make on the internet, but - like so many others we've already covered - has already been responded to countless times by Christians. What we have here is the presupposition of unitarianism rather than Trinitarianism. That is, we cannot assume it is the Son praying to the Father (as it in fact was); rather, we have to assume Jesus is either completely God, or isn't God at all. This presupposition says that God is one Being and one Person, not God in Trinity. Therefore, it is no surprise for the gentleman to argue that if Christ was God he could not pray, because he is not coming from a Trinitarian mindset wherein the Person of the Son can pray to the Person of the Father.
I mean if Jesus was God, surely prayer would be of no use
I am also curious how this gentleman would respond to one of the previously cited verses of scripture, where Jesus prays these words:
"And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." [John 17:5]Some Muslims are quick to say, "Yeah, but that's still Jesus praying!" They seem to completely ignore what he prayed, which is: 1) a request to be glorified alongside God the Father; 2) a declaration that Christ had this glory before the world existed - in other words, before creation. What mere creature would dare to ask God to glorify them along his side, and then declare that they had this same glory before all creation even existed? Again, if Jesus was a mere prophet, then he was a great blasphemer. If, however, he was the divine Son within the Trinity, and was praying to the Father within the Trinity, then all of this makes perfect sense.
In fact, John 17:5, along with John 8:58, are two passages of scripture to which I have yet to see Muslims give an adequate response. What these verses say is crystal clear, and only with blind eyes can one ignore the truth therein.
Or did he only require it when he needed to know the truth?This is another popular argument for some Muslims, and is known by Christian apologists as the "fig tree argument." The idea is that if Jesus is God, he must be omniscient, and if he's omniscient, then surely he must have known that it wasn't the season for fig trees.
Like when God wasn't sure if it was the season of the fruit? [Mark 11:12-14]
This argument, however, blinds us to the larger picture. That the fig tree had leaves (v. 13) suggests that it should have had fruit. The fig tree was also a popular representation of Israel (Isa 5:1-7), which was, by then, supposed to have born fruit of repentance and accepted the Messiah. The condemnation of not bearing fruit was representational of what would eventually happen to the nation of Israel, which was they would be punished for their unbelief and rejection of the Messiah, and the fruits of God's favor would be given to someone else (Matt 21:43). This is the significance of the gospel writers mentioning it was not the season of figs; the fig tree itself represented something far greater, and Christ's omniscience was completely irrelevant.
We can see a similar lesson in the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9). There, a man has a fig tree that has not born fruit (representing the search for repentance among Israel). He mentions that he has sought fruit for three years from the tree and found none (representing the three years of Christ's ministry). The vinedresser asks to dig around it and put in manure (representing the preaching of the gospel), and if it does not bear fruit, then it can be cut down (representing the coming judgment of the Jewish nation with the destruction of Jerusalem). As with the previous fig tree, this too represents Israel and God's search for those who would turn away from their sins, and if the people as a whole reject God, then they shall bear no more fruit.
Or maybe he prayed when there was something he couldn't doJohn 5:30 is a popular passage for Muslims on the internet to throw around to attempt to show that Jesus was merely a man. The problem is that it ignores the much larger context of what Christ is talking about. It's a pretty big chunk of scripture, so please bear with me here. In the end, it will show us the full context of what Jesus is saying. Shortly after the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda, the following occurs:
Like when he said "I, of myself can do nothing," but you took it as "There's nothing he couldn't do" [John 5:30]
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this is was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."Now let's review the true context of Christ's statement "I can do nothing on my own."
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who send me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
"I can do nothing on my own..." [John 5:15-30]
Jesus has just healed a man, and has done so on the Sabbath. This was a violation of resting on the Sabbath, as God had ordered his people to rest in honor of the climax of creation, and hence the Jewish leaders believed this was the perfect chance to end Christ's ministry (v. 16). Jesus tells them something you would never tell devout Jews regarding your working on the Sabbath: "My Father is working until now, and I am working" (v. 17). What does this verse mean? Obviously, the only being in the universe permitted to continue working on the Sabbath was God, and Christ just said, "Just as my Father (God) is working, so too am I working." Christ just put himself on equal with God.
Those who want to soften the impact of this, or deny the verse is saying that, forget that in the very next verse John signifies this is exactly what Christ is saying. He says that "the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (v. 18). Christ was not calling God "Father" in any kind of metaphorical sense, as clarified by the wording "his own." John doesn't clarify they were mistaken, as he does with other sayings of Christ (see John 2:20-21) - rather, he states this matter of factly, demonstrating that, yes, this was in fact what Christ was doing, and it was upsetting the Jews greatly.
Christ then goes into one of the seven great monologues of John's gospel, with Christ saying "the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing," adding: "For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (v. 19). Now wait a minute...what creature can say that? If Jesus is talking about God here, then he just stated that whatever God does, he can do too. Again, the Jews were right - Jesus was making himself equal with God.
We see this again two verses later with Christ's statement: "For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will" (v. 21). Now the Son, Jesus, is saying that, like the Father, he can raise the dead and give life. Again, what mere creature or mere prophet can talk this way? Could Mohammad say, "Just as Allah raises the dead and gives them life, so too can I give life to whom I will"?
We see this yet again: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him" (v. 22-23). Some Muslims might quickly say, "Yes, you're supposed to honor God's prophets," but that is not what Christ is talking about here. Christ is stressing that honoring him and honoring God are the same thing. They're two sides of the same coin. Obviously there are many people in my life that I honor - my parents, the police, military servicemen, the president, etc. - but none of them do I honor in the same way I honor God.
We see this yet again with: "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself" (v. 26). Christ is stating that, just as God the Father has life in himself, so too does he, the the Son, have life in himself. Again, no mere creature can say that, and no mere prophet would say that.
At long last, we've come to verse 30, where Christ says, "I can do nothing on my own." Yet what is the full context? Is Christ saying he's weaker than the Father? On the contrary! Christ is telling the Jews that his healings, his teachings, and everything he does is not something he's done on his own unilateral accord - rather, he and the Father are working together with equal authority and power. Christ's statement "I can do nothing on my own" is treated as a sign of weakness, and yet it is perhaps one of the greatest statements of his power and divinity in scripture!
You see no one used to worship Jesus, so ask yourself why do you"No one used to worship Jesus?" Really? Why do the disciples worship him after the he calms the storm? (Matt 14:33) Why do the women worship him after the resurrection? (Matt 28:9) Why do the disciples worship him after the resurrection? (Matt 28:17; Luke 24:52) Why does the man born blind worship him? (John 9:38) Why does the apostle Thomas identify Christ as his Lord and his God? (John 20:28)
A concept so straightforward, but has left so many confused
Here is the funny thing about all these incidents...in not one does Christ tell the person, "Stop! Worship God alone, not me!" We find precedence for this elsewhere in scripture: Peter accosts Cornelius for worshiping him (Acts 10:25-26); Paul and Barnabas get upset with the Greeks of Lystra because they mistake them for Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:11-15); an angel accosts the apostle John for worshiping him (Rev 19:10) - in fact, this happens twice (Rev 22:8-9).
Here we have several occurrence where biblical characters openly rebuked others for worshiping someone other than God. Yet when we look at the instances where Christ was worshiped by others, Christ did not stop them, rebuke them, or even gently reprimand them. In other words, three apostles and an angel are all able to tell someone not to worship them, and yet one of the greatest prophets (according to Islam) never did so. We can only come to two conclusions: either Christ was a false prophet who accepted worship meant for God, or Christ did not stop these individuals from worshiping him because he was deserving of worship.
So you see, this concept is straightforward, but the only time people become confused is when we introduce extra-biblical concepts, such as those in the Quran.
You see Jesus preached one God [Isa 45:5], but the church has failed to practiceQuite frankly, here is the part where I wanted to bang my head, hard, against my computer desk. The gentleman in the video just pulled the "one plus one plus one doesn't equal one" fallacy. However, no knowledgeable Christian throughout history has ever argued that one plus one plus one equals one. God is one Being (monotheism) revealed through three distinct but unified Persons (Trinitarianism). The historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity from the time of Christ has always been that there is one Being of God revealed through three individual Persons connected by a unified Essence. These are not three gods, and to continue arguing that way is simply to ignore what Christians have been saying for over 2000 years.
And I mean you don't have to be that dumb to know that one plus one plus one equaling one isn't necessarily going to give you a pass in mathematics
To my Muslim friends, let me be frank: this might win you points if you're trying to look good in front of other Muslims, and it might get you views for your video, but if you're trying to open dialogue with a Christian - and I mean meaningful, serious dialogue - don't resort to this sort of thing.
You see the church said three, and Jesus said oneOn the contrary, Christians have been saying "one" for thousands of years. The Nicene Creed, formed in the early fourth century, opens up with the words: "I believe in one God." The only person who claimed otherwise was the writer of the Quran, who clearly did not understand the Trinity in any way, shape or form. For a greater discussion on this, please see this post.
Jesus said God, and the church said Son
Jesus never said worship me, rather he said pray [Matt 6:6]Here we have the repetition of the old Ahmed Deedat argument, "Jesus never said, 'Worship me.'" Is this the case? We've already seen (in the previous responses) that Jesus fully accepted worship aimed at him while others rejected worship aimed towards them. Even if Christ never said "Worship me," he never once condemned the act of doing so.
But you've chosen to worship Jesus despite everything He used to say
In regards to Matthew 6:6, this is simply a command from Christ to pray with humility, rather than the hypocrites among the Jewish leadership who prayed openly to be seen and adored by men (see Matthew 6:5-8 for a full context). It is true that Christ told his followers to pray, but that was not all that he said (we'll get to that later on).
You began to think with your emotion, and forgot to think with your mindThis was an argument made popular through Khalid Yasin (and I'm sure others), but it's incredibly fallacious. The "our father" is referring to the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus was giving to followers, not Him. Hence the Christ's words "and when you pray" (Matt 6:7).
I guess you didn't pay attention when Jesus said "Our father," yet never says mine [Matt 6:9]
Also, that Jesus never said "mine" in regards to the Father is simply erroneous. One need only find a scripture search engine and type in "my father" for the New Testament to see this is completely incorrect. Heck, just read the fifth chapter of John's gospel and count how many times Christ says "my father." This kind of great error is an ironic one to make when we are told in the same breath to "think with our mind."
You claim to be a follower of Christ, yet you still choose to eat swine [Deu 14:8]That's because Jesus said himself that it wasn't what entered a man that defiled him, but what came out, for it revealed their heart (Mark 7:18-19). It is then added in verse 19: "Thus he declared all foods clean." We see this likewise in Acts, when God tells the apostle Peter regarding animals: "What God has made clean, do not call common" (Acts 10:15). The reason for this change was that with the coming of Christ came the new covenant, wherein the Law was written upon your heart and not upon tablets, and the ritual laws of old Israel (including the dietary laws) were no longer relevant.
So yes, sir, I am a follower of Christ and I choose to eat swine, because both the Father and Son have said my salvation is not in jeopardy for doing so.
And you call yourselves Christians, but in your churches you're busy drinking wine [Lev 10:9-11]First, what kind of statement is that? "Busy drinking wine"? That makes it sound like Christians get drunk during Sunday services, which is a complete straw man, and quite frankly a disrespectful one. Also, the only churches with wine are those denominations that use wine for communion. Many Protestant churches today use grape juice, so for a large portion of this man's target audience, that statement is completely irrelevant.
Second, Leviticus 10 is regarding the Nazirites, a special branch of religious Jews who let their hair grow and abstained from wine and other practices. It is not talking about all believers. Nowhere does scripture give a complete prohibition on alcohol or wine as Islam does - in fact, some passages of scripture clearly have God saying it is all right to drink wine. In one of the passages speaking of the tithe, it reads:
"Then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household." [Deu 14:25-26]Either there is a contradiction in God's word, or the gentleman in the video has used the Leviticus passage out of context. Given the proper context of both, we have to go with the latter option.
And just to clarify, I do love Jesus, matter of fact I love him more than youOh really? Is that so? You know, this statement reminds me of someone else - another young gentleman who actually met and spoke to Jesus. One account of the story:
Because when Jesus said do something, I actually do
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. [Matt 19:16-22]The man comes before Jesus and asks about eternal life. Christ reminds him about the commandments, which the man boldly proclaims he has done. Like the young man in the video, this young man would likewise say, "When Jesus said do something, I actually do it!" Yet Christ then adds something: give up everything and follow him. Not God, but Jesus. The man refuses to do so because of his wealthy possessions - a sign that all he had claimed to have done before was an out and out lie. Indeed, it is impossible for anyone to perfectly follow God. This is why, in the verses following, you have the disciples lamenting, "Who then can be saved?" to which Christ replies, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:25-26).
Let me now ask the gentleman in the video: you say that you love Jesus more than Christians because when Jesus says "do something," you actually "do." All right, have you ever been angry with your fellow believers? Christ says that makes you guilty of murder (Matt 5:21-22). Have you ever looked at a woman with lust? Christ says that makes you guilty of adultery (Matt 5:27-28). So according to Christ's own words, you have not done all the things you've claimed to have done. Before the eyes of God, my friend, you are not a doer, but a sinner.
I am not writing this out of a spirit of self-righteousness. I myself am guilty of both of those a thousand times over and so much more. If I was reliant upon my doing alone, I would be on a one-way trip to hell, and God would have every right to do so. The fact is anyone who says they are a true doer of what God commands are themselves a liar, and deceive themselves (1 John 1:8).
You see, I would love to be able to never, ever get angry with my brother again, or never look at a woman with lust again, but I know, because I was born in sin and iniquity (Psa 51:5), that this is just an impossibility. I want to do good, but the evil inside me compels me to continue sinning (Rom 7:19). That is why I can proudly declare, along with the apostle Paul: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom 7:24-25)
However, I'm not connected with the church, or with the Bible,I find it interesting the gentleman says he's not connected "with the Bible." Does the Quran not confirm that God sent down the Torat (Torah) and Injil (Gospel) to the people to be used by them as a clear message? (S. 3:3) Does the Quran not say Mohammad is confirmed in the Torat and Injil? (S. 7:157) Hasn't this gentleman been quoting the Bible this entire time to confirm what he believes? Doesn't he cite the Bible just two verses later?
See I love Jesus as my prophet, but refuse to worship him as an idol
Just like he wants it, and proclaims it as sin [Exo 20:4]
So it doesn't really matter if they don't let him in
Because Jesus wouldn't even want to be in the presence of people worshiping an idol of him
The video here cuts to a news footage of lightning striking a statue of Jesus, apparently as a suggestion that it was an act of God. However, giant statues of Jesus cannot be used to attack Christian worship of Jesus. There is a world of difference between Christian worship of Christ as the Eternal Son and the abuses that might stem from that. It is comparable, say, to the Muslim's respect of the Quran and abuses that might stem from that.
Before I move on, there's something I need to mentionHere we have the (unfortunately common) case of Muslim apologetics: ignore practically all of Christ's message and focus only on his monotheistic message. Did Christ teach there was only one God? Of course he did - but we do a dishonor to anyone if we focus solely on one aspect of their overall message. To do so is like saying Abraham Lincoln only wrote the Gettysburg Address to remind people how old America was.
The worshiping of Jesus is a man-made invention
He never asked for your worship so he can grant you protection
Rather he asked you to alternate your prayers towards another direction
So what else did Christ teach? He taught that he was to die and be resurrected for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:46-47). He taught that those who believe in he himself would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16) and would not be condemned (John 3:18). He taught that he himself was the resurrection and the life, and that those who believe in him would never perish but have eternal life (John 11:25-26). He taught that he himself was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one came to the Father but through him alone (John 14:6).
Many of these teachings are things the Jews had previously only attributed to God, and which Muslims would most certainly only attribute to God. Which mere prophet ever said belief in him, and not God, was mandatory for eternal life? Which mere prophet taught that he himself, not God, was the resurrection and the life, and that belief in him, not God, was dependent for eternal life? Which mere prophet taught that he himself, not God, was the way, the truth, and the life?
You see, when you isolate part of a man's message and ignore everything else he said, it's easy to warp it into whatever you desire it to be. Yes, Christ did come to tell us to alternate our prayers towards another direction, but he said: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:40). Christ himself is asking people to look towards him, and only then will they find eternal life. Again, what mere prophet ever spoke this way?
To God and God only and pray that he accepts themThis part stuck out to me. Whether or not the gentleman intended it to be this way, it was worded interestingly. He says that we should pray to God and "pray that he accepts them." So I am first to pray to God, then I am supposed to pray God accepts my prayers? Might I ask where the hope in this is? That's like saying you have to pay $100 to the court for a speeding ticket, then pay them another $100 in the hopes that they'll accept your previous payment.
This reminds me of an encounter John MacArthur had with a Muslim man on an airplane. When MacArthur asked the man if he sinned, the man said yes, and that he was actually on his way to meet a woman and possibly sin some more. When MacArthur asked the man if God would forgive him for his sins, the man replied, "I hope so."
And know that just because you love Jesus doesn't mean he feels the same way about your affectionOn the contrary, what I and many other Christians do is exactly what he asked us to do. We've clearly seen that in the previous responses.
See what you believe in is exactly what he resented, matter of fact it's everything he despised
See the worshiping of creation went against the very message he supplied
So you began to follow a religion and call it love in disguiseI agree love can be blind, but love of Christ is not the kind of blindness we have seen in this video. No, my friend, there is a different kind of blindness here. Blindness is ignoring what the other side has said for thousands of years. Blindness is accepting the teachings of a prophet unconditionally, even when his teachings clearly contradict all the revelations that came before him. Blindness is picking and choosing verses, ignoring their true context, and ignoring all the verses that contradict your entire theology. Blindness is focusing only on the part of a person's message that you choose to accept.
Because love can be good, but love can be blind
To any Muslim reading this post, let me say that this video does not teach you anything edifying nor truthful. I encourage you to truly read God's word (not just peruse a search engine or look for verses that prove your point) and study what He says therein. You will find that Christ is God, that he is Judge, and that one day every tongue will confess and every knee will bow and acknowledge God as Lord - not as prophet, nor as simply messiah, but as Lord. This will be done either out of love, or out of shock and awe. For those who embrace him as Lord and God in this life - as the apostle Thomas did - they will have life everlasting, and will be forgiven for their sins thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. If, however, you are outside of Christ, you will be judged for all your sins, and God will judge righteously.
I hope and pray that God uses this post to edify the people of God, and I hope and pray that Muslims who read this come to a knowledge of the truth. If you are Muslim and reading this, I pray that - even if we never get to meet face to face in this life - we get to meet face to face after the resurrection, in the company of Christ. God bless.
