Christians believe that Jesus, peace be upon him, is God, the second person of the Divine Trinity.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Ward was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).
Christians use this verse as a proof for their claim. But, actually this verse contradicts so many verses, in both the Old and New Testament.
The Old Testament:
“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.” (Deuteronomy 4:39)
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD“ (Deuteronomy 6:4)
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.“ (Isaiah 44:6)
All of these verses state only one thing that God is One.
The New Testament:
“And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mark 12:29).
“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other God but one.” ( I Corinthians8:4)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
So, either (John 1:1) is right and all these verses are wrong or the reverse.
The Holy Qur’an:
God says in the Holy Qur’an (what means):
(Remember) when the angel said: ‘O, Mary! Verily Allah gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter, and of those who are nearest to Allah. (Qur’an 3:45)
The meaning of the word “God” in the bible:
The word god when mentioned in the bible does not always mean the One True God; it may mean something else.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” (Exodus 7:1)
Theword “god” here means guardian i.e someone who has authority and not the One True God.
The Jews also were called gods:
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10-34)
The Devil also was called god:
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Here Paul means the Devil. Most people were unbelievers so he said that the god of this world meaning the Devil. Even the Devil was called god.
A Christian may say that Jesus, peace be upon him, is god because he was filled with the Holy Ghost while he was still in his mother’s womb.
Well, if Jesus is god because he was filled with the Holy Ghost when he was in his mother’s womb, then John is god too because the same was true with him.
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1: 13-15)
Christians believe that Jesus is god because he performed many miracles.
Yes, we the Muslims believe that Jesus performed many miracles, but if he is god because of such thing, there would be many prophets for there are so many people performed many miracles, to name few:
1- If Jesus healed the leprosy, Prophet Elisha too heeled someone from such disease.
“ And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kings 5:13-14)
2- If Jesus treated someone from being blind, Prophet Elisha also did the same by praying to God; he treated a man from blindness.
“And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw…” (2 Kings 6:17)
3- If prophet Jesus raised the dead, prophet Alisha too raised a child from death
4- If Prophet Jesus walked upon water, Prophet Moses and his people of Israel also performed the same miracle.
Moreover, Jesus performed many miracles after PRAYING TO GOD; he said that he cannot do anything of his own.
“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Mathew 15:9)
In addition, these miracles are not a sign of divinity but a sign of humanity, because if he is god, then they are not miracles. If he is god, then this will be normal because he is god, but he is a human being that’s why his disciples were shocked when they saw these miracles.
Furthermore, Jesus never says in the bible that he is god. If he is really god, he would say it but nowhere in the bible where Jesus says that he is god. Allah, the One True God, mentions that He is the One and Only God several times in the Qur’an, but Jesus never says it.
Add to this, there many things that prove that Jesus is not and cannot be god:
1- God is the Greatest; no one is greater than Him or even like Him, yet Jesus says: “for my Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28). This means that God is greater than Jesus, which means that he is not god and cannot be.
2- God is able to do each and everything, if not, then he is nod god. But Jesus says:
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30)
3- God knows each and everything, yet Jesus says: ” But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.“ (Mark 13:32) Jesus himself says that he does not know anything about the Day of Judgment, and you say that he is god?!
4- God does not receive any revelations from any one, but reveals to His prophets.
“ I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.” (John 8:26)
Here, Jesus means that he does not speak anything of his own, but only of what he receives from God because he is a messenger; delivering messages.
5- God does not pray to anyone, yet Jesus prayed to God: ” And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?“ (Mathew 27:46) How come can anyone understand this as the one who is saying so, praying to God, showing his weakness to Him, to be God?!
Needless to say, his disciples perceived him as a prophet. “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22)
Here, Peter, who is his closest disciple, defines him as a prophet; a man sent to by God, with miracles and wonders.
Moreover, he himself perceived himself to be a prophet and a messenger of God.
“ Nevertheless I must walk to day, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! ” (Luke 13:33-34)
He also describes himself as a man who hears things from God and delivers them to people,”But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.” (John 8:40)
This is compatible with how he is perceived in the Qur’an:
“Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him” (Qur’an 5:75)
Jesus also says: “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am 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.” (John 20:17)
In the Myth of God Incarnate, the editor, John Hick, writes in the preface:
“The writers of this book are convinced that major theological development is called for in this last part of the 20th century. The need arises from growing knowledge of Christian origins and involves a recognition that Jesus was ( As he is presented in Acts 2:22) a man approved by God for a special role within the divine purpose and that later conception of him as God Incarnate , the second person of the Holy Trinity living a human life, is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us.”
To conclude, reason refuses to accept a man who was born of a woman, suffered from human wants, ignorance and limitations, and gradually grew in stature, power and wisdom, like all other human beings, as God. To put human limitations upon God and to believe in His Incarnation in a human body is to deny the perfection of God.
