format_quote Originally Posted by
Bennett Spies
Easy: i) The Father is greater than Jesus while Jesus is incarnate. Because Jesus humbled Himself to become a man, the Father is temporarily greater than Jesus. (Philippians 2:5 - 11) ii) The Father (who is by nature God) is greater than all because He is God. The Father is temporarily greater than Jesus because Jesus has humbled Himself and become a man (again see Philippians). iii) I honestly don't understand why you brought up this passage, but what Jesus says is very clear. The Jews are accusing Him of being possessed and Jesus responds, "how can Satan cast out Satan... but it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons." This passage actually teaches Trinitarian theology, because it distinguishes the 'Spirit of God' as a unique person who gives Jesus power to perform miracles. iv) Again, I don't understand why you brought up this passage, unless you want to say that Matthew and Luke are contradicting. They are not. Because the Holy Spirit is by nature God, Jesus can at the same time cast out demons by the power of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is God. v) Before I respond to this I would like to draw your attention to the preceding passage: John 5:17 - 18 "But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working." 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." Notice how Jesus is making Himself equal with God (this directly refutes Muhammad's claims in Quran 5:116).But yes, Jesus does say that He cannot do any other will but the will of the Father. This is because the Father Son and Spirit are all one in being and share the same will... the will of God.Also, if you are claiming that because Jesus submits to the will of God that makes Him a Muslim then you would be committing the 'equivocation fallacy'.So, there you go. All you questions have been answered. Also notice how I provided citations from both the Bible and the Quran to support my arguments. I will also point out that instead of answering my questions you decided to dodge and ask me questions instead (this shows me that you don't have a good response to my question and must resort to poorly attacking Christianity). This is not a problem for me of course, because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the power of God to salvation.God bless you.
I hope you can now see how silly your earlier statement is: 'Why does the word of God need someone else to provide the context.' Look at how much explanation you have provided above regarding those verses from the Bible. If you are able to understand the importance of context for the Bible, you should have no problem in understanding that the same applies to the Qur'an. By the way, quoting Philippians 2:5-11 does not support trinitarian belief. 'Form of God' does not mean that Jesus is god, rather it is saying he is in accord or harmony with God. This is similar to how Jesus told the pharisees that the Father is greater than all (John 10:29) before he said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), so it is obvious that Jesus wasn't saying that he was equal with God. Moreover, the verse in Philippians says he did not consider equality with God 'something to be grasped', which is a powerful argument against the trinity. We do not have two Jesus' - the equal Jesus and the not-equal Jesus. There is only one Jesus and he is not equal with God:John 10:29- My Father, which gave them me, is GREATER than all;John 14:28- my Father is GREATER than I.
In Surah 5:43 - 47, Allah asks Muhammad why the Jews and Christians keep coming to him for advice. Allah says that they (Jews and Christians) have the Torah and the Gospel. The Allah says that Christians have no ground to stand on unless they stand on the Gospel.Here's the point: Muhammad says to the people of his day that they have the Torah and the Gospel, and that the Christians of his day must judge by what the Gospel says.
The context of these verses actually goes back to 5:41 (the beginning of the same passage you quoted):
O Messenger! Do not grieve for those who race to disbelieve—those who say, “We believe” with their tongues, but their hearts are in disbelief. Nor those among the Jews who eagerly listen to lies, attentive to those who are too arrogant to come to you. They distort the Scripture, taking rulings out of context, then say, “If this is the ruling you get ˹from Muḥammad˺, accept it. If not, beware!” ... [5:41]
By reading from the beginning, you can clearly see that this is not about ascribing validity to the distorted scriptures, rather these verses highlight a disingenuous attitude on the part of Jews and Christians who claim to believe in the Torah and the Injeel yet do not implement their teachings. The meaning of 5:43, therefore, is an expression of wonder as to how do they seek you to judge between them despite the fact that they do not believe in your Message and do not believe that you are a Prophet, and they neglected the Torah which they believed to be God's Rulings. Another point to be noted is that Allah gave glad tidings of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad in the Torah and the Injeel, and ordered them to believe in him, follow him and support him. Allah Says (what means):
And (remember) when 'Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), said: "O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allaah unto you confirming the Tawraat (Torah) which came before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.} [Quran 61:6]. Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawraat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel). [Quran 7:157].
[This is mentioned in the Torah (Deut, xviii, 15), and Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16)]
Therefore, if the Jews and Christians truly judged by the Torah and the Injeel, they would find therein an order for them to follow the Prophet Muhammad about whom glad tidings were given in their own books.Let us now look at verse 5:48:We have revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ this Book with the truth, as a confirmation of previous Scriptures and a supreme authority on them. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires over the truth that has come to you. To each of you We have ordained a code of law and a way of life. If Allah had willed, He would have made you one community, but His Will is to test you with what He has given ˹each of˺ you. So compete with one another in doing good. To Allah you will all return, then He will inform you ˹of the truth˺ regarding your differences.
After mentioning the previous scriptures, Allah now mentions the Qur'an and establishes an important principle, which is that the Qur'an is the final authority over them. All of this is in the very same passage which you quoted (whose translation you actually confused with 5:68). I suggest you re-read the passage within its proper context and hopefully you will understand it better this time.
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