veiled4allah: archaeological evidence of Jesus?

Umair Salam said:

Total comments: 2

yeah, i read about that in the news as well...
your belief about prophet jesus (pbuh) is the correct islamic belief, alhamdulillah...and that's what i believe as well

Angela said:

Total comments: 1

It's really wonderful to see a site where somebody who is not afraid to speak openly about her faith is posting frank, intelligent thoughts.

I am responding to your Jesus posting because I am a Christian, and always wondered about Muslim viewpoints on Jesus. What you wrote here is what I have heard and read that Muslims believe about Jesus. I have some questions that I hoped you could answer for me.

You wrote that you believe Jesus did not have a human father. Who do you believe was his father, and if he did not have a father at all, do you think that he was still fully human? And, do you believe that he was the son of a virgin, and if so, that Mary became pregnant by a miracle of God? If you believe this, why do you think God permitted this? Why are not all prophets fatherless? What was the message for us in the fact that Jesus did not have a human father?

You also wrote that you believe Jesus to be a prophet of God. Why do you believe this? I believe this because it is written in the Christian bible, which I believe to be the actual word of God. I have heard that some Muslims believe that the Christian bible has been altered and manipulated over the years by Christians. But if you believe that the Christian bible is not the pure word of God and has been manipulated by Christians over the years, then how do you know who Jesus is, what he really said, and that he was indeed a prophet of God? I mean to say, what proof is there that he was a prophet? If the bible was manipulated, then we really can't know what the truth is, and that Jesus was a prophet at all. Do Muslims have other writings about Jesus that show them he was a prophet? If so, I would be really interested to read such a thing! I read most of the Quran many years ago in a class on Islamic Institutions, but I don't recall reading about Jesus in it; I could be mistaken.

Also, if we assume, arguendo, that the Christian bible has not been altered or manipulated, and it consists of words written sincerely by people who truly believed they were inspired by God, then I would think that we either believe these words (the message that Jesus was the son of God and died for our sins that we may be forgiven before the Lord, our relationship with Him reconciled, and our lives transformed to be sanctified even in the midst of our sinful natures) or we believe that the authors of the bible were mislead by a madman.

Jesus claimed he was the son of God, come to save the world. How can we listen to the teachings of a man who says such outrageous things unless he is truly God himself, come in human form to sacrifice himself for us, to demonstrate an incredible act of love? If I did not have faith in Jesus, I would not admit that he was a prophet who is now in heaven. I would think that the things he said are proof that he should not be taken seriously. If we use miracles that he performed as proof of his anointedness, then we must say first that he was anointed, and then that it must be by God. This brings us right back to the beginning. If one believes that he worked miracles by the grace of God, then he was indeed not a regular man--you believe that he was a prophet. But why would a prophet claim to be the son of God, which is pretty outrageous. And, if the bible is manipulated and not an accurate representation of who Jesus was, then we can't believe the bible to be the word of God. How, then, do we know Jesus, who he was, what he taught as a prophet? Muhammad left the Quran. What did Jesus leave to show us his prophetic message from God?

Thank you for reading this message, if you have gotten here already. These are all sincere questions. You can see that I am a sincerely believing Christian, and unafraid of questioning my own faith, and examining it. I believe that the truth stands up to examination, even as it flourishes in faith. It is essential that we follow what is true, and not just a religion that is a cultural fallback or convenient or even just good for us. There are many religions that espouse good moral principles. There is also a secular world that tries to do so. Yet following God must mean that we are trying to follow the truth, which exists independent of what is convenient to us. So I think, even as a mature believer, that it is good to examine why we believe and to challenge the world to think about what is true and what is not. That's one reason why I thought your discussions on your site are so wonderful--it's an honest examination.

I am really interested in finding out more about what Muslims believe about Christianity. I don't currently have any close Muslim friends and find from your website that your thinking and faith is quite clear, so hope that you will reply sometime. What I have heard about what Muslims believe is through Egyptian and British friends who have spent extensive time in the Middle East or Africa, growing up or doing missionary work.

By the way, I am also in the law--I graduated about two years ago from law school. I was researching Timothy McVeigh on the internet out of some curiosity because of a case I am working on that relies on his appellate case for precedent when I came upon your site. It was so interesting that I kept reading on. In any case, I sympathize with the rigors of law school and wish you the best in your studies!

Hope to hear from you.

Blessings,
Angela
where_is_angela@yahoo.com

Al-Munaqabah said:

Total comments: 996

Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting, Angela!

The source of my current beliefs about Jesus (peace be upon him) is the Quran.

You can read an excellent article that summarizes Islamic beliefs about Jesus and the texts they are based on at Jesus: The Islamic and Christian Views Compared.

According to Islamic belief, Jesus had no human father. However, this does not make him divine; after all, Adam (peace be upon him) had no human parents whatsoever! The Quran explicitly compares the creation of Jesus to the creation of Adam.

Muslims believe that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived; this is mentioned in the Quran as well. The Quran mentions elsewhere that some of the prophets of God were given more preference than others. For instance, God spoke to Moses (peace be upon him) directly at Mount Sinai. David and Solomon (peace be upon them) were given a great and powerful kingdom and various other powers and abilities. The unusual nature of Jesus's birth and the miracles that he performed are similarly a preference that God gave him over other prophets. The purpose of the preference may have been to further the message that the prophet was sent with, or it may have been to illustrate to people then and later the scope of God's power. Only God Himself knows the full wisdom and meaning behind His action.

Although some prophets were preferred above others, Muslims believe they all came with the same message: "There is no God but God, so serve Him". In that sense, we do not single out some prophets over others.

I hope that what I've written clarifies a little bit about the Islamic beliefs about Jesus. I've been wanting to create a page for my website about Jesus in Islamic belief but unfortunately have not yet had the time that such a project would require.

You've made a number of additional arguments about the message of Jesus. I would like to refer you to another website, which contains a lot of interfaith material regarding Christianity and Islam. Christianity and Islam: A Comparative Analysis. I think that these articles will provide you with the Islamic response to the points that you've made, and it is easier for me to refer you to the site than to attempt to copy and paste things into a comments window.

If you would like, we can continue to discuss the articles, or you can ask me any other questions that you have.

God bless.

Tyler Schlichter said:

Total comments: 1

Hi
You said that Islamic compare the birth of Jesus a lot with the birth of Adam... Jesus had a mother... Adam did not. And if Jesus was a prophet, than according to Islam, if he was not God, than he was a false prophet. There is new evidence that the Bible dates back to within 50 years of when Jesus was on earth, and that is when all of the different writings, by numerous different writers was put together. The new copies of the Bible have been compared to the oldest copies of the Bible, and the result was the New American Standard Bible, which has the same meaning of the New International Version.
Grace and peace
Tyler

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