Jesus Christ is God - Proof #1

You Muslims have not been able to make any coherent argument against the true statement that Jesus Christ is God.

Thus, I am going to take you through, verse by verse, and show you that "the revelations which came before" which the Quran says it confirms (Surah 6:92, et al.) prove unequivocally that Jesus is God:

Proof #1 John 1:1,14:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth John 1:1, 14

This is the transitive property of mathematics which states:

if a=b and b=c, then a=c

a = God
b = The Word
c = the only begotten from the Father (none other than Jesus Christ)

John 1:1 states that a = b (the Word was God)
John 1:14 states that b = c (the Word was the only begotten from the Father, i.e., Jesus)
Thus a = c (Jesus Christ is God).

Any valid comments on this proof will be addressed and refuted--any blustering, sidestepping or other incoherent drivel will be ignored--and I will move on to my next proof.

Jesus Christ is God - Proof #2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1)

All things came into being through Him (the Word, Jesus Christ), and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (John 1:3)

For by Him (Jesus Christ) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Col 1:16)

In Genesis 1:1, God is the Creator and in John 1:3 and Col 1:16, Jesus Christ is the Creator, Thus Jesus Christ = God.

Jesus Christ is God - Proof #3

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one Deut 6:4

I (Jesus Christ) and the Father are one John 10:30

Ther "One" in Deut 6:4 is the same as the "One" in John 10:30

The phrase "The Lord is our God" in Deut 6:4 in the Hebrew is:

יהוה אלהינו (Yaweh Elohenu) and אלהינו (Elohenu) is from אלהים(Elohim). Thus Jesus is both Yaweh and Elohim.

That the Jewish audience in John 10:30 fully understood this is clear from their reaction in John 10:31-33:

31The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.

32Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

33The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

See the attached video for further explanation of the true "Oneness" of God.

Jesus, the Great I AM

Originally posted by Muslim

Jesus did not say, "Before Abraham was born, I was the I am that I am."

The sentence "Before Abraham was, I am.", makes no sense and does not confirm that he was claiming to be "I am".

Please look at this translation, which confirms that Jesus was no I am:

"John 8:58 Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.' "

No I am in this translation from Worldwide English New Testament.Greek reads before Abraham was, I am.

ENDQUOTE

The Greek reads as follows:

πριν αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι
prin abraam genesthai ego eimi

The proper translation is:

before Abraham was, I AM

This was a clear reference to Exodus 3:14:

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

That the Jews understood the reference to Exodus 3:14 is clear from their reaction:

Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. John 8:59

This was another case of Jesus claiming to be God:

18For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father,making Himself equal with God. John 5:18

33The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God." John 10:33

Ibn-Hazm (Khazem) and Corruption - Analysis

Ibn-Hazm (Khazem) and Corruption

The cornerstone of Muslim Apologetics to Christians is the Doctrine of Biblical Corruption.  However, most Muslims:

1. Do not know the history of this doctrine.

2. Have never thought through the theological implications of this doctrine.

3. Have never thought through the Historical implications of this doctrine.

 In this thread, I would like to discuss these issues.

History of the Doctrine:

Ibn Hazm (aka Ibn Khazem) was the first Muslim to posit the Doctrine of Biblical Corruption in the 11th century AD.  Thus for the first four centuries of Islamic history this doctrine did not exist. This is in keeping with a literal grammatical reading of the Quran which claims to be " a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] Scripture" Surah 10:37

However, Ibn Hazm noticed that the Quran does not live up to the standard which it proclaims:

"Ibn-Khazem saw the contradictions between the Qur'an and the Gospels. One obvious example being the Qur'anic text `They slew him not and they crucified him not' Surah 4:156. `Since the Qur'an must be true,' Ibn- Khazem argued, `it must be the conflicting Gospel texts that are false. But Muhammad tells us to respect the Gospel. Therefore, the present text must have been falsified by the Christians.' His argument was not based on historical facts, but purely on his own reasoning and on his wish to safeguard the truth of the Qur'an. I. DI MATTEO, (`Il "takhrif" od alterazione della Bibbia secondo i musulmani', Bessarione 38 (1922) 64-111; 223-260; `Le preteze contradizzioni della S. Scrittura secondo Ibn-Hazm', Bessarione 39 (1923) 77-127, E. FRITSCH, op. cit., p. 66.)"

"Nothing could stop him from pursuing this accusation, it seemed the easiest way to attack the opponents. `If we prove the falsehood of their books, they lose the arguments they take from them.' (IBN KHAZEM, Kitab al-fasl fi'l-milah wa'l ahwa'l nikhal, II,6; E. FRITSCH, op cit., p.55) and this led to him eventually making the cynical statement `The Christians lost the revealed Gospel except for a few traces which Allah has left intact as argument against them.' ( IBN KHAZEM, ibid.; E. FRITSCH, op. cit, p. 64)"

"Later writers took up the same reasoning, enlarged it and embellished it. The falsification of the Bible was thus asserted by Salikh Ibn-al-Khusain (died 1200AD), Ahmad at-Qarafi (died 1285AD), Sa'id Ibn-Khasan (died 1320AD), Muhammad Ibn-Abi-Talib (died 1327AD), Ibn-Taimija (died 1328AD) and many others. From then on it has become a fixed ingredient of Muslim apologetics."

Source: http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/138007

Theological Implications of the Doctrine:

If God was either unable or unwilling to keep His Word from corruption, then He is not God. If He was not able to keep His Word from corruption then He is not Omnipotent and thus not God. If He was unwilling to keep His Word from Corruption then His attributes of Veracity and Immutability are compromised and He is not God:

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Psalm 138:2

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.Isaiah 40:8

Historical Implications of the Doctrine:

The historical implications of this doctrine are huge. The Bible is by far the most well attested book of antiquity. The manuscript evidence is much stronger than any other ancient writing. Thus to throw out the Bible as corrupted is to throw out the writings of: Homer, Virgil, Tacitus, Josephus, Julius Caesar, Ovid, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristotle, Suetonius, etc., basically all of Ancient History.

Thus, Ibn Hazm's doctrine of Biblical Corruption makes no sense. It should be rejected by the honest Muslim. It is an impediment to the necessary confrontation of the critical question:

What is the real reason why the Quran and the Bible disagree on most major doctrines?

Purpose of the Virgin Birth

I congratulate you on having the courage to drill down on the Virgin Birth.

However, you missed a key passage in your analysis:

Is 7:14:
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."

The fulfillment of this and further explanation is here:

Matt 1:18-23
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

20But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Notice, Mary conceived a child with the Holy Spirt being the Father and the name of the Child is עמנו אל (Immanuel). "God with Us"

So two purposes for the Virgin Birth are stated here:

1. To accomplish the incarnation of God the Son as the God-Man, Jesus Christ. God the Holy Spirt supplied the divine Y Chromosome and Mary Supplied the human X Chromosome.

2. To save the people from their sins. In order to be the Sin Bearer, Jesus had to be "without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet 1:19) meaning he could not have a sin nature. The Virgin Birth accomplished this as the sin nature is passed down through the human male in copulation:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Cor 15:22

Bible Verses proving that God's Word Can NEVER be Corrupted

Muslims, please stop the lunacy of the lie Ibn-Hazm (Khazem). God promises to safeguard His Word from Corruption--It is HIS Word--If He cannot protect it, then He is not God:

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matt 5:18)

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Matt 24:35)

"But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. (Luke 16:17)

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Pslam 138:2

but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Pet 1:25

Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Luke 21:33