GodTube Questions for Islam #6: Jesus or Muhammad?
John C. Rankin (February 10, 2011)
In my prior posts, and YouTube videos in this series, I noted that Yahweh Elohim, in the Bible, is greater than space, time and number. Thus, the biblical foundation for understanding the language of the Trinity is in place.
In contrast, in the Qur’an, Allah is limited by the human concept of the number 1. Also, in terms of space and time, Allah does not enter into the created world and relate to and communicate with men and women.
In the Qur’an, Allah communicated only to Muhammad in one-way directives, through the angel Jibril. Muhammad was only a vessel. He did not participate in any conversations with Allah. This contrasts with Abraham, who had a dynamic conversation with Yahweh Elohim in Genesis 18, as did all the Hebrew prophets elsewhere, and all believers in Jesus following Pentecost.
The very nature of Jesus as the Son of God in the Bible does not refer to the language of human offspring. Rather, Jesus, as the Son of God, is the heir to the Father’s promises. And as the Son of Man, Jesus brings all these promises to humanity.
It requires a grasp of the one true Creator being greater than space, time and number, to even scratch the surface of such rich biblical language.
Thus, is it Jesus or Muhammad who meets the needs of the human soul? Do we want one-way directives from a distant Allah, trusting only in the inner experience of one human being, Muhammad, who himself was only a passive vessel of the words of Allah? Or do we prosper in the love of Jesus who comes to us in the fullness of God and the fullness of man, and gives to us the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit? Believers in Jesus as the Son of God are invited not only into the presence of the one true Creator, but that presence also comes into us. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are greater than the human concept of the number 1.
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