Separating the TRUTH from MYTH

1. Separating Reality from Myth Christianity

2. 2 Is Jesus (peace be upon him) son of God? Do we have scriptural evidence to CONFIRM that Jesus (peace be upon him) son of God? Let us examine the Holy Bible to SEPARATE the REALITY from the MYTH

3. 3 Exodus 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me (David), Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

4. 4 1 chronicle 22:10 He (Solomon) shall build an house for My name; and he shall be My son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. II Samuel 7:14 I will be his(Samuel’s) father, and he shall be My son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

5. Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. I Chronicle 17:13 I will be his (David’s) father, and he shall be My son: and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

6. Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

7. II Corinthians 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. Hebrews &:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

8. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. All Christian preachers are very familiar with the above two verses found in the authorized King James Version, of 1611, and formed the strongest evidence for the Doctrine of the Trinity & divine sonship of Jesus (pbuh). But now this part, “the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” and the “begotten” part of John 3:16have been expunged in the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 and in many other Bibles, as it was a gross error and an interpolation that had encroached on the Greek text according to the Doctors of Divinity of the Church. 8

9. 9 John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. John 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Matthew 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Luke 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

10. 10 Luke 24:19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: WHO INTRODUCED JESUS (PEACE BE UPON HIM) AS THE SON OF GOD TO THE WORLD?? Please read the following. Acts 9:20 And straightway he (Paul) preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. WHAT RESULTED FROM ABOVE PREACHING? Acts 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. Acts 21:27-28 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him (Paul) in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.

11. THE PERSON OF PAUL AND HIS APOSTLESHIP: Let us examine the profile of Paul, the author of some 13 out of the 27 books in the New Testament. 11

12. Paul was not one of the disciples chosen by Jesus (pbuh), nor did he ever meet Jesus (pbuh). He was a native of Tarsus (a city in modern day Turkey). Though a Jew by race and religion, he enjoyed the privilege of being a citizen of the Roman Empire. He had influential connections with the ruling elite. He was an intelligent, educated person with knowledge of Greek literature and non-Jewish culture. 12

13. Paul strongly opposed Jesus (pbuh) during his life time; he tortured and killed many of his followers (Acts 26:9-11, Galatians 1:13). He was present at the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:58-60). He made havoc of the church (Acts 8:3). According to his own report, he was traveling to Damascus to arrest the followers of Jesus (pbuh), when he experienced a visionary encounter with Jesus (pbuh), who, as Paul claimed, commissioned him to be his apostle. 13

14. Paul did not learn his ‘gospel’ from any of Jesus’ disciples or followers: I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.(Galatians 1:12) He always believed in the Jesus (pbuh) of his vision – the mystic Christ, and was not interested in the person of Jesus (pbuh) who lived among the Jewish people and preached his God-sent Gospel: From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. (2 Corinthians 5:16) 14

15. Accordingly, Paul preached his own revealed version of Christianity that was fundamentally different from what Jesus (pbuh) himself taught, and different from what Jesus’ chosen disciples believed. He achieved tremendous success among the Gentiles (non-Jews) as he used all means to win them: To the Jews I became a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. (1 Corinthians 9:20-21) 15

16. Is it not strange that Paul portrays the law of the mystic Christ as differing from God’s law?! He himself admits to using deceit to win acceptance: But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), ‘Let us do evil so that good may come’? (Romans 3:7) 16

17. He explained his position admitting that - He was not necessarily innocent: My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (1 Corinthians 4:4) His preaching was of his own founding: What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:5-6) By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. (1 Corinthians 3:10) 17

18. He spoke on his own authority: But to the rest I say – I not the Lord... (1 Corinthians 7:12) What I am saying in regard to this boastful confidence, I am saying not with the Lord’s authority, but as a fool; (2 Corinthians 11:17) Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. (1 Corinthians 7:25) 18

19. He preached the mysteriousdoctrine of Jesus’ resurrection in this world as his own ‘gospel’: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my Gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. (2 Timothy 2:8-9) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted (from me), let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9) 19

20. Paul repeatedly insists that the Law is to be left behind: But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the spirit. (Romans 7:6) For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. (Romans 4:15) You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourself off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes. (Romans 10:4) Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ , and not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (Hebrew 6:1) Therefore the law was our disciplinarian [ schoolmaster - KJV] until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian (Galatians 3:24-25) 20

21. WHAT WAS THE TEACHING OF JESUS (pbuh) REGARDING THE LAW Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 21

22. According to Jesus (pbuh), if one fails to abide by the Law, he or she will not enter Paradise. According to Paul, Law is redundant, which is necessarily a teaching of an Anti-Christ. Have you any difficulty in accepting Paul as Anti-Christ, who totally distorted the Monotheistic teachings of all Biblical Prophets. Very sadly the Christian Church has embraced the teachings of the Anti-Christ 22

23. 23 Matthew 6:14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Joh 20:17 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.

24. Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24

25. Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Mark 11:25-26 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Luke 11:2-4 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 25

26. And they (Jews, Christians and pagans) say: Allâh has begotten a son (children or offspring). Glory be to Him (Exalted be He above all that they associate with Him). Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and all surrender with obedience (in worship) to Him. (Holy Qu’ran 2:116) Surely, they have disbelieved who say: "Allâh is the Messiah ['Iesa (Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary).“ But the Messiah ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: "O Children of Israel! Worship Allâh, my Lord and your Lord.“ Verily, whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allâh, then Allâh has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers. (Holy Qu’ran 5:72) 26

27. Popular Notions and Prejudices about Islam Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers

28. The Prophet of Islam What others say about him

29. 29 John William DraperA history of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Vol. 1 “Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca in Arabia, the man who of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race…Mohammad….”

30. 30 Major Arthur Glyn LeonardIslam – Her Moral and Spiritual Value, London 1927, p.20-1 “Mohammad was no mere spiritual peddler, no vulgar time-serving vagrant, but one of the most profoundly sincere and earnest spirits of any age or epoch. A man not only great, but one of the greatest (i.e. truest), men that humanity has ever produced. Great, not simply as a prophet but as a patriot and a statesman: a material as well as a spiritual builder who constructed a great nation, a greater empire and more even than all three, a still greater Faith, true moreover, because he was true to himself, his people and above all, to his God.”

31. 31 Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao,Head of the Department of Philosophy,Government College for Women University of Mysore, Mandya-571401 (Karnataka). Mohammed The Prophet -Re-printed from "Islam and Modern age", Hyderabad, March 1978. “The theory of Islam and Sword for instance is not heard now frequently in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that there is no compulsion in religion is well known. Gibbon, a historian of world repute says, "A pernicious tenet has been imputed to Mohammadans, the duty of extirpating all the religions by sword.This charge based on ignorance and bigotry, is refuted by Qur'an, by history of Musalman conquerors and by their public and legal toleration of Christian worship. The great success of Mohammad's life had been effected by sheer moral force, without a stroke of sword.”

32. 32 Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao,Head of the Department of Philosophy,Government College for Women University of Mysore, Mandya-571401 (Karnataka). Mohammed The Prophet -Re-printed from "Islam and Modern age", Hyderabad, March 1978. “The personality of Muhammed, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it….There is Muhammed, the Prophet. There is Muhammed, the General; Muhammed, the King; Muhammed the Preacher; Muhammed the Philosopher; Muhammed the Statesman; Muhammed the Orator; Muhammed the Reformer; Muhammed the Protector of Slaves; Muhammed the Emancipator of Women; Muhammed the Judge; Muhammed the Saint. And in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike, a hero.”

33. 33 Jules MassermanU.S. psychoanalyst, Time Magazine, July 15, 1974 Leaders must fulfill three functions – provide for the well-being of the led; provide a social organization in which people feel secure and provide them with a set of beliefs. People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius on one hand and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other are leaders in the second and perhaps the third. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammad who combined all three functions.”

34. 34 “Some one has said that Europeans in South Africa dread the advent of Islam -- Islam that civilized Spain, Islam that took the torch light to Morocco and preached to the world the gospel of brotherhood.The Europeans of South Africa dread the Advent of Islam. They may claim equality with the white races. They may well dread it, if brotherhood is a sin. If it is equality of colored races then their dread is well founded.” Mahatma Gandhiin Young India

35. 35 Mahatma Gandhi again…..in Young India “I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard fro pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers and his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.”

36. 36 Dr. Annie BesantThe Life and Teachings of Muhammad “It is impossible for anyone who studies the life & character of the great Prophet of Arabia, …., to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. …I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”

37. 37 Sir George Bernard Shaw‘The Genuine Islam,’ Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936 “I have studied him – the wonderful man – in in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ he must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving the problems in a way that would bring much needed peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”

38. 38 Rev. Bosworth Smith “Mohammed and Mohammedanism”, 1874 “By a fortune absolutely unique in history, Mohammed is a threefold founder, of a nation, of an empire and of a religion. He was Caesar and Pope in one, but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions and Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by right Divine, it was Mohammed, for he had all the powers without its instruments and without its supports.”

39. 39 Alphonse de Lamar tine Historie de le Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol.11.Pages 276-77 “If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who would dare to compare any great man in history with Muhammad? Philosopher, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational beliefs, of a cult without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and one spiritual empires, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?”

40. 40 Dr. Sarojini NaiduIDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918 “It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother.”

41. 41 Sharma & Guillaume Diwan Chand Sharma The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, p.122 “Muhammad was the soul of kindness and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.” Alfred Guillaume, Islam, Harmondsworth, London, 1954, p.2 “At the outset let it be said that Muhammad was one of the great figures of history….His ability as a statesman faced with problems of extraordinary complexity is truly amazing.”

42. 42 Thomas CarlyleOn Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, London 1888,p.61 “His household was the frugalest; his common diet barley-bread and water; sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak. A poor, hard-toiling, ill provided man; careless of what vulgar men toil for. No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of his own clouting. During his three and twenty years of rough trial, I find something of a veritable hero necessary for that of itself.”

43. 43 Thank You Very Much