Christianity through the lens of Christian & Muslim Scholars Part Two

“Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the source of all light and life and truth according to the writer of the fourth gospel. Now if that is the truth you can’t actually kill God…There are other accounts of the death of Jesus which also say that God could not possibly have died. But we actually believe that God has entered so much into human experience that he wasn’t afraid to experience death, and God the Father raised Jesus from the dead on the third day”

“This is foolish atheism. A Lord, Rabb, dies – and amazingly a Lord sits on the right hand of Allah and there are then two Lords and two Gods. One of them is superior to the other because the one at whose right hand the other sits must be greater than the one who sits at the right hand of the other. There can be no doubt about it. We seek God’s protection from such miss-guidance”

Fundamental to Christianity is the unique believe that Jesus Christ, who was part of God the Almighty was crucified, died and was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. [3] Christians believe that the Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation as a mystery of universal redemption, that is, as the ransom that would free men from the slavery of sin. [4] St. Paul says in his first epistle to the Corinthians:

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me--that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. “He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said…” (15:3-4, NLT) [5]

Without clinging to the Doctrine of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christian Faith doesn’t make sense at all. Why? Because without the death of Jesus on the cross Christians are still under the condemnation of Sin (The Doctrine of the Original Sin). Paul further says in his first epistle to the Corinthians:

“And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless. And you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.” (15:17-19, NLT)

[1] What Christian Believe, 97

[2] Muhammad Abu Layla, The Muslim View of Christianity With Special Reference To The Work of Ibn Hazm, 329

[3] What Christians Believe, 86

[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 170

[5] The Gospel of Matthew reports Jesus answering to some scribes: “Only an evil, faithless generation would ask for a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:39-40, NLT). Maulana Rahmatullah states that this statement is incorrect for the fact that according to the gospels Jesus was crucified on Friday in the afternoon and died at about nine in the evening. Joseph asked Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor for his body in the evening and arranged his funeral, as is clear from the Gospel of Mark. He was therefore buried in the night of Friday, and his body is said to have disappeared on the morning of Sunday, as described by John. According to this detail, his body did not remain in the earth for more than one day and two nights. Therefore this statement of staying in the earth for three days and three nights is proved incorrect. (Izharul Haq, Part 2, 104-105)

[6] What Christian Believe, vi

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Crucifixion And The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

EPILOGUE