ASK YOURSELF

Following the right religion is the absolute most important thing we can do in our lifetime. We must know who God is and how he is to be worshiped. We were given this life for the sake of our eternity. This life determines where we spend eternity. What is 70 years compared to eternity? Absolutely nothing. Now, the question is, where and how do we want to spend eternity? Do we want to suffer in hellfire (If you don't believe in hell, you most definitely better make sure that it doesn't exist, cause if it does, you are following a false doctrine) or do we want to be rewarded with the gardens of paradise?

This article will simply give you questions to ask yourself. Questions that will make you think. If you believe you have a solid answer to these questions, then e-mail me at Tarek@guidetosalvation.com and I will post it. If you have questions for the followers of any other religion, you may also e-mail those to me and I will post them. your questions must be supported by doctrine or sources accepted by those that follow the target religion.

-Let's imagine that a person was stranded on an island all alone since a very early age. This person never had any outside influence whatsoever. One day, a bible washes ashore. From reading the bible, would this man find the doctrine of the trinity?

The supreme authority in Christianity is the Bible. Every doctrine should come from the Bible. Scriptures are meant to be Gods message to man. If God wants to be worshiped, then he must first let those to worship him know who it is they are worshiping. In the Old Testament this is clear:

Deut 4: ³⁵Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

Deut 4: ³⁹Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

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

1 Sam 2:²There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

2 Sam 7:²²Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

1 Kings 8:⁶⁰That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

1 Chron 17:²⁰O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isa 45:⁵I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: ⁶That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Isa 46: ⁹Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Mark 12:²⁹And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Note: these are just a few of many.

If God is in fact a trinity, it should be found clearly in the Bible. It should be logical, with no question marks or room for misinterpretation.

So where in the bible would this person find a Trinitarian God? Keep in mind, the verses should be specific and without confusion. For example, a common Trinitarian "proof-text" is John 10:30, which reads:

The problem is that Jesus (pbuh) did not mean one in substance, but one in purpose. This can be easily shown with the following three verses:

John 17:22 "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:"

Mark 10:18 "Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

The three above verses make it clear that Jesus (pbuh) meant to say that he and God are one in purpose and nothing else. It would take extreme stubbornness to read it any other way.

-Did Jesus (pbuh) not deny divinity in Mark 10:18 and repeated again at 18:19?

Mark 10:18 "Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

Jesus (pbuh), it is generally agreed regardless of religion, came with the purpose to save. If a person went up to someone in that role and asked, "How can I be saved?" The person in the savior role would answer immediately, because that is what he's here for. It would take something of incredible importance to interrupt his direction. Let us read the sequence surrounding Mark 10:18:

Mark 10:17 "As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ ²⁰He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money^* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

A man walks up to Jesus (pbuh) and basically asks "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" This question is exactly what Jesus (pbuh) was sent to answer. What does Jesus (pbuh) do? before answering he stops to correct something that he must feel is so incredibly important that it couldn't wait. He stopped to tell the man that he wasn't God nor did he deserve any of the attributes that belong to God. He did this by asking, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

Then, after clearing that up, he went on to answer the question. Basically keep the commandments and give charity, something every Muslim is required to do.

-By claiming Jesus (pbuh) as divine, doesn't this contradict the Old Testament?

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

To say that Jesus (pbuh) is half-man, half-God, doesn't that create a contradiction with the above Old-Testament verse? God is not a man, Jesus (pbuh) was a man. He was born of a woman, the Bible describes him with emotions, it describes him eating... these are human attributes, but the OT clearly says God is not a man.

Why did Jesus (pbuh) pray to God to 'take this cup from me' on the night before his crucifixion?

Mark 14:33-36 "He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch." He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." (Mark 16:33-13)

Also, while on the Cross, Jesus (pbuh) cried out "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34), does that sound like Jesus (pbuh) was a willing participant?

Jesus (pbuh) was loyal to God and sinless, yet, according to the Bible, God refused to answer his prayers. Doesn't this set a bad example? The stories in the Bible are often used as examples, doesn't this example show that if you are loyal to God, he will not answer your prayers?

Also, These verses above show that Jesus (pbuh) did not want to die, and felt as if God had let him down. How then can be said that Jesus (pbuh) made the greatest sacrifice for humanity? These verses indicate that God forced Jesus (pbuh) into being the sacrificial lamb, and refused to answer his prayer when Jesus (pbuh) pleaded for it.

-How do you explain "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?"

(from www.answeringchristianity.com)

The Bible says

“For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;” (Psalms 37:28)

But yet when Jesus Christ (pbuh) was put on the cross according to the Bible. He cried out

“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mathew 27:46)

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

How can Jesus be forsaken when God does not forsake his faithful ones?? Now the Christians have four options to choose from.

1. The person put on the cross was not really Jesus.

2. Jesus (pbuh) was not faithful to God.

3. Jesus (pbuh) lied that God forsook him.

4. Bible is lying when it says that God does not forsake his beloved ones.

An attempt to answer this from Bible Probe:

And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. Mark 15:33

Mark 15:34 - And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

To God, the sight of sin is absolutely repulsive. Jesus' mission reached its fulfillment when He was dying on the cross on that holy day in Jerusalem. At that moment, the sinless Jesus was being held personally responsible for all sin. With that immense load of guilt (our guilt & our sins) upon Him, for just a very few seconds, God the Father couldn't stand the sight of His only begotten Son whom He loves dearly.

Guide To Salvations response:

I've got Seven Bible Translations, and for the life of me I can't find this explanation anywhere. Is this something God expects the readers of the Bible to just assume? You just basically added an entire event that does not exist in the Bible. Where can I look up that "for just a very few seconds, God the Father couldn't stand the sight of His only begotten Son whom He loves dearly." I thought we were commanded to not add to Gods words (Revelation 22:18-19, Galatians 1:9)? I'd very much of have loved to debate this in your forum, but that is impossible since you have a habit of deleting posts that you can't explain. Also, it sounds like you're saying that God weakened for a few seconds. That is blasphemy on your part.