Is Jesus the Son of God? and other issues

Is Jesus the Son of God? Not according to the Koran. Or should I say definitively not? There is so much repetition of this idea, that I must answer again this issue. Since it is offensive, I will not dignify this with a listing of all the verses. (Hey, it's my blog.) Read some of the books that summarize their beliefs, they will indubitably quote several of these. In short, God has no physical needs, etc. So to Mohammed, it was blasphemous to suggest He would have done some Zeus-like behavior.
Despite the illogic (to quote a friend) of saying God would have to have had sex in order to make a son, the Koran does affirm nothing is too hard for the Almighty. He just has to say something and it is. It explains that is how Jesus was conceived, virgin birth and all. The book also acknowledges that Mary was a good woman. Though it says they both were mere mortals in that they had to eat their daily bread.

Christians are told to "desist" saying trinity, and are told that God can forgive any sin no matter how large, except for this. Those who insist on it are the kafir, who are damned. (Sometimes spelled kafar.) They are charged with being polytheists, for adding partners to God. But just to show that they really do honor Jesus, they admit He was sinless, claim He was the Messiah, and say He was one of the five major prophets.
I don't know how you honor someone when you teach that everything He said or did was a lie. When you say everything He claimed to do, He did not do. When you say everything He claimed He was, He wasn't. And that the authority who declares this is invalid and inaccurate, but in their minds they do.
The Koran even declares that Jesus will return at the last day, and correct all His faithful. He will declare He never claimed to be God, and say He submits Himself to God in Islam (submission). And only those who support the Messenger will be welcomed to the Garden (heaven)as well.

The first time or so you (a Christian) read this garbage, it offends you. Ok, maybe longer. But after awhile, it gets to be kind of a Seinfeld thing,yahdeyadahyadah. (I probably mispelled that, but it means something that just goes on and on that you stop listening to.)
The Koran says He didn't die for our sins, either. God raised Him up, without letting Him die. (The reasoning is that God is faithful to His messengers, so He wouldn't let something like that happen to such a good guy.) Some have conjectured, then who was it on that cross?
Later imams have suggested that perhaps someone was kidnapped and put on the cross, with God changing his face to look like Jesus. Like a holy God wouldn't mind doing that to some innocent person? Because He could play tricks like that and be worthy to be served!
Several problems arise from this besides creating an evil God who abuses people. Jesus told Peter not to fight because He could call down legions of angels to fight if He wanted. He had a purpose in doing it, which could not be accomplished if someone else hung there.
Another theory was that He was on the cross, but God translated Him before He died. I don't know if He just made it appear that He was still there, or put an angel in His place or what. 'Cause for them it's altogether all right for God to trick people. Lying to them is ok too.
A problem with this is it makes Jesus appear like he was their captive. Because if God had no purpose in having Him there, Jesus suffered for no reason? He'd already proven that He could walk through hostile crowds without being captured!

Also I don't know how Jesus managed to speak what is known as the seven last words. Those were the seven things He said before He yielded up His spirit and died. (The last one was "It is finished." He also told his best friend, "Behold your mother," and to His mother Mary, he said "Behold your son." But these aren't mentioned in the Koran. I guess they didn't happen, just as so many things in the Bible are rewritten there. Mohammed doesn't bother to discuss all the witnesses who testified of seeing Him risen, either.
Besides the group of 500 who saw Him rise into the clouds, we have the individual testimony of those to whom Jesus appeared afterwards. Peter, Mary Magdalen, the eleven. Jesus had spoken to two walking down the road to Emmaeus. After He revealed himself to them, they returned late that night, rewalking the entire distance in order to give the others the news. Those others doubted.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He has said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. Luke 24:36-40.

Then He asked them for food, and ate in front of them, to verify. (He also cooked some fish and ate it with Peter at another time.) Thomas-known as "Doubting Thomas," wasn't there when He appeared. He would have none of it. He knew Jesus had been killed, and even with the body gone, he would only take a rational approach. He said, unless he saw Him himself, and put his fingers into the wounds, he would not believe.
Jesus came and said to him, "Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John 20:27. Verses 28 and 29 record, "and Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and My God!" and Jesus answered him, "Thomas because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

In spite of what the Bible declares about Jesus, Mohammed had his own view. So if you can picture the sinless Jesus, with power over death submitting Himself to "the Messenger," we can continue. Mohammed does say, "If (Allah) Most Gracious had a son, I'd be the first to worship." Sura 43:81.
The Koran also declares that only God can create life. It relates a story of Jesus shaping a bird out of clay, breathing on it, and having it fly away. Apparently this is from a non-Biblical source. But this appears to be creating life to me. It also notes many of the miracles that the Lord did, such as healing the blind, raising the dead, etc. Isn't that giving life too?

I know it is not your fault what the book says. I know you are taught to reverence Jesus, even as He is presented. However, if I write that I honor Mohammed, which I do somewhat, and yet say he was not the Apostle of Allah, or of God anyway, that offends you. Because he claimed to be. If I write that he was not a messenger to warn others, that contradicts what he claimed his accomlishments to be. The same is true if I state that the Koran wasn't given to you from God, but is a man-made tome. Saying this also denigrates the authority you quote.
Yet you expect to say Jesus isn't who He claimed to be, didn't accomplish what He claimed to accomplish, and the authority of the Book that declares this is questioned, and I am supposed to be okay with that?!!! Sorry, since we're all a bit upset here, let's calm down before we continue. Take a few deep breaths. Ok, I'm better. How about you?

Since you (Muslims) are also instructed to ask the People of the Boook if you have any questions, I will again indulge in reporting from the Bible. I will address three levels of testimony. The first is where the Father Himself speaks. The second are Jesus' claims. The third is the testimony of others from the gospels. A fourth, is other parts of our Scriptures, which y'all usually reject, but we do not. I will not include these here, as it is already very long.
I should explain for non-Muslims, that Mohammed taught that all the messengers, including the five prophets got the same message to give to their people. And these are all gotten from the source of the Mother of the Book, which is in heaven. They just believe that all the other messages, like the Jewish law and all Moses' teachings, the "actual" gospel which Jesus taught, and so on, were just kind of lost or corrupted.
I don't know where they get that from, as we have copies of early manuscripts up close to the dates of the early church fathers. (They could have refuted the accuracy, having at the least been taught by those who either knew the Lord or had been taught by someone who had.) That is for the New Testament. For the Old Testament, obviously the scrolls and copies predate that period substantially. And especially many manuscripts exist which were copied earlier than the time of Mohammed. So, if the sources he approved of Muslims referring to were ok then, then you/they are clear. Because the accuracy of our present day Bible is provable to many centuries prior to this. Especially on the basics. This includes the Torah, the Psalms, and the Injil (gospel.)

The account of Jesus' baptism by his cousin John the Baptist (Yahya) describes an example of the first level. God the Father Himself testified of who Jesus is. This occurred early in his ministry.

Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased. Luke 3:21-22.

The Father Himself testified another time, at what is known as the mount of transfiguration. Jesus, being man who has laid aside the glory of his godhead while on earth, here allows this to be revealed to his three closest followers-Peter, John, and James-John's brother. He radiates glory as He meets with Moses and Elijah who reappear to talk to Him. Moses represents the law, Elijah the prophets, each being a new stage of God's work. The purpose in the Father speaking is to tell Peter not to interrupt.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves, and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah-because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Mark 9:2-7.

Of course, the work of the Spirit verified it too, both in the power of the miracles and the holiness of the life. The second level is that Jesus testified of Himself who He was. I have already written what He said about being the Son of God and how the Jews reacted, understanding His meaning. But another story relates how He believed Himself to be God.

Jesus met a paralytic. He could have just said rise and walk, and everyone would have been impressed. Instead He made it controversial. He said, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven." Matthew 9:2b (B. means second part of the verse.)
He asked those who protested, what is easier to say, "rise and walk, or your sins are forgiven?" Now logically, any human with faith might say "rise and walk," and the person might be healed. They would have to have the power of God working, but they would not be saying more about themselves than this.
In pretension, they could have said, "your sins are forgiven," and blasphemed if they did not have authority to do it. (And probably wouldn't be able to heal anyone or have any signs since God wouldn't back up a fraud.) But unless God struck them down, they could get away with the claim. For many have made claims of how to receive forgiveness, and until they die, they could falsely believe. (Either the claimant, or the recipient of the statement.)
But in order to prove that He truly had the authority to forgive sins, which all agree belongs to God alone, He said, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Mt. 9:6b. When the guy got up, the crowd "marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men." Matthew 9:8.
Many times the crowds wer not pleased. They were offended that Jesus-this was their conclusion, being man, made Himself equal to God. (See note about C. S. Lewis.)

The third level of witness is the testimony of others. His followers also presented their viewpoints. Jesus asked the Apostle Peter his opinion of who He was at a time when many were leaving Jesus. He declared, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus praised him, saying God had blessed him with this knowledge. Peter also said, when Jesus asked if he too would leave, "Lord to whom else could we go? Only you have the words of eternal life."
If he had been in error, Jesus was more than able to correct him. Just a few lines later, Peter tried to discourage Him from going to Jerusalem. They all knew the danger, and that those there wanted to kill Him. Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Get thee behind me, Satan." This let him know the thoughts were not from God, and that they were from the wrong motivations-of fear and self-protection. Jesus would have rebuked blasphemy.
The gospels were written by or sourced by his disciples. Matthew and John were ones who had been called by Jesus to be of the twelve. Mark, according to church tradition (our hadith) was written down by Mark, but was from the testimony of Peter. As in cultures even today, many have scribes or others better in writing to record someone else's thoughts. Just as Mohammed had men who memorized the Sura's. Then the small parchments, leaves, stones, scrolls, or whatever were later pieced together from when these other men had recorded the words. Whether they remembered correctly, or what was edited by the committee that assembled them, and disposed of those copies they did not approve of, is up to eternity to discern.

As the Apostle Paul noted, Jesus appeared alive to more than 500 after his death, burial and resurrection. And many were still alive at that time, if someone doubted-they could find an actual witness. (Because doubters are almost never questioned or insulted, even if they look for signs. God expects us to use our minds. But that is another issue for another day.)
The gospel of Luke was written by a doctor who attempted to investigate the other witnesses, and interview many to try to provide "an orderly account... that you might know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." He also claims to have "had perfect understanding of all things from the very first." This includes things only Mary could have told Him.

So what did these witnesses record?

John the Baptist (Yahya) said.... "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Besides instructing the crowds with this, John taught his own disciples more.
A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ but I have been sent before Him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all... For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Paul had a vision of Jesus, which was good, as he was actively persecuting the church at the time. Being responsible for the martyrdom of many, his transformation was powerful. He went into Arabia to escape persecution himself, and perhaps because the Lord sent him there. Somehow he was taught the gospel, which he later checked with those who had known Jesus to verify its accuracy. They gave their stamp of approval. Neither Peter, nor Jesus' brother James (who were the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem) would have given it if it differed substantially from what they had heard for the three years of Jesus' ministry.


And oddly, there was the testimony of demons. They did not want to be bothered by Him before the last day. So they asked if they could go somewhere else. This is about what they said:
Jesus, thou Son of David, what have we to do with thee? Are you going to punish us before our time?"
They knew who He was, His authority, but that what was to happen was for a later time. So they asked if He would send them into a group of pigs, if He was going to cast them out of the demoniac. He did, and they stampeded that herd over a cliff. Not sure why that solved their problem, as they were almost immediately having to deal with the same problem of needing a new body to inhabit. But the guy whose life had been destroyed, mutilating his body and living within a cemetery, was delivered and healed-free from being possessed by legions of demons.

In one of Jesus last sermons to his disciples before He left them to go into heaven, He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem...." Luke 24:44-47.

And John records that "truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
In fact most of the writings of John are on this subject. So I refer you to the entire gospel of John and his epistles for further study. And I conclude with a quote from I John 5:5,10-13.

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ...He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.