The Son of God

Christians believe Jesus was the Son of God who came to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world. The above sentence holds multiple layers of blasphemy according to the Koran. We also believe He sits at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. Those recalcitrants who would not convert frequently mentioned this in their reasonings. They had to-or Mohammed would not list this as one of his main complaints.

"They will not listen..., such are some of them...," so he cries repeatedly. Of course, to the Messenger this cannot be because they know that they know the Lord. Nor can they be assured of their salvation, instead of merely hoping for it. Allah has sealed them, has hardened their hearts, so that they will not believe. And someone has taught him predestination.

He strives to show that no one can know God. He is too exalted for this. Sorry, but every Christian who calls Him Father is going to explain that we can, and do. And as Jesus said, if we said we didn't know Him we would be liars.

Another factor is this incredible show of humility and subjection. But it is false humility, what the Bible calls a show in will worship. (Galatians I think, I cannot find it it, but Colossians discusses false humility. Must have been in a different translation.) Islam claims to emphasize God's mercy and forgiveness. But the Koran states Allah does not love sinners. He only loves those who are faithful. So the point becomes how much self-control do you have to have to earn Allah's love? And if you live a righteous life, seeking Allah for decades, at the last second you can fail and go to hell.

The Resurrection is our proof of God's acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Jesus could have told us He would die for us, and having died,we'd have no proof that the Everlasting God accepted that death as a payment. Coming back proved He did. Paul stated that without it, we should not continue. (I Corinthians 15:5-7, 12-19, 32.)

...He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.(5-7)
Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up-if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (12-19)
If, in the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (v.32)

Wasting our lives on a false hope is not something Christians are willing to do. Why Muslims are is beyond me. Certainly, many live righteous lives as it is humanly possible. Prayer and fasting, separating themselves from drinking, adultery, open lust, or materialism, reveal a dedication to seeking to please God.

Unfortunately, you will never be good enough. (None of us are.) The Bible says all our good deeds are as menstrous rags, which is quite a stench. (Living in a day and age of disposable supplies, that is still powerful. I cannot even imagine what that would be like in older days, or third world countries without them.) In addition, it says there are none who seek God, no not one. Jesus clarified it that none could come to God unless the Father drew him. As for our faith, John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (If you have the desire, come and get it, God offers it.)

Romans ch. 5 emphasizes that if God loved us while we were His enemies, how much more He would love us now. (Rom.5:6-11, and 8:32.)
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Romans 8:32 adds, He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Jesus taught of the Father's love- Luke11:9-13.
And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (And the other gospels leave it open that we can ask for other things too.)

So we have no doubt of His love. And as for our security, Jesus said that those who were His could never be lost, or taken from His hands. He would protect them. (This comforts me that the Lord will restore those who walk in error.) John 10:14-15,28-30, 31-38.


Besides the audacity of claiming to know God-or perhaps because of it, Mohammed expressed another complaint against Christians: bragging and supreme confidence in their Lord. He termed it the strutting about of the Unbelievers. I love this. Because when I have to explain the superiority of knowing that I am forgiven versus hoping to be, I will exult in it. Earlier I mentioned how much Mohammed complains. Although I can't vouch that it is in every Sura, this awareness is rampant.

People claiming intercessors-Mo promises that these helpers won't be able to convince Allah. People depending on partners associated with God, such as Jesus or the Holy Spirit. He rarely makes any kind of point without referring back to this. (He actually interrupts himself so often it becomes distracting.)
To me, this makes the claim that he was delivering the society from paganism so spurious. The amount of arguments against idol worship and the foolishness of serving something man-made would be much increased if he were genuinely concerned about them, or if Allah was. As it is, the frequency seems about 50 to 1, or more in comparison to arguments against Christians. And maybe 20 to 1 against Jews, who also are monotheistic. (The Lord our God is One, etc. Though the Holy Spirit is acknowledge in the Old Testament, as it is in the Koran.)

At one point, I guess when I first read the description of strutting, I was very defensive. Many of the Christians I know are fine persons, humble no matter what their level of society. So if someone was inflated with themselves, that would indeed be wrong. But if the boasting is of Jesus- of knowing that we know that we have indeed received our forgiveness, that is allowable. We do know the living God, and call Him Father-having freedom to enter His presence lovingly, worshipfully, and dare I say it, boldly. That indeed is shocking to those who believe the Almighty too exalted for mere men. Those ask only to be His servants.

I do not mock them, for in truth He is beyond what we deserve to know! We are unworthy, though He deserves to be worshipped. Wise is the man who abases himself and offers himself humbly before the Lord. Until he comprehends the magnificence of what He has done-the depth of His love for us, and the efficacy of His sacrifice.
Then he is foolish if he can believe his own heart will ever be pure enough to please Him, or his deeds excellent enough to impress Him. And fool he is if he refuses God's free gift. Arrogance leads him to feign submission as a servant when God desires him as a son. Dare we refuse adoption? And He gives us His Name, as part of the deal. Compare this to what Mohammed says about adoption, see post 10.

So knowing what and who we are, we would logically jest at one's suggestion we deny our Sovereign Holy Lord. We would not turn to one who makes us servants and who leaves us with an unsure hope. Some of our brothers told Mohammed this.

The Bible has many words on boasting too. I will share a few. Paul said in Galatians, "God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of Christ our Lord, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal.6:14
So if we boast for Him, then let us glory and strut when confronted with those who disbelieve the promises. But first let us humbly relate the good news. (Gospel.) For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, that any man may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.
Then let us walk, boasting: "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed unto Him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12.

And about that strutting. I do so want to get it right! Do we walk straight ahead with our arms swinging, or do we put a little jaunt into it swinging side to side, a little like John Wayne? Perhaps we hold our heads up, with backs straight and our noses in the air. Sura 3:196 just notes it. Sura 14:43 has more details. This may not be strutting, but it seems so. "They running forward with necks outstretched, their head uplifted, their gaze returning not towards them, and their hearts a gaping void." (No, I didn't mess up the grammar. My experts who wrote the books say it's like that even in Arabic. The Koran has to add words in parenthesis regularly to make sentences make sense.)

In context, the Sura 14 verse is a picture of Unbelievers running on the Day of Judgment. During some of the raids he had seen this. It was a vivid picture in his mind of people trying to escape. Those who did this were described as doing wrong. They said with confidence when threatened with death they'd suffer no loss. Who has such assurance as Christians?