Alpha & Omega Ministries Apologetics Blog
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An Interesting Conversation in #prosapologian on a Saturday Afternoon
12/29/2007 - James White
···I was working in my office this afternoon, preparing sermons for church tomorrow, when someone with the nick "Muslm" joined our channel. I have taken out some of the channel banter that was not relevant, the joins/parts, etc., so here is the conversation that followed:[15:15] * Muslm has joined #prosapologian
[15:15] [DrOakley] Hello Muslm.
[15:16] [Muslm] DrOakley, Hi :]
[15:16] [DrOakley] ~yus Surah 4:157
[15:16] [Gutenberg^] Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) know ledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- (YUS)
[15:16] [DrOakley] So, Muslm...do you believe in the substitution theory relating to Surah 4:157?
[15:17] [Muslm] DrOakley, I preach Islam on DalNet and UnderNet. Debating with other faiths. someone reffered me to you :)
[15:17] [DrOakley] That's nice.
[15:17] [DrOakley] Do you believe in the substitution theory relating to Surah 4:157?
[15:17] [Muslm] DrOakley, Of course; I believe the Quran 100%
[15:17] [DrOakley] But...that's not what I asked you. :-)
[15:18] [Muslm] DrOakley, Quran is Holy and 100% pure as it was downloaded word-to-word. Quran is a Dictated word of God
[15:18] [DrOakley] There are Muslims who say they believe the Qur'an 100% who do not believe in the substitution theory. ...
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18:47:17 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
Today on the Dividing Line: Nadir Ahmed: Reviewed and Challenged
12/27/2007 - James White
Today I reviewed many of the (at times outrageous) claims of Islamic apologist Nadir Ahmed, the same gentleman who appeared at my church Sunday evening. In the middle of the program I did take one call, however, from our LDS friend Pierre, who wished to discuss the series of articles I have done recenlty on the LDS concept of Jesus as "the only begotten of the Father in the flesh." I concluded the program (it went almost 8 minutes long) with a challenge to Nadir Ahmed to debate two topics, one in which I would defend, one in which he would: I will defend the NT against his allegations of wholesale corruption, and I am challenging him to defend the Qur'an's denial of the crucifixion in Surah 4:157. We will see what develops! Here's the program (free/high quality).19:08:43 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
A Christmas Message to the Followers of Islam
12/25/2007 - James White
I would like to take this Christmas morning to speak directly to the growing number of Islamic readers we have here on our blog. I would like to thank you for stopping by and reading what we have to say. We appreciate the opportunity of proclaiming to you the faith of Christianity, a faith that had been proclaimed for hundreds of years prior to the time of Muhammad.You will recognize these words from the Qur'an:
1. Say: He is Allah the One and Only;Likewise,
2. Allah the Eternal Absolute;
3. He begetteth not nor is He begotten;
4. And there is none like unto Him.
(Al-Ikhlaas, 112:1-4)
And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah. (Al-Maida, 5:46)You may have even considered the third ayah of Al-Ikhlaas during the Christmas season, for assuredly its background is the Christian belief that Jesus is the Son of God. Of course, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God eternally, as to His divine existence of the second Person of the Trinity, not in the sense of God having a wife and begetting a son in time. But surely, Al-Ikhlaas is seeking to deny the very heart of the Christian confession of the deity of Jesus Christ. If you read Arabic, you are familiar with this ayah:
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْWith this in mind, may I invite you to consider the following Biblical text:
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
These words were written seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, and hence 1,300 years before the days of Muhammad. There is surely no question about the validity of this text, for the Great Isaiah Scroll, part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, confirms the text of Isaiah's prophecy. The very wording of the beginning of this prophecy should be understood by every Muslim reader: the Hebrew reads, Wnl'ê-!T;nI !Be... Wnl'ª-dL;yU dl,yå-yKi, or in Arabic, لأَنَّهُ يُولَدُ لَنَا وَلَدٌ وَنُعْطَى ابْنًا. Do you see the significance of this? The very same root term, yld, is used here of the birth of a child, the coming Messiah, the "Son" who is "given," that appears in Al-Ikhlaas' third ayah, which says God does not beget nor is He begotten! But here is what I wish you to consider. As you can see, the literal Arabic reading of the description of "the law that had come before him" in Surah 5:46 is that it was "between his hands," i.e., what he possessed. But what did Isaa possess in the first century? We know He read from the very prophet Isaiah, for Luke 4:17 tells us: "And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written...." So, if Jesus held this prophecy in His hands, and it describes the coming Messiah as both a child who is born, yld, and a Son who is given, even calling him "Mighty God," and Surah 5:46 tells us that Isaa confirmed, or guaranteed the truthfulness of, that which was between His hands, then does it not follow that you, as a Muslim, cannot believe both Al-Maida and Al-Ikhlaas? Since Al-Ikhlaas contradicts this prophecy from God that preceded it by 1300 years, and since Isaa verified the truthfulness of what is found in Isaiah, how can the Qur'an actually be the revelation of God?
Have you ever considered Jesus' own words, recorded long before Muhammad, in the New Testament? I would invite you to take a fresh look at Jesus. Take the time to read His own words in the New Testament. You will find a very different Jesus than the Isaa of the Qur'an, to be sure!
00:01:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
And A Merry Christmas! The MP3's of the Seattle Debate on the Crucifixion Are Available!
12/24/2007 - James White
I am very thankful Rich has managed to get the mp3 audio of the debate with Shabir Ally on the crucifixion uploaded and ready to go! Here is the link. Enjoy and be encouraged!
16:22:41 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
Last Installment: Introduction to Islam (#3)
12/13/2007 - James White
00:01:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
Islam's Self-Identification as a Denial of Christian Truths Part 2
12/11/2007 - James White
00:01:00 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
Some More Video from our Recording Work This Week
12/08/2007 - James White
We have wrapped up recording a total of thirty two segments of video, twenty one of which are specifically for Iran, eleven others for other venues (all on the topic of Islam). The folks at the studio were kind enough to convert one of the first specifically Islam-related programs to a video format I can post on YouTube, and so I will post it in three segments, beginning below.By the way, I discovered recently that GodTube completely deleted all of my videos and my entire account without notification. When I wrote and asked why they did this, I received little meaningful response, other than, "Sorry!" I had not been using them of late anyway, as their process time for an uploaded video was often over twelve hours, sometimes more than a full day. But, that also means that the blog archives are now filled with dead video links. I really do not have time to recreate those videos, if I did not keep the original files, but if I can find a spare moment I will try to repost at least some of the videos I had posted on GodTube. I wish the folks at GodTube well, but it is quite clear to me that their technology/hardware elements are far, far below standard.
12:57:18 - Category: Islam - Link to this article -
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