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Showing posts with the label New Testament

What does Islam say about the beliefs of the first followers of Jesus?

Sunnih muslim scholars through history  have taught that the true followers of Jesus believed he was only a man; just a prophet; not divine at all. They also teach that later a dissident  group rose teaching Jesus was divine. Some of those scholars assert that Paul of Tarsus was the one who misguided the large majority.  Some of these Muslim scholars taught the followers of Jesus had disputes all along about his deity.  Those scholars argue this is evident by the many theological controversies which persisted during the first three or four centuries of the Christian era. They argue that the true followers of Jesus remained in the shadows until the arrival of the Qur’an through the prophet Muhammad.   History evidence plays a decisive role on supporting or disproving the claims of the Qur'an, at least in this case. However, one would have to challenge the claim that the Qur'an is the word of God if it is misaligned with historical facts. My question to Mu...

The Belief that Messiah had to be Divine predated the time of Jesus

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Some skeptics and contradictors of Christianity claim that the Deity of Christ was an invention of people, something that progressively developed years after the time of Jesus on earth. I would like to provide evidence that this is not the case, and that in fact, the belief that Messiah is God pre-dated the incarnation of Jesus.   My argument in this article is based on the Book of Isaiah, a prophetic book which clearly speaks about the Son Of God, as I have documented in this other article. However, this time I'd like to present what the believers before the time of Jesus understood this prophetical book spoke about.   It’s important to highlight that the view of Rabbinical Jews today about Isaiah, and in specific of Isaiah 53 is not aligned with the view of Orthodox Judaism, especially in the first century BCE. To demonstrate this, I'd like to review what the Targums, and in specific to the Targum Johnathan say.   Targu...

The Deity of The Messiah

SUMMARY The concept of Trinity is commonly misunderstood by many people. It is the concept which defines God as one in what He is, but three in who He is. Other way of saying this is that the Almighty is One being, but three persons. Multiple assertions have become popular when discussing about the origins of the believe on a Triune God: - Some people say that it was invented by some Christians in the council of Nicea 300 years after Jesus  - Other people argue that the Trinity is definitely a Christian invention, for the Jews never came up with any concept which would point to support this. In this article I present references to first generation Christian writings outside the Bible who explicitly declare the deity of The Messiah. I also present references to Jewish writings which do present views aligned with the concept of the deity of the Messiah, from before and after the time of Jesus. The objective is to argument that the deity of The Messiah...

Do The Gospels document that Jesus claimed to be God?

An argument is often brought forward to support the idea tha Jesus Christ, Isa Al-Masih, never claimed to be God. When we claim something for us, we can do it orally, written or by action. Either something we say or something we do demonstrates who we are. Perhaps you have hear this Argument. Jesus never said explicitly, I am God, worship me. The first question I'd like to ask is whether you've read the Bible or not. The second is if you have given the chance to understand its contents or not. Regardless the answer to those questions, I invite you to read the notes below. They summarize the accounts in which is seen wether Jesus claimed to be God or not. Please read this with critical and constructive eyes, with a sincere heart. Where  did  Jesus  Claim to be God in The Gospel According To Matthew? 1. He claimed the prophets were persecuted because of Him, implying he sent those prophets Prophets are messengers sent by God. Only he can send them. Jesus said to His discipl...