Debunking the Arguments to Debunk Any Missionary - Argument 4 of 5

Dear Ijaz and Beloved reader:

I would like to respond to the third argument from your article 5 Arguments to Debunk Any Missionary. I hope you read my response with a critical and open spirit. I don’t intend to offend anyone with my comments. Rather, shed a different perspective to clarify the apparent issues presented in your article.

 "Argument #4:

According to Matthew 5:22, the Bible says:

“But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” – Matthew 5:22.

According to the Christian belief, since Jesus is God, then God is saying that calling anyone a ‘fool’ means then, that the person who does so is in danger of hell. As it turns out, Jesus breaks this rule and is therefore a sinner, and subsequently in danger of hell:

“You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?” – Matthew 23:17."

Cherry picking verses is a dangerous strategy. I've many times misunderstood Al Qur'an verses because I read and understood them out of context. If you ask a versed Muslim, you will know that to understand a verse in the Qur'an you must understand the background it the verse. That's why for Muslims the Hadith is so important, because it explains the context of the Qur'an verses. 

Understanding the background of the verses in the Bible is also important. The difference here is that in the Bible the background can be found within the Bible itself. 

In Matthew 5 is related what Jesus taught about the Law. He was speaking to the people about the Law and He was explaining that it is necessary to fulfill the Law. However, Jesus was clarifying that The Law had to be fulfilled beyond just outward actions. It is not simply, for example, not committing murder or not committing adultery. It goes beyond restraining oneself of doing either of these actions. Jesus was explaining that the spirit of the Law requires us not even desiring committing murder nor committing adultery. If you think in your heart that it would be great having sex with a woman, yet you don't do it, it's still adultery in the eyes of the Law.  Same occurs with murder, if anger makes your heart desire wrong over someone else, this is as bad as committing murder.

Ijaz in his argument here says that Jesus is contradicting himself. In one verse Jesus says don't call any one fool, and in the next one Jesus is calling the Pharisees fools.  Again, it's all about understanding the background of the story. The problem is not about calling anyone "fool" or using the word "fool" at all. Rather, it is about what's in the heart of People. Let me reinforce this with another example. In the very same verse used by Ijaz, Mt 5:22, it is also said "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment(...)". Is it wrong to be angry? Was Jesus ever angry? Mark 3:1-6 shows one other story when Jesus was angry with the Pharisees:

1 Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him. 3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Stand up among all these people." 4 Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?" But they were silent. 5 After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.

The question we should ask is, what did Jesus feel in His heart towards the Pharisees in this case. Did He feel like strangling them or did He feel frustration for His stubbornness? Jesus never felt doing wrong to the Pharisees, He never plotted hurting anyone. A clear example to sustain this claim is that when Jesus was captured, Peter pulled his sword and cut the ear of a soldier. Jesus healed this man and calmed the situation.

So Ijaz, beloved brothers, religiosity is a dangerous practice. We can outwardly fulfill with many rules, yet within our hearts there can be many thing rotting our souls. This is what Jesus taught. And it's very difficult to do it on our own. It can only be done by accepting the Spirit of God in your life. If you accept your God as your Lord and your Savior, He promises to give you His Spirit to live within you, to change your soul and your mind, to change what's within your heart.