jnawaz@skat.usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) (12/06/90)
In article <1990Dec2.211926.6395@nntp-server.caltech.edu> ta00est@unccvax.uncc.edu (elizabeth s tallant) writes: > >Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you saying that the Koran says that Allah >created evil (lc)? If you say that Allah created evil, then you are saying > that Allah is evil, since it is surely a sin to create sin. People >create sins, and therefore they are sinners. Lucifer creates sin, and >therfore he is a sinner. > Surah 113 goes like this(first two verses): "(1)Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of Daybreak (2) From the evil of that which He created;" Allah does not create evil, but is the Creator of every creation even that which spreads evil. >the argument over whether or not Christ is God - Let's see what the Bible says about God: "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (James, 1:13) What does it say about man: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." (James, 1:14) And about Prophet Jesus: "And he was there in the wilderness forty days, *tempted* of Satan." (Mark, 1:13) "And when the devil had ended all the *temptation*, he departed from him for a season." (Luke, 4:13) "But (he) was in all points *tempted* like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews, 4:15) So according to Bible is Jesus God or man? The answer is obvious. > >Well then, let me ask a question. Since Islam teaches that Jesus was the >only person to ever experience a virgin birth and since the Koran says >that Jesus was the only one ever caught up to Heaven, doesn't that in >itself suggest that Jesus is far above any human being INCLUDING the >prophets? After all, the Koran says that even all the other prophets >experieced "regular" conceptions, births, and deaths. > Surah 3, verse 47 of the Qur'an says: "(Mary) said: How, O Lord, shall I have a son, when no man has ever touched me? `Thus shall it be,' was the answer. Allah creates whatever He wills..." Then verse 40 of the same Surah: "(Zacharias) said: Lord, how shall I beget a son now that I have grown very old and my wife is barren? `Thus will it be,' was the answer. Allah does whatever He wills...." Notice the striking similarity in the two verses; in both cases birth of a son was going to take place in an unusual manner. Mary was to give birth to Jesus while no man had ever touched her; Zacharias' wife was to give birth to John the Baptist despite Zacharias' old age and her sterility. In both cases the response from Allah is "Kadhalika" meaning "Thus shall it be". If the unusual birth of Prophet Jesus puts him far above other prophets and even entitles him to Godhead, then is not John the Baptist entitled to Divinity also? After all his birth took place in equally unusual though different circumstances. Let's not forget that Adam had neither father nor mother. And Eve was created from the rib of Adam (?). Is their birth any less miraculous? Why leave Mary out...she got pregnant and gave birth without any sexual intercourse...should she partake in the Divinity? Muslims see in the above miracles the manifestation of Allah's power; they don't get surprised when Allah works such wonders and therefore see no justification in ascribing divinity. Whenever Allah desires something no matter how unusual, all He needs to say is "Be"; that's how the world itself came into being. "......When He decrees a thing, He only says, "Be" and it is." (3:47) > >Elizabeth > >"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always, even unto the >ends of the earth." - John Qur'an (112): "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begeteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." -------------- Jemshed Nawaz