What every Christian should know [More Muslim Delusion].
This is a refutation of an alleged argument against Christianity that is common within Facebook discussion groups.
1. That the name Christians was first called long after Jesus was gone Acts 11:26. Christianity never appears in the Bible.
Answer: The name used for the first followers of Jesus is recognized as “The Way”
John 4:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
‘The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).’ [NET Bible Notes]
John 4:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
‘The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).’ [NET Bible Notes]
“The Way” was one of the earliest designations of Christianity (cf. 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22), and it appears only in Acts. It meant the path characterized by life and salvation. This title may go back to Jesus’ teaching that He was the way and that His way of salvation was a narrow way (John 14:6; Matt. 7:14). [Dr. Constable Notes]
Being called Christians, later after Jesus ascended to heaven isn’t really an argument. Followers of Jesus Christ are simply called as Christians. So what we have here is a genetic fallacy[1].
It can also be noted that the word “Christianity” [in Arabic: نَّصَارَىٰ] is found 13 times within the Quran.[2]
It can also be noted that the word “Christianity” [in Arabic: نَّصَارَىٰ] is found 13 times within the Quran.[2]
2. That Jesus never heard the name JESUS he never knew the name.
Answer:
Jesus is derived from the transliteration of Yeshua in Hebrew. Strange also is the fact that Jesus in Arabic is Yasu, not Isa [or Essa].
Strong's Concordance:
Iésous: Jesus or Joshua, the name of the Messiah, also three other Isr.
Original Word: Ἰησοῦς, οῦ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Iésous
Phonetic Spelling: (ee-ay-sooce')
Short Definition: Jesus
Definition: Jesus; the Greek form of Joshua; Jesus, son of Eliezer; Jesus, surnamed Justus.
HELPS Word-studies:
2424 Iēsoús – Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew term, 3091 /Lṓt ("Yehoshua"/Jehoshua, contracted to "Joshua") which means "Yahweh saves" (or "Yahweh is salvation").
2424 Iēsoús – Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew term, 3091 /Lṓt ("Yehoshua"/Jehoshua, contracted to "Joshua") which means "Yahweh saves" (or "Yahweh is salvation").
"Jesus Christ" is properly "Jesus the Christ." "Jesus" (2424 /Iēsoús) is His human name, as the incarnate, eternal Son of God (Mt 1:21,25, see also Lk 1:31) – the Christ, the divine Messiah (the second Person of the holy Trinity).
[Christ (His title) means "the Anointed One" (the eternal pre-incarnate, Logos, Jn 1:1-18).]
3. That it was the Council of Nicaea decreed the divinity of Christ.
Answer:
Patently false. It wasn’t the divinity that was decreed at Nicaea; rather it was a retort against Jesus, in his divinity, being created. It was held in 325 on the occasion of the heresy of Arius (Arianism).
The Arians said that the Son was not as eternal as the Father. Athanasius and friends insisted that the Son was as truly God as the Father. There were also many in the middle who were uncomfortable with both extremes: they wanted to hold on to the difference between the Father and Son, without making the Son a mere creature.[3]
More specifically it is quite obvious in this affirmation: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, of the substance of the Father; God of God and Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made, of the same substance as the Father, by whom all things were made, in heaven and on earth: who for the sake of us men and our salvation, descended, became incarnate, and was made man, suffered, arose again on the third day, and ascended into the heavens, from where he will come again to judge the living and the dead; And in the Holy Spirit.” [Nicene Creed]
Begotten, not made.
What the Muslim is left with is a suppressed Evidence fallacy.
Suppressed Evidence:
Intentionally failing to use information suspected of being relevant and significant is committing the fallacy of suppressed evidence. This fallacy usually occurs when the information counts against one's own conclusion. Perhaps the arguer is not mentioning that experts have recently objected to one of his premises. The fallacy is a kind of Fallacy of Selective Attention.[4]
4. That Jesus Christ said "…My God"
Answer:
Since God is three distinct persons, Jesus can pray to the Father. In fact, it would be necessary for him to do so to remain subordinate to the Father in the role in his humanity. Jesus, being human would also be apt to do such things as being a role model for us as well. Jesus is truly human, while we are merely human. The two natures are also known as a Latin term “communicatio idiomatum”[5]
5. That the prophecy of calling Jesus Immanuel never fulfilled, nobody called him Immanuel.
You should know Islam is the only way to God
Answer:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us"(Matthew 1:23).
Some question exists about the sense in which “Immanuel” was Jesus’ name (and the name of a son born in Isaiah’s day) since the New Testament writers never referred to Him as such. Even though it was not one of Jesus’ proper names, it accurately described who He was (cf. John 1:14, 18; Matt. 28:20). The same may be true of the son born in Isaiah’s day. Some believe this person was one of Isaiah’s sons, or the son of King Ahaz, who could have been King Hezekiah, or someone else. My guess is that Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz was the initial fulfillment and that “Immanuel” may have been his secondary name.
“He [Jesus] is Emmanuel, and as such Jehovah the savior, so that in reality both names have the same meaning.” [Dr. Constable Notes]
“The key passages 1:23 and 28:20 . . . stand in a reciprocal relationship to each other . . . . Strategically located at the beginning and the end of Matthew’s story, these two passages ‘enclose’ it. In combination, they reveal the message of Matthew’s story: In the person of Jesus Messiah, his Son, God has drawn near to abide to the end of time with his people, the church, thus inaugurating the eschatological age of salvation.” [Dr. Constable Notes]
This brings many questions about Islam. To be blunt, exactly how is it a religion that came after Christ, the only way? The religion that came after Christ ends up contradicting what came before it. John 4:16 is very clear, Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Christ.
