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Christianity  

 A debate: 

2007/11/26

 Victor:
Hi Ali,

When I came across your website I was glad to see someone dare to break the silence of political correctness that plagues the West and tell the public the truth about Islam. I have a growing concern about the apathy in the West concerning so great of a threat to freedom and justice. I hope you continue what you're doing as long as God gives you breath.


Dear Victor.

Thank you for your thoughtful comment. However, I hope I don’t have to take my last breath fighting Islam but rather celebrating the victory over Islam. 

Victor:

I also came across your opinion about other religions and the quote by Krishnamurti. Please do not throw out the baby with the bath water. Just because Islam is a false religion and Muhammad is a false prophet it does not mean that Christ was a false prophet. I am a Christian. The reason I was able to recognize the absurdities of Islam and its prophet was because I had something to compare it with, the Bible and Christ. The person of Christ is as different from Muhammad as day is from night or light is from darkness. Also, the message of the Bible is very different from that of the Koran. Jesus taught people to love. He said, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5:44)." Jesus taught that the reason for sin is found in human nature and that is why we must become born-again and given a new nature by God. Every other religion gives us a code of ethics and good works so we can earn our way into heaven. But how can an unholy human dwell with a perfectly holy God forever? Christianity is the only one that says its not by human effort and works but by God's grace because Jesus paid the penalty for sin for those who repent and humble themselves before God and accept this gift of salvation that free to us but cost God everything.


I am not against Christianity and actually hold Jesus in very high esteem. I love him for what he taught and I have never bundled Christianity, or for that matter any religion, with Islam.  However, I differ in my philosophy with people of faith in that I believe salvation depends only on our deeds and not on our beliefs. In fact I think beliefs are entirely irrelevant, all that count are good deeds.

Victor:

The God of the Bible loved to the point of dying for the very people who hated and rebelled against him. While He was on the cross, He prayed "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." The Muslim's Allah only breathes out threats and violence toward those who don't believe. Jesus laid down the example of true love. John, a close friend of his writes, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers ( I John 5:16)."


The God of Jesus resembles Jesus and the God of Muhammad resembles Muhammad. One is the embodiment of love and the other of hate. One preaches forgiveness and the other violence. They are different because the two men who envisioned them were different. I have never equated the God of Jesus with that of Muhammad.

Victor:

My friend, Islam can never be eradicated by human words of reason and facts alone (although that is good), but only by the truth of the gospel (the good news that God saves sinners through grace and not by works because of the sacrifice of His only Son.)


Not all people think alike or have similar likes and dislikes. Because we are different, we think differently. Many people are reason oriented and others are faith oriented. I only can help Muslims through reason. However, there are many Muslims who need to believe. It is your job to reach them. My language is not the language of faith because I am not a man of faith.  I cannot give to others what I do not possess.  But I am not averse to those who try to wean Muslims from Islam by giving them a different faith. I believe all religions have something good to offer. Islam has nothing good to offer. All I want is the eradication of this doctrine of hate. Whether Muslims choose to become Christians, Hindus, Buddhists or rationalists is up to them. I am not here to indoctrinate anyone with my own beliefs. Firstly, I do not have any beliefs and secondly, I could be wrong. 

Victor:

Please, as you are a person of reason, look into the facts of the Bible for yourself. As you have been turned away from Islam by the careful study of the moral character of Islam's prophet, also in the same way, study the moral character of Christianity's Lord, Jesus Christ, and see if He passes the test. His closest friends testified of his perfect character. One of them wrote, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness..." I'm not saying you should convert to Christianity, but at least put its claims to test, especially those made by Jesus. Have you looked into the evidence concerning His resurrection? "

I have put to test the Jesus of the Bible and he came out with flying colors. There is no doubt that if Jesus was as he is described in the Bible he was a superior man and an example to follow. However, I cannot accept the evidence of resurrection. That evidence is not convincing for me. I believe it is a myth  invented by the zealot believers. I do not need to believe that Jesus was supernatural to accept that he was a superior human being. I love him as a man and not as God.

Victor:

Unlike Islam, Christianity invites skeptics to challenge its claims concerning facts that can be verified through careful research, like the resurrection of Christ (Simon Greenleaf, one of the principle founders of Harvard Law School, and a skeptic did this: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/jesus/greenleaf.html). The apostle Paul writes, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead...And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." Why will Paul put everything in Christianity on the line based on that one test of whether Jesus really resurrected or not? Why will he risk all he based his life on, and even was eventually martyred by Emperor Nero for believing? Paul knew that the people could verify whether Christ was risen or not because such an event did not happen in some secret corner. He also knew that Christ did resurrect without the shadow of a doubt and there was physical evidence that was irrefutable by even the staunchest skeptic and opposer of their faith.


Paul was a zealot believer. He did not know for a fact that Jesus resurrected. He actually was a persecutor of Christians.  He had an epiphany, and as the result changed his position. Paul was not a rationalist. He was against reason and preached foolishness. In 1 Cor. 1:20-25 he argues “the foolishness of God is wiser than (the wisdom of) men”.

Unlike Paul I am a man of reason. I cannot accept a god that is divorced from reason.  Therefore, what Paul says, to me sounds absurdity.  In my humble opinion Paul has hijacked Christianity. The message of Jesus is much simpler and rational than what Paul regurgitated.

Victor:

Like Paul, I lay all of Christianity on the line based on this question I ask you: Did Jesus really resurrect from the dead? If He did, then He is Lord. If He didn't, then he is a liar or a lunatic. All I ask is that you honestly look into the evidence for yourself.


If you mean bodily resurrection, my answer is no. This is contrary to science and logic. Where did the body of Jesus go?  Also I do not see any reason to call Jesus a liar or a lunatic just because his followers exaggerated his rank.  Christ's teachings are beautiful. There is no need to believe in resurrection to see what he taught is good.  The story of resurrection is a fable concocted by his zealot followers who may have lied to attribute miracles to their messiah. There are also several miracles attributed to Muhammad. Do I have to believe in them? Believers love to lie to promote their faith and lionize their guru.


Victor:

Why do I bother you with these questions? Because I think they are important. You see, death is not a period, it is a comma. You will stand before your Creator one day. Are your sins forgiven?


I don’t know whether I will stand in front of a creator or not.  If I do I will condemn him of criminal negligence and point out to his cruelties and injustices, before he can condemn me. I am far less sinner than God. All my sins are caused by ignorance. I never committed sin out of malice. God cannot have the same excuse. Unlike me, he can’t plead ignorance. My sins are minor, while his are major.  He is guilty of genocide and mass murder.  He must answer for all the injustices that humanity and even animals suffer. Convince God to debate with me and I will defeat him like I have defeated all my opponents. Since he is not willing or able to confront me in a debate I will be glad to debate with his advocates on earth. In the Day of Judgment, I am not afraid to stand in front of God. I have done nothing evil to fear. It is God that must fear standing in front of me. I may not be able to send him to hell where he actually belongs, but I can sure put him to shame.


Who is responsible for this little girl? Where is her God? I don't want to hear rationalizations and excuses. I want answers. If God exits why this? Don't fool me with nonsense talk laying the blame on others. Whoever is at fault, this little girl is not. Why should she pay for the faults of others? Tell this damn God to answer for all the cruelties that he can stop and doesn't. Let him answer for all the evil things for which only he is responsible such as killing children, maiming them or making them orphans in natural disasters or "acts of God". 

If God does not know about all these sufferings, he is ignorant. If he knows and does not want to help, he is ruthless. If he wants to help but he can't, he is not almighty. In either case he is not worthy of praise.  

I don't know how can anyone worship a god that actually designs the world is such a way that the sustenance of some of the creatures should depend on destroying the lives of other creatures. Is this a good design? 

Victor:

I hope your administrator does not block this email out. I really want you to see it and would like to see if you are up to this challenge of looking into the evidence of the resurrection of Christ.

Sincerely,

Victor


Who told you we block people’s emails? I apologize for not responding to all the emails but I certainly welcome different views and fresh ideas, (even though I often end up refuting them.)  

 

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