yxboom
June 26th 2003, 02:39 AM
How Can We Decide?
by Larry (http://theologyweb.com/forum/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=712)
The people of the “Book” often ask the question, “Who do you say Isa is?” This question has been asked many times; in fact, Isa asked this question himself, during a conversation with his followers. There have been many books written about the life and times of Isa that will help answer this question.
The Qur’an teaches many marvelous things about Isa. He was born to a virgin, was a holy child, and was called the Messiah. We are told that Isa created, healed the sick and raised the dead. Finally, the Qur’an teaches that Isa prophesied his death, ascended to heaven and will return again.
There are several places, however where followers of Isa and followers of Muhammad disagree. According to Mufti A. H. Elias, “Muslims do not believe that Isa…is dead or was ever crucified.” The Qur’an speaks of the crucifixion of Isa in Surah 4:156-159:
They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared: ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus (Isa) the son of Mary, the apostle of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did. (He was made to resemble another for them.) Those that disagreed about him were in doubt concerning him; they know nothing about him that was not sheer conjecture; they did not slay him for certain. God lifted him up to Him; God is mighty and wise.
The text could not be clearer; Isa was not crucified. The people around him only thought that he was. Muslims believe that a substitute was killed on the cross in Isa’s place, possibly Judas Iscariot. Some buttress their case by citing the claims of “the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite;” these were early Christian sects who did not believe that Isa died on a cross.
To counter this teaching, the followers of Isa will cite passages from the New Testament. Matthew 27:31-56 says the following:
After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him…and when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots…now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus (Isa) cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”…And Jesus (Isa) cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
The Books of Mark, Luke and John also recount this story. In The Revelation To John, Isa introduces himself by saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and I am the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
In the face of conflicting claims, is it possible for the honest inquirer to determine the truth? It is the purpose of this essay to help the twenty-first century reader make a reasonable decision, by determining the following information:
(1) discuss the reasons why certain early Christian sects rejected the crucifixion;
(2) determine the historical reliability of each religious book;
(3) document any contemporary secular sources that support the crucifixion.
In researching the crucifixion, several writers mentioned the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite sects. Who were they and why did they deny the crucifixion? The simple answer is that they are all considered to be part of the Gnostic heresy of the first and second century. According to Harold Brown, Gnosticism involved
(1) a complicated cosmology based on ancient Near Eastern ideas, not biblical ones;
(2) Hellenistic patterns of speculative thought; and
(3) the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.
Docetism was the first of the Christian heresies during the post-New Testament period. One of their philosophical struggles was the idea “that the divine can take on material substance and suffer the fate of material beings.” For the docetic, Isa was not a real human being, thus physical suffering was impossible.
During the early second century another group, led by Basilides, “adapted the idea of Christ—not the history of the man Jesus (Isa) —to the Gnostic panorama of the universe.” One goal of Basilides was to answer this age-old question: “if God is truly transcendent and totally above material reality, how did the material world come into existence?” In his answer, “the Father is only capable of spiritual activity; by it Nous (“Mind”) proceeds from him. From the Nous comes the Logos (“Word”).” Basilides created a hierarchy of celestial beings, each descending in power and importance, with the God of the Jews creating the lowest heaven. Basilides also believed that Christ was a man in appearance only; “Simon of Cyrene, whom the Romans pressed into service to help Jesus (Isa) carry his Cross, was crucified in his place.”
The Marcionites are the third Gnostic sect often cited as evidence against the crucifixion. Marcion’s vision of the spiritual realm was strongly dualistic. He saw the God of Abraham (God of the Jews) as an adversary to the good Ultimate Father. Yahweh is responsible for all the misery in the world. “Christ himself is not the Messiah; he did not fulfill the predictions of the Old Testament, but came to save us from the God of Wrath, in whose clutches we presently languish.” Marcion did not believe the Hebrew Scriptures were valid, and so purged the Bible “of everything except Paul and a portion of Luke.” Unlike most Gnostics who made the Gospel more complex, Marcion simplified the message as a conflict between faith and the law; the Gospel had supplanted the Law. However, in agreement with other Gnostics, he did not believe in a literal incarnation.
This brief historic overview into the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite sects shows them to be in complete opposition to Biblical Christianity and Islam. It appears that they dismissed the crucifixion for philosophical, not historical reasons. And so, references made to these sects should not be considered evidence against the crucifixion.
To understand the positions of Islam on the crucifixion, we must consider the Qur’an. Where did the Qur’an come from and is it historically accurate? How does the Qur’an compare to the New Testament in this regard? According to tradition, Muhammad received revelations directly from the angel Gabriel. These revelations were given as needed, over a twenty-three year period. Because Muhammad was illiterate all revelations were memorized, and subsequently recorded by others, unless they were deemed too holy to be written down.
After the death of Muhammad in 632 A.D., and fearing a loss of the oral traditions, Abu Bakr collected the Qur’an, which was “scattered in fragments and partial private collections, written on stones, bones, palm leaves and animal parchment.” This process took a considerable amount of time, and was finally completed by ‘Uthman b.‘Affan, within twenty years of the prophet’s death. At this time Uthman ordered all other copies of the Qur’an burned. Tradition teaches that four new copies were made and sent to Mecca, Medina, Basra, and Damascus. However, there is absolutely no evidence of these texts. The three oldest existing texts are the Samarkand Manuscript in the Soviet Union, the Topkapi Manuscript in Turkey, and the Ma’il version in the British Museum. The manuscript dating shows a gap of nearly 150 years from the release of the Uthmanic rescension of the Qur’an to the creation of these documents.
The Qur’an was composed at a time when writing could have been recorded onto paper. Why it was not is a mystery. However, this would not have been the case for the New Testament. Papyrus would have been used for all the Gospels and the letters, and they would have disintegrated very quickly. Although there are no originals of the New Testament books, there is fragmentary evidence that goes back to the first century A.D. The Chester Beatty Papyri and the Diatessaron by Tatian are dated at 200 A.D., 150 years after the events they record. The Bodmer Papyrus II records John approximately 100 years after the original. The John Rylands Papyrus of John has been dated 40 years from the originals, while the Magdalene manuscript of Matthew has been determined to be contemporary with the originals.
In addition to this manuscript evidence, there are three complete New Testament Codexes dating from 325–400 A.D.: the Codex Vaticanus; the Codex Sinaiticus; and the Codex Alexandrinus. The documentary evidence supports the claim that the New Testament we have today accurately transmits the message of the authors. Further, there is fragmentary evidence contemporary with the original writings. This validates the eyewitness accounts of the crucifixion. Finally, it is important to consider any secular material that would corroborate or deny the crucifixion of Isa.
Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman Historian, who lived and worked through the first century A.D. In his book the Annals he wrote,
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, and arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.
This excerpt demonstrates that a man from Judaea, named Cristus (Isa), was given the extreme penalty under Tiberius (crucifixion), and that a superstition had arisen (resurrection) concerning him. It also demonstrates the persecution inflicted upon his followers.
Second, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus lived during the first century A.D. In an Arabic version of his book, the Antiquities, he wrote,
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.
Another Jewish document, the Talmud, was compiled from 70–200 A.D. In the section called Sanhedrin 43a, we find the following:
On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostacy. Any one who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover.
It is important to know that the expression “hanged” is a variant of crucifixion. The Greek word kremámenos is translated “hanged” in the New Testament, in both the book of Galatians (Gal. 3:13) and as the root term in the book of Luke (Luke 23:39). It is clear that Luke meant crucified, since six verses earlier he says, “When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
Finally, consider the writings of Lucian, a second century satirist, who wrote rather derisively of the followers of Isa. Here he writes regarding their gullibility:
The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account….You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.
From this quote we see that a group of people, called Christians, were following a man who had been crucified, and were following his teachings.
In the beginning of this paper I was interested in determining if the crucifixion of Isa had occurred. The Qur’an and the New Testament give contradictory evidence regarding the event. However, the New Testament may prove to be more historically reliable than the Qur’an, since the documentary evidence is chronologically closer to the actual events. We have seen that fragments of the New Testament have been preserved, which appear contemporary to the originals. Finally, I have cited four secular sources that make references to the actual occurrence of the crucifixion. This weighs heavily in favor of the historicity of the crucifixion event; these authors would have no interest in affirming an event that spawned a religious movement contrary to their own beliefs. Therefore, since the veracity of the crucifixion has been upheld, we must consider other truth claims that may be in conflict between Islam and the followers of Isa.
Works Cited
The Holy Bible. New American Standard translation. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 1997.
The Koran. Translated by N. J. Dawood. London: Penguin Books. 1956.
Abdullah, Osama. “Did Jesus Get Crucified according to Islam?” Available from
http://www.answering-christianity.com/crucified.htm, Internet, accessed September 13, 2002.
Ayoub, Mahmoud M. “The Islamic Tradition.” Edited by Williard G. Oxtoby, World Religions: Western Traditions. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. 1996: 353-491.
Brown, Harold O. J. Heresies. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. 1988.
Deedat, Ahmed and Josh McDowell. “Was Christ Crucified?-The debate between Ahmed
Deedat and Josh McDowell.” Durban, South Africa, 1981. Available from
http://answering-islam.org/Debates/..._McDowell.html. Internet, accessed September 12, 2002.
Elias, Mufti A.H. “Jesus (Isa) A.S. in Islam, and his Second Coming.” Internet article: Available at http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/jesus.html. September 5, 2002.
Habermas, Gary R. Ancient Evidence For The Life of Jesus. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.
Jepson, Toby. “Does the Bible or the Qur’an have stronger historical corroboration?” Available at http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/qur_hist.htm, Internet, accessed September 17, 2002.
McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands A Verdict. San Bernardino, CA: HERE’S LIFE PUBLISHING, 1979.
Shorrosh, Anis A. Islam Revealed Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1988.
Smith, Jay. “IS THE QUR’AN THE WORD OF GOD?” 99 Truth Papers. England: Hyde Park Christian Fellowship, 1996. Available at http://debate.org.uk, Internet, Accessed September 12, 2002.
________. “The Bible’s Manuscript Evidence.” “THE BIBLE AND THE QUR’AN.” Available at http://debate.org.uk/topics/history.../contents.htm., Internet, accessed September 17, 2002.
300
TheologyWeb thanks Larry very much for the submission of this article and hopes that many benefit in comparing the differing accounts/beliefs of the Lord Jesus in order to reach others for Christ.
300
Notice - The featuring of a particular member article does not constitute endorsement of every single item or point of view contained therein by each and every member of TheologyWeb leadership. We strive to have a varied cross-section of representations of differing opinions on secondary Christian issues. The only requirement for the featuring of a particular article is that said article must not contradict the essentials articulated in the TheologyWeb statement of faith found here in our Mission Statement (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/mission/)or be blatantly offensive to the Christian worldview of the site Owners.
by Larry (http://theologyweb.com/forum/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=712)
The people of the “Book” often ask the question, “Who do you say Isa is?” This question has been asked many times; in fact, Isa asked this question himself, during a conversation with his followers. There have been many books written about the life and times of Isa that will help answer this question.
The Qur’an teaches many marvelous things about Isa. He was born to a virgin, was a holy child, and was called the Messiah. We are told that Isa created, healed the sick and raised the dead. Finally, the Qur’an teaches that Isa prophesied his death, ascended to heaven and will return again.
There are several places, however where followers of Isa and followers of Muhammad disagree. According to Mufti A. H. Elias, “Muslims do not believe that Isa…is dead or was ever crucified.” The Qur’an speaks of the crucifixion of Isa in Surah 4:156-159:
They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared: ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus (Isa) the son of Mary, the apostle of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did. (He was made to resemble another for them.) Those that disagreed about him were in doubt concerning him; they know nothing about him that was not sheer conjecture; they did not slay him for certain. God lifted him up to Him; God is mighty and wise.
The text could not be clearer; Isa was not crucified. The people around him only thought that he was. Muslims believe that a substitute was killed on the cross in Isa’s place, possibly Judas Iscariot. Some buttress their case by citing the claims of “the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite;” these were early Christian sects who did not believe that Isa died on a cross.
To counter this teaching, the followers of Isa will cite passages from the New Testament. Matthew 27:31-56 says the following:
After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him…and when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots…now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus (Isa) cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”…And Jesus (Isa) cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
The Books of Mark, Luke and John also recount this story. In The Revelation To John, Isa introduces himself by saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and I am the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
In the face of conflicting claims, is it possible for the honest inquirer to determine the truth? It is the purpose of this essay to help the twenty-first century reader make a reasonable decision, by determining the following information:
(1) discuss the reasons why certain early Christian sects rejected the crucifixion;
(2) determine the historical reliability of each religious book;
(3) document any contemporary secular sources that support the crucifixion.
In researching the crucifixion, several writers mentioned the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite sects. Who were they and why did they deny the crucifixion? The simple answer is that they are all considered to be part of the Gnostic heresy of the first and second century. According to Harold Brown, Gnosticism involved
(1) a complicated cosmology based on ancient Near Eastern ideas, not biblical ones;
(2) Hellenistic patterns of speculative thought; and
(3) the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.
Docetism was the first of the Christian heresies during the post-New Testament period. One of their philosophical struggles was the idea “that the divine can take on material substance and suffer the fate of material beings.” For the docetic, Isa was not a real human being, thus physical suffering was impossible.
During the early second century another group, led by Basilides, “adapted the idea of Christ—not the history of the man Jesus (Isa) —to the Gnostic panorama of the universe.” One goal of Basilides was to answer this age-old question: “if God is truly transcendent and totally above material reality, how did the material world come into existence?” In his answer, “the Father is only capable of spiritual activity; by it Nous (“Mind”) proceeds from him. From the Nous comes the Logos (“Word”).” Basilides created a hierarchy of celestial beings, each descending in power and importance, with the God of the Jews creating the lowest heaven. Basilides also believed that Christ was a man in appearance only; “Simon of Cyrene, whom the Romans pressed into service to help Jesus (Isa) carry his Cross, was crucified in his place.”
The Marcionites are the third Gnostic sect often cited as evidence against the crucifixion. Marcion’s vision of the spiritual realm was strongly dualistic. He saw the God of Abraham (God of the Jews) as an adversary to the good Ultimate Father. Yahweh is responsible for all the misery in the world. “Christ himself is not the Messiah; he did not fulfill the predictions of the Old Testament, but came to save us from the God of Wrath, in whose clutches we presently languish.” Marcion did not believe the Hebrew Scriptures were valid, and so purged the Bible “of everything except Paul and a portion of Luke.” Unlike most Gnostics who made the Gospel more complex, Marcion simplified the message as a conflict between faith and the law; the Gospel had supplanted the Law. However, in agreement with other Gnostics, he did not believe in a literal incarnation.
This brief historic overview into the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite sects shows them to be in complete opposition to Biblical Christianity and Islam. It appears that they dismissed the crucifixion for philosophical, not historical reasons. And so, references made to these sects should not be considered evidence against the crucifixion.
To understand the positions of Islam on the crucifixion, we must consider the Qur’an. Where did the Qur’an come from and is it historically accurate? How does the Qur’an compare to the New Testament in this regard? According to tradition, Muhammad received revelations directly from the angel Gabriel. These revelations were given as needed, over a twenty-three year period. Because Muhammad was illiterate all revelations were memorized, and subsequently recorded by others, unless they were deemed too holy to be written down.
After the death of Muhammad in 632 A.D., and fearing a loss of the oral traditions, Abu Bakr collected the Qur’an, which was “scattered in fragments and partial private collections, written on stones, bones, palm leaves and animal parchment.” This process took a considerable amount of time, and was finally completed by ‘Uthman b.‘Affan, within twenty years of the prophet’s death. At this time Uthman ordered all other copies of the Qur’an burned. Tradition teaches that four new copies were made and sent to Mecca, Medina, Basra, and Damascus. However, there is absolutely no evidence of these texts. The three oldest existing texts are the Samarkand Manuscript in the Soviet Union, the Topkapi Manuscript in Turkey, and the Ma’il version in the British Museum. The manuscript dating shows a gap of nearly 150 years from the release of the Uthmanic rescension of the Qur’an to the creation of these documents.
The Qur’an was composed at a time when writing could have been recorded onto paper. Why it was not is a mystery. However, this would not have been the case for the New Testament. Papyrus would have been used for all the Gospels and the letters, and they would have disintegrated very quickly. Although there are no originals of the New Testament books, there is fragmentary evidence that goes back to the first century A.D. The Chester Beatty Papyri and the Diatessaron by Tatian are dated at 200 A.D., 150 years after the events they record. The Bodmer Papyrus II records John approximately 100 years after the original. The John Rylands Papyrus of John has been dated 40 years from the originals, while the Magdalene manuscript of Matthew has been determined to be contemporary with the originals.
In addition to this manuscript evidence, there are three complete New Testament Codexes dating from 325–400 A.D.: the Codex Vaticanus; the Codex Sinaiticus; and the Codex Alexandrinus. The documentary evidence supports the claim that the New Testament we have today accurately transmits the message of the authors. Further, there is fragmentary evidence contemporary with the original writings. This validates the eyewitness accounts of the crucifixion. Finally, it is important to consider any secular material that would corroborate or deny the crucifixion of Isa.
Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman Historian, who lived and worked through the first century A.D. In his book the Annals he wrote,
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, and arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.
This excerpt demonstrates that a man from Judaea, named Cristus (Isa), was given the extreme penalty under Tiberius (crucifixion), and that a superstition had arisen (resurrection) concerning him. It also demonstrates the persecution inflicted upon his followers.
Second, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus lived during the first century A.D. In an Arabic version of his book, the Antiquities, he wrote,
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.
Another Jewish document, the Talmud, was compiled from 70–200 A.D. In the section called Sanhedrin 43a, we find the following:
On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostacy. Any one who can say anything in his favor, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover.
It is important to know that the expression “hanged” is a variant of crucifixion. The Greek word kremámenos is translated “hanged” in the New Testament, in both the book of Galatians (Gal. 3:13) and as the root term in the book of Luke (Luke 23:39). It is clear that Luke meant crucified, since six verses earlier he says, “When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
Finally, consider the writings of Lucian, a second century satirist, who wrote rather derisively of the followers of Isa. Here he writes regarding their gullibility:
The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account….You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property.
From this quote we see that a group of people, called Christians, were following a man who had been crucified, and were following his teachings.
In the beginning of this paper I was interested in determining if the crucifixion of Isa had occurred. The Qur’an and the New Testament give contradictory evidence regarding the event. However, the New Testament may prove to be more historically reliable than the Qur’an, since the documentary evidence is chronologically closer to the actual events. We have seen that fragments of the New Testament have been preserved, which appear contemporary to the originals. Finally, I have cited four secular sources that make references to the actual occurrence of the crucifixion. This weighs heavily in favor of the historicity of the crucifixion event; these authors would have no interest in affirming an event that spawned a religious movement contrary to their own beliefs. Therefore, since the veracity of the crucifixion has been upheld, we must consider other truth claims that may be in conflict between Islam and the followers of Isa.
Works Cited
The Holy Bible. New American Standard translation. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. 1997.
The Koran. Translated by N. J. Dawood. London: Penguin Books. 1956.
Abdullah, Osama. “Did Jesus Get Crucified according to Islam?” Available from
http://www.answering-christianity.com/crucified.htm, Internet, accessed September 13, 2002.
Ayoub, Mahmoud M. “The Islamic Tradition.” Edited by Williard G. Oxtoby, World Religions: Western Traditions. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. 1996: 353-491.
Brown, Harold O. J. Heresies. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. 1988.
Deedat, Ahmed and Josh McDowell. “Was Christ Crucified?-The debate between Ahmed
Deedat and Josh McDowell.” Durban, South Africa, 1981. Available from
http://answering-islam.org/Debates/..._McDowell.html. Internet, accessed September 12, 2002.
Elias, Mufti A.H. “Jesus (Isa) A.S. in Islam, and his Second Coming.” Internet article: Available at http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/jesus.html. September 5, 2002.
Habermas, Gary R. Ancient Evidence For The Life of Jesus. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.
Jepson, Toby. “Does the Bible or the Qur’an have stronger historical corroboration?” Available at http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/qur_hist.htm, Internet, accessed September 17, 2002.
McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands A Verdict. San Bernardino, CA: HERE’S LIFE PUBLISHING, 1979.
Shorrosh, Anis A. Islam Revealed Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1988.
Smith, Jay. “IS THE QUR’AN THE WORD OF GOD?” 99 Truth Papers. England: Hyde Park Christian Fellowship, 1996. Available at http://debate.org.uk, Internet, Accessed September 12, 2002.
________. “The Bible’s Manuscript Evidence.” “THE BIBLE AND THE QUR’AN.” Available at http://debate.org.uk/topics/history.../contents.htm., Internet, accessed September 17, 2002.
300
TheologyWeb thanks Larry very much for the submission of this article and hopes that many benefit in comparing the differing accounts/beliefs of the Lord Jesus in order to reach others for Christ.
300
Notice - The featuring of a particular member article does not constitute endorsement of every single item or point of view contained therein by each and every member of TheologyWeb leadership. We strive to have a varied cross-section of representations of differing opinions on secondary Christian issues. The only requirement for the featuring of a particular article is that said article must not contradict the essentials articulated in the TheologyWeb statement of faith found here in our Mission Statement (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/mission/)or be blatantly offensive to the Christian worldview of the site Owners.