Updated: answering-islam.org – ‘Isa, the Muslim Jesus
It is interesting that Jesus’ name Yehoshua’ contains within it the proper Hebrew name for God, the first syllable Yeh- being short for YHWH ‘the LORD’.
Yeshua of Nazareth was never called ‘Isa, the name the Qur’an gives to him. Arab-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Yasou’ (from Yeshua) not ‘Isa.
‘Isa did not die on a cross, pay for our sins nor resurrect
‘Isa not an historical figure
The Qur’an’s ‘Isa is not an historical figure. His identity and role as a prophet of Islam is based solely on supposed revelations to Muhammad over half a millennium after the Jesus of history lived and died.
Jesus’ alleged foretelling of Muhammad’s coming (As-Saff 61:6) appears to be based on a garbled reading of John 14:26, a passage which in fact refers to the [Holy] Spirit (not Muhammad).
He [Jesus Christ] did not call [Father] God Allah, which appears to have been the name or title of a pagan Arabian deity worshipped in Mecca before Muhammad. Muhammad’s pagan father, who died before Muhammad was born, already bore the name ‘Abd Allah ‘slave of Allah’, and his uncle was called Obeid Allah.
The Qur’an is not a credible source for Biblical history
The Qur’an, written in the 7th century AD [about 660 AD], cannot be regarded as having any authority whatsoever to inform us about Jesus of Nazareth. It offers no evidence for its claims about biblical history. Its numerous historical errors reflect a garbled understanding of the Bible.
Conclusion
‘Isa the (Jesus) of the Qur’an is a product of fable, imagination and ignorance. When Muslims venerate this ‘Isa, they have someone different in mind from the Yeshua or Jesus of the Bible and of history. The ‘Isa of the Qur’an is based on no recognized form of historical evidence, but on fables current in seventh century Arabia.
For most faithful Muslims ‘Isa is the only Jesus they know. But if one accepts this Muslim ‘Jesus’, then one also accepts the Qur’an: one accepts Islam. Belief in this ‘Isa is won at the cost of the libel that Jews and Christians have corrupted their scriptures, a charge that is without historical support. Belief in this ‘Isa implies that much of Christian and Jewish history is in fact Islamic history.
The Jesus of the gospels is the base upon which Christianity developed. By Islamicizing him, and making of him a Muslim prophet who preached the Qur’an, Islam destroys Christianity and takes over all its history. It does the same to Judaism.
In the end times as described by Muhammad, ‘Isa becomes a warrior who will return with his sword and lance. He will destroy the Christian religion and make Islam the only religion in all the world. Finally at the last judgement he will condemn Christians to hell for believing in the crucifixion and the incarnation.
This final act of the Muslim ‘Isa reflects Islam’s apologetic strategy in relation to Christianity, which is to deny the Yeshua (Jesus) of history, and replace him with a facsimile of Muhammad, so that nothing remains but Islam.
“The Muslim supersessionist current claims that the whole biblical history of Israel and Christianity is Islamic history, that all the Prophets, Kings of Israel and Judea, and Jesus were Muslims. That the People of the Book should dare to challenge this statement is intolerable arrogance for an Islamic theologian. Jews and Christians are thus deprived of their Holy Scriptures and of their salvific value.” — Bat Ye’or in Islam and Dhimmitude: where civilizations collide, p.370.
Source: http://www.answering-islam.org/authors/durie/islamic_jesus.html
Reblogged from: Christianity Today
Why 100 Former Muslims Converted to Christianity by Melissa Steffan
Survey offers insight into how gospel operates in Muslim contexts.
According to scholar Scot McKnight, conversion experiences are deeply impacted by the different contexts in which the gospel operates. What does that mean for Muslim conversion experiences?
As an answer, McKnight points to a survey of 100 former Muslims by Georges Houssney, founder and president of Horizons International, that attempts to understand the factors that led to their conversion to Christianity.
The vast majority of respondents—who were mostly moderate Muslims (40%) or nominal Muslims (40%) before their conversions (20% were self-described “fanatics”)—said they viewed their relationship with Allah as based on fear or duty. Equal percentages (55%) said they viewed Islam primarily as a cultural system vs. a religious system. Today, 9 in 10 respondents say they believe they now are worshiping a different God than Allah.
So what do they think distinguishes God from Allah? Nearly 3 in 4 respondents emphasized love as the most meaningful characteristic of the Christian God. Meanwhile, 25 percent cited God’s forgiveness.
And love appears to be extremely influential when it comes to evangelism as well. More than 8 in 10 respondents cited “the love of Christians as one major factor” in their conversion, and 6 in 10 cited it as the only factor. Only 30 percent cited “disappointment with Islam.” Meanwhile, 25 percent say they were drawn to Christ by dreams or visions.
CT reported extensively on Muslim conversion in our January/February issue, which featured a cover story on what it’s like to follow Christ while embedded in Muslim culture. The reports detailed why evangelicals should be thankful for insider Muslims, and debated how much Muslim context is too much for the gospel.