A Great Response by Dr. Zakir Naik

"I and the Father are One"
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Light"

Jesus claimed that whoever saw him saw the Father.   Wouldn't that prove that Jesus is GOD Himself (i.e., the Creator of the Universe)?

The following article belongs to the Muslim-SA@acsu.buffalo.edu Islamic Student Organization.

Well, what about the verse

"He that hath seen me hath seen the father."

Let us look at the context:

"Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

John 14:8-9

Philip wanted to see God with his own eyes, but this is impossible since no one can ever do ever do that. The Bible says:

"No man hath seen God at any time,"

John 1:18

"No man hath seen God at any time,"

1 John 4:12

So Jesus simply told him that his own actions and miracles should be a sufficient proof of the existence of God without God having to physically come down and let himself be seen every time someone is doubtful. This is equivalent to for example

1. John 8:19: "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."
2. John 12:44 "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me."
3. John 15:23 "He that hateth me hateth my Father also."
4. Matthew 10:40-41 "He that receiveth you receiveth me (Jesus), and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."

If we want to insist that when Philip saw Jesus (pbuh), he had actually physically seen God "the Father" because Jesus "is" the father and both are one "Trinity," and Jesus is the "incarnation" of God, then this will force us to conclude that John 1:18, 1 John 4:12, ..etc. are all lies.

Well, is Philip the only one who ever "saw the father"? Let us read:

"Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father."

John 6:46

Who is this who "is of God" and had seen the Father you ask? Let us once again ask the Bibles:

"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."

John 8:47.

And

"Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God"

3 John 1:11.

Have all people who have done good also physically seen God?

In "The New Catholic Encyclopedia" (Bearing the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, indicating official approval) we get a glimpse of how the concept of the Trinity was not introduced into Christianity until close to four hundred years after Jesus (pbuh):

".......It is difficult in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the Mystery of the trinity. Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, present a somewhat unsteady silhouette. Two things have happened. There is the recognition on the part of exegetes and Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel recognition on the part of historians of dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'One God in three Persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought ... it was the product of 3 centuries of doctrinal development" (emphasis added).

"The New Catholic Encyclopedia" Volume XIV, p. 295.

They admit it!. Jesus' twelve apostles lived and died never having heard of any "Trinity" !

Did Jesus leave his closest and dearest followers so completely and utterly baffled and lost that they never even realized the "true" nature of God? Did he leave them in such black darkness that neither they nor their children, nor yet their children's children would ever come to recognize the "true" nature of the One they are to worship? Do we really want to allege that Jesus was so thoroughly incompetent in the discharge of his duties that he left his followers in such utter chaos that it would take them fully three centuries after his departure to finally piece together the nature of the One whom they are to worship? Why did Jesus never, even once, just say "God, the Holy Ghost and I are three Persons in one Trinity. Worship all of us as one"? If he had only chosen to make just one such explicit statement to them he could have relieved Christianity of centuries of bitter disputes, division, and animosity.

Top Harpur writes in his book "For Christ's Sake":