Rebuttal to "Allah Starts Christianity By Accident".

This article is located at: http://www../Authors/Wood/deceptive_god.htm

And it is authored by Mr. David Wood.

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

Allah Starts Christianity . . . By Accident

If we examine the teachings of Islam, we find that Allah not only started Christianity, but also made Christianity the world’s dominant religion. This fact should seem strange to everyone, for Muslims believe that Christianity is a false religion. Of course, Muslims will respond by arguing that Christianity is a false religion because it was corrupted by man, but that in its original state it was the message of Allah given to Jesus the son of Mary.

While there isn’t a shred of evidence that the followers of Jesus ever believed anything similar to Islam, this is beside the point. According to Islam, Christianity was corrupted by Allah himself. To understand why Islam demands such a view, let us review a few facts.

My Response:

Mr. David Wood claims that Allah it is who made Christianity the dominant religion, implying that therefore it must be the true religion.

In that sense, Allah had earlier made pagan religions the dominant ones in the world. There are presently 800 million Hindus who worship idols. Their prevalence does not validate idolatry, nor does the dominance of Christians validate Christianity. Allah had earlier allowed Pharaohs, Nimrods and other Emperors unbridled dominance in this world. Allah gave the Roman Emperors (Nero 69 -79 AD to Diocletian 284 -305 AD) dominance and authority to severely persecute the Christians.

It is true that not even a leaf falls from a tree without the permission of Allah.

6:59 … Not (even) a leaf falls (from a tree) without His explicit knowledge…

Allah has laid down the rules. He has granted man a free will. Acceptance of divine guidance is absolutely voluntary. There is no compulsion and no coercion! Success, failure, and the vicissitudes of life are merely tests.

18:29 Say, “This is the truth! It is from your Lord! So, (now) whoever wants may believe it. If anyone wishes to disbelieve, let him.”

2:256 There is no compulsion (and coercion) in religion. The right (and the upright) has been sifted (and marked out clearly) from the wrong (and the ruinous).

18:7 We have, in fact, fashioned everything in this world as mere adornments in order to test them!

10:108 ….So, whoever accepts the guidance, does so for his own good. Whoever fails to do so, will only lead himself astray….

3:140 ….. These are the vicissitudes of life that We circulate among mankind by turns. Thus, Allah tests the true believers among you …..

If a man chose a wrong or even a disastrous path, he will not be prevented from pursuing it. In fact, that path would even be facilitated for him. That is the way of Allah!

4:115 After the guidance has been revealed and explained, if anyone parts his way with the messenger and follows a path different from that of the believers, then We will divert him along his (chosen) path. We will hurl him in the hell (in the hereafter). What a despicable destination!

Muslims believe that Allah allowed Christianity to be started by those who chose to deviate from the teachings of Jesus (pbuh)

It is the Christians like Mr. Woods, who believe that Allah started Christianity;

It is disingenuous to say that Christianity is the dominant religion in the world. Christianity has the most adherents, provided one counts all the thousands of sects who call each other non-Christians, as Christians. But it has had approximately 600 more years to work with than Islam. Taken that into consideration, Islam has performed far better than Christianity.

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

FACT #1: The Qur’an states that Jesus was a messenger of Allah and a prophet of Islam. Indeed, Surah 19 tells us that Jesus began preaching Islamic theology the moment he was born:

And the throes (of childbirth) compelled [Mary] to betake herself to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this, and had been a thing quite forgotten! Then (the child [i.e. the infant Jesus]) called out to her from beneath her: Grieve not, surely your Lord has made a stream to flow beneath you; And shake towards you the trunk of the palmtree, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates: So eat and drink and refresh the eye. . . . Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet; And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and poor-rate so long as I live; And dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me insolent, unblessed; And peace on me on the day I was born, and on the day I die, and on the day I am raised to life.^[2]

Jesus continued to preach the message of God throughout his life, until he was taken to heaven. According to the Qur’an, the Gospel that Jesus brought was no different from the message of the prophets before him. Jesus, a servant and prophet of God, preached Islam:

The same religion has He Established for you as that Which He enjoined on Noah—That which We have sent By inspiration to thee—And that which We enjoined On Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain Steadfast in Religion, and make No divisions therein.^[3]

[Jesus] was no more than A servant: We granted Our favour to him, And We made him An example to the Children of Israel. . . . When Jesus came With Clear Signs, he said: “Now have I come To you with Wisdom, And in order to make Clear to you some Of the (points) on which Ye dispute: therefore fear Allah And obey me. For Allah, He is my Lord And your Lord: so worship Ye Him: this is A Straight Way.”^[4]

Thus, Jesus spent approximately 33 years, from his birth to his ascension, preaching Islam to the children of Israel. Prior to his apparent crucifixion, his preaching was moderately successful, as the conversion of some of his listeners indicates.

My Response:

Mr. Wood need not quote the Quran to establish that Jesus was the messenger of God. The bible says so, clearly and unambiguously.

Jesus himself claimed to be a prophet:

Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:16 & 17

Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country. John 4:44

Other verses that have Jesus declaring his status as a prophet of God are: John 14:24, John 20:21, John 13:16, Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, Luke 13:33, Matthew 10:40 &41, and Matthew 23:37

The people in general believed him to be a prophet. The bible says:

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." Matthew 21:10 & 11

Other verses in the bible establishing beyond doubt that Jesus’ claim of being a prophet had found wide circulation amongst the general public are: John 6:14, John 7:40, Matthew 16:13 &14, Mark 8:27 & 28 & Luke 9:18 &19

Even those touched by the miracles, as well as their immediate family, called him a prophet:

Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him [Jesus]? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." John 8:17

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. Luke 7:15 &16

The Pharisees knew what the claim was (John 7:52), and so did the Jewish King Herod (Luke 9:7 & 8). Even after Jesus was gone, people called him the prophet (Luke 24:18 & 19).

Like the Quran, the bible too calls Jesus a servant of God

[Peter said] “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. Acts 3:13

[Peter said] “When God raised up His servant, He sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” Acts 3:26

Of course Muslims believe Jesus was the messenger of God. The question is, why do the Christians not? Like the pagans did before them, the Christians bumped the messenger of God skywards, and called him God.

A messenger conveys someone’s message to someone else. A messenger of God is a conduit between two parties _ God and humanity. How can God be a messenger? Whose message would God convey?

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

FACT #2: The Qur’an states that Jesus won a number of followers. Since Jesus spent his entire life preaching an early form of Islam, his message to his disciples must have centered around the basic tenets of Islamic theology. These disciples would have become something similar to Muslims, which is exactly what Islam teaches about Jesus’ followers:

When Jesus found Unbelief on their [i.e. the Jews’] Part He said: “Who will be My helpers to (the work Of) Allah?” Said the Disciples: “We are Allah’s helpers: We believe in Allah, And do thou bear witness That we are Muslims.”^[5]

And behold! I inspired The Disciples [of Jesus] to have faith In Me and Mine Messenger; They said, “We have faith, And do thou bear witness That we bow to Allah As Muslims.”^[6]

Then, in their wake, We followed them up With (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, And bestowed on him The Gospel; and We ordained In the hearts of those Who followed him Compassion and Mercy.^[7]

If the Qur’an is correct, then Jesus converted at least some of the children of Israel to Islam. Though there is absolutely no historical evidence for any such conversions, let us assume for the sake of argument that there were first century Jews who believed the message of Jesus and became Muslims. As we shall see, this assumption only presents problems for Muslim apologists.

My Response:

Oh, but they did become ‘something similar’ to the Muslims! Not just some of them, but all those who believed in Jesus became ‘something similar’ to the Muslims, both in beliefs as well as in deeds.

There is no historical evidence of it, says Wood?

Oh, but the evidence is right there in the book they claim to believe in __ the bible! All present day Muslims believe in the “Kalima”. That is the very first pillar of Islam. The first part of that Kalima appears in the bible;

“.... there is no God but ONE” 1Cor 8:4

Also;

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (Mark 12:29)

Does the above not appear to be the translation of the first part of the Kalima, LA ILAHA IL ALLAH?

The complete Kalima during the era of Jesus (pbuh) would have been “La Ilaha Il Allah, Isa Rasool Allah”

The bible calls Jesus the prophet of God (Rasool of ALLAH). That has already been addressed earlier.

The followers of Jesus believed in heaven, hell, resurrection and the Day of Judgment, just like the Muslims do.

And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. Act 24:15

"Be afraid of the ONE who can destroy both body and soul in hell" Mat 10:28

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished: 2Pe 2:9

But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. Mat 12:36

Clearly the followers of Jesus believed in accounting on the Day of Judgment, as well as punishment and reward after that.

The verses in the bible about heaven, hell, resurrection and the Day of Judgment are too numerous in the bible for all of them to be quoted here.

Not only in their beliefs, but even in deeds, the followers of the prophet of Islam, Jesus (Alaihis Salaam), were “something similar” to the Muslims.

They prayed at designated hours (Act 3:1), they went out to prayer (Act 16:6), Prayer was to be in a prescribed manner. The disciples asked to be taught (Luke 11:1). Jesus taught them the exact words to be uttered (Luke 11:2). Certain decorum had to be maintained. Women prayed with their head covered (1Cr 11:13), and men prayed with their heads uncovered (1Cr 11:4).

Prayer consisted of lifting the holy hands (1Ti 2:8), and involved standing in prayers (Mar 11:25) and bowing in prayers (Eph 3:14), kneeling down (Act 20:36), sitting, and falling to the ground (Mar 14:35), and falling on their faces and prostrating (Mat 26:39)

Do the Christians pray like that? Does the above seem like “something similar” to what one might find a Muslim doing these days?

The followers of Jesus also fasted at regular hours. (Acts 13:3, Acts 10:30) They gave alms, and greeted each other in the following manner:

And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. Luk 24:36

Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. Jhn 20:19

Jesus did not say that in English, of course. Had Jesus said that in Arabic, would he not have said, “As Saloomo Alaikum”? That is the exact translation of Peace be unto You!

Is it not ‘something similar’ to how the Muslims greet each other these days?

The followers of Jesus also had dietary restrictions. They could not eat meat offered to idols, or blood, or any animal strangled to its death. They also did not eat Pork until some, persuaded by Paul, began indulging in this disdainful practice.

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled Act 15:29

Does that seem like ‘something similar’ to what the Muslims practice these days?

Even in appearance, the followers of Jesus seemed to be ‘something similar’ to the Muslims. Men wore beards. Just look at the Last supper! The women wore Hijab.

"If a woman does not cover her head, let her hair be cut off." 1 Cor 11:6

Do Christians follow the above injunction found in the New Testament?

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

FACT #3: If there were first-century Jews who converted to Islam at the preaching of Jesus, they didn’t last very long. The idea that Jesus’ earliest followers were Muslims raises an obvious question: Why have we never heard of any Muslims existing in the first century? We have a great deal of historical information about Jesus’ first-century followers, but we have no evidence at all of any Muslims. Defenders of Islam will most likely claim here that Christianity wiped out all the records of Jesus’ non-Christian followers, but such a view is absurd. We have both Christian and non-Christian sources that report early Christian beliefs, yet none of these sources mention the existence of any Muslim-Christians. At the very least, we can say with absolute certainty that Jesus’ death was well-known among ancient authorities, and that Jesus’ earliest followers—including Peter, James, and John—came to believe that Jesus had died on the cross for their sins and that he had risen from the dead. (We also know that the disciples held Jesus to be the divine Son of God, but this isn’t necessary for my argument.) All four New Testament Gospels confirm the early Christian belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection, as does the book of Acts. Paul’s letters also repeatedly proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection. Further, an ancient creed recorded in 1 Corinthians 15 has been dated to within a few years of Jesus’ life and therefore provides extremely early testimony about Christian beliefs during the time of the apostles. It reads:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.^[8]

My Response:

Mr. Wood did not find the term “Muslin-Christian” in the “great deal of historical information” available to him. Definitely, the followers of Jesus did not refer to themselves by the hybrid term “Muslim-Christians”

But the followers of Jesus did not call themselves “Christians”, either.

Jesus never uttered that word. Nowhere in his letters does Paul use the word "Christian" or “Christianity”. Paul had probably never heard the word in his life. Where is the proof of that? In the bible, of course!

"And when he (Barnabas) had found him (the Apostle Paul), he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Acts 11:26

Clearly, the word “Christian” is not the name the followers of Jesus chose for themselves. Others gave them that name. So what did the followers of Jesus call themselves for two or three generations?

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary states: “The designation of the early followers of Christ as Christians was initiated by the non-Christian population of Antioch. ….. Christians called themselves believers (Acts 5:14), brothers (Acts 6:3), or saints (Acts 9:13)…...” (From Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)."

They did not call themselves, “believers” in English. They spoke ARAMAIC, a language that was almost a dialect of Arabic, and is almost dead now. The word for believer in ARAMAIC is likely to be closer to the word for it in ARABIC __ “Momineen”

“Momineen” (In English, “believers”) is exactly how the Quran refers to the followers of all the messengers, not just the followers of the Penultimate messenger of God, Jesus, (Alaihis salaam).

Perhaps, Mr. Wood would insist upon seeing the word “Muslim” in the “great deal of historical information” available to him. The word “Muslim” is an Arabic word that means: Obedient

The followers of Jesus may have called themselves by a word that meant the same as the word Muslim means in Arabic __ Obedient. If so that word would be translated into Greek as “hupekoos” (Strong’s concordance reference # 5255, blueletterbible.com)

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Rom 15:18

Restore the word “obedient” in the above verse to its original Greek, “hupekoos”. In Aramaic, that word may have been “Muslim”. Certainly so in Arabic!

We would have known for sure if Aramaic was a living language, or if the early translators had left the original word untranslated.

But what is in a name ?

A Muslim by any other name would still have believed that God is One, and that if God had a son, God could not be one. Because, the son of God would have to be god in some measure, and that would make God and his son more than one.

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

We also have early Christian writings from outside the New Testament that report the beliefs of Jesus’ followers. For instance, Clement of Rome, who was ordained as Bishop of Rome by the Apostle Peter, writes about the apostles’ belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.^[9] Polycarp, who was ordained by the Apostle John, mentions Jesus’ resurrection numerous times.^[10] There are even several ancient non-Christian sources that report crucial information about Jesus and the apostles. According to both the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus, Jesus was crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilate.^[11] Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist, states, “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.”^[12] Even the Jewish Talmud reports the crucifixion of Jesus.^[13]

My Response:

Mr. Wood cites Christian and non Christian sources to prove that Jesus really died on the cross. Among the non-Christian sources, he cites, Lucian of Samosata, the Roman historians Josephus and Tacitus, and the Talmud.

Lucian (born 125 AD, was a rhetorician and a satirist. Mr. Wood claims that he said, “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.”

Does it not seem like a stand up comedian poking fun at the Christian beliefs? Is that evidence?

Titus (approx AD 56 – 120) wrote the annals in 109 AD but all copies of “annals” available now date from the 11th century AD. The mention of Jesus in them has been adjudged a Christian interpolation. Surely, Mr. Wood knew that.

Josephus’ mention of Jesus has been proven to be a forgery so conclusively that it is laughable to even bring it up as evidence. In the year 1842 AD, the author of “Christian Mythology Unveiled” provided irrefutable arguments to establish that Josephus’ mention of Jesus was a forgery by EUSEBIUS.

So thorough and universal was the acceptance of these arguments, that very few scholars of repute have cited Josephus after the turn of the nineteenth century

To mention the Talmud as a proof of the crucifixion is equally laughable. Of course they would start and perpetuate rumors of the death of Jesus, wouldn’t they? They were the ones who planned the murder of Jesus, according to the bible, weren’t they?

"If we let [Jesus] go on thus, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." John 11:48.

The High Priest said, "You do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." John 11:50

They planned the murder of Jesus. It would be natural for them to claim that their plans succeeded.

Among the non-biblical Christian sources, Wood cites Polycarp and St. Clement of Rome.

Polycarp died in the year 156 AD. “Of the life and death of St, Clement [of Rome] nothing is known” _ Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM. These folks could not have been the eye-witness to anything that happened around the year 33 AD.

Mr. Wood is probably right in saying: “Peter, James, and John—came to believe that Jesus had died on the cross”. Not unlike the ordinary Christians of today, who too have “come to believe” so!

None of the disciples saw Jesus being crucified. The bible tells us that!

But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. Mat 26:56

Mr. David Wood Wrote:

Hence, the most reasonable interpretation of the data is that the Qur’an is wrong when it says (1) that Jesus never died and (2) that Jesus’ early followers were Muslims. Nevertheless, let us be generous and grant, in spite of the facts, that there were a number of first-century Muslims, but that all evidence of their existence was later destroyed by Christians. Even if we grant such an outlandish assumption, this still presents Muslims with an enormous problem: What happened to these first-century Muslims? Why was Islam replaced by belief in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead? Why didn’t Jesus’ 33 years of preaching amount to anything that lasted?

Muslims will most likely respond to these questions by arguing, once again, that Christianity corrupted Jesus’ message and that the Christian church erased all memory of Jesus’ Islamic teachings. However, no true Muslim should accept this position, for it conceals the true Qur’anic account of what happened.

My Response:

Mr. Wood asks “What happened to these first-century Muslims?”

Let us see!

The first schism among the followers of Jesus appeared not long after his departure. It was over the issue of Circumcision and the eating of Pork.

The first Church established in Jerusalem was headed by James, the brother of Jesus. Paul accused the elders of that Church of preaching a different “Jesus” and a false gospel, (2Cr 11:4) and called them “false apostles” (2 Cor 11:13). Paul cursed them for preaching a gospel different from the one he preached (Gal 1:8–9). He calls himself superior, and appoints himself one of the “chiefest” apostles. (2 Cor 11:5). Paul opposed Peter to his face, (gal 2:11)

The bible does not tell us how the elders felt about Paul. The Gospel that was preached by the elders is no longer part of the bible. The gospels of James and Thomas are both available nowadays, but are not part of the bible as they are not considered “inspired”.

From the beginning, there were "numerous varieties of Christianity which had little in common, though they centered around belief in the resurrection." Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, (New York: Atheneum, 1977), p. 35 -52

In the early fourth century, the Pauline sect won the patronage of the Emperor of Rome, Constantine. From there on, it declared itself the only true Christians and banned all other sects as heresies.

Consider the plight of the true followers of Jesus. For 300 years the Romans persecuted them. Thereafter, armed to the teeth by the tools of the Roman Empire, the Pauline sect declared them “heretics” and began persecuting them.

Throughout all this, they remembered the reason why their master had departed from this earth in the manner that he did:

"It is for your good, that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7

These folks were waiting for Jesus to send the Counselor, sort of like passing the baton on to the next and the last messenger of God.

“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Counselor, that he may abide with you for ever;” John 14:16

These folks remembered what the counselor was supposed to do for them and for the rest of the world:

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." John 16:12

These folks also knew that the Counselor to come would bear witness to their master.

"But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me"; John 15:26

Their master had nick-named the Counselor to come, “the Spirit of truth”. That, when translated into Arabic, would be “Al-Ameen”

The verses quoted above are from the bible that every Christian has in his home. The Gospels that the true believers had in their possession may even have given the actual name of the Counselor, and other signs.

The true followers of the Penultimate messenger of God recognized the next and the Ultimate messenger of God. His companions called him the “Spirit of truth” (Al-Ameen) even before he declared his divine mission.

Wild horses could not have kept the true followers of Jesus from declaring their belief in the Ultimate messenger of God, Muhammad, (Sull Allaho Alaihe wa Sullum)!

And that Mr. Woods is what happened to the MOMINEEN of the first Century AD (The “believers” according to the bible).