I happened to watch a TV channel that goes by the name, PEACE, where one Ahmed Deedat was comparing Christianity with Islam. He was contrasting more than comparing.
The fundamental issue is whether one is interested in the comparing / contrast of two different Religions because one is interested in proving the superiority of the one over the other to keep the flock together or to clearly demarcate the parameters and study different religions to make a PERSONAL CHOICE. The second is not possible if one has already made a CHOICE of Religion, as the reasons adduced for supporting a particular religion would outweigh the reasons for supporting the other.
I would have let it pass without a blog, had Deedat not placed absolute reliance on The Koran for the understanding of Jesus.
Firstly he disputes on the grounds, that there are 24000, documents that reflect the life of Jesus and not two documents agree on facts about the life Jesus. The Bible therefore ,according to him, is a document which has many inaccuracies and therefore not entirely reliable on the teachings of Jesus. If one were to accept that line of argument, then the Koran which came into existence -as regards the life of Jesus- should be construed as 24, 001 st document and since the other 24,000 versions pre-date the Koran , there would be no logic in accepting the averments made in respect of Jesus in Koran.
He goes on to cite Gospel of John ch.3, v.16 and takes objection to the words ‘…that He gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON….’, and says that God cannot BEGET, as the act of begetting is ,’a lower animal function of sex.’ Therefore, it is tantamount to blasphemy of God.
We as humans are unable to visualize the BEGETTING process except through SEX. The problem is with us. God created the sex organs so that man could reproduce, and if it were only posited with the reproductive purpose, man may not REPLENISH AND FILL THE WORLD. Therefore, IMHO, God had put PLEASURE and the concomitant EMOTIONS, THOUGHTS, IDEAS around sexual functions and gave man a PLEASURABLE REPRODUCTIVE PROCESS. To call that a lower animal function would be a misnomer.
Today, science has improved to such an extent that without a man and woman mating, children could be made. Which means, without the sexual functions put to use, a zygote could be formed and also brought it to maturity. If this is possible, with MAN, i am sure God could have caused Mary, mother of Jesus, to conceive without the sexual functions so essential for reproduction.
More fundamental is the issue that man and man’s understanding is limited to the FIVE senses and the extensions created thereto thru science. Which means except for SIGHT, SMELL, TOUCH, TASTE and HEARING man is not endowed with any other sense. If we have invented Geiger counter, the tremors which cannot be felt thru the sense of TOUCH, could be felt by the Geiger Counter and therefore an extension of the sense of TOUCH. If we have invented a machine to measure ULTRASOUNDS, it is a machine as an extension to our sense of HEARING; likewise an X-RAY machine with the help of a film enhances our sense of SIGHT, without cutting open a human body. So, we are limited and severely limited to the 5 senses and the extensions invented by us. When such is the case, to believe that IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is possible only through sexual function seems a very narrow view.
But if, one does not believe, that GOD cannot have a Son or that God cannot be born as a Man limited in SPACE & TIME, then there is a fundamental irreconcilable difference and no common meeting ground.
Probably, the message was given by Mr.Ahmed Deedat for the followers of Islam and was not meant for me. I just strayed into his lecture and felt that he was a shepherd to the flock to which i not only do not belong, but am fundamentally different from.
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