12-18-2006, 11:13 AM
In the name of God - Father Son Holy Spirit...
May the peace of our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ, be with you!
Quote:And who is the Father in Christian terminology? You believe that God the Father, and God the son and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, although you are calling <i>“ALL OF THEM”</i> <b>One</b>, but yet each one have got separate personality.
Nope! Same personality! Same essence! Same attributes!
Quote:According to the catholic creed, indeed they say that Jesus “The son” is the only begotten son of God, which means that God has begotten a son, same as what the Qur’an describes… so how can you say that <b>“we do not say that God begot a son”</b>???
Wael, I have no idea where you got that version from, but here is the Nicene Creed that Catholics have professed day after day since the 4th Century AD...
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Quote:he also referred to God as <b>“My God”</b>. Which indicate that he "Jesus" was not God.
Dude, when Jesus was on the cross, He recited a line from the Book of Psalms. It was aimed at the Jews who refused to believe that He is the Son of God. Psalm 22 begins with the verse, "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me..." It also includes the passage, "A company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots." This is exactly what took place at Christ's crucifixion. The Jews who sing the psalms as part their daily devotion, would've been able to make sense of what was going on & realized that Christ is the Messiah who was prophesized in the O/T.
Quote:If you are referring to John 14:6 then I do not see where does he teach you to <b>worship</b> the Father through him?? Because it was his job ‘as a prophet’ to guide his nation to the correct path and so if no one follow him during his mission, then he or she will not be guided to the true path (Heaven). This is what he meant and this is how I understand this verse, and so did many other Christians.
Wael, I joined this forum to learn about Islam. I'm not going to argue with you. You're entitled to your own opinions. According to the Church's interpretation of Scripture, we hold different beliefs. St John's Gospel (1:1-10) is a good place to start. It's one of many profound & meditative texts in the Holy Bible.
Quote:<b>Indeed the Catholic do worship Mary</b>, (am not talking about honoring Mary because we Muslims do honor her as well) I am talking about worshipping her, praying to her to forgive sins, bowing down to her images, touching them to gain blessing, Rosary, and other practices which I’ve seen with my own eyes when I was in the Philippines, and during my discussion with Catholics. So the verse is talking about those who worship Mary.
Wael, the next time you see a Christian worshipping Mary, please do me a favour & tell them that they're in error! Worship is due to God alone. The only thing Mary can do for Christians is intercede for us. So in actual fact, we aren't praying to Mary, we're asking her to pray for us (in the same way as I can ask you to say a prayer for me). Mother Mary doesn't have the power to forgive sins. She only does what any devout mother would do... she pleads on her children's behalf. For example, if a kid wants something from his father, he would probably go through his mother to get it, since she has more influence ;) The Rosary is a great prayer to pray to God WITH the Virgin Mary
Quote:Here are 2 links covering apostasy issue. Also here is a very informative link by Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi speaking on apostasy.
Much appreciated. I'll check them out as soon as I have a chance. This issue is near & dear to my heart!
Quote:<b>Please don’t forget that death penalty was prescribed for apostasy in the Bible too </b>
Bro, Please be careful how you interpret the Bible. The death penalty is not condemned by the Church but the abuse of it most certainly is! John Paul II (Allah yerhamou) once said, "the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent." Apostasy as you understand it is not a valid reason for capital punishment. It would be a violation of human dignity and freedom.
Quote:I mean where <b>he (Jesus pbuh)</b> said that ‘Salvation were granted to ALL people by my merits or through my blood'
One example is during the Last Supper (St Matthew 26:27)... "This is my blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Wael, now you've got me thinking... I wonder whether Muslims would embrace Christianity if they learnt the truth about the faith rather than a false & distorted account of it :conf06:
Regardless, all I ask is that you be the best person you can be, whether you're Christian, Muslim, both or neither :)
God bless you my friend :)
Faith Hope Charity... Openness Tolerance Equality