Where is the “Christ” in “Christianity?”
1 view
Skip to first unread message
nashwan imanway
Sep 17, 2009, 10:53:33 PM9/17/09
to Islam
Religious scholars have long attributed the tenets of Christian faith
more to Paul’s teachings than to those of Jesus. But as much as I
would like to jump into that subject, I think it best to back up and
take a quick, speculative look at the Old Testament.
The Old Testament teaches that Jacob wrestled with God. In fact, the
Old Testament records that Jacob not only wrestled with God, but that
Jacob prevailed (Genesis 32:24-30). Now, bear in mind, we’re talking
about a tiny blob of protoplasm wrestling the Creator of a universe
240,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter, containing over a
billion galaxies of which ours—the Milky Way Galaxy—is just one (and a
small one, at that), and prevailing? I’m sorry, but someone was a
couple pages short of a codex when they scribed that passage. The
point is, however, that this passage leaves us in a quandary. We
either have to question the Jewish concept of God or accept their
explanation that “God” does not mean “God” in the above verses, but
rather it means either an angel or a man (which, in essence, means the
Old Testament is not to be trusted). In fact, this textual difficulty
has become so problematic that more recent Bibles have tried to cover
it up by changing the translation from “God” to “man.” What they
cannot change, however, is the foundational scripture from which the
Jewish Bible is translated, and this continues to read “God.”
Unreliability is a recurring problem in the Old Testament, the most
prominent example being the confusion between God and Satan! II
Samuel 24:1 reads:
“Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved
David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’”
However, I Chronicles 21:1 states: “Now Satan stood up against Israel,
and moved David to number Israel.”
Uhhh, which was it? The Lord, or Satan? Both verses describe the
same event in history, but one speaks of God and the other of Satan.
There is a slight (like, total) difference.
Christians would like to believe that the New Testament is free of
such difficulties, but they are sadly deceived. In fact, there are so
many contradictions that authors have devoted books to this subject.
For example, Matthew 2:14 and Luke 2:39 differ over whether Jesus’
family fled to Egypt or Nazareth. Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4
differ over the wording of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew 11:13-14,
17:11-13 and John 1:21 disagree over whether or not John the Baptist
was Elijah.
Things get worse when we enter the arena of the alleged crucifixion:
Who carried the cross—Simon (Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21) or
Jesus (John 19:17)? Was Jesus dressed in a scarlet robe (Matthew
27:28) or a purple robe (John 19:2)? Did the Roman soldiers put gall
(Matthew 27:34) or myrrh (Mark 15:23) in his wine? Was Jesus
crucified before the third hour (Mark 15:25) or after the sixth hour
(John 19:14-15)? Did Jesus ascend the first day (Luke 23:43) or not
(John 20:17)? Were Jesus’ last words, “Father, ‘into Your hands I
commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46), or were they “It is finished” (John
19:30)?
These are only a few of a long list of scriptural inconsistencies, and
they underscore the difficulty in trusting the New Testament as
scripture. Nonetheless, there are those who do trust their salvation
to the New Testament, and it is these Christians who need to answer
the question, “Where is the ‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “This, in
fact, is a supremely fair question. On one hand we have a religion
named after Jesus Christ, but on the other hand the tenets of orthodox
Christianity, which is to say Trinitarian Christianity, contradict
virtually everything he taught.
I know, I know—those of you who aren’t screaming “Heretic!” are
gathering firewood and planting a stake. But wait. Put down the high-
powered rifle and listen. Trinitarian Christianity claims to base its
doctrines on a combination of Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings. The
problem is, these teachings are anything but complementary. In fact,
they contradict one another.
Take some examples: Jesus taught Old Testament Law; Paul negated it.
Jesus preached orthodox Jewish creed; Paul preached mysteries of
faith. Jesus spoke of accountability; Paul proposed justification by
faith. Jesus described himself as an ethnic prophet; Paul defined him
as a universal prophet.[1] Jesus taught prayer to God, Paul set Jesus
up as intercessor. Jesus taught divine unity, Pauline theologians
constructed the Trinity.
For these reasons, many scholars consider Paul the main corrupter of
Apostolic Christianity and Jesus’ teachings. Many early Christian
sects held this view as well, including the second-century Christian
sects known as “adoptionists”– “In particular, they considered Paul,
one of the most prominent authors of our New Testament, to be an arch-
heretic rather than an apostle.”[2]
Lehmann contributes:
“What Paul proclaimed as ‘Christianity’ was sheer heresy which could
not be based on the Jewish or Essene faith, or on the teaching of
Rabbi Jesus. But, as Schonfield says, ‘The Pauline heresy became the
foundation of Christian orthodoxy and the legitimate church was
disowned as heretical.’ … Paul did something that Rabbi Jesus never
did and refused to do. He extended God’s promise of salvation to the
Gentiles; he abolished the law of Moses, and he prevented direct
access to God by introducing an intermediary.”[3]
Bart D. Ehrman, perhaps the most authoritative living scholar of
textual criticism, comments:
“Paul’s view was not universally accepted or, one might argue, even
widely accepted …. Even more striking, Paul’s own letters indicate
that there were outspoken, sincere, and active Christian leaders who
vehemently disagreed with him on this score and considered Paul’s
views to be a corruption of the true message of Christ …. One should
always bear in mind that in this very letter of Galatians Paul
indicates that he confronted Peter over just such issues (Gal.
2:11-14). He disagreed, that is, even with Jesus’ closest disciple on
the matter.”[4]
Commenting on the views of some early Christians in the Pseudo-
Clementine literature, Ehrman wrote:
“Paul has corrupted the true faith based on a brief vision, which he
has doubtless misconstrued. Paul is thus the enemy of the apostles,
not the chief of them. He is outside the true faith, a heretic to be
banned, not an apostle to be followed.”[5]
Others elevate Paul to sainthood. Joel Carmichael very clearly is not
one of them:
“We are a universe away from Jesus. If Jesus came “only to fulfill”
the Law and the Prophets; If he thought that “not an iota, not a dot”
would “pass from the Law,” that the cardinal commandment was “Hear, O
Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is one,” and that “no one was good
but God”….What would he have thought of Paul’s handiwork! Paul’s
triumph meant the final obliteration of the historic Jesus; he comes
to us embalmed in Christianity like a fly in amber.”[6]
Dr. Johannes Weiss contributes:
“Hence the faith in Christ as held by the primitive churches and by
Paul was something new in comparison with the preaching of Jesus; it
was a new type of religion.”[7]
A new type of religion, indeed. And hence the question, “Where is the
‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “If Christianity is the religion of Jesus
Christ, where are the Old Testament laws and strict monotheism of the
Rabbi Jesus’ Orthodox Judaism? Why does Christianity teach that Jesus
is the son of God when Jesus called himself the “son of Man” eighty-
eight times, and not once the “son of God?” Why does Christianity
endorse confession to priests and prayers to saints, Mary and Jesus
when Jesus taught his followers:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father …’” (Matthew 6:9)?
And who appointed a pope? Certainly not Jesus. True, he may have
called Peter the rock upon which he would build his church (Matthew
16:18-19). However, a scant five verses later, he called Peter
“Satan” and “an offense.” And let us not forget that this “rock”
thrice denied Jesus after Jesus’ arrest—poor testimony of Peter’s
commitment to the new church.
Is it possible that Christians have been denying Jesus ever since?
Transforming Jesus’ strict monotheism to the Pauline theologians’
Trinity, replacing Rabbi Jesus’ Old Testament law with Paul’s
“justification by faith,” substituting the concept of Jesus having
atoned for the sins of mankind for the direct accountability Jesus
taught, discarding Jesus’ claim to humanity for Paul’s concept of
Jesus having been divine, we have to question in exactly what manner
Christianity respects the teachings of its prophet.
A parallel issue is to define which religion does respect Jesus’
teachings. So let’s see: Which religion honors Jesus Christ as a
prophet but a man? Which religion adheres to strict monotheism, God’s
laws, and the concept of direct accountability to God? Which religion
denies intermediaries between man and God?
If you answered, “Islam,” you would be right. And in this manner, we
find the teachings of Jesus Christ better exemplified in the religion
of Islam than in Christianity. This suggestion, however, is not meant
to be a conclusion, but rather an introduction. Those who find their
interest peaked by the above discussion need to take the issue
seriously, open their minds and then … read on!
Copyright © 2007 Dr. Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
Dr. Brown is the author of The Eighth Scroll, described by North
Carolina State Senator Larry Shaw as, "Indiana Jones meets The Da
Vinci Code. The Eighth Scroll is a breath-holding, white-knuckled,
can't-put-down thriller that challenges Western views of humanity,
history and religion. Bar none, the best book in its class!" Dr. Brown
is also the author of three scholastic books of comparative religion,
MisGod'ed, God'ed, and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). His books
and articles can be found on his websites, www.EighthScroll.com and
www.LevelTruth.com, and are available for purchase through amazon.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes:
[1] Jesus Christ was one more prophet in the long line of prophets
sent to the astray Israelites. As he so clearly affirmed, “I was not
sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
When Jesus sent the disciples out in the path of God, he instructed
them, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city
of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6) Throughout his ministry, Jesus was never
recorded as having converted a Gentile, and in fact is recorded as
having initially rebuked a Gentile for seeking his favors, likening
her to a dog (Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-30). Jesus was himself a
Jew, his disciples were Jews, and both he and they directed their
ministries to the Jews. One wonders what this means to us now, for
most of those who have taken Jesus as their ‘personal savior’ are
Gentiles, and not of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” to whom
he was sent.
[2] Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to
the Early Christian Writings. 2004. Oxford University Press. P. 3.
[3] Lehmann, Johannes. 1972. The Jesus Report. Translated by Michael
Heron. London: Souvenir Press. pp. 128, 134.
[4] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University
Press. Pp. 97-98.
[5] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University
Press. P. 184.
[6] Carmichael, Joel, M.A. 1962. The Death of Jesus. New York: The
Macmillan Company. p. 270.
[7] Weiss, Johannes. 1909. Paul and Jesus. (Translated by Rev. H. J.
Chaytor). London and New York: Harper and Brothers. p. 130.
more to Paul’s teachings than to those of Jesus. But as much as I
would like to jump into that subject, I think it best to back up and
take a quick, speculative look at the Old Testament.
The Old Testament teaches that Jacob wrestled with God. In fact, the
Old Testament records that Jacob not only wrestled with God, but that
Jacob prevailed (Genesis 32:24-30). Now, bear in mind, we’re talking
about a tiny blob of protoplasm wrestling the Creator of a universe
240,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter, containing over a
billion galaxies of which ours—the Milky Way Galaxy—is just one (and a
small one, at that), and prevailing? I’m sorry, but someone was a
couple pages short of a codex when they scribed that passage. The
point is, however, that this passage leaves us in a quandary. We
either have to question the Jewish concept of God or accept their
explanation that “God” does not mean “God” in the above verses, but
rather it means either an angel or a man (which, in essence, means the
Old Testament is not to be trusted). In fact, this textual difficulty
has become so problematic that more recent Bibles have tried to cover
it up by changing the translation from “God” to “man.” What they
cannot change, however, is the foundational scripture from which the
Jewish Bible is translated, and this continues to read “God.”
Unreliability is a recurring problem in the Old Testament, the most
prominent example being the confusion between God and Satan! II
Samuel 24:1 reads:
“Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved
David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’”
However, I Chronicles 21:1 states: “Now Satan stood up against Israel,
and moved David to number Israel.”
Uhhh, which was it? The Lord, or Satan? Both verses describe the
same event in history, but one speaks of God and the other of Satan.
There is a slight (like, total) difference.
Christians would like to believe that the New Testament is free of
such difficulties, but they are sadly deceived. In fact, there are so
many contradictions that authors have devoted books to this subject.
For example, Matthew 2:14 and Luke 2:39 differ over whether Jesus’
family fled to Egypt or Nazareth. Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4
differ over the wording of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew 11:13-14,
17:11-13 and John 1:21 disagree over whether or not John the Baptist
was Elijah.
Things get worse when we enter the arena of the alleged crucifixion:
Who carried the cross—Simon (Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21) or
Jesus (John 19:17)? Was Jesus dressed in a scarlet robe (Matthew
27:28) or a purple robe (John 19:2)? Did the Roman soldiers put gall
(Matthew 27:34) or myrrh (Mark 15:23) in his wine? Was Jesus
crucified before the third hour (Mark 15:25) or after the sixth hour
(John 19:14-15)? Did Jesus ascend the first day (Luke 23:43) or not
(John 20:17)? Were Jesus’ last words, “Father, ‘into Your hands I
commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46), or were they “It is finished” (John
19:30)?
These are only a few of a long list of scriptural inconsistencies, and
they underscore the difficulty in trusting the New Testament as
scripture. Nonetheless, there are those who do trust their salvation
to the New Testament, and it is these Christians who need to answer
the question, “Where is the ‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “This, in
fact, is a supremely fair question. On one hand we have a religion
named after Jesus Christ, but on the other hand the tenets of orthodox
Christianity, which is to say Trinitarian Christianity, contradict
virtually everything he taught.
I know, I know—those of you who aren’t screaming “Heretic!” are
gathering firewood and planting a stake. But wait. Put down the high-
powered rifle and listen. Trinitarian Christianity claims to base its
doctrines on a combination of Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings. The
problem is, these teachings are anything but complementary. In fact,
they contradict one another.
Take some examples: Jesus taught Old Testament Law; Paul negated it.
Jesus preached orthodox Jewish creed; Paul preached mysteries of
faith. Jesus spoke of accountability; Paul proposed justification by
faith. Jesus described himself as an ethnic prophet; Paul defined him
as a universal prophet.[1] Jesus taught prayer to God, Paul set Jesus
up as intercessor. Jesus taught divine unity, Pauline theologians
constructed the Trinity.
For these reasons, many scholars consider Paul the main corrupter of
Apostolic Christianity and Jesus’ teachings. Many early Christian
sects held this view as well, including the second-century Christian
sects known as “adoptionists”– “In particular, they considered Paul,
one of the most prominent authors of our New Testament, to be an arch-
heretic rather than an apostle.”[2]
Lehmann contributes:
“What Paul proclaimed as ‘Christianity’ was sheer heresy which could
not be based on the Jewish or Essene faith, or on the teaching of
Rabbi Jesus. But, as Schonfield says, ‘The Pauline heresy became the
foundation of Christian orthodoxy and the legitimate church was
disowned as heretical.’ … Paul did something that Rabbi Jesus never
did and refused to do. He extended God’s promise of salvation to the
Gentiles; he abolished the law of Moses, and he prevented direct
access to God by introducing an intermediary.”[3]
Bart D. Ehrman, perhaps the most authoritative living scholar of
textual criticism, comments:
“Paul’s view was not universally accepted or, one might argue, even
widely accepted …. Even more striking, Paul’s own letters indicate
that there were outspoken, sincere, and active Christian leaders who
vehemently disagreed with him on this score and considered Paul’s
views to be a corruption of the true message of Christ …. One should
always bear in mind that in this very letter of Galatians Paul
indicates that he confronted Peter over just such issues (Gal.
2:11-14). He disagreed, that is, even with Jesus’ closest disciple on
the matter.”[4]
Commenting on the views of some early Christians in the Pseudo-
Clementine literature, Ehrman wrote:
“Paul has corrupted the true faith based on a brief vision, which he
has doubtless misconstrued. Paul is thus the enemy of the apostles,
not the chief of them. He is outside the true faith, a heretic to be
banned, not an apostle to be followed.”[5]
Others elevate Paul to sainthood. Joel Carmichael very clearly is not
one of them:
“We are a universe away from Jesus. If Jesus came “only to fulfill”
the Law and the Prophets; If he thought that “not an iota, not a dot”
would “pass from the Law,” that the cardinal commandment was “Hear, O
Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is one,” and that “no one was good
but God”….What would he have thought of Paul’s handiwork! Paul’s
triumph meant the final obliteration of the historic Jesus; he comes
to us embalmed in Christianity like a fly in amber.”[6]
Dr. Johannes Weiss contributes:
“Hence the faith in Christ as held by the primitive churches and by
Paul was something new in comparison with the preaching of Jesus; it
was a new type of religion.”[7]
A new type of religion, indeed. And hence the question, “Where is the
‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “If Christianity is the religion of Jesus
Christ, where are the Old Testament laws and strict monotheism of the
Rabbi Jesus’ Orthodox Judaism? Why does Christianity teach that Jesus
is the son of God when Jesus called himself the “son of Man” eighty-
eight times, and not once the “son of God?” Why does Christianity
endorse confession to priests and prayers to saints, Mary and Jesus
when Jesus taught his followers:
“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father …’” (Matthew 6:9)?
And who appointed a pope? Certainly not Jesus. True, he may have
called Peter the rock upon which he would build his church (Matthew
16:18-19). However, a scant five verses later, he called Peter
“Satan” and “an offense.” And let us not forget that this “rock”
thrice denied Jesus after Jesus’ arrest—poor testimony of Peter’s
commitment to the new church.
Is it possible that Christians have been denying Jesus ever since?
Transforming Jesus’ strict monotheism to the Pauline theologians’
Trinity, replacing Rabbi Jesus’ Old Testament law with Paul’s
“justification by faith,” substituting the concept of Jesus having
atoned for the sins of mankind for the direct accountability Jesus
taught, discarding Jesus’ claim to humanity for Paul’s concept of
Jesus having been divine, we have to question in exactly what manner
Christianity respects the teachings of its prophet.
A parallel issue is to define which religion does respect Jesus’
teachings. So let’s see: Which religion honors Jesus Christ as a
prophet but a man? Which religion adheres to strict monotheism, God’s
laws, and the concept of direct accountability to God? Which religion
denies intermediaries between man and God?
If you answered, “Islam,” you would be right. And in this manner, we
find the teachings of Jesus Christ better exemplified in the religion
of Islam than in Christianity. This suggestion, however, is not meant
to be a conclusion, but rather an introduction. Those who find their
interest peaked by the above discussion need to take the issue
seriously, open their minds and then … read on!
Copyright © 2007 Dr. Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
Dr. Brown is the author of The Eighth Scroll, described by North
Carolina State Senator Larry Shaw as, "Indiana Jones meets The Da
Vinci Code. The Eighth Scroll is a breath-holding, white-knuckled,
can't-put-down thriller that challenges Western views of humanity,
history and religion. Bar none, the best book in its class!" Dr. Brown
is also the author of three scholastic books of comparative religion,
MisGod'ed, God'ed, and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). His books
and articles can be found on his websites, www.EighthScroll.com and
www.LevelTruth.com, and are available for purchase through amazon.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnotes:
[1] Jesus Christ was one more prophet in the long line of prophets
sent to the astray Israelites. As he so clearly affirmed, “I was not
sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
When Jesus sent the disciples out in the path of God, he instructed
them, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city
of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6) Throughout his ministry, Jesus was never
recorded as having converted a Gentile, and in fact is recorded as
having initially rebuked a Gentile for seeking his favors, likening
her to a dog (Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-30). Jesus was himself a
Jew, his disciples were Jews, and both he and they directed their
ministries to the Jews. One wonders what this means to us now, for
most of those who have taken Jesus as their ‘personal savior’ are
Gentiles, and not of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” to whom
he was sent.
[2] Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to
the Early Christian Writings. 2004. Oxford University Press. P. 3.
[3] Lehmann, Johannes. 1972. The Jesus Report. Translated by Michael
Heron. London: Souvenir Press. pp. 128, 134.
[4] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University
Press. Pp. 97-98.
[5] Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University
Press. P. 184.
[6] Carmichael, Joel, M.A. 1962. The Death of Jesus. New York: The
Macmillan Company. p. 270.
[7] Weiss, Johannes. 1909. Paul and Jesus. (Translated by Rev. H. J.
Chaytor). London and New York: Harper and Brothers. p. 130.
Moslem
Sep 18, 2009, 6:42:39 AM9/18/09
to Islam
جزاك الله خيرا
On 18 سبتمبر, 05:53, nashwan imanway <imanway.isla...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> and articles can be found on his websites,www.EighthScroll.comandwww.LevelTruth.com, and are available for purchase through amazon.com.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 18 سبتمبر, 05:53, nashwan imanway <imanway.isla...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages