Further comment

Submitted by Peter Herz (United States), Apr 26, 2012 at 19:23

Mr. Abdullah, like many Muslim da'wa men who try to use the Scriptures, utterly wrests a text out of context.

All the passages in the Gospel of John discussed in this thread (those from the Upper Room Discourse) are bracketed with John the Baptist's announcement "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" (John 1:33) and the risen Jesus' own words to his apostles, "...as my Father hath sent me, even so so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost..." (John 20:22-23).

So, Babatunde, if we Christians are to follow the Gospel of John into Islam, what say you to it's clearly speaking of Jesus as Son of God the Father; and breathing on his disciples to give them the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost)? Clearly, we have God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost giving birth to the Christian church.

Compare Paul in Galatians 4:4-6):

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."

Babatunde, my Yoruba friend, I respect your desire for God, but your zeal is from ignorance. You are Abdallah, the slave of God. We, as Christians, are through Jesus' work Ibne'allah, the sons of God (through adoption), those who inherit the Paradise he has promised. And, given that you live in a culture that distinguishes clearly between slaves on the one hand, and sons and heirs on the other, please think on these things! Forget the tortuous arguments you got from Ahmed Deedat (who indeed tried manfully to find Muhammad in the Christian Scriptures, and failed) and join us to share this blessing.

Come to think of it, the Gospel of John, which you tried to use, also gives this promise: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not or the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13).

Lactantius, myself, and others have shown how the verse you invited us to consider fits logically, linguistically, and in context with a narrative flow that has nothing to do with the Deen Muhammad. You can only take a few words, and weave an extraneous argument around them by importing meanings alien to the text itself. The Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) is breathed on us by Jesus Christ; not a Meccan by the name of Muhammad.

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