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I proceed with my examination of Luke’s theology of atonement: Atonement in Luke-Acts Pt. 3 . The necessity of the death of Christ According to the plain teachings of the Lord Jesus and his inspired emissaries, Christ’s death was necessary and had to take place: “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man MUST BE delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise .’” Luke 24:6-7 “H

I proceed from where I previously left off the discussion: Atonement in Luke-Acts Pt. 2 . The Blood of the New Covenant Luke records our Lord’s words concerning the eucharist on the night of his betrayal, which clearly affirm the redemptive and vicarious significance of Christ’s death: “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it

I continue my rebuttal to a Muslim greenhorn who attempted to show that Luke-Acts do not have a theology of substitutionary atonement: Atonement in Luke-Acts Pt. 1 . The Scholarly views concerning the death of Christ in Luke-Acts Here is the list of scholarly opinions concerning Luke’s depiction of Jesus’ death: Christ’s death fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant whose death has propitiatory value. His death was a part of his atoning work. His death was necessa

Introduction This series was initially going to be a reply to another Muslim neophyte named Bassam Zawadi n order to expose his blatant inconsistencies and selective use of sources. However, I have decided to turn this into discussion concerning Luke’s view of Christ’s death. I do plan to eventually get around to addressing the Muslim greenhorn’s “reply” in order to show him what happens when we take his own arguments and scholarly sources and turn them against his god and pr

The majority of English versions of the Holy Bible contain the so-called longer reading of Luke 22:19-20:   “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’” Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)   However, there are some translations t

Muhammad is alleged to have said that only a hypocrite would hate his paternal first cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib:     5 Musnad 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib   It was narrated that ‘Ali said: The Prophet assured me: No one will love you but a believer and no one will hate you but a hypocrite .   Grade: Its isnad is Sahih , Muslim (78)]     (Darussalam)   Reference : Musnad Ahmad 731   In-book reference: Book 5, Hadith 164 ( Sunnah.com : https://sunnah.com/ahmad:731 )   49 Cha

In this post I will be excerpting references from Peter Schäfer’s book Jesus in the Talmud , published by Princeton University Press in 2007, in respect to what the Babylonian Talmud claims about the holy and blessed Mother of Christ.   Here is what Schäfer writes regarding the names the rabbis employed for Christ, which at first glance do not seem to be speaking about Jesus at all:   The rabbinic literature is almost completely silent about Jesus’ lineage and his family back

In this post I will share a few quotes from St. Gregory in respect to the Filioque , e.g., the Holy Spirit’s eternal procession from the Father by/through the Son. All emphasis will be mine.     Indeed, it would be a lengthy task to set out in detail from the  Scriptures  those constructions which are inexactly expressed, in order to prove the statement I have made; where, however, there is a risk of injury to any part of the  truth , we no longer find in Scriptural phrases a

In this post I will be citing from the works of St. Epiphanius in respect to the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and/through the Son. All emphasis will be mine.   44,3 I myself, therefore, do not worship anything that is inferior to the essence of God himself, since it is proper to accord divine honor only to the Absolute—to the ingenerate Father, the Son [begotten] of him, and the Holy Spirit [who proceeds] from the Father and through the Only-begotten

In this post I will be citing from the works of St. Cyril of Alexandria where this blessed saint spoke of the Spirit’s essential/natural procession from both the Father and the Son. All emphasis will be mine.   1.  That the Holy Spirit is naturally of God, and in the Son, and through Him and in His Substance.   14  He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you.   As the Holy Spirit was about to reveal to those who should be found worthy the mys

By The Late Rev. Sam Stern But how can three names be one? Are they one because we call them one? How three can be one is only to be known through the revelation of the Holy Spirit [ Ruach Hakodesh ] and in fact with closed eyes. [According to custom, the Jewish people recite the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) with eyes closed].  This comment on the "three in one" is from the Amsterdam Edition of the Zohar. It is only one of the many references dealing with the "mystery of three" (

The sunni traditions illustrate Muhammad’s shameful failure as a husband, resulting in bitter jealousy and rivalry among his multiple wives. This is particularly true in the case of his child-bride Aisha, who was only 9 when her marriage consummated, and who was left a childless widow at the young age of 18! What makes this all the more disgusting is that Muhammad married her when she was still playing on swings and with dolls! 63 Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar) (44

In this post I will be quoting from Peter Schäfer’s book Jesus in the Talmud , published by Princeton University Press in 2007. Here is what is written about him on Princeton University’s website:   Peter Schäfer  joined the faculty in 1998, appointed as the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religion. His teaching and research interests have focused on Jewish History in Late Antiquity, the religion and literature of Rabbinic Judaism, Jewish Mysti

In this post I will be quoting from the article by Benjamin E. Reynolds, The 'One Like a Son of Man' According to the Old Greek of Daniel 7, 13-14 , pp. 2-9 and 12-13. The phrase “Old Greek” (OG) stands for the earliest surviving Greek translation of the Old Testament, which scholars often use as a synonym for the original form of the Septuagint (LXX). All emphasis will be mine.   What makes this version rather unique and interesting is that in Daniel 7:13-14, the one like

The excerpts here are taken from the following article: Mem - The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet .   All emphasis will be mine.   The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet   Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin Mem - The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet   Mem (מ) is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabetNumerical value: 40Sound: "M"Meaning: 1. Water 2. Moshiach   Story   When the  mikveh  in Brownsville, NY, wanted to close its doors because of financial difficult

The following is taken from this site post: The Mystery Of The Closed Mem . The Mystery Of The Closed Mem By Daniel Botkin The letter mem , which corresponds to our English letter M , is one of five letters in the Hebrew alphabet that takes a final form. In other words, the letter is written one way, מ , when it occurs at the beginning of a word or anywhere inside a word, but it is written a different way, ם , when it is the last letter of a word. In words such as מָשִׁיחַ  (

The following excerpt is taken from Moses Maimonides’ epistle to the Yemeni Jews written in the 12th century AD, titled Iggeret Teiman ( https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam%2C_Iggeret_Teiman?lang=bi )   . All emphasis is mine.   In your letter you have adverted to the computations of the date of the Redemption and R. Saadia's opinion on the subject. First of all, it devolves upon you to know that no human being will ever be able to determine it precisely as Daniel has al

The lengthy excerpt is from Moses Maimonides’ epistle to the Yemeni Jews written in the 12 th  century AD, titled Iggeret Teiman ( https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam%2C_Iggeret_Teiman?lang=bi ). In it, he addresses a situation where a false Messianic claimant had arisen and reminds his people not to believe in him by listing the specific traits of the real Messiah.   Maimonides cites the following OT passages as prophecies of the Messiah: Psalm 2:1-4; Isaiah 9:1-7; 11:1

The following is taken from Iggeret Teiman ( https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam%2C_Iggeret_Teiman?lang=bi ), which is a letter that the Moses Maimonides wrote to the Jews living in Yemen around the 12 th  century AD. In it we see what Maimonides thought of Muhammad and the Muslim attempt of finding prophecies of him in the Torah. Maimonides bluntly calls Muhammad the Madman, and scoffs at the notion that the commonly referenced OT passages employed by Muslims to this da

More Proof for the Islamic Dilemma   Another way in which the Quran affirms the textual veracity and preservation of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures is by repeatedly emphasizing the point that the Jews (and even perhaps Christians) knowingly conceal or hide the truth and/or information from the Book that they have with them. The Muslim scripture further chides them for rejecting what they know to be true.   Note what the following texts say:     O Children of Israel! Reme

According to Sunni Islam, Allah wrote down in a tablet called al-Lawh al-Mahfuz  everything that it would take place in creation fifty thousand years before he actually created the heavens and the earth.   Note what the following prominent Salafi website states:   Aspects of al-qadar   You should also note that belief in  al-qadar  is not valid unless you believe in the four aspects of al-qadar, which are as follows:   Belief that Allah knows all things, in general terms and

The Quran describes Allah as creating seven heavens and seven earths, and everything which exists within them: He it is Who created for you all that is on earth. Then He Istawa  (rose over) towards the heaven and made them seven heavens and He is the All-Knower of everything. S. 2:29 Indeed your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days , and then He Istawa  (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty). He brings the night as a cov

EXPOSING MORE OF MUHAMMAD’S FAIRYTALES In this post I will be citing specific extracts from an important and valuable work on Islamic “history” by Ibn Kathir titled Al-Bidayah wa-Nihayah (“The Beginning and the End”). The excerpts will give the readers an idea of how unbelievable, incoherent, and just plain silly the Islamic view of reality is. I begin by quoting what Ibn Kathir claims in regards to Allah’s whereabouts prior to the creation of the heavens and earth. Imran ibn

The book of Job records the statements of one of Job’s interlocutors named Elihu who made some astute observations about the holiness and justice of God, and his righteous judgment upon sinners. Elihu surmised whether there is a figure qualified to act as a mediator who could provide a ransom to deliver sinners from God’s just punishment of sin:      “Indeed, God is greater than a human being. Why do you contend against him,   that he will not answer all a person’s words?   I

The latest attempt by internet Muslim dawagandists to prove that Muhammad is mentioned in the Holy Bible is to now appeal to a 9 th  century translation of the LXX version of the Hebrew Bible into Arabic by an Assyrian “Nestorian” Christian scribe named Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. According to these polemicists, Hunayn rendered the Greek term for glory, doxe , as hmd , the Arabic word for praise and from which we get the names Muhammad, Ahmad, etc. This same translator rendered ta doxa

We now come to the name Ahmad, which appears only one time in the Quran: JESUS CHRIST: THE MUHAMMAD OF THE QURAN? Once again, is this another of Muhammad’s names as later tradition asserts, or is it a further case of a descriptive noun that may not necessarily be referring to the so-called Muslim prophet? At least more than one Quranic translator understood it as a description as opposed to a proper name: And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the mes

Many people may not be aware of the fact that the term Muhammad appears only four times in the Quran, with the name Ahmad appearing only once. Muslims have assumed that these all refer to their prophet Muhammad. However, not all are convinced that this is the case since there are those who actually believe that in the case of the word Muhammad, these may be referring to Jesus. They base this on the assumption that the Muslim scripture may have initially been a heretical Chris

The following verse poses a major problem for Muslims:   Have you not considered those (Jews) who are given a portion of the Book? They are invited to the Book of Allah that it might decide between them , then a part of them turn back and they withdraw. S. 3:23 Shakir   According to the Muslim expositors, the Book which the Jews were being called to was the Torah in their possession. All emphasis is mine.   Chastising the People of the Book for Not Referring to the Book of Al

The purpose of this short post is to demonstrate how both ancient and post-Christian versions and commentaries from both Jews and Christians interpreted Isaiah 42:1. All emphasis will be mine.   LXX   “ Jacob is my servant , I will help him: Israel is my chosen , my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”    Aramaic Targum   הָא עַבְדִי מְשִׁיחָא אֶקְרְבִינֵהּ בְּחִירִי דְאִתְרְעֵי בֵּיהּ מֵימְרִי אֶתֵּן רוּחָא דְק

In this post I will cite a few commentaries explaining what did Matthew exactly mean when he wrote that Jesus is supposed to be a Nazarene according to the prophets. All emphasis will be mine.   23 . Matthew often says “he came and did—”; here Joseph came and settled , his new home being in Nazareth. 66  Luke locates both Joseph and Mary in this town (Luke 1:26–27; 2:4), but Matthew has not said anything so far about where either lived; he has said only that Jesus was born in

One of the supposed errors and mistakes found in the Holy Bible that skeptics raise is Matthew’s claim that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene in the Hebrew Bible: “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Naza

Bart Ehrman is among a few fringe scholars who think that Jesus’ Apocalyptic Son of Man sayings are not about himself, but are referring to someone else. Despite believing this to be the case, Ehrman does admit that this is not the view of the Gospel writers, since he acknowledges that they all believed that Jesus was indeed referring to himself as this cosmic Judge of the earth whom the prophet Daniel spoke of.       Here is what Ehrman writes in his book How Jesus Became Go

In this post I will demonstrate that due to Muhammad being an “ear” who parroted and garbled up what he heard from others, that he basically ended up identifying Jesus as the Son of Man of Daniel’s vision, recorded in 7:13-14, even though he distorted and twisted the details in order to make it fit with his theology.   For instance, Muhammad taught that Allah caused Jesus to ascend physically, bodily to be with him wherever he supposedly dwells:   And (remember) when Allah sa

Arabic Daniel versus Quran   The Arabic version of Daniel translates the Aramaic verb for the worship that both the Son of Man and the Most Highs receive, i.e., yipelachun from pelach , with the form of abd :      “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every lan

The prophet Daniel saw a vision where he beheld two distinct divine Persons reigning forever over the entire world, where all nations and peoples in all languages worshiped them both: “As I looked, ‘ thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat . His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands u

The Muslim text describes the manner in which Allah impregnated Mary in a crude, vulgar, disgusting manner:   And Mary Amran's daughter who remained chaste (protected) HER GENITAL PARTS ( farjaha ) BETWEEN HER LEGS, SO WE BLEW IN IT from Our Soul/Spirit , and she confirmed/was truthful with her Lord's words/expressions, and His Books , and she was from the worshipping humble. Muhammad Ahmed & Samira ( https://islamawakened.com/quran/66/st19.htm#gsc.tab=0 )   The Arabic term f

The Islamic sources indicate that a group of Muslims migrated to the Christian land of Abyssinia for safe haven when the pagans in Mecca opposed Muhammad and his followers. Muhammad sent them there because he had heard that the Christian king (Najashi [Negus]) was a just and pious ruler who cared for his subjects. What the readers may not be aware of is that one of Muhammad’s companions ended up becoming a Christian because he saw through the farce of Muhammad and came to the

The following is taken from the online Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence ( https://dorar.net/feqhia ), from the section on marrying a minor ( https://dorar.net/feqhia/4093 ). All emphasis will be mine. The second branch: The ruling on marrying a minor girl   The first issue: A father marrying off his young virgin daughter. A father may marry off his young eldest daughter without her permission. This is agreed upon by the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence : the Hanafi

The references in this post are taken from Kitab As-Sunnah , written by Abu ‘Abdir-Rahman ‘Adbullah ibn Al-Imam Ahmad (d. 290H), translated by Abu Hajar, published by Al-Aqeedah, 2022. All emphasis will be mine. Since the Quran is supposed to be Allah’s Word, Muslims must therefore deny that it is created. Nor are they permitted to say that their own recitation is created. As if this weren’t amazing enough, Muslims are even forbidden from asserting that the Quran is not Allah

This short article is intended to be a response to the following blog post . Paul Williams published a meme which asks the question of who Muhammad was, and then quotes the following hadith for the answer: Narrated 'Umar: I heard the Prophet saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle." ( Sahih al-Bukhari , Volume 4, Book 55, Number 654 ) Apparently, this was intende