In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke there are approximately 22 references to Jesus (pbuh) as the son of God, but not in any of these verses will read where Jesus (pbuh) himself said he was the son of God. In fact when Jesus was brought before a high priest, you read in Matthew 26:62: “And ask if he was the Son of God, Jesus remained silent. Again the high priest said, “Have you no answer to make?” What is it that these men testify against you? But Jesus was still silent. The high priest then said to Jesus, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said, “YOU have said so.” Even Jesus himself said: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9 Also, in Mark 12:29 it says: “And Jesus answered him saying”, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O’ Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” In John 5:30 Jesus in his own admittance says: “I can of my own self do nothing.” All doctrines of modern Christianity were made by men: The Trinity, Divine Sonship of Jesus, The Original Sin and the Atonement. Doctrines of men can lead nowhere but to confusion. Even the Bible backs this up in I Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” In numerous verses throughout the New Testament, Jesus never claims to be God nor did he claim divinity. John 8:28 - “I do nothing of myself.” John 14:28 - “My father is greater than I.” Mark 12:29 - “The Lord our God is one Lord.” Mark 15:34 - “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Luke 23:46 - “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” In addition to all the other contradictions, in Luke 4:1-13 the Bible tells us that Satan tempted Jesus for forty days. However, in James 1:13 it is said: “...for God cannot be tempted with evil...” Are you seeing now how the seed of doubt that was planted in my mind as a child was only nurtured by the contradictions in what was taught to me to be the word of God? Again, Jesus never called himself God or referred to himself as he and God being one in the same. If you look at what Jesus (pbuh) actually claimed to be, a messenger (prophet) of God, you can plainly see that this goes hand in hand with the Islamic teachings and the Divine word of God found in the Holy Qur’an. In The Holy Qur’an the angels told Mary (Maryam): “Mary, God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him who name is Messiah Jesus, son Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men from the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be. “Lord, said Mary, “how shall I have a son seeing no man has touched me? “Even so”, he said, “God creates what He will: “When he decrees a thing He does but say to it “Be”, and it is. (Translation of Surah Al-Imran 3:45-47) “Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in Al-Mihrab (a praying place or a private room) (saying): Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John the Baptist), confirming (believing in) the word from Allah (i.e. the creation of Isa (Jesus), the word from Allah (“Be”...and he was!), noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a prophet from among the righteous. (Translation of Surah Al-Imran 3:39) “That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He but says to it “Be”, and it is. (Translation of Surah Maryam 19:34-35) Jesus (pbuh) said in the Qur’an: “And verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the Straight Path. (Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism which He did ordain for all of His Prophets).” (Translation of Surah Maryam 19:36) Islam knows that Jesus had no human father, however; this does not make him the son of God or God Himself. If the Christians were basing their beliefs and doctrine on the fact that Jesus had not an earthly father, then it would stand to reason that Adam had more entitlement to be labeled the son of God, as he had neither a human mother nor father. The Qur’an states the miraculous creation of both Adam and Jesus in the following verse: “Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God’s sight, is as Adam’s likeness; He created him of dust, then said He unto him, “Be”, and he was. (Translation of Surah Al-Imran 3:59) “O, Mankind: worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may ward off evil; who has appointed the earth as a resting place for you, the sky a canopy, and who causes water to pour down from the heavens, thereby producing fruit as food for you. So do not set up rivals to God, when you know better.” (Translation of Surah Al-Baqarah 2:21-22) As an adult teaching Sunday school, many times the children would ask me questions and I can remember the guilt I felt when all I could give them for an answer was “we just have to have faith”. One afternoon, I went to the public library in my town looking for a concordance to help explain that which I didn’t understand in the Bible. I was taken to a long row of books where over 1700 versions of the Bible were located. I remember feeling so lost and not knowing where to begin. Finally I reached for one and sat down in the middle of the isle and began to read. It seemed all the translations were different in one way or another. (Note: Some versions of the Bible had completely omitted the miraculous conception of the virgin Mary (Maryam) or had worded so that the entire meaning was lost. Since the Christians believe Jesus and God are one in the same I found it very odd that this miraculous birth of Jesus was left out) I remember praying to God to guide me to help me find the truth. I was searching, but I didn’t know for what. As I was about to leave the library the title of a book attracted my attention. Upon closer investigation I saw that there were was an entire wall covered with “Missing chapters of the Bible”! I broke down into tears. Had God answered my prayers so quickly? I believe, yes. I can honestly say that I do not remember a time that I ever doubted there was a God, perhaps on more than one occasion I questioned who He was, simply because of all the contradictions I had read in the Bible. But Allah (swt) is all Knowing all Wise, and through these contradictions and confusion it opened my heart and mind so that when the truth was presented to me, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was the True Religion of God. When Islam was first presented to me, I knew it was pure. One of the first things I asked was “how many “versions” is there of the Qur’an?”. I was told only one text had ever been in existence and that the original text had never changed. I found myself going to every bookstore and library I could find, looking for some contradictions in the Qur’an. Although there are several interpretations of the Qur’an, never will you find contradictions even in the interpretations. I also compared the Arabic text from one Qur’an to another. I didn’t need to be able to read Arabic to visibly see that the text was the same. Finally, satisfied that I wasn’t going to be deceived again, I began to read the translations. I was amazed with the similarities of what was found in the Qur’an and what was contained in the Bible, without the contradictions though. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop. The emphasis placed on the oneness (tawheed) of God found in the Qur’an was like reading the truth for the first time. There were no doubts; there was no confusion. I had found what I was searching for.
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