Edip Yuksel

THE NINETEEN QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN CLERGY
by Edip Yuksel

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QUESTION 17 Is this how you defend the deity of Christ? "Suppose I hypothesize that shy fairies live in my rose garden and help tend the roses, but are so clever that they always know if I put a camera or recorder out to document them; thus they avoid leaving any record. This explains why no evidence of fairies exists. This is a fine hypothesis, but it is not a part of rational science, because it has the built-in proviso that no meaningful evidence can be gathered. Once the assumption is made that fairies exist, many books could be published about where they might live, how they might dress, and so on. These books could be fine literature and brilliant exercises in logic, but they would be speculation, not science." (The Cosmic Voyage: Through Time and Space, William K. Hartmann, Wadsworth Publication, Belmont, 1990, p. 457). In the previous pages we tried to demonstrate how the doctrine of Trinity was fabricated by St. Paul and officially formulated by the council of Nicaea and the council of Chalcedon. Here we want to demonstrate how modern Christians try hard to defend that story through speculations, and interpretations. For this purpose we have selected a book: Jesus: A Biblical Defence of His Deity, Josh McDowel & Bart Larson, Campus Crusade for Christ, California. The titles of following quotations are mine: Which one do you select: Unity or Trinity? "This discussion can get complicated, depending on what a person has been taught. Arguments can be made both for and against the deity of Christ. For example, if one has been taught that God is one person and that Jesus is a created being, then on first reading, Bible verses can be found to support that view. On the other hand, if one has been taught that God is one supreme being comprised of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that the Son gave up His position of equality within the godhead to become a man in the person of Jesus, then Scripture passages can be found to support that view" (p. 15). Paul declared: "The Scriptures teach that Jesus was fully God while also being fully human. Paul declared of Jesus 'For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form' (Colossians 2:9). Because Jesus is both fully God and fully man, He stands in a unique relationship in the Trinity to the Father and the Holy Spirit" (p. 65). "God humiliated himself" "My Father is greater than I." This is the favorite verse with Unitarians, who deny the absolute Deity of Christ and His perfect equality with the Father... "The contrast which the Savior drew between the Father and Himself was not concerning nature, but offical character and position... "In becoming incarnate and tabernacling among men, He had greatly humiliated Himself, by choosing to descend into shame and suffering in their acutest forms." (quotation from Arthur W. Pink's book Exposition of the Gospel of John, p. 88). A volunteer! "The same relationship of greater and lesser is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 11:3. 'But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.' In this passage, three comparisons are made: man to Christ, man to woman, and Christ to God. The third comparison between Jesus and God is the one under discussion here. "God is the head of Christ. Doesn't that sound like superiority?" Note that this comparison has to do with patterns of authority; it does not imply inferiority or superiority. Instead, while on earth, in order to identify with humankind, Jesus voluntarily put Himself under the Father's headship." (p. 89). Jesus was best understood by his enemies "First, the Jews to whom He was speaking--who culturally were in a position to interperet His words better than anyone 2,000 years later--understood Jesus to be saying He was "God." They took up stones to stone him." (p. 94). Self-imposed limitations "Thus, when Jesus, in the form of a man, said that He did not know the hour of His return [Mark 13:32], it could have been because of His self-imposed limitations as a bondservant. Not that He was not equal to God, but rather in this instance that He had chosen not to exercise all His divine prerogatives." (p. 97). The trilemma of the Trinity If you are determined to create an incarnated God, you can stretch your imagination and interpretation as much as possible. You can distort the meaning of every Biblical clear statement that contradicts your assumption by esoteric interpretations. You can also ignore all the historical facts that contradict your story. A diagram was displayed on page 102 of A Biblical Defence of His Deity. The diagram is supposed to explain all the possible alternatives about the identity of Jesus. "We are faced with a trilemma that is depicted in the diagram on the following page" say the authors of the book. The diagram assumes fairies in the author's rose garden: "Jesus claims to be God." He does not let the reader think the other alternative, which is "Jesus never claimed to be God." However, the author is overzealously creating a "trilemma" to defend the Trinity. Here is the trilemma of the Trinity. (The diagram is omitted). The plank in the eye In its appendix, the book Jesus: A Biblical Defence of His Deity, gives information on a number of today's religions. The information about Buddhism is ironical: "Buddhism, which began as philosophy espoused by Sidhartha Gautama (Buddha), became a religion approximately two hundred years after his death when a segment of his followers deified him. Buddha (the name means 'enlightened one') is treated as a savior-god, even though he claimed to be only a teacher." (p 114). The authors do not see the planks in their eyes. They do not ask questions such as, "Why did Buddhists fabricate a faith which claims that Buddha is a Savior-God?" If our authors, who believe that "Jesus is a Savior-God," could reflect on the reason behind this human tendency, they would have realized the fact that neither Buddha, nor Jesus, neither Hare Krishna nor many other "incarnated gods" claimed their deity. It is ignorant people who idolized them after their departure despite their teachings. Indeed, "It works" The same book, under the title "It works" reads: "I've come to one conclusion. A relationship with Jesus Christ changes lives. You can ignorantly laugh at Christianity; you can mock and ridicule it. But it works. It changes lives. If you trust Christ, start watching your attitudes and actions-because Jesus Christ is in the business of changing lives, forgiving sin and removing guilt." (p. 110). We do not have doubt that faith in the deity of Jesus has changed the worldly lives of many pastors, priests, ministers and evangelists. They have invested money and gained popularity in his name. We do believe that this faith has also caused the lives of many to change direction. However, all zealous religionists claim the same thing for their religion. Just replace the name of Jesus with Buddha, or Muhammad, or Krishna, or with thousands of cult leaders, and replace Christianity with the name of their religions and sects... All claim that their faith has changed their life, and they call people to accept it. They call you to believe on faith, close your eyes and enter their dark tunnel to find the light. Unfortunately many who enter those tunnels on faith start hallucinating. They become fanatic idol worshipers by claiming that the only salvation is through their "incarnated gods." Indeed, faith works, not only for Christians, but for every religious person, even for a cow worshiper. The questions are, 1. How does it work, why does it work, and how long does it work? 2. Why do Buddhists believe that Buddha is the Savior-God? Why did they fabricate this doctrine despite his original teaching? 3. Why do Hindus believe that God, the highest being Krishna, has manifested himself in millions of gods? What if a Hindu applies the "trilemma" diagram to prove the deity of Krishna?

Moslem Questions on Christianity Edip Yuksel P.O. Box 43476, Tucson, AZ 85733-3476 U.S.A. Tel/Fax: (520) 323-7636

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	THE NINETEEN QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN CLERGY by Edip Yuksel ISNET Homepage \| MEDIA Homepage \| Program Kerja \| Koleksi \| Anggota \| Indeks Antar Agama \| Indeks Artikel \|
	QUESTION 17 Is this how you defend the deity of Christ? "Suppose I hypothesize that shy fairies live in my rose garden and help tend the roses, but are so clever that they always know if I put a camera or recorder out to document them; thus they avoid leaving any record. This explains why no evidence of fairies exists. This is a fine hypothesis, but it is not a part of rational science, because it has the built-in proviso that no meaningful evidence can be gathered. Once the assumption is made that fairies exist, many books could be published about where they might live, how they might dress, and so on. These books could be fine literature and brilliant exercises in logic, but they would be speculation, not science." (The Cosmic Voyage: Through Time and Space, William K. Hartmann, Wadsworth Publication, Belmont, 1990, p. 457). In the previous pages we tried to demonstrate how the doctrine of Trinity was fabricated by St. Paul and officially formulated by the council of Nicaea and the council of Chalcedon. Here we want to demonstrate how modern Christians try hard to defend that story through speculations, and interpretations. For this purpose we have selected a book: Jesus: A Biblical Defence of His Deity, Josh McDowel & Bart Larson, Campus Crusade for Christ, California. The titles of following quotations are mine: Which one do you select: Unity or Trinity? "This discussion can get complicated, depending on what a person has been taught. Arguments can be made both for and against the deity of Christ. For example, if one has been taught that God is one person and that Jesus is a created being, then on first reading, Bible verses can be found to support that view. On the other hand, if one has been taught that God is one supreme being comprised of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that the Son gave up His position of equality within the godhead to become a man in the person of Jesus, then Scripture passages can be found to support that view" (p. 15). Paul declared: "The Scriptures teach that Jesus was fully God while also being fully human. Paul declared of Jesus 'For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form' (Colossians 2:9). Because Jesus is both fully God and fully man, He stands in a unique relationship in the Trinity to the Father and the Holy Spirit" (p. 65). "God humiliated himself" "My Father is greater than I." This is the favorite verse with Unitarians, who deny the absolute Deity of Christ and His perfect equality with the Father... "The contrast which the Savior drew between the Father and Himself was not concerning nature, but offical character and position... "In becoming incarnate and tabernacling among men, He had greatly humiliated Himself, by choosing to descend into shame and suffering in their acutest forms." (quotation from Arthur W. Pink's book Exposition of the Gospel of John, p. 88). A volunteer! "The same relationship of greater and lesser is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 11:3. 'But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.' In this passage, three comparisons are made: man to Christ, man to woman, and Christ to God. The third comparison between Jesus and God is the one under discussion here. "God is the head of Christ. Doesn't that sound like superiority?" Note that this comparison has to do with patterns of authority; it does not imply inferiority or superiority. Instead, while on earth, in order to identify with humankind, Jesus voluntarily put Himself under the Father's headship." (p. 89). Jesus was best understood by his enemies "First, the Jews to whom He was speaking--who culturally were in a position to interperet His words better than anyone 2,000 years later--understood Jesus to be saying He was "God." They took up stones to stone him." (p. 94). Self-imposed limitations "Thus, when Jesus, in the form of a man, said that He did not know the hour of His return [Mark 13:32], it could have been because of His self-imposed limitations as a bondservant. Not that He was not equal to God, but rather in this instance that He had chosen not to exercise all His divine prerogatives." (p. 97). The trilemma of the Trinity If you are determined to create an incarnated God, you can stretch your imagination and interpretation as much as possible. You can distort the meaning of every Biblical clear statement that contradicts your assumption by esoteric interpretations. You can also ignore all the historical facts that contradict your story. A diagram was displayed on page 102 of A Biblical Defence of His Deity. The diagram is supposed to explain all the possible alternatives about the identity of Jesus. "We are faced with a trilemma that is depicted in the diagram on the following page" say the authors of the book. The diagram assumes fairies in the author's rose garden: "Jesus claims to be God." He does not let the reader think the other alternative, which is "Jesus never claimed to be God." However, the author is overzealously creating a "trilemma" to defend the Trinity. Here is the trilemma of the Trinity. (The diagram is omitted). The plank in the eye In its appendix, the book Jesus: A Biblical Defence of His Deity, gives information on a number of today's religions. The information about Buddhism is ironical: "Buddhism, which began as philosophy espoused by Sidhartha Gautama (Buddha), became a religion approximately two hundred years after his death when a segment of his followers deified him. Buddha (the name means 'enlightened one') is treated as a savior-god, even though he claimed to be only a teacher." (p 114). The authors do not see the planks in their eyes. They do not ask questions such as, "Why did Buddhists fabricate a faith which claims that Buddha is a Savior-God?" If our authors, who believe that "Jesus is a Savior-God," could reflect on the reason behind this human tendency, they would have realized the fact that neither Buddha, nor Jesus, neither Hare Krishna nor many other "incarnated gods" claimed their deity. It is ignorant people who idolized them after their departure despite their teachings. Indeed, "It works" The same book, under the title "It works" reads: "I've come to one conclusion. A relationship with Jesus Christ changes lives. You can ignorantly laugh at Christianity; you can mock and ridicule it. But it works. It changes lives. If you trust Christ, start watching your attitudes and actions-because Jesus Christ is in the business of changing lives, forgiving sin and removing guilt." (p. 110). We do not have doubt that faith in the deity of Jesus has changed the worldly lives of many pastors, priests, ministers and evangelists. They have invested money and gained popularity in his name. We do believe that this faith has also caused the lives of many to change direction. However, all zealous religionists claim the same thing for their religion. Just replace the name of Jesus with Buddha, or Muhammad, or Krishna, or with thousands of cult leaders, and replace Christianity with the name of their religions and sects... All claim that their faith has changed their life, and they call people to accept it. They call you to believe on faith, close your eyes and enter their dark tunnel to find the light. Unfortunately many who enter those tunnels on faith start hallucinating. They become fanatic idol worshipers by claiming that the only salvation is through their "incarnated gods." Indeed, faith works, not only for Christians, but for every religious person, even for a cow worshiper. The questions are, 1. How does it work, why does it work, and how long does it work? 2. Why do Buddhists believe that Buddha is the Savior-God? Why did they fabricate this doctrine despite his original teaching? 3. Why do Hindus believe that God, the highest being Krishna, has manifested himself in millions of gods? What if a Hindu applies the "trilemma" diagram to prove the deity of Krishna?
	Moslem Questions on Christianity Edip Yuksel P.O. Box 43476, Tucson, AZ 85733-3476 U.S.A. Tel/Fax: (520) 323-7636
	\| Indeks Antar Agama \| Indeks Artikel \| \| ISNET Homepage \| MEDIA Homepage \| Program Kerja \| Koleksi \| Anggota \| Please direct any suggestion to Media Team