The Character Of God Examined Pt. 2: The Endorsement Of Rape Myth

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Islam, Submission With No Peace Pt. 8...Is "Muhammad" In The Bible?

The Islamic Apologists

The late Islamic scholar Ahmed Deedat (1918-2005) claimed extensively that Muhammad was mentioned in the bible and that the biblical translators had changed the meaning of the original word to hide this "fact". The reason that Deedat believed and taught this, was because the Quran was supposed to have said that Muhammad was mentioned in the law and in the gospels. 

Sura 7: 157 ~ "those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper."

So for Deedat and many other Islamic Apologists, there "must" be a connection to Muhammad, their prophet within the Holy scriptures associated with the Jews religion and with Christianity. This has been debated for years, so it is nothing new. 

In response to his 1986 debate with then Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Deedat claimed the following:

The Late Dr. Ahmed Deedat

"Initially when I started talking about the subject about what the Bible says about Muhammad, (pbhn), I didn't know, at the beginning and for a very long time, I didn't know, that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, (pbhn) was mentioned by name, in the bible.Mentioned by name." 

"What has happened is this, first that Muhammad (pbhn) is mentioned by name in the original scriptures. The Old Testament, according to Christian mythologies, was preserved in the Hebrew language. The New Testament, in Greek scriptures, in Greek language. In the Old Testament, the Song Of Solomon chapter 5, verse 16, in the Hebrew language....it says: "חכו ממתקים וכלו מחמדים זה דודי וזה רעי בנות ירושלם׃" The word "ma·ḥă·mad·dîm, (highlighted above) is the word  "Ma ha mad".."im"..."im" is a plural of respect in the Hebrew."   

Dr. Deedat went on to argue that all Eastern languages have a common feature of respect when it is implying a "proper name" or referring to someone of importance. Thus his textual proof that the "Prophet  Muhammad" is mentioned in the bible and that the biblical prophecy is centered around him.  

To the ardent faithful of Islam, this makes much sense. It further leads to great leaps of sentiments that Jesus prophesied about Muhammad as well by referring to him as "the comforter" (Jh, 14:16) Heritics such as Zakir Naik who hasn't fallen far from the Deedat tree, but seemingly landed on his head, promote this fallacy boldly proclaiming that Muhammad is the one who is to lead us and guide us into all truth! More on this fallacious and absurd argument later in the article.  

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Savage...It Only Gets Worse...Then There's You!

At a recent high school journalism convention no less, Daniel "Mr. Tolerance", and self proclaimed "Faggot" Savage, took the opportunity, along with tax payer dollars, to terrorize and indoctrinate youth on his thoughts regarding closely held religious beliefs, not only twisting scriptures totally out of context and providing plenty of false biblical interpretations, but also calling biblical admonitions against homosexuality "bull-s***t" that should be ignored. Remember this is the President's national anti-bullying adviser.

THANK GOD for all the BOLD & BRIGHT STUDENTS that walked out on his utter PROFANE GARBAGE!!! Let the crap be relegated to the SEWER where it belongs!!!

If he had gone to someone who actually studied the bible for it's real message, instead of those who promote  propaganda to justify their sins, (aka: Sam Harris or any of the modern irrational atheists and such like) he would have known that the bible does not endorse slavery, especially the chattel slavery that his forefathers more than likely practiced within the United States. Conveniently he fails to mention is that "Origin Of The Species, By Means of Natural Selection or The Preservation of Favored Races In The Struggle For Life" is the materialist myth chalk full of racist and sexist assertions all in the name of science. 

What's equally as important, is this how tax payer education dollars are being spent? If a Christian took the time to waylay the Quran, there would have been outrage. If a Christian or other person of faith pronounced and explained biblical admonitions against homosexuality, there would be a stark condemnation, but where is the condemnation against this?

Let's see, 

When it's against the bible and religion in general, it's called Freedom of speech

When it supports the bible against modern immorality including that of homosexuality, it's called religious bigotry??? 

OK, now we see what the definition of tolerance really is for those claiming a more peaceful, humanitarian and intellectually fulfilling path of modern moral relativism. 

The fact is that we certainly can see the light...the question is can Savage see the anything but himself and his own ignorance???

Blessed!

National Organization For Marriage : Savage Pick On Someone Your Own Size 

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The Resurrection Of Jesus, Critical Claims Debunked!

In this post I will refer you to the book "The Case For The Resurrection of Jesus" by Gary Habermas and Michael R. Licona [2004 Kregel Publications]. This is an excellent read presenting what is called the "minimal facts" approach to explaining the resurrection of Jesus and overcoming various objections and novel speculations. 

There are generally 5 primary objections to the resurrection of Jesus as recorded within the gospels. They are:

1- That there was no resurrection (this goes with that there was no Jesus, a concept which has been all but utterly debunked, even by many of the most liberal scholars)
2- Believers suffered from delusions
3- Believers suffered from hallucinations
4- Believers suffered an illusion
5- Believers suffered some sort of conversion disorder (Neurological disorder)

The first issue of "no resurrection" is also held by the religion of Islam, which claims that Jesus could not have risen because he didn't suffer death on the cross. This is also a view held by historic revisionists asserting that there was no Jesus of history (at least of biblical history) and that the gospel is a conflation of legend or ancient myth. I've noted that in my post, "The Raging Battle For The Jesus Of History". 

Although I don't plan to spend much time on either of those arguments in this post, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that both of those hypothesis are untrue. For one, even the most liberal scholars and even those whom I've deemed anti-Christ advocates, agree that there was certainly and without question  a Jesus of history, who's acts and actions were recorded within scripture. In addition, the extra-biblical record of Josephus, Tacitus, Lucien, Mara Bar-Serapion and the Talmud together provide strong evidence that not only did Jesus exist, but that he was crucified and died of crucifixion on the cross as the gospels recount. 

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New Atheism...Same Old Confusion

According to the Huffington Post Black Voices, not only have the Harrisburg, PA. American Atheists taken the time to spread utter lack of biblical understanding, but they did it in the most racially offensive manner possible.

This billboard which has since been torn down, was hoisted in PA's most racially diverse neighborhood, by them who believe in Charles Darwin's "Origin Of The Species by Means Of Natural Selection: The Preservation Of Favored Races In The struggle For Life." (Hear atheist Richard Dawkins invoke the name of God as he struggles to remember the title of what he calls the most import book ever written) 

Correction Of A Horrible Social Appeal

Supposedly this was done in protest to the PA, House's declaration that 2012 be the "Year Of The Bible". However it turned into a victimization of the neighborhood in a sense. American Atheist Harrisburg director, Ernest Perce V, said that he feels that if there are any victims, that he is one as well because he has received multiple death threats as a result of the billboard's short debut. (Ya Think Ernest???)

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Resurrection & The "Sign Of Jonah"

Matthew 12:38-40 ~ 38-Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39-But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40-For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The front facade Of Ossuary 6

"We are convinced that the best explanation for these unusual epigraphic features in the Talpiot 

“patio” tomb is its proximity to the Jesus family tomb less than 45 meters away. What we apparently

have is a family connected to the Jesus movement who reaches beyond the standard burial norms of the 

Jewish culture of the period to express itself individually in these unique ways."

Dr. James D. Tabor Professor University North Carolina, Charlotte

Replica of ossuary 6 on display at Discovery Time Square, NY.

Professor, and historian Dr. James D. Tabor, University Of North Caroline Charlotte, and a team of archaeologists discovered what is being hailed as the earliest extra-biblical evidence that there was a belief in a resurrection among the first century believers of Christianity consistent with the gospel teachings of the "sign of Jonah" referenced by Jesus in the narratives of the gospel writers. 

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Is The Nature Of God Created By Our Own Understanding?

In a Monday May 17th article in USA Today, Dr. James McGrath, the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair of New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. expounded on the cultural perception of the character and nature of God. Exploring the differences between Eastern and Western religion, Dr. McGrath suggests that evolving cultural perceptions of God may be the reason that Americans are split as to the character and nature of God or what God is like.

Within Society, Who Gets The Credit For Good & Evil?

Using the the hit series Lost,  Dr. McGrath expounds on the conflict between good and evil in Taoism and its concept of yin and yang, as as contrasted to Judeo Christian monotheism's concept of separate, purely good and purely evil sources. Dr. McGrath claims that the latter type of understanding may be the culprit for many of our changing attitudes about the source of good and evil. He says this:

"In Judaism and Christianity, monotheism raises issues on how to account for evil in the world. As evil comes increasingly to be blamed on subordinate malevolent figures such as the devil, we find actions that were once attributed to God later being attributed to Satan. In the Bible, for instance, compare 2 Samuel 24, where the Lord incites David to carry out a census, with the later 1 Chronicles 21, which says that Satan was responsible."

Truly speaking, the Judeo Christian concept of God, good and evil are decidedly different from Buddhism and it's sibling Taoism as we've discussed in The New Enlightenment Pt. 6. There we examined Tiger Woods and his reversion to Buddhism as his source of attempting to overcome evil. More in depth discussion on Yin and Yang and the problems of Buddhist understanding of good and evil is available in that post.

Is Scripture In Conflict?

According to Dr. McGrath our understanding of the nature of God is evolving and has evolved over the years even leaving some scriptural evidence as proof. The issue I would like to undertake in this post centers around the biblical difficulty that Dr. McGrath presented. There are 3 conflicts I would like to address:

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Does Eternal Really Mean Eternal In Hell? Pt. 2

This article is continued from Pt.1

Objection III: Hell wasn't created for men therefore men won't suffer or continue to suffer in it.

One of our regular readers holds that since hell was created for the devil and his angles, that the suffering of men in it will at best be limited because hell was not designed for men. This is a scripture used to support the assertion at times:

Matthew 25:41~"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the DEVIL AND his angels:"

Variation:

Some promoters of this argument also state that even if men do go to hell, the punishment of it is temporary in duration because hell was not made to house men. I call this the "temporary hell thesis" The temporary nature of hell will be dealt with in Objection IV listed below however, in this section,  I will deal with hell as an abode for anyone including rebelling angels.

Hell, The Abode Of The devil And Rebelling demons Or Unrepentant Men?

There are a number of things to say about this argument, but I believe that the assertion itself begs the question "If the suffering or better described torment of hell is somehow limited, and is not intended for men, why should men suffer in hell at all?" Was God somehow caught in an unready state or condition for unrepentant and sinful men? This is highly unlikely since Jesus was a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8). In other words if God made preparation for sin why would he not have made preparation for the judgement of man. As we'll see further in the article, annihilation is inconsistent with the judgement of God as revealed within scripture.

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Does Eternal Really Mean Eternal In Hell? Pt.1

There is a view espoused by many individuals within Christian circles who don't believe in the ongoing reality of hell neither it's eternal punishment. That view is called Annihilationism. Here is a working definition of this view:

Annihilationism ~"A Christian doctrine that sinners are destroyed rather than tormented forever in "hell" or the lake of fire. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists believe the wicked will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire before being annihilated, others that hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin."

Now, in my previous post, Does The Bible Teach A Literal Hell, we addressed the fact that hell is taught throughout the bible and that hell is a literal and not merely figurative place. In fact hell as is taught throughout scripture is a place of ongoing conscious reality and one of torment.

However under the annihilationist construct, there is an emotional appeal to a western sense of morality and guilt based righteousness. Hell either does not exist as a literal place or abode, or is a temporary place of punishment described with figurative terminology specifying extinction rather than an ongoing conscious reality of suffering. Scriptures such as Ecclesiastes 9:5,  Ecclesiastes 9:10, which are used to claim that there is no consciousness or pain beyond death and  Malachai 4:1,  and Mt. 10:28,  claiming that the destruction of the individual in hell is actually the extinction of the individual rather than eternal ongoing punishment.

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