The Cross

The absurdity that the fate of Creation would be determined upon two pieces of wood and a single man nailed to them is a testament to the power of the paradox. The lesser side, the worldliness of The Cross, matching Christ's wholly human nature, a man who ate, slept, and cried. Wood from a tree inhabited with bugs, ripe with imperfections, truly symbolizing the world. The World which crucifies man daily with temptation. Upon it, a man who dying an agonizing death, a wholly material death. A death that resonates with every human being. On the greater side of the mystery, the God-Man resurrecting, the defeat of Materiality by the power of Spirit, the saving of Humanity. No longer a man nailed to wood, but God willingly dying, nailed to the world itself, so He may conquer it. Conquest, not by direct power, not with brimstone, but with Agony, Tears, Blood, and Sinlessness. The World revolves around this Truth, the Defeat of Death and Sin itself, the triumph of Good.

Muhammad's Immoral Teachings About Breastfeeding

I will list a collection of Hadiths from Sahih Muslim Book 008 which describe breastfeeding- 

3424 - ' A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Sahla bint Suhail came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be eupon him) and said: Messengerof Allah, I see on the face of Abu Hudhaifa (signs of disgust) on entering of Salim (who is an ally) into (our house), whereupon Allah's Apostle (Peace be upon him) said: Suckle him. She said: How can I suckle him as he is a grown-up man? Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) smiled and said: I already know that he is a young man 'Amr has made this addition in his narration that he participated in the Battle of Badr and in the narration of Ibn 'Umar (the words are): Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) laughed.

3425 - 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hadhaifa, lived with him and his family in their house. She (i. e. the daughter of Suhail came to Allah's Apostle (Peace be upon him) and said: Salim has attained (purbety) as men attain, and he understands what they understand, and he enters our house freely, I, however, perceive that something (rankles) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa, whereupon Allah's Apostle (Peace be upon him) said to her: Suckle him and you would become unlawful for him, and (the rankling) which Abu Hudhaifa feels in his heart will disappear. She returned and said: So I suckled him, and what (was there) in the heart of Abu Hudhaifa disappeared.

3427- Umm Salama said to 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her): A young boy who is at the threshold of puberty comes to you. I, however, do not like that he should come to me, whereupon 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) said: Don't you see in Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) a model for you? She also said: The wife of Abu Hudhaifa said: Messenger of Allah, Salim comes to me and now he is a (grown-up) person, and there is something that (rankles) in the mind of Abu Hudhaifa about him, whereupon Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: Suckle him (so that he may become your foster-child), and thus he may be able to come to you (freely).

3428- Zainab daughter of Abu Salama reported: I heard Umm Salama, the wife of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon himy, saying to 'A'isha: By Allah, I do not like to be seen by a young boy who has passed the period of fosterage, whereupon she ('A'isha) said: Why is it so? Sahla daughter of Suhail came to Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) and said: Allah's Messenger, I swear by Allah that I see in the face of Abu Hudhaifa (the signs of disgust) on account of entering of Salim (in the house), whereupon Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: Suckle him. She (Sahla bint Suhail) said: He has a heard. But he (again) said: Suckle him, and it would remove what is there (expression of disgust) on the face of Abu Hudhaifa. She said: (I did that) and, by Allah, I did not see (any sign of disgust) on the face of Abu Hadhaifa.

These are trustworthy Hadiths, from Sahih Muslim, so it would be illogical to doubt their authenticity. And because Muslims are told to imitate Muhammad, the messenger of Allah in all things, Muslims must take the stand that what Muhammad taught is morally right and virtuous.

It is obvious that this teaching is immoral and misguided but to play Devil’s Advocate, the only Islamic response I think that can be offered is that allowing a man to suckle a woman may counter his lust by forcing the man to see the woman as his mother and not a potential mate.

            There are obvious issues with this though, first, the intrinsic sexual nature of the act. Children do not possess such sexual interests so women’s breasts have no sexual appeal, but as we know, adult men are much different.

            Second, the issue with the nature of Muhammad’s message itself. Muhammad’s advice continuously is loaded with carnal responses to carnal desires. Instead of addressing the issue of lust directly, as a spiritual issue, Muhammad circumvents the issue with flawed advice. This is inherently inferior to Christ’s words in Mathew 5:28 “But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Which directly address the sin and advises against it, rather than offering an odd physical solution to spiritual problem.

            These hadiths are but another example of the immoral, illogical, and flawed teachings of Muhammad. 

- All Hadiths are from http://muflihun.com

The Problem with Islamic Abrogation (Naskh)

            For God to truly be omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, He must exist outside of time. God’s nature does not change, and His Will does not and cannot change because His Will is pure Goodness, Goodness itself.

God’s Will and Natural Law are not contingent on humanly affairs but God reveals Himself to humanity within time, because we are time contingent beings. Through this progressive revelation, the Old Testament laws were given to Humanity in preparation for Christ’s coming and the brining of a New Covenant. Here is a succession of verses which point to that –

Mathew 5:17-18

17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.

Luke 16:16

16 The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it.

Galatians 3: 24 – 29

24 Wherefore the law was our pedagogue in Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after the faith is come, we are no longer under a pedagogue.

26 For you are all the children of God by faith, in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you be Christ's, then are you the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

Romans 10:4

4 For the end of the law is Christ, unto justice to every one that believeth.

The Law then was but a preparation for Christ’s coming and ceased once Christ’s mission was accomplished.  A New Covenant would then be formed, this was foretold of multiple times in the Old Testament, for example -

Ezekiel 16:60

60 And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.

and Jeremiah 13: 31-34 -

31 Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:

32 Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt: the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over them, saith the Lord.

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

And the New Covenant is –

Luke 22:20

20 In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you.

Hebrews 13:20

20 And may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great pastor of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the blood of the everlasting testament

Why was this necessary? The Word becoming flesh needed to be prepared for, and all of Israel’s actions were simply preparation for God’s coming into the world as Christ.

            The Bible, which documents the truth of God’s revelation of Himself to Humanity is the inspired word of God within time, as God revealed Himself and all His attributes to us within time. All fits together perfectly as God progressively enlightens us in conformity with what we are prepared to hear.

            The shift from Old Covenant to New Covenant is fundamental to Christianity, and something Islam rejects, since it rejects both Christ’s deity and Christ’s sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. To Islam, Abraham’s covenant is identical to Muhammad’s.

            But we find the law changing in Islam too…

           

            Surah 15 Verse 101 –

 And when We substitute a verse in place of a verse – and Allah is most knowing of what He sends down – they say, “You [O Muhammad] are but an inventor [of lies].” But most of them do not know.

            Obviously some Arabs of the time were skeptical Muhammad’s claims that Allah commanded contrary things at different times and Muhammad needed some Damage Control. I would have been skeptical as well, as with no particular change of Allah’s Covenant and the revelation of Himself to Humanity, it seems illogical for God to be declaring different things permissible.

            Let’s see an example of Allah doing it –

            Surah 2 Verse 219 –

They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, “In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people.  But their sin is greater than their benefit.” And they ask you what they should spend. Say, “The excess [beyond needs].” Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought.

Which is abrogated by Surah 5 Verse 90 -

O you who believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful

            How does Allah rationalize this?

           

            Surah 2 Verse 106 –

We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you know that Allah is over all things competent?

            This verse has profound theological repercussions, because it does not mention the necessity of fulfillment for Allah’s past law, but for Allah to will a different law. By setting this precedent, Allah is no longer bound by his past statements, which makes His Will fluid.

            This surely demonstrates a logical error in the Islamic conception of God, because a God with a fluid Will is a God without a Will identical with His Unchanging Omnibenevolence, Absolute Goodness; it implies a changing Goodness, a contingent Goodness. A Contingency not determined by God’s relationship with Humanity, but Humans relationship with other Humans (as there was no change in Covenant). If Allah’s Will is fluid, Goodness is fluid. And if Goodness is fluid, then what is Good is not an inherent principle within and transcending creation, but a separate decree from God’s Will.

            It is surely a logical contradiction for an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God to not have a stable Will.

            “But wait, doesn’t the Christian God change His Will too?”

No. Because the Christian God made clear that the Old Covenant laws were temporary and meant to be fulfilled and another Covenant be made. Within the concept of a ‘law meant to be temporary and fulfilled’ there exists the logical permissibility (in accordance with God’s nature of being Truth itself and Truth being Logic in action) for the law to be finished and replaced. Allah never gives Himself such logical permissibility because first, He never clarifies the temporary nature of His past law, and second, Allah forgets past laws and offers better ones but never fulfills His past ones.

            The Christian God stays true to His Word, He gives gave the Old Testament Law in order for it to be fulfilled, and He made the nature of that Law clear as well as the New Eternal Covenant through Jesus Christ. Allah, on the contrary, changes His law and therefore His Will, by not foretelling its temporary nature.

            Such change in Allah’s Will breaks the unison of Being, Will, and Goodness that God must have in order to possess Divine Simplicity and Perfection. The Islamic God is an imperfect and flawed God.

The Quran's Inconsistencies and Its Self Refutation regarding the Gospel

            Christian Apologetical arguments against Islam seem much rarer than the arguments addressed towards Atheists, Eliminative Materialists, and Skeptics in general. I’ve always felt a particular pull towards Islam, probably due to it being less compromising towards the principles of Modernism and more willing to stand firm. Nevertheless, I have spent a good amount of time studying it, and through my studies I found numerous flaws within it. These flaws are not just moral, but found within the Quran itself, contradictory statements proving it surely is not the word of God.

To begin, we find that the Quran states Allah is Abraham’s God, the same God of the Torah and the Gospel. As stated in Surah 3 Verses 3-4 -

 Verse 3 – “He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel” Continued in Verse 4 – “Before, as guidance for the people. And He revealed the Criterion [i.e., the Quran].

And in Surah 29 Verse 46 –

Verse 46 -  “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.

From this, it follows that Muhammad’s God must be identical with the God of those who follow the Torah and the Gospel, and Muhammad must be successor of the Prophets who came before him, which is stated in Surah 7 Verse 157 -  

Verse 157 - “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written [i.e., mentioned] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel”

Besides the fact that Muhammad is never mentioned in the Gospel, and what Muslims typically claim refers to his coming actually refers to the Holy Spirit, the issue is with a few other Quranic verses. First is Surah 18 Verse 27 -

Verse 27 -  “And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge.”

This verse states that Allah’s words cannot be changed, yet as mentioned above in Surah 3 Verses 3-4, Allah also revealed the Torah and the Gospel, so how were they corrupted, as it states no one can change Allah’s words.

           

Muslims can attempt to dismiss this through claiming ‘His words’ in this verse refer to the Quran itself but it does not state that Allah’s Book cannot be corrupted, but Allah’s words. And even if we allow such a statement, it does not help the Muslim cause. For it no one can alter Allah’s book, then Allah himself altered his previous books (the Torah and the Gospel)! Allah himself would be the deceiver, leading people to Shirk, Idolatry.

We can already see the Quran contradict itself by saying the Torah and the Gospel are Allah’s words but now are corrupted and that we only have partially true scriptures (Surah 7 Verse 157). But it gets worse. The Muslim rebuttal is that the modern Gospel has bits of truth in it from the Injil, the Gospel which Allah supposedly revealed to Jesus. And that this Gospel that the Quran refers to is different from one we have today.

First, this is contradicted because no such Gospel has ever been discovered. The same Gospel Muhammad had during his time alive is the same Gospel of today! And even if there was a different Gospel, an unaltered Gospel at that time, it would be illogical for Muhammad or the Quran not clarify that a vast superiority of the other Gospels in circulation were fakes.  Even worse, Allah declares in Surah 10 Verse 94 –

Verse 94 -  “So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scriptures before you”

Why would Allah tell Muhammad to ask followers of the Gospel and Torah if he doubted he was a Prophet? It would imply that those Scriptures are true if Muhammad’s Prophet status is true. Even further Surah 5 Verse 46-47 -

Verse 46 -  “And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, son of Mary, confirming what which came before him in the Torah and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous”

Verse 47 – “And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein”

And in Surah 5 Verse 68 – “” Say, “O People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.””

The Quran says we stand on nothing until we uphold our own books and we are to judge by what Allah has revealed to us in our own book. Why would we judge the Quran on a flawed Gospel as mentioned in Surah 7 Verse 157? Is Allah telling us to judge with a false book? If the book isn't false, then why does the Quran  contradict and attempt to disprove it? And if we are to judge by it, it has authority over the Quran, but then how did it become corrupted if Allah's words cannot be corrupted? Let's see how the Gospel contradicts the Quran-

           

John 1-1 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”

Which contradicts Tawhid.

Mathew 28:19 – “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Mathew 11:27 -  All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him.”

Both contradict -

Surah 4 Verse 171 – “O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a  command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say “Three”; desist- it is better for you. Indeed,  Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above a son.”

This Quranic verse contradicts both Christ’s nature as God and second person of the Trinity and the fact that Jesus was the Father’s son. The Quran even states Christ was never even crucified in Surah 4 Verses 157-158 -

Verse 157 -  “And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain”

Verse 158 – “Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise”

This is obviously false by Gospel standards, let alone it makes no sense why Allah would allow for all of Jesus’s followers to be deceived into believing he was crucified while Allah actually raised him up. It would make more sense for Allah to allow the disciples to see such a glorious event, rather than to trick them. All of these biblical verses along with others contradict the Quranic verse -  

Mark 15: 25 “ And it was the third hour, and they crucified him”

Mark 15:37 “And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost”(died after Crucifixion)

Luke 24:6-7 6 - “He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee, 7- Saying: The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again”

Through this the Quran obviously disproves itself. Because if the Quran states that the Gospel is true, the Quran must be false because it contradicts the Gospel. But if the Gospel is false, then the Quran is also false, as the Quran asserts the validity and truth of the Gospel. And since there exists no other Gospel but one Gospel, the Bible, Islam is false. The Quran is self-refuting.

                        All Quranic translations are from The Saheeh International Version