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/ CONGRUITIES AND INCONGRUITIES
BETWEEN
THE BIBLE AND THE QUR’AN
(TEVRAT, ZEBUR, İNCİL VE KUR'ÂN'DAN GÖZLEMLER)
MESUT KAYNAK
www.kurandasevgi.gen.tr
E-mail:
Translated from Turkish by
Ender Gürol /

CONTENTS

PART ONE

( HISTORY OF RELIGIONS )

FOREWORD

JESUS CHRIST

WAS St. PAUL THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY?

THE NEW TESTAMENT

JESUS CHRIST AND DIVINENESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

CHRISTIANITY FROM THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA UNTIL PRESENT

JEWISH HISTORY

ABRAHAM

MOSES

TORAH (THE OLD TESTAMENT)

DAVID AND PSALMS

MUHAMMAD

THE HOLY QUR'AN

JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE QUR’AN

PART TWO

( CONGRUITY OF THE BOOKS )

IS JESUS CHRIST GOD?

THE HOLY SPIRIT – GABRIEL

TRINITY

HAS JESUS RESURRECTED?

WILL THERE BE A SECOND COMING?

SERVING GOD

DREAD OF GOD

CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM

WAR

ANGELS, SATAN AND JINNS

WOMAN

LOVE FOR HUMAN BEINGS

LOVE OF GOD

FORGIVENESS OF SINS

SALVATION

THE NEXT WORLD

LETTERS FROM UNIVERSITIES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FOREWORD

Our projected membership to the European Union has increased the importance of the mutual enlightenment of communities on the congruities and incongruities between monotheistic religions. Their conveyance to the attention of the communities is of crucial importance as this may lead to the opening of new horizons in intercommunal relations.

A close study of the revealed books indicates that, except for minor variations in details, the gaps are far from being unbridgeable. If all the books and the pages revealed to the prophets were to be compiled in one single volume, we would have just one thick book in our hands. Had He so wished, the Creator would have sent down a single book in which He would have laid down all His will. He chose to draw different paths for different communities desiring to see how every one of them would contribute to the development of human potentialities. At the basis of this grandiose conception lay love; love for one’s neighbor, whose ultimate objective being the establishment and integration of a peaceful universe on earth.

Every subject-matter in the present book has been taken up individually to be concluded by a summary. The reason of the relative conciseness of certain issues was due to the scarcity of data available.

It is to be noted that impartiality and objectivity have been the author’s cardinal principle in the composition of the present book.

I pray that God Almighty allows that this slim volume contribute to the better understanding of the communities and nations.

Translated from Turkish by Ender Gürol.

Mesut KAYNAK

April 2007


PART ONE

( HISTORY OF RELIGIONS )

JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ, father of the Christians, credited with a miraculous conception, was born in circa 6-4 B.C. without a father. His advent was universally acknowledged as a turning point in history. The Western world adopted his birth that marked the beginning of the solar calendar.

Both in the Gospels and in the Qur’an, he is referred to as the Messiah (The Anointed One), as well as Logos (The Word of God). His ancestry is traced back to Isaac, son of Abraham. His mother Mary is believed to have descended from an old-established family; namely the family of Amram. Jesus Christ had become a prophet very early in life and his prophethood lasted five years. Jesus, when he began his ministry was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph (Luke 3/23). According to certain scholars, he never married; and to others, he married Mary of Magdala, who bore him a son. Jesus transmitted all the revelations he received from above by word of mouth. None of his prophetic inspirations was taken down. His departure from this world took place circa 30-33 A.D..

The life of Jesus Christ has been summarized under seven headings:

The birth of Jesus Christ

The childhood of Jesus Christ

The mission of Jesus Christ

The ministry of Jesus Christ

The miracles of Jesus Christ

The adversity of Jewish Rabbis

The death of Jesus Christ

THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

Gospel according to St. LUKE

The birth of Jesus Christ was a divine miracle. He was born in Bethlehem, in the proximity of Jerusalem, without a father. Here is the account given by Luke about His birth. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God… For with God nothing is impossible.( Luke 26-37)

The expression Son of God denoted that he was not a biologically conceived child. It connoted the state of being close to Him; of having deserved His compassion and mercy. The same concept can be observed in the Old Testament and in the Psalms.

The birth of Jesus according to the Qur’an is told in the Surah 17, Mary:

So she screened herself from them. Then we sent to her Our spirit and it appeared to her as a well-made man. She said: I flee for refuge from thee to the Beneficent, if thou art one guarding against evil He said: I am only bearer of a message of thy Lord: that I will give thee a pure boy. She said: How can I have a son and no mortal has yet touched me, not have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord says: It is easy to Me; and that we may make him a sign to men and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed. Then she conceived him; and withdrew with him to a remote place. (Surah 17/22)

As can be seen, the birth of Jesus is described in the gospels and in the Qur’an, both using almost the same expressions. Nevertheless, the Christians elevated him to the rank of God (325 A.D.), made him homoiousian, according to which God the Father and God the Son were like but not identical substance. The Holy Qur’an explicitly denies this and declares that Jesus had been created, just like Adam, upon God’s decree: “Be!” It beseems not Allah that he should take to Himself a son. Glory be to him! when he decrees a matter. He only says to it, Be, and it is. (Surah 19/35) The creation of Jesus was similar to Adam’s. The likeness of Jesus with Allah is truly as the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him Be, and he was. (Surah 3/59). The Supreme Creator had thus created Adam from dust and instilled spirit into him. According to the Qur’an, Jesus was created without the involvement of a father, just like in the creation of Adam. So that he was not the son of God Almighty, but his servant and prophet.

THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

We encounter information about Jesus’s childhood days only in the Gospel according to St. Luke; according to which he had been circumcised as a baby. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2/21) As one can see, Jesus, like every other Jewish boy, was circumcised as a baby; this was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Mary after having given birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, proceeded in the company of Joseph on to Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 2/39) He came to be known as Jesus of Nazareth, and his followers were named the Nazarenes.

Following the birth of Jesus, Mary married Joseph who was a carpenter. This marriage gave Jesus four brothers and sisters. Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? (Mathew 13/55).

James (Jacob), junior brother of Jesus, carried on the mission of his brother and was made head of the Church at Jerusalem for over thirty years following the Resurrection. He was referred to as a Nazarite, which meant a person who put himself completely at the disposal of God; he was known to be an honest and upright leader who closely followed the doctrine of Jesus Messiah. Of the 27 books of which the New Testament is made the 20th is entitled The Letter of James.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth along with his brethren; he was praised and loved by his entourage. When he was 12 years old, he was initiated into manhood. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2/41-52)

THE MISSION OF JESUS

Jesus was sent to carry out two main missions according to the New Testament. While the Gospel according to John and Paul the Apostle elevated Jesus Christ to the rank of God, the synoptic gospels give in detail the mission of Jesus the Prophet. The Qur’an opts for the second alternative.

According to Apostles St. Paul and St. John

Paul, in his letters, preached a doctrine which is nowhere to be found in the other gospels. According to him, Jesus had come as a savior to deliver mankind from the original sin. His blood was the price for atonement. This belief has been one of the mainstays of Christianity. Adam, the first man and prophet had eaten of the forbidden fruit and disobeyed God’s commandment; this insubordination, this hereditary sin or defect held in Christian theology and transmitted from one generation to the next was inherited by each person as a consequence of the original sinful choice made by the first man of the human race. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. (Romans 5-12)

Because he loved humanity, God conceived a way to enable men to expiate their sin. He was to send his Son to the world who would sacrifice himself; and his immolation would be the price for the delivery of humanity from their original sin. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8-3) Only those who would follow the path of Christ would henceforth be freed from their sins and deserve the everlasting life. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6-22)

In the Gospel according to St.John, the raison d’être of Jesus is described as humanity’s endowment with everlasting life. … I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10/10) The believers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will thus be crowned with everlasting life. …. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live and everyone who lives and believes in me “shall never die… (John 25/26).

The letters of Paul and the Gospel according to St.John declare that God sent his own Son to deliver men from sin and death.

According to the synoptic gospels