Trinity: Typical Muslim Attacks on Jesus as a man and God +

As soon as the conversation turns to "Jesus is God", you can expect a flood of questions that can catch unprepared Christians off-guard.

1)
Muslims believe that it is undignified for God to become a man.   This set of questions may be  asked graphically or euphemistically to various degrees:

Q: Is it is befitting that God should take on human characteristics
Q: Does your god use bathroom?
Q: Was your god born from the private parts of a woman?

A: Yes, absolutely, all the above and more!

The extreme measures God took to save humanity from sin shows God's love for us, and shows how big or problem with sin is.
Jesus fully took part in the human condition.
Jesus paid a big price to redeem us for sin.
God did not just ignore our sin and pretend it did not happen.
Our salvation was expensive!  There is a penalty for sin that must be paid.

[We] were bought with a price.
--1 Cor 6:20

The Word became flesh
and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory,
the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
--John 1:14

[Jesus] was tempted in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
--Hebrews 4:15

2)
Q:Can God die? Did your god die?
Q: Jesus died, therefore he cannot be God.

A:Jesus died, but that does not mean he stopped existing.    "Death" means he was separated from his body. Jesus still kept on ministering after his resurrection.

3)
Q: Could you become God?
A: No, I am a human being.
Q: Was Jesus a human being?
A: Yes.
Q: Then how could Jesus be God?

With God all things are possible.
--Matt 19:26
Our God is able take on human form and live with us as a man.


4)
Q: Do you believe Jesus was God or that he was sent by God?
A: Both.
Q: Why is God is all-knowing, by definition, but Jesus was not?  For example:
Concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father.
 --Mark 13:32
A: Jesus is not all-knowing because:
he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
--Phil 2:7

5)
Q: God does what he wants, Jesus did not.  For example:
I can do nothing on My own. I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
--John 5:30

A: Jesus did God's will:
being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
--Phil 2:8

6)
Q: Jesus prayed to God. why should God pray?
A: Jesus prayed because he became human like us.

All these show the Muslims' initial definition of God needs to be revised.
When God reveals himself for how he is, Muslims complain that God does not meet their preconceptions of what God should be like.

Is there Compulsion In Christianity?

No, there is no compulsion in Christianity.  It is fundamentally contrary to Christianity in many ways.

The Bible has this very definitive verse:

God is love.
-- 1 John 4:8

Love is also the greatest commandment in Christianity:

 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all 
your soul, 
and with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 
The second is like this, 
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
--Mark 12:30-31

Is it possible to force (or use compulsion) to love you?  No, absolutely not!  That is not love.

Love is contrary to compulsion.  It is impossible to force someone to love you, and if love is out of incentive, then is it out of true love?

What is God seeking then?

“But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
--John 4:23

To worship in spirit and in truth is the opposite of compulsion.

Therefore Christianity generally does not have prescribed rituals:

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
-- 2 Cor 3:17

Love is a very individual response and cannot be confined to ceremonial actions.
That is the opposite of that fake forced worship that Muslims do.

Question for Muslims:
Is there compulsion in Islam?  Are Muslims free to convert to Christianity in majority-Muslim countries without fear of harm?

What does "Mohamed" mean? --

"Mohammed" means "Praised one"--referring to the prophet himself.

All the Old Testament prophets have a name that describes an attribute of God.  For example, Joshua means God (or Yahweh) saves.

Did any of the the prophets in the Bible have names that brought glory to themselves?  I don't know of any.

[All this copied to another article. ]

Why don't Christians take their shoes off when entering Church?

Muslims point out they take off their shoes like Moses did in the presence of God.

This reminds me of what Jesus said of the Pharisees:

Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.
--Luke 11:39

True Christianity emphasizes an inward spirituality, not an outward show.

Some Muslims say that Jesus was acting like a Muslim when he says: “Peace be unto you”, when he appeared to his disciples them after his resurrection (John 20:19)

Actually, it is the other way around. When Muslims greet each other they are acting like Jesus in a superficial way.

If Jesus is God, then why does he say "The Father is greater than I"?

Muslims often point out that Jesus is not God because he said, "The Father is greater than I".
To them this is proof that Jesus is not divine.

You have heard Me tell you, 
‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ 
If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
--John 14:28

And yet one wonders why Jesus had to point this out.  I know that I have never felt the need to clarify on this point.

If this means that Jesus was only a human prophet then what does it mean three chapter later Jesus prays:

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
--John 17:5

This says that Jesus had glory along side the Father in eternity.  How can this be?

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
--Philippians 2:4-11

Most scholars agree that Paul is quoting an early Christian hymn in this passage.

Here is a video that answers this by Sam Shamun:
https://youtu.be/VzBesvLK5bE

John the Baptist: A fore-runner of Christian Martyrs under the Anti-Christ

In the Bible, John the Baptist was beheaded for speaking out against sin.  He is the only person mentioned by name who is beheaded in the New Testament.

Interestingly the martyrs in the book of Revelations are specifically called out as being beheaded under the Anti-Christ.

Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.
--Revelations 20:4

Beheading is one of Islam's sanctioned ways of executing people.

It is ironic (as well as prophetic) that they respect John the Baptist as one of the prophets, and yet prefer the same style of execution that he suffered.

Why Does Islam not have Female Imams?

Why do women become Muslim when they don't have female Imams?

If a female Muslim is called a Muslima, then what would a female Imam be called?
An Imama?  Pronounced "e-MAMA"?

Seriously now.  The Bible documents many women in ministry including female prophets.  A small sample are found on my page here:

http://simpleargumentsversusislam.blogspot.com/2013/10/holy-books-named-after-women.html