Choosing Faith
Rediscovering the commonalities between Islam and Christianity
Dr. David J. Liepert
Why I Am A Muslim
I read the Bible to find convincing evidence to confirm Christian doctrine so that I could
teach Muslims that they should become Christians. Instead, I found that the Bible does
not independently support a doctrine that claims that Jesus is God, in trinity or otherwise.
As well, I did not find support from Jesus or in the Old Testament for the doctrine that
Jesus died to take the penalty of our sins onto himself so that we could be forgiven by
God. Even the New Testament writers whose words could be construed in that way
became less clear with scrutiny. The Bible didn't say that God requires sacrifice. In fact,
it said: "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than
burnt offerings" in Hosea 6:6, and "Sacrifice and burnt offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced (or opened), burnt offering and sin offerings you did
not require. Then I said, 'Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the
scroll." in Psalm 40:6-7. It seems inconsistent to me now that Christianity should teach
that God is eternal and omnipotent, and yet claim that "He" cannot forgive sin without
sacrificial bloodshed.
What the Bible taught me was that Jesus was sent by God and born of a virgin by the
power of God to be the Messiah described in the Old Testament. He is identified as the
"Word of God" in both the Bible and the Quran. I believe that the Spirit which came to
him was the Spirit of Wisdom, and that this Spirit is the one which has always been with
the Prophets of God. This Spirit is spoken of as being distinct from God and His angels
in both the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran. I believe that Jesus had a special relationship
with the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by his miraculous acts (for which he generally denied
credit) and I think John, Peter and Paul thought so too, but I do not pretend to understand
what that relationship was. I also don’t think that this belief of mine is important,
because Jesus himself did not say much about it. The rest of the Holy Bible and the Holy
Quran say only that he was supported by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus taught faith in God, repentance and obedience. For his obedient followers, he
promised to intercede with God that they might receive the help of the Holy Spirit. I
think that this is also the Spirit of Wisdom. It is important to remember that according to
the Gospels, God is the One who decides who will receive this gift, not Jesus. Jesus was
condemned to death by crucifixion by Pontius Pilate and he went willingly to this fate,
submitting himself to God. Instead, God lifted him up to be with Him. When he returns,
Jesus will take his righteous followers to be with him in Heaven. Everything that
happened to Jesus was with God’s permission.
When I still believed that the Bible taught that Jesus was God Incarnate, I had always had
trouble understanding Jesus's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. There, Jesus asked
God to spare him from the next day's arrest, trial, torture and condemnation, saying:
"Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what
I will, but what you will." in Matthew 14:36. If Jesus had really been hinting
throughout his time on earth that he was divine, then I sometimes wondered why he made
a distinction between his will and God's? My non-christian friends also questioned
لماذا أنا مسلم
قرأت الكتاب المقدس للعثور على أدلة مقنعة لتأكيد العقيدة المسيحية كي أتمكن من تعليم المسلمين بأن عليهم أن يصبحوا مسيحيين. بدلا من ذلك ، وجدت أن الكتاب المقدس لا يدعم بشكل مستقل عقيدة تدعي أن يسوع هو الله ، أو جزء من الثالوث أو غير ذلك. كذلك ، لم أجد الدعم من السيد المسيح أو في العهد القديم عن المذهب القائل بأن يسوع مات ليكفر عن خطايانا بنفسه
. حتى كتاب العهد الجديد أصبح أقل وضوحا مع التمحيص.بخصوص هذه العقائد بل إن الكتاب المقدس يقول ان الله لا يطلب التضحية. أو الفداء في الواقع ،
قال : "لاني اريد رحمة لا ذبيحة ، والاعتراف بوجود الله وليس
محرقة "في هوشع 6:06 ، و" الفداء والمحرقة لا رغبة لي فيهما،
"في مزمور 40:6-7 ، ويبدو لي الآن أنه من الصعب الادعاء أن من تعاليم المسيحية
ان الله هو القاهر والأبدي ، وثم ندعي بأنه "هو" لا يمكن ان يغفر الخطيئة دون
سفك الدماء.
الكتاب المقدس علمني أن المسيح أرسله الله وولد من عذراء من قبل
قدرة الله هو
"كلمة الله" في الكتاب المقدس والقرآن على حد سواء. وأعتقد أن الروح التي وصلت اليه
روح الحكمة ، وهذه الروح هي التي كانت دائما مع
أنبياء الله. و هذه الروح متميزة عن الله وملائكته
. وأعتقد أن السيد المسيح كانت له علاقة خاصة
مع الروح القدس ، كما يتضح من معجزاته الخارقة واعتقد ان جون ،بطرس وبولس يعتقدون ذلك أيضا ،. كما أنني لا أعتقد أن هذا الاعتقاد من الأمور المهمة ،
لأن يسوع نفسه لم يقل الكثير عن ذلك. ما تبقى من الكتاب المقدس كما
يقول القرآن أن المسيح علم الإيمان بالله ، والتوبة والطاعة. لأتباعه ،
و أنه أي المسيح و أتباعه الصالحين سيكونون معه في الجنة بإذن الله.
عندما كنت لا أزال أعتقد أن الكتاب المقدس يعلم ان يسوع هو الله المتجسد ، كنت دائما أجد
مشكلة في فهم صلاة المسيح في الحديقة . هناك ، سأل يسوع
الله أن يجنبه من الاعتقال في اليوم التالي ، والمحاكمة ، والتعذيب ، والإدانة ، قائلا :
"يا أبا الآب ، كل شيء ممكن بالنسبة لك. ، ليس لي مشيئة
، ولكن ما شئت.أنت "في ماثيو 14:36 ، وإذا كان يسوع حقا الهيا
طوال وقته على الأرض ، فلماذا قام
بالتمييز بين إرادته وأرادة الله؟ أصدقائي غير المسيحيين يتساءلون أيضا.
