We have no dilemmas except that which unbelievers foist upon us. Mr Deedat will have already answered before God for his arrogant dishonest handling of scriptures. However, it is sad that he never met any Christian that could not answer his point to his satisfaction. Maybe he did.. But chose not to listen because really I find it hard to see where he could not find any.. As most Bible study students could answer these points raised.

shall we go through point by point? John verses 22:39... We'll go further past verse 30 so you get the full picture.

22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade.
24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus was on his way to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Dedication. A crowd gathered around him and asked if he was the Christ. At this point, we do not know if the crowd was friendly or hostile. As many Jews were hostile towards Jesus at the start of his ministry.


25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

It is now clear that the crowd was in fact hostile towards Him since Jesus accused them of disbelief.


28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.


Giving eternal life is something that only God can give, therefore, Jesus implied that he and God are one. The Jewish crowd which heard these words knew exactly what Jesus was saying and many believed that Jesus had committed blasphemy.


29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.


God, in this verse, is greater than all who could attempt to take the followers of Jesus from him.


30 "I and the Father are one."


Jesus said this, not his enemies! They are His words and the crowd understood the context and meaning of this claim Jesus made.


31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,


32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."


Now the enemies of Jesus directly accused him of claiming to be God. How did Jesus respond? If these accusations were false, Jesus would have refuted them as he refuted all of the false accusations made against him. Jesus made no attempt to refute this accusation.


34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods'?
35 If he called them `gods,' to whom the word of God came - and the Scripture cannot be broken - "


Jesus's answer is that it is not blasphemy based on the Law .. Mr Deedat was correct here Jesus was quoting from Psalms..as he used scripture in His teachings..(Psalm 82) to call certain people 'gods', and it is definitely not blasphemy if applied to Jesus since Jesus was more worthy to be called 'god' than any of the others in Psalm 82. In other words, it was not blasphemous for Jesus to claim divinity because he was, in fact, divine.


36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, `I am God's Son'?


Jesus clearly acknowledged that he did say that he was God's Son. This was not a statement fabricated by his enemies, Jesus clearly said it and asked them why it was blasphemous for him to claim this title.


37 "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.
38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.


Jesus proceeds to show his opponents that he did deserve the title, by describing himself as "the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world", "God's Son", and by saying "the Father is in me, and I in the Father". Once again, the mob knew what Jesus said and they attempted to kill him for saying it.

I can can understand the desperation of apologists like Mr Deedat, who make it their life work to discredit the word of God... However Gods word cannot be discredited because it is the truth.. And the truth can not be gain said. It will stand the test of time and nothing mankind can do to change that. When speaking of the Bible and talking of context then the Bible has to be judged within its own context, you need to see who which book was meant for and understand the circumstances historical and otherwise. You can't apply your own rules of context and expect it to make sense. The Bible can only be judged by the Bible it cannot be judged by the Quran. They are very different works. I may get back to the other verses later if you wish. Articles such as this have no use in Dawah because any Christian who is part of the living Gospel that is Jesus will be able to see it has more holes than a Swiss cheese.

Peace.