Concept of god in Christianity

Concept of God in Christianity
New Testament
Jesus Christ Never Claimed Divinity
One may ask, if both Muslims and Christians love
and respect Jesus (pbuh), where exactly is the
parting of ways? The major difference between
Islam and Christianity is the Christians’ insistence
on the supposed divinity of Christ (pbuh). A study
of the Christian scriptures reveals that Jesus
(pbuh) never claimed divinity. In fact there is not a
single unequivocal statement in the entire Bible
where Jesus (pbuh) himself says, "I am God" or
where he says, "worship me". In fact the Bible
contains statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in
which he preached quite the contrary. The following
statements in the Bible are attributed to Jesus
Christ:
"My Father is greater than I." [The Bible, John
14:28]
"My Father is greater than all." [The Bible, John
10:29]
"…I cast out devils by the Spirit of God…." [The
Bible, Mathew 12:28]
"…I with the finger of God cast out devils…." [The
Bible, Luke 11:20]
"I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I
judge: and my judgement is just; because I seek
not my own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me." [The Bible, John 5:30]
The Mission of Jesus Christ (pbuh) – to Fulfill the
Law
Jesus (pbuh) never claimed divinity for himself. He
clearly announced the nature of his mission. Jesus
(pbuh) was sent by God to confirm the previous
Judaic law. This is clearly evident in the following
statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in the
Gospel of Mathew:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or
the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
"For I say unto you, That except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven." [The Bible, Mathew 5:17-20]
God Sent Jesus' (pbuh)
The Bible mentions the prophetic nature of Jesus
(pbuh) mission in the following verses:
"… and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the
Father’s which sent me." [The Bible, John 14:24]
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
has sent." [The Bible, John 17:3]
Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his
Divinity
Consider the following incident mentioned in the
Bible:
"And behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life?’
And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good?
There is none good but one, that is, God: but if
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’
"
[The Bible, Mathew 19:16-17]
Jesus (pbuh) did not say that to have the eternal
life of paradise, man should believe in him as
Almighty God or worship him as God, or believe
that Jesus (pbuh) would die for his sins. On the
contrary he said that the path to salvation was
through keeping the commandments. It is indeed
striking to note the difference between the words of
Jesus Christ (pbuh) and the Christian dogma of
salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus (pbuh).
Jesus (pbuh) of Nazareth – a Man Approved of
God
The following statement from the Bible supports the
Islamic belief that Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet of
God.
"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of
Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by
him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know." [The Bible, Acts 2:22]
The First Commandment is that God is One
The Bible does not support the Christian belief in
trinity at all. One of the scribes once asked Jesus
(pbuh) as to which was the first commandment of
all, to which Jesus (pbuh) merely repeated what
Moses (pbuh) had said earlier:
"Shama Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adonai Ikhad."
This is a Hebrew quotation, which means:
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one
Lord." [The Bible, Mark 12:29]
It is striking that the basic teachings of the Church
such as Trinity and vicarious atonement find no
mention in the Bible. In fact, various verses of the
Bible point to Jesus’ (pbuh) actual mission, which
was to fulfill the law revealed to Prophet Moses
(pbuh). Indeed Jesus (pbuh) rejected any
suggestions that attributed divinity to him, and
explained his miracles as the power of the One
True God.
Jesus (pbuh) thus reiterated the message of
monotheism that was given by all earlier prophets
of Almighty God.
NOTE: All quotations of the Bible are taken from
the King James Version.
Old Testament
God is One
The following verse from the book of Deuteronomy
contains an exhortation from Moses (pbuh):
"Shama Israelu Adonai Ila Hayno Adna Ikhad".
It is a Hebrew quotation which means:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord"
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 6:4]
Oneness of God in the Book of Isaiah
The following verses are from the Book of Isaiah:
"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no
saviour."
[The Bible, Isaiah 43:11]
"I am Lord, and there is none else, there is no God
besides me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 45:5]
"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and
there is none like me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 46:9]
Old Testament condemns idol worship
Old Testament condemns idol worship in the
following verses:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth:"
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God."
[The Bible, Exodus 20:3-5]
A similar message is repeated in the book of
Deuteronomy:
"Thou shalt have none other gods before me."
"Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or
that in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
beneath the earth."
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor
serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God."
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 5:7-9]