God's providence gave us the 27 book New Testament Canon, not the church. God, not men decided the canon. This providence does not mean that church leaders were inspired in their selecting the canon, only that God had his eye on the scriptures the whole time and brought about His will to form the Bible we see today!
(5-Minute Read). The Qur'an is the Holy Scripture of the Muslim People with a vast influence communicating a quality of Allah (sifa) expressing His will. The Prophet Muhammad is said to be the sole guide through whom Allah delivered this holy book via the angel Jibreel (جبريل "Gabriel"). Christians should note that this book supersedes the Christian Scriptures in the estimation of every Muslim, and is the “furqān” (الفرقان, "The Criterion") to these people. To [...]
(2 Minute Read) THE JEWISH SHEMA & MUSLIM SHAHADA: 1. TORAH: LAW OF MOSES & THE SHEMA “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) The primary teaching is contained in Deuteronomy 6:4. The emphasis of the Shema is the Oneness of God. This verse establishes that the Jewish faith [...]
(2-minute read). There are about 25 apostles explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. They are in 4 groups. 1) APOSTLE OF GOD Jesus Christ, the Apostle and high priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1). 2) APOSTLES OF JESUS (Called the 12) The twelve apostles stand apart from the rest of the apostles since they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel: And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have [...]
(2 Minute Read). Biblical Scholar Bart D. Ehrman describes the Gospel of Matthew as; “one of the most highly treasured accounts of Jesus' life among the early Christians. This may explain why it was given pride of place as the first Gospel in the New Testament canon.”[1] Central to all the Gospels is the recorded life and memories of Jesus as the coming Jewish Messiah (Matthew), the Saviour of the World (Luke), Son of God [...]
(5-minute read) Is there still something called sin? Norman Geisler in his preface on his book Ethics laments that; “Someone has said that we live in a strange world where the relativity of Einstein is considered absolute, and the absolutes of the Bible are considered relative.”[1] Everybody remembers the famous book written by Dr. Karl Menninger, “Whatever became of Sin,” in the early ’70s where he asks this very question: “The very word’ sin,’ which [...]
(15-minute read). There are 36 references to Jesus in the Quran, compared with 69 for Abraham and 136 for Moses. The references to Jesus can be grouped under six main headings: Christ’s Birth; Christ’s Mission; Christ’s Miracles; Christ’s identity; Christ’s Prophethood; Christ’s future predictions. Because we are pressed for time, we will look at: Christ’s Virgin Birth. Christ’s exclusive sinlessness and then; Christ’s titles: Messiah/ Son of God/ Word of God. I have left the Prophethood [...]
(5minute read). In the last few weeks, I have tried to show that Dr. Sayyed's objections to the authenticity of the Bible is not sincere and lacks any objectivity. Dr. Sayyed is merely trying to embarrass and twist the Biblical stories to fit his motives. He picks up the story of David at his old age and writes: "David sleeping with a girl to warm him (1 Kings 1:1-4).Is this doctrine? It cannot be a [...]
The person of Jesus Christ has a very central role in both Christianity and in Islam. Houlden (2005:404) writes that in Islam Jesus is a servant (‘abd) of God, a prophet (nabi), a sign (aya), an example (mathal), a witness (shahid), and a mercy (rahma) to all humanity. Jesus is eminent (wajih) and even brought near to God (min al-muqarrabin) and seen as one of the upright (min al-salihin) and he is blessed (Mubarak). The [...]
(3minute read) In this article, I would like to share a short synopsis on the First Chapter of John with a specific emphasis on verse 1 and 18. I believe that a concise reading of these passages will allow for us to see the clear intent of John the Beloved Disciple and his indication that Jesus was the expected fulfilled promise of the Messiah to come and the Lord ascended to His throne. John clearly [...]
