Jalal Abualrub vs. James White

Rebuttal of Islamic Claims About Jesus’ Divinity

You remember my opponent, he said that Christians don't consider Jesus the father. Well, then he doesn't know about the last hour, because he's not divine. Oh, but he is in complete harmony with the Father.

Really? One of them died, and the Holy Ghost and God had no idea what's going on. One of them died. No, the one who died is an addition, not a subtraction. Come on, people. Allah decreed the same way.

Abraham gave it to his people. Did you ever see anything like this? We are angry here. I was insulted twice here. The terrible stuff my opponent said about Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, taking stuff out of context and using fabricated words.

And secondly, calling a son to God is the greatest offense to us Muslims. So don't think that you can come here and act angry, because we are angry. Because Allah doesn't have a son. He told you so. Jesus never said, I am Lord, I am divine, I am the God, the Creator.

Worship me as you worship God. The Holy Ghost is God. Adam didn't say, Abraham didn't say, Noah didn't say. They must have known another God, a new one, the one you know. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta 'ala to open your hearts and minds.

Jesus’ Words and the Charge of Misrepresentation

Because Jesus said it in so many ways that he is not God. You just want to stick it to him no matter what. Repeatedly stating your own personal beliefs in light of contrary evidence without providing any meaningful argumentation is the clearest definition of losing a debate.

A large amount of information has been presented this evening. And the attempted responses to the few passages that I actually covered, and there are many more that you can begin to get to, has been anything but compelling from a scholarly perspective.

My opponent came up and then misquoted 1 Corinthians 6 again. It doesn't say, but to us there is but one God, period. It says, but to us there is but one God, the Father, and then one Lord, Jesus Christ.

Is God not Lord? Is Lord not God? The term Lord used of Jesus there is the same term used of Galilee in the Old Testament. This is abusing the text of the New Testament in a way that I would hope, that because of my belief in my following Christ as he who is true, I would never do to the Quran.

I would never want to be able to abuse the text of the Quran the way that the Bible has been abused this evening. We had Galatians 4 .4 mentioned to us, but we only had a part of it, again, really presented to us, because it pointed out that when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.

Please notice one phrase, sent forth his Son, made of a woman. Exactly parallel to what we have in Isaiah 9 .6. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. Jesus is the divine Son from all eternity and he becomes truly man.

He does not cease being the law of us. He does not cease being the eternal word, but he takes on that human flesh. That is what is being referred to there again. I do not begin to understand why Islamic apologists choose to take a text from the Synoptic Gospels and talk about zombies.

Again, it just demonstrates that there seems to be no interest whatsoever in reading the New Testament in such a way that it is at all accurate or truthful. We are talking about people who clearly had died recently because they were recognized by people in the city who were resurrected and went back to their families.

What is wrong with this? Is this not just a demonstration of God's power in the dead? Don't you believe in the resurrection? Don't you believe God can do this? What is the basis upon which there is mockery of this taking place?

Manuscript Evidence and the Meaning of John 1:18

He talks about the Only Begotten Son reading in the King James Version. Well, there is a text from Ovarians in John 1 .18 if you would like to look at it. Magnes Theos is found in P66, P75, Sinaiticus, and Vaticanus.

And it is in the earliest manuscripts of the Greek New Testament that we have. And I would think that it would be important to at least, if you are going to address it, make sure that you are aware of those particular facts.

The Cross, Psalm 22, and the Alpha and Omega in Revelation

Jesus' prayer on the cross, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthanai, is a quotation from Psalm 22. Read the rest of the psalm. It is a messianic psalm proclaiming the ultimate victory of the Messiah after his period of suffering.

We have the text of Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, beginning, end, first, and last. I didn't quote Revelation 21, I quoted Revelation 22 .13. Go read it. The person speaking says, Behold, I am coming quickly.

Who might that be? In the book of Revelation. Then we have the good master text. As if Jesus was denying his own deity. There is no one good but God. The whole point was to show this man who he was dealing with.

Jesus wasn't saying, I am not God, I am some sinner. He was trying to reveal to this man who he was actually dealing with. And that would have helped the man to understand Jesus' interpretation of the law.

Christ’s Humility, Philippians 2, and the Debate Over Translations

He mentions, All authority has been given to me. This is true. Jesus Christ laid aside his heavenly prerogatives. That is what it says. He humbled himself. Tapasaphrune is the term in Philippians chapter 2.

He had humility of mind. He humbled himself. That means he voluntarily veiled his glory. And yes, he likewise voluntarily veiled that relationship. That would have given him divine knowledge of certain events.

For what purpose? So that he might be completely dependent upon the spirit of God. For his source and sustenance. And hence be the example to his people. If we just would allow all the New Testament to speak.

Rather than just picking out bits and pieces of it. He keeps quoting the King James verse in the Bible. I'm a critical consultant for the Watkins Foundation on the New American Standard Bible. I'm sorry I didn't bring one with me this evening.

But I'll send you one sir. So that you can start reading a translation that doesn't have these and vows in them. That will help a lot I think in debates. Because you can go a lot faster without trying to muddle through these and vows.

Scholarship, the Quran, and Consistent Standards

He says scholars dispute this and scholars dispute that. Well scholars dispute everything about the Quran too. At least in western countries. They're not really allowed in Korea to do that in other places.

But yes there are scholars who dispute things. So what? Are you saying that you agree with the Jesus seminar? This is one of the things that's been amazing to me in my encounters with Islamic apologists.

Is Islamic apologists will be willing to use scholarship against the New Testament. When that same scholarship thinks the Quran is ridiculous. Why are you quoting atheists and agnostics and people and liberals who don't believe in divine revelation.

When you believe in it? Shouldn't we be using consistent scholarship in these situations? If you have to use arguments that would refute your own position. May I suggest to you your arguments aren't very good.

That's what we are encountering this evening. He said that I couldn't prove a single word in the Old Testament that says otherwise that God is one. What did I start off with in defining the Trinity? Absolute monotheism.

Christians believe that God is one. In the same Semitic roots that you have. In Arabic when it says that God is one. We believe God is one. The question my friends. Is that a oneness of being and person?

Or is it a oneness of being and the divine revelation tells us not a oneness of person. That's the question between us this evening. And I honestly submit to you. That question has not even been touched by my opponent this evening.

As long as he refuses to at least allow us to define the doctrine of the Trinity. As I said in my opening statement. I've never seen. I have no reason to believe that Muhammad understood what the Trinity was.

I see no evidence in the Quran. In Surah 5, verses 116 to 117. Did you say worship me and my mother as God the derogation of Allah? Christians don't believe that. So who is he talking about? I don't know.

Certainly not the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. And if it is. Then the person who wrote the Quran was ignorant of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. And think about it for just one moment. Even.

Even if you reject the Trinity. Didn't Allah at least know what it was in 632? Most assuredly he did. Now. So much of the New Testament text has not even been touched this evening. We've been told. You know.

There's all these disputes. And we just. We don't know who wrote any of these things. As if an assumption that everything that you received was written by the people. We have chains of narration. The whole reason for collecting them at the time they were collected.

Was that they all had chains of narration. They were making them up. We left them claiming chains of narration. I can slap a chain of narration on anything. Does that make it true? Of course not. The fact of the matter is.

That when we look at the earliest writings outside the New Testament. What do they teach? They teach the Islamic Jesus who didn't die. Who didn't resurrect. Who was just a Rasul. All of the first century evidence.

All the evidence that comes in the first century of the death of Christ. Demonstrates not only that he gave his life on Calvary's cross. But that he rose from the dead. And that his followers proclaimed him to be divine.

Even the Quran says. That the true followers of Jesus be victorious until the day of judgment. What happened to them? How did they lose so easily to this Apostle Paul? The fact is they didn't. They were victorious.

Because the early Christians. Like Thomas confessed that Jesus Christ is my Lord and my God. And they recognized. That the confession of faith. Jesus is Lord. Rome demanded that you say Caesar is Lord.

The Christians wouldn't do that. And for 250 years they shed their blood. Because they believed Jesus was Lord.