Did Jesus Die on the Cross? Ahmadiyaa Muslims say “No! He just fainted.”
Founded in 1889, the Ahmadiyaa Movement is predominately Islamic in its beliefs with some variation. The mainstream Islamic community view the Ahmadiyaa as a breakaway sect and do not acknowledge it as a principle denomination such as sunni, shi’a, or sufism (To learn more about Islam please view my post “Islam and Christianity — Estranged siblings or polarized worldviews?”).
The Ahmadis agree with the majority of the six articles of faith in Islam however a significant variation comes in the adoption of its founder as a continuity of the prophet line. They directly contradict Islam’s traditional view of Muhammad as the final prophet by stating he was only the final law-giving prophet. The Ahmadis present their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as being a true prophet that several main religious prophecies foretold (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism). Oddly enough Mirza Ghulam Ahmad presents himself as the figurative summation of all major prophets which of course has resulted in negative responses by various Muslim governments around the world and disagreements with other worldviews as to the incorrect interpretation of their texts.
With this preliminary introduction to the Ahmadiyaa movement, I introduce the main focus of this post and that is to address a view commonly shared with main stream Islam that Jesus did not die on the cross. Mainstream Islam principally presents the Substitution Theory (claim: someone other than Jesus died on the cross) based on aya (verse) 4:157 in the Qur’an whereas the Ahmadiyya movement (and some mainstream Muslims)…
Islam and Christianity - Estranged siblings or polarized worldviews?
Key verse(s)/quote(s):
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” - Jude 1:3
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis
Key takeaway(s):
- Although some similarities exist (as some Muslims would like us to focus upon) between these two monotheistic faiths - Christianity and Islam are indeed polarized
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Today’s Religions: There is no neutral ground.
Key verse(s)/quote(s):
“There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan” - C.S. Lewis
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:9-10
Key takeaway(s):
- With such an array of beliefs how can all religions lead to the same point?
- Objective analysis of a religion is key and sincerity alone has never been and should never be a mark of authenticity
- All religions & cults seem to do one or more of the following…
- Strip the deity of Christ
- Bring God down to our level
- Lift us up to God’s level
- Focus on self and not God
- Negate God’s existence altogether
- Dismiss our sinful nature
Overview:
This topic requires a holistic evaluation of several fundamental questions. The 4 main areas that serve as a starting point for an introductory discussion on comparative world religions begins with:
- Why are there so many religions?
- Don’t all religions point to God?
- What makes Christianity unique from other religions?
- What does all this mean to you?
In order to objectively compare religions and understand what worldviews they present, one must read from their own texts. Each of the facts presented in this presentation will…
