a christian response to mohamed ghounem - by sam shamoun

8/6/2019 A Christian Response to Mohamed Ghounem - By Sam Shamoun

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A Christian Response To:

Mohamed Ghounem's

The Gospel of John

Sam Shamoun

Ghounem:

As a Muslim, we believe in the Gospel of Jesus, Jesus lived on this earth for overthirty years and Muslims believe in every word he preached.

Response:

Actually, Ghounem does not believe in the Gospel of the historical Jesus who is the Christ of biblical faith. Rather, he believes in the Gospel of Jesus according to Muhammad, which isanother Gospel and hence a false Gospel.

Ghounem:

Although when Jesus left the earth, if a person waited a year and than tried to recallwhat events or words were spoken, it would be difficult, furthermore, it would beeven more difficult to record with accuracy what events really happened if it waswritten 5 or 10 years after the events took place.

Response:

We are amazed that Ghounem would even question the ability of Jesus' followers toaccurately memorize and recall their beloved Master's words seeing that this is how hebelieves that the Quran was preserved, namely through memorization! Hence, if Jesus'followers could not accurately recall their Master's words what makes Ghounem think thatMuhammad's followers could?

Secondly, we believe that the disciples were inspired by God, and thus were empowered bythe Holy Spirit to accurately recall the words of Jesus:

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, willteach you all things AND WILL REMIND YOU OF EVERYTHING I HAVESAID TO YOU ." John 14:26

Ghounem:

Now the four canonized Gospels we have with us today (Matthew, Luke, Mark, andJohn) are estimated to have been written 60 to 200 years after Jesus departed theearth, out of these four Gospels, the Gospel of John was writen the very last one, all of the Gospels were writen before the Gospel of John which leaves the Gospel of Johnwith a greater burden than the others to accurately recall the specific events that took place.

http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/contact.htm





Response:

First, no modern biblical scholar that we know of dates the writings of the four canonicalGospels between 60 to 200 years after Jesus departed from the earth. The consensus of biblical scholarship date the Synoptic Gospels anywhere from the years 60-90 AD. with most

scholars agreeing that John's Gospel was written no later than AD. 90-100.

In fact, one Muslim apologist is well aware of these dates and even encourages Muslims tohighlight this point when debating with Christians:

Selected New Testament Chronology based on the

Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible

30 A.D. Jesus crucified

33 Paul converted

50-60 Paul's undisputed writings

60 1 Peter written if Peter wrote it

75 Mark written

85 Matthew written

90 Luke & Acts written

95-150 Rest of New Testament written

This may be printed on a transparency for overhead projection and use in a publiclecture. (see the following link . )

Despite the fact that we clearly disagree with some of these dates, especially the assertion thatsome books of the NT were written around AD. 150, this outline refutes Ghounem's pointabove.

Finally, Ghounem is seemingly unaware that his argument on the Gospels' late datingbackfires on him. This is due to the fact that the Quran was compiled in its present form onlyin the late seventh century (if that!), nearly 700 years after the birth of Christ! Hence, forGhounem to try and reject the Gospels because of their alleged late composition means thathe must also toss out the Quran which came over 600 years after Christ's ascension.

Ghounem:

Here is a list which does not intend to attack the Bible of God, but rather shows whyGod sent a more authentic Scripture, the Holy Qur'an.

http://www.members.home.net/shabirally/id154.htm






This list below shows how humans were headed in a direction of adding to Scriptureand adding to the status of Jesus which did not appear in such magnitude in previousGospels.

Here we now see the differences between the later writen Gospel of John mostly

compared to the earlier written Gospels;

2KI 2:11 Elijah went up to heaven.

JN 3:13 Only the Son of Man (Jesus) has ever ascended to heaven.

Response:

Let us read the context and see what Jesus actually meant:

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewishruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, 'Rabbi, we know you are a teacherwho has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you aredoing if God were not with him.' In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no onecan see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.' 'How can a man be born when heis old?" Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother'swomb to be born!' Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdomof God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but theSpirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must beborn again." The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannottell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.''How can this be?' Nicodemus asked. 'You are Israel's teacher', said Jesus, 'and doyou not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know,and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept ourtestimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; howthen will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone intoheaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man. '" John 3:1-13

We see that Jesus' whole point is that no man has ever ascended into heaven and came back down with the revelation of the glorious mysteries of the kingdom. Christ is the only personwho came down from heaven in order to reveal God's glorious and mysterious riches andmanifold wisdom. This is something neither Elijah nor Enoch did since neither of them came

back down from heaven after ascending.

Ghounem:

IS 44:24 God created heaven and earth alone.

JN 1:1-3 Jesus took part in creation

Response:

This is perhaps the weirdest objection that Ghounem presents. When these passages are takentogether it serves to affirm the whole point Christians have been trying to make to Muslims,namely that Jesus is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Furthermore, although Isaiah



clearly teaches that Yahweh alone created the heavens and the earth, the OT also teaches thatYahweh used both his eternal Wisdom/Word and his Holy Spirit in creating the universe:

"By the WORD of the LORD were the heavens made , their starry host by thebreath ( ruach - Spirit) of his mouth ." Psalm 33:6

"How many are your works, O LORD! In WISDOM you made them all ; the earth isfull of your creatures… When you send your Spirit, they are created , and you renewthe face of the earth." Psalm 104:24, 30

"By WISDOM the LORD laid the earth's foundations , by understanding he set theheavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let dropthe dew." Proverbs 3:19-20

"Does not WISDOM call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On theheights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand… I, WISDOM ,dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. The LORDbrought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I wasappointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When therewere no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water;before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, beforehe made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he setthe heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, whenhe established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when hegave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and whenhe marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side . Iwas filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in hiswhole world and delighting in mankind. Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed arethose who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at mydoorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD . Butwhoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death." Proverbs 8:1-2,12, 22-36

Interestingly, Isaiah speaks of God's Word as a messenger sent forth to accomplish a task onbehalf of God:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it withoutwatering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sowerand bread for the eater, so is my WORD that goes out from my mouth: It will notreturn to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it ." Isaiah 55:10-11

Now let us compare the New Testament teaching on the Lord Jesus and see how the inspiredauthors of the Holy Bible clearly taught that Christ was God's eternal Word/Wisdom in theflesh:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was

God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made;



without him nothing was made that has been made . In him was life, and that lifewas the light of men ." John 1:1-4

"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you beforethe world began ." John 17:5

"…but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of Godand the WISDOM of God … But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who becameto us WISDOM from God , and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." 1Corinthians 1:24, 30 NASB

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that theymay have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know themystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of WISDOM and knowledge ." Colossians 2:2-3

Interestingly Jesus applies a function of Wisdom to himself, implicitly affirming that Jesusbelieved he was the Wisdom of God:

"Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of themyou will kill and crucify ; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue fromtown to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shedon earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you thetruth, all this will come upon this generation ." Matthew 23:34-36

Compare,

"Therefore also the Wisdom of God said , 'I will send them prophets and apostles,some of whom they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets, shedfrom the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation , from theblood of Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah, who perished between the altar and thesanctuary . Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation ." Luke 11:49-51RSV

In light of the preceding passages, there is no contradiction on who created the universe.Yahweh alone created all things through his own personal Word/Wisdom and Spirit. The NT

teaches that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word/Wisdom of God Incarnate.

Ghounem:

IS 53:9 Usually taken to be a prophecy re: Jesus, mentions burial with others.

JN 19:38-42 Jesus was buried by himself.

Response:

Again, Ghounem has misinterpreted the passage since it does not say that Christ would beburied with others, but would be assigned a grave with the wicked. Yet, it goes on to say thatChrist would also be buried with the rich:



"He was assigned a grave with the wicked , and with the rich in his death , thoughhe had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53:9

This is precisely what happened to Jesus since he had been crucified with criminals andwould have suffered the same fate as they. After being put to death on a cross, the Romans

would then dump the bodies of the criminals in the valley of Hinnom, the perpetual wastedump of that particular vicinity. Yet, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53 God intervened by preventingthe body of Christ from being tossed into the valley to be burned. Instead, God supernaturallymoved upon Joseph of Arimathea to bury Christ in his own new tomb. Hence, althoughChrist was assigned a grave with the criminals he was buried in a rich man's tomb instead, inprecise fulfillment of this passage!

Second, Ghounem seemingly is trying to have his cake and eat it too. Here, he implicitlyacknowledges that Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Yet,in another article he argues tooth and nail that Isaiah 53 is not a prophecy of the sufferings of the Messiah! (see this article ).

Hence, we would like to ask Ghounem to clearly define his position on Isaiah 53. Does hebelieve Isaiah 53 refers to the Messiah, and if so why does argue elsewhere that Isaiah 53 isnot a messianic passage? If he does not believe that Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of the Messiah,then why does he accuse John of a contradiction seeing that Isaiah 53 does not refer to theMessiah's sufferings, death and burial?

Ghounem:

MT 3:16, MK 1:10 It was Jesus who saw the Spirit descending.

JN 1:32 It was John who saw the Spirit descending.

Response:

We really do not see how these accounts contradict. Seeing that none of the accounts everstate that only Jesus or only John saw the Spirit descending upon Christ, there is nocontradiction between the reports. Rather, they are complementary accounts of the sameevent since both Jesus and John saw the Spirit descend upon Christ in the form of a dove.

Ghounem:

MT 4:1-11, MK 1:12-13 Immediately following his Baptism, Jesus spent forty days inthe wilderness resisting temptation by the Devil.

JN 2:1-11 Three days after the Baptism, Jesus was at the wedding in Cana.

Response:

Ghounem misquotes the passages since nowhere in John does it say that Jesus went straightaway to Cana after being baptized. In fact, when the passages are cited in context theimpression that is given is that it is only after Jesus' baptism and return from the temptation inthe desert that John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/4229/isaih.html






"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God,who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, "A man whocomes after me has surpassed me because he was before me." I myself did not knowhim, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed toIsrael.’ Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a

dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sentme to baptize with water told me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit comedown and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit." I have seen and Itestify that this is the Son of God. ’ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’" John1:29-36

Hence, it wasn't until Christ had returned from the desert, having already been baptized byJohn, that Jesus went to the wedding banquet in Cana.

Ghounem:

MT 10:34, LK 12:49-53 Jesus has come to bring a sword, fire, and division--notpeace.

JN 16:33 Jesus says: "In me you have peace."

Response:

Ghounem is picking at straws here since he needs to misquote the intended context to arriveat his alleged contradiction. Here is the context of both Matthew 10:34 and Luke 12:49-53:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bringpeace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughteragainst her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law- a man's enemies willbe the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mothermore than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter morethan me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and followme is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses hislife for my sake will find it . He who receives you receives me, and he who receivesme receives the one who sent me." Matthew 10:34-40

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But Ihave a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do youthink I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division . From now onthere will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and twoagainst three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, motheragainst daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-lawand daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:49-53

The point in these passages is that belief in Christ inevitably leads to the division of familymembers and friends seeing that not all will believe. Christ is clearly stating that believerswill face trials and tribulations on account of him and therefore must be willing to suffer the

consequences if they are to wholeheartedly follow Jesus.



John is in agreement with both Matthew and Luke since he affirms that believers shall facetrials and tribulations in this world:

"I have told you these things, so that IN ME you may have peace . In this world youwill have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world ." John 16:33

Hence, despite the trials Christians may face the union that believers have with and in Christgives them a peace that transcends all understanding:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, whichtranscends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in ChristJesus . Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent orpraiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heardfrom me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you . Irejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed,you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying thisbecause I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Iknow what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned thesecret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives mestrength . Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles ." Philippians 4:6-14

Christ gives believers the power to cope with all of life's difficulties, assuring them peace inspite of tribulation.

Ghounem:

MT 11:7-15, 17:12-13 Jesus says that John the Baptist was a prophet, and more.

JN 1:21 John himself says that he is not a prophet, nor is he Elijah.

Response:

Correction. John the Baptist does not deny that he is A prophet, but rather denies being THEprophet that was to come into the world:

"Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levitesto ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, 'I am not theChrist.' They asked him, 'Then who are you? Are you Elijah?' He said, 'I am not.' 'Areyou THE Prophet?' He answered, 'No.'" John 1:19-21

This is a clear allusion to the prophecy made by Moses that God would send to Israel aprophet like him:

"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your ownbrothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God atHoreb on the day of the assembly when you said, 'Let us not hear the voice of theLORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.' The LORD said to me:



'What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from amongtheir brothers ; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything Icommand him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in myname, I myself will call him to account.'" Deuteronomy 18:15-19

According to the NT Jesus was that prophet:

"After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surelythis is THE Prophet who is to come into the world.'" John 6:14

"On hearing his words, some of the people said, 'Surely this man is THE Prophet.'"John 7:40

Ghounem:

MT 12:39, MK 8:12, LK 11:29 Jesus says that he will give no "sign."

JN 3:2, 20:30, Jesus proceeds to give many such "signs."

Response:

Actually, Jesus never denied that he would perform signs and wonders. Rather, Jesus refusedto grant a sign to the Pharisees and Scribes in order to prove to them his divine authority. Infact, in Mark 8:12 the Jews asked specifically for a sign from heaven, a request that Christrefused to grant.

Ghounem: MT 13:34, MK 4:34 Jesus addresses the crowds only in parables, so that they wouldnot fully understand. He explains the meaning only to his disciples.

JN 1:1 - 21:25 (Throughout the book of John, unlike the other Gospels, Jesusaddresses the crowds in a very straightforward manner. He does not employ parables.)

Response:

It is simply not true that Jesus always spoke in parables in the Synoptics. The Synoptics

furnish plenty examples of Christ speaking in a straightforward manner.

It is also not true that in John Jesus never employs parables or figurative language in speakingto the crowds and the disciples. The Gospel provides examples of Jesus speakingparabolically and figuratively, some of which include the following:

"'I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbsin by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is theshepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen tohis voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has broughtout all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because theyknow his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from



him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.' Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them ." John 10:1-6

"'Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will nolonger use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father . In that

day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that Icame from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving theworld and going back to the Father.' Then Jesus' disciples said, 'Now you arespeaking clearly and without figures of speech . Now we can see that you know allthings and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes usbelieve that you came from God.' 'You believe at last!' Jesus answered." John 16:25-31

Ghounem:

MT 21:2-6, MK 11:2-7, LK 19:30-35 The disciples follow Jesus instructions andbring him the animal (or animals, in the case of MT).

JN 12:14 Jesus finds the animal himself.

Response:

There is no contradiction here since John is summarizing the event of Christ finding thedonkey to ride on. John does not say that Jesus personally went looking for the donkey, butthat Jesus found the donkey. It is the Synoptics that tell us that Jesus found the donkeythrough the agency of his disciples. In Jewish culture, a person's representative or messengerspeaks and acts with the same authority of the one that sent him. Hence, the actions andwords of a person's agent are considered as if the person himself had acted or spoken.

Ghounem:

MT 21:12-13 The cleansing of the temple occurs at the end of Jesus' career.

JN 2:13-16 It occurs near the beginning of his career.

Response:

This is really a strange objection. The simple answer is that Jesus performed two templecleansings, one at the beginning of his ministry and the other at the end of his career.

If Ghounem objects to this solution, then he must also affirm that the Quran itself containscontradictions. The Quran claims that the Pharaoh tried killing all male Israelite infants whenMoses himself was still a suckling babe:

"Truly Pharaoh elated himself in the land and broke up its people into sections,depressing a small group among them: their sons he slew, but he kept alive theirfemales : for he was indeed a maker of mischief. And We wished to be Gracious tothose who were being depressed in the land, to make them leaders (in Faith) and makethem heirs, To establish a firm place for them in the land, and to show Pharaoh,



Haman, and their hosts, at their hands, the very things against which they were takingprecautions. So We sent this inspiration to the mother of Moses: "Suckle (thychild), but when thou hast fears about him, cast him into the river, but fear notnor grieve: for We shall restore him to thee, and We shall make him one of Ourmessengers ." Then the people of Pharaoh picked him up (from the river): (It was

intended) that (Moses) should be to them an adversary and a cause of sorrow: forPharaoh and Haman and (all) their hosts were men of sin. The wife of Pharaoh said:"(Here is) joy of the eye, for me and for thee: slay him not . It may be that he will beuse to us, or we may adopt him as a son." And they perceived not (what they weredoing)! But there came to be a void in the heart of the mother of Moses: She wasgoing almost to disclose his (case), had We not strengthened her heart (with faith), sothat she might remain a (firm) believer. S. 28:4-10

So, the Pharaoh issued the first decree of killing all the male infants when Moses was still ababy. Yet, elsewhere the Quran claims that the Pharaoh tried to kill all the male Israeliteinfants only after God had sent Moses to Egypt as a prophet:

Of old We sent Moses, with Our Signs and an authority manifest, To Pharaoh,Haman, and Qarun; but they called (him)" a sorcerer telling lies!"..Now, when hecame to them in Truth, from Us, they said, "Slay the sons of those who believe withhim, and keep alive their females," but the plots of Unbelievers (end) in nothing buterrors (and delusions)!... Said Pharaoh: "Leave me to slay Moses; and let him callon his Lord! What I fear is lest he should change your religion, or lest he shouldcause mischief to appear in the land!" S. 40:23-26

Hence, Ghounem must remain consistent and apply the same criteria he uses against theBible to the Quran. By so doing, he must now admit that the Quran clearly contradicts itself.Or he must allow for the possibility that both the Holy Bible and the Quran contain similarepisodes that are repeated in the lives of specific individuals without this implying acontradiction.

Ghounem:

MT 25:34 Heaven was prepared before the Ascension of Jesus.

JN 14:2-3 It was prepared after the Ascension of Jesus.

Response:

In actuality, John agrees with Matthew that the kingdom has already been prepared prior toJesus' ascension:

"'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father'shouse ARE many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there toprepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back andtake you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to theplace where I am going.'" John 14:1-4

Jesus does not say that there will be rooms, but that there ARE many rooms already present inhis Father's house. Jesus is using simile here to describe himself as one who makes



preparations for his followers in his Father's abode. The allusion here is to a Jewishbridegroom who, after making a marriage contract with his bride-to-be, returns to his father'shouse in order to make room for her. Hence, Jesus is the Bridegroom who has gone intoheaven to make room for his Bride, the Church.

Hence, Ghounem has failed to take into consideration that Jesus is using simile here and wasnot intending that his words be pushed to the point of hyper-literalism.

Ghounem:

MT 26:7, MK 14:3 The oil is poured on Jesus' head.

JN 12:3 On his feet.

Response:

It is both. The woman anointed Jesus' head and feet. In order for this to be a bonafidecontradiction, Ghounem must show where either passage claims that the woman ONLYanointed either Jesus' head or feet.

Ghounem:

MT 26:7, MK 14:3, LK 7:37 An unnamed woman does the anointing.

JN 12:3 It is Mary.

Response: We fail to see how this implies a contradiction. First, the event in Luke 7:37 refers to adifferent episode, and is not the same anointing referred in Matthew 26:7, Mark 14:3 andJohn 12:3. This is supported by the fact that in Matthew and Mark Jesus' anointing took placeat Simon the Leper's house. Yet, in Luke it was the home of Simon the Pharisee. Leperscould not hold a ruling position and hence the accounts are referring to two different Simons.It should be noted that Simon was a common Jewish name at the time. See also our responseabove to the two temple cleansings reported in the Gospels.

Second, John makes explicit what Matthew and Mark affirm, namely that the woman who

had anointed Jesus was Mary the sister of Lazarus. If the silence by Matthew and Mark on thewoman's name implies a contradiction, then again Ghounem must be consistent and admitthat the Quran also contradicts itself.

According to the Quran, when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah he saved Lot and hisfamily with the exception of an old woman:

He [Lot] said [to the evil people around him]: "I do detest your doings." "Oh myLord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!" So we delivered himand his family, - all except an old woman who lingered behind. S. 26:168-171

Yet, elsewhere the Quran claims that Lot's wife perished during the destruction of the twosinful cities:



Ghounem:

MT 28:6-8 The women ran from the tomb "with great joy."

JN 20:1-2 Mary told Peter and the other disciple that the body had been stolen.

(Would she feel "great joy" if she thought the body had been stolen?)

Response:

There is a rather simple solution to this alleged problem. Mary did not stick around longenough to hear the angel's announcement that Christ had been raised. Instead, she ran off immediately to the disciples after seeing that the stone had been moved and that the body wasgone. Hence, Mary was not with the group at the moment the angel announced the good newsthat Christ was risen from the dead. This is another example where one reporter suppliesadditional information that the other writer did not mention. Again, these are complementaryaccounts, not contradictory.

Ghounem:

MT 26:14-25, MK 14:10-11, LK 22:3-23 Judas made his bargain with the chief priests before the meal.

JN 13:21-30 After the meal.

Response:

We challenge Ghounem to show us anywhere in John 13:21-30 where the Evangelist claimsthat Judas bargained with the chief priests after the meal. In fact, John 13:21-30 begins wherethe Synoptics basically end, proceeding to report what happened to Judas after Jesus had justidentified him as his betrayer.

Therefore, when we take into consideration all the accounts we discover that Judas hadbargained with the chief priests to betray Jesus before the meal. It wasn't until after hisparticipation in the meal did Judas then leave to bring the chief priests and the guards toarrest Jesus.

Ghounem:

JN 13:21-30 Jesus forecasts his betrayal prior to the communion portion of the supper.

LK 22:14-23 After the communion portion.

Response:

Had Ghounem read John 13 carefully he would have discovered that John is in agreementwith Luke:

"The evening meal WAS BEING SERVED , and the devil had already promptedJudas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus… so he got up FROM THE MEAL ,took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist… 'I am not referring



to all of you: I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: " He whoshares MY BREAD has lifted his heel against me "'… After he had said this, Jesu swas troubled in spirit and testified, ' I tell you the truth, one of you is going tobetray me .' His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them hemeant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon

Peter motioned to this disciple and said, 'Ask him which one he means.' Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, 'Lord, who is it?' Jesus answered, ' It is the one to whomI will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish .' Then, dippingthe piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Si mon . As soon as Judastook the bread, Satan entered into him. 'What you are about to do, do it quickly,' Jesustold him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judashad charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was neededfor the Feast, or to give something to the poor . As soon as Judas had taken thebread, he went out . And it was night." John 13:2, 4, 18, 21-30

John clearly states that Jesus identified his betrayer only after the communion meal had beenserved. Hence, there is no contradiction between the two reports.

Ghounem:

JN 13:38 Peter was to deny Jesus before the cock crowed.

MK 14:66-72 The cock crows after both the first and second denials.

(Note: These discrepancies have been "translated out" in some Bible versions.)

Response:

The following response is taken from the booklet, 101 Cleared Up Contradictions In theBible:

This accusation is that Jesus says to Peter "the cock will not crow till you have denied methree times" (John 13:38) and also "Before the cock crows twice you will deny me threetimes" (Mark 14:30). However, as the King James translation has it the cock crowed prior toPeter's third denial in Mark, while the prediction in John failed. This problem is one of manuscript evidence.

Matthew 26:33-35, 74-75 "before the cock crows you will disown me three times"

Luke 22:31-34, 60-62 "before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you knowme"

John 13:38 "before the cock crows, you will disown me three times"

Mark is therefore the odd one out. This is probably due to the second crow being a later addition to the original Gospel for some unknown reason. Some early manuscripts of Mark do not have the words "a second time" and "twice" in 14:72, nor the word "twice" in 14:30,or the cock crowing a first time in verse 14:68 as in the King James translation. Therefore an

erroneous addition is spotted by the clarity of having 4 accounts of the event and many earlymanuscripts of the Gospel of Mark.



However, another explanation is plausible if the first crow verse (68 in the King James) wasnot in the original but the others ("twice" in 30 and 72) were, as in the New Internationaltranslation. For as a cock can (and often does) crow more than once in a row, there would beno contradiction (the first and second crows being together, with Peter remembering Jesus'

prediction on the second crow), for since we may be very sure that if a rooster crows twice,

he has at least crowed once. Mark therefore just included more information in his account than the other gospel writers.

Although I am not an expert on the manuscripts used for the King James translation and donot know a great deal about why later, more accurate translators had enough manuscript evidence to omit verse 68 but not the others, I think that the first reason is more likely. (seethis related link .)

Ghounem:

MT 26:49-50, MK 14:44-46 Jesus is betrayed by Judas with a kiss, then seized.

LK 22:47-48 Jesus anticipates Judas' kiss. No actual kiss is mentioned.

JN 18:2-9 Jesus voluntarily steps forward to identify himself making it completelyunnecessary for Judas to point him out. No kiss is mentioned.

Response:

Again, Ghounem forces a contradiction upon the Gospels when none actually exists. Theplausible solution is that as the soldiers stood back, Judas proceeded forward to kiss Jesus.After addressing Judas' treacherous act, Christ then turned to the soldiers who had beenstanding back waiting for Judas' signal and proceeded to ask them whom they were seeking.They replied "Jesus of Nazareth," to which Christ replied that he was the one they wereseeking.

As far as Luke 22:47-48 is concerned, nowhere in the context does it even deny that Judaskissed Jesus. Ghounem is therefore committing the logical fallacy of arguing from silence. Inlight of this, there are no real contradictions but rather Ghounem's illogical methodology thathe imposes upon the text of Scripture in order to arrive at alleged contradictions.

Ghounem:

MT 26:57, MK 14:53, LK 22:54 After his arrest Jesus is first taken to Caiphas, thehigh priest.

JN 18:13-24 First to Annas, the son-in-law of Caiphas, then to Caiphas.

Response:

In none of the Synoptics does it even say that Jesus was first taken to Caiaphas after beingarrested. Ghounem must insert the word first in order to force a contradiction upon theGospels. John gives additional details that the others omit. Hence, when the accounts aretaken together we discover that Jesus was first taken to see Annas and only after that was hetaken to Caiaphas.

http://debate.org.uk/topics/apolog/contrads.htm






Ghounem:

MT 26:18-20, 57-68, 27:1-2, MK 14:16-18, 53-72, 15:1 Jesus' initial hearing was atnight on Passover. In the morning he was taken to Pilate.

LK 22:13-15, 54-66 The initial hearing took place in the morning on Passover.

JN 18:28, 19:14 It took place the day before Passover, on the Day of Preparation.

Response:

First, Luke does not deny that there was a hearing at night. In fact, he implicitly affirms thatthere was one since he records Peter denying Christ while the former was in the High Priest'scourtyard:

"Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of thecourtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl sawhim seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, 'This man waswith him.' But he denied it. 'Woman, I don't know him,' he said. A little later someoneelse saw him and said, 'You also are one of them.' 'Man, I am not!' Peter replied.About an hour later another asserted, 'Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is aGalilean.' Peter replied, 'Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he wasspeaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peterremembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: 'Before the rooster crows today,you will disown me three times.' And he went outside and wept bitterly. The men whowere guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, 'Prophesy! Who hit you?' And they said many other insulting things to him. Atdaybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them." Luke 22:54-66

The fact that Peter was in the courtyard of the High Priest presumes that Jesus was beingquestioned that very night. This means that either Ghounem did not read carefully or tries toimpose contradictions upon the Gospels when none actually exist. Sadly, this seems to beGhounem's consistent habit.

As far as whether it was before or during the day of Passover, we again quote from 101

Cleared Up Contradictions In The Bible:

Jesus was crucified on the daytime before the Passover meal. The reason why Mark seems tosay it was after is one of culture and contextualising.

The evidence from the Gospels that Jesus died on the eve of the Passover, when the Passover meal would be eaten after sunset, is very solid. Before we delve (albeit briefly) into this issue,it is worth noting that Mark 14 records that Jesus does not eat the Passover with hisdisciples.

Luke 14:12 says it was "the Feast of Unleavened Bread", which is also called "Passover". As

the name suggest states, part of the Passover meal was to eat bread without yeast. It is acommandment which Jewish people keep even today for the meal, for God makes it extremely



clear, "eat bread without yeast And whoever eats bread with yeast in it must be cut off fromthe community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread ". See also Exodus 12:1-20.

The Greek word for "unleavened bread" is 'azymos'. This is the word used by Mark in "the

Feast of Unleavened Bread", chapter 14 verse 12. The Greek word for normal bread (with yeast) is 'artos'. All the Gospel writers, including Mark, agree that in this last meal with hisdisciples the bread they ate was artos, in other words a bread with yeast. "While they wereeating, Jesus took bread [artos], gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, sayingTake it; this is my body." Mark 14:22. It is highly probably therefore that this meal was not aPassover meal. The use of the different words in the same passage strongly suggests this. For it would be unthinkable to them to eat something that God had commanded them not to eat (bread with yeast - artos), and not to eat something that they were commanded to eat (unleavened bread - azymos).

Therefore, as this is true, what does Mark mean in verses 12-17? Firstly, we read, "when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb". Exodus 20:1-8 says that this must happen onthe 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. However, there was dispute as to when this daywas, due to the debate on separate calendars which were used for calculating feast-days. It is

possible that separate traditions were in vogue in Jesus life. So, indeed it may have been"customary" to sacrifice the lamb on that day for some, although many, probably most,recognized the Passover as being the next evening.

Secondly, the disciples ask Jesus "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for youto eat the Passover?" They had no idea that Jesus was going to give his life for the sins of theworld like the Passover lamb of Exodus 20 did to save the Israelites from God's wrath upon

Egypt. Jesus had explained to them, but they did not grasp it for many reasons, including thehailing of Jesus by the people as Messiah in the Triumphal Entry, which was still 'ringing intheir ears'. He does not state that he would eat it with them. He wanted to, but he knew hewould not. There is no room for any dogmatic statement that the Passover must be eaten onthe same day the room was hired or prepared. Indeed, Jewish people, because of Exodus 12,thoroughly prepared their houses for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Thirdly, in some ways the Gospels couch the last supper in terms of fulfillment. i.e. Luke 22records Jesus saying that he had longed to eat "this" Passover meal with them. So, does Lukesay it was the Passover meal? It is doubtful, due to the same use of artos and azymos,amongst other reasons. Jesus did make this last supper a sort of Passover meal (but not the

real one). He wanted to have this special fellowship with his disciples, his friends, being painfully aware of the agony he would go through, only a few hours later. He also wanted toshow his disciples that the Passover spoke of him; that he was the sacrifice that would bringin the New Covenant God promised (see questions #64 and #34) just like the lambs that waskilled 1500 years earlier to save the people if Israel from God's wrath. He illustrated throughthe meal that he is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" as John the

Baptist called Jesus (John 1:29). He wanted to eat it with them for he says, "I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the Kingdom of God" (Luke 22:16). His coming death was its

fulfillment, "For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

If this understanding is correct (one of two feasible explanations I opted for due to my

current research), then there is no contradiction. Jesus died before the Passover meal.



Smith's point that the Synoptics are not necessarily referring to the Passover meal isstrengthened by Mark's account:

"It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as eveningapproached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was

himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus'body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning thecenturion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurionthat it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph BOUGHT some linen cloth ,took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb." Mark 15:42-46

The fact that Joseph bought linen presumes that the Eve of Passover fell on that very sameday, which also happened to be the Sabbath Day. It would not have been possible for Josephto buy linen that day had the Eve of Passover been the night before since all the shops wouldhave been closed.

Ghounem:

MT 26:59-66, MK 14:55-64 Jesus was tried by the entire Sanhedrin (the chief priestsand the whole council).

LK 22:66-71 There was no trial but merely an inquiry held by the Sanhedrin.

JN 18:13-24 There was no appearance before the Sanhedrin, only the private hearingsbefore Annas and then Caiphas.

Response:

We have already shown that Luke does not deny that Jesus had been tried before theSanhedrin on the night of his betrayal, and hence no contradiction exists between him andMatthew and Mark. Ghounem is simply arguing from silence. We challenge Ghounem toshow us where Luke explicitly denies that a trial took place the night of Jesus' arrest. Luke22:66-71 refers to the morning proceedings, not to the trial which Matthew and Mark mention occurred the night before.

As far as John 18:13-24 is concerned, Ghounem is again arguing from silence since the

Evangelist does not deny that the Sanhedrin was present. Rather, John is simply singling outAnnas and Caiaphas as the ones initiating the hearings against Jesus.

The fact is that John does affirm that the ruling council was present at the hearings beforeAnnas and Caiaphas:

"Then the JEWS led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor .By now it was early morning, and to avoid the ceremonial uncleanness the JEWS didnot enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover." John 18:28

The phrase, "the Jews," is used elsewhere by John in reference to the Jewish ruling council:



"They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day in whichJesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore thePharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. 'He put mud on my eyes,' theman replied, 'and I washed, and now I see.' Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man isnot from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath'… Finally they turned to the blind

man, 'What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.' The man replied,'He is a prophet.' The JEWS still did not believe that he had been blind and hadreceived sight until they sent for his parents. 'Is this your son?' they asked . 'Is this theone you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?' 'We know he is our son,'the parents answered, 'and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, orwho opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him He is of age; he will speak for himself.'His parents said this because they were afraid of the JEWS, for already the JEWShad decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would beput out of the synagogue ." John 9:13-16a, 18-22

In light of the fact that John uses the phrase "Jews" as a reference to the Jewish rulingcouncil, we again find Ghounem imposing contradictions upon the biblical text when noneactually exist.

Ghounem:

MT 27:11, MK 15:2, LK 23:3 When asked if he is King of the Jews, Jesus answers:"You have said so," (or "Thou sayest").

JN 18:33-34 He answers: "Do you say this of your own accord?"

Response:

Is this really a contradiction? Is it not just as likely that Jesus actually said what all threeSynoptics and John report? For instance, when we combine all the accounts together this iswhat we end up with when we add a little imagination in piecing the reports together:

"So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' (Synoptics-John) ' Yes, it is asyou say, ' Jesus replied. (Synoptics) ' By the way, is that your own idea,' Jesus asked,'or did others talk to you about me? '" (John, with the italicized words added tomake the paragraph run more smoothly)

The fact that the accounts can be harmonized clearly demonstrates that no real contradictionexists.

Ghounem:

MT 27:11-14 Jesus answers not a single charge at his hearing before Pilate.

JN 18:33-37 Jesus answers all charges at his hearing before Pilate.

Response:

Ghounem does not read carefully since both accounts agree that Jesus answered onlyquestions regarding his identity:



"Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, 'Are youthe king of the Jews?' 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." Matthew 27:11

"Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you theking of the Jews?' 'Is that your own idea,' Jesus asked, 'or did others talk to you

about me?' 'Am I a Jew?' Pilate replied. 'It was your people and your chief priestswho handed you over to me. What is it you have done?' Jesus said, 'My kingdom isnot of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by theJews. But now my kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' saidPilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for thisreason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.Everyone on the side of truth listens to me .'" John 18:33-37

Yet, both accounts also agree that Jesus refused to defend himself against the charges madeagainst him:

"When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer . ThenPilate asked him, 'Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?' ButJesus made no reply, not even to a single charge -to the great amazement of thegovernor." Matthew 27:12-14

"The Jews insisted, 'We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because heclaimed to be the Son of God.' When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, andhe went back inside the palace. 'Where do you come from?' he asked Jesus , but Jesusgave him no answer . 'Do you refuse to speak to me?' Pilate said. "Don't you realize Ihave power either to free you or to crucify you?' Jesus answered, 'You would have nopower over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handedme over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'" John 19:7-11

Ghounem:

MT 27:28 Jesus is given a scarlet robe (a sign of infamy).

JN 19:2 A purple robe (a sign of royalty).

Response:

Admittedly, this is a difficulty. A possible explanation is that during the mocking, the soldiersfirst placed a scarlet robe on Jesus and then placed a purple one. This scenario is strengthenedby the fact that John implies that the soldiers repeatedly mocked Jesus during the trial beforePilate. The New Bible Commentary- 21 st Century Edition states:

"… The imperfect tense of the verbs in v 3 suggests a succession of mock acts of homage …" (Ibid., ed. G.J. Wenham, J.A. Motyer, D.A. Carson & R.T. France[InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, Il 1994], p. 1061)

Matthew and Mark affirm that the mocking continued right after Jesus' meeting with Pilate.Hence, during this period it is likely that the soldiers placed both a scarlet robe as well as a

purple one.



Ghounem:

MT 27:46-50, MK 15:34-37 Jesus' last recorded words are: "My God, my God, whyhast thou forsaken me?"

LK 23:46 "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit."

JN 19:30 "It is finished." (Note: Even though both MT and MK represent directquotes and are translated similarly, the actual Greek words used for God are different.MT uses "Eli" and MK uses "Eloi.")

Response:

Here is the response on the actual last words of Jesus on the cross as taken from the booklet101 Cleared Up Contradictions in The Bible:

'What were the last words of Jesus before he died?' is the question asked by Shabbir in thissupposed contradiction. This does not show a contradiction any more than two witnesses toan accident at an intersection will come up with two different scenarios of that accident,depending on where they stood. Neither witness would be incorrect, as they describe theevent from a different perspective. Luke was not a witness to the event, and so is dependent on those who were there. John was a witness. What they are both relating, however, is that at the end Jesus gave himself up to death.

It could be said that Luke used the last words that he felt were necessary for his gospelaccount, which concentrated on the humanity of Christ (noted in the earlier question), while

John, as well as quoting the last words of Jesus, was interested in the fulfilment of the salvificmessage, and so quoted the last phrase "it is finished".

John 17:4 records Jesus' prayer to the Father in the light of Christ's forthcoming crucifixion,stating that He had completed the work of revelation (John 1:18), and since revelation is a

particular stress of the Gospel of John, and the cross is the consummation of that commission(John 3:16), it is natural that this Gospel should centre on tetelestai . At any rate, if Jesus said 'It is finished; Father into your hands I commit my spirit' or vice versa, it would be quite inorder to record either clause of this sentence, his last words. Luke-Acts reaches itsconclusion without any climax, because the continuing ministry of the exalted Christ throughthe Holy Spirit and the Church has no ending prior to the Parousia, and to record tetelestai

might have undermined this emphasis, or it could have been taken the wrong way. At anyrate, no contradiction is involved; purely a distinction of emphasis.

As for the reason why Matthew and Mark differ slightly in Jesus' cry to God, again here is theanswer from the same article:

The question of whether Jesus spoke Hebrew or Aramaic on the cross is answerable. However, the reason for Matthew and Mark recording it differently is probably due to theway the event was spoken of in Aramaic after it happened, and due to the recipients of theGospel. However, the whole issue is not a valid criticism of the Bible.

Mark 15:34 is probably the most quoted Aramaism in the New Testament, being "Eloi, Eloi,lama sabakthani." However, it is doubtful that Jesus spoke in the language that Mark records



them in. The reason is simple; the people hearing Jesus' words thought he was calling Elijah(Matthew 27:47 and Mark 15:35-36). In order for the onlookers to have made this mistake,

Jesus would have to have cried "Eli, Eli," not "Eloi, Eloi." Why? Because in Hebrew Eli canbe either "My God" or the shortened form of Eliyahu which is Hebrew for Elijah. However,in Aramaic Eloi can be only "My God."

It is also worth noting that lama ("why") is the same word in both languages, and sabak is averb which is found not only in Aramaic, but also in Mishnaic Hebrew.

Therefore Jesus probably spoke it in Hebrew. Why therefore is it recorded in Aramaic aswell? Jesus was part of a multilingual society. He most probably spoke Greek (the commonlanguage of Greece and Rome), Aramaic (the common language of the Ancient Near East)and Hebrew, the sacred tongue of Judaism, which had been revived in the form of Mishnaic

Hebrew in Second Temple times. Hebrew and Aramaic are closely related Semitic languages.That Hebrew and Aramaic terms show up in the Gospels is, therefore, not at all surprising.

That one Gospel writer records it in Hebrew and another in extremely similar Aramaic is no problem to Christians, nor is it a criticism of the Bible. The simple reason for the differenceis probably that when one of them remembered and discussed the happening of Jesus' life,death and resurrection, this phrase may well have been repeated in their conversation as

Aramaic, which would be perfectly normal. So he wrote it down as such. Secondly, Mark mayhave written it in Aramaic due to the fact that he was the original recipients of the Gospel.

However, both these reasons are simply speculation. If Mark recorded his words in Arabic,then we would worry!

Ghounem:

MT 27:48, LK 23:36, JN 19:29 Jesus was offered vinegar to drink.

MK 15:23 It was wine and myrrh, and he did not drink it.

JN 19:29-30 Whatever it was, he did drink it

Response:

This is another example of Ghounem not reading carefully. Mark indicates that the soldiers

first offered Jesus wine and myrrh, which Christ refused to drink:

"Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it." Mark 15:23

Yet, Mark also indicates that Jesus was then offered vinegar to drink:

"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama'-which means,'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' When some of those standing nearheard this, they said, 'Listen, he's calling Elijah.' One man ran, filled a sponge withwine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink . 'Now leave himalone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down,' he said." Mark 15:34-36

John tells us why the soldier offered Jesus the vinegar:



"Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would befulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar of wine vinegar was there, so theysoaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted itto Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' Withthat, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:28-30

Hence, after Christ cried out to God he became thirsty. In response to Jesus' cry of thirst, thesoldier offered him vinegar to drink. The contradiction therefore disappears.

Ghounem:

MT 27:55, MK 15:40, LK 23:49 The women looked on from afar.

JN 19:25-26 They were near enough that Jesus could speak to his mother.

Response:

The simple solution is to keep in mind that Jesus hung on the cross from approximately 9:00AM till before sunset. In light of this factor, the women began at the foot of the cross andslowly pulled away as the day continued.

Ghounem:

MT 28:1 The first visitors to the tomb were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary(two).

MK 16:1 Both of the above plus Salome (three).LK 23:55 - 24:1, 24:10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and"other women" (at least five).

JN 20:1 Mary Magdalene only (one).

Response:

None of the accounts contradict since none of the accounts state that Mary alone went to thetomb, or only the two Marys had gone to anoint Jesus' body. In fact, in John's Gospel the

Evangelist clearly affirms that Mary Magdalene was not alone when she set out to the tombearly that morning:

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went tothe tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she camerunning to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, 'Theyhave taken the Lord out of the tomb, and WE don't know where they have puthim !'" John 20:1-2

John records Mary as affirming that she was not alone that first Easter morning as indicatedby Mary's "WE" statement. Hence, each one of the Evangelists is simply highlighting aspecific woman or group of women that were essential in their story-line without thisimplying that the specific writer was unaware that the other women were also present.



Furthermore, this again demonstrates Ghounem's distortion of scripture by inserting wordsinto the text such as "only" or "first." By so doing, Ghounem is trying to force the Holy Bibleto contradict itself. This is not exegesis but rather eisegesis, reading things into the text thatare not stated or implied.

Ghounem:

MT 28:1 It was toward dawn when they arrived.

MK 16:2 It was after sunrise.

LK 24:1 It was at early dawn.

JN 20:1 It was still dark.

Response:

A little imagination would help resolve these alleged discrepancies. Seeing that the womendid not have rapid transportation, they headed towards the tomb at the crack of dawn when itwas real early and still dark, with the sun barely visible upon the face of the horizon. Uponarriving at their destination, the sun had risen and it was daylight. Again, the allegedcontradictions disappear.

Ghounem:

MT 28:9 On his first appearance to them, Jesus lets Mary Magdalene and the other

Mary hold him by his feet.JN 20:17 On his first appearance to Mary, Jesus forbids her to touch him since he hasnot yet ascended to the Father.

JN 20:27 A week later, although he has not yet ascended to the Father, Jesus tellsThomas to touch him.

Response:

Ghounem again introduces a contradiction into the Gospels when none actually exist. As far

as John 20:17 is concerned Jesus was not forbidding Mary from touching him since she wasalready holding on to him. This is clear from the Greek text since it implies that Mary hadbegun clinging on to Christ and apparently did not want to let him go. The King James StudyBible states it best:

"20:17. Touch me not is a present imperative, forbidding the continuation of anaction already begun . 'Stop clinging to me' is a helpful paraphrase . Compare withverse 27, where one week later, we are told He encouraged Thomas to touch Him. Iam not yet ascended: 'Do not worry, I am not leaving immediately.'" ( The King

James Study Bible [Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN 1988], p. 1653 italicemphasis ours)



Hence, Christ did not forbid Mary from touching him, but rather from clinging on to himsince she was already touching him.

Ghounem:

MK 1:14 Jesus began his ministry after the arrest of John the Baptist.

JN 3:22-24 Before the arrest of John the Baptist.

Response:

The simple answer that Ghounem could not see is that Jesus had not begun his Galilean ministry until John had been arrested. John is referring to Jesus' Judean ministry that beganway before Christ had ever begun preaching in Galilee.

Ghounem:

MK 6:53 After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus and the disciples went to Gennesaret.

JN 6:17-25 They went to Capernaum.

Response:

The New American Bible, St Joseph Edition published by Catholic Book PublishingCompany, New York, states:

"CAPERNAUM . Little town located northwest of Lake Tiberias which served asheadquarters for Jesus' ministry in Galilee (Mt 4, 13)." (Ibid., p. 416)

And,

"GENNESARET. Plain to the northwest of the Sea of Tiberias . It gave its name toa town close to Capernaum. Jesus sojourned there for a long time (Mt 14, 34). (Ibid.,p. 421)

Both Capernaum and Gennesaret were located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee,also called the Sea of Tiberias. Hence, there is no contradiction here since one writer gives us

the general location (Capernaum), with the other specifying the exact location Jesus and hisapostles settled, namely on a plain by Capernaum.

Ghounem:

MK 15:25 It was the third hour when Jesus was crucified.

JN 19:14-15 It was after the sixth hour since Jesus was still before Pilate and had notyet been sentenced at that time.



Response:

First, John does not contradict Mark since John does not mention when Jesus was actuallycrucified. John only points out that Jesus' trial before Pilate where Pilate petitioned the crowdin deciding Christ's fate occurred at the sixth hour.

Furthermore John may have been using Roman time, with Mark using Jewish time. In light of this, John would be suggesting that Christ's trial before Pilate took place at 6:00 A.M. Mark would then be implying that the actual crucifixion occurred several hours later at 9:00 A.M.

Ghounem:

MK 16:1-2 The women came to the tomb to anoint the body.

JN 19:39-40 The body had already been anointed and wrapped in linen cloth.

Response:

We again fail to see how this is a contradiction. Although John tells us that Joseph andNicodemus wrapped Jesus in 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, evidently they did not completethe job. This is implied by the fact that in John 19:42 the Evangelist states that it was theJewish Day of Preparation, indicating that Joseph and Nicodemus had to rush through theprocess of wrapping the body of Jesus.

The women therefor took it upon themselves to come back to the tomb and complete the jobJoseph and Nicodemus had begun.

Ghounem:

MK 16:5, LK 24:3 The women actually entered the tomb.

JN 20:1-2, 11 They did not.

Response:

Again, neither account contradicts. As we stated earlier, Mary Magdalene did not remainbehind long enough to hear the angel's announcement that Christ had been raised. John makes

this point clear. Yet, the other women who remained behind did in fact enter the tomb. BothMark and Luke highlight this fact.

Furthermore, John does not actually say that Mary Magdalene did not enter the tomb, but thatshe saw that the stone had been removed. It could be just as likely that she did enter the tomband after seeing that the body was gone, ran to tell the disciples about the missing bodywithout having had the chance to see the angels who were present at the tomb that morning.

Finally, Ghounem contradicts himself here. Ghounem earlier made the assertion that theGospels' claim that a group of women heading out to the tomb contradicted John's testimonythat Mary Magdalene went to the gravesite all by herself. Now he uses John 20 to show thatthere was a group of women that did not enter the tomb when arriving at the site. Hence,



Ghounem implicitly admits that John 20 does not single out the fact that more than onewoman was present with Mary when arriving at the tomb that first Easter morning.

So which is it? Does John 20:1 claim that Mary Magdalene was alone when she went to thetomb? If so then why does Ghounem use this to prove that there is a contradiction with Luke

24:3? If Ghounem admits that John 20 does not rule out the possibility that the other womenwere present with Mary, then why does Ghounem use John 20 to show that this passagecontradicts the other Gospels' mention of all the women that actually went to the tomb thatmorning?

Ghounem:

LK 1:15 John the Baptist had the Holy Spirit from before his birth or the birth of Jesus.

LK 1:41 Elizabeth had it long before Jesus went away.

LK 1:67 So did Zechariah.

LK 2:25 So did Simeon.

LK 11:13 It is obtained by prayer (presumably at any time).

JN 7:39, JN 16:7, The Holy Spirit cannot come into the world until after Jesus hasdeparted

Response: First, Luke 11:13 does not imply that the Holy Spirit can be given at any moment. HadGhounem read Luke carefully, he would have seen that Luke affirms that the Spirit wouldonly be given after the ascension of Jesus:

"'I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city untilyou have been clothed with power from on high .' When he had led them out to thevicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessingthem , he left them and was taken up into heaven ." Luke 24:49-51

"On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Donot leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you haveheard me speak about . For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will bebaptized with the Holy Spirit '… ' But you will receive power when the Holy Spiritcomes on you ; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea andSamaria, and to the ends of the earth.' After he said this , he was taken up beforetheir very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight . They were looking intentlyup into the sky as he was going , when suddenly two men dressed in white stoodbeside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky?This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in thesame way you have seen him go into heaven . Then they returned to Jerusalem fromthe hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city." Acts 1:4-5, 8-12



Second, in the case of Zechariah, John and Simeon these men received the Spirit prior to thebaptism of Christ. After the baptism, the Holy Spirit came to rest upon Christ and would notbe poured out upon believers until Jesus' resurrection and ascension, as stated in both Lukeand John.

Third, Ghounem implicitly admits that the Paraclete of John 14-16 is the Holy Spirit of God.This means that the Paraclete cannot be a prophecy of Muhammad. Hence, wheneverGhounem attempts to use the Paraclete passages of John to point to Muhammad he onlyserves to discredit his credibility as an apologist seeing that he often contradicts himself.

Ghounem:

LK 14:26 No one can be a disciple of Jesus unless he hates his parents, wife, children,brothers and sisters.

JN 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.

JN 4:20 If anyone claims to love God but hates his brother, he is a liar.

Response:

Ghounem badly misquotes the Bible in these specific passages. Jesus' point in Luke 14:26that one must hate parents etc. refers to a person's willingness to even forsake family forChrist. Hence, Jesus' point is that one must never love family, friends and the world morethan Christ but must be willing to give up everything for the Lord Jesus.

Second, Ghounem misquotes John 3:15 and 4:20 since these passages have nothing to dowith loving or hating one's brothers.

What Ghounem is seemingly referring to is John's first epistle, not the Gospel of John. Bethat as it may, 1 John is not referring to biological siblings, but spiritual brothers that havebeen adopted into God's family through faith in Jesus Christ. Believers can never hate otherbelievers, but must love one another as Christ loved us.

Ghounem:

LK 22:3-23 Satan entered Judas before the supper.

JN 13:27 It was during the supper.

Response:

There is no contradiction between Luke and John since both writers are referring to adifferent time period. Luke indicates that Satan entered Judas right before making a deal withthe Jews to betray Jesus:

"Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to thechief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how hemight betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. Heconsented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd



was present. Then came the day of the Unleavened Bread on which the PassoverLamb had to be sacrificed ." Luke 22:3-6

The implication Luke makes is that a period of time had elapsed from the moment Satanentered Judas to the time when Jesus was actually arrested.

John tells us that on the night of Jesus' arrest Satan entered Judas a second time:

"The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted JudasIscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus … As soon as Judas took the bread, Satanentered into him ." John 13:2, 27

Even prior to stating that the Devil entered Judas after the evening meal had been served,John indicates that Satan had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus. Luke tells us when thisprompting took place, namely on the very day when Satan entered Judas the first time,causing the latter to negotiate with the chief priests and officers to betray Jesus.

Therefore, when the two accounts are pieced together we discover that Satan entered Judasthe first time on the day the latter negotiated with the chief priests and the officers of thetemple. Satan then reentered Judas on the night of Jesus' arrest. In light of this, Ghounem'scontradiction disappears.

Ghounem:

LK 23:43 Jesus promises one of those crucified with him that they will be together,that very day, in Paradise.

JN 20:17 Jesus was not raised until the third day and did not ascend until at least fortydays later.

Response:

The answer is really simple. On the day Jesus and the criminal died, their spirits enteredParadise together. Both orthodox Muslims and Bible believing Christians agree that when aperson's body dies, his soul continues to exist.

Yet, Jesus' ascension into heaven forty days later does not refer to the ascension of his soul

but rather to his physical body. Hence, Jesus ascended with his physical body into heavenonly after he had been raised from the dead. There is no contradiction between the twoaccounts.

Ghounem:

LK 23:55-56 The women followed Joseph to the tomb, saw how the body had beenlaid, then went to prepare spices with which to annoint the body.

JN 19:39-40 Joseph brought spices with him (75 or a 100 lbs.) and anointed the body(as the women should have noticed).



Response:

This has already been answered above. No need to repeat ourselves here.

Ghounem:

JN 1:1, 10:30 Jesus and God are one.

JN 14:28 God is greater than Jesus.

Response:

Here, Ghounem commits a categorical fallacy, confusing nature with position. The Fatherand the Son are equal in nature and essence , not in position . Hence, they are equal in onesense yet in another sense the Father is greater than the Son.

Interestingly, Ghounem implicitly acknowledges that John 10:30 affirms the essentialequality of the Father and the Son, that the Father and the Son are one in nature and power.The reason why this is interesting is that throughout his book Ghounem tries to disprove thedeity of Christ. Yet, he now indirectly admits that John 10:30 does teach that Jesus and theFather are equal in nature, which would then mean that both the Father and the Son equallyparticipate in the eternal being of the one true God.

Ghounem often makes these types of slips throughout his article.

Ghounem:

JN 1:1 Jesus was God incarnate.

AC 2:22 Jesus was a man approved by God.

Response:

Both statements are true since Jesus is both God and man at the same time. Had Ghounemread John carefully he would have discovered that John also taught that Jesus was not onlyGod, but that he was fully human as well, as does Acts. (Cf. Jn. 1:1, 14; 8:40, 58; Acts 3:14-15)

Second, Ghounem again tries to have his cake and eat it too. As we stated above one of themajor themes of Ghounem's book is to prove that the NT does not teach that Jesus is God.Yet, he seemingly makes a Freudian slip and admits that the NT does in fact teach theabsolute deity of Christ, a slip he also makes just prior to this one! Again, we ask Ghounemto tell us what in fact does he believe about the NT teaching on the person of Christ. Does hebelieve that the NT teaches the deity of Christ, and if so then why does he try to prove that itdoes not? If it does not teach Jesus' divinity, then how can he accuse John of contradicting thetestimony of Acts that Jesus is a man, if in fact the NT does not teach the deity of Christ?

Ghounem:

JN 3:17, 8:15, 12:47 Jesus does not judge.



JN 5:22, 5:27-30, 9:39, AC 10:42, 2CO 5:10 Jesus does judge.

Response:

There are no contradictions. The first set of passages refer to Christ's first coming where he

did not come to judge the world, but to save his people from their sin by dying on theirbehalf.

The judgment referred to in John 5:22-23, 27-30 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 is the future judgment that takes place at the consummation of the age where Christ returns to judge thenations and rewards true believers for their patient endurance and good deeds. Christ iscoming again to save his people from the wrath of God that will be poured out upon allunbelievers:

"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to youwho are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus isrevealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punishthose who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from thepresence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to beglorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

"So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he willappear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation those who are waitingfor him ." Hebrews 9:28

Acts 10:42 is emphasizing that God has appointed Christ for the specific task of judging theworld, a function that Jesus will execute at the end of the age as the apostle Paul laterexplains:

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance , but now he commands all peopleeverywhere to repent . For he has set a day when he will judge the world with

justice by the man he has appointed . He has given proof of this to all men byraising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

Let us quote John 9:39-41 to see what type of judgment Jesus was referring:

"Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see andthose who see will become blind .' Some Pharisees who were with him heard him saythis and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?' Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you wouldnot be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains .'"

The judgment Christ refers to in this passage is not the same judgment mentioned abovewhich takes place at the consummation of the age. The judgment referred to here is the takingaway of spiritual insight from those who refuse to believe the truth of God as revealed inChrist. Hence, the very presence of Christ brings to light the judgment looming over those

who refuse to believe in him as the Son of God:



"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save theworld through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever doesnot believe stands condemned ALREADY because he has not believed in thename of God's one and only Son ." John 3:17-18

Their rejection of Jesus is a clear indication of the judgment of God upon them, which Christshall manifest at the consummation of the age.

Ghounem:

JN 5:22 God does not judge.

RO 2:2-5, 3:19, 2TH 1:5, 1PE 1:17 God does judge.

Response:

First, John 5:22 does not say GOD will not judge anyone, but rather that the Father judges noone.

Second, God the Father does not judge directly , but indirectly through the agency of his Son:

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance , but now he commands all peopleeverywhere to repent. For he has set a day when HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD with justice BY THE MAN he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all menby raising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

In fact, had Ghounem continued reading in 2 Thessalonians he would have discovered thatthis is specifically the point made by Paul, namely that God will judge all flesh through theagency of his Son:

"All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be countedworthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will payback trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled ,and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heavenin blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not knowGod and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will be punishedwith everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and

from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy peopleand to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, becauseyou believed our testimony to you." 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

Third, seeing that Jesus is God, God indeed shall judge the world. Yet, it is not God theFather who judges but rather God the Son .

Finally, 1 Peter 1:17 does not necessarily refer to the Day of Judgment. Rather, 1 Peter refersto God's impartiality in that God does not show favoritism but looks upon all with justice:

"Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially , live your livesas strangers here in reverent fear." 1 Peter 1:17

This echoes Peter's words to Cornelius in the book of Acts:



"Then Peter began to speak: 'I now realize how true it is that God does not showfavoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.'"Acts 10:34-35Ghounem:

JN 5:31 Jesus says that if he bears witness to himself, his testimony is not true.

JN 8:14 Jesus says that even if he bears witness to himself, his testimony is true.

Response:

This is another time where Ghounem misquotes the scriptures. Let us quote the relevantcontext to see what Jesus actually said:

"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid . There is another who testifiesin my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent toJohn and he has testified to the truth . Not that I accept human testimony; but Imention it that you may be saved . John was a lamp that burned and gave light, andyou chose for a time to enjoy his light. I have testimony weightier than that of John.For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing,testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me . You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor doeshis word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study theScriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are theScriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I donot accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have thelove of God in your hearts . I have come in my Father's name, and you do not acceptme; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can youbelieve if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praisethat comes from the only God? But do not think I will accuse you before the Father.Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, youwould believe me, for he wrote about me . But since you do not believe what hewrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:31-47

Jesus affirms that as far as the Jews are concerned his testimony is invalid. That is why heappeals to the testimony of John, his miracles, the Father, the scriptures and of Moses forverification of his divine claims.

"The Pharisees challenged him, 'Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your

testimony is not valid.' Jesus answered, 'Even if I testify on my own behalf, mytestimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going . But youhave no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards;I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I amnot alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me . In your own Law it is writtenthat the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; myother witness is the Father, who sent me.' Then they asked him, 'Where is yourfather?' 'You do not know me or my Father,' Jesus replied. 'If you knew me, youwould know my Father also.'" John 8:13-19

In this passage Jesus is speaking of himself, that even if he were to testify about himself heknew who he was and where he came from and needed no one to testify on his behalf. Yet,

Christ goes on to produce another witness on his behalf, namely the testimony of the Father,



in order to convince the Jews that he had come from God. Hence, when the passages arequoted in context neither account contradicts the other.

Ghounem:

JN 5:38-47 Men have a choice as to whether or not to receive Jesus.

JN 6:44 No one can come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father.

Response:

We fail to see how this is a contradiction. The fact is that men are held accountable for theiractions since God created all men to be moral agents, not robots. Yet, due to the fall of Adamall men are born with a sinful nature that enslaves them to sin. Hence, man is responsible forresponding to the call of God. Yet, due to the sinful nature inherent in humanity manbecomes incapable of choosing Christ without God empowering him to do so. The apostleJohn states it best:

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all whoreceived him, to those who believed in his name , he gave the right to becomechildren of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or ahusband's will, but born of God ." best John 1:11-13

In this passage, we find that both human responsibility (i.e., " to all who received him, to thosewho believed in his name" ) and the Divine Sovereignty (i.e., " nor of human decision… but born of God ") are at work in the salvation of man.

Islam also holds to a similar view, yet with one added exception. Whereas the God of theHoly Bible will not tempt anyone with immorality (cf., James 1:13-15), Allah on the otherhand is the cause of both good and immoral acts:

Hadith 46:

I am Allah. I created human beings with My knowledge. For whom I willed good, Igranted good character. And for whom I willed evil, I granted bad character .[ Abu al-Shaikh al-Ansari ] (Dr. Abdul Khaliq Kazi & Dr. Alan B. Day, Al-Hadith Al-Qudsiyyah- Divine Narratives [Dar Al Kitab Al Arabi, USA 1995], p. 225)

Hadith 47:

I am Allah, there is no god besides Me. I created evil and decreed it. Woe to a manfor whom I created evil AND CAUSED HIS HANDS TO CARRY IT OUT ! [al-

Bayhaqi ] (Ibid.)

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle as saying:

Verily Allah has fixed the very portion of adultery which a man will indulge in, andwhich he of necessity must commit (or there would be no escape from it)." SahihMuslim # 6421, 6422



Ghounem:

JN 7:38 Jesus quotes a statement that he says appears in scripture (i.e., the OT).

(No such statement is found in the OT.)

Response:

Christ is simply alluding to the promise in Scripture that God would pour out living waters toall those who thirst and are weary without this having to be a literal quotation:

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land , and streams on the dry ground ; I willpour out my Spirit on your offspring , and my blessing on your descendants." Isaiah44:3

"They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat uponthem. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them besidesprings of water ." Isaiah 49:10

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters ; and you who have no money,come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."Isaiah 55:11

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched landand will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden , like a springwhose waters never fail ." Isaiah 58:11

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of livingwater , and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."Jeremiah 2:13

"O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those whoturn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD ,the spring of living water ." Jeremiah 17:13

"On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem , half to the eastern sea andhalf to the western sea, in summer and in winter." Zechariah 14:8

If Ghounem has a problem with Christ alluding to a general OT promise that is not a literalcitation, then he will have to reject the Quran as well:

"Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong againstUnbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow andprostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure .On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This istheir similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seedwhich sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and itstands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight . As a result, itfills the Unbelievers with rage at them. Allah has promised those among them whobelieve and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward." S. 48:29



We challenge Ghounem to produce any verse from the Holy Bible that is a literal word-for-word citation from what is quoted in the above passage.

"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (inreturn) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a

promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the GOSPEL, and theQur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in thebargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme." S. 9:111

We again challenge Ghounem to produce where the above promise is ever made in theGospel. Hence, either Ghounem will impose his very own criteria against the Quran andadmit that it misquotes previous Scriptures, or will now agree that alluding to generalpromises that are not a literal word-for-word citation is something completely acceptable.

Ghounem:

JN 10:27-29 None of Jesus' followers will be lost.

TI 4:1 Some of them will be lost.

Response:

First, Ghounem mistakenly alludes to Paul's letter to Timothy simply as TI without telling hisreaders to which letter of Timothy he is referring. This is a common mistake that he makesthroughout his article.

Second, there is a rather simple answer to Ghounem's alleged contradiction. Jesus' truefollowers will never fall away from the faith since Christ preserves them for all eternity:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For Iam convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither thepresent nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anythingelse in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is inChrist Jesus our Lord ." Romans 8:37-39

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on tocompletion until the day of Christ Jesus ." Philippians 1:6

"That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom Ihave believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted tohim for that day ." 2 Timothy 1:12

"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was bornof God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him ." 1 John 5:18

"… To those who have been called, who are loved by God Father and kept by JesusChrist ." Jude 1

It is only those who do not truly belong to Christ that eventually fall away from the faith:



"They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged tous, THEY WOULD HAVE REMAINED WITH US; but their going showed thatnone of them belonged to us ." 1 John 2:19Ghounem:

JN 12:31 The Devil is the ruler (or "prince") of this world.

1CO 10:26, RE 1:5 Jesus is the ruler of kings--the earth is his.

Response:

Our response here entails that we delve into a little theological lesson. The Holy Bibleteaches that God has complete, sovereign control over the entire universe:

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it ;for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalm 24:1-2

"The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, 'This is what isdecreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken fromyou. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; youwill eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledgethat the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them toanyone he wishes .' Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar wasfulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body wasdrenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle andhis nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raisedmy eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; Ihonored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; hiskingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth areregarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and thepeoples of the earth . No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have youdone?' At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor werereturned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out,and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I,Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, becauseeverything he does is right and all his ways are just . And those who walk in pridehe is able to humble." Daniel 4:31-37

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is noauthority except that which God has established . The authorities that exist havebeen established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority isrebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring

judgment on themselves . For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but forthose who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Thendo what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good .But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He isGod's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer .Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible

punishment but also because of conscience." Romans 13:1-5



During the time Paul wrote this, this would have meant that God had also instituted Romeitself for his sovereign purposes.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him allthings were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether

thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and forhim. He is before all things, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER ."Colossians 1:15-17

"but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of allthings, and through whom he made the universe . The Son is the radiance of God'sglory and the exact representation of his being, SUSTAINING ALL THINGS BYHIS POWERFUL WORD . After he had provided purification for sins, he sat downat the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:2-3

As such, God is sovereign over all authorities and rulers and guides all creatures to fulfill hisperfect and righteous will, even if they do not realize that this is what they are doing:

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercoursewherever he pleases … There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeedagainst the LORD." Proverbs 21:1, 30

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps ." Proverbs16:9

"… who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; hewill say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations belaid."' This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I takehold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to opendoors before him so that gates will not be shut : I will go before you and will levelthe mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I willgive you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you mayknow that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For thesake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow onyou a title of honor, THOUGH YOU DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ME . I am theLORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you ,THOUGH YOU HAVE NOT ACKNOWLEDGED ME, so that from the rising of

the sun to t he place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am theLORD, and there is no other . I form the light and create darkness, I bringprosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things . You heavensabove, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth openwide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, havecreated it. Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherdamong the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are youmaking?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? Woe to him who says to his father,'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?' This iswhat the LORD says- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things tocome, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of

my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My ownhands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry ho sts. I will raise up



Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight . He will rebuild mycity and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."Isaiah 44:28-45:13

The Holy Bible also states that God has given man the authority to rule over the creation of

God:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness , and let them ruleover the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all theearth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. ' So God created manin his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he createdthem. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill theearth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and overevery living creature that moves on the ground . Then God said, 'I give you everyseed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit withseed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all thebirds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has thebreath of life in it-I give every green plant for food.' And it was so." Genesis 1:26-30

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of manthat you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings andcrowned him with glory and honor . You made him ruler over the works of yourhands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of theseas . O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:3-9

This is a point that the Quran completely agrees with:"Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: 'I will create a vicegerent on earth.' They said:'Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilstwe do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what yeknow not.'" S. 2:30 "It is We Who have placed you with authority on earth , andprovided you therein with means for the fulfilment of your life: small are the thanksthat ye give!" S. 7:10

Due to man's disobedience and fall in the Garden, man relinquished his authority over toSatan. Hence, all men fell under the bondage of Satan and sin, making Satan their master.

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms

of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, forit has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.'" Luke 4:5-6

"Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin . Now a slavehas no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Sonsets you free, you will be free indeed.'" John 8:34-36

Christ came to redeem man by breaking Satan's bondage and reclaiming for man theauthority that he had lost:

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that byhis death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil-

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death ."Hebrews 2:14-15



Therefore, Satan can be the ruler of this age without nullifying the supremacy of Christ. Thisis because Satan himself is under the authority and sovereign control of the Lord Jesus Christ.The Lord holds complete supremacy over all the rulers of the spiritual and physical realms,being the Sovereign Lord of all creation:

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you mayknow the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in thesaints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like theworking of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him fromthe dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above allrule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, notonly in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all thingsunder his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church ,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians1:18-23

"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but whofor one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast . They have onepurpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make waragainst the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords andKing of kings -and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."Revelation 17:12-14

"On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS ANDLORD OF LORDS ." Revelation 19:16

In fact, the Hadith claims that Allah is the only King while at the same time affirming thatthere are other kings as well:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection Allah will holdthe whole earth and fold the heaven with His right hand and say, ' I am the King :where are the kings of the earth? '" Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 479

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying: The vilest name in Allah's sight is Malik al-Amlak (King of Kings)... There is no king but Allah , the Exalted, andGlorious. Sahih Muslim # 5338, 5339.

Allah can be considered the only real King since all the other kings are underneath his

control. Hence, there can be others who rule upon the earth without this nullifying thesovereignty of God.Ghounem:

JN 13:36 Peter asks Jesus where he is going.

JN 14:5 Thomas does the same.

JN 16:5 Jesus says that none of them have asked him where he is going.

Response:

First, the context of John 13:36 and 14:6 are completely different:



"When he was gone, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorifiedin him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorifyhim at once. 'My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look forme, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannotcome . A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you

must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if youlove one another.' Simon Peter asked him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesusreplied, 'Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later .'Peter asked, 'Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' ThenJesus answered, Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, beforethe rooster crows, you will disown me three times!'" John 13:31-38

The context of John 13 relates to Jesus' passion, i.e. that God will glorify Christ throughJesus' death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. Hence, Jesus is speaking about his

journey to Calvary. It should also be pointed out that Jesus is responding directly to Peter,since the Greek word for "you" in 13:36 is singular.

"'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father'shouse are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there toprepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back andtake you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to theplace where I am going .' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don't know where you aregoing, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth andthe life . No one comes to the Father except through me .'" John 14:1-6

Jesus is speaking here about the way to heaven, not the path to his suffering and glorification.

Second, the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary gives the reason behind Jesus' statement in16:5:

5-6 The statement 'none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'" seems incongruousin the context of Peter's question in the earlier part of the discourse (13:36). At thatpoint Peter's question was casual, and neither he nor the other disciples pressed theissue to ascertain what Jesus' plans really were. The same thing is true here. There islittle concern about Jesus' future; they are interested mainly in their own future. Theyare sorrowful because they will lose him, so they make no inquiry about thereasons for his departure nor about the objectives he might wish to attain . (Ibid.,

Volume 2-New Testament [Zondervan Publishing House; Grand Rapids, MI 1994], p.353)

The NIV Study Bible concurs:

16:5 none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Peter had asked such a question(13:36), but quickly turned his attention to another subject. His concern had been withwhat would happen to himself and the others and not for where Jesus was going.

The New Bible Commentary continues:

"… There appears to be a contradi ction between v 5 and 13:36; 4:5, since in the lattercases Peter and Thomas did ask where Jesus was going. But consider the different



contexts . Here Jesus was concerned with the completion of his whole mission. Thedisciples had insufficient insight to enquire about this. Neither Peter nor Thomashad earlier grasped the full significance of their question . The disciples were now

plunged into even more perplexity by Jesus' further revelation…" (Ibid., p. 1058)

In light of this, the difficulty vanishes.

Ghounem:

JN 17:12 Jesus has lost none of his disciples other than Judas.

JN 18:9 Jesus has lost none, period.

Response:

We have already mentioned that those who abandon the faith demonstrate that they neverbelonged to Christ in the first place. Had they truly been the Lord's they would haveremained. Likewise, Judas was never a true follower of Christ and therefore perished. Earlier,Christ specifically pointed out that Judas was a devil:

"Then Jesus replied, 'Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!'(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot who, though one of the Twelve, was laterto betray him.)" John 6:70-71

Judas did not belong to Christ but to the Devil. Hence, Jesus did not lose any of those thatwere truly his and therefore "lost none, period."

Ghounem:

JN 17:12 Mentions a "son of perdition" as appearing in scripture (meaning the OT).

(Note: There is no "son of perdition" mentioned in the OT.)

Response:

Jesus nowhere claims that the title "son of perdition" is found in the OT. Rather, Christ ispointing to the fact that Judas' destruction had been predicted and that is why he is referred to

as the "son of perdition" since the title refers to one set apart for destruction:

"While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gaveme. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripturewould be fulfilled." John 17:12

The NIV Study Bible states:

17:12 I protected them . Christ's power is adequate for every need. The one doomed todestruction . Lit. "the son of destruction" (see 2Th 2:3), i.e., one belonging to thesphere of damnation and destined for destruction (but predestination is not in viewhere). Reference is to Judas Iscariot.



Both the Lord Jesus and the Apostles quote the OT passages that predict Judas' betrayal anddestruction:

"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill thescripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me .'" John

13:18

Jesus cites Psalm 41:9 as prophesying Judas' betrayal.

"In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about ahundred and twenty) and said, 'Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled whichthe Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas ,who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus- he was one of our number andshared in this ministry. (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought afield; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their languageAkeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) For,' said Peter, ' it is written in the book of Psalms, "May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it," and,"May another take his place of leadership ."'" Acts 1:15-20

Peter quotes Psalms 69:25 and 109:8 as predicting Judas' destruction and replacement.

Now let us apply Ghounem's methodology to the Quran and see if it passes his own test:

"And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: 'O Children of Israel! I am themessenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, andgiving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad .'But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, 'this is evident sorcery!'" S.61:6

We challenge Ghounem to show us where Jesus ever predicted the coming of a messengernamed Ahmad. There is not a single reference in the entire Holy Bible of an Ahmad or amessenger to come after Jesus whose name would be the "Praised One."

"It (the Qur'an) is indeed a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds , with it camedown the spirit of truth Upon your heart so that you may be one of the warners inclear Arabic speech and indeed IT (the Qur'an) is in the writings of the earlier

(prophets) ." S. 26:192-196

We would like for Ghounem to show us where exactly IN the Holy Bible can one find theArabic Quran.

Ghounem:

TI 1:15 Paul says that he is the foremost of sinners.

JN 3:8-10 He who commits sin is of the Devil. Children of God do not sin.



Response:

First, Ghounem again alludes to TI and JN without telling his readers that he actually means1 Timothy and the first epistle of John, not the Gospel of John.

Second, let us quote Paul in context to see the point the Apostle was actually making:

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered mefaithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer andpersecutor and a violent man . I was shown mercy because I acted in ignoranceand unbelief . The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along withthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deservesfull acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am theworst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example forthose who would believe on him and receive eternal life ." 1 Timothy 1:12-16

Paul was speaking of the sins he committed in ignorance while still an unbeliever. Yet, Johnis addressing believers who have been born of God:

"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning fromthe beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work .No one who is born of God will continue to sin , because God's seed remains inhim; he cannot go on sinning , because he has been born of God . This is how weknow who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone whodoes not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love hisbrother." 1 John 3:8-10

This is precisely what Paul refused to do, namely sin willfully against God. Rather, Paul beathis body into complete submission to the will of God in order that he might live completelyfor Christ:

"Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beatingthe air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached toothers, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life

I live in the body, I live for the Son of God who loved me and gave himself forme ." Galatians 2:20

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with itspassions and desires ." Galatians 5:24

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ , through which theworld has been crucified to me, and I to the world ." Galatians 6:14

Ghounem: We now see since the Gospel of John was written the last of the four cannonized

Gospels, it differs more than the others, therefore, the quotes used from the Gospel of John has less credibility than the others.



Response:

First, just because John differs from the Synoptics does not prove that he is any less reliablethan the other Gospels. The fact is that the Quran is totally different from the Synoptics. Doesthis mean that Ghounem will now reject the Quran because it is substantially later than the

Synoptics and differs greatly in content? Although John is different in content, nothing hesays contradicts the testimony of the Synoptics. In fact, we find that the four Gospels areoften harmonious and complementary.

Second, early Muslim scholarship viewed John as a reliable report of the Gospel originallypassed down by Jesus to his disciples. For instance, Ibn Ishaq quotes the Gospel of John asTHAT Gospel that was given to Jesus and that also allegedly predicts the advent of Muhammad. Yet, Ishaq never even hints that this particular Gospel is inauthentic or corrupt:

"Among the things which have reached me about what Jesus the Son of Mary statedin the Gospel which he received from God for the followers of the Gospel, in applyinga term to describe the apostle of God, is the following. It is extracted FROMWHAT JOHN THE APOSTLE SET DOWN FOR THEM WHEN HE WROTETHE GOSPEL FOR THEM FROM THE TESTAMENT OF JESUS SON OFMARY: 'He that hateth me hateth the Lord. And if I had not done in their presenceworks which none other before me did, they had not sin: but from now they are puffedup with pride and think that they will overcome me and also the Lord. But the wordthat is in the law must be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a cause' (i.e. withoutreason). But when the Comforter has come whom God will send to you from theLord's presence, and the spirit of truth which will have gone forth from the Lord'spresence he (shall bear) witness of me and ye also, because ye have been with mefrom the beginning. I have spoken unto you about this that ye should not be in doubt.

"The Munahhemana (God bless and preserve him!) in Syriac is Muhammad; in Greek he is the paraclete." (Ishaq, Life Of Muhammad , trans. Alfred Guillaume, pp. 103-104)

The particular citation is taken from John 15:23-16:1. This implies that Islam's first renownedbiographer, Ishaq, had no doubt that the Gospel of John was in fact THE Gospel of JesusChrist.

Ishaq also affirms that the apostle John wrote the fourth Gospel. This indicates that Ghounem

is not even faithful to the testimony of his own Muslim sources that agree with conservativeBiblical scholarship and the early Church on the authorship and reliability of individual NewTestament books.

In conclusion, we again discover that nothing stated in Ghounem's article had any realsubstance behind it. Oftentimes his entire arguments crumble when his points are read withinthe context of the citations given throughout his article.

Jesus is the Risen Lord of Eternal Glory! Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

a christian response to mohamed ghounem - by sam shamoun

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