Dear Christians,
Eve was made from the rib of a Man, Jesus was made from a womb of a woman, which sounds more miraculous to you?
Secondly, "Who then is Eve's second parent? you can suggest that she is from Adam, who then is Her Mother? Aren't all humans born with a Mother and Father?"
Response:
Ghounem fails to tell his readers that whereas Eve's unusual birth was necessitated by the circumstances in which God created her, Jesus' miraculous conception was not predicated on any such conditions.
Eve was the first woman and therefore could not have been born of a woman. Likewise, Adam was the first man and could not have been born of either man or woman. Yet, Jesus was different. Whereas Adam and Eve were the first set of humans and could not have entered into life through the normal process of sexual reproduction, this was not the case with the Lord Jesus. Sexual reproduction had already been set into motion by God when Christ was conceived supernaturally, so the question remains why was it necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin?
The Muslim response is that the virgin birth was a demonstration of God's creative power, showing his ability to create as he wills. Our response to this assertion is that this is a rather inadequate demonstration of God's creative ability since the virgin birth must be taken solely by faith. Unlike Jesus' public miracles, no one was there when Mary received the news from the angel that she would conceive while still a virgin. In fact, according to the Quran it took another miracle to defend her integrity:
"At length she brought The (babe) to her people, Carrying him (in her arms). They said: 'O Mary! Truly an amazing thing Hast thou brought! O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not A man of evil, nor thy Mother a woman unchaste!' But she pointed to the babe. They said: 'How can we Talk to one who is A child in the cradle?' He said: I am indeed A servant of God: He hath given me Revelation and made me A prophet; and He hath made me Blessed wheresoever I be, And hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long As I live; (He) hath made me kind To my mother, and not Overbearing or miserable; So Peace is on me The day I was born, The day that I die, And the day I Shall be raised up To life (again)'!" Sura 19:27-33
Yusuf Ali notes,
"What could Mary do? How could she explain? Would they, in their censorious mood, accept her explanation? All she could do was point to the child, who, she knew, was no ordinary child. A child came to her rescue. By a miracle he spoke, and defended his mother, and preached to an unbelieving audience." (Ali, The Holy Quran, f. 2482)
The Muslim reasoning behind the virgin birth cannot be sustained. Hence, the Quran does not give us an answer and yet the Holy Bible does:
"And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no husband? Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and so the holy Thing which shall be born, will be called the Son of God." Luke 1:34-35
The reason for the virgin birth is that Jesus is the Son of God. Being the Son of God, this was the only befitting manner for him to enter time and space.
Furthermore, Christ came down as the final sacrifice for sin. But in order for Christ to pay the price of sin fully and satisfy the infinite holiness of God Jesus had to take on a human nature. This nature also had to be free from the stain of original sin, since all who are descended from the first man inherit a corrupt human nature. (cf. Roman 5:12-14; Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51:5, 58:3)
Therefore, the Savior had to be born of a virgin whose womb would be made holy in order for him to be without sin:
"And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be since I have no husband?' And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.'" Luke 1:34-35 RSV
Had he not been born supernaturally by God's Holy Spirit, he would have then needed a savior to free him from sin.
So far, Ghounem's assertions have failed to address the reason behind Jesus' virgin birth.
Mary's womb was barren and childless similar to Adam's rib, childless and barren.
Adam's rib made Eve and Mary's womb made Jesus:
Response
Jesus was not made. He is the eternal Son of God who became man for our salvation. His human nature was conceived, yet he himself preexisted in heaven:
"For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John 6:33
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." John 6:38
"At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven.'" John 6:41
"'But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.'" John 6:50-51
"But he continued, 'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I AM, you will indeed die in your sins.'" John 8:23-24
"'Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.' 'You are not yet fifty years old,' the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham!' 'I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I AM!'" John 8:56-58
"I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." John 16:28
"So now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed... Father I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." John 17:5, 24 NRSV
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law" Galatians 4:4
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things 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 for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:13-17
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:1-3
Christians claim that Allah is Jesus's father, who then is Eve's Mother?
The womb and the rib were used as a tool by Allah to Create.
Eve was born from another human as Jesus was born from another human, Jesus was born with the help of Allah as Eve was born with the help of Allah, who then is Eve's mother?
Response:
We have already addressed why Eve had to be born in the manner described in the Holy Bible. We have also shown why the Quran does not address the issue of the necessity of the virgin birth, whereas the Holy Bible does. Hence, Ghounem has not addressed the real issues.
Secondly, God did not create Jesus. Rather, God caused Mary to supernaturally conceive the human nature of Christ. Yet, the person of Christ is eternal. Interestingly, the Holy Bible claims that all three persons created the human body in which Christ tabernacled:
The Father:
"Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, "Here I am-it is written about me in the scroll- I have come to do your will, O God."' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second." Hebrews 10:5-9
The Son:
"But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will proclaim thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.' And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again, 'Here am I, and the children God has given me.' Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." Hebrews 2:9-15 RSV
The Holy Spirit:
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'" Matthew 1:18-21
Allah has no gender, and does not beget.
Response:
Indeed, God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24), and hence has no gender. Yet, God chose to take on a visible form by becoming man in order to reveal himself personally to his chosen people.
Secondly, we also agree that God does not beget, since in the Quran begetting implies that Allah had to have a consort in order to have a son, something completely blasphemous to Bible-believing Christians:
"The Originator of the heavens and the earth! How can He have a child, when there is for Him no consort, when He created all things and is Aware of all things?" S. 6:101
"And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!" S. 9:30
Hence, to say Jesus is the Son of God is to imitate the unbelievers of old. Yet, the unbelievers of old (i.e. the pagans) believed that the gods had wives with whom they cohabited in order to have children. This is something that is just as blasphemous to Christians as it is to Muslims.
In the service of our Lord Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
Sam
Responses to Mohamed Ghounem
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