The Holy Spirit in Christianity and Islam [Part 2]

Here is the second part of our response to Osama’s paper on the Spirit’s identity.

When we last left Osama, he accused the God of the Holy Bible of lying. Here, we want to show that it isn’t the Holy God of the Bible who lies, but the god of Islam who does:

But they (the Jews) were crafty, and God was crafty, for God is the best of crafty ones! When God said, 'O Jesus! I will make Thee die and take Thee up again to me and will clear thee of those who misbelieve, and will make those who follow thee above those who misbelieve, at the day of judgment, then to me is your return. I will decide between you concerning that wherein ye disagree. S. 3:54-55 Palmer

And:

And when those who misbelieve were crafty with thee to detain thee a prisoner, or kill thee, or drive thee forth; they were crafty, but God was crafty too, for God is best of crafty ones! S. 8:30 Palmer

The word for crafty is makr which, according to Muslim scholar Dr. Mahmoud M. Ayoub, means deceitfulness or dishonesty. (Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters: The House of Imran [1992 State University of New York Press, Albany], Volume II, p. 165; bold emphasis ours)

After listing several Muslim sources, Ayoub quotes ar-Razi as saying that,

"scheming (makr) is actually an act of deception aiming at causing evil. It is not possible to attribute deception to God. Thus the word is one of the muttashabihat [multivalent words of the Quran]." (Ibid., p. 166; bold and italic emphasis ours)

Ayoub even mentions one Muslim who actually boasted that Allah was the best conniver, deceiver, schemer etc. Ayoub cites renowned Muslim commentator al-Qurtubi’s comments that some scholars viewed the words "best of schemers" as one of God’s beautiful names! Ayoub writes,

Thus one would pray, "O Best of Schemers, scheme for me!" Qurtubi also reports that Muhammad used to pray, "O God, scheme for me, and do not scheme against me!" (Qurtubi, IV, pp. 98-99; cf. Zamakhshari, I, p. 366). (Ibid., p. 166)

Osama may argue that specific words such as makr do not have their normal meaning when used of Allah. The problem with this is that it ignores passages of the Quran where it shows Allah actually deceiving mankind, i.e. Allah deceived people into thinking that Jesus was crucified when he really wasn’t (Cf. surah 4:157).

Osama may further respond that Allah didn’t deceive mankind, since he has clearly informed believers what actually transpired during Jesus’ final moments on earth. The problem with this argument is that Allah’s so-called "revelation" is approximately 600 years too late. Christians, Jews and pagans had to wait for the advent of Muhammad before being told by Allah that Jesus was not crucified. And in addition, this "correction" was made in such an untrustworthy way, and given with such ambiguous language, that today there are still billions of Christians, Jews and atheists who believe in Christ’s crucifixion, due to the Quran failing to make a credible and clear case for its position. In fact, there are even some Muslims such as the Ahmadiyyas who do not believe that the Quran is really denying that Christ was crucified. They believe that the Quran is denying that Christ died by crucifixion. They assert that he was crucified but survived!

The Quran also says that Allah deceived Muslims!

When Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many you would certainly have become weak-hearted and you would have disputed about the matter, but Allah saved (you); surely He is the Knower of what is in the breasts. And when He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes and He made you to appear little in their eyes, in order that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done, and to Allah are all affairs returned. S. 8:43-44 Shakir

Allah is said to have shown the opposing fighting forces as few to Muhammad since, if he had shown him their actual numbers, the Muslims would have been afraid to fight. Allah had to use deception in order to encourage Muslims to fight in his cause! The late Abdullah Yusuf Ali notes:

The Muslim army, though they knew their worldly disadvantage, did not realise the full odds against them. The Meccans came exulting in any case, and they despised the contemptible little force opposed to them. Even though they thought the Muslim force was twice as great as it was (iii. 13), still this number was contemptible, when taken with its poor equipment. Both these psychological mistakes subserved the main Plan, which was to bring the matter to a decisive issue, whether the Pagans of Mecca were to continue their arrogant oppression, of the religion of God was to be established in freedom and honour. (Ali, The Holy Qur’an, Translation and Commentary, p. 426, fn. 1214; underlined emphasis ours)

Allah even permits his followers to lie and use deception against unbelievers:

Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security. Allah biddeth you beware (only) of Himself. Unto Allah is the journeying. S. 3:28 Pickthall

Allah is basically telling Muslims that they can pretend to be friends to unbelievers so as to receive their protection, or to protect themselves from them! Here are Ibn Kathir's comments on this verse:

The Prohibition of Supporting the Disbelievers

Allah prohibited His believing servants from becoming supporters of the disbelievers, or to take them as comrades with whom they develop friendships, rather than the believers. Allah warned against such behavior when He said,...

<And whoever does that, will never be helped by Allah in any way> meaning, whoever commits this act that Allah has prohibited, then Allah will discard him. Similarly, Allah said,...

<O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends, showing affection towards them>, until,...

<And whosoever of you does that, then indeed he has gone astray from the straight path.> [60:1]. Allah said,...

<O you who believe! Take not for friends disbelievers instead of believers. Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves> [4:144], and,...

<O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends, they are but friends of each other. And whoever befriends them, then surely, he is one of them.> [5:51].

Allah said, after mentioning the fact that the faithful believers gave their support to the faithful believers among the Muhajirin, Ansar and Bedouins,...

<And those who disbelieve are allies of one another, (and) if you do not behave the same, there will be Fitnah and oppression on the earth, and a great mischief and corruption.> [8:73].

Allah said next, ...

(unless you indeed fear a danger from them) meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers OUTWARDLY, but never inwardly. For instance, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Ad-Darda' said, "We smile in the face of some people ALTHOUGH OUR HEARTS CURSE THEM.'' Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, "The TUQYAH is allowed until the Day of Resurrection... (Source; underline and capital emphasis ours)

For the meaning of Tuqyah, or taqiyya, please consult the "Index to Islam" entry on TAQIYYA.

The above citations make it clear that Allah, not Yahweh God of the Holy Bible, is the one who lies.

Osama cites a number of passages that show the Holy Spirit came upon people besides the Lord Jesus, and then concludes:

So if Jesus is GOD because the Holy Spirit came upon him, then the others mentioned above should also be GOD Almighty too.

RESPONSE:

It is obvious that Osama is distorting what the actual Christian position is, since we are not aware of any informed Christian, or Christian source, that claims that Jesus is God because the Spirit came upon him. Now Osama can show us our error by producing such a statement.

Even if Osama is able to show that there are Christians who use this argument, or believe this, he would only be proving that there are, unfortunately, some misinformed Christians, as there are misinformed Muslims.

To begin with, Jesus is God since this is what he is by nature. God is not God because he does certain things, or simply because he says so. If God exists (and he does), then he has always existed as God. God’s actions do not make him God, but are the result of him being God. Thus, Jesus’ actions do not make him God, but are the result of Christ being fully God in nature.

One of the actions resulting from Jesus being God in nature is that Christ pours out the Holy Spirit upon believers. The Lord Jesus gives believers the Holy Spirit for salvation and sanctification, a divine act that God alone can do:

"Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ Mark 1:6-8

"Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked him, and HE WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU LIVING WATER.’ … Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I WILL GIVE HIM will never be thirsty forever. The water that I WILL GIVE HIM will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’" John 4:10, 13-14

The living water that the Lord gives is the Holy Spirit:

"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." John 7:37-39

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. … But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send IN MY NAME, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:16-17, 26

"But when the Helper comes, whom I WILL SEND TO YOU from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning." John 15:26-27

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I WILL SEND HIM TO YOU. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." John 16:7-15

In these Helper passages, Jesus says that the Father grants the Spirit as a result of Christ’s prayer, on the basis of Jesus’ name or authority. Jesus will therefore return to heaven, and once there, send the Spirit to his followers.

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.’" John 20:22-23

Jesus’ breathing on the disciples is reminiscent of God breathing life into the first man:

"then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Genesis 2:7

Interestingly, the Quran cites a Christian apocryphal story where Jesus is portrayed as having the very breath of life by which he makes things come alive:

to be a Messenger to the Children of Israel saying, "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I will create for you out of clay as the likeness of a bird; then I will breathe into it, and it will be a bird, by the leave of God. I will also heal the blind and the leper, and bring to life the dead, by the leave of God. I will inform you too of what things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you, if you are believers." S. 3:49

When God said, "Jesus Son of Mary, remember My blessing upon thee and upon thy mother, when I confirmed thee with the Holy Spirit, to speak to men in the cradle, and of age; and when I taught thee the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah, the Gospel; and when thou createst out of clay, by My leave, as the likeness of a bird, and thou breathest into it, and it is a bird, by My leave; and thou healest the blind and the leper by My leave, and thou bringest the dead forth by My leave; and when restrained from thee the Children of Israel when thou camest unto them with the clear signs, and the unbelievers among them said, "This is nothing but sorcery manifest." S. 5:110

Thus, according to the Quran, the Spirit isn’t the only one who can create like Allah, since Jesus can also!

Approximately ten days after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples of the Lord:

"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… ‘This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, HE HAS POURED OUT this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.’" Acts 2:1-4, 32-33

The Lord Jesus performs a work and gives a gift which the OT scriptures say that Yahweh performs and grants:

"For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;" Isaiah 44:3

"‘I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord GOD." Ezekiel 39:29

"You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." Joel 2:27-28

To summarize, Jesus is not God because the Spirit was upon him, nor is he God because he gives the Spirit to believers. Rather, because Jesus is God he is able to give believers the Holy Spirit. Jesus giving the Spirit is a result of him being God, it doesn’t make him God.

Osama can easily refute this by providing a biblical reference where creatures, whether prophets or angels, are able to grant the Holy Spirit to others.

3-  The Holy Spirit is a Creation of GOD Almighty and it is under Him just like the Angels:

Allah Almighty Said:

"The Day that the Spirit and the Angels will stand forth in ranks, none shall speak except any who is permitted by (God) Most Gracious, and He will say what is right.  (The Noble Quran, 78:38)"

"A questioner asked about a Penalty to befall- The Unbelievers, the which there is none to ward off,- (A Penalty) from God, Lord of the Ways of Ascent. The Angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years: Therefore do thou hold Patience,- a Patience of beautiful (contentment).  (The Noble Quran, 70:1-5)"

"Therein come down the Angels and the Spirit by God's permission, on every errand:  (The Noble Quran, 97:4)"

RESPONSE:

Again, not one of these passages says that the Spirit is a creation of God. This is merely Osama’s wishful thinking. The Quran does explicitly mention the creation of angels:

Or did We create the angels females, while they were witnesses? S. 37:150

The passage presupposes the creation of angels, that Allah created angels, but didn’t create them as females. But nowhere does it ever say that the Spirit is a creation.

I am assuming that since one of the passages speaks of the Spirit standing in ranks alongside the angels, Osama somehow thinks that he is a creature. The problem for Osama is that if this proves that the Spirit is a creature, than Allah must also be a creature since he will stand in ranks with the angels:

"and thy Lord comes, and the angels rank on rank," S. 89:22

Osama may wish to say that the passage is referring to angels being in ranks, not Allah. Unfortunately for Osama, that is not what the text says since it says that the Lord and the angels will come together in ranks.

Furthermore, the Spirit standing in rank file with the angels, or that he must receive permission, either proves that the Quran contradicts itself regarding the identity of the Spirit, or that the Spirit is subject to Allah. Yet, being subject to Allah doesn’t mean that the Spirit is not God, but that there is a hierarchy of authority amongst these divine entities. In fact, this perfectly comports with the biblical teaching on the Trinity, that the three Persons of God are fully equal in essence but are not necessarily equal in rank or authority. There are levels of authority within the Godhead. Thus, the Quran maybe teaching that between Allah and the Spirit, Allah has authority over his Spirit without this implying that the latter isn’t God also. After all, we find plenty examples where persons who are equal in nature are not necessarily equal in position, i.e. husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and employees, masters and slaves, some angels having authority over other angels etc.

So far, Osama hasn’t proven his position.

4- Why can't we call it GOD as trinitarians do?

First of all, it is important to know that satan's biggest lie, trinity, is only an interpretation and a conclusion.  There is not a single text in the Bible that says the Holy Spirit is GOD Almighty, nor does that satanic word, trinity, even exist in the Bible.  People during Constantine's days around year 300, because they were and still are naturally inclined to idol worship, polytheism and paganism as the Far Eastern religions are today, they decided to consider Jesus and the Holy Spirit as GOD Almighty.   Satan's deception and evil is overwhelming and powerful.  It is no surprise that people fell for this lie by the billions throughout history, as many more billions had fell for satan's lies in the Far Eastern pagan religions.  Trinity, like I said, doesn't even exist in the bible.  The word doesn't exist anywhere in the book, nor do we have any text that says Jesus is the Creator of the Universe.  The same also goes for the Holy Spirit.

The reason why Muslims don't call the Holy Spirit as GOD Almighty is because it is just a creation of GOD Almighty with specific and limited duties as I clearly demonstrated above from the Noble Quran.  Like the Angels and the other Universal Spirits, the Holy Spirit is unknown to us and we can't fully describe it.  But nonetheless, this doesn't give anyone the right to start getting colorful and smart and deceive the weak-minded and call it and other creations as GOD Almighty.

I have a long and detailed section that refutes the lie of trinity from the Bible.  It's best if you read it and see the Truth for yourself.

RESPONSE:

Notice how Osama ends up contradicting himself. He says that the Holy Spirit is unknown to him and cannot be fully described, and yet Osama seems to know enough to conclude that the Holy Spirit isn’t God! Osama attacks the idea of the Trinity as a satanic lie, but has failed to refute the biblical evidence proving the Trinity. He blasphemes the true God solely on the basis of his erroneous, unproven assumption that the Trinity cannot be true. We already presented one text that said that the Spirit is God, and here we would like to cite another text which actually identifies the Spirit with Yahweh God:

"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now THE LORD IS THE SPIRIT, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." For this comes from the Lord WHO IS THE SPIRIT." 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Paul is reflecting on Moses’ encounter with Yahweh, where the former had to cover his face from the light which emanated due to his communion with God:

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him." Exodus 34:29-35

Paul is basically saying that the God whom Moses saw, the Lord who appeared to him was the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Yahweh!

And here, also, are the passages which identify the Lord Jesus as the Creator of the Universe:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men… He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-4, 10, 14

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him ALL THINGS WERE CREATED, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And 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 the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power… But of the Son he says, … ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’" Hebrews 1:2-3, 8a, 10-12

Osama further exposes his ignorance regarding Christian history, since the Trinity is not only taught in the Holy Bible, but was already affirmed and articulated in the writings of the Fathers long before Constantine and Nicaea in AD 325! Please go here for the proof:

http://forananswer.org/Top_JW/EarlyChristians.htm
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/apl/jw/ignatius.txt
http://aomin.org/The_Pre_Existence_of_Christ.html
http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/debate5.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/tam_r2.htm

Osama also repeats the very outdated argument that the word Trinity isn’t found in the Bible, as if this somehow means anything or refutes the doctrine. The word Trinity doesn’t have to appear in the Bible in order for the Scriptures to teach what the word implies. Osama’s argument is equivalent to someone saying that just because the precise word Tauhid, does not appear in the Quran, nor its three classifications or subsets (i.e. tauhid al-rububiyyah, tauhid al-uluhiyya or ibaadah, tauhid al-asma wa sifat), this means that the Quran doesn’t teach it.{1}

The real reason why Muslims don't call the Holy Spirit God Almighty is because of the indoctrination and brainwashing they have undergone. Muslims have been deceived by their scholars and Islamic scholarship that Allah is not a plurality of persons, and that the Spirit is not Allah. But the fact is that neither God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, nor the Quran teach that the Spirit is a creation of God Almighty. Both books teach that the Holy Spirit has all the essential attributes of God, with the Bible even going so far as to call the Sprit both God and Lord. Although both books speak of the Spirit being subject to God, neither book say that this makes him like the other creatures such as angels. In fact, unlike the Spirit, angels are said to be creatures of God. And the reason why the Holy Spirit cannot be completely known or fully described is because he is God! Just like God, the Spirit is incomprehensible to our finite minds. There is actually a Muslim who even says this. The late Yusuf Ali, commenting on surah 58:22 regarding the Spirit from God, wrote:

"... Cf. ii 87 and 253, where it is said that God strengthened the Prophet Jesus with the holy spirit. Here we learn that all good and righteous men are strengthened by God with the holy spirit. If anything, the phrase used here is stronger, ‘a spirit from Himself’. Whenever any one offers his heart in faith and purity to God, God accepts it, engraves that faith on the seeker's heart, and further fortifies him with the DIVINE Spirit, which we can no more define adequately than we can define in human language the nature of God." (Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Quran, p. 1518, fn. 5365; bold and capital emphasis ours) {2}

Yusuf Ali dared to call God’s Spirit Divine!

Thus, Osama’s claims to the contrary do nothing to refute the clear evidence that God’s Spirit is God, while also being personally distinct from God. Osama has no right to start getting colorful and smart and deceive the weak-minded and refuse to address God’s Spirit as God Almighty.

Finally, when you do read his papers do make sure to read the refutations to his gross distortions:

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/index.htm

Osama continues:

Also, it seems clear that the Bible has several types of Universal Spirits, or Holy Spirits.  For instance, we see a prediction about the "Spirit of Fearing GOD" being installed in the coming Prophet, Jesus:

Isaiah 11:1-3
1. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him (Jesus)-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD (Jesus fearing his GOD)--
3. and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

As we see in Isaiah 11:1-3, there is:

1-  Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding.

2-  Spirit of Counsel and of power.

3-  Spirit of Knowledge.

4-  Spirit of the fear of the LORD.

Also, verses above say "and he will delight in the fear of the LORD", which clearly proves that Jesus is under GOD Almighty and can not be equivalent to Him.  I have ample detailed refutations to the lie of trinity on my site.  You can further see them to clearly understand that GOD Almighty is an Absolute One and only One and not a unity or trinity as satan claims.

RESPONSE:

Osama is seriously confused since the text he cites clearly identifies the Spirit of the fear of the Lord etc. as God’s Spirit. The passage is not saying that there are different spirits, but that the one Spirit of God is able to grant different gifts and qualities to believers. God’s Spirit is able to produce reverence in a believer’s heart, and can also grant wisdom, understanding etc. This passage is basically echoing what the following NT citation teaches:

"Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the SAME Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by ONE AND THE SAME Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in ONE Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of ONE Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many." 1 Corinthians 12:3-14

That the same Spirit of God is able to equip all believers with different gifts of ministry is another proof of his Deity. The Spirit must be all-powerful and present everywhere for him to be able to equip all the believers wherever they are at.

For the refutation of Osama’s claim that Isaiah 11:1-2 refutes the Deity of the Lord Jesus, please read the following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/mantras.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/jesus_yahweh1.htm

The second link is part one of a three-part rebuttal.

Osama:

The Bible's New Testament also records Jesus saying: ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good–except God alone."  (From the NIV Bible, Mark 10:18)"

 

If Jesus doesn't consider himself as "good", then how can any sane person put him on the same level as GOD Almighty?

I have yet to see a good answer to this one by any polytheist trinitarian.

Show me in the Bible where Jesus said he was not GOD!

I sometimes get asked by trinitarians to show them where Jesus said that he WAS NOT GOD Almighty in the Bible.  Ironically, it is like having this scenario:

Q.  Show me where John Doe said that he was not the President of the United States!  Show me the quote now!!

A.  He just said he works as a computer programmer you brainless idiot! :-)

Jesus said he was not good.  He can't possibly say I am your Creator and by the way I am not good.  The question itself shows the complete ignorance about what's written in the bible and reveals the total blasphemy and darkness that polytheist trinitarian pagans are living in.

Jesus is not GOD!  The GOD Almighty of the Old Testament BOASTS about Himself!  He countlessly reminds the Jews about Worshiping Him and only Him because He is the "One who took them out of Egypt", and He's the "One who Saved them from Pharaoh", etc...  Not only that, but He also Punishes to death anyone who profanes His Holy and Blessed Name.

Jesus can not be this Holy and Mighty and Arrogant and Absolute GOD Almighty when he, for instance, escaped to Egypt for his life from King Herod!   The GOD Almighty's Divine Characteristics in the Old Testament can not in anyway fit Jesus who is not "good" and who runs for his life from a creation of GOD Almighty.

RESPONSE:

We have already addressed Mark 10:18 to see what it really means within its intended context, so we ask that our readers go here for the answer: http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_only_god_good.htm

Furthermore, how does God commanding Joseph to take the baby Jesus to Egypt in order to spare his life from Herod disprove that Christ is God? If anything, wouldn’t this show that he is God since even as an infant no one could take his life away from him? Using Osama’s logic, wouldn’t this prove that Yahweh couldn’t be God either, since he caused Moses’ mother to place him in an ark in order to be saved from Pharaoh’s edict that all male babies must be killed? Osama seems to want to play the role of an ignoramus since he knows full well that God often saves the life of his servants by having them flee from the risk of violence and death. In fact, it was directly due to God’s supernatural intervention that Joseph knew to escape to Egypt in order to save the young child’s life:

"Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt." Matthew 2:13-14

What would we then say about Allah and Muhammad? According to Muslim sources, Muhammad ran away from a few people in Mecca who intended to kill him. On the night he fled from Mecca to Medina, he even had his own son-in-law and first cousin, Ali, pretend to be him and sleep in his bed in order to make the Meccans think that Muhammad was still in his house. In other words, Muhammad risked the life of Ali instead of risking his own life, showing that Ali, who was much younger than Muhammad, had more courage than his own prophet! Unlike Muhammad, Ali was willing to die for his prophet and his god. Who can believe that this is a true prophet? If Muhammad had truly been the most important prophet of God, then God would have given him power to face his opponents, and would not have allowed his prophet to run away by using deceptive means to save his life.

In light of Osama’s skewed logic, this leaves us with one of two options. Either Allah didn’t have the ability and power to save Muhammad from the threat of his enemies, and therefore needed his prophet to use deception to spare his life. Or Muhammad lacked true faith in the power of his god to save him.

We also need to correct Osama’s distortion of the Bible. God doesn’t boast about who he is, but he simply states the facts about himself and his acts. One of the characteristics of the true God is that he is humble and meek:

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:15

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Allah is the snide and proud boaster since one of his names happens to be "al-mutakabbir," the prideful or most proud:

He is the One GOD; there is no other god beside Him. The King, the Most Sacred, the Peace, the Most Faithful, the Supreme, the Almighty, the Most Powerful, the Most Proud (al-mutakabbiru). GOD be glorified; far above having partners. S. 59:23

The late, great Samuel Zwemer noted:

10. El-Mutakabbir - The Proud. This word when used of a human being always implies haughtiness, and Zamakhshari defines it (Surah 59:23), "Supreme in pride and greatness or the One who is haughty above the wickedness of his slaves." (Zwemer, "The Ninety-Nine Names of Allah," The Moslem Doctrine of God, Chapter III, p. 37; online edition)

According to the Holy Bible, pride or conceit is a quality of Satan, something which God hates:

"Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished." Proverbs 16:5

"He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil." 1 Timothy 3:6-7

Thus, according to the Holy Bible, Allah exhibits two of the qualities of Satan, pride and deception (Cf. John 8:44).

5-  The miracle of Adam's creation is far greater than Jesus' creation!

It is often said by trinitarians that Jesus' miraculous birth is a clear proof that he is the Creator of the Universe.  I often hear this absurd nonsense and easily refute it by presenting Adam's creation.  Adam was created in a much more complex Miracle than Jesus.  At least Jesus had to be formed as a fetus in a woman's womb.  Yes she was virgin when GOD Almighty caused her to get pregnant, but nonetheless, Jesus had to be formed as a fetus in a human womb like you and me.

Adam on the other hand and Eve also were created in a much more complex Miracle.   Adam was created vitually [sic] out of nothing.  Eve, his wife, was created from his rib.  These two Miracles are far greater than Jesus' birth.

So the absurd claim about Jesus' birth proving that he is GOD Almighty is soundly debunked through simple common sense.

Also please visit:  None of Jesus' Miracles were unique either.

RESPONSE:

Osama’s appeal to the creation of Adam and Eve to offset Jesus’ unique conception does very little to refute Christian claims. In the first place, Adam was the first man created and could not have been born from either a man or a woman. His creation was a result of the circumstances in which he was born. Likewise, Eve was the first woman created, and so could not have been born from a woman.

The Lord Jesus was different. Whereas Adam and Eve were the first set of humans and could not have entered 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 Quran fails to answer the question, whereas the Holy Bible gives us the reason:

"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

Jesus’ conception from the blessed virgin Mary was because he is the holy Son of God. Lest Osama misunderstand our point, or tries to deliberately twist our words, we are not saying that the virgin birth makes Jesus the Son of God. On the contrary, it is because Jesus is the Son of God that he was born from the virgin. The virgin birth was the way God deemed fitting for his beloved and eternal Son to enter into time and space in order to become a man.

So our questions to Osama are these:

Please explain why Jesus was born from a virgin.

Further explain why did God choose him to be born of a virgin as opposed to some other prophet.

Also please read our refutation of Osama’s paper: http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/badawi-jesus.htm

6-  Conclusion:

In the light of the Quranic Noble Verses and the Biblical verses above, the Holy Spirit is in no way GOD Almighty Himself.  To say the least regarding Islam, the lie of trinity and/or duality of GOD Almighty in Islam does not exist, and it had been soundly debunked throughout this article!  The Christian missionaries' new lies and tactics about introducing trinity in Islam's Doctrines has been exposed in this article through the Will and Wisdom of Allah Almighty.  All Praise due to Him.

As I demonstrated above using the Noble Quran, the Holy Spirit is only a Creation from GOD Almighty, and it has specific duties assigned to it.  Also in the Day of Judgement, the Holy Spirit and the Angels will be standing before GOD Almighty waiting for His Divine Orders and Commands, which indisputably proves that the Holy Spirit is below Allah Almighty and is in no way part of Him.

Conclusion

In light of our response, we must say that Osama fell short of disproving that the Holy Spirit is God Almighty Himself. His attempt of disproving that Islam teaches that Allah is a duality has been soundly debunked throughout our article! The Muslim dawagandists’ new lies and tactics used to cover up Islam’s clear teachings that Allah is more than one Person, or that the Quran teaches that there is more than one god, have been exposed in this article by the sovereign grace and mercy of the Almighty Triune God of the Holy Bible, Yahweh of hosts. All Praise is due to Him alone.

As we demonstrated above by using the Quran, the Holy Spirit cannot be a creation from God Almighty, since the specific duties assigned to him proves beyond any reasonable doubt that he is God. Also on the Day of Judgment, just because the Holy Spirit and the Angels will be standing before God Almighty awaiting His divine orders and commands doesn’t mean that the Spirit is not God. The most this proves is that either the Quran is confused and contradictory or that the Holy Spirit is subject to Allah. If the latter position is taken, then those passages only prove that Allah exists as a plurality of persons who are subject to one another. But since the Quran teaches that all these persons are truly God in nature then their subjection to each other does not imply that they are not all fully God. Osama has confused nature with authority, erroneously assuming that subjection to another must imply an inferiority of essence. He seems to have never realized that one can be subject to another without this meaning that the two entities are not equal in essence.

Finally, our pointing out that the Quran teaches that Allah’s Spirit is God doesn’t mean that we are endorsing the belief that Allah is the same Triune God revealed in the Holy Bible. We are only trying to show through this that the Muslim claim that Allah is a singularity, that the Muslim god exists as only one single Person, is not substantiated by the teachings of the Quran.

Notes

{1} The Quran not only doesn't ever use the word Tauhid, or explicitly mention the names of the three subsets of Tauhid, it doesn't even teach such a concept of God at all! The Muslim conception of Tauhid is supposed to rule out the belief that the one God exists in a plurality of Persons. But, as we demonstrated in this paper, that is not what the Quran teaches. It may be that a Muslim can say that Tauhid speaks against embracing others, besides the one God, as God. But since the Spirit is not a creature, nor is he someone other than God, than the concept of Tauhid does not rule out believing in the Spirit's Deity. This would be comparable to the biblical teaching on the Trinity; that since the biblical doctrine of the Trinity teaches that the three distinct Persons of the Godhead are not separate beings, or individual gods, or creatures, to therefore worship them as God is not a violation of true monotheism. To worship others besides the one true God would be violating pure monotheism.

{2} In some more recent versions of Yusuf Ali's English translation, the notes have been changed (more like tampered with), in an obvious attempt of making Ali sound more in line with a perceived orthodoxy. For instance, compare the version of Ali's quote which we presented with the following CD Rom version of his commentary:

"... Cf. ii 87 and 253, where it is said that ALLAH strengthened the Prophet Jesus with the holy spirit. Here we learn that all good and righteous men are strengthened by ALLAH. If anything, the phrase used here is stronger, 'a spirit from Himself'. Whenever any one offers his heart in faith and purity to ALLAH, ALLAH accepts it, engraves that faith on the seeker's heart, and further fortifies him with HIS HELP, which we can no more define adequately than we can define in human language the nature of ALLAH." (ALIM CD-ROM Version; capital emphasis ours)

This version of Ali's commentary has changed God to Allah, and divine Spirit to his help, as well as omitting the words, "with the holy spirit" from the clause, "strengthened by Allah."

The Muslims obviously had a hard time with Ali calling God's Spirit divine, or with his claim that believers are strengthened with the holy spirit. Such editing is not unusual for Muslims, and for more examples of this kind we recommend reading the following articles:

Rebuttals to Answering-Christianity
Articles by Sam Shamoun
Answering Islam Home Page