Islams beliefs concerning Christianity

Thank you most sincerely Ahmad Joyia for your timely & succinct reply.  As I said in an earlier reply I am now going back to do some months of research into the Islamic faith vide the Quran & recorded history.  The above are my feelings at this time however they lack any substantial knowledge of the topic.  Therefore back to the books and see if I can make a fair dinkum assessment of it all and then I may be able to appreciate, more knowingly, the passion and fervour devout Muslims display about their faith.

Perhaps all I know at this time is that there is only ONE GOD but many paths.

Is there any 1st or 2nd Century manuscripts that support Islam's claim that Jesus never died on a cross, which would also invalidate His claim of resurrection?

One would think that one of the Jews who denied Jesus as the Messiah would have written strongly concerning the lie of the apostles that Jesus rose from the dead because he was never crucified (supposedly). Or even the Romans would have written something saying Jesus was never crucified to quiet the Christians and the spread of Christianity in Rome since it was outlawed and Christians persecuted.

However nothing has ever been written. The best the Jews who rejected their Messiah did do was to say that the apostles stole the body of Jesus. That was their sole argument! Rome and the Jews who rejected Christ had no valid argument against what the apostles eventually suffered and died for, which was their belief that Jesus was the Son of God who did really die on a cross for the sins of the world, and really did rise from the dead proving that He was truly the Son of God who offers salvation as a free gift to all who would believe in Him.

Robin

Hi Robin,

It�s nice to catch up with you again. 

You wrote: Is there any 1st or 2nd Century manuscripts that support Islam's claim that Jesus never died on a cross, which would also invalidate His claim of resurrection?

Ref:

http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/articles/docetism.html

I don't know if you will accept them as support, exactly, and, in my experience, Muslims do not cite them as proof, but there are, in fact, early manuscripts and books, not found in the New Testament, which were both written and promulgated by, for lack of a better term, �Christian� groups, now known to Church historians as docetists.  Some early manuscripts with docetic tendencies are found in the recently discovered and published Nag Hammadi Library.  In that collection of books, note, especially, two: The Apocalypse of Peter and The Second Treatise of the Great Seth.  As I understand, docetism appeared early in Christological controversies and one of its doctrinal variants -that which argued that Jesus did not actually have a material, corporeal body- is addressed by St. John in his (first) Epistle, fourth chapter.  

That said, I have noticed that Western Orientalists and Christian apologists, probably including CARM (your link), when writing of Islam and Muhammad, often assert that he took the docetic view.  Muslims, on the other hand, and again from what I have understood, counter that not only the docetists but also the orthodox Catholic (and later Protestant) Christians mixed truth with error, that they are thus and in some respects all heretical, and that the final truth of the matter is revealed in the Quran and is resolved by faith.

That's my book report .

Best regards,

Servetus

Hi Robin,

You wrote: It amazes me that some people would base their beliefs on stories told around the 8th Century or so to be true from that of stories told within the close time as the gospel writers written, but whom also had first hand knowledge and experience to write those true stories.

Well, let's admit it, Faith can be an amazing thing.  For that matter, the at times irrepressible rationalist within me thinks it rather odd that Matthew could continue to report on what Jesus said and did in the garden after the disciples, according to his own admission, had not once but twice fallen fast asleep (Matt. 26:43).  

But seriously [Servetus says, deleting his little winkey face],  I don�t want to get too involved in the �actual� vs. �apparent� crucifixion discussion at this point.  Right now, I am tired of controversy.  I just thought, in response to your question, that you would be interested to review some early manuscripts. 

Best regards,     

Servetus