"Joy to the World" A newspaper article that requires our attention

Wednesday, December 20, 2017, byline by Safdar Khwaja regarding “Jesus is a celebrated prophet in Islam, too, peace be upon him.”

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ Incarnation and this means we have Immanuel or Emmanuel (whichever translation you choose to use) God is with us. Immanuel is translated from the Hebrew whereas Emmanuel is translated from the Greek.  The important factor here is Jesus Incarnated is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; God Incarnate!  Not a prophet to be aligned along with Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, or others.  He is God, forever and ever.  

As a Christian, specifically a Roman Catholic deacon, and a firm believer in the fact that God never created anyone or thing that is evil, each person irregardless of their beliefs are still the children of the one true and Omnipotent God.  We all may have different views of our faiths’ mandates, but ultimately together humanity depends on a one true and loving Deity who has the world in His Hands and Heart.  This article suggests and I quote from the newspaper article; “Quran 2:136: “Say (Oh Believers) “We believe in God and in what was sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets by their Lord.  We make no distinction between any of them, and we devote ourselves to Him (God).”

This all sounds nice and I wholeheartedly appreciate the Quran wherein Islam promotes faith in the prophets of God, as Christians do likewise.  However, lets back up a little where the statement says “………..Jesus and all their prophets by their Lord.”  True, Jesus is considered Prophet, Priest, and King, although not biblically mentioned but reflects the three offices of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus is not a prophet who stands beside the biblical prophets as an equal, but is more than a prophet, priest, king; He is God Incarnate and that seems to be the stumbling block since Jesus is Divine; the others are not.  Did Moses, Abraham, and Muhammed rise from the dead?  Did any of them suffer as Jesus did, dying not for a cause, but for the redemption of humanities’ sins, and guaranteeing our own resurrection?

Lets acknowledge that Muhammed and other prophets had a mission, but only the Son of God, Jesus Christ, suffered, died/rose from the dead as only, The Way, Truth, and Life to His Father through Himself. 

For those who may be interested, I wrote another article titled “A Church in Peril” , wherein this very issue came up in another newspaper article regarding the PCUSA (Presbyterian Church USA).  This is not to pick apart another religion and their beliefs, but for Catholics, a guideline to keep the tenets of our Catholic Faith intact.