A response to 1.2.3.2

How many 'Sons' does God have?

Al-Kadhi quotes profusely from the Bible, using verses which explicitly show Jesus as the Son of God. Why then, does he deny that He was in fact the Son of God?

First, he shows us that God has many sons, citing references in the Old Testament on Jacob, and Adam, for example. This in fact is true, as the titular designation "son of God" is given to all who please God by walking in accordance with His statutes by His Holy Spirit. Strangely, Al-Kadhi acknowledges this point, too. Where then, is his dispute?

He further reminds the reader that God said of the Messiah, "Today I have begotten Thee..." (Psalm 2). But by juxtaposing this with the following subquoted passage, Al-Kadhi fails to convince us of his point, that the Jews are more than Jesus. He says:

Indeed, the Jews are even referred to as much more than this in the Bible, and this is indeed the very trait which Jesus (pbuh) held against them. When the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus (pbuh) he defended himself with the following words

"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, 'I said, Ye are gods?' If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken..." John 10:34-35

If we simply finish the quote, we'll see the solution:

John 10:36:

"Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming', because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?"

The reason Jesus quoted the Psalms (82:6) was to show how He was even greater than the prophets. Thus His challenge in the rest of the quotation. In the Psalm He quotes, we read on,

Psalm 82:7:

"But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes."

The "gods" referred to are mere mortals, to whom the Word of God came, but Jesus, we read is eternal:

Psalm 102:25-27:

"You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail."

Al-Kadhi then makes a poor attempt to pull this demotion of God's Son off by quoting apostate bishops, a false gospel account, and an encyclopaedia, none of which are admissible as evidence, since they contradict the Bible. All students of Scripture must know that Scripture interprets Scripture best. The issue is not what some people think about the Bible, but what the Bible actually says.

Thus we make an appeal to John 8:58, in which Jesus reveals that He is in fact, the very God who manifested Himself to Moses in the burning bush:

"I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, 'I AM'!"

And what of the chief priests and scribes who challenged Jesus with:

"Then they all said, 'Are You then the Son of God?' So He said to them, 'You rightly say that I am.'" (Luke 22:70)

For this was God's Son crucified. For the charge of blasphemy, that He being a mere man, claimed to be God's Son, making Himself equal with God. If there was no special meaning to the term, the priests would not have taken offense at Him, nor would they have delivered Him up to be crucified.

About the term "Son of Man", we know that Jesus was descended of the flesh by Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David and Solomon, and so was in fact as much a man as anyone else. It was a term He chose in order to identify Himself with mankind, though He was the Creator of man:

"Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of people, for in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted." (Hebrews 2:17-18)

In the end of the section, Al-Kadhi is his own accuser, when he says:

Islam teaches that Jesus (pbuh) was a human being, not a god.

After performing biased and unthoughtful exegesis on the scriptures justifying Christ as God in the flesh, Al-Kadhi finishes by showing us the vacuous foundation of Islamic theology. They don't even think of Jesus as "a god" (little "g"), which very thing he tried to interpret from Psalm 82!

Maybe Al-Kadhi is further along than his co-Islamicists in the truth because he spends so much time in the Bible!


The above could only be some comments. More in depth discussions:

  • Jesus as the Son of God is a detailed study on the use of the title "Son of God" throughout the Bible.
  • Bible commentary pages on John 10:34-36.

    The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
    Answering Islam Home Page