Monday, May 19, 2008

Sura 112 and the Trinity, part 5

Here is the next paragraph:
Having finished (though by no means exhausted) dealing with the first criterion for godhood, we move on to the second: that God (or Allah) is eternal and omnipotent. Again, both the Bible and the Qur’an claim in numerous instances that their respective deities have these attributes. Several Qur’anic references include 2:255; 3:2; 16:70; 20:111; 35:44; 42:29; and, of course, 112:2. Likewise, there is overwhelming support in the Bible for the Triune God to meet this criterion. Each Person of the Trinity is ascribed each of these attributes. God the Father is eternal and omnipotent by such passages as Ps. 90:2; 93:2; 115:3; and Matt. 19:26. Similarly, Jesus (God the Son), much to Muslims’ chagrin, has these attributes: Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1; 17:5, 24; Phil 3:20ff; Col 1:17; Heb 7:3; and Rev 1:8; 3:7, to name a few. Finally, God the Holy Spirit has both characteristics by such verses as Heb. 9:14 and Luke 1:35. Will Muslims claim that every single one of these Biblical texts has been corrupted? Or will they accept compelling historical evidence that the Bible has been as well preserved as the Qur’an – for instance, the fact that “if all other sources for our knowledge of the text of the New Testament were destroyed, [quotations of the early church fathers] would be sufficient alone in reconstructing practically the entire New Testament” (Bruce Metzger, qtd. in Butt)?
This appears to be a fairly simple criterion, nicely explained. It appears to be based on merely the scriptures of Christianity and Islam, and so might be argued by some to consist of only subjective evidence. Then again, however, one could throw in the wrench (for some) of the Bible's historicity and survival of more than a few millennia.

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