This does not mean that Christians and Muslims cannot co-exist in peace in spite of the disagreement on the Holy Trinity. In the spirit of dialogue, I feel the urge to engage in the conversation. Saint Peter, the first Pope enjoins all Christians: “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1Peter 3:15). Sometime ago, Mallam Tijjani needed me to be honest in my answer to his questions concerning the Holy Trinity and what the Christians think about the prophet of Islam. I hereby present the dialogue.
Mallam Tijjani: “Father, do you believe that Muhammad (SAW) is a true prophet?”
Fr. Cornelius: “Is this question open to public discussion in Islamic theology?
Mallam Tijjani: It is good to know what the Christians believe about the Holy Prophet.
Fr. Cornelius: I would not like to discuss this topic in the way and manner of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. I too have a question for you. Your answer would determine the direction of this conversation: “Do you now believe that Jesus is the son of God the Father?”
Mallam Tijjani: I do not believe in the Holy Trinity because God has no wife. According to the Glorious Qur’an, God cannot be a father and he cannot have a son.
Fr. Cornelius: There goes the difference! Many Christians would not respond to your question about your prophet the way you have reacted to Jesus Christ. The Bible provides the criteria for defining a true, false or professional prophet. The name of the prophet of Islam is not clearly and categorically mentioned in the Holy Bible like the prophets of Judaism to provide a biblical basis to assess and judge his prophetic mission in Christianity. Moreover, the witness of the terrorists who claim Islam as their religion further compounds the problem.
However, I cannot say that Muhammad (SAW) is not a true prophet because of some bad Muslims. I accept him for who the Holy Qur’an and the tradition of Islam profess him to be.
Nonetheless, the surest argument to convince others about your faith is witness of life. No argument can contradict this because it is like “the evidence before me” in the law court.
Mallam Tijjani: Does every Christian imitate Jesus Christ?
Fr. Cornelius: The ideal Christian strives to be like Jesus Christ. In Christianity, it is believed that if you commit sin, you are crucifying Jesus Christ again. Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everybody will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). After washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus said to them: “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also must wash one another’s feet. I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (John 13: 14-15). No Christian can justify his or her evil activity from the life of Jesus Christ because Jesus is absolutely perfect and sinless. Jesus told his detractors: “Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me” (John 8:45-46)? The Holy Qur’an also affirms that Jesus is sinless, perfect and holy (Qur’an 19). Thus, Christians do not pray for Jesus.
Mallam Tijjani: Thanks Father, I understand what you are trying to prove. I was only answering based on what the Holy Qur’an said about Jesus. Islam highly respects Jesus as a prophet. But can you please enlighten me more on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity?
Fr. Cornelius: The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith. Given that you do not believe in the Holy Trinity in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, I will begin by telling you why this teaching is difficult for the Muslims to comprehend in the context of the Arab culture. The term, “Son of God”, is understood in Islam only in terms of sexual reproduction but in Christianity, the analogy is far from thinking that God has a son through sexual intercourse. For Christians, the eternal Son of God is one with the father from all eternity, united to him in one Spirit, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He took “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
The Muslims’ concept of the Holy Trinity is based on the Qur’an: “They say: “Allah has begotten a son”. Glory be to Him! No, To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him” (Qur’an 2:116). “The Christians say the Messiah is the Son of God, that is a saying from their mouths” (Qur’an 9:30). Before the advent of Islam, the Arab pagans believed in idols as offspring of Allah. In Mecca, the idols, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat were worshipped as daughters of Allah. Christians do not understand the term “Son of God” in the way the Arab Pagans understood their idols. God has unlimited power and with him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Qur’an 58:7).
The expression “Son of God” indicates origin, a close association, or identification. In Christian theology it describes the relationship of two persons of the Triune God. It expresses an intimate relationship between two persons: God the Father and God the Son is expressed by Jesus in the Scriptures. Jesus told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:8-10). He prays: “And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5). Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:13-20). “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-3).
In the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, the second person possesses the same essence as the Father; hence he could do the mighty works that he did. God the Father is the Creator, God the son is the Redeemer and God the Holy Spirit is the advocate who sanctifies humanity. The Holy Trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully explained in human categories but by way of analogy we can say that a biological father, mother and child share in the same humanity. The relationship of the Holy Trinity is a unity of persons that should be a guide to how humanity should be united. We cannot exhaust this topic in a single conversation, so I suggest that we continue this dialogue in another session.
Mallam Tijjani: Thanks very much father, I hope we really continue this conversation because the Holy Trinity is the major difference in the faith of Christians and Muslims given that Islam is strictly a monotheistic religion. I pray God to bless us with his peace.
Fr. Cornelius: I pray that as Muslims believe that the Holy Qur’an is the eternal and uncreated word of God but found in our world in the form of a physical book, so may you one day understand that Jesus is the eternal Word of God that took flesh and lived among us as a human being. For us Christians, Jesus remains the eternal Son of God that is adored and glorified. It is our faith and we are indeed very proud to profess it in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua ([email protected] / [email protected])
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