HisDOMINION - Winter 2015

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Table of Contents

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Every worldview must answer the questions of origin, meaning, morality and destiny. Our first edition of the HisDominion provided both a response to the question of origin while also engaging with the cultural conflicts of our day.

What naturally proceeds from this question however, is the question of meaning.

Is mankind nothing more than a meaningless blip on the radar in our cosmos? Are we cosmological accidents, a result of a blind watchmaker? The fact that we attribute worth towards ourselves and others seems to contradict this idea of mankind’s purposeless existence. We are hard-wired to seek for a meaning and purpose, and it has taken its shape in different forms since the ancients.

To assume that the universe is meaningless would mean that all we set our hands towards would be utterly meaningless. To build a city or a nation would be meaningless, to help the poor would be meaningless, and to find cures and vaccinations for the sick would be meaningless. No one thinks like this, and the reason why is because deep within ourselves we believe there is a meaning behind everything we do, whether great or small. Mothers recognize the invaluable worth of their children, the sick recognize the invaluable worth of good health, and where there is worth there is meaning.

The question then is “How do we discover the objective role and purpose of mankind?” If there does exist an objective meaning to our universe, a single true interpretation of our world, then it ought to be found somewhere.

IN THIS ISSUE This issue of HisDominion provides an approach to the topics of meaning and purpose from a variety of different perspectives. Steven Martins poses the question of the relation between religion, worldview and meaning, and examines their relation through an analysis of the Mesoamerican civilizations and their biblical origins. From archaeological discoveries to academic studies, he provides a compelling case for what really happened to the Mesoamerican migrants in a post-Babel world.

Luis Dizon grants us a two-part analysis from a comparative religions perspective, explaining its relevance to mankind, and breaking down the Judaic, Islamic and Christian faith to lay out the true religion.

He goes on to present the redemptive continuity found in the Abrahamic faiths and how we can discern what vital content is missing or corrupted, and in which faith. He also presents a comprehensive outline of the Christian worldview.

Alex Kerimli makes a comparative study between two sacred books, the Bible and the Qur’an, but takes his more specialized route by analyzing the Torah in particular.

He unfolds his study with the case for the Torah’s faithful integrity & transmission, along with its implications.

George Simopoulos demonstrates the reality of suffering in light of the doctrines of Buddhism, and provides a response from the Christian faith. As opposed to desire being the root cause of suffering, perhaps there is a deeper meaning to our sufferings, perhaps Buddhism fails to grasp the depths of the human condition.

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By Steven R. Martins

It is in the grand narrative of

the unseen in operation behind what is

human history that we find a universal

seen. This has no doubt changed over

disposition to use spirituality as a form

time,

of

knowledge and intellectual maturity. It

understanding

man’s

role

and

with

was

as far back as the Bronze Age, the

Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, who said

Middle Ages, and to our present-day

that “organized religion is a sham and a

post-modernity,

records,

crutch for weak-minded people.”1 If we

documents and historical evidences

were to follow the current trend of New

that help affirm mankind’s obsession

Atheism and Western secularization,

with the religious. The Babylonians had

would

their tales and their gods, the Egyptians

intelligence would guarantee freedom

had their beliefs of the after-life, the

from religious thought? Is not religion

Greeks had their Mount Olympus, even

defined as “an organized system of

modern-day

have

civilizations

mean

governor

that

of

increased

a

beliefs... a belief, or an activity that is

diversity of religious beliefs across the

very important to a person or group”?2

globe.

has

Do not atheists and secularists operate

experienced the rise of Christianity,

on a belief-system of their own?

witnessing the growing population of

Raymond Damadian, the genius mind

Islam, and studying the resurgence of

behind the invention of the MRI,3

Judaism.

happens to be a biblical creationist. His

The

The

Western

Eastern

boast

that

Ventura,

growing

purpose in the physical universe. From

we

Jesse

mankind’s

world

world

has

featured its own various forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and many others which now permeate into the West. To list humanity’s religious beliefs, from past to present, would delve into the thousands if not millions.

It is with the spiritual that man can make sense of his world, the beliefs of

‘Ventura Says Religion Is For “Weak”’, New York Times (AP, October 1, 1999), accessed March 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/01/us/ventu ra-says-religion-is-for-weak.html.

2 ‘Definition of Religion’, Merriam-Webster: An Encyclopædia Britannica Company, accessed March 18, 2015, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/religion.

3 ‘Raymond Damadian | Lemelson-MIT Program’, Lemelson-MIT Program, accessed March 18, 2015, http://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/raymonddamadian.

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contribution to the medical sciences

cosmos? What type of religious and

and health care nearly won him a Nobel

social values do we discover from a

Prize for the MRI project.4 Given his

time

and

place

which

remained

intellectual

from

direct

external

various

untouched

accomplishments, we would expect him

capacity

and

influences,

to be free of “organized religion,” but

colonization?

prior

to

Spanish

instead his faith formed the bedrock of his

science. What if this natural

inclination of spiritual belief is not a socially

developed

The Spiritual Beliefs of Mesoamerican Civilization Mesoamerica

psychological

is

geographically

crutch? What if it served as an evidence

defined as “north-western, central and

of something more beyond our physical

southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize,

universe?

and the western part of Honduras, and El Salvador.”5 In this particular region

Various conducted

studies on

religions,

the

been

world’s

major

civilizations.6

There

were

other

civilizations besides these three, such as

Mesopotamian civilizations, and they

the Zapotecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs,

all exhibit this universal

Tarascas and others, but in

disposition,

comparison

as

on

we find the Olmecs, Mayan and Aztecan

ancient

belief

even

have

religious a

form

of

they

were

the

minorities.7

understanding man’s role and significance in the

Despite the cultural diversity of

material world. However,

the

studies on Mesoamerican

civilizations were united in their

civilizations are scarce on

religion, exhibiting a “unified,

this front, and not easily

system of religious practice.”8

made

available

to

Mesoamerican

the

public. What can the Mesoamerican civilizations tell us about religious belief and humanity’s role in the Ted Olsen, ‘Did Nobel Committee Ignore MRI Creator Because of Creationism?’ (October 1, 2003), accessed March 18, 2015, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/oct oberweb-only/10-6-51.0.html.

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region,

Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo, ‘The Concept of “Religion” in Mesoamerican Languages’, Numen 54, no. 1 (2007): 30.

6 Mary Ellen Miller, The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, Third Edition. (United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2001), 9-10.

7 Pharo, ‘The Concept of “Religion” in Mesoamerican Languages,’ 30.

8 Kent F. Reilly, ‘Mesoamerican Religious Beliefs: The Practices & Practitioners’, The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (November, 2012), 1.

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The term “religion” may come into question (as it has) due to its absence in the indigenous languages. This however does not imply that they held no formal religion; the term was introduced by Hispanic “ethnographer-missionaries” under

their

respective

The Stone of Tizoc, used in Aztec Sacrifices

monastic

which consisted of the underworld, the

orders.9 The religious beliefs of the

earth and the upper world of the sky.11

Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs may have

There is a great complexity of these

been spiritual in nature, but they were

three layers, such as nine further layers

regarded just as real as their material

constituting the underworld, and up to

world. It was deeply ingrained in their

thirteen layers constituting the upper

worldview; to divorce their religion

world.12 In these three layers of the

from their culture would result in the

underworld, earth and sky, it is believed

reinvention of an entire civilization,

that there are supernatural deities

operating on some other belief system

which commonly traveled throughout

as opposed to none. In essence, their

these different layers, never confined to

religious beliefs and their perception of

their

reality were inseparable.

deities could be called upon, and

respective

interacted The

beliefs

Mesoamericans “archaeological evidence”,

exhibited are

by

extracted

and

including

the from

iconographic Bernardo

de

with,

domains.13 through

These priestly

shamans who functioned as mediators “between the worlds of the gods and humankind.”14

Sahagun’s Florentine Codex (1545-

We find even more information

1590) and Diego Duran’s The Book of

from the pre-Hispanic manuscripts,

the Gods and Rites (1574-1576).10 Years

such

of research, excavations and studies

Vindobonensis, the central Mexican

have revealed the generic beliefs of the

Codex Borgia” and the “Maya Codex

Mesoamericans,

such

as

as

the

“Mixtec

Codex

“the

conception of three parallel worlds” Pharo, ‘The Concept of “Religion” in Mesoamerican Languages,’ 63.

12 Pharo, ‘The Concept of “Religion” in Mesoamerican Languages,’ 63.

13 Reilly, ‘Mesoamerican Religious Beliefs: The Practices & Practitioners,’ 1.

14 Ibid, 7.

11

Pharo, ‘The Concept of “Religion” in Mesoamerican Languages,’ 35.

10 Reilly, ‘Mesoamerican Religious Beliefs: The Practices & Practitioners,’ 1.

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Aztec Warriors as illustrated in the Florentine Codex

Dresden.”15 Apparently, according to

was regarded as both sacred and

Mesoamerican beliefs, the universe had

expendable. It was sacred because only

been created by the gods who operated

blood could sustain their physical

in unison and also maintained the

universe, appeasing the gods through

everyday

their

functions

of

the

visible

sacrificial

system.

It

was

universe. This involved the sacrificial

expendable because it did not matter

offerings of particular deities, which

how many would die, as long as the

were later carried out through human

remaining people would survive. The

sacrifices16 as a model for mankind to

Mesoamericans were moral savages,

emulate.17 In fact, the Aztecan empire

particularly under Aztecan rule. Their

feared that the “fifth sun [was] about to

pagan gods were only satisfied with vast

collapse in violent cataclysm”18 if they

amounts of human blood, and therefore

did not “nourish the sun through

sacrificing people of other “lesser”

human

sacrifice.”19

civilizations was a sacred cultural norm which

It becomes clear as we study

resolved

the

cosmological

conflict.

Mesoamerican culture that human life It was the Aztecan Empire which Karl A. Taube, ‘Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica’, The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (November 2012), 1.

16 Ibid, 2.

17 Taube, ‘Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica,’ 1.

18 Miller, The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, 197.

19 Taube, ‘Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica,’ 2.

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exhibited the cruelest and most savage of religious practices, cutting open chest cavities with an obsidian knife, and pulling out the still-beating heart of the victim. Their crimes pre-dated their rise to power, dating back to when they

9

were initially a minority in a land that

hands.”22 As part of the religious

was not their own. As guests under the

practice, they would kindle a fire within

Culhuacan kingdom, they requested a

the idol until it was fully heated. The

“royal bride, in order to establish a

parents would then place their children

ruling lineage.”20 They were eventually

onto the hands of the statue as an

provided with the king’s daughter, a

offering,

princess cherished by her father. Mary

agonizing death of their loved ones.

Miller depicts the unfolding of events:

They did this of their own will to

watching

the

slow

and

appease the pagan god. It is even said “Having

accepted,

the

Aztecs

invited the Culhuacan ruler to visit.

When he attended the shrine of

that to help drown out the voices of the victims, drums and flutes would play in one accord.23

what was reputed to be a new deity, he found instead an Aztec priest

The practice of human sacrifice was

wearing the flayed skin of his

common in ancient Mesopotamia, but

daughter.

this

despite its commonality the Pentateuch

obscene offense the Aztecs were

took a strong stand against this crime.

driven from their settlement.”21

We find in Leviticus that God said unto

In

response

to

the Israelites: Although

the

Mesoamericans

were

historically known for their obsession

“Any man from the sons of Israel or

of

wasn’t

from the aliens sojourning in Israel

something altogether new for the

human

sacrifices,

it

who gives any of his offspring to

ancient world. The Ammonites and the

Molech, shall surely be put to

Canaanites practiced child sacrifice to

death; the people of the land shall

an idol named Moloch (also spelled as

stone him with stones. I will also set

Molech). Dr. Scott Masson of the Ezra

My face against that man and will

Institute writes that Moloch worship

cut him off from among his people,

was “a dreadful sight, the brass statue

because he has given some of his

of the god was cast in human shape

offspring to Molech, so as to defile

with a bull’s head, and outstretched

Scott Masson, ‘Moloch Worship: The Abortion of Faith, Family & Country’, by Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity, Jubilee Winter 2013 (2013): 13.

23 Ibid.

22

Miller, The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, 198.

21 Ibid.

20

10

My sanctuary and to profane My

instead of death being perceived as a

holy name” (Lev. 20:2-3, NASB).

penalty for violating God’s law, it is perceived as a sustaining source for

In verses four to five we read that even

their material universe.

those who turn a blind eye towards the man (or woman) who participates in

This historical narrative of the Old

this sin will likewise be punished along

Testament also affirmed the sacredness

with his family. Although ancient Israel

of human life, in which the Judeo-

participated in this sin, they were called

Christian

to set themselves apart from other

Abraham from taking Isaac’s life, He

nations and to obey the law of God.24

also presented the law against any

God

did

not

only

stop

human sacrifices of any kind. We do Prior to Israel’s formation as a nation, Abraham is said to have nearly killed Isaac as a sacrifice unto the same God who forbade human sacrifices.

However, as we read in Genesis 22:1014, God intervened to prevent the sacrifice of Isaac, instead offering up a ram in his place to prophetically

not see human life as “sacred” in the biblical sense with the Mesoamerican civilization. This is because the Aztecs would often sacrifice those who were not of their own people, conquered indigenous tribes, in order to save their own skins from apocalyptic demise.25 The Mesoamericans were just as guilty

foreshadow the Messiah who would pay the

sin-debt

as the Ammonites and

for

Canaanites.

mankind. This was God’s intention from the very

Their value of humanity

moment

asked

was reflected by their

Abraham to sacrifice his

He

religious beliefs, in that

son Isaac, it was to serve

the created cosmos which

as a prophetic symbol

they inhabit were the

for his descendants that

result of failed creations.

God would provide the atonement

for

man’s

Codex Magliabechiano depicting Aztecan Human Sacrifices

Their gods had created sentient beings with the

sins. We do not find this redemption story with the Mesoamericans, where Jeremiah 32:33-35; 1 Kings 11:4-11; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:1-4.

24

Donald M. Kagan, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner, The Western Heritage: Teaching and Learning Classroom Edition, Combined Volume, 5th ed. (United States: Pearson Education (US), 2006), 257.

25

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purpose of worshipping them, but their

In part, the king expresses great truth.

creations failed to fulfill their purpose.

He writes in agreement with the biblical

Thus the deities had created people of

book of wisdom, in which we read:

the mud, people of the wood, and “It is the same for all. There is one

eventually mankind.26 Not worshipping

fate for the righteous and for the

these deities meant the end of the

wicked; for the good, for the clean

entire universe.27 Our knowledge of

and for the unclean; for the man

Mesoamerican beliefs of creation and

who offers a sacrifice and for the

cosmology are still developing as we

one who does not sacrifice. As the

discover new findings, but it is a field of

good man is, so is the sinner; as

research that has continued to grow.

the swearer is, so is the one who is

From what we have gathered thus far,

afraid to swear. This is an evil in

the depicted worldview embraced by the

Mesoamericans

was

that

all that is done under the sun,

of

that there is one fate for all

pessimism and despair. The King of

men...” (Eccl. 9:2-3a, NASB).

Texcoco expressed in poetic form: “Just as a painting We will be dimmed, Just as a flower We shall become desiccated...

Ponder on this, Eagle and Jaguar Knights, Though you were carved in jade, Though you were made of gold, You also will go there To the land of the fleshless.

We must all vanish, None may remain.”28

Part I. Chapter II. Popul Vuh. Taube, ‘Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica,’ 2.

28 After N. Davies, The Aztecs, after LeonPortilla, Trece Poetas, 50.

The Mesoamericans acknowledged that human life was temporary; any form of life on earth was temporary, including that which was solely material. They correctly perceived their reality as a temporary passing from this world into the next.29 We find this truth in the Bible, that death awaits all men, and that death itself is a cruel evil brought forth by the sin of man.30 The difference between the Mesoamerican belief and the biblical account is that the Bible

26 27

12

James L. Fitzsimmons, ‘The Living and the Dead’, The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (November 2012), 1.

30 Romans 5:17 29

provides hope and salvation,31 not

material dimension. They perceived

apocalyptic pessimism and despair.32

that creation had to have come from some superior being(s). To assume that

For the Mesoamericans, the dead still continued to exist, supposedly

nothing had created everything would have been illogical. They perceived that

influencing the real world through “a long

process

of

although the flesh may

social

die, the soul would pass

rebirth and reinvention.”33

to

They participated in dances

a

welcome

assume

and that it would likewise

comfort in a worldview

not

To

the

from the non-conscious

was an attempt to provide

was

of

that the conscious came

witnesses to legal events. It

but despite this belief, death

realm

“fleshless.”

and could even stand in as

void of hope and salvation,

the

return Aztec Sun Calendar Measured Days, Months & Cosmic Cycles

to

the

non-

conscious would not have made

sense

to

the

Mesoamericans. There are similarities,

experience, and it failed to calm the

even if they are scarce, of true biblical

hearts of mortal men. Even the Aztecan

faith, but whether they were influenced

king Motecuhzoma II carried with him

by their ancestors is a question we will

a “sense of gloom” which “prevailed in

later expand on.

Central Mexico, particularly in the mind of the ruler.”34 These religious beliefs were the way they perceived the world, it was what provided meaning to their physical universe and their human existence. It was, as we see with the universal disposition, a distorted manifestation of what they sensed was beyond their Joe Boot, ‘Precious Thoughts, Precious Life’,

by Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity, Jubilee Winter 2013 (2013): 9.

32 Miller, The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, 213.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid., 197.

The Estrangement from True Faith In the New Testament we find that the true God had not only revealed Himself through His prophets, apostles, and His Son Jesus Christ, but also through the natural world. It is what we call general revelation, or natural knowledge.35 The apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Church on this particular matter:

31

Walter A. Elwell, ‘The Doctrine Scripture’, in The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume, ed. David Horton (Grand Rapids, MI.: Bethany House, 2006), 24– 25.

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“For since the creation of the world

existence.”38

His invisible attributes, His eternal

civilizations failed to follow the true

power and divine nature, have been

God through natural revelation alone is

clearly

due to their sinful human condition.39

seen,

being

understood

through what has been made, so

The

reason

that

Paul affirms this by saying:

that they are without excuse” (Rom. “For even though they knew God,

1:20, NASB).

they did not honor Him as God or God therefore “made it

evident”36

to the

give thanks, but they became

Mesoamericans that He does exist

futile in their speculations, and

through the veil of his created world,

their foolish heart was darkened.

hence why the majority of historical

Professing

civilizations believed in some form of

became fools, and exchanged the

creator. It is clear however that the

glory of the incorruptible God for

beliefs of other ancient civilizations, in

an

particular the Mesoamericans, were

corruptible man and of birds and

foreign to the faith of the Jews and

four-footed animals and crawling

Christians. If God had revealed Himself

creatures” (Rom. 1:21-23, NASB).

to

image

be

in

wise,

the

form

they

of

to man through his creation, why is it that none of these civilizations turned

Just

as

mankind

exhibited

the

disposition of using spirituality to

to the true faith?

understand man’s role in the physical Biblical scholar Dr. Elwell writes

universe, likewise their inherited sin-

that the natural knowledge of God “has

nature provided the continual tendency

its limitations and is

inadequate.”37

He

to

“distort

and In

twist”

fact,

one

natural

writes in support of this universal

knowledge.40

of

the

disposition proposed by this article that

consequences of deifying God’s creation

“the individual engages in religious

instead of worshipping the Creator is to

practice and asks some of the ultimate questions

concerning

the

source,

reason, and end of his or her own

Romans 1:19 Walter A. Elwell, ‘The Doctrine Scripture’, in The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume, 25.

36 37

14

Walter A. Elwell, ‘The Doctrine Scripture’, in The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume, 25.

39 John Calvin and Henry Beveridge, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, Incorporated, 2008), 150-151.

40 Walter A. Elwell, ‘The Doctrine Scripture’, in The Portable Seminary: A Master’s Level Overview in One Volume, 25.

38

turn towards Moloch worship, the

neighboring lands.44 Yet despite their

detestable and horrendous crime of

own

human sacrifices.41 We not only see this

technological

with the Mesoamericans, but with the

culture exhibited the epitome of sin,

Andean Americans as well, such as the

they were death-worshippers.

societal

advancements achievements,

and their

Incan civilization.

Although

this

analysis

can

be

This is what we find with the

applied to the majority of earth’s

Mesoamerican people, a history of

civilizations, what could possibly be

revenge killings, political assassinations

said

and human sacrifices. They were a

community are in fact a minority in the

complex

face of world religions. And despite

society

capabilities

with

engineering

The

atheistic

their vigorous manifestation in western

constructing advanced aqueducts and

culture, they have failed to eliminate

building

over

religious belief altogether.45 Ancient

(present-day

civilizations that relied on natural

Mexico

the

rivaled

atheists?

Rome,

unstable

that

of

Aztecan

swampland City).42

An

capital

legal

theology wandered from the true faith

system maintained and preserved the

intricate

as a result of their sin nature. Atheists

Empire,43

are quite different, where instead of a

and their armies numbered into the

distorted disposition to use spirituality

hundreds of thousands conquering

to form their worldview; they wilfully

caste system throughout the

stamp out their disposition. Yet no matter their efforts, explaining away spirituality and religious belief are two fundamentally different concepts. They may explain away their own spiritual beliefs, reducing their worldview to the Chichen Itza, Yucatan Region, Mexico

David Kuijt, ‘Aztec and Enemies: DBA 105 Army and Variants’, University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies | UMIACS, last modified 1999, accessed March 18, 2015, http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba105/db a105.html 45 Richard Dawkins Foundation, ‘How To Get Rid of Religion’ (November 6, 2012), accessed March 18, 2015, https://richarddawkins.net/2012/11/how-toget-rid-of-religion/ 44

Masson, ‘Moloch Worship: The Abortion of Faith, Family & Country,’ 13.

42 Benjamin Keen, The Aztec Image in Western Thought (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1984), 136.

43 ‘Aztec Legal System and Sources of Law’, Tarlton Law Library - Aztec and Maya Law, accessed March 18, 2015, http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/exhibits/aztec/azt ec_legal.html.

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merely materialistic world, but they will

migration of mankind. We find the

never rid themselves of their religious

following account penned by Moses:

belief in atheism, rigorously abiding to “Now the whole earth used the

their organized system of beliefs.

same language and the same words.

In essence, the atheistic belief, and

It came about as they journeyed

its goal to secularize the world, is

east, that they found a plain in the

merely a delusion. The Mesoamericans,

land of Shinar and settled there.

along with other civilizations, serve as

They said to one another, ‘Come, let

evidence that spiritual belief is a

us make bricks and burn them

necessary component to the human life.

thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

The Mesoamerican Ancestors

They said, ‘Come, let us build for

Before we could consider that the

ourselves a city, and a tower whose

Mesoamericans had, at some point, an

top will reach into heaven, and let

understanding of the true faith through

us make for ourselves a name,

their ancestral roots, we would expect

otherwise we will be scattered

to find evidence to support this claim.

abroad over the face of the whole

The first step would be to find an

earth” (Gen. 11:1-4, NASB).

ancient

document

that

may

have

survived until this day that record mankind’s early history. From there, we would expect to find traces of this history manifested through the writings of the Mesoamericans, which have no doubt fallen prey to the game of Chinese Whispers (broken telephone).

The first book of the Pentateuch,

By this we understand that mankind once had a single language, and to prevent from being scattered over the post-flood

world,

they

began

construction on the tower of Babel.

There is evidence of this history such as The Schoyen Collection, MS 2063,46 which is “an inscribed stele with Nebuchadnezzar II and the image of a

Genesis, happens to give a historical account

for

the

early

history

of

mankind, while also dating very early in its composition. It also carries with it a high level of transmission accuracy and important information regarding the 16

Rossella Lorenzi, ‘Ancient Texts Part of Earliest Known Documents: DNews’, Discovery News (DNews, n.d.), accessed March 18, 2015, http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology /tower-of-babel-111227.htm 46

virtually complete tower.”47 Herodotus

This helps to explain the origin of

the historian even mentioned the tower

civilization in the post-Babel world.

of Babel in his writings:

Initially, mankind understood each other because they all spoke the same

“In the center of this sacred enclosure a solid tower has been built, two hundred and twenty yards long and broad; a second tower rises from this and from it yet another, until at last there are eight.”48

visited the construction of Babel, and because

languages

only

multiply

groups that shared the same language would migrate together. As to what date this event occurred is still debatable been suggested as approximately 2242 B.C.49 Researcher Bodie Hodge writes in

of

the

Peleg that the family groups left Babel in the plain of Shinar

their languages so

and

that they could not

traveled

to

different parts of the

each

other. Genesis 11:9 “Therefore

to

during the days of

and

earth He confused

reads

respect

migration that “it was

subdue the entire

understand

groups

understood each other. Eventually,

their disobedience to

certain

today, but a more conservative date has

We read in Genesis 11:5-8 that God that

language, but after the confusion of

The Schoyen Collection, MS 2063

its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth” (NASB).

world,

taking

with

them

their

own

language that other

families could not understand.”50 This event then helps us to link the Mesoamerican

peoples

to

their

ancestors, but as to how they traveled from Shinar to the Americas is another question altogether.

Bodie Hodge, Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors (United States: New Leaf Publishing Group, 2013), 51.

48 ‘Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, Chapter 181:3’, Perseus Digital Library, accessed March 18, 2015, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc =Hdt.%201.181 47

James Ussher, Annals of the World James Ussher’s Classic Survey of World History Slipcase (United States: Master Books, 2003), 22.

50 Hodge, Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors, 39.

49

17

According to both Hodge’s and

ravines, grasses, nor forests; there

Michael Oard’s research,51 it is argued

was only the sky. The surface of the

that “a couple of hundred years would

earth had not appeared. There was

be ample time to spread across Asia to

only the calm sea and the great

the Bering Strait.”52 The arrival of the

expanse of the sky.”54

Babel migrants into the Americas is then conservatively dated to some fourhundred years (if not earlier) after the confusion of languages.53 From there, the migrant groups would have further divided, with clusters remaining in modern-day Canada, others settling in modern-day United States of America, and others traveling further south into

This is fairly similar to the Genesis creation account in which “the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Gen. 1:2, NASB).

Although the Popol Vuh does not start with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1,

Central and South America.

NASB), it does start at the same point The reason why the Genesis account

as the Genesis creation account with

is taken into consideration for the

the earth already having been created

comparison

and being entirely covered by water.

with

Mesoamerican

records is not only due to the fact that Genesis

pre-dates

Mesoamerican sources, but that traces are found of Genesis content within Mesoamerican

findings.

Take

for

example the Mayan Popol Vuh which provides

the

Mayan

We also find “then the earth was

known

account

of

creation. The creation begins with:

created by them. So it was, in truth, that they created the earth. Earth! They said, and instantly it was made.”55 What is interesting about the polytheistic creation of the land is that they all in one accord command its appearance, and by their word alone all is created.

“Neither man, nor animal, birds,

In Genesis we find the same principal,

fishes, crabs, trees, stones, caves,

but from a monotheistic view, as opposed to polytheistic. We read “Let

Michael J. Oard, Frozen in Time: Woolly Mammoths, the Ice Age and the Biblical Key to Their Secrets (United States: New Leaf Publishing Group, 2006), 132.

52 Hodge, Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors, 110.

53 Ibid., 111.

51

18

the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry 54 55

Part I. Chapter I. Popol Vuh. Ibid.

land appear’; and it was so” (Gen. 1:9,

The Popol Vuh also records the deities

NASB).

speaking

to

their

created

animals, saying “Speak, cry, warble, Now although there are multiple deities recorded in the Mayan creation account, such as Tepeu, Gucumatz, and others, the Mayan Popol Vuh records of a deity called the Heart of Heaven. The document states “The first is called Caculha Huracan. The second is ChipiCaculha. The third is Raxa-Caculha.

And these three are the Heart of Heaven.”56 We are introduced to a deity that is active in the creation account, responsible for causing the deluge upon mankind, and is referred to as one in one sense, and three distinct persons in another sense. It is interesting given that the Hebrew for “God” in Genesis 1 is Elohim, which is plural, along with

call, speak each one according to your variety, each, according to your kind.”58 This

is

significant

concerning

the

phrase “each according to your kind”, in which Genesis records “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind’; and it was so” (Gen. 1:24, NASB). What do both accounts mean when they use the term “kind”?

They refer to the fact that dogs will always reproduce other dogs, and horses will reproduce other horses. We do not find macro-evolution as an active factor in either of the creation accounts, nor should we expect it.

other verses implying plurality within a single being.57 We can perceive a link

Consider that the Popol Vuh also

between the nature of the Holy Trinity,

records the catastrophic deluge of the

as revealed in the Bible, and the Heart

times of Noah, as we find in Genesis.

of Heaven from the Mayan accounts.

The

However,

following narrative:

the

connection

between

Mayan

account

presents

the

“Elohim” and the Trinity, as well as “...those that they had made, that

between the Trinity and the “Heart of

they had created, did not think,

Heaven,” are areas that would require

did not speak with their Creator,

more extensive research as they are still

their Maker. And for this reason

relatively unexplored.

they

were

killed,

they

were

deluged. A heavy resin fell from 56 57

Part I. Chapter I. Popol Vuh. Gen. 1:26

58

Part I. Chapter II. Popol Vuh.

19

the sky... so was the ruin of the

‘Make no more pulque, but hollow a

men who had been created and

great cypress, into which you shall

formed, the men made to be

enter the month Tozoztli. The waters

destroyed and

annihilated.”59

shall near the sky.’”60

The Aztecs also had an account for the

Despite the Incas not forming part of

global flood, but it differed from the

Mesoamerican civilization, as Andean

Mayan

Americans

Popol

Vuh.

The

Codex

Chimalpopoca records the following:

they

were

nonetheless

relatives given their common ancestry.

Their flood story of the Unu Pachakuti

“When the Sun Age came, there had passed 400 years. Then came 200 years, then 76. Then all mankind was lost and drowned and turned to fishes. The water and the sky drew near each other. In a single day all was lost, and Four Flower consumed all that there was of our flesh. The very mountains were swallowed up in the flood, and the waters remained, lying tranquil during fifty and two springs. But before the flood began, Titlachahuan had warned the man

records a catastrophic deluge that destroyed the people by Lake Titicaca.

The deluge was supposedly caused by Viracocha, their creator god, and only three humans were saved in order to repopulate the world.61 The reason the flood story is called Unu Pachakuti is because the term means “the world (pacha) overturned (cuti) by water (unu)”62 which by no means suggests a subtle

overflow,

but

rather

a

catastrophic deluge that wiped out all life.

Nota and his wife Nena, saying, The similarities of these flood accounts with Genesis is astounding, consider for example that every account suggests that a deity was behind the deluge. In Genesis we read “then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled

Codex Chimalpopoca, translated by Abbé Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg.

61 Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, The History of the Incas (Dodo Press, 2007), 32.

62 Ibid.

60

Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica 59

Part I. Chapter III. Popol Vuh.

20

with violence because of them; and

water

behold, I am about to destroy them

greatly upon the earth, and the ark

with the earth” (Gen. 6:13, NASB). The

floated on the surface of the water.

difference that we find is that Genesis

The water prevailed more and more

records

earth’s

upon the earth, so that all the high

inhabitants were destroyed, because

mountains everywhere under the

“the LORD saw that the wickedness of

heavens were covered” (Gen. 7:17-

man was great on the earth, and that

19, NASB).

the

reason

why

prevailed

and

increased

every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5, NASB).

The

deluge

was

then

a

judgment of God because of the moral evil of mankind, as opposed to the flood tales of the Mesoamericans which do not take into account the moral evil of man.

Noah wasn’t the only survivor; in fact his wife, children and the animals that were brought on board the ark survived the deluge of 371 days.63 The question we are then presented with is how did the historical account of Noah, along with that of the creation account, pass down to the Mesoamericans?

Another similarity we find is in the Although we have presented the

Aztecan Codex Chimalpopoca which details a deity instructing Nota and his wife to make a boat out of cypress wood. In Genesis, God likewise orders Noah – consider the similarity of Noah and Nota – to build an ark “of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch” (Gen. 6:14, NASB). The Codex furthermore records that “the waters shall near the sky”, which we read in Genesis the following:

tower of Babel as the starting point for human migration, which the Incas have a tale for as well,64 there are still further links that help answer this question. In Genesis 10, we are presented with the “records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood” (v. 1, NASB). If we were to read the

descendants

of

Japheth,

the

following descendants in his lineage are of particular interest: Ashkenaz, Magog,

“Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The

Andrew A. Snelling, Earth’s Catastrophic Past: Geology, Creation & the Flood (Dallas, Tex.: Institute for Creation Research, 2009), 20.

64 D.M. Jones, The Lost History of the Incas (Leicester, United Kingdom: Hermes House, 2007), 198.

63

21

Tubal and Tiras. It is believed that their

descendants of Babel, as Hodge writes

subsequent descendants migrated to

in his findings:

the Americas over the Bering Strait.65 “Tanasi was a Cherokee Village...

Of Ham’s descendants, only Put and

the name Tanasi is very similar to

Sinites were considered as eventual

Tanais, which was the old name for

migrants to the Americas.66 The only

the Don River north of the Black

descendants who are not believed to

Sea. Tanais was associated with the

have migrated to the Americas are that

people of Tubal originally and may

of the line of Shem. It is still particular

be a reflection of his name... the

difficult to trace back descendants from

Cherokee, or Tsalagi in the native

Mesoamerica to Babel due to the fact that

the

American

tongue, may still be a deviation of

indigenous

the name Tanasi.”67

population were not known for keeping written records in their early settlement periods. And as we would expect, the more

generations

that

are

born,

coupled with the absence of written documentation, eventually descendants would forget their most earliest of ancestors.

This

would

logically

explain

the

creation and flood stories found in Mesoamerican tales that are somewhat similar to Genesis. Oral tradition, and possibly written documentation, helped keep the true account of creation and the flood safe from corruption until the

American indigenous evidence does suggest ancestral relations with the

time of Moses who wrote Genesis.

However, the descendants of Noah who

Warrior Academy, Chichen Itza, Yucatan Region, Mexico

Hodge, Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors, 179-180.

66 Ibid., 182.

65

22

Hodge, Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors, 184.

67

migrated to the Americas failed to

Holy Creator. Their sin mounted with

maintain the strict oral tradition and

the passing days, months, and years,

also failed to write down their accounts.

until floating mountains appeared in

This is what led to the corruption and

the sea during Motecuhzoma II’s reign.

distortion of their stories, coupled with

Initially, the Aztec ruler believed that

the distortion of generic revelation due

the arrival of the Spanish, and their

to their inherent sin-nature.

leader Cortes “was the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl,

We have therefore unveiled that the ancestors of the Mesoamericans had at some point in time knowledge of the true faith, recognition of the true historical order of events, and were the cause of the corruption and distortion of their accounts over time. Thanks to the early history provided through the Bible, we are able to trace back not only the ancestors of the Mesoamericans to Noah’s descendants, but also the scarce lining of truth embedded in their corrupt mythology.

centuries

who

earlier

but

had

departed

promised

to

return.”68 Little did they know that the Aztecan Empire was on the verge of destruction, the inevitable fall of a great powerful kingdom. To this day, the Spanish are blamed for their cruelty, destroying the lives of the Aztecs and their entire civilization. It has even been exaggerated by one of their own, in which Bartolome de Las Casas (14741566), “a Dominican friar, wrote... a tradition that has exaggerated Spanish cruelty and soft-pedaled such things as Aztec human sacrifice.”69 But what if

The Mesoamerican Judgment

there was another perspective to this

The Mesoamerican region saw its

order of events?

fair share of civilizations, from the As

Olmecs, the Mayas, the Aztecs, to the

we

had

covered,

the

smaller tribes and kingdoms. It also

Mesoamericans were guilty of the same

saw the shedding of human blood, the

sins, if not worse, of those exhibited by

horrific crimes of the kings, and the

the Canaanites and Amorites. They

unspeakable

for

were wilful participants in human

to

sacrifice, what is still considered an

understand the true nature of man; in

“abomination” to the true God.70 In

religion’s

atrocities

sake.

They

done failed

fact they had lost all sense of mankind’s sacredness, to bear the image of our

Kagan, et al., The Western Heritage, 257.

Ibid., 258.

70 Jeremiah 32:33-35 68 69

23

fact, if we read Genesis 15:16 we find

themselves daily in human blood and

God speaking to Abraham that “in the

abominable sins.

fourth generation they will return here, At first, Cortes and his troops had

for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete” (NASB). The context reveals that God was providing an opportunity for the Amorites to turn away and repent of their sins, but it was not until Israel entered the Promised Land that God

executed

judgment

over

nothing but praise for what they had discovered, a potential paradise. It was Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a soldier under Cortes

who

the

on dry land, and this straight, level causeway, we couldn’t resist our

execute justice upon other nations for

admiration.

their sins. When Israel committed the

It

enchantments

same sins of the Canaanites, they were

cues

manner, we could also see the arrival of

the

the

book

of

[pyramids]

and

other

rose from the water. Some of our

over the Aztecs and

soldiers asked if what

the inhabitants of

we

the land for their

saw

was

not

a

dream.”71

demonic practices sins.

This

This is not to say

was

the

in

like

buildings, all of masonry, which

the Spanish as God executing justice

by

was

Amadis, because of the high towers,

exiled from their land. In the same

done

first

villages built both on the water and

Testament, God using other nations to

that all that was

their

“When we saw so many cities and

It is what we commonly find in the Old

horrid

of

impression:

Canaanites for their lack of repentance.

and

wrote

Tenochtitlan, Aztec Capital Present-Day Mexico City

dream later

however

overturned

into a nightmare. It was reported

that

upon

Spanish was pious and righteous, for

witnessing

even the sin of those God uses to

encrusted shrines to the war and rain

execute justice will not go unpunished.

gods at the top of the Great Temple”

Nonetheless, the destruction of the

they calculated that the exterior racks

Aztecan Empire was God’s sovereign

“held the skulls of no fewer than

the

“stinking,

blood-

judgment upon a nation that soaked The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, translated by A.P. Maudslay, New York, 1956.

71

24

136,000

sacrificial

victims.”72

This

broke

out

killing

“thousands”,

infuriated Cortes and led him to not

weakening the kingdom and its forces.76

only condemn the “devilish rites” but to

It was apparent that the Spanish had

also proclaim “the truth of the Christian

brought bacteria from Europe, which

Gospel.”73 This was no doubt an

their bodies had already developed an

opportunity for the Aztecan Empire to

immunity towards, but the locals had

repent of their sins, much like Nineveh

no such defences and were largely

responded to the Prophet Jonah’s

killed off because of it. Yet despite this,

judgment,74

the weakened Aztecs continued to fight,

but they continued with their usual

abducting Spanish soldiers, sacrificing

human

them and desecrating their bodies by

message of salvation from sacrifices,

inviting

upon

throwing their body parts at the

themselves the judgment of God.

Spanish army.77 For a tribe that had Tensions rose between the Aztecs and the Spanish, and Cortes was outnumbered with only a few hundred

sacrificed a princess of a superior kingdom and had her skinned, there was no peaceful end to the Aztecs.

of soldiers against thousands.75 It clearly may not have looked like God

God’s

was executing justice by the sheer

Mesoamerica,

comparison

of

military

size,

judgment but

not

came all

upon of

the

but

Mesoamericans were destroyed with

military force was not the root cause of

the Aztecan Empire. The groups that

the Aztecan collapse. An epidemic

survived eventually mixed with the growing Spanish population, and to this day we still have many Mayan villages in existence. I had the opportunity in 2013 to visit a Mayan village with my wife in Mexico’s Yucatan region. They have adapted quite well to modern-day civilization through their commercial

Hernan Cortes and his Army, Naval History Museum in Mexico City

skills, crafting clothing, hats, jewellery, and other goods. As I had observed,

Martin Windrow, Not One Step Back: History’s Greatest Sieges (London: Quercus Publishing Plc., 2009), 60.

73 Ibid., 60.

74 Jonah 3 75 Windrow, Not One Step Back: History’s Greatest Sieges, 63.

72

Catholicism was also present in their Windrow, Not One Step Back: History’s Greatest Sieges, 63.

77 Ibid., 65.

76

25

Monument in Mexico City commemorating the encounter of CortĂŠs and Moctezuma at the Hospital de JesĂşs Nazareno.

villages, a result of the introduction of

God’s grace and mercy to partake in the

Spanish missionaries. Yet what can be

true faith as outlined by Holy Scripture,

said of the true faith finally arriving on

and therefore attain eternal salvation

Mesoamerican shores was not so much

through Christ Jesus.79

the arrival of Catholicism, but rather of undefiled Protestantism, courtesy of the Reformation.

Nonetheless,

Conclusion

in

In

conclusion,

the

history

of

recognition of recorded history we can

Mesoamerican civilization successfully

gladly say that if it were not for the

exhibited the fact that mankind, as a

Catholics

created

of

Spain,

the

doors

of

being,

demonstrates

his

Mesoamerica would not have been

disposition of religious belief as an

opened for the Protestant Christian

attempt to comprehend the meaning of

faith and its missionaries.78

life and his respective domain. To

In

the

end,

Mesoamerican

remnants indigenous

of

the

people

survived, formed part of a new culture, and were given the opportunity by

divide

the

Mesoamerican

religious

belief from their cultural identity would be to reinvent the Mesoamericans entirely. No such division existed in their culture that separated religious belief from their perspective of reality;

Disclaimer: I do not want to provide the impression that any particular ethnicity is superior to another, as I have stated, all men are created equal in the image of God. There are times that the civilizations used by God are just as sinful as the ones that they are punishing, but in the end they too will be judged.

78

26

they were one and the same. However, despite their attempts, they failed to make sense of human nature, the 79

John 3:16

created world and their reality. As has

worldview that man can make sense of

been revealed throughout history, and

both himself and the universe he

what has been affirmed through various

inhabits.

evidences, it is only with the Christian

Bibliography Boot, J. (Winter 2013). Precious Thoughts, Precious Life. Jubilee, 4-12.

Calvin, J. (2008). Institutes of the Christian Religion. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing.

Elwell, W. A. (2006). The Doctrine Scripture. In D. Horton, The Portable Seminary: A Master's Level Overview in One Volume (pp. 24-28). Grand Rapids, MI: Bethany House.

Fitzsimmons, J. L. (2012). The Living and the Dead. The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology.

Gamboa, P. S. (2007). History of the Incas. Dodo Press.

Herodotus. The Histories 1.181:3. Retrieved from Perseus Digital Library: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+1.181&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 Hodge, B. (2014). Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of our Ancestors. Green Forest, AR: Master Books.

Jones, D. M. (2007). The Lost History of the Incas. Leicester, United Kingdom: Hermes House.

Keen, B. (1990). The Aztec Image in Western Thought. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

Kuijt, D. (1999, February 15). Aztec and Enemies: DBA 105 Army and Variants. Retrieved from University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies | UMIACS: http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba105/dba105.html Lemelson-MIT. (2008). Raymond Damadian. Retrieved from Lemelson-MIT Program: http://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/raymond-damadian Leon-Portillo, M. Trece Poetas del Mundo Azteca.

Lorenzi, R. (2011, December 27). Ancient Texts Part of Earliest Known Documents. Retrieved from Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/history/tower-of-babel-111227.html Masson, S. (Winter 2013). Moloch Worship: The Abortion of Faith, Family & Country. Jubilee, 13-22.

Merriam-Webster. (2015). Religion. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: An EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica Company: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion Miller, M. E. (2001). The Art of Mesoamerica, Third Edition. London, UK.: Thames & Hudson Ltd. New York Times. (1999, October 01). Ventura Says Religion Is For 'Weak'. Retrieved from The New York Times: Breaking News, World News & Multimedia: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/01/us/ventura-says-religion-is-forweak.html Oard, M. (2006). Frozen in Time: Woolly Mammoths, the Ice Age and the Biblical Key to their Secrets. Green Forest, AR.: Master Books.

27

Olsen, T. (2003, October 1). Did Nobel Committee Ignore MRI Creator Because of Creationism? Retrieved from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/octoberweb-only/10-6-51.0.html Pharo, L. K. (2007). The Concept of "Religion" in Mesoamerican Languages. Numen 54, 30.

Popol Vuh. Retrieved from Biblioteca Pleyades: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/popol_vuh/book/pv09.htm#fn_12 Reilly III, F. K. (2012). Mesoamerican Religious Beliefs: The Practices and Practitioners. The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology.

Richard Dawkins Foundation. (2012, November 06). How To Get Rid of Religion. Retrieved from Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science: https://richarddawkins.net/2012/11/how-to-get-rid-of-religion/ Snelling, A. A. (2011). Earth's Catastrophic Past. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research.

Tarlton Law Library; Benson Latin American Collection. (2014). Aztec Legal System and Sources of Law. Retrieved from Tarlton Law Library - Aztec and Maya Law: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/exhibits/aztec/aztec_legal.html Taube, K. A. (2012). Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica. The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology.

Turner, K. O. (2007). The Western Heritage. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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Steven Richard Martins Bachelor of Human Resource Management RZIM Apologetics Certificate

Steven is the executive director of Evangelium & Apologia Ministries and operates as the lead-evangelist and apologist.

As a York University graduate, Steven specializes in training and development, and has led various apologetic workshops in University-College settings and in Church communities.

He is working towards his Masters of Arts in Christian Apologetics at Veritas Evangelical Seminary. He is also a prolific itinerant speaker for E&AM, speaking at various Conferences, including most recently the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, and the countries of El Salvador, and Trinidad & Tobago.

28

By J. Luis Dizon

In the world today, three world religions

Maimon (1135-1204), better known to

Faiths” because they profess to be the

the world as Maimonides, enunciated

faith

the

to

be

The great Jewish rabbi Moshe b.

“Abrahamic

of

claim

Abraham:

thirteen articles of faith, which serve as

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each

patriarch

the foundation for Judaism. These

claim to present the fullness of the big-

are:80

picture story of what God is doing, relative to humanity, but does each of

1. The existence of God;

these faiths do justice to the big-picture

2. His unity;

story? It is worth looking at how each of

3. His spirituality;

these religions stands in relation to the

4. His eternity;

redemptive history as it is given to us in

5. God alone the object of worship;

the Bible.

6. Revelation through his prophets;

Judaism: An Incomplete Picture

7. The pre-eminence of Moses among the Prophets;

“Judaism” is the word used for the

8. God's law given on Mount

faith of the people who are descended from

Jacob,

whom

God

Sinai;

renamed

9. The immutability of the

“Israel” (Genesis 32:28). Of course, this

Torah as God's Law;

is a misnomer, as the faith of the

10. God's foreknowledge of

Jewish people has evolved over the

men's actions;

centuries. The Judaism of the Hebrew

11. Retribution;

Bible is not exactly the same as the

12. The coming of the Messiah;

Judaism of the Second Temple Period,

13. Resurrection.

and neither are exactly the same as modern

Judaism.

Yet

all

these

permutations of Judaism are united in the belief that there is one God, and that He has revealed Himself in a special way to the Jewish people.

Note the thematic grouping of these articles. Numbers 1-5 are an affirmation “Jewish Concepts: Articles of Faith,” Jewish Virtual Library (Accessed 25 February 2015), http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Ju daism/articles_of_faith.html 80

29

of monotheism. Numbers 6-9 are an

made into His footstool (Hebrews

affirmation of divine revelation and its

10:12-13,

perfection. Numbers 10-11 affirm the

Judaism

sovereignty of God, and 12-13 affirm

Messiah. And yet, if He truly was the

the reality of an Eschaton, or end of

Messiah, this means that the Jews have

days,

failed to see the implications of their

when

history

will

be

consummated.

quoting rejects

Psalm

Jesus

110:1).

as

a

false

own scriptures and have missed the boat when it comes to waiting for their

Of particular interest is article 12.

own Messiah.

Maimonides stressed the necessity of believing in this article, saying “I

But

how

do

we

know

which

believe with a full heart

interpretation

in the coming of the

Messiah is correct? The

Messiah,

even

only way to answer this

though he may tarry I

is via the one authority

will still wait for him.”

which

It is so important that

Christians both hold to:

and

for many of the Jews who were killed in the

The Services at a Reform Synagogue

Therein

of

Jews Hebrew are

the

and Bible.

abundant

Holocaust, these were the last words

references to the Messiah’s person and

they ever uttered.81 Judaism teaches

role. For example, in Genesis 49:10 it

that this Messiah will come at the end

reads: “The scepter shall not depart

of the age to bring about a golden age of

from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from

peace and prosperity.

between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience

By contrast, Christianity teaches

of the peoples.”82 The Targums of

that the Messiah already came in the

Onkelos,83

Pseudo-Jonathan84

person of Jesus of Nazareth, who

Yerushalmi85

and

all identify this figure as

inaugurated His Kingdom in His death and resurrection, and will return at the end of the age when His enemies are “Moses Maimonides (Rambam),” Jewish Virtual Library (Accessed 25 February 2015), http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/bi ography/Maimonides.html 81

30

Biblical references are from the English Standard Version.

83 Samson H Levey, The Messiah: an Aramaic Interpretation; the Messianic Exegesis of the Targum (Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, 1974), 7.

84 Ibid., 8.

85 Ibid., 11.

82

the Messiah. We see here that the

(Avi-Yad), which points to divinity.

Messiah’s kingship extends not only

Jews object to this interpretation by

over Israel but over all the nations.

arguing

that

understood

“El-Gibbor” as

“mighty

is

best

warrior.”

Another such passage, which is

However, this interpretation is made

confirmed to be Messianic in Targum

untenable by the fact that the title

Jonathan,86

is Micah 5:2. It reads: “But

(which only appears in Isaiah) is only

you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are

used of Yahweh. For example, Isaiah

too little to be among the clans of

10:20-21 states: “In that day the

Judah, from you shall

remnant of Israel and the

come forth for me one

survivors of the house of

who is to be ruler in

Jacob will no more lean on

Israel,

coming

him who struck them, but

forth is from of old, from

will lean on the Lord, the

ancient days.” Two things

Holy One of Israel, in

stand out immediately in

truth.

this verse: 1) The Messiah

return, the remnant

is born in Bethlehem, and

Jacob, to the mighty God.”

whose

2) his origins are from

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and is the pre-existent Logos

A

remnant

will of

Whoever this figure must

ancient days, which indicates pre-

be then, He must be regarded as no less

existence. A high Christology is readily

than God.

apparent here.

But perhaps the most important Reinforcing this high Christology is

Messianic passage is Isaiah 53. This

Isaiah 9:6, which states: “For to us a

passage speaks of a Suffering Servant

child is born, to us a son is given; and

who is rejected by his own people, and

the government shall be upon his

who eventually is killed, but his death

shoulder, and his name shall be called

becomes the means by which the

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

transgressions of his people are paid

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” It

for. Most Jews today, following Rabbi

is

Shlomo

telling

that

the

figure

being

b.

Yitzhak

(1040-1105),

prophesied here is called “Mighty God”

interpret the Suffering Servant as the

(El-Gibbor) and “Father of Eternity”

nation of Israel. However, virtually all Jewish sources prior to him identified

86

Ibid., 92.

31

this Suffering Servant as the Messiah,

president would represent the nation

and many rabbis continue to affirm this

that he is a head of.88

even

after

Rashi’s

interpretation.

Consider, for example, the Babylonian

This understanding carries over to

Talmud, which states: “The Messiah—

Isaiah 53. Pay close attention to the

what is his name?…The Rabbis say, the

description of the servant as it appears

leprous one; those of the house of

in verses 4-8:

Rabbi say, the sick one, as it is said, ‘Surely he hath borne our sicknesses’”

“Surely he has borne our griefs

(Tractate Sanhedrin 98b).87 Thus, the

and carried our sorrows;

passage is interpreted in an explicitly

yet we esteemed him stricken,

Messianic light.

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our

It is true that the word “servant,” in

transgressions;

Isaiah sometimes appears to refer to

he was crushed for our

Israel. For example, in Isaiah 49:3, God

iniquities;

says: “You are my servant, Israel, in

upon him was the chastisement

whom I will be glorified.” However,

that brought us peace,

this identification needs to be qualified,

and with his wounds we are

because in verse 5, the Servant says, “he

healed.

who formed me from the womb to be

All we like sheep have gone astray;

his servant, to bring Jacob back to

we have turned—every one—to

him; and that Israel might be gathered

his own way;

to him.” How can the Servant bring

and the LORD has laid on him

Israel back to God if the Servant is himself

Israel?

The

best

way

the iniquity of us all.

to

He was oppressed, and he was

understand this is to see the Servant as

afflicted,

an individual who represents the nation

yet he opened not his mouth;

of Israel, the same way a king or

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

See this and other similar quotations by numerous other Jewish authorities in Rachmiel Frydland’s article, “The Rabbis' Dilemma: A Look at Isaiah 53,” Jews for Jesus (Accessed 25 February 2015), http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v 02-n05/isaiah53

and like a sheep that before its

87

32

shearers is silent,

I am indebted to Dr. Peter G. Gentry of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for this insight.

88

so he opened not his mouth.

We are left with the conclusion that an

By oppression and judgment he

individual is in view—one who comes

was taken away;

out of the nation of Israel, but is

and as for his generation, who

distinguished by his faithfulness, in

considered

contrast with the nation’s unbelief and

that he was cut off out of the land

rejection of him. This individual is none

of the living,

other

stricken for the transgression of my people.”

than

Rabbinic

the

sources

Messiah—as and

the

both New

Testament attest—and the only person in history who matches the description

Immediately, we notice three things

of the Messiah therein is Jesus of

about the Suffering Servant:

Nazareth.89

1. He experiences death, something

If Jesus is the Messiah—and we

which cannot be said of the

certainly see the Hebrew Bible pointing

people

have

that direction—then the implication is

survived every affliction that has

that Judaism, in its rejection of Jesus,

come upon them;

has missed the boat. Its picture of

2. His

of

Israel,

death

is

who

redemptive

in

character. Of course, no ordinary human

can

redeem

another

person by their suffering, to say nothing of an entire nation’s suffering; and 3. The redemption is for his people,

redemptive history is incomplete, at best. Despite its high regard for the Bible, it fails to see the trajectory of the Biblical story and the One to whom it points, which echoes what Jesus said to the Pharisees 2,000 years ago: “You

which would be odd if Israel was

search the Scriptures because you

in view, as the “people” would

think that in them you have eternal

also be interpreted as Israel,

life; and it is they that bear witness

which leads to the nonsense interpretation that Israel’s sins are transferred onto Israel.

If one is in doubt regarding this, try this simple experiment: Write down Isaiah 53 on a sheet of paper without writing down the reference, and then show random people the passage and ask them who they think it is referring to. In doing this, I have found that people—Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, etc.—almost universally recognize that Jesus is being described therein.

89

33

The Torah is the authoritative sacred text for the Jews

about me, yet you refuse to come to me

evidence of a number of narratives.”91

that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

To explain this, we must speak of Islam’s articles of faith.

Islam: A Blurred Picture If Judaism errs in presenting an incomplete

picture

of

redemptive

history, Islam errs in blurring the picture that was received prior to it.

One must Islam in light of the Biblical traditions that preceded it. Countless

Page Pointers for the Reading of the Torah, as depicted in the image above. These pagepointers are from El Transito Synagogue, Spain.

volumes have been written on this subject.90 Dr. Samir states that “there is no need to demonstrate that there was a Christian influence on the Qur’an, in as much as this is apparent from the

Two very important books on this topic are worth mentioning. First is Gabriel Said Reynold’s The Qur’an in its Biblical Subtext (New York: Routledge, 2010). The second book, edited by the same author, is The Qur’an in Its Historical Context (New York: Routledge, 2008). Both are part of the Routledge Studies in the Qur’an (ed. Andrew Rippin).

90

34

Samir Khalil Samir, “The Theological Christian Influence on the Qur’an: A Reflection,” The Qur’an in Its Historical Context, ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds (New York: Routledge, 2008), 161. Samir recognizes that such an assertion is controversial amongst Orthodox Muslims, noting that “the very concept of influence is generally rejected by all of traditional Islam. The Qur’an cannot be subject to influences, since it comes directly from God and is in no way a human work. If it were a work attributable to Muhammad himself, it could be subject to influences.

However, being a divine message brought down upon Muhammad, there is no other influence but that of God. By this fact alone the very question that we raise is already excluded by traditional Islamic thought” (Ibid., 141).

91

Orthodox Islam has five articles, which

Muslims

acknowledge

are:

revealed

the

1. Belief in one God Who has

Torah

as

divinely

(Tawrat),

the

Psalms (Zabur) and the Gospel (Injil).

absolutely no associate with

In addition, they hold that Muhammad

Him in His divinity;

was the seal of the prophets, and the

2. Belief in God’s Angels;

Qur’an (which God revealed through

3. Belief in God’s Books, and

Muhammad) to be His final revelation.

in the Holy Qur’an as His Last Book 4. Belief in God’s Prophets, and in Muhammad as His

This is reflected in the Qur’an’s own assessment of itself:

Last and Final Messenger;

“He has sent down upon you, the

and

Book in truth, confirming what was

5. Belief in life after death.92

before it [lit. ‘What is between his Articles 4 and 5 are of particular

hands’]. And He revealed the Torah

interest. Islam professes to be the faith

and the Gospel before, as guidance for the people. And He revealed the

of all the prophets, including those of

Qur'an. Indeed, those who disbelieve

the Jewish and Christian traditions.

in the verses of Allah will have a severe punishment, and Allah is exalted in Might, the Owner of Retribution” (Q 3:3-4)93 By placing the Qur’an in the same status as the Torah and Gospel, it is argued that Muhammad belongs to that 11th-century North African Quran from the British Museum

prophetic continuity, and that the prophets’ message finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Qur’an.

Sayyid Abu’l Ala Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam (U.K.I.M. Dawah Centre, 1960), 70. Some sources include a sixth article: Belief in Divine Predestination (Qadr).

However, the nature of predestination tends to be a source of disagreement between Muslim groups, especially between Sunni and Shi’i Islam.

92

This is where it gets problematic.

Many of the core teachings of the

Qur’anic references are from the Sahih International translation.

93

35

Qur’an do not match those of the Bible.

Another main area of contrast is in

For example, the Bible teaches the

the area of vicarious atonement. The

divine

Islam

Torah clearly teaches the necessity of

vehemently denies such a relationship

atonement through the description of

and regards it as blasphemous:

the Yom Kippur festival (Leviticus 16).

sonship

of

Christ.

The next chapter states that “the life of “And they say, ‘The Most Merciful

a creature is in the blood, and I have

has taken a son.’ You have done an

given it to you to make atonement for

atrocious

heavens

yourselves on the altar; it is the blood

almost rupture therefrom and the

thing.

that makes atonement for one’s life”

earth

(Leviticus

splits

The

open

and

the

17:11).

Moreover,

the

mountains collapse in devastation

prophets declared that the Messiah

that they attribute to the Most

would make atonement for sin (see

Merciful a son. And it

above discussion of Isaiah

is not appropriate for

53), which Jesus affirmed

the Most Merciful that

when He said that “the Son

He should take a son.”

of Man did not come to be

(Q 19:88-92).

served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for

The contrast is clearer

many” (Mark 10:45). Islam

elsewhere: If we take the words in Q

denies all this, arguing that Jesus did

112:3 that “He neither begets nor is

not even die on the cross (Q 4:157).94

born” (Lam yalid wa lam yulad), we find that they are the mirror opposite of Isaiah 9:6, “to us a child is born” (Yeled yulad lanu). The Qur’an even threatens Christians with God’s destruction for calling Jesus the Son of God (Q 5:72-73 and 9:30). Contrast this with Jesus blessing Peter for affirming the same (Matthew 16:17). The antithesis could not be any clearer.

36

As Lawson points out, there is no unanimity among Muslim commentators on the interpretation of this passage. In fact, there are conflicting interpretations even until now. He states regarding 4:157: “Muslim teaching . . . on the life and ministry of Jesus is by no means consistent or monolithic. . . . there are numerous forces at work in various levels of the Islamic learned tradition that impinge upon the hermeneutic culture out of which doctrine may be thought to have arisen and endured. . . . any number of readers—Muslim or not—could read and have read the same verse without coming to this conclusion.” See Todd Lawson, The Crucifixion and the Qur’an: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2009), 1-2.

According to Lawson, the most likely interpretation is that Jesus did indeed die physically, but not spiritually. He states that 94

The problem for Muslims is how to

mixed up with fiction that an

reconcile the Qur’an with the previous

accurate and authentic account of

scriptures. The classical argument of

their lives has become impossible.

Islamic polemicists is that the previous

Their lives have become tales and

scriptures were corrupted by the People

legends and no trustworthy record

of the Book. Most of these books no

is available anywhere. It cannot

longer exist, while some (such as the

even be said with certainty when

aforementioned three) remain extant in

and where a certain Prophet was

a corrupted form. Abu’l Ala Mawdudi

born, how he lived and what code

summarizes

of morality he gave to mankind.”95

the

popular

Muslim

viewpoint as such: Muslim polemicists claim that the “The real death of a Prophet

teaching that the Bible has been

consists not in his physical demise

corrupted is based on Qur’anic texts

but in the ending of the influence of

that teach Tahrif (alteration). One such

his teachings. The earlier Prophets

text is Q 2:79: “Woe to those who write

have died because their followers

the scripture with their own hands,

have adulterated their teachings,

then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ in order

distorted their instructions, and

to exchange it for a small price. Woe to

besmirched their life-examples by

them for what their hands have

attaching fictitious events to them.

written and woe to them for what they

Not one of the earlier books -

earn.”

Torah, Zabur (Psalms of David), Injil (Gospel of Jesus), for example - exists today in its original text and even the adherents of these books confess that they do not possess the original books. The life-histories of the earlier Prophets have been so

“the semantic constitution of such a statement strongly points to a reading that would go well beyond the mundane realms of murder and physical death” (Ibid., 41.). Support for this interpretation comes from cross-referencing Q 4:157 with Q 2:154 and 3:169. This view is held to this day by the Isma’ili sect of Shi’ism.

The Kaaba, in Mecca, Hejaz region, today's Saudi Arabia, is the center of Islam.

Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam, 42-43.

95

37

There are three problems with

teach tahrif only teach the latter—the

interpreting this passage this way. First,

interpretation is wrong but the text is

the verse is describing an isolated

still intact. Furthermore, the earliest

incident. Q 2:75 states that only one

Muslims historically held to Tahrif al-

party of Jews is being described, and

Mana, but later generations began to

that this is not universal. We know

argue against Jews and Christians on

from history that the Jews were

the

generally very careful in preserving

example, Ibn Kathir, in his commentary

their text (eg. the Masoretes), so this

on Q 3:78, cites earlier commentators

incident must be regarded as an

Ibn Abbas and Ibn Munabbih (both

exception rather than the rule. Also, the

from the 8th century), to the effect that

verse says nothing about Christians

nothing in the Bible has been changed:

basis

of

Tahrif

al-Nass.

For

being involved.96 “Al-Bukhari reported that Ibn Second, this verse is ambiguous on

‘Abbas said that the Ayah means

what “book” the Jews are writing with

they alter and add although none

their

among

own

hands.

While

Muslim

Allah's

creation

can

polemicists identify this as the Torah, it

remove the Words of Allah from

could just as easily be referring to

His Books, they alter and distort

secondary Jewish writings such as the

their apparent meanings. Wahb

Talmud (which Orthodox Jews regard

bin Munabbih said, ‘The Tawrah

as being as authoritative as the Bible)

and the Injil remain as Allah

rather than the Torah.

revealed them, and no letter in them was removed. However, the

Third, in Islamic theology, there are

people

misguide

others

by

two types of Tahrif: Tahrif al-Nass

addition and false interpretation,

(corruption of the actual text), and

relying on books that they wrote

Tahrif al-Mana (corruption of the

themselves.”97

meaning only). All Qur’an verses that

We can also ask our hypothetical Muslim apologist why the Jews left such problematic passages as Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53 as they are.

Given their value to Christianity, one would expect them to be scrubbed, if the Jews were in fact interested in corrupting the text to suit their ideas.

96

38

Isma’il b. Kathir, “The Jews Alter Allah’s Words,” Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Accessed 25 February 2015), http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com _content&task=view&id=525&Itemid=46#1 97

It is unclear when the shift from

Khaldun (1332-1406) cites stories from

claiming Tahrif al-Mana to Tahrif al-

the

Nass occurred. Dr. Nickel suggests that

Muqaddimah, and then goes on to

this viewpoint came into vogue in the

defend the general authenticity of those

11th

scriptures:

century,

when

Ibn

Hazm

Jewish

scriptures

in

his

popularized it for polemical purposes.

Prior to him, the textual integrity of the

“Someone

Bible was taken for granted by most

against this tradition with the

might

come

out

Muslims.98 Nickel writes:

argument that it occurs only in the Torah which, as is well

“[E]xegetes from the formative

known, was altered by the Jews.

period of Qur’anic commentary did

The reply to this argument

not in the first instance understand

would be that the statement

the words of the Qur’an to mean

concerning the alteration of the

that the Jews and Christians had

Torah

falsified their scriptures. ... They

unacceptable

have little good to say about the

scholars

communities

understood

to

whom

God

by

the to

and in

Jews

is

thorough cannot its

be plain

entrusted his revelations in the

meaning, since custom prevents

distant past, and even less good to

people who have a revealed

relate about those who did not

religion from dealing with the

accept the claims of the messenger

divine scriptures in such a

of

manner.”100

Islam.

But

the

negative

evaluations of the ‘People of the Book’ in the commentaries do not

More

generally attach to the revealed

Mahmoud Ayoub wrote concerning the

recently,

Muslim

scholar

books themselves.”99

charge that the previous scriptures were corrupted:

Even after Ibn Hazm, many Muslims continued to reject Tahrif al-Nass. For

“Contrary to the general Islamic

instance,

view, the Qur'an does not accuse

Muslim

historian

Ibn

Gordon Nickel, Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qur’an (London: Brill Academic, 2011), 23.

99 Ibid., 13.

98

Abu Zayd b. Khaldun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, vol. I, trans. Franz Rosenthal (Princeton University Press, 1967), 20.

100

39

Jews and Christians of altering the

disciples,

text of their scriptures, but rather

unbelievers

of altering the truth which those

Finally,

scriptures contain. The people do

Muhammad

this by concealing some of the

reverently (Sahih al-Bukhari 8:809 and

sacred texts, by misapplying their

Sunan Abu-Dawud 4434).102

precepts, or by “altering words

show that the charge of corruption

from their right position” (4:26;

cannot be sustained against the Bible.

5:13, 41; see also 2:75). However,

This charge comes from later medieval

this refers more to interpretation

Muslim polemics against Jews and

than to actual addition or deletion

Christians, and cannot be substantiated

of words from the sacred books.

from the Qur’an or early Islamic

The problem of alteration (tahrif)

sources.

needs further

since the

that

triumphed ahadith treated

means

the

over

them.

state the

that Torah These

study.”101 Thus, Islam has within it a fatal

Besides, the Qur’an states that it has

contradiction: It affirms the divine

come to confirm “what is between his

origin of the Bible, yet denies essential

hands” (Q 3:3 and 5:48).

teachings

This would not make

Bible.

sense if the text at that

conclusion one could

time had been altered,

draw is that Islam’s

since then the Qur’an

claim to be in continuity

would be confirming a

with God’s redemptive

corrupted

story is invalid, which

text.

The

invalidates

from The

the only

Qur’an also states that God made Jesus’

also

disciples superior to the unbelievers

prophethood and the Qur’an’s status as

Muhammad’s

until the day of Resurrection (Q 3:52-55

divine revelation.

and 61:14). It would not make sense if their writings were corrupted or if

Christianity: The Full Picture

unbelievers successfully passed on their own

writings

as

those

of

Jesus’

Having seen the flaws in Judaism and Islam, we are left with one of the

Mahmoud Ayoub, “Uzayr in the Qur'an and Muslim Tradition,” Studies in Islamic and Judaic Traditions, eds. W. M. Brenner and S. D. Rick. (The University of Denver, 1986), 5.

101

40

See Alex Kerimli’s article on this topic, “Allah, Muhammad, and the Torah,” found within this same publication.

102

remaining

Abrahamic

Faiths:

Christianity. The Christian faith sees

Covenant, with Christ as the eternal king.

the story of the Bible as Redemptive History,103 where God works to bring

The following scheme can be used

an estranged humanity back to a right

to remember the basic thrust of each

relationship

covenant:

with

Himself.

This

Redemptive History can be seen as a 1. Adam: The covenant of

succession of covenants, beginning with

commencement

the Edenic Covenant and culminating

2. Noah: The covenant of

in the New Covenant. Between Adam and

Christ,

there

are

four

preservation

other

3. Abraham: The covenant of

covenants, which God made with Noah, Abraham,

Moses

and

promise

David,

4. Moses: The covenant of law

respectively.

5. David: The covenant of the kingdom

Each covenant builds upon each

6. Christ: The covenant of

other, clarifying each covenant that

consummation104

came before it and sometimes fulfilling their provisions. For example, the Mosaic covenant contains provisions for a monarchy, yet there was no monarchy in Israel for another 400 years

(Deut.

17:14-20).

When

a

monarchy is established, God takes the house of David and promises to establish their throne forever (2 Samuel 7). This is finally fulfilled in the New

Underlying all the covenants is a grand narrative that connects them together.

Robertson notes: “Diversity indeed exists in the various administrations of God’s covenants. This diversity enriches the wonder of God’s plan for his people.

But the diversity ultimately merges into a

single

purpose

overarching

the

ages.”105 Different theologians have different

The on “Redemptive History” in Theopedia states: “Redemptive history is a general term to describe the study of God's acts of redemption from creation to the present. Although a broad field of study, all of redemptive history can be said to climax and culminate in the Cross, encompassing Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.” (Accessed 26 February 2015), 103

http://www.theopedia.com/Redemptive_history

ways of explaining this grand narrative.

This scheme is provided by O. Palmer Robertson in The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1980), 61.

105 Ibid.

104

41

In classical Protestant thought, the

Much more can be said on this

unifying theme of the covenants is

matter, but I leave it to the reader to

called the “Covenant of Grace.” All the

explore

biblical-historical

covenants

the

Biblical

story

for

are

themselves. To better understand its

administrations within this Covenant of

narrative, I refer the reader to “The

Grace. It is so-called because its main

Grand Narrative of History,” which

factor is God’s grace. All His dealings

summarizes the story of the Bible.

with man under the Covenant of Grace involve His gracious condescension to us to save us and redeem us despite our incapability to merit His favour. This redemptive

plan

finds

its

fullest

expression in what Saint Paul calls “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), with

3rd-century Greek Papyrus of the Gospel of Luke

the coming of Jesus Christ, whose life, death

and

resurrection

form

the

lynchpin of Redemptive History.

Bibliography Ayoub, Mahmoud. “Uzayr in the Qur'an and Muslim Tradition.” Studies in Islamic and Judaic Traditions (eds. W. M. Brenner and S. D. Rick). The University of Denver, 1986.

b. Kathir, Isma’il. “The Jews Alter Allah’s Words.” Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Accessed 25 February 2015. http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=525&Itemid=46#1

b. Khaldun, Abu Zayd. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, vol. I (trans. Franz Rosenthal). Princeton University Press, 1967.

Frydland, Rachmiel. “The Rabbis' Dilemma: A Look at Isaiah 53.” Jews for Jesus. Accessed 25 February 2015. http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v02-n05/isaiah53

Lawson, Todd. The Crucifixion and the Qur’an: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2009.

Levey, Samson H. The Messiah: an Aramaic Interpretation; the Messianic Exegesis of the Targum. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, 1974.

Jewish Virtual Library. “Jewish Concepts: Articles of Faith.” Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed 25 February 2015. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/articles_of_faith.html

42

Jewish Virtual Library. “Moses Maimonides (Rambam).” Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed 25 February 2015. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Maimonides.html

Mawdudi, Sayyid Abu’l Ala. Towards Understanding Islam. U.K.I.M. Dawah Centre, 1960.

Nickel, Gordon. Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qur’an. London: Brill Academic, 2011.

Reynolds, Gabriel Said. The Qur’an and its Biblical Subtext (Routledge Studies in the Qur’an, ed. Andrew Rippin). New York: Routledge, 2010.

Reynolds, Gabriel Said (ed.). The Qur’an in Its Historical Context (Routledge Studies in the Qur’an, ed. Andrew Rippin). New York: Routledge, 2008.

Robertson, O. Palmer. The Christ of the Covenants. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1980.

Theopedia. “Redemptive History.” Theopedia. Accessed 26 February 2015. http://www.theopedia.com/Redemptive_history

J. Luis Dizon Bachelor of Arts in History and Near & Middle-Eastern Civilizations

Luis Dizon is an associate apologist with Evangelium & Apologia Ministries, and a University of Toronto graduate with a Bachelors in History and Near & Middle-Eastern Civilizations. Initially raised as a Roman Catholic, he became an agnostic in his early teenage years. Ironically, it was due to Richard Dawkin’s The God Delusion that led him to inquire of the Christian faith and later become a devout Christian. Faithful to his passion, Luis followed through with his studies on church history, systematic theology, and apologetics. Presently, his specialization has primarily been focused on cults and comparative studies between Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

43

44

By Alex Kerimli

One

of

the

most

important

questions in a conversation, between a Muslim

and

a

Christian,

is

will have a solid foundation to stand upon.

the

following: “Is the Torah (Genesis, Exodus,

Leviticus,

Numbers

This question actually turns out to

and

have a very simple answer, especially

Deuteronomy), as it exists today, the

using Islamic literature and sources.

uncorrupted Word of God?” In other

We start by asking “What does the

words, can we rely on the Torah for

Qur’an say about the Torah?”

accurate historical accounts of God’s encounter with mankind?

To answer this question, consider the following Qur’anic verse:

As

a

matter

of

fact,

any

conversation we may have with a

O people of the Scripture (Jews

Muslim is eventually going to lead us to

and Christians)! Now has come to

square one – the topic of the Torah’s

you Our Messenger (Muhammad)

reliability. No matter

explaining to you much

what we are talking

of that which you used

about, it boils down to

to

this

has

Scripture and pass over

experience

(i.e. leaving out without

been

subject. my

It

hide

from

the

that the best way to

explaining)

save

Indeed, there has come

our

time

and

energy is to start the

much.

to you from Allah a light

dialogue with the question of the

(Prophet Muhammad) and a plain

Torah’s reliability. If we could come to a

Book (this Qur'an) (Q 5:15).106

logical and scriptural agreement, we would make great progress in our dialogue, and every subsequent topic

All Qur’an citations are from the Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan’s The Noble Qur’an: English Translation of the meanings and commentary (Madinah, 106

45

Let us examine this verse. The word

Here we read another verse:

“Scripture” is used here by Allah as a positive term, while “People of the

The likeness of those who were

Book” is used negatively. Allah is

entrusted with the (obligation of

condemning Jews and Christians in

the) Taurat (Torah) (i.e. to obey its

being

commandments and to practise its

dishonest

Scriptures

by

to

hiding

the

existing and

laws), but who subsequently failed

doctrines, and without explanation for

verses

in those (obligations), is as the

that matter. It could only mean that the

likeness of a donkey which carries

Scripture was still reliable in the days of

huge

Muhammad (Now has come to you Our

understands nothing from them).

Messenger explaining to you much of

How bad is the example of people

that which you used to hide from the

who

Scripture) but people who read it were

evidence,

not. Interestingly, these people did not

revelations) of Allah. And Allah

change the text at all, neither were they

guides not the people who are

condemned by Allah for even thinking

Zalimun

about it. The only option left for them is

doers, disbelievers). (Q 62:5)

burdens

deny

of

the

books

Ayat

(proofs,

verses,

(polytheists,

(but

signs,

wrong-

to hide verses from Scripture. On top of that, we read that Allah condemned

Again, Allah is comparing the Jews

them in hiding much! A lot of doctrines

with an animal, carrying reliable books

were against the common practice of

on their back but not learning its

Jews in the days of Muhammad, and

information. Nothing wrong with the

according to Allah’s knowledge, Jews

books, the fault lies with the Jews.

did not change the written words of the Torah, they simply ignored them.

Here is another passage:

The logical conclusion that could be

All food was lawful to the Children

drawn from this verse is that the Jews

of Israel, except what Israel made

were guilty in hiding verses from the

unlawful for himself before the

text, not changing them.

Taurat (Torah) was revealed. Say (O Muhammad): “Bring here the Taurat (Torah) and recite it, if you

K.S.A.: King Fahd Complex for the Pringing of the Holy Qur’an).

46

are truthful.” (Q 3:93).

Here we find important information

he sent the Qur’an to confirm the Torah

being revealed to Muhammad, that he

in the days of Muhammad. We read the

should judge the sayings and the

following:

practices of the Jews given relevant findings in the Torah.

O Children of Israel! ...And believe in what I have sent down (this

In another passage, Allah goes even

Qur'an), confirming that which is

further by suggesting that Jews must

with you, [the Taurat (Torah) and

follow not only the Qur’an but also the

the Injeel (Gospel)], and be not the

Torah and the Gospel. In saying this,

first to disbelieve therein, and buy

Allah places all three books on the same

[get] not with My Verses [the

shelf of authority!

Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] a small price (i.e. getting

Say (O Muhammad) "O people of

a small gain by selling My Verses),

the

and fear Me and Me Alone. (Tafsir

Scripture

(Jews

and

Christians)! You have nothing (as

At-Tabari). (Q 2:40-41).

regards guidance) till you act according to the Taurat (Torah),

And when there came to them (the

the Injeel (Gospel), and what has

Jews), a Book (this Qur'an) from

(now) been sent down to you from

Allah confirming what is with

your Lord (the Qur'an)." Verily,

them [the Taurat (Torah) and the

that which has been sent down to

Injeel

you (Muhammad) from your Lord

aforetime they had invoked Allah

increases in most of them (their)

(for coming of Muhammad) in

obstinate rebellion and disbelief.

order to gain victory over those

So be not sorrowful over the people

who disbelieved, then when there

who disbelieve. (Q 5:68).

came to them that which they had

(Gospel)],

although

recognized, they disbelieved in it.

I have listed 6 Qur’anic verses where

So let the Curse of Allah be on the

Allah is making a series of important

disbelievers (Q 2:89).

statements regarding the Torah and the Injil. Keep in mind that “Allah” never

And when it is said to them (the

said that the Qur’an came to correct the

Jews), "Believe in what Allah has

Torah; on the contrary, Allah said that

sent down," they say, "We believe

47

in what was sent down to us." And

Commandment of Allah is always

they disbelieve in that which came

executed (Q 4:47).

after it, while it is the truth confirming what is with them. Say

We now examine one last passage from

(O Muhammad) to them: "Why

the Qur’an. Here we find that Allah

then have you killed the Prophets

makes a statement unthinkable to the

of Allah aforetime, if you indeed

minds of modern-day Muslims:

have been believers?" (Q 2:91) But how do they come to you for And when there came to them a

decision

Messenger

(i.e.

Taurat (Torah), in which is the

Muhammad) confirming what was

(plain) Decision of Allah; yet even

with them, a party of those who

after that, they turn away. For

were given the Scripture threw

they are not (really) believers. (Q

away the Book of Allah behind

5:43)

from

Allah

while

they

have

the

their backs as if they did not know!

(Q 2:101)

The

implication

of

this

verse

is

essential! Allah is making the statement O you who have been given the

that the Jews had the Torah in their

Scripture (Jews and Christians)!

hands, in the days of Muhammad, and

Believe in what We have revealed

that it was the reliable, unchanged

(to Muhammad) confirming what is (already) with you... (Q 4:47) O you who have been given the Scripture (Jews and Christians)!

Believe in what We have revealed (to Muhammad) confirming what is (already) with you, before We efface faces (by making them like the back of necks; without nose, mouth) and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers.

And

the Jewish Torah Scroll

48

word of God. The Sirat Rasul Allah (the

We can also read the Hadith (the

biography of Muhammad) has the

sayings of Muhammad):

following

to

say

Muhammad’s

when

attitude

regarding

towards

the

A group of Jews came and invited

Torah:

the Apostle of Allah to Quff. So he visited them in their school. They

Once, Muadh asked some Jewish

said: AbulQasim, one of our men

rabbis about a subject mentioned

has committed fornication with a

in the Torah, but they refused to

woman; so pronounce judgment

answer him about it. So Allah

upon them. They placed a cushion

revealed the verse, 'Those who

for the Apostle of Allah who sat on

conceal what We have sent down,

it and said: Bring the Torah. It

after We have made it plain, will

was

be cursed by Allah.

withdrew

then

brought. the

He

cushion

then from

beneath him and placed the Torah ‘…On another occasion the apostle

on it saying: I believe in thee and

entered

in Him Who revealed thee (Sunan

a

Jewish

school

and

invited those who were present to

Abu Dawud 8:4434).108

Allah. They asked, 'What is your religion,

he

What Muhammad did was something

replied, 'The religion of Abraham.'

Muhammad?' and

that not many Muslims today would

They said, 'Abraham was a Jew.'

ever do: he swore on the Torah,

Then the apostle told them, 'Bring

declaring that the entire Torah Scroll

the Torah and let that judge

(not bits and pieces) came from God.

between me and you', but they refused.107

As we can see in this Hadith, Mohammed

never

condemned

the

Muhammad had no problem with using

written Torah. He only condemned the

the Torah as an ultimate judge between

wrong interpretation of the Torah by

him and the Jews. This reveals his

the Jews. In these examples, we can see

complete confidence in the Torah.

Muhammad

Muhammad b. Ishaq, “Sirat Rasoul Allah,” Faith Freedom (Accessed 8 March 2015), http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sira/09. htm.

108

107

calling

the

Torah

to

For the full quotation, including the original Arabic text, see “Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud).” Sunnah.com (accessed 8 March 2015) http://sunnah.com/abudawud/40.

49

witness against the Jews and their

Consider also the description provided

practices. Clearly, the true original

of the DSS manuscript of Genesis:

Torah was present and available during his lifetime.

“The book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical canon, recounting

Apart from the verses of the Qur’an,

the story of the creation of the

the Hadith and the Sira we have

universe

tangible evidence of the unchanged

ancestors of the Israelite people.

Torah in the form of the Dead Sea

Approximately 20 manuscripts of

Scrolls

DSS,

the book of Genesis were uncovered

Christians and Jews have archeological

in the Dead Sea Scroll caves. This

proof that the Torah, at the time of

scroll contains some of the oldest

Jesus and Muhammad, was virtually

fragments of Genesis discovered

the same as we now have them.

among the Dead sea scrolls, and is

(DSS).

Through

the

and

introducing

the

one of only two manuscripts of Here are few very important facts

Genesis that also contain portions

concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls:

of the book of Exodus. The copies of Genesis among the Dead Sea

“Of 930 scrolls, about 207 are

Scrolls are extremely similar to the

biblical manuscripts that represent

traditional Hebrew text.”110

every book in the Hebrew Bible except one: Esther. There are also

Unless anyone had physical evidence

numerous apocryphal manuscript.

that the Torah was changed at any

...Some of the Biblical Dead Sea

given point in time, it would be arguing

Scrolls are almost 1000 years older

from silence, and no one would have

than the oldest known copies of the

the

Hebrew Bible.”109

Muslims must agree that the Torah that

authority

to

state

otherwise.

existed before Jesus, at the time of Jesus,

and

during

the

life

of

Mohammad, is the same as what we have today.

Royal Ontario Museum, Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World (Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum, 2009), 14-15.

109

50

Royal Ontario Museum, Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World, 18.

110

Bibliography Abu Dawud, Sulayman. “Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud).” Sunnah.com. accessed 8 March 2015. http://sunnah.com/abudawud/40.

Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad. “Sirat Rasoul Allah.” Faith Freedom. Accessed 8 March 2015. http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sira/09.htm.

Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. The Noble Qur’an: English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary. Madinah, K.S.A.: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an, n.d.

Royal Ontario Museum, Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World. Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum, 2009.

Alex Kerimli

Toronto, to opportunities.

Alex Kerimli is a fellow of Evangelium & Apologia Ministries, operating as an adjunct associate apologist. He specializes in Islamic studies, participated in Muslim-Christian debates, and has led various apologetic workshops on witnessing to the Islamic community. He is author of the book Qur’an-Bible Comparison and the booklet Muhammad was Right, using his pen name Ami Ben-Chanan. Alex also sets up a book-table at Dundas Square, the busiest street corner of the City of engage in multi-faith discussions, dialogues and witnessing

51

By George Simopoulos

Suffering is the unavoidable lot of

Buddhism is neurotically obsessed with

everyone born on planet earth. It is an

the realities of pain and suffering in the

unavoidable

experience

world, that their primary teaching is to

common in all times and places. It is a

human

forget about the world and escape

feature inextricably melded with what it

reality, or that they are mystical beyond

means to be a human being, and it

comprehension.

unites us all in painful bafflement as to

evidence

how we can live in a world filled with so

Buddhism

much good, yet wrought with so much

conclusion is misrepresentative of the

to in

There

see this

why

is

enough

many

light,

view

but

evil. Every worldview and

Buddhist

religion attempts to deal

whole. Buddhism is a well

with

of

thought-through system that

suffering and evil, usually

attempts to be “[aware] of

giving these realities central

suffering

importance or consideration

pretense or deception about

– indeed, it is said by today’s

it.”111 Trying to navigate the

the

problem

New Atheists that suffering is a cause of religion, since many of the common tenants

worldview

this as

without

a

any

Buddhist view of suffering Buddha Statue, 4th Century C.E. in Sarnath, India

without engaging with the multitudinous

schools

of

shared by differing religions are simply

thought that debate such matters is

ways to cope with suffering. One

perhaps impossible, but granting that

religion that sticks out from the rest, in

there are some essential beliefs that

discussions

is

make the Buddhist worldview capable

Buddhism. We oftentimes focus so

of being argued over, these beliefs can

intently on the beliefs of our secular

be explained and deconstructed in a

friends that we forget that in our

way that reveals the incoherency of the

country a variety of various beliefs are

worldview as a whole. Central to the

about

suffering,

held to, of which, Buddhism is a popular choice. It is often said that

52

Bowker, J. (1970). Problems of suffering in religions of the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 237 111

system of Buddhism, regardless of what

dim. This is in reference to the event in

school

are

Siddhartha Gautama’s life when after

commonly referred to as The Four

being asked if he was a god, he

Noble Truths, which are propositional

responded

statements regarding the nature of

(Buddha).”112 There is perhaps no

suffering. It is based on them that

better word to describe the Buddhist

Buddhist thought finds its power to

worldview

explain evil’s place in the world.

chooses to identify itself.113 It is plain

Standing in contrast to Christianity,

that the unfolding plot of Siddhartha’s

Buddhism attempts to find the solution

life is about being awoken to the reality

to suffering, not from outside of us in a

of suffering and death in the world, and

saviour,

one man’s attempt to honestly wrestle

of

thought,

but

are

from

what

within.

This

inevitably leads the Christian to a

“No.

than

I

am

“awake”

awake

when

it

with this question.

natural curiosity as to how suffering can be understood and solved without

Siddhartha Gautama grew up as a

the power of God bringing it about.

prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal,

Going through the Buddhist doctrine of

modern day India. While Siddhartha

suffering

Biblical

was a baby, the legend goes that his

revelation, we will see that where

father went to a Hindu seer to inquire

Buddhism fails to account for evil &

into the future of his son. To his

suffering

way,

dismay, he was told that Siddhartha

Christianity appropriately frames and

would grow up to become an influential

solves the problem.

leader but also a wandering beggar.

juxtaposed

in

a

to

coherent

This Suffering in the Life of the Buddha Buddha is often misunderstood to be the name of the historical figure, Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince from the 5th century BC. In actuality, Buddha is a term meaning “awake” or “enlightened,” which is an intentional contrast to the state of being asleep or

prompted

the

king

to

take

measures to ensure that his son would What does "Buddha" mean? (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.tealchemy.org/where/buddha/inde x.html 113 Christianity is actually similar in that the name Christ (Christos) is not necessarily referring to Jesus but is a term in the Greek used to describe the Hebrew idea of the saviour, known in the Hebrew as the messiah (mashiach). What is important to note is that while Buddhists describe their identity in terms of the process of awaking to suffering, Christians describes their identity in terms of how suffering has been remedied; namely through a sinless saviour that suffers in our place.

112

53

experience no pain, or even knowledge

ask his attendants, “Is this the only

of it, in an effort to prevent this

dead man, or does the world contain

prophecy from coming true. Growing

other instances?”114

up with his father in an opulent palace, Siddhartha was kept entirely ignorant

After being awoken to the reality of

concerning the reality of suffering and

suffering and death in the world,

death. He was both privileged and

Siddhartha Gautama began to seek the

pampered, but expressed that he felt

source of this suffering. At first he

shackled.

that

attempted to escape suffering through

Siddhartha Gautama understood what

The

self-denial, as was customary in Hindu

suffering was when he was nine years

asceticism. After six arduous years of

old at a spring time ploughing festival.

wandering

There he saw his father put the plough

Siddhartha determined that he would

to the ground, rip the dirt from the

either get the answer he was looking for

ground, and pull out worms which the

or

birds came down to feast upon. This

meditating under the famous Bodhi

experience showed him that in nature,

(fig) tree, Siddhartha passed out from

there is death. The most influential

exhaustion

encounter, without a doubt, was when

discovered a secret to the universe that

Siddhartha finally had permission from

unlocked enlightenment, the state in

his father to leave the palace and see

which people are no longer caught in

how common folk in his territory lived.

the cycle of suffering. He claimed that

His

father

story

starve

as

a

begging

himself

and

trying.

claimed

to

monk,

While

have

agreed

but

he witnessed an infinite span of lives

control

the

that he had lived both in the past and in

conditions of Siddhartha’s excursion

the future, and awoke to find that

into the outside world. His plan failed

desire had been extinguished within

when two old men snuck onto the pre-

him. The doctrine which emerged from

determined

secretly

reluctantly

suggests

attempted

road,

this experience would be named the

showing the prince the ravages of what

Middle Path (majjhimā paṭipadā),

extreme age looks like. Continuing

which is a summation of the Eight Fold

onwards in his expedition, Siddhartha

Path (ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo), a

encountered sick people and saw a

series of ethical principles that aid in

corpse

on

and

to

the

prepared

ground.

These

experiences prompted Siddhartha to

54

Guinness, O. (2005). Unspeakable: Facing up to evil in an age of genocide and terror. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. 116-118 114

attaining this state of enlightenment.115

satisfaction for the things you fail to do.

In order to be on this Middle Path, the

At the core of this central teaching is

Buddha

must

the notion that life is saturated in

understand the truth about suffering in

unpleasant realities – it is the norm

what is called the Four Noble Truths.

rather than the exception. The Buddhist

taught

that

one

preacher,

Piyadassi

Maha

Thera,

The Four Noble Truths: Suffering

remarks that: “To the Buddha the

is Existence

entire

teaching

understanding

is

just

of dukkha,

the the

The first Noble Truth and most

unsatisfactory nature of all phenomenal

important doctrine in Buddhism is that

existence, and the understanding of the

all of existence is suffering (Dukkha).

way out of this unsatisfactoriness.”117

All of life, as we experience it in the temporal world, is caught up in an

Contained within this doctrine is

uncontrollable stream of cause-and-

the belief that an individual’s existence

effect that bind all living things to

is not a solid rock being moved by the

desires rooted in a universe constantly

stream of cause and effect, but is itself

changing.116 At one moment you are

an indistinguishable component of the

content lying in the arms

stream,

of your beloved spouse and

everything else in the world.

in the next moment you

So, just like the plant cannot

are weeping uncontrollably

help but grow and be eaten,

at their untimely death.

an

Entrenched in Buddha’s

pleasure and pain as part of

notion of suffering were

the ebb and flow of what it

not only tragedies like the

means to be a human being,

one mentioned, but daily

and also an indistinguishable

difficulties as well such as physical

pain,

mental

Siddhartha’s venture to the outside world

along

individual

with

experiences

component of the system.118 The fundamental difference

anguish, anxiety, and even a lack of

between the plant that grows and is

O'Brien, B. (n.d.). What Is Buddhism? An Introduction to Buddhism. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistt eachings/a/basicshub.htm 116 Bowker, J. 255

117

115

THERA, P. (n.d.). The Buddha's Ancient Path. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Piyadass i_Thera_The_Buddhas_Ancient_Path.htm#CH APTER203 118 Bowker, J. 244

55

eaten and the man that loves and

separation were not an inescapable part

mourns is that the man has the ability

of the stream. Interestingly, when the

to become aware of the shifting nature

doctrine of Dukkha is fleshed out, we

of the stream of causation and can

discover

modify the process somewhat. He may

Buddhism is not the evil in the world,

not be able to change the stream, but he

but the good.

that

the

problem

facing

can learn to ride it. Buddha’s teaching, ultimately, was to point out how one

There is no notion of heaven or hell

could be released from this otherwise

in Buddhist thought. When faced with

unbreakable

and

the prospect of either, Buddha rejected

achieve self-awareness concerning this

both and posited a state of being known

deterministic universe. In Buddhism,

as Nirvana. It is not the place of

life is just a series of events, and death

comfort, joy, or closeness with God. It

takes its place in this series as a

is merely the cessation of change.122 It

stepping stone to the next event.

is

Following death you are reborn with a

meaning

new consciousness as another thing, be

“oblivion”. When one has become

it human, animal or plant, which is

totally divested of any semblance of

determined by the amount of good or

self, they become one with this system

chain

of

bad you have done in the

events

past.119

also described

as

“completely

Parinibanna, extinct”

or

The

of causation and are no longer being

problem that Buddha points out is not

controlled by it. However, to do this,

suffering per se, but desire, which is the

one would have to follow The Middle

pain.120

Path (also known as The Eight Fold

Trying to cling onto something in a

Path): having a right outlook, right

stream of constant change would be like

resolves, right speech, right acts, right

trying to touch the same piece of water

livelihood,

in a stream twice.121 In fact, longing to

mindfulness, and right rapture of

cling to something valuable in the

concentration.123 After maintaining a

stream, like love or family, is known as

lifestyle of devotion to these eight

Tanha, the epitome of human delusion.

principles,

It is trying to live as if death and

Nirvana.

vehicle for both pleasure and

Zacharias, R. (2001). The lotus and the cross: Jesus talks with Buddha. Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah. 23 120 Bowker, J. 245 121 Ibid., 250

right

one

endeavour,

is

able

to

right

reach

119

56

Groothuis, D. (2011). Christian apologetics: A comprehensive case for biblical faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic ;. 385 123 Groothuis, D. 256 122

It seems as if this whole process

is

Christian Critique

self-gratifying,

like one who serves God

It is no surprise that many in a

only to get to heaven upon

secular culture find Buddhism

death; it raises the question

appealing. It strengthens the

of why a Buddhist should help anyone, which was something himself

that

asked

enlightened.

Buddha when

The

he

foundation of a non-theistic Dharmacakra, the Buddha's teaching of the path to Nirvana

became

reason

worldview by providing an ancient example of something

similar to philosophic naturalism; the

for

worldview that believes that everything

propagating Buddhism is perhaps the

that can possibly exist is only found in

most disturbing from a Christian point

the closed system of the universe. Since

of view. The one on the path to

Buddhism also provides a therapeutic

enlightenment,

the

outlet for coping in such a cold

Bodhisattva, takes a vow to postpone

universe, it also makes sense that

his/her enlightenment in order to save

secularists

would

find

the world by teaching others the

meditation

useful

in

doctrines of Buddhism. The language of

modern stress. Considering that both

the vow goes so far as to say that the

naturalism and Buddhism see the world

Bodhisattva brings salvation to others

as deterministic and wrought with

by his/her suffering: “Better that I

suffering, this raises a weighty question

alone should be in pain than that all the

for the Christian, “Does the Buddhist

beings should fall into a state of woe”

account of suffering comport with

(Sikshasamuccaya, 280 trans. Conze).

reality in a coherent and satisfying

From the Buddhist point of view, there

way?”

known

as

Buddhist overcoming

is no one saviour of the world. There are many. Bringing people to the state of

Nirvana

does

not

happen

The first indictment against the

by

Buddhist worldview is simple. How

addressing the source of suffering and

does one know if it is true? According to

making efforts to change the world. It

Buddhist

happens by teaching others to empty

discovered through introspection rather

themselves of desire and individuality

than

in order to escape the world.

authenticating authority. Since that is

doctrine,

from

an

the

truth

external

is self-

central to the entire framework, one

57

would have to grant a priori (at the

reason as to why the universe should be

outset) that truth is obtained this way.

cause and effect in the first place. In the

Even granting this, there is no possible

Buddhist account of reality, if water

way that one can falsify any belief that

boils at 100 degrees today, there is no

can be fabricated in the mind of an

reason to believe that it should boil at

individual because there is no standard

100

outside the individual that holds other

universe is constantly in flux with no

individuals accountable to its claims,

foundation

which one could appeal to in matters of

uniform universe. The uniformity of

disagreement. I remember talking to a

nature is something that has to be

friend that was exploring Buddhism

explained in every worldview. In the

who once said that he believed that he

biblical

was the reincarnation of the Roman

assurance

Emperor,

not

immutable nature and the fact that he

convinced to say the least, but my

has created us to know and have

hesitancy to accept his royal lineage did

dominion over the world, he would

not sway him. If truth comes from

uphold the universe in a consistent

within, how can one discern the truth

fashion as he says in Genesis 8:22. Greg

from delusions? There is a major

Bahnsen puts it fittingly when he says,

authority problem in Buddhism that

“God’s knowledge is primary, and

one does not find in Christianity. In

whatever man is to know can only be

Christianity,

a

based upon a reception of what God has

standard from which reason locates its

originally and ultimately known. Man

source. Given that scripture is God’s

must think God’s thoughts after Him,

self-disclosed

Constantine.

scripture

revelation

I

was

provides

degrees

tomorrow

for

an

worldview, that

since

the

intelligible

we

based

have on

or

the God’s

concerning

for ‘in Thy light shall we see light’

himself, his creation and his purposes,

(Psalm 36:9).” 124 Since God has spoken

the bible can be a suitable final

concerning humanity and nature, we

authority that one could appeal to in

can have the assurance that our minds

order to make sense of reality.

are capable of grasping the information being relayed to us through nature.

The second criticism is much like

Buddhist

doctrine

does

not

the first. Why should one grant a priori that the universe simply ‘is’ one of cause and effect. There is no essential

58

Greg L. Bahnsen. (n.d.). Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith.

124

even

attempt to answer this fundamental

authority

on

matters

of

truth.125

question of epistemology.

Depriving yourself of water to the point of death in order to achieve a higher

While the first two criticisms relate

existence is certainly absurd, and

to the Buddhist worldview generally,

Buddhists would agree, but claiming

the

the

that all desire is delusional sounds just

unanswered question of why human

as absurd to the not-initiated, which

beings are hardwired to crave things

makes one wonder how a Buddhist can

that cause suffering and prevent them

condemn

from achieving the optimal state. Again,

affirming another. In the Christian

there is no reason why this proposition

worldview,

should be granted a priori, but it is

Cornelius Van Til summarizes this

evoked without qualification as a brute

viewpoint aptly, saying, “The light of

fact of the universe. If Buddhism were

nature” shines only by reflected light…

true it would mean that deeply held

The light of Scripture is that superior

common sense intuitions are not only

light

false, but dangerously delusional. At the

light.”126

very best, our intuitions can give us no

disclosure in scripture, we can vindicate

reliable information concerning what is

what nature and intuition reveals since

good for us. The intuition that drinking

God created mankind in his own image

is an appropriate response to thirst

with desires (Genesis 1:26), that when

could

delusion

used appropriately correspond to the

preventing us from achieving some

good that God designed for us to enjoy

higher

(Psalm 37:4).

third

be

problem

a

reality

concerns

dangerous if

you

consistently

one

absurd

this

which

is

belief

not

lightens

the

every

while case.

other

Because we have God’s self-

applied this form of argumentation.

Buddha taught his disciples to provide

The

next

criticism

relates

to

nourishment for their bodies, but what

Buddhist morality. Moral imperatives,

if he is preventing them from achieving

such as you shall not kill or you shall

an even higher form of enlightenment

love others, assume that there is a

by dying of dehydration? Buddha was

moral dimension to existence that is

proven wrong by his disciples when

rooted in the goodness of some things

they convinced him to permit women to learn the doctrines of Buddhism, so by his own admission he is not a final

Zacharias, R. 44 Van Til, C., & Edgar, W. (2003). Christian apologetics (2nd ed.). The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company: Phillipsburg, NJ. 125

126

59

and the badness of other things.

(Psalm 98:9). God has written his law

Buddhism teaches that all distinctions

on the hearts of every person (Romans

that we make up are illusions that

2:15), meaning that they are morally

deceive us from the fact that everything

culpable for any violation of their

is made up of and part of a whole.

conscience and they are accountable to

However, since there is only a cosmic

him when they break his law. Simply

oneness with no mind or purpose, this

put,

would mean that good and evil are the

unequivocal presence of morality in the

same thing since they are both features

Christian worldview.

of

a

mindless

and

there

is

no

escaping

the

deterministic

universe. Categories of good and bad,

The final criticism against the

and virtue and vice deteriorate into

Buddhist

artificial distinctions that hide the fact

perhaps the most pressing indictment

that the universe just is this way.

against the Buddhist worldview as a

However, as David Hume pointed out,

whole. Where other religions attempt to

we cannot derive an ought (morality)

solve

from an is (facts). One might say that a

understanding it in light of other

murder

123

factors, Buddhism avoids the problem

Imagination Street, but it takes moral

by denying that there is someone that

evaluation based on distinctions of

suffers. Since all distinctions in the

what is good and bad to say that it was

Buddhist

wrong.

those

illusions, there are no individuals to

makes

suffer; only conscious parts of the

has

taken

Buddhism

necessary

place

as

eradicates

distinctions

and

account

the

of

problem

worldview

of

are

by

merely

cosmic

then that Buddha’s solution was to

implication of the belief that suffering

escape reality, instead of remedying the

is

problem

Christian

universe is that there is no impetus to

worldview comes down definitively on

alter this state of affairs. One only has

of

evil.

The

The

evil

is

morality impossible. It is no surprise

an

oneness.

suffering

practical

unavoidable feature of the

the issue of morality. God has created all things (Genesis 1:1), is the owner of all things (Psalm 24:1), is the very standard of goodness by his very nature (Psalm 145:17), and he judges the world based on his standard of goodness

60

Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes an ascetic, 8th Century, Borobudur

to entertain such a notion to see why

would pay for man’s sin. God entered

the Buddhist account of the world is so

into creation in the person of Jesus

utterly unsavory. Imagine a young girl

Christ, lived the perfect life Adam was

who had been raped and sought

meant to live, and died the death man

comfort from a Buddhist priest. If the

was supposed to die, so that by his

monk was being consistent with his

death the guilt and power of sin could

presuppositions, all he could say is that

be removed. By placing our trust in

she was a conscious element of the

Jesus, God promises an everlasting

universe that had to endure suffering

kingdom free from suffering and death

because

(Revelation

the

suffering

had

to

go

21:4)

while

he

somewhere since it is a necessary part

simultaneously promises to remedy

of the world. The Christian worldview

every

provides

an

Thessalonians 1:6). This is the good

indifferent stance towards suffering

news that remedies evil and suffering in

because evil and suffering are the very

the world, and it is news that is

reasons Jesus died on the cross. The sin

forward-looking

of the first man, Adam, being in a

Buddhism cannot offer. When taking

covenant relationship with God, had an

into consideration the incoherencies

obligation to obey every law or face the

described in the Buddhist worldview,

penalty of death. When Adam sinned

and its inability to solve the problem of

against God, God had every right to

suffering,

bring the punishment he had promised.

comes out even brighter as the only

However, God in his love and mercy

explanation and solution to suffering

decided

and evil.

no

room

for

such

to commute man’s

death

wrong

the

committed

to

a

Christian

hope

(2

that

worldview

penalty and provide a substitute that

Bibliography Bowker, J. (1970). Problems of suffering in religions of the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

ESV: English standard version. (ESV text ed.). (2007). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles.

Groothuis, D. (2011). Christian apologetics: A comprehensive case for biblical faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic ;.

Guinness, O. (2005). Unspeakable: Facing up to evil in an age of genocide and terror. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.

O'Brien, B. (n.d.). What Is Buddhism? An Introduction to Buddhism. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/basicshub.htm

61

THERA, P. (n.d.). The Buddha's Ancient Path. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Piyadassi_Thera_The_Buddhas_Ancient_Path.htm#CHAPTER 3 What does "buddha" mean? (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://tealchemy.org/where/buddha/index.html Zacharias, R. (2001). The lotus and the cross: Jesus talks with Buddha. Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah.

George O. Simopoulos Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & Ethics, Society & Law

George Simopoulos is an associate apologist with Evangelium & Apologia Ministries. As a University of Toronto graduate, he serves as an intern with Power to Change at the UofT downtown campus. Having joined E&AM in 2014, George is now an itinerant speaker and contributes to the ministry through intensive research and education.

62

By J. Luis Dizon

Have you ever read a good story?

whether

there

can

be

grand

We all have certain stories that we

narrative—for

such

gravitate towards, and they may take

inevitable

anyone

the form of romance, science-fiction,

seriously about life—but whether any

action,

given narrative can truly explain human

or

some

other

genre

of

literature. Most of the stories that we

to

a

a

concept who

is

thinks

history.

read have a rather predictable plot to them, and those who study literature

This is where God enters into the

can readily identify what those parts of

picture. God is the great storyteller who

the narrative are (we generally refer to

created the universe and arranged all of

them as the exposition, rising action,

history into what can be said to be the

climax, falling action and denouement,

greatest story ever told. In fact, this

or resolution).

story has become the example that many others have tried to copy in their

What most of us are less aware of,

own stories, because its elements are

however, is that we are living in a story

central to the very core of our being.

of our own. The story that we are living

God has revealed the structure of this

in is nothing less than the grand

story in His word, the Bible. While the

narrative of history. In our postmodern

story

times, the idea of a grand narrative

complexities and side-stories woven

underlying all of history is looked upon

into it, the general plot outline is clear.

with much suspicion. Some will say that

One can divide the grand narrative of

to claim such a narrative is to impose

history as found in the Bible into the

one’s views upon everyone else. And yet

following four sections:

is

complex

and

has

many

we cannot escape doing this. Even those who deny the existence of a grand

1. Creation

narrative end up creating their own

2. Fall

narratives and imposing them upon

3. Redemption

others. The question then, is not

4. Restoration

63

We will look at each of these four

Of all of God’s creations, however,

sections in turn. As my exposition of

none was more majestic than humanity.

the story is a meager substitute for

God created human beings in His own

reading the story yourself, I invite you

image, thereby making them higher

to take a Bible and read through the

than all of the plants and animals that

sections that are to be mentioned and

had been placed on this earth. He then

explained.

gave humanity the responsibility of taking dominion over all of creation

Creation

(Genesis

1:26-28).

All

of

human

civilization comes from this task of In

the

beginning,

there

was

taking dominion, as we shape the

nothing. Matter and energy did not

created world around us in ways that

exist. Only God did. Then God created

reflect the artistry of our own Maker.

everything. According to Genesis (the first book of the Bible),

Furthermore, God created

God

his

human beings into male

accomplished

creation

days.

and female. Saying that it

Whether these are literal

in

six

is not good for a man to

twenty-four hour days or

be alone, God took a rib

represent longer periods

out of the side of the first

of time is of secondary

man, and from it, He

importance here, as the

fashioned the first woman

important thing to highlight is how He

(Genesis 2:18-22). When the man saw

did not have to take any existing

the woman for the first time, he

material to bring everything about, for

exclaimed,

there was none. Instead, He spoke the word “Let there be!”, and His very word

“This at last is bone of my bones

brought everything that exists into

and flesh of my flesh;

being. And God looked at everything

she shall be called Woman,

that he made, and said that it was good

because she was taken out of Man.”

(Genesis 1). In so doing, God affirms

(Genesis 2:23)127

that despite all the problems that have come into this

world, it

fundamentally a good creation.

64

is

still All scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

127

This was the first marriage in

The Fall

human history, and became the basis for every other marriage that been

Alas, it did not remain as it was in

formed ever since. The very act of

the beginning. You see, God created an

creating humanity as male and female

angel by the name of Lucifer to be the

reflects the fact that God is a relational

greatest of His angels. Yet this angel

being. Although God is one, He speaks

rebelled against God, causing him to be

with the first person plural, “Let us

cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15).

make man in our image, after our

From then on, he came to be known as

likeness” (Genesis 1:26). This indicates

Satan. Then, in the form of a serpent,

that there is plurality within God’s

he came into the Garden of Eden. He

being, and this enables Him to have

tempted Eve, asking her: “Did God

relationship within Himself. In the

actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any

same way, this same relational nature is

tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

passed on to human beings, and is expressed in the most intimate way

In so doing, Satan accomplished

through the love relationship that exists

two things: First, he cast doubt into the

between husband and wife.

truthfulness of God’s words, by asking whether God really said them. The

So the first man, Adam, and the

second thing is that he twisted God’s

first woman, Eve, lived in the Garden of

words into something other than what

Eden, where they lived an idyllic life.

God actually said. Notice that the

God commanded that they could eat

serpent does not ask whether only the

from any of the trees found in the

Tree of Knowledge was forbidden, but

garden, except for the Tree of the

any tree. All subsequent attempts by

Knowledge of Good and Evil. The

Satan to undermine God’s authority

moment they eat from that tree, they

essentially boil down to casting doubt

would

either upon the truthfulness or the

seemed

die (Genesis 2:17-18). This like

a

simple

enough

clarity of God’s revealed instructions,

instruction, and if they kept it, they

following the line established in the

would have life. But this was not to be.

Garden.

In reply to the serpent, Eve said, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in

65

the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not

Another result of this is the entry of

eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the

shame into human life. We see this by

midst of the garden, neither shall you

how Adam and Eve react to their

touch it, lest you die.’” To this, the

nakedness. You see, they were created

serpent replied, “You will not surely

naked, but felt no shame about this

die. For God knows that when you eat

(Genesis 2:24). When sin enters the

of it your eyes will be opened, and you

picture,

will be like God, knowing good and

shame for the first time, so they cover

evil” (Genesis 3:2-5). The remainder of

themselves with fig leaves (Genesis

the story is fairly straightforward and

3:7). They also tried to hide from God,

well known: Eve took the serpent’s

but they could not.

however,

they

experience

word, and ate the fruit from the tree. She also

What happens next is the

gave some to Adam, who

first

instance

also ate the fruit.

shifting:

of

God

blame-

questioned

Adam as to whether he had Adam and Eve did not

eaten

from

the

Tree

of

physically die there and

Knowledge. Adam shifts the

then. However, they did

blame to his wife, saying “The

experience spiritual death, and in the process, also

William Blake, Temptation and Fall of Eve, 1808

woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me

brought the inevitability of physical

fruit of the tree, and I ate.” In so doing,

death

and

Adam managed to blame both his wife

everything else. Because at this point,

upon

both

themselves

for tempting him, and God for giving

sin had entered into the world. Sin is

him his wife to begin with. Then God

not just the individual actions that

questions Eve, who shifts the blame to

Adam and Eve and their descendants

the

have committed, but is something that

deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-

permeates the very nature of humanity

13).

serpent,

saying

“The

serpent

from that point onwards. For this reason, King David would proclaim

What follows is a string of curses

later on in writing that “I was brought

that plague humanity as a result of this

forth in iniquity, and in sin did my

disobedience. I will not repeat them

mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).

here, but one can read about them in

66

the historical (not poetic) narrative

but the cycle of human sin continues.

(Genesis 3:14-19). Interestingly, in the

Things

midst of these courses, God says to the

downward, as Satan had intended, but

serpent, “I will put enmity between you

God already had a plan.

would

continue

to

spiral

and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall

Redemption

bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In so doing,

The drama of human history is a

God gives what is seen as the first hint

continuous cycle of humans attempting

of the Gospel (good news). This will be

to build themselves up, only to find

shown in its fullness later on, but only

themselves stretched to their limits and

after many thousands of years of toil

cast down by their own sinful pride.

and death which has loomed over

This is exemplified in the story of the

humanity.

Tower of Babel, where God confuses the languages of the people and scatter

From this point on, we see things

them throughout the earth (Genesis 11).

heading steadily downwards. First,

Even after being scattered, people

Adam and Eve are banished from the

continue to assert themselves against

Garden of Eden. Then, after they have

one another, creating empires, going to

their first two sons, Cain and Abel, Cain

war against others and subduing them

slaughters Abel, thereby becoming the

in tyranny and oppression.

first

murderer

(Genesis

4).

More

children are produced, but they and their

In the midst of this, God called

becoming

upon one man, Abraham, to leave his

increasingly wicked, to the point that

home city of Ur in Mesopotamia

God has to wipe everyone out in a great

(modern

flood and start anew, because it is

Abraham:

written

descendants

that

God

“saw

that

day

Iraq).

God

said

to

the

wickedness of man was great in the

“Go from your country and your

earth, and that every intention of the

kindred and your father’s house to

thoughts of his heart was only evil

the land that I will show you. I will

continually” (Genesis 6:4). God started

make of you a great nation, and I

everything anew with Noah and his

will bless you and make your name

sons, who were spared from the flood,

great, so that you will be a

67

blessing. I will bless those who

brother, and Jacob had Esau as a

bless you, and him who dishonours

brother. Both times, God made a choice

you I will curse, and in you all the

to work through one son and not the

families of the earth shall be

other, and both times, God chose the

blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

younger son even though pride of place was traditionally granted to the older

Abraham obediently followed God until

son. This was to show that God is

they reached Canaan (modern day

sovereign over all of humanity, and

Palestine). There, God made a covenant

predestines whomever He wills to

with Abraham. This is just one of many

whatever ending He deems fit (Romans

covenants that God makes with various

9:6-18). This is to show that as Creator,

people throughout history. A covenant

God has supreme right over His

is basically an agreement, whereby God

creation, and that nobody can force His

promises to His people that He would

hand in anything He does, saying that

do something for them. God’s people

what He does is unjust (Daniel 4:35).

are then expected to respond in faith to His promises. Here, God promises to Abraham

that

he

would

That being said, we see that God

have

takes Jacob and his sons, and creates a

descendants who would inherit the land

nation out of them. This nation of Israel

of Canaan, and out of this nation would

goes to Egypt to escape a famine, where

come blessings for all the nations. This

they remain for 400 years. They

seemed impossible at the time because

become slaves to the Egyptians, until

Abraham and his wife were already too

God raises up Moses as a prophet to

old to have children. But

lead Israel out of Egypt to

God allows them to have a

Mount Sinai. There, God

son,

establishes

Isaac.

After

Isaac

another

comes Jacob, and after

covenant with the people.

Jacob come the twelve

In

sons, who would become

declares that His people are

the twelve tribes of the

to be “a kingdom of priests

nation of Israel.

and a holy nation” (Exodus

this

covenant,

God

19:6). He gives them a Note that both Isaac and Jacob had

Torah (Law), which would govern all of

brothers. Isaac had Ishmael as a

their lives so that they would be holy

68

and pleasing to God, and so that they

either by having the sinner condemned

would become an example for all the

or offering a blood sacrifice to avert

other nations to emulate (Deuteronomy

God’s wrath. The blood signifies how

4:6-8).

serious sin is in God’s eyes. Yet the sacrifices were not perfect, which is why

Also,

God

included

with

this

they had to be performed repeatedly

covenant a plan for a sacrificial system.

every year. This is where we get the

Because sin was such a serious matter

term “scapegoat,” where the sins of the

to God, he commanded that animals

people are transferred to the sacrificed

would be sacrifices to make atonement

animal

for the sins of the people. This is

abomination in the eyes of the Lord).

(human

sacrifice

was

an

because the Torah, it is written: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I

When the nation of Israel settles in

have given it for you on the altar to

Canaan, they establish a monarchy with

make atonement for your souls, for it is

the royal family of David ruling over

the blood that makes atonement by the

them. With King David, God makes yet

life”

another covenant. This time, God

(Leviticus

17:11).

The

most

important of these sacrifices was during

would

promise

Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement),

descendants would sit on the throne

where the Israelite high priest would

forever (2 Samuel 7). The kingdom then

sprinkle blood on the altar in their

divides

temple so that God’s wrath would not

descendants ruling over the southern

come down upon the people for their

portion.

sins (Leviticus 16). This will become

kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrian

important later on, when God brings

Empire, and the southern kingdom was

about the final, perfect sacrifice for the

destroyed by the Babylonian Empire.

purification of sins once and for all.

Through it all, God continued to

into

two,

Eventually,

that

with the

David’s

David’s northern

preserve David’s dynasty, until we Why is such a bloody system necessary? It is because God is a holy

arrive at the time of Jesus, who is the last in this royal line.

and just God. He cannot simply allow guilt and sin to go unpaid for, or else

At this point, you wonder why

He would contradict His own holiness

people make such a big deal about the

and justice. So that sin must be paid for

person of Jesus. You see, all of human

69

history finds its climax in the life and

history that can be described as sinless

work of Jesus. He is the Messiah

(1 Peter 2:22).

(anointed

one),

predicted

in

the

whose

arrival

writings

of

is the

One

of

the

most

enigmatic

prophets who came hundreds of years

statements made by Jesus is the

before Him. Their predictions about the

declaration that He would be killed,

Messiah are so precise that nothing

and that He would then rise again from

other than the divine plan of God could

the grave. He makes this declaration

explain how they could have been

many times throughout His ministry.

fulfilled in all their details. To see this

Interestingly, He connects this to the

in action, read the prophecy in Isaiah

sacrificial system of the Torah when He

53 and compare them with the life of

said, “For even the Son of Man came

Jesus as found in the New Testament.

not to be served but to serve, and to

The parallels will be very striking.

give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). This was eventually

Jesus, you might recognize, is no

fulfilled when the Jews and the Romans

ordinary human being. In fact, the

occupying

prologue to the Gospel according to

conspired together to capture Jesus.

John calls Him the very Word of God,

After several mock trials, He is nailed to

who shares God’s very nature, is

a cross in Golgotha, outside of the city

inseparable from Him and is the same

of Jerusalem. There He cried, “It is

Word

create

finished,” before finally dying (John

everything (John 1:1-18). In a great act

19:30). After this, the curtain hiding the

that can only be described as “divine

holiest part of the temple split in two

condescension,” He entered into the

(Matthew 27:51). These signify that the

world in human form, being born of the

sacrificial system of the temple was no

that

God

used

to

Palestine

at

the

Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. Jesus lived among

the

people

in

Palestine,

performing miracles and teaching the people about the Kingdom of God. He obeyed the Law of God perfectly, never once breaking it throughout His life, thereby being the one person in all of Gustave Dore, Crucifixion of Jesus 1832-1883

70

time

longer needed, as a final and perfect

presented himself alive to them after

sacrifice had been offered for sin, and

his

that those who are atoned for by this

appearing to them during forty days

sacrifice now have direct access to God

and speaking about the kingdom of

by faith.

God” (Acts 1:3). These disciples write in

suffering

by

many

proofs,

their letters that they were eyewitnesses most

to all of this (John 21:24, 2 Peter 1:16-

scandalous evil act devised by men in

Jesus’

death

was

the

18, 1 John 1:1-5). His resurrection is

history, and yet God demonstrated His

attested to by many witnesses, who

power by taking this evil act and

gladly came to believe in him. This even

causing the greatest good to come out

included

of it. Here, the promise that Eve’s

previously suspicious, such as Saul of

offspring would bruise the serpent’s

Tarsus (later named by God as Paul).

heel is fulfilled (Genesis 3:15), and here

Paul hated this good news and thought

we find that sacrificial system of the

it was all garbage. He even tried to have

Sinai Covenant reaches its completion,

those who believed in Jesus arrested.

just as the prophets predicted (Isaiah

But then Jesus himself appeared to

53). This is redemption accomplished

Paul and showed him the error of his

for those who believe and are covered

ways. Paul wrote on the importance of

by the sacrifice, that they would be

Jesus’ coming back to life, stating,

some

people

who

were

forgiven by God of all their sins and adopted by God as His children. But

But in fact Christ has been raised

this is not the end of the story.

from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For

Restoration

as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of

Although Jesus died on the cross,

the dead. For as in Adam all die, so

He did not remain dead. He was buried

also in Christ shall all be made

in a tomb for three days. After that, the

alive (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

door of the tomb split open, and Jesus emerged alive, never to die again. This

Many people in these modern times

is what is known as His Resurrection.

might find the idea of a dead person

After this, He appeared to His followers

coming back to life as something

to prove it. It is written that “He

fantastic and unbelievable. Those who

71

do, however, need to think this over: If

completion of all the covenants that

God is at work here, are not all things

came before it. This covenant was

possible with him? Also, note that there

prophesied about hundreds of years

were many people who saw Jesus alive

beforehand (Jeremiah 31:31-34), and

and who previously could not believe it

with Jesus’ arrival, it has finally been

either. And when they saw him, their

inaugurated. In this New Covenant, the

lives were changed! Many of them were

covenant made by God with Abraham

even willing to die at the hands of their

to bless all the nations through his

persecutors for his sake. They could

descendant is fulfilled. Also fulfilled

never have done this had they not

here are the demands of perfect

known for certain that their Saviour

obedience

had risen from the dead.

demanded by the covenant made with

and

atonement

for

sin

Moses. Also, after Jesus ascended into The

importance

of

Jesus’

Heaven, he was seated at the right hand

Resurrection lies in the fact that it

of God the Father, to rule eternally on

points to our own Resurrection. There

David’s throne from there, fulfilling the

will be a Resurrection in the end of the

covenant made with David. From

age where everyone, good and evil, will

henceforth until the end of time, the

stand before God to be judged. The

New Covenant is the paradigm by

prophet Daniel describes this event this

which God relates to believers.

way: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some

The final part of the story, however,

to everlasting life, and some to shame

is yet to come. At present, the Kingdom

and

(Daniel

of God is at work in the world. Jesus

12:2). The difference here is between

described it as a mustard seed, that

those who have had their sins cleansed

begins as the tiniest of seeds, but grows

by the sacrifice of Christ, and those who

into a great big shrub once it is fully

have rejected Christ and therefore must

grown (Matthew 13:31-32). In the same

pay for their own sins with eternal

way, we see the expansion of the

death.

Kingdom of God in history, as it

everlasting

contempt”

spreads from Palestine to the rest of the All of this is connected to the New

world. It is destined to fill the whole

Covenant, which is the latest of God’s

earth, reversing the effects of the Fall

covenants with humanity, and is the

and bringing all nations under itself in

72

the process (Daniel 2:31-45), which will

the second death, the lake of fire.

result in the end of wars and of

And if anyone’s name was not

ignorance about God (Isaiah 2:1-4,

found written in the book of life, he

Habakkuk 2:14). And

was thrown into the

at the end of the age,

lake of fire (Revelation

Jesus will return, and

20:11-15).

He will judge every person who has ever

After this, the old world

lived. This great event

system

is described in the

corruptions

book

been replaced by a new

of

Revelation

with

its

will

(the last book of the

heavens

Bible) as such:

earth, whose description can

Then I saw a great

William Blake, The Day of Judgment, Printed 1808

and

be

a

have

found

new in

Revelation 21. Here, the

white throne and

children in

everlasting

of

God

peace

will

him who was seated on it. From

dwell

his presence earth and sky fled

prosperity. There will be no sin and no

and

away, and no place was found for

death, and the sorrows of the present

them. And I saw the dead, great

age will be a thing of the past. This is

and small, standing before the

the inheritance that God is preparing

throne, and books were opened.

for those who trust in Him and in the

Then another book was opened,

work of Jesus Christ.

which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was

The Grand Narrative and You

written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea

After hearing this story, you might

gave up the dead who were in it,

think, “Well, that is a very interesting

Death and Hades gave up the dead

story, but what does this have to do

who were in them, and they were

with me?” The answer is that it has

judged,

everything to do with you. You see, God

each

one

of

them,

according to what they had done.

demands

Then

were

individual. Nobody can be neutral. We

thrown into the lake of fire. This is

can either accept the grand narrative of

Death

and

Hades

a

response

from

every

73

history as presented to us in the Bible

trust. One trusts that God’s provision

as truth, or we can reject it as false.

for forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient, and that

When you come before God on the

we need not add anything to that. This

last day, you can come to Him either as

does not mean we can live our life

one of His forgiven, adopted children,

however we want. What this does

cleansed of all sin by the sacrifice of

mean, however, is that God puts His

Christ, or you can come to Him as a

Holy Spirit in believers, so that they

condemned sinner who has broken

would have a changed heart and be able

God’s Law and must bear the full

to live out their faith in obedience to

weight of responsibility for those sins.

God’s Law (Ezekiel 36:25-27). This only

If

the

comes after one is already forgiven by

standard of God’s Law, as summarized

we

measure

ourselves

by

God, however. It cannot come before

in the Ten Commandments, we all fall

forgiveness, and it certainly cannot be a

short (Romans 3:23). We all lie, steal or

requirement for forgiveness.

blaspheme God’s name at some point in our lives. And even if we don’t break all

These are the two ways to live: The

of the laws, we have to deal with the

life of faith, resulting in forgiveness, a

fact that to break one law is to break

renewed heart and hope for the future,

them all: “whoever keeps the whole law

and a life of disbelief, resulting in

but fails in one point has become

condemnation, entrapment in sin, and

accountable for all of it” (James 2:10).

despair for the future. Remember that

Because of this, the only way we can be

your choice in this life will affect you for

acquitted before God is if we are

all eternity. So don’t delay. After all, as

covered by the atoning work of Jesus.

scripture says: “How shall we escape if

As it is written elsewhere in the Bible:

we neglect such a great salvation?”

“For the wages of sin is death, but the

(Hebrews 2:3).

free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless

The difference between these two

until they find their rest in You.”

categories is a matter of faith. Faith is

– St. Augustine of Hippo128

not just nodding to a statement and saying it is true. Faith is defined by 128

74

Augustine, Confessions, I:1.

Tower of Babel

by Bodie Hodge Study the real-life event of the Tower of Babel and its impact today. In today's culture, the battle over Genesis 1-11 is raging on. One of the key battle points is the account of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Many today, even within the church, attack this account as mythology or that it has little to no value in history and needs to be reinterpreted. Do their claims stand up? You can find your copy of Tower of Babel at your local bookstore, or online through Master Books, a subdivision of New Leaf Publishing Group.

Earth’s Catastrophic Past, Volumes 1 & 2

by Andrew A. Snelling Step-by-step, Dr. Snelling examines evolutionary interpretations of the geologic record and deconstructs the misplaced assumptions and conclusions on which those interpretations are based. By the end of Earth's Catastrophic Past, readers will have their faith restored in Genesis as real, literal history, and be convinced that the scientific evidence, correctly discerned and applied, is indeed consistent with God's record of our origins and history found in Genesis 1-11. You can find your copy of Earth’s Catastrophic Past online through Master Books, a subdivision of New Leaf Publishing Group.

Frozen in Time

by Michael Oard The Ice Age is one of the most difficult eras in geological history for a uniformitarian scientist to explain. What would cause the summer temperatures of the northern United States and Europe to plummet over 50 degrees Fahrenheit? Why did mammoths become extinct, not only in Siberia, but also across the earth, and at the same time as many other large mammals?

Find the plausible explanations of the seemingly unsolvable mysteries about the Ice Age and the woolly mammoths in this book. You can find your copy of Frozen in Time online through Master Books, a subdivision of New Leaf Publishing Group.

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Comparing the Qur’an and the Bible

by Rick Richter Engagement with the Muslim world and Muslim people is inevitable for Christians. After all, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States. But what does the Qur'an really say about things like Jesus, war, and non-Muslims? What does the Bible say on these matters? "Comparing the Qur'an and the Bible "offers readers an unprecedented collection of Scriptures and doctrines of both faiths presented side by side for easy study and comparison. You can find your copy of Comparing the Qur’an and the Bible at your local bookstore, or online through Baker Books, a subdivision of Baker Publishing Group.

Qur’an-Bible Comparison

by Ami Ben-Chanan As one of the biggest and most rapidly growing religions, the Islamic faith attracts a lot of attention and debates. The last sixty years have been witness to innumerable conflicts between Muslims and Jews, and Muslims and the western world (notably Christians). Many famous people have accepted Islam, and increasing numbers of westerners are becoming Muslims every year. The Qur'an-Bible Comparison is a compendium that provides much needed facts to fully explore the questions of Islam. You can find your copy of Qur’an-Bible Comparison online through Amazon.ca

What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an

by James R. White What used to be an exotic religion of people halfway around the world is now the belief system of people living across the street. Through fair, contextual use of the Qur'an as the primary source text, apologist James R. White presents Islamic beliefs about Christ, salvation, the Trinity, the afterlife, and other important topics. White shows how the sacred text of Islam differs from the teachings of the Bible in order to help Christians engage in open, honest discussions with Muslims.

You can find your copy of What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur’an at your local bookstore, or online through Bethany House Publishers, a subdivision of Baker Publishing Group.

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Searching for Truth

by Joe Boot Many people ignore or reject Christianity, not because they have looked at its claims and found them lacking, but because nobody has ever given reasonable answers for their questions.

Others have simply never heard a clear explanation of the truth of Christianity, or maybe they know little or nothing about the Bible. Beginning with a basic understanding of the world, Joe Boot explains the biblical worldview, giving special attention to the life and claims of Jesus Christ. He wrestles with common questions about suffering, truth, morality and guilt. You can find your copy of Searching for Truth online at www.ezrainstitute.ca or Amazon.ca

Jesus Among other Gods

by Ravi Zacharias In a world with so many religions, why Jesus? We are living in a time when you can believe anything, as long as you do not claim it to be true. In the name of "tolerance," our postmodern culture embraces everything from Eastern mysticism to New Age spirituality. But as Ravi Zacharias points out, such unquestioning acceptance of all things spiritual is absurd. All religions, plainly and simply, cannot be true. Jesus Among Other Gods provides the answers to the most fundamental claims about Christianity, such as: “Aren't all religions fundamentally the same?”, “Was Jesus who He claimed to be?”, “Can one study the life of Christ and demonstrate conclusively that He was and is the way, the truth, and the life?” You can find your copy of Jesus Among other Gods at your local bookstore, or online through Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Burning Questions

by RZIM There are Burning Questions, the answers to which have profound implications because they effect so many other areas of life: for instance, whether or not life has meaning, purpose or hope. Yet, too often, attempts to talk about these questions are marred by a clash of fundamentalisms, by extremists (religious or secular) simply yelling or trying to outsmart each other.

Is there a better way to have discourse on these questions that really do matter? Join Dr. Andy Bannister as he tries to do just that—journeying across three countries—talking to a wide range of experts—people of all faiths and none—in search of clarity. You can find your copy of Burning Questions at www.booksforchrist.com 77

Soul Keeping

by John Ortberg When is the last time you thought about the state of your soul?

The health of your soul isn't just a matter of saved or unsaved.

It's the hinge on which the rest of your life hangs. It's the difference between deep, satisfied spirituality and a restless, dispassionate faith. In an age of materialism and consumerism that tries to buy its way to happiness, many souls are starved and unhealthy, unsatisfied by false promises of status and wealth. With characteristic insight and an accessible storyfilled approach, Ortberg brings practicality and relevance to one of Christianity's most mysterious and neglected topics.

You can find your copy of Soul Keeping at your local bookstore or online through Zondervan.

Why I Still Believe

by Joe Boot In Why I Still Believe, apologist Joe Boot provides a readable introduction to presuppositional apologetics for the average layperson. This approach assumes that the Christian and nonChristian come to the discussion of faith with worldviews – sets of presuppositions – that are miles apart, so that there is little common ground on which to build an objective argument of rational proof. In this conversational survey of his own intellectual and spiritual journey, Boot invites the non-believer to step inside the Christian worldview to see whether or not it makes sense.

Jubilee

by EICC The EICC periodically publishes a journal called Jubilee which seeks to equip, train and resource believers for credible Christian engagement with today’s cultural, religious and philosophical challenges. EICC also provides a collection of scholarly and yet accessible topical articles to assist both ministry leaders and the lay apologist. You can view a digital version or subscribe for your free hardcopy of Jubilee at www.ezrainstitute.ca

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Back Cover

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