Yesterday, Negeen Mayel appeared on Freedom Watch her arrest last year at the Dearborn Arab Festival. Those of you who have been paying attention to this event should already know the background behind this story (and for those who don’t, kindly go here for a recap of the events). It is good to see that this news story isn’t being ignored, and that something is being done to let people know that this kind of injustice is going on in Dearborn and other areas that are being affected by Islamisation.

Watch the five minute video clip here:

• Freedom Watch – Since When is Filming Cops a Crime?

I just read this news article on the Toronto Star earlier today, and it makes me sick thinking about it. They keep saying that Islam is such a peaceful and beautiful religion, yet I simply cannot stomach that claim in light of the reality that Islam intimidates and oppresses religious minorities into defecting into their system? I’m just thankful that God is going to preserve His true children. May He have mercy on these defectors, that they may yet realize the error of their ways and return to the Truth.

LAHORE, PAKISTAN—Dog-eared and tattered, the blue book is an inch thick and sits on a dented metal table in the corner office of Jamia Naeemia, an Islamic school tucked in a scattering of cement-walled homes and roadside shops.

Many believe the book offers the promise of safety and perhaps even a better chance at prosperity.

The book is a registry used to document religious converts to Islam and officials at Jamia Naeemia say business is brisk nowadays.

At least 20 to 25 former Christians adopt Islam each week by pledging an oath and signing a green and white document in which they accept Islam as “the most beautiful religion” and promise to “remain in the religion of Islam for the rest of my life, acknowledging that blessings are only from God.”

Human rights advocates say it’s no surprise some of Pakistan’s 3 million Christians are adopting Islam. These are vexing and dangerous days for the country’s religious minorities.

Read the rest of it here:

• The Star – Some Christians in Pakistan convert fear into safety

• Please sign this petition to have her freed

Every once in a while, those who deny the biblical witness concerning the nature of Jesus Christ (especially Liberals and Muslims) will try to appeal to the theory that the four Gospels reflect an evolution in the understanding of who Jesus was, and their authors did not view Him the same way. As the theory goes, Mark’s gospel, being the earliest, presents Jesus as a mere human being. Later authors embellish His story until we finally arrive at the Gospel of John, which affirms the full deity of Christ.

While this theory sounds neat at first glance, it misses the mark at various points. First of all, there is an inherent anti-supernatural bias in its explanation. It denies the possibility that there is progressive revelation involved in the increasing understanding of who Jesus was, and reduces the progression of revelation to mere legendary development. It is particularly telling that some Muslims have actually latched on to this theory. The ones who do so do not seem to realize that they are borrowing a theory that was produced by liberal scholars who deny the possibility of supernatural revelation. If the progressive revelation in the Gospels can be explained away naturalistically, what is to stop the proponents of this theory from applying the exact same standards to the Qur’an?

Be that as it may, it is not even true that Mark regarded Jesus as a mere human being. Sure, he does not emphasize that aspect of Jesus’ person as much as the other biblical authors, but that does not mean, however, that the doctrine was totally absent from Mark’s gospel. To demonstrate this, we must go through the relevant sections of Mark to see what kind of Christology is presented in his account. The first section to go through is the story of the healing of the paralytic in the second chapter. It begins thus:

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
(Mark 2:1-7)

The scribes knew what was going on here. Jesus was claiming to have the power to forgive sins; something that only God can do. Now what is Jesus reaction to this? He does another thing that only God can do! Moving on:

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
(Mark 2:8-12)

Pay close attention to what the eighth verse says about Jesus: He perceived the thoughts of the scribes. Those who read the Old Testament would know that only Yahweh is capable of doing that (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Kings 8:39, Jeremiah 20:12). Clearly, if Jesus was a mere human being, He would not be capable of doing these things.

The next relevant passage comes later on in the same chapter, when the disciples are picking grain in the fields:

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(Mark 2:23-28)

Here is one example of an idea that is implicit in Mark but becomes more explicit later on. Those who have read the story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath in the Gospel of John would know that for Jesus to call Himself Lord of the Sabbath would be considered blasphemous because Yahweh was the Lord of the Sabbath: Yahweh was exempt from having to rest on that day because He was upholding the universe even on Sabbath day (John 5:17-18). Incidentally, this fits in well with the author of Hebrews’ understanding of Jesus as the One who “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3, NASB). It is clear here that for Jesus to claim to be the Lord of the Sabbath is tantamount to blasphemy unless He was actually Yahweh incarnate.

And then there is the episode in the country of the Gerasenes where Jesus encounters the demoniac. As Mark reports, “[w]hen he [the demoniac] saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped [προσεκύνησεν] Him” (Mark 5:6, NKJV). Some translations water down this particular verse by saying the demoniac merely “fell down” or “bowed down” at Jesus’ feet. Such a watered-down translation is unnecessary and unhelpful, though, since the same Greek word (προσκυνέω) is used by the other three Gospel writers to refer to the worship of God (cf. Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8 and John 4:20-24). The KJV and NKJV are the most consistent in rendering προσκυνέω as worship here. Thus, the conclusion that we get from this verse is unavoidable: Jesus accepted worship, and Mark affirms this.

And then there is a passage which Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims try to twist in order to make it seem that Jesus is denying His divinity. In Mark 10:18, we find Jesus questioning the rich young man who walked up to Him:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
(Mark 10:17-18)

Jesus is not, at this point, denying the man’s description of Him as good. What He is doing, rather, is that He is trying to get the man to realize what he is just saying. In effect, He is telling the man, “Do you understand what you are calling Me? Or are you just calling me good to get closer to Me?” In an attempted response, it has been claimed (and by no less a debater than Muslim apologist Bassam Zawadi) that since the rich young man stopped calling Jesus “good” afterwards, that can’t be what He meant. If anything, this is just grasping at straws. The rich young man had only one other line after this (Mark 10:20), so this is too weak a case to stand on such limited evidence. Besides, Jesus affirms His goodness elsewhere. For example, when He is accused by the Jews, He asks them rhetorically in John 8:46, “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” There is also the fact that Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11,14). The fact that those who deny the deity of Christ appeal to this passage is somewhat humorous, given that many of them would contend that Jesus is indeed good!

Another passage from Mark that opponents of biblical Christianity try to use is Mark 13:32, where Jesus says “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Of course, since Christianity has historically affirmed that Jesus took on a true human nature during the incarnation, it would come as no surprise to us that in His self-emptying, He would choose not to avail Himself of some of His powers. However, this does not mean that He lost them completely, but merely restrained them.

The difference is akin to the difference between a person restraining his right arm by tying it behind his back and chopping it off. In the former case, the person only temporarily restrains his usage of his arm, and can regain it at any point in time by untying his arm. In the latter case, however, he loses usage of his arm completely, and cannot get it back. Jesus’ temporary self-emptying is analogous to the former case. His temporary restraint was cast off after His resurrection, since in His glorified resurrection body, He is said to “know all things” (John 21:17).

Also telling is the verse that comes immediately before this, where Jesus says “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). This is significant, for Whose word is it, according to the Old Testament, that will never pass away? The answer:

The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.
(Isaiah 40:7-8)

So once again, we have here another prerogative of Yahweh that Jesus is claiming for Himself. Surely it is becoming quite unnecessary at this point to belabour the point any further, yet there is one more significant passage that needs to be addressed, which is the dialogue between Jesus and the High priest:

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
(Mark 14:60-65)

First of all, note that this is an “I Am” (ἐγώ εἰμι) statement. It is mistakenly thought by many that “I Am” statements are unique to John, yet we see that Mark has at least one as well (and it is repeated in Luke 22:70). Second, Jesus alludes to a significant messianic passage from the book of Daniel:

I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14, NASB)

The description given here could not be that of an ordinary person, for such a person would not have an “everlasting dominion.” Not only that, but in Jewish thinking, only one who is divine could be regarded as “sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This is borne out by the fact that the high priest tore his robes upon Jesus saying this (something which the high priest is not allowed to do unless he is grieved from hearing a blasphemous remark), and condemned Him as deserving death. This passage could only make sense if Jesus was claiming divine prerogatives.

In conclusion, one can see that the Gospel of Mark has a high Christology, and can hardly be regarded as promoting the view that Jesus Christ was a mere human prophet. It is only by selectively using evidence and ignoring the context of the entire Gospel account that one can sustain such a questionable assertion.

Disclaimer: The Aristophrenium does not endorse every single statement that is made by the producer(s) of this video. For instance, it is claimed that “other religious books” have contradictions in them. We do not believe that the Bible has any real contradictions in it and that any apparent contradictions can be explained and harmonized using sound Biblical exegesis. That aside, though, this video does provide good information regarding Islamic sharia law and what the Qur’an says regarding jihad, tolerance and deception. Please pass the information on.

As for those who want the primary sources, here are various quotes from the Qur’an and hadiths (as well as a quote from Ibn Kathir’s commentary) on jihad, sharia and taqiyyah:

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Mark Lamprecht wrote a curious article over at HereIBlog questioning how Christians should react to the building of an Islamic mosque near Ground Zero. And I deem that article “curious” because it largely escapes me how this calls for an internal reflection by Christians. In the final analysis, the matter is a political issue. While there may be something to be said about us being consistent with our Christian faith when it comes to engaging political issues—how we evaluate some legislation, who we consider voting for in elections, how we conduct ourselves in political office, etc.—I really don’t see how the Ground Zero Mosque poses a challenge for Christians and our biblical convictions. Unless, of course, that is precisely what Lamprecht intended with his question; that as followers of Christ we should be careful that we remain consistent with the gospel and our faith as we engage this controversial political issue.

Lamprecht said that his gut reaction was basically, “No way!” But then he walks that reaction back a little, suggesting that it may not be the best reaction. Okay, but why not? What was wrong about that gut reaction—one that is shared by several million Christians all over the United States and beyond? What issue of faith or doctrine does that reaction conflict with, thereby calling for his restraint and perhaps ours?

He does not cite any. Rather, he invokes the freedom of religious exercise protected by the Constitution, tempering the substance of his attitude by that. I have two problems with this. First, as Christians our orthopraxic ‘gut check’ is not predicated on human laws and legal documents. When it comes to tempering our attitude and behavior, the governing authority is the Word of God. In other words, if there is something not quite right about that reaction, we want to see the case made on Scriptures, we want to see something in the Bible which says that reaction is a bit off. Second, the controversial issue of the Ground Zero Mosque does not have anything to do with freedom of religion at any rate. Nobody is saying, “You cannot build a mosque in New York.” As a matter of fact, New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques. Rather, what people are saying is, “You should not build a mosque there in New York.” I have never heard anyone deny Muslims their right to build a mosque near Ground Zero. They most certainly do have that right. To invoke the vocabulary used by the President on this, the conversation is not about the ‘right’ but rather about the ‘wisdom’. When people (like New York City mayor Michael Boomberg) cite the First Amendment they are obscuring the issue with an irrelevant red herring.

Yes, they can build a mosque near Ground Zero; that is their right. No, they should not build a mosque there; that is not wise. And the reasons for why it is not wise are quite numerous, but I do not wish to explore them right now. When Christians react with a loud and strong “No way!” to the idea, it is neither wrong nor inappropriate; they are not in conflict with biblical orthopraxy, nor are they denying anybody their freedoms under the Constitution, for the argument is that the Ground Zero Mosque shouldn’t be built there, which is very different from arguing that it can’t be built there.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has worked hard to portray himself as a ‘bridge-builder’ in the eyes of the American public and the interfaith community, and the location being so close to Ground Zero “was precisely a key selling point” for him, as reported by Ralph Blumenthal with the New York Times. Abdul Rauf wants a presence that close to the World Trade Center “where a piece of the wreckage fell” because he thinks it will send “the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11.” However, I have got a message for Abdul Rauf: when the majority of the American public is opposed to the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque, and you proceed with your construction plans in defiance of them, you are not building any bridges. As Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah from the Muslim Canadian Congress wrote for the Ottawa Citizen, “As Muslims we are dismayed that our co-religionists have such little consideration for their fellow citizens, and wish to rub salt in their wounds and pretend they are applying a balm to soothe the pain.”

Breaking news from the Assyrian International News Agency:

Muslim Cleric Calls for Jihad, Coptic Christians Attacked in Egypt

(AINA) — On August 13 Sheikh Tobah, Imam of the village of Shimi 170 KM south of Giza, called during Muslim Friday prayers for Jihad against Christians living there. As a result the Christian Copts living in the village were assaulted over two consecutive days. Eleven Copts were hospitalized and many Coptic youths were arrested.

The assaults begain a couple of hours after the Sheikhs incitement. An argument between Copt Maher Amin, who was washing his taxi, and Mohamed Ali Almstaui, a Muslim extremist from the village, escalated into violence as Mohamad assaulted Maher. The altercation was stopped by bystanders. However, after the evening break of Ramadan fast, Ahmad, the brother of the perpetrator Mohamad, who is reported to belong to an extremist organization, together with twenty other men, went to Maher’s family home, breaking down the door and assaulting him and his family with batons, including his old mother and his paralyzed sister, injuring them and breaking their furniture.

Security forces came and took away the Christian victims and kept them at the station in spite of their wounds, to pressuree them into accepting “reconciliation” with their attackers. None of the Muslims were arrested.

Saad Gamal, Egyptian MP for Elsaff, phoned from Gaza, where he is on a visit, and gave orders to the police to force reconciliation on the Coptic parties…

Please read the rest of the article here.

It is sad that these things are happening to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but I guess this is inevitable as long as Muslims take seriously Muhammad’s words in surah 9:29-30. May the Lord be with our brethren and deliver them out of the hands of the oppressors.

I recently ran into this video by a fellow named Farhan who attempts a response to David Wood’s video entitled How Can God Die? I have decided to post a video response of my own, so here it is:

Please excuse the less than perfect video editing. I used a different editing program than I usually use for making this video.

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This excerpt comes from a foxnews story; an August 2008 interview with a man who left Islam and Hamas after becoming a Christian.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe that Israel can ever strike a peace deal with Hamas?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water? There is no chance. Hamas can play politics for 10 years, 15 years; but ask any one of Hamas’ leaders, ‘Okay, what’s going to happen after that? Are you just going to live and co-exist with Israel forever?’ The answer is going to be no … unless they want to do something against the Koran. But it’s their ideology and they can’t just say ‘We’re not going to do it.’ So there is no chance. It’s not about Israel, it’s not about Hamas: it’s about both ideologies. There is no chance.

JONATHAN HUNT: Aren’t you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that’s it, they’re already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? … They can kill my body, but they can’t kill my soul.

Throughout the interview Mosab tells how he began to realise that the consequences to the ideas of his former faith were very different to the consequences of Christianity – and this was a separate observation he made from the truth claims of Islam and Christianity themselves. As a Christian, I found the entire interview with Mosab quite edifying. But certainly on the subject of ideaologies, I think he nails it. Ideas have consequences.

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“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)