The last part of this, Ahmedzay's rant against
"Zionist Jews," not reproduced below, was reported yesterday. This
report is extraordinary for the fact that it shows Ahmedzay quoting Qur'an
9:111 to justify suicide bombing. This is a common tactic of suicide bombing
recruiters, but to point it out in teh West usually brings one a charge of
"Islamophobia." I guess Ahmedzay must be an "Islamophobe."
"Zarein Ahmedzay's statement when he pleaded guilty to terrorist
charges," from the New York Post, April 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
"Your Honor, I would like to quote from the Qur'an."
"Quote, Verily, Allah has
purchased of the believers their lives and their wealth for the price of
Paradise, to fight in the way of Allah, to kill and get killed. It is a promise
binding on the truth in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an, end of quote."
That's Qur'an 9:111, the justification for suicide attacks. The only
guarantee of Paradise in the Qur'an is this verse, which guarantees it to those
who kill and are killed for Allah. This once again underscores
the jihadist contention that they represent Islamic authenticity -- a charge
never yet refuted by Muslim "moderates" in any way that has proven
effective to change jihadists' minds.
Sources.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/new-york-subway-jihad-plotter-quotes-quran-verse-justifying-suicide-bombing.html
IHS
Mr Who ever you are I am 100% sure that your claims of being an EXmuslim
is not true actually you are a Zionist who is creating a hate among different
Faiths. On the other hand Why do you HATE Islam even if you left? I mean why dont
you stay away for Islam for those who Love and will die A Muslims like me. All
your claims contradict and there must be an agenda for this Site. I dont care
what is the point of this site but it still shows that Islam is a Universal
religion, Islam has enemies, and Islam is not the way you see and showing? Your
are contributing to More people Embrace Islam because of knowing Islam and
seeing your FAKE and FALSE claims tell the TRUTh. I think you sometimes call
your self mr sina of Zina (the Arabic word of adultery). Is that What i said is
true?
Fuaad
Hi Fuaad,
Don’t be so sure. If you read my articles you’ll see I speak the truth. I
am not the only person who left Islam and is against it. We are many and we are
growing in number fast.
As for being a Zionist, yes I have said it many times that I am a Zionist.
Zionist means someone who believes Jews have a right to have a homeland to stay
safe from discrimination and genocide. I happen to agree with that idea and
therefore I am a Zionist. Do I have any transaction or dealings with Jews? No!
I don’t receive a dime from them. I simply think they are human beings and
entitled to have the same protection that all humans have. Any decent person
must be a Zionist. If you are not a Zionist you are a hatemonger racist. One who does not
feel the suffering of others is less than a human.
You don’t have to be a Jew or have anything to do with Jews to be a
Zionist, just as you don’t have to be a woman to be a feminist and believe that
women should have equal rights. or a person of color to be against racism.
Why I hate Islam? It’s because I hate all ideologies that divide
mankind. I hate Nazism, fascism, communism, racism and Islam equally. They are
all the same filth. They are all evil and they must all be crushed and dumped
in the toilet, where they belong.
My claims do not contradict. Where is the contradiction?
I have no hidden agenda. I want to expose Islam and get the world rid of
this lie that is causing so much hate and destruction. This is my stated mission,
not a hidden agenda.
The fact that Muslims love to die for Islam does not make this evil cult a
true religion. Muslims are brainwashed.That is why they love to die and love to
kill others. The fact that some people love to die for a doctrine does not make that
doctrine true, but rather dangerous. Good teachings promote life and happiness.
It is evil doctrines that encourage death and glorify martyrdom. Islam is a
cult of death.
My goal is to show the truth, save Muslims and save their victims. I am saving lives and
saving the world. This is a mighty work and I am proud of it. As of today, I
have saved thousands of people and if only a fraction of them follow my
footsteps together we will save millions and the whole world. Many famous apostates have
said that they owe their enlightenment to me. Many of them are doing a lot more
than me. They have surpassed me, as I had predicted long time ago when I was a
lone voice in the wilderness of the Internet. I am proud of my
achievements. I am filled with joy any time I see them on TV. Why should I
stop?
I did not amass whealth in this life and have had my share of setbacks and
vicissitudes. Life has not been kind to me, but I don’t consider my life a
waste. Despite all the backstabbings, betrayals and injustices that I endured
and despite all the hardships, I have set in motion a movement that will end
the most evil doctrine ever created by man. How many people can make that
claim? Even if I die today, this movement will continue and nothing will stop
it.
Please do not misinterpret me. I am not claiming that this huge fire
that is burning the filth of Islam is because of me. I have no streak of
megalomania and narcissism in me to make outlandish claims like that. But I am proud to say that
I was one of the first who started that fire. I am one of the first who exposed
the dirty secrets of Islam through the Internet and showed to the world that
this cult is evil and its founder was a psychopath.
When everyone was shadowboxing against the “radical Islam” and the “political
Islam,” I was the one who said it is all about Islam itself. Unlike most so
called pundits who try to save Muhammad from blemish and put all the blames on
the Wahhabis I said that this tree is rotten from its root. The problem with
Islam is not with its wrong interpretation, but with its correct application.
It is with the psychopath that Muslims follow as their prophet and the demon
that they worship as their god.
I was amongst the very few who knew where is the source of the problem. Still
the majority of “experts” are lost. They have been receiving all the attention
while misleading the public. Some of them have good intentions, but good
intentions are not enough. A myth is still a myth with good intention or not. They
are deceptive, but politically correct. I am ignored by the media because my
message is revolutionary and who wants to rock the boat. But truth is more
powerful than lies and if given equal chance it will always prevail. I was not
given equal chance. I sent my articles to various mainstream media. They ignore
them. Nonetheless, my message is winning. People are waking up and they are
realizing the problem with Islam is deeper than what their pundits, the media
and the politicians tell them.
If you think I am contributing to more people embracing Islam then why are
you asking me to stop? Please promote my faithfreedom.org so everyone
can see my “falshood” and convert to Islam.
`Sina` (SEE-NAH) is a Persian name. `Sina` comes from a Hebrew
word meaning: `explorer of knowledge`, the Arabic form of the word is `Bagher`.
It is a popular name in Iran. http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/SINA
Zina means adultery. Muslim apologists call me Zina. This shows the
level of their intellectualism and how they respond to my criticism of Islam.
Islam has always had its critics, but it has crushed them with brute force.
I
am not one of those idealists who think truth will always prevail. It is force
that always prevails. This is the only reason behind the success of Islam.
Truth can win only when it is allowed to compete with lies on equal footing. The
light will win darkness only if it is allowed to enter the room. The proponents of lies
cannot tolerate the truth. But the new millennium and the Internet have
changed the rules of the game. Now, Muslims can no longer silence the truth and
truth is winning over Islam.
Ali Sina
Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/wordpress/?p=8808
IHS
Dear Ali Sina, In regrads
to your challenge on faithfreedom.org
Because some of your views are very akin to my own, I thought I would
share with you where I am in my quest for the truth. I am trying to ponder and
make sure what i am doing is truly what I believe. Although it would be easy
for me to become a moral atheist, something inside me denies me from becoming
that. The world has its ills, yes, but it is too ordered and structured not to
have a controlling force behind it. There is no question the Quran and hadith
have many problems but maybe the “uncorrupted” state we were taught was never
true. Or it all has to do with interpretation of the original arabic. This
seems quite likely to me. You question Muhammad’s prophethood by some of his
actions, but like you said youself, Joshua did far worse in the bible. However
please answer me these regarding his character:
1) He was offered wealth, status as king, women and many other worldly
items by the Meccan leadership in exchange to stop his preaching. Why did he
refuse?
2) He fought alongside his own men in battles and was himself injured.
Why did he do that if he was egocentric? You will never see a modern day leader
in charge of an army put himself in harms way.
3) Was he not illiterate by all accurate unbiased accounts? Why did he
wait till age 40 to start such a hard and difficult task of change the entire
views of a pagan society?
4) If he liked beuatiful young woman, why were most of his wives old and
divorced? If he was a pedophile as you claim because of Ayesha’s age, I never
heard of a pedophile only being with one child. Why didnt he marry and surround
himself with several?
5) Why does he validate Moses and Jesus so much. He continued to do this
even after problems with the Jewish tribes and Christians. The story of Moses
and pharoah is the most repeated in the Quran? At the end of time, he said
Jesus would return, not him. He stated all prophets wer on equal footing to
himself. He states that every prophet including himself was “touched” by Satan
except Jesus. Why wouldnt he say this about himself if he was a fake narcissist as you
claim?
6)He forbade pictures and glorifying of himself. He wanted people to
worship only God and not him. Does this sound like a self-absorbed egotist?
7) When he was victorious and return to take over Mecca, he declared
general amnesty for all who had previously fought him. Is this the merciless
maurader you are talking about?
8 ) Even after accumulating wealth, he slept on a mattress of palm
fibers on the floor of his small house and chose a life of poverty. Anything
hypocritical here?
9) He constantly helped his wives with household chores. His final
speech makes mention to treat the womanfolk well and that the best man is the
one who is best to his wife. I know you are well versed in these hadiths. Is
this the chauvinist you are talking about?
Now, I am not saying this proves his prophethood to you. But if I was
sitting in a jury box, in modern day america, it adds enough reasonable doubt
that I cannot deny that he could have been.
So maybe I dont get the $50,000 reward, but if you cannot explain away
these questions with logic, you’ll have to send me a check for at least $25
grand.
Be well and take care, SS AKA “the challenge winner”
Dear SS the self adjudicated challenge winner,
Yes indeed the universe has its order. That is why Einstein said, God does
not play dice. Of course Einstein was talking about God in an allegorical way.
What he meant was that universe is governed by laws. This is agreed by all
scientists. However, what is not agreed by everyone is whether there is a
lawmaker. We can envision that natural laws can exist on their own, but it when we
talk about a law maker, the question that arises is who made this lawmaker.
However, this is not my argument and in no ways I want to convince people
in becoming atheists. I have said it time and again that atheism does not
make humans better. Atheists also have committed horrendous crimes and
have shown they can be evil.
What can elevate people is consciousness not beliefs. Consciousness comes with
maturity and it has nothing to do with beliefs. So if you wish to believe in a
creator, I will respect your choice. Believers or unbelievers are the same to
me. I have no preference. I pick my friends from among those who have evolved
enough to know not to harm others. This is often the question of
psychological health and not religion.
Yes I said Joshua committed heinous crimes. But did I say that I believe
he was a prophet of God? I actually believe that Moses, Joshua and many
ancient personages of the Old Testament were myths. Jews made up these stories
in captivity to make their youths feel better and endure the tyranny of their
captors. This is not just a mere opinion. There is plenty of evidence that
prove this claim.
Assuming Joshua was real, he would have been a war criminal no better than
Genghis Khan. By the same token Muhammad was also a criminal. It
makes no sense to follow one criminal because another group holds another
criminal as a prophet.
Furthermore, Jews do not follow Joshua. He is a historic figure, like Omar
or Abu Bakr and not someone to follow. Muslims follow Muhammad to the tee. There
lies the problem.
Now let me answer your questions.
1) He was offered wealth, status
as king, women and many other worldly items by the Meccan leadership in
exchange to stop his preaching. Why did he refuse?
Who said Muhammad was offered any of these things? This claim was made
only by him and he was a pathological liar.
People of Mecca laughed at him and thought he is a mad man. Why would
they want to lavish a mad man with so much gifts? Has it ever happened
anywhere that someone claims to be a prophet and people who think he is crazy
offer him wealth and women? Come on please. Why is it so hard for Muslims to be
rational? No one offered Muhammad any wealth. He lied, just as he lied about
being persecuted and the Meccans plotting to kill him. Please read my book
and see how I have debunked all these claims.
2) He fought alongside his own
men in battles and was himself injured. Why did he do that if he was
egocentric? You will never see a modern day leader in charge of an army put
himself in harms way.
Obviously you have not read Muhammad’s biographies. Please read the
books of Tabari, Ibn Sa’d and al Moghazi of Waqidi. Muhammad never fought
personally in any battle. He ordered 74 or 78 raids (depending which
historian you believe) in 27 of those raids he himself participated, but he
stood behind his men, wearing two coats
of mail that made him so heavy that he could not walk. All he did was
gather dust from the ground and throw it in the direction of his enemies while
cursing them. In Ohod he did not have enough men, so he sent everyone to
the front leaving no one to protect him. Someone came and found him hiding between
two rocks. He hit him with his sword but his heavy armors protected him. He
shouted for help and his men arrived and the Quraishi escaped. There he lost a
tooth. Courage is not a quality that distinguished Muhammad at no moment in
his life. Even in the war of Sacrilege, when he was twenty years old,
all he did was collect the arrows during the cease fires and hand them to his
uncles. That coward never put his life in danger. Not even once. But he
gave fiery speeches promises his followers all sorts of rewards if they die in
the battle field.
3) Was he not illiterate by
all accurate unbiased accounts? Why did he wait till age 40 to start such a
hard and difficult task of change the entire views of a pagan society?
Muhammad had a hallucination at the age forty. He thought he was demon
possessed. His co-depended wife convinced him that he had become a prophet. I
have explained the psychological state of Muhammad and what let him to believe
in his hallucinations in my book. Countless people write to challenge me. I ask
them to read my book first. Those of them who agree and read it either don’t
write back or write to say they have left Islam.
4) If he liked beuatiful young
woman, why were most of his wives old and divorced? If he was a pedophile as you
claim because of Ayesha’s age, I never heard of a pedophile only being with one
child. Why didnt he marry and surround himself with several?
Muhammad’s wives were all
teenagers or in their early twenties. The oldest one was Sauda. No
mention of her age is made. But Ibn Sa’d in Tabaqat V.8 says she died during
the rule of Muaviyah in the year 54 Hijra. We know that Muhammad married Sauda
about 40 days after the death of Khadijah, i.e. three years before Hijra. So
Sauda died 57 years after she married Muhammad.
What is the normal age of a person? Sauda was a big fat woman. Often
overweigh people don’t live long. But let us say she died at the age of eighty.
80-57=23 So Sauda was 23 years old when she married Muhammad who was 50
years old at that time. If Sauda died at the age of 90, which is
unlikely, she must have been 33 years old when she married the 50 year old
Muhammad.
Now let me quote a hadith
reported by Ibn Sa’d to debunk the claim that Muhammad married old women for
their protection.
“Barra narrated that the prophet
sent message to Sauda that I have divorced you. When Sauda heard the news, she went and sat in
the way of the Prophet to Aisha’s house. When she saw the prophet she told him.
I swear thee by the one who has sent you the Quran and has exalted you over all
the creation to tell my why did you divorce me. Have I done something wrong
that has offended you? The Prophet said no! Sauda said, I then beg you for the
sake of the same God to not divorce me. I am getting old I don’t need to be with
a man. You can use my turn to stay with Aisha, but I wish that in the day of
resurrection to be counted amongst your wives. The Prophet agreed and Sauda
said that since then the Prophet spent the nights there were her turn with his
favorite wife Aisha.” [Tabaqat V. 8 p. 53-54 Persian translation]
Sauda was not old for Muhammad.
She was half his age. However, she was much older than his other wives who were
40 to 44 years younger than him.
Sauda was a big woman and not very attractive. So Muhammad wanted to get
rid of her to spend more time with his petite younger wives.
How could Sauda survive on her own in that society? She thought that as
long as she remains nominally a wife of Muhammad her material needs will be
taken care of – and in fact they were. The same historian tells us that the
share of Sauda from the loot of the Khaibar was 80 camel load of dates and 20
camel loads of barley or wheat.
From every loot the wives of Muhammad
received their share of goods and slaves. Omar, during his caliphate Sauda a
sack filled with Dirhams (Probably the proceeds of the loot from Persia or
Egypt). Sauda asked, what is this? They said it is Dirhams. She said
Subhanallah, they send me money in a sack of dates?” [Tabaqat V. 8 p. 55]
I can write a book about the sexual life of Muhammad. This man had no respect for
women. He used them like an object and disposed of them when they no longer
satisfied his animalistic needs. Muslims are so ignorant of the truth about
their prophet that is appalling.
5) Why did he validate Moses
and Jesus so much? He continued to do this even after problems with the Jewish
tribes and Christians. The story of Moses and pharoah is the most repeated in
the Quran? At the end of time, he said Jesus would return, not him. He stated
all prophets were on equal footing to himself. He states that every prophet
including himself was “touched” by Satan except Jesus. Why wouldn’t he say this
about himself if he was a fake narcissist as you claim?
Muhammad started his prophetic career in the footsteps of biblical
prophets. He thought this would attract the Christians and the Jews. Once
his dream was dashed he turned against the Jews, banished some and massacred
others. However, he could not change his so called revelation of 13 years
and start beating a different drum. He had to stick with Jesus and Moses. After
he came to Medina and faced the rejection of the people of the Book, there is
very little talk about Jesus and Moses in the Quran. Instead there is an
unbounded vitriol against their followers.
Muhammad changed his qibla and started prying towards temple filled with
idols. He called the Jews and Christians all sorts of names, but it was too
late for him to change his story about being another prophet in the same line
of biblical prophets.
6) He forbade pictures and
glorifying of himself. He wanted people to worship only God and not him. Does
this sound like a self-absorbed egotist?
You must definitely read my book. All your questions are answered there.
Muhammad suffered from Acromegaly. This disease deforms the bones and
cartilages. In the later years of his life he looked like a monster. Muhammad
was a narcissist and his image meant a lot to him. He did not want people to
draw his picture when he was so ugly and deformed. The prohibition of
drawing his picture is not out of modesty but out of his fear of leaving an
ugly image of himself for the posterity.
7)When he was victorious and
returned to take over Mecca, he declared general amnesty for all who had
previously fought him. Is this the merciless maurader you are talking about?
This was part of the deal for the Meccans to surrender with no fight.
Abu Sufian accepted the deal to avoid bloodshed. Muhammad also knew that
the Arab tribes that had accompanied him would not stay long if the fight gets
bloody.
Despite his promises to not to kill anyone he sought ten Meccans who had
mocked him many years ago, among them two dancing girls and killed them.
8) Even after accumulating
wealth, he slept on a mattress of palm fibers on the floor of his small house
and chose a life of poverty. Anything hypocritical here?
These are myths that have held Muslims hoodwinked. I have demystified
the mystique of Muhammad in my book. Once you read it you’ll have answer to all
these questions. Muhammad was a narcissist. Narcissists are master
manipulators and when they put a show of piety or humility they do it in
exaggeration. Please refer to my book for detailed explanation of
Muhammad’s show of humility and his psychological make up.
9) He constantly helped his
wives with household chores. His final speech makes mention to treat the
womanfolk well and that the best man is the one who is best to his wife. I know
you are well versed in these hadiths. Is this the chauvinist you are talking
about?
Muhammad’s words and deeds were different. The narcissist has all the good
advices for others but they consider themselves about those advices.
Muhammad was not good to his wives. He beat even Aisha who was the youngest
and most favorite of his wives. He divorced anyone who was not satisfying his
sexual needs and threatened to divorce all of them when they were upset of him
for sleeping with a maid, Maryah.
What they feed you as the history of Muhammad is all lies. You need to read the
original books of history of Islam or read my book that is based on those
stories to get the facts. So you don’t get $50,000, not $25,000 and not
even one dollar. But if you ask for it, I will send you my book for free. After you read it and leave
Islam, you may want to finance its translation to any language spoken by
Muslims. It will only cost a few hundreds, but you’d be saving millions.
Cheers
Ali Sina
Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/wordpress/?p=8816
IHS
Does this
verse teach that Jesus never died?
Keith Thompson
Around 30 A.D. Jesus Christ was crucified on the
cross. He died for our sin appeasing the wrath of God and taking it upon
himself. He lived a perfect sinless life of obedience to the
Father; a life that we could not live. Because of that as well as the fact that
Jesus is God in the flesh; Jesus’ crucifixion was of infinite value or worth.
God has infinite value and worth. Since Jesus is God, Jesus’ crucifixion is of
infinite value and worth and thus his atoning death as a sacrifice is
sufficient to pay for the sins of humanity. This is the good news
(gospel) that has come down from heaven for humanity. This is what the
first-century scriptures teach. This is the earliest view of Christians. There
are early secular sources outside of the Bible that speak about the crucifixion
of Christ as a historical event which gives validity to Christian belief.1
However, 600 years after Jesus died on the cross for our sins a false
prophet named Muhammad started receiving revelations or messages from a being
that he believed to be the angel Gabriel. Many theologians recognize that this
was a demonic encounter, perhaps even Satan himself appearing as an angel to
Muhammad to deceive him so that he will create a false religion which denies
the real truth about Jesus and Christianity – including Jesus’ death on the
cross for our sins. Muhammad received a message
about Jesus’ crucifixion which was put into the Islamic (un) holy book – the
Quran. It states:
because of their saying: We slew the
Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified
him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are
in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture;
they slew him not for certain (Quran 4:157, Pickthall Translation)
It is because of this one verse in the Quran that
was written 600 years after Jesus was alive, in another language and culture
that Muslims deny that Jesus died for the sins of the world. Contrary to the testimony of first-century scriptures, early
first-century extra-biblical Christian testimony from Polycarp, 1 Clement, and
Ignatius,2 as well as the early
non-biblical secular attestation, we are led to believe that this one verse in
the Quran is enough to overthrow this evidence. To the outsider looking at this from a purely historical perspective
it’s clear that the Muslim proposition is obviously absurd. Even critical
atheist, agnostic and liberal scholars agree that Jesus’ death on the cross is
a historical fact.3
Because of this dilemma Muslims will try to prove that the Bible
doesn’t actually teach that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but instead
was raised up by God prior to the event and that someone else (Judas?) was put
in his place to go on the cross and made to look like Jesus. Therefore
according to Islam there is no atonement for our sin on the cross at all
because Jesus never died for us. The Muslim apologist will isolate certain
biblical texts that, when removed of their immediate context, may appear give
the impression that Jesus didn’t actually die. One such abused text is Hebrews
5:7 and this is what we will be examining to see if it teaches that Jesus never
died for our sin, as various Muslims contend, or if these Muslims are guilty of
misusing this text. Hebrews 5:7 states:
In the days of his flesh, Jesus
offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who
was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
(Hebrews 5:7, ESV)
When Muslims look at this verse many of them incorrectly understand the
words “him who was able to save him from
death” as affirming the Islamic position that Jesus was raised into heaven
before the crucifixion could take place and that someone else was put on the
cross to look like Jesus. One can find hundreds of Muslim articles on the web
that appeal to this verse as evidence that Jesus was not crucified. But is this
what the author of the book of Hebrews is telling us? This verse can be
understood in two ways. 1.) Jesus was saved from dying – thus he never died
at all. 2.) Jesus did die and was saved from death by being raised from the
dead – the resurrection from the dead. When one reads the book of Hebrews
cover to cover they will see that this author held the position of
interpretation 2. If we can demonstrate that the context of the book of
Hebrews is that Jesus died for our sins as a sacrifice then we have to
understand Hebrews 5:7 as Jesus dying and then being saved from death by rising
from the dead – the way Christians have always believed.
So does the book of Hebrews teach that Jesus died for our sins? All throughout this book it either indicates
crucifixion for the propitiation of sin or explicitly makes reference to Jesus’
death on the cross. For example, right in the first chapter we read:
…After making purification for
sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high … (Hebrews
1:3)
Christians hold that Jesus made purification for
sins by dying on the cross as a sacrifice so that whoever believes in Jesus
will be regenerated by God and will be saved. Moving further, we read in
Hebrews 2:
But we see him who for a little while
was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because
of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste
death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in
bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation
perfect through suffering.” “Since therefore the children share in flesh
and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through
death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring
of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so
that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God,
to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:9-10, 14-17)
Then, in Hebrews 6 we receive a warning passage about those who learn the
truth but live in sin with no fruit:
For it is impossible, in the case of
those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and
have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God
and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them
again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God
to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. (Hebrews 6:4-6, ESV)
Notice the phrase “they are crucifying once again the Son of God.” This necessitates
Jesus already having died for our sin the past. The only way he can be
crucified again is if he was already crucified once. This proves that the
author believed that Jesus died on the cross. In Hebrews chapter 7 Jesus’
priestly role is discussed as being final and absolute in that his own sacrifice
perfectly atones for our sin as opposed to the previous priestly sacrifices to
God for the sins of the people of Israel being temporary sacrifices. It was
always the high priest who first offered a sacrifice for his own sin and then
one for the people so as to pay for their sin. However, Jesus is the high
priest for all of humanity as well as the sacrifice itself. This sacrifice
would atone for all sin forever.
For it was indeed
fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained,
separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like
those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then
for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up
himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27,
ESV)
Notice this verse affirms that he offered himself
up as a sacrifice for our sin. How did he achieve this? He achieved this by
being crucified on our behalf. In Hebrews chapter 9 we see more passages which
support the crucifixion of Jesus:
But when Christ appeared as a high
priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more
perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered
once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and
calves butby means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled
persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to
serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a
death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed
under the first covenant … But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the
end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as
it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so
Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a
second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for
him. (Hebrews 9:11-15, 25-28, ESV)
In the next chapter we read:
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service,
offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all
time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God … Therefore, brothers, since we
have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the
new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through
his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water …For if we
go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of
judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has
set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three
witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one
who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:10-12, 19-22, 26-29, ESV)
In chapter 12 we read:
looking to Jesus, the founder and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of
God. (Hebrews 12:2, ESV)
And finally the last chapter of Hebrews states:
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people
through his own blood. (Hebrews
13:12, ESV)
Notice in the next verse it states that the Father brought Jesus from the
dead:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great
shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with
everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing
in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21,
ESV)
The book of Hebrews clearly teaches that Jesus died on the cross for our
sins. We see this before and after Hebrews 5:7, the verse in question. We also
see in Hebrews 13:20 that God brought Jesus from the dead. Therefore when
deciding between interpretation 1 (that Jesus was saved from dying and thus
didn’t die), and interpretation 2 (that Jesus was saved from death after dying
by resurrecting from the dead), we must go with interpretation 2. In light of
the context of the book of Hebrews we should understand the words “Him who was
able to save him from death” in Hebrews 5:7 as a reference to the Father
raising Jesus from the dead after he was crucified on our behalf as the worthy
and willing substitute.
Christ has risen, He is Lord, Amen.
Footnotes
1 Early
non-Christian non-biblical sources for Jesus’ crucifixion include Stoic
philosopher Mara Bar-Serapion who wrote: “What advantage did the Jews gain from
executing their wise king? It was just after that that their
kingdom was abolished.” (Mara
Bar-Serapion, cited from F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They
Reliable? [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981], p. 114). In his
historical work Annals XV.44 written around 117 A.D. the early second-century
Roman historian Tacitus wrote: “Christus, the founder of the name, was put to
death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.” The
second-century satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote: “The Christians, you know,
worship a man to this day — the distinguished personage who introduced their
novel rites, and was crucified on that account … You see, these misguided
creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all
time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which
are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original
lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted,
and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his
laws. (Lucian, The Death of Peregrine, 11–13 inThe Works of Lucian of
Samosata, translated by H. W. Fowler (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949) vol. 4). The
Babylonian Talmud reports: “It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung
Yeshu and the crier went forth for forty days beforehand declaring that
"[Yeshu] is going to be stoned for practicing witchcraft, for enticing and
leading Israel astray. Anyone who knows something to clear him
should come forth and exonerate him." But no one had anything exonerating
for him and they hung him on the eve of Passover.” (Babylonian Talmud,
Sanhedrin 43a. 70-200 A.D.).
2 Early non-biblical Christian
testimony of the crucifixion includes 1 Clement: “On account of the love He
bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God; His
flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls.” (1 Clement, Letter to the
Corinthians, Ch. 49, 95-97 A.D.) Ignatius of Antioch in his epistle to Smyrna
states: “I glorify Jesus Christ as God, who has made you so wise. For I have
observed that you are perfected in an immoveable faith, just as if you were
nailed on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the
spirit, and are established in love in the blood of Christ, being fully
persuaded unto our Lord that he was truly from the seed of David according to
the flesh, son of God according to the will and power, truly born from a
virgin, baptized by John in order that all justice might be fulfilled by him.”
(Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans 1.1, 107 A.D.). Student of the Apostle John,
Polycarp of Smyrna wrote: “For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh, is antichrist; and whosoever does not confess the testimony
of the cross, is of the devil …” (Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, Ch.
7, 110-135 A.D.)
3 Atheist, Agnostic and liberal
scholars who affirm that Jesus died on the cross include Gert Lüdemann who
stated: “The fact of the death of Jesus as a consequence of crucifixion is
indisputable, despite hypotheses of a pseudo-death or a deception which are
sometimes put forward.” (Gert Lüdemann, What Really Happened to Jesus: A
Historical Approach to the Resurrection, p. 17). Agnostic scholar Bart
Ehrman states: “In any event, Tacitus's report confirms what we know from other
sources, that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea,
Pontius Pilate.” (Bart Ehrman, The New
Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings,
Oxford University Press, 2000], p. 197). Liberal scholar John Dominic Crossan
states: “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” (John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, p.
145).
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/thompson/hebrews5_7.html
IHS
