𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦 "𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝"

 Islamic International Network - IIN

Islam Compass ·٢٢ س ·

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦 "𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐝"

My Christian friend said to me: Look at God’s mercy towards us and His love for us in this statement: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”. John 3:16.

I smiled and said to him calmly: My dear… let us speak rationally before anything else, and without agitation.

He said: Go ahead.

I said: Before we discuss the meaning, are we agreed on the source of the text? Who said it? Is it certain revelation? Do we possess a stable original for it? Do we know with certainty who its author is, and how it reached us without change or alteration?

He remained silent for a moment, then said: Let us leave that aside for now and discuss the idea itself.

I said: Very well, let us discuss it. The first simple question: To whom did God give His Son?

He said: To humanity… for their salvation.

I said: No, that is not an answer to the question. I am asking: To whom was this sacrifice offered? When humans offer sacrifices, they present them to a deity higher than themselves, seeking His pleasure. If God is the one who offers a “sacrifice,” then to whom does He offer it? Is there a deity higher than Him? Or does He offer the sacrifice to Himself?

He looked at me in astonishment and did not answer.

So I said: If we say that He offers it to Himself, then we are faced with a strange scene: a god who becomes angry… then seeks to appease himself… then offers himself a sacrifice… then becomes satisfied! Is this not closer to the conceptions of ancient paganisms, where multiple wills exist within the deity or among deities?

He said: But this is an expression of love.

I said: Let us move to another point. If God is perfect in power and perfect in mercy, why does He need a “sacrifice” at all in order to forgive? Does not the one who is capable forgive directly? Does not the generous pardon without demanding a price? To say that He does not forgive except after blood and sacrifice means one of two things, with no third option: either He cannot forgive except under conditions external to Himself… or He chose to bind Himself to a law without meaning. In both cases, we face a problem.

He said: But this is for the sake of justice.

I said: Good, let us speak about justice. Is it just for the innocent to be punished instead of the guilty?

He said: No… but the idea is deeper than that.

I said: Rather, this is the idea in its essence. Adam erred—according to the narrative—so who is punished? Not Adam… but another person who is said to be innocent! What moral scale in the world accepts this? If a judge were to sentence an innocent person instead of the criminal, would we call that justice or injustice?

He said: But this is a sacrifice.

I said: A sacrifice is made by a person for himself or for others; it is not that the innocent is punished instead of the guilty and this is called justice.

Then I asked him: Let us discuss the deeper point… this “son”—is he God or other than God?

He said: He is God… or part of Him.

I said: If he is God, then we are faced with a remarkable equation: God sacrifices Himself… to Himself… to satisfy Himself… then after being satisfied, He forgives His creation! What mind accepts this composition? Who is sacrificing? Who is being satisfied? Who is forgiving? If they are one, why all this representation? And if they are different, then we have made more than one god.

He said, appearing hesitant: Perhaps the matter is symbolic.

I said: Even symbolism must be reasonable, not contradictory.

Then I said to him calmly: My friend… the true God does not need blood to forgive, nor an intermediary to pardon, nor a representation to show His mercy. The perfect God, if He wills to forgive… He forgives. And if He wills to pardon… He pardons. But to attribute to Him that He does not forgive except after torturing an innocent person, or sacrificing Himself to Himself, is an image not befitting a God perfect in wisdom and power.

Then I paused for a moment and said: The problem is not in the word “love”… but in the conception upon which this love was built.

He looked at me for a long time… and said: I had never looked at the matter in this way before.

The original post was published in Arabic, by Br. MrWalaa Hamed

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