Crucifiction?
Objection: “No sane person can believe the story of the crucifixion of
Christ. Christ could not have died if He were God. Rather, He was
only a Prophet of Allah. If the story of the Cross is disproved then the
very foundation on which Christianity is based will be demolished.”
The fastest growing religion in the world today is Islam. Ever since the
Iranian revolution of 1978, Islam has experienced a militant resurgence
throughout the world. Due to high levels of immigration and above-average
birth rates, Islamic communities now number in the millions in many
Western countries. All this comes at a time when Christian populations and
practice in the West are undergoing marked decline. Consequently, for the
first time since the retreat of the Ottoman Empire from Eastern Europe,
Islam constitutes a direct and major challenge to Christianity.
Islam denies that Jesus was crucified and died on the Cross, as is recounted
in the four Gospels of Christianity. According to the Qur’an, it was not
Jesus who died on the Cross but another man put in his place:
“They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against
Mary. They declared: ‘We have put to death the Messiah Jesus the
son of Mary, the apostle of Allah.’ They did not kill him, nor did
they crucify him, but they thought they did.
Those that disagreed about him were in doubt concerning
his death, for what they knew about it was sheer
conjecture; they were not sure that they had slain him.
Allah lifted him up to His presence; He is mighty and
wise. There is none among the People of the Book but
will believe in him before his death; and on the Day of
Resurrection he will be a witness against them” (Sura 4:
157, 158).
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