**Note : This is written to clear the confusions and questions people have with regards to the Christian faith and is not intended to influence or change anyone’s mind with their professed faith (in particular, Islam)
Thanks to Jacknaim, a Muslim blogger, I only found out how Jesus was conceived. Of course, all Christians and even non-Christians know that Jesus was born on Christmas and Mary and Joseph are his parents. But when Jacknaim mentioned this :
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.[luke,1:35]
so how did the holy spirit do his function actually. i’m really sorry if i offend anybody (please tell me if i do so because i dont want to hurt any of your feelings). did he posses the baby in Virgin Mary’s tummy or he become the baby in her tummy. or he did it through possession. is there anybody who was possessed by holy spirit other than Jesus??
I got curious and checked all the four Gospels in the New Testament of the New International Version Bible. There are four authors who related to us how Jesus was born till He died. They are written by four persons, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They followed Jesus around and shared His story which made up the Bible.
So, here it goes :
MATTHEW
The Gospel starts with a list of names, from Abraham to David and there are 14 generations before Jesus. It was briefly mentioned that Mary was pregnant and Joseph who was to be married with Mary had a dream of which the Lord told him “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
LUKE
Meanwhile, Luke started with the birth of John (whom can be considered as Jesus’s cousin). And in the Gospel of Luke, it was written in a much lengthier way. So, angel Gabriel appeared and told Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”
And even Mary was suprised and asked, “How will this be.” “since I am a virgin?”
And angel Gabriel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ” and angel Gabriel gave Mary the example of Elizabeth (John’s mother) who is old then.
However, the most important verse and one which most of us Christians held firmly is what angel Gabriel said, “For nothing is impossible with God.”
Personally, as far as our Christians’ mind are concerned, we do not question God over these things because we have to rely on faith.
JOHN
The Gospel of John is written in such a way that it has this ‘flowery’ language and mysterious descriptions. John started with the Gospel almost like the book of Genesis, which is before God created us. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
Word here is not the words we are reading. But rather, the Truth, i.e. God’s command or even more specific (for the Christians), the Word is Jesus. I know these are all puzzling to non-Christians but that’s how we interpret and believe.
And to further confirmed it, John continues with “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
MARK
Meanwhile, the Gospel of Mark started directly with the prophet Isaiah whom had predicted the birth of John who was to prepare the way for Jesus. Then, it tells us about John without the conception and birth of Jesus. Let’s say it fast forward to an adult John who was sort of a hermit living in a desert eating wild honey and locust. Note that the John, who is Jesus’s cousin is not the same John as the one who wrote the Gospel of John.
I have typed all the above from the NIV Bible I have and these are according to my understanding. I hope this clears the wonder/doubt/curiosity/mockery of many people who wondered about our strong belief and insistence that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.
I am cool with people making fun of Mary and how she got pregnant. I had seen enough websites, forums and etc online which can go to the extend of perverted insinuations. I live with Jesus’s advice, “All those who have eyes, see, all those who have ears, hears…” I leave it to God to deal with all that because He is the Almighty God. I believe it is pointless to argue over our faiths with believers of other faiths and non-believers (those who do not subscribe to any faith). The only person that ended up hurt is the good name of God.
So, Jacknaim, I am not at all offended by your questions because they are valid. I know another blogger (and many more) who grudgingly insisted that Jesus the prophet died and that’s that. We Christians are living a life of self-delusion.
They also claimed that the Bible is created by the ‘infidels’. And these ‘infidels’ are worshipping the half-naked statue swinging on a pagan cross. I have no problem with that too. My question is - Does it make his faith any different/better/more powerful/more acceptable whether Jesus died or Jesus died and was resurrected as the Christians believe?
I hope the above has been helpful. I am certainly much more enlightened now that I have written down how the Immaculate Conception came about.
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
- This should be the slogan for all who believe in God.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:28 am
A popular song: Ah Lord God - goes like this…
Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thy great power
Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thine outstretched arm.
Nothing is too difficult for Thee
Nothing is too difficult for Thee
Great and mighty God
Great in counsel and mighty in deed
Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing
Nothing is too difficult for Thee
May 14th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Mark 10:27
“And Jesus looking upon them saith,
With men it is impossible, but not with God:
for with God all things are possible.”
May 14th, 2008 at 11:47 am
jesus wasn’t born on christmas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
May 14th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
ppl - Yes, we more or less know that but for the sake of uniformity, we use December 25th. Just like how our King’s birthday falls on June 4th every year eventhough we have different King every five years.
pablo - Yes, indeed.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
assalamu’alaikum…..
We as a muslim also believe in the miriculous birth of jesus. like what u said “For nothing is impossible with God.”. so i did believe that God has his own way to create Jesus Christ just like the way he create Adam.
Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah; (Holy Quran 3:45)
Actually i talk a lot about Jesus christ with protestant friends but i never have a chance to discuss it with catholic friends. (May i consider u as friend? if u will).. So what is actually the role of Jesus in catholic. Who is he?
May 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
“Then will God say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic.’ (The Noble Quran, 5:110)”
May 14th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Jacknaim - Many people, especially the Pharisees who are very devout to God, said Jesus is the son of the devil because of the miracles He performed. That’s why Jesus was tortured and condemned to death.
As for Who is Jesus to a Catholic? Jesus is a friend/buddy to me. Someone who is wise and gave me the basics guidelines to live life. The kind I call Lord. I don’t campur aduk, God the Father with Jesus the Saviour. If that’s what you mean?
For example, your father plays many role. He is your father, the son of your grandfather and the husband of your mother. That’s how we see the Holy Trinity. Eventhough they point to the same thing, there are different roles from the one person.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
“”Does it make his faith any different/better/more powerful/more acceptable whether Jesus died or Jesus died and was resurrected as the Christians believe?”"”"
i cannot comment about this because i did not believe in the death of Jesus or resurrection. as for us, we rather believe that he is not dead
************************************************
pablopabla
Mark 10:27
“And Jesus looking upon them saith,
With men it is impossible, but not with God:
for with God all things are possible.”
Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, “be”, and it is![holy quran 36:82]
his is so, because Allah is the Reality: it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who has power over all things.[holy quran 22:6]
May 14th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
“”Jesus is a friend/buddy to me. Someone who is wise and gave me the basics guidelines to live life”" , Lilian
did u consider him as god? because in christianity Jesus is one of the component of trinity.
“‘For example, your father plays many role. He is your father, the son of your grandfather and the husband of your mother. That’s how we see the Holy Trinity. Eventhough they point to the same thing, there are different roles from the one person”"Lilian
meaning that, they play different role but they are one. yup sounds likely a trinitarian concept. But. he’s a one person right. i mean the father, husband, son of grandfather.. But in trinitarian concept, there are 3 different god but they are one god. they have differences. for the examples that u mention. the titles are different but they are the same man. same behavior and traits. i don see it applicable with the concept of trinitarian,
you see
God the father- almighty god..No body knows how exactly he is
Jesus the son = he is a man, ‘also being referred as ’son of man’ in bible.
holy spirit = is a spirit and can fill the human soul. but i wonder whether the holy spirit is the same as advocater which will come to man after Jesus was reincarnated and ascend to god
May 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is the same as far as the Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and other major Protestant denominators are concerned. We all believe in the same God and recite the same creed. It’s just that some of our religious rituals are different. For those who know God recognises His voice and I believe that those of us in this faith do recognise His voice.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
If I may add, one popular illustration for the Trinity is H2O. In solid state, it is called ice. In liquid state, water. And in gaseous state, steam. But it is still H2O and it has its functions in each state.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Alamak! I want to add one more…
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit each glorifies one another. It depends on one another. It does not compete with one another.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Assalamua’laikum…….. I wish that we can have a longer discussion. but looks like i can not make it.. i have to prepare for my examination next week. being a medical student really gives me headache. once i finish it then we can talk more. pray for my success..
All the best for you
be happy in life.
T-q
‘ a liitle friend’