Sam Shamoun

Not surprising, Osama Abdullah has made an attempt to refute our response to his piece on the Holy Spirit (here). He pretty much didn’t say anything worth rebutting, so we won’t bother refuting it piece by piece since that would be a waste of time.

We do want to address at least a few aspects of his paper, specifically his appeal to the Jews for Judaism website’s response to the Trinitarian interpretation of Genesis 1:26. Their response can be found here.

We will post their article in its entirety followed up with our rebuttal. All of our biblical citations will be taken from the Jewish Publication Society translation (JPS). First the passage in question:

"And God said: ‘Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness; and let THEM have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ And God created MAN in HIS OWN image, in the image of GOD created He HIM; MALE and FEMALE created HE THEM." Gen. 1:26-27

The Jewish argument is:

Answer: Trinitarian Christians maintain that Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 11:7 are prooftexts of an alleged tri-unity god, but this claim is erroneous. The inference that "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26) refers to the plurality of God is refuted by the subsequent verse, which relates the creation of man to a singular God, "And God created man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). In this verse the Hebrew verb "created" appears in the singular form. If "let us make man" indicates a numerical plurality, it would be followed in the next verse by, "And they created man in their image." Obviously, the plural form is used in the same way as in the divine appellation 'Elohim, to indicate the all- inclusiveness of God's attributes of authority and power, the plurality of majesty. It is customary for one in authority to speak of himself as if he were a plurality. Hence, Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your counsel what we shall do" (2 Samuel 16:20). The context shows that he was seeking advice for himself' yet he refers to himself as "we" (see also Ezra 4:16-19).

There is another possible reason for the use of the plural on the part of God, and that is to manifest His humility. God addresses Himself to the angels and says to them, "Let us make man in our image." It is not that He invites their help, but as a matter of modesty and courtesy, God associates them with the creation of man. This teaches us that a great man should act humbly and consult with those lower than him. It is not unusual for God to refer to His heavenly court (angels) as "us," as we see in Isaiah 6:8, "And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'" Although God often acts without assistance, He makes His intentions known to His servants. Thus, we find "Shall I conceal from Abraham that which I am doing" (Genesis 18:17); "He made known His ways to Moses, His doings to the children of Israel" (Psalms 103:7); "For the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

A misconception similar to that concerning Genesis 1:27 is held by trinitarian Christians with reference to the verse, "Come, let us go down, and there confound their language" (Genesis 11:7). Here, too, the confounding of the language is related in verse 9 to God alone, ". . . because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth." In this verse the Hebrew verb "did" appears in the singular form. Also, the descent is credited in verse 5 to the Lord alone, "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower." In this verse the Hebrew verb "came down" appears in the singular form. If a doctrine of plurality of persons is to be based on the grammatical form of words, the frequent interchanging of the singular and the plural should vitiate such an attempt as being without foundation or merit. We may safely conclude that the Bible refutes most emphatically every opinion, which deviates from the concept of an indivisible unity of God.

Chapter 45 of Isaiah, using the Tetragrammaton, unequivocally asserts that the Lord alone is the creator and ruler of all things in the universe. The six uses of 'Elohim in this chapter (verses 3, 5, 14, 15, 18, 21) show that the term 'Elohim is synonymous with the Tetragrammaton, and that both epithets refer to the absolute one-and-only God. The singularity of God, expressed in the first-person singular in verse 12, clearly shows who is meant by the phrase, "Let us create man in our image": "I, even I, have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

As for the Messiah, of him God says, "And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David prince among them; I the Lord have spoken" (Ezekiel 34:23-24). The Lord alone will be worshipped as God, while the Messiah, as the servant of God, lives with the people. God and the Messiah are not and cannot be equals, for it is God alone who gives the Messiah power to rule in the capacity of His appointed servant.

RESPONSE:

It is truly intriguing to find Mr. Gerald Sigal (the writer) arguing against the Trinitarian interpretation on the basis that the passages refer to God in the singular, on the basis that singular verbs are employed. The heart of Trinitarianism is that there is only one eternal God, not two, three, four etc. Mr. Sigal has confused Trinitarianism with tritheism, the belief in three gods. Since God is only one eternal Being, we would therefore expect to find singular verbs being used of him. The question is not whether God is addressed in the singular, or spoken of as one, but whether this rules out the possibility of God also existing in a plurality of some sense.

At this point, Mr. Sigal seems to be confused and clearly contradicts himself. Despite saying that the use of the singular rules out God being a Trinity, he then goes on to posit the possibility that God may have been consulting the angels in the creation of man! If the use of singular verbs and the singular "God" rule out the possibility of God being a multi-personal Being, then the same logic must apply to Sigal's claim that God was consulting angels. But if Sigal allows for the possibility that God was addressing the angelic host, despite the use of singular verbs and God being spoken of in the singular, then on what grounds does he wish to rule out the Trinitarian interpretation, that God is addressing the other members of the Godhead? It clearly doesn't have anything to do with the use of the singular. Even more: Not only God is spoken about in singular and plural in these verses; man is too. God refers to himself in the plural in verse 26a, but Sigal claims that the singular in 27a "undoes" the plural in 26a. Would he similarly argue, that the singular for man in the first part of verse 27 (man, him) "undoes" the plural for man in the last part of verse 27 (male and female, them; both of which are clearly seen as part of the singular mentioning of man that came before)? If he would not argue that way for the statement about man in the very same verse, why should we accept such an argument as proof against the Trinitarian understanding? (For further discussion, see this article.)

Furthermore, the author erroneously assumes that the reference to David in Ezekiel is actually referring to the Messiah, which is not at all certain. Ezekiel may in fact be speaking of king David being resurrected from the dead to dwell with the redeemed of the Lord. After all, the Hebrew Bible does refer to the resurrection of both believers and unbelievers:

"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:1-3

There are clear biblical references that the Messiah will indeed be worshiped as eternal King since he is identified with Yahweh God himself:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord is our righteousness." Jeremiah 23:5-6

The righteous King who descends from David is called by God’s own covenant name!

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of days, and he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14

Many rabbinic Jews throughout the centuries have interpreted both these references messianicly.

We, therefore, have clear biblical evidence that the Messiah isn’t simply a mere human being, but is actually a divine figure who shall be served by all peoples for all eternity.

Here, now, is our exegesis of Genesis 1:26-27, taken and modified from one of our rebuttals. In presenting this material, we will essentially be rebutting the arguments set forth by the Jews for Judaism website.

To begin with, the very chapter of Genesis 1 provides evidence that the one God who was responsible for creating man is actually a multi-personal Being. We read in verse 2:

"Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2

Here, we see the Spirit of God hovering over the primordial waters, an indication that God's Spirit was involved in the creation process. With the foregoing in mind, we can now take another look at Genesis 1:26-27:

"And God said: 'Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness; and let THEM have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." And God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, in THE IMAGE OF GOD created HE him; male and female created HE THEM." Genesis 1:26-27

These verses explicitly show that the plural pronouns are used in reference to the One God who made man in His OWN image. There are three main interpretations that are often given to explain the use of these plural pronouns.

1.  God is speaking with angels. This interpretation is ruled out by the fact that the text says that man was created in God's own image. Man is never said to be created in the image of angels. Other passages affirm this point:

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in THE IMAGE OF GOD made HE man. Genesis 9:6

Furthermore, we are clearly told in Genesis 2 that God alone created man:

"Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul... And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man." Genesis 2:7, 21-22

The Scriptures are also clear that angels took no part in creation:

"Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Who ALONE stretcheth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Who maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south." Job 9:7-9

"Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb: I am the Lord, that maketh all things; that stretched forth the heavens ALONE; that spread abroad the earth by MYSELF;" Isaiah 44:24

Someone may interject and claim that Genesis 1:26 need not imply that man was created in the image of God and angels, but that angels were also created in God's image. This would then mean that God was telling the heavenly council that man would bear God's image much like the angels. The only problem with this claim is that nowhere do the Holy Scriptures say that angels are also created in God's image. The burden of proof rests upon those who claim otherwise.

2.  God is speaking of himself in a majestic way, known as the plural of majesty. The only problem with this view is that the plural of majesty is unattested in biblical literature in relation to pronouns. Attempts have been made to show examples from the Holy Bible where the plural of majesty is used in relation to pronouns, i.e. 1 Kings. 12:9, 2 Chronicles 10:9 and Ezra 4:18. Yet a careful examination of the context of these passages will show that none of them prove the use of the plural of majesty in regards to pronouns:

"And king Rehoboam took counsel with THE OLD MEN, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?' And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.' But he forsook the counsel of THE OLD MEN which they had given him, and took counsel with THE YOUNG MEN that were grown up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them: 'What counsel give YE, that WE may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?'" 1 Kings 12:6-9

"And king Rehoboam took counsel with THE OLD MEN, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?' And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.' But he forsook the counsel of THE OLD MEN which they had given him, and took counsel with THE YOUNG MEN that were grown up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them: 'What counsel give YE, that WE may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?'" 2 Chronicles 10:6-9

It is clear from the context of these verses that the "WE" refers to the king and his men, to the royal court. The king is not speaking of himself only.

This is substantiated by the following passages:

"Moreover Hezekiah the king AND THE PRINCES COMMANDED the Levites to sing praises unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves." 2 Chronicles 29:30

"So the posts went with the letters from the king AND HIS PRINCES throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying: 'Ye children of Israel, turn back unto the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to the remnant that are escaped of you out of the hand of the kings of Assyria… Also in Judah was the hand of God to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king AND OF THE PRINCES by the word of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 30:6, 12

We note here that King Hezekiah along with his officials pass on decrees to the people. This adds support to my claim that Rehoboam's "we" statement didn't solely refer to himself, but included his advisors as well.

Finally:

"Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the commander, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the River: 'Peace, and now the letter which ye sent unto US hath been plainly read BEFORE ME. And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, impost, and toll, was paid unto them. Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me. And take heed that ye be not slack herein; why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?'" Ezra 4:17-22

The context is clear enough to demonstrate that the use of "US" refers to the king and his royal court. This is also seen from the king's use of "BEFORE ME" with the implication being that the letter was read aloud before the king's men.

The following is another passage that is used to support the plural of majesty:

"This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation." Daniel 2:36

"The astrologers answered the king, ‘There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.’ This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: ‘Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.’ Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.’ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, ‘I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.’ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), ‘Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?’ Daniel replied, ‘No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.’" Daniel 2:10-30

"‘The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.’ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, ‘Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.’" Daniel 2:45-47

Hence, Daniel's "we" refers to the fact that it is God who revealed both the dream that the king saw and its interpretation through his inspired spokesperson.

It may even include Daniel's friends since they too sought God to reveal the dream and its interpretation for the purpose of saving themselves from the fate decreed on the rest of the wise men (cf. 2:18). In light of this all four would have known the dream and its interpretation so that all four could be saved. It can be further inferred from 2:49 that his three companions were present. All of these factors strongly suggest that Daniel also spoke on behalf of his three friends and as such the plural does not refer to Daniel alone. Otherwise, we would have to assume that Daniel withheld such vitally pertinent information from his friends which would affect whether they lived or died!

3.  God is speaking to the other members of the Godhead. There are at least two reasons why this interpretation is correct. First, earlier in Genesis we saw that God's Spirit was involved in the creation process, a point reiterated elsewhere in the Holy Bible:

"Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of the earth." Psalm 104:30

"The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty given me life." Job 33:4

Job states that God's Spirit made him, affirming that the Spirit of God was involved in the creation of man. This definitely shows that God was speaking to at least one other Person in Genesis 1:26.

The second line of evidence comes from Genesis 1:26-27 itself. There we are told that God created MAN (singular). And yet the one man is actually more than one person, since the passage shows that the one man is both male and female. This is reiterated in the following passages:

"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created MAN, in the likeness of God made He him; MALE AND FEMALE created He THEM, and blessed them, AND CALLED THEIR NAME ADAM, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth." Genesis 5:1-3

And:

"And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and THEY shall be ONE FLESH." Genesis 2:20-24

Woman came out of man to be united to him as his helper, and together they form one flesh.

Therefore, since man is multi-personal and is created in the image of God, this means that God is also multi-personal. This accounts for God's use of the plural pronouns.

With this behind us, we can now turn our attention to a few of Osama’s objections:

My response:

I am not trying to twist anything here.  It is also you who is lying because anyone who is familiar with my site knows well that I use for the most part the NIV Bible for the biblical quotes, and the English translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali for the Noble Quran.  You knew this very well and yet, you're trying to fabricate a new lie against me and my integrity.

The Arabic Noble Verse Says "...thalithun thalath.....", which means "a third entity from three".  So the English translation is actually almost accurate, since the lie of trinity means exactly that.

RESPONSE:

Osama claims that he wasn’t trying to deceive his readers by quoting an inaccurate translation. This is despite the fact that he willfully used this very same mistranslation by Ali to give the misleading impression that the Quran actually does mention the word Trinity. Osama can’t plead ignorance at this point since he cites the Arabic and even goes so far as to render it as, "a third entity from three." Even this is not entirely correct, since the Arabic here doesn’t contain a word for entity. The more accurate translation would be "the third of three."

Yet taking Osama’s own rendering at face value, this would only further prove our point. Trinitarianism does not teach that God is the third entity of three, but rather that God is one eternal entity, or Being, existing as three Persons. The problem is compounded when we realize that according to Muslims, Allah of Islam is believed to be the same entity which we Christians call the Father, even though Islam doesn’t accept the title Father as something appropriate for God. In other words, Muslims believe that the One whom Christians address (albeit wrongly) as the Father of our risen Lord Jesus Christ is actually the One whom they worship as Allah, and he alone is God.

With the forgoing in mind, this means that the Quranic text is actually teaching that Christians believe that God the Father is the third of three, a gross distortion of what we really believe. In Trinitarianism, the Father is not the third of three, but he is the First of the Three Persons of God. Thus, even if Osama tries to interpret the Arabic Quran to mean Persons, that Allah is the third Person of three, this would still be wrong.

For more on this issue please read the following articles:

Osama responds to my challenge to him to produce one verse where it says that the Spirit created us:

My response:

The very first Noble Verse, 32:9, that I mentioned does talk about all humans and not just Adam.  Here is a more thorough text for the reader:

"He Who has made everything which He has created most good: He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay, And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised: But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!  (The Noble Quran, 32:7-9)"

"He began the creation of man" and "And He gave YOU (the faculties of) hearing and sight" clearly and irrefutably prove that Allah Almighty is Talking about all mankind and not just Adam, peace be upon him.

RESPONSE:

It is obvious that Osama didn’t bother reading the text carefully since it soundly refutes him:

"He Who has made everything which He has created most good: He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay, And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised: But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into HIM something of His spirit. And He gave YOU (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do YE give!  S. 32:7-9

Notice the change in referents, i.e. HIM in contrast to YOU. The verses are clearly differentiating the creation of the first man Adam by God’s Spirit, with the rest of mankind, and that is why the Quran’s author changes referents. This, therefore, doesn’t prove Osama’s point, nor does it satisfy my challenge. So we issue the challenge again:

Please produce one single verse which says that the Spirit created all of us.

Osama claims that the biblical citations regarding the creation of life in the womb do not prohibit abortion:

My response:

It's funny how Shamoun didn't bold any word in any of the biblical verses that he presented above.  None of them show that abortion is prohibited.

None of them say that the fetus has a spirit!

Osama again makes it obvious that he didn’t bother reading the texts carefully, nor did he understand my point, since I wasn’t basing my argument on a child being human only at the moment he/she is given a spirit or soul. The references clearly speak of life beginning at conception, and the Bible condemns the murdering of innocent life. Therefore, to abort a baby while in his mother’s womb is murder in the eyes of God since the child isn’t merely an embryo but an actual human being, a real living entity created in the image of God.

Furthermore, according to the Bible, a human being is considered a living entity when it has a soul:

"Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7

In fact, death occurs the moment the soul departs from a person:

"And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was still some way to come to Ephrath; and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the mid-wife said unto her: 'Fear not; for this also is a son for thee.' And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing--for she died--that she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem." Genesis 35:16-19

"For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all return to dust. Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?" Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

Thus, these passages lead us to make the inference that a child’s soul or spirit is created at the very moment of conception, since the child is said to be alive precisely when he/she is conceived. There is additional evidence substantiating this:

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:26- 38 ESV

Mary conceived Jesus when Elizabeth was already six months pregnant with John the Baptist. During that time, the Bible says that Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and when she arrived, something amazing happened:

"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’" Luke 1:39-45 ESV

Here, John leaps before Mary while still in his mother’s womb in honor of Christ. This proves that a child is a real human being right at the moment of conception since Mary had just conceived Christ when John leapt before the Lord.

The hadiths, on the other hand, emphatically state that the baby doesn’t even have a soul until the 120^th day of conception. So, it is the Islamic religion which dehumanizes a baby by denying that it is a living soul for the first 120 days of its life.

These were essentially Osama’s main points, since everything else he wrote was simply gibberish.

In his second "rebuttal" (here), Osama posts a series of articles, many of which were taken from the Bismikaallahuma site, attacking the blessed Apostle Paul. Most of these articles have already been responded to and can be found here:

We also encourage our readers to read for themselves what the oldest Islamic sources have said about Paul:

The truth is that Muhammad is not even worthy to be placed alongside Paul, let alone the Lord Jesus, since Paul was a beacon of holiness and moral purity, whereas Muhammad was the epitome of immorality, lies, deception, filth and murder. For more on Muhammad's filth, and the evidence showing how vastly superior Paul is to him, please consult the following links:

Nothing more needs to be said about that second part.

We remain by God’s sovereign grace in the service of the glorious and eternally blessed Triune God, Yahweh Elohim, all praise be to his name alone! Amen. Come Lord Jesus come. We love you and will always serve you by God’s grace.

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