Allah (SWT),who named Himself Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent) and Ar-Rahim (The Merciful) is also Al-Ghafoor (The Forgiving). His Mercy overtakes His punishment and anger. He is more merciful to His creations than a mother can be to her infants. He created "man with weakness"; thus He knows and we should know that "to err is human," and "no one is perfect."
Satan, the cursed one, out of envy to Adam, has promised to himself "to attack children of Adam on their way to their journey toward God, so that those who fall prey to his attack will also have the same fate as himself (I'll take you down with me!). So he says, "I'll attack men from the front, behind and sides." (7:17) This means he will disguise himself as our friend, as our opponent, and side distractions of the world. He will then make us do wrong by presenting evil as good (poison candy in a nice wrapper), making us angry, jealous, envious, just "follow-the-leader" type, and we wrong ourselves and fall prey to his temptation. Satan and his followers have a feast of joy and laugh at man's foolishness, until the man realizes his mistakes, repents and asks for forgiveness and he is forgiven, and then Satan cries again.
Giving up Hope of the Mercy of Allah is a crime in itself:
"Say: 'O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of God: for God forgives all sins (except shirk): for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'" (39:53)
"And it is He who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deed and knows what you do." (42:25)
In order for forgiveness to be accepted, these conditions should be met:
(1) The crime is committed out of ignorance, not with the intention that, "Let us go ahead and commit this crime as Allah is forgiving, so He will forgive us.";
(2) Quickly turn into shame and repentance after committing a crime out of ignorance;
(3) After asking for forgiveness, make a promise or pledge to "mend his ways", and to stick to his promise. Let us examine verses of Quran.
"...if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (your conduct), lo! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (6:54)
"Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah towards those who do evil out of ignorance and then turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah. Toward them will Allah turn in mercy; for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom." (4:17)
"Forgiveness is not for those who do ill until death faces one of them, who then says, 'Lo! I repent now, nor for those who die as disbelievers, for such we have prepared a painful doom.'" (4:18)
IS ANY CRIME OR TOO MANY CRIMES TOO BIG TO BE FORGIVEN?Let us examine two Hadith.
1) Hadith Qudsi: Allah, the Almighty, has said:
O Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me ascribing no partners to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.
2) Prophet (SW) has said:
A certain person had committed 99 murders. He went to a scholar and asked, is there any chance of my being forgiven? The scholar said no, you have committed too many crimes. The man killed the scholar too, but his heart was restless, so he went to another scholar and asked the same question. He was told yes, but you must leave this town of bad people and go live in the next town in the company of good people.
So the man set out to the town he was told to go to. On the way he died. A man passing by saw two angels arguing over his dead body. The Angel from Hell said, 'His body belongs to me as he had not done any good in his life.' The Angel from Heaven said, 'His body belongs to me as he had repented and was set out to be with good people.' The man who was the passer-by said, 'Let us measure the distance of his body from the town he left and the town he was going to.'
This was done. He was found to be nearer to the town he was going to. In another version, the earth was ordered by Allah to shrink and make the distance smaller, so that he was admitted to Heaven.
How does Allah forgive us?
When we commit a sin, four witnesses are established against us.
a) The place we did the crime (i.e., scene of the murder).
"On that day, the earth will reveal all its secrets." (99:4)
b) The organ we used to commit the crime. "When their ears, their eyes, their skin will testify against them." (41:21)
"That day we seal up mouths, and hands speak out and feet bear witness to all that they did." (36:65)
c) The Angels who record the deeds (Kiraman Katebeen).
"The honored writers know what you do." (82:11)
d) "We record that which they send before them, and their footprints, and all things we have kept in a clear register." (36:12)
Now, with four such strong witnesses, how can we present ourselves to Allah? So He (the Al-Wakeel--the Defender), like a smart lawyer, removes all the witnesses against those whose repentance has been accepted, so that we present ourselves with a clean record. Case dissolved due to lack of witnesses. Hadith is like this. "When Allah accepts repentance and forgives His servant, then recording angels erase their records, organs lose their memories, and earth removes its stains of evidence so that when that person appears before Allah, there is no one to be a witness against him. Subhan Allah.
How to ask for forgiveness when Adam and Eve realized they had done wrong but did not know how to ask for forgiveness:
Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of forgiveness, and his Lord turned toward him, for He is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful. (2:37)
What were those words taught to Adam?
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged our souls and if you forgive us not, and bestow not upon us your mercy, we shall be losers. (7:23)
How did the Prophet Muhammad (AS) teach Aisha (RA) to ask for forgiveness in Ramadan?
O my Lord, forgive me, because you love to forgive, thus forgive me, O you Merciful!
Remember, asking for forgiveness is not just for our sins, but also for our needs as well.
And I have said! Seek forgiveness from your Lord. Lo! He is oft-forgiving (if you ask for forgiveness). He will give you plenty of rain, He will give you wealth and sons, and assign you Heaven and Rivers in the Heaven. (Surah Nuh:10-12)
Thus after repenting and asking for forgiveness, we must mend our ways and not go back to Kufr and fall prey to the tactics of Satan again. While we expect Allah to be kind and merciful and forgive our major and minor sins, we should be forgiving towards our fellow human beings!
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Why bad things happen (to good people)?
Our lord tells us that there will be someone who has lived a life on earth so good that he will say he has never had any bad experiences, then he will be dipped in the fire of Hell for a few moments and asked the same question and he will reply that he has never experienced anything good. Such is the horror of hell. Another will have suffered on earth to the extent that he will say he had never had any good experiences on earth but he will be dipped in Paradise for a few moments and he will say that he has never had any bad expeeriences. Such is the incomprehensible awe of Jannah (paradise).
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Scripture Corruptions
“Then woe to those who write the book with their own hands and then say: ‘This is from God’, to traffic with it for a miserable price. Woe to them for what their hands do write and for the gain they make thereby.” (Quran 2:79)
“And when there came to them a messenger from God, Confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the book threw away the book of God behind their backs as if (it had been something) they did not know.” (Quran 2:101)
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I (God) command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Bible Scholars on the Bible:
“..Yes, the Bible is human, although some out of zeal which is not according to knowledge, have denied this. Those books have passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of men, were penned by the hands of men and bear in their style the characteristics of men….It is Human, Yet Divine,”(W Graham Scroggie, p. 17).
“...Not so the New Testament...There is condensation and editing; there is choice reproduction and witness. The Gospels have come through the mind of the church behind the authors. They represent experience and history...” (The Call of the Minaret, Kenneth Cragg, p 277).
“It is well known that the primitive Christian Gospel was initially transmitted by word of mouth and that this oral tradition resulted in variant reporting of word and deed. It is equally true that when the Christian record was committed to writing it continued to be the subject of verbal variation. Involuntary and intentional, at the hands of scribes and editors.” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, p. 633).
“Yet, as a matter of fact, every book of the New Testament with the exception of the four great Epistles of St. Paul is at present more or less the subject of controversy, and interpolations are asserted even in these.”(Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 12th Ed. Vol. 3, p. 643).
“[the New Testament had] in many passages undergone such serious modification of meaning as to leave us in painful uncertainty as to what the Apostles had actually written”(Secrets of Mount Sinai, James Bentley, p. 117).
“Besides the larger discrepancies, such as these, there is scarcely a verse in which there is not some variation of phrase in some copies [of the ancient manuscripts from which the Bible has been collected]. No one can say that these additions or omissions or alterations are matters of mere indifference”(Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, Dr. Frederic Kenyon, Eyre and Spottiswoode, p. 3).
“And when there came to them a messenger from God, Confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the book threw away the book of God behind their backs as if (it had been something) they did not know.” (Quran 2:101)
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I (God) command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Bible Scholars on the Bible:
“..Yes, the Bible is human, although some out of zeal which is not according to knowledge, have denied this. Those books have passed through the minds of men, are written in the language of men, were penned by the hands of men and bear in their style the characteristics of men….It is Human, Yet Divine,”(W Graham Scroggie, p. 17).
“...Not so the New Testament...There is condensation and editing; there is choice reproduction and witness. The Gospels have come through the mind of the church behind the authors. They represent experience and history...” (The Call of the Minaret, Kenneth Cragg, p 277).
“It is well known that the primitive Christian Gospel was initially transmitted by word of mouth and that this oral tradition resulted in variant reporting of word and deed. It is equally true that when the Christian record was committed to writing it continued to be the subject of verbal variation. Involuntary and intentional, at the hands of scribes and editors.” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, p. 633).
“Yet, as a matter of fact, every book of the New Testament with the exception of the four great Epistles of St. Paul is at present more or less the subject of controversy, and interpolations are asserted even in these.”(Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 12th Ed. Vol. 3, p. 643).
“[the New Testament had] in many passages undergone such serious modification of meaning as to leave us in painful uncertainty as to what the Apostles had actually written”(Secrets of Mount Sinai, James Bentley, p. 117).
“Besides the larger discrepancies, such as these, there is scarcely a verse in which there is not some variation of phrase in some copies [of the ancient manuscripts from which the Bible has been collected]. No one can say that these additions or omissions or alterations are matters of mere indifference”(Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, Dr. Frederic Kenyon, Eyre and Spottiswoode, p. 3).
The only way to happiness in this world and the next
This is very important as there are many ways to make one happy and to live happily in this world but to find peace and happiness in the next, there is only one Way(deen) i.e God's way. Islam is to submit your will to God Almighty and not follow any other way. This means not submitting to yourself, your own selfish desires as you feel like it, not submitting to any other than your Lord that created you. In short, you do what God wants you to do not what you want to do. This is a test of patience and obedience, and numerous examples are given in all the religious scriptures of having this kind of devotion, such as prophet Ibrahim(Abraham) when he was told to sacrifice his son. Job when he was inflicted with disease and suffering.
But all religions preach good, why not follow any?
The simple answer is that although they fundamentally preach Monotheism (the central theme of submitting to God and attaining success without which all deeds are annulled) they then go on to teach Polytheism the greatest of evils and other things which are not from God. this is because all relgions were from scriptures and prophets sent by Allah but people changed them. The Quran is the only one and the final revelation from our creator that He has promised will be preserved until the sun rises from the west. So why use an older version which is outdated when a new more accurate and updated version is available from the same authentic source that gave it to you in the first place. In other words why use Microsoft Windows 95 when we have Windows Vista?
But all religions preach good, why not follow any?
The simple answer is that although they fundamentally preach Monotheism (the central theme of submitting to God and attaining success without which all deeds are annulled) they then go on to teach Polytheism the greatest of evils and other things which are not from God. this is because all relgions were from scriptures and prophets sent by Allah but people changed them. The Quran is the only one and the final revelation from our creator that He has promised will be preserved until the sun rises from the west. So why use an older version which is outdated when a new more accurate and updated version is available from the same authentic source that gave it to you in the first place. In other words why use Microsoft Windows 95 when we have Windows Vista?
Why so strict?
All religion is strict and society tells us that we should be 'free'. This freedom however is a false illusion. Although society tells us we are free, from a young age we are indirectly and purposely influenced with ideas that tell us how to behave and think which are more often than not contrary to religion. We forget that our lives are short that we will not live forever. If we were to live on earth forever theere would be no need for rules we could do what we want. However this short life is just a preparation for the next life which will last forever. So instead of trying to do the impossible and resist our Creator, to whom we must all inevitably return, just submit to him and be at peace (i.e.Islam-which means Surrender, Submission, Obedience, Sincerity, Peace). People are hopelessly trying to stop the aging process, living as if they will never die. Youngsters are killing eachother because they have been consumed by greed, arrogance and pride which is constantly being pumped into their brains through music films and other media. They no longer worship God but worship themselves and their gun-toting heroes. There is no longer a functioning family structure, with gender confusion and soaring suicide and murder rates. Because the soul is out of shape and people are unaware of the soul they need to fill the gap, so they indulge in worldly things which will never satisfy them. A car needs petrol but if you fill it with alcohol it may run for a while and give you some distance but at the end of the day the engine is not made for it and will eventuallly be detrimental to the health and function of the engine and vehicle. Similarly, mankind was created to serve his Creator and obey Him, that is our place in nature- and its not for long, how long will you live. We need to 'fuel' our souls with prayer and fasting and living our lives according to God's final messenger Muhammad (pbuh). It may mean sacrificing a lot, but remember you have to give to get. Is it really worth wasting your life out of a child-like wantoness to rebel against your Lord. If you are at school and are studying hard you may be called a geek or a nerd but when you get qualified you may be driving a nice car with financial security and a nice house. If you want to waste time and mess about , okay it may be more fun at the time but the rest of your life may suffer. Just the same way, by working towords Paradise and hoping in Allah's mercy may be a difficult task, especially in these times, but it will pay off in the end. Give up your false freedom and slavery to consumer-controlling corporations and submit to your Lord the natural state for mankind. We are being tested, whereas the angels have no ability to do evil , we do have the ability as well as the ability to do good, and if we still; choose good and obey our Lord Inshallah (God-willing) we will achieve success. The strictness of Islam is there to keep us safe in a world where temptation has taken a new meaning without strict discipline we could so easily fall victim to satan's plans. We must 'nip the problems in the bud' and obey our Lord, who is Al-Alim (The All-Knowing). The Laws of Islam believes in prevention before cure, so lets stay away from temptations all together before we are sucked into a world of confucion and the road to hellfire.
Monday, 11 August 2008
Islam barbaric?Outdated?Medieval?Violent?-
Extract from Christian Website:
'Question: "What does the Bible say about the death penalty / capital punishment?"Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the death penalty for various acts: murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19); adultery (Leviticus 20:10); homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), being a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:5), prostitution (Leviticus 21:9) and rape (Deuteronomy 22:24-25), and several other crimes. However, God often showed mercy when the death penalty was due. David committed adultery and murder, yet God did not demand his life be taken (2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17; 2 Samuel 12:13). Ultimately, each and every sin we commit should result in the death penalty (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, God demonstrates His love for us in not condemning us (Romans 5:8).When the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and asked Him if she should be stoned, Jesus replied, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). This should not be used to indicate that Jesus rejected capital punishment in all instances. Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into breaking the Old Testament Law...they truly did not care about the woman being stoned (where was the man who was caught in adultery?) God was the One who instituted capital punishment: “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). Jesus would support capital punishment in some instances. Jesus also demonstrated grace when capital punishment was due (John 8:1-11). The Apostle Paul definitely recognized the power of the government to institute capital punishment where appropriate (Romans 13:1-5).So, basically, we are back to where we started. Yes, God allows capital punishment. But at the same time, God does not always demand the death penalty when it is due. What should a Christian’s view on the death penalty be, then? First, we must remember that God has instituted capital punishment in His Word; therefore, it would be presumptuous of us to think that we could institute a higher standard than He or be more kind than He. God has the highest standard of any being since He is perfect. This standard applies not only to us but to Himself. Therefore, He loves to an infinite degree, and He has mercy to an infinite degree. We also see that He has wrath to an infinite degree, and it is all maintained in a perfect balance.Second, we must recognize that God has given the government the authority to determine when capital punishment is due (Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7). It is unbiblical to claim that God opposes the death penalty in all instances. Christians should never rejoice when the death penalty is employed, but at the same time, Christians should not fight against the government’s right to execute the perpetrators of the most evil of crimes.'
As the Bible says:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 NASB)
The Lukan parallels (12:49–53,14:25–33) read:
NASB
" 49 I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism* to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father* against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. (Luke 12:49-53)
KJV
"49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. (Luke 12:49-53)
Verse comparison
NASB
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26)
And in Luke 22:35-38
"But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." (Luke 22:36 NASB)
And the related Gospel of Thomas 16 (non-canonical) (SV) reads:
"Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone."
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (KJV)
In lslam punishments are similar but mercy is to be shown but also punish when it is due...
Extract from Christian Website:
'Question: "What does the Bible say about the death penalty / capital punishment?"Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the death penalty for various acts: murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19); adultery (Leviticus 20:10); homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), being a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:5), prostitution (Leviticus 21:9) and rape (Deuteronomy 22:24-25), and several other crimes. However, God often showed mercy when the death penalty was due. David committed adultery and murder, yet God did not demand his life be taken (2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17; 2 Samuel 12:13). Ultimately, each and every sin we commit should result in the death penalty (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, God demonstrates His love for us in not condemning us (Romans 5:8).When the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and asked Him if she should be stoned, Jesus replied, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). This should not be used to indicate that Jesus rejected capital punishment in all instances. Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into breaking the Old Testament Law...they truly did not care about the woman being stoned (where was the man who was caught in adultery?) God was the One who instituted capital punishment: “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). Jesus would support capital punishment in some instances. Jesus also demonstrated grace when capital punishment was due (John 8:1-11). The Apostle Paul definitely recognized the power of the government to institute capital punishment where appropriate (Romans 13:1-5).So, basically, we are back to where we started. Yes, God allows capital punishment. But at the same time, God does not always demand the death penalty when it is due. What should a Christian’s view on the death penalty be, then? First, we must remember that God has instituted capital punishment in His Word; therefore, it would be presumptuous of us to think that we could institute a higher standard than He or be more kind than He. God has the highest standard of any being since He is perfect. This standard applies not only to us but to Himself. Therefore, He loves to an infinite degree, and He has mercy to an infinite degree. We also see that He has wrath to an infinite degree, and it is all maintained in a perfect balance.Second, we must recognize that God has given the government the authority to determine when capital punishment is due (Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7). It is unbiblical to claim that God opposes the death penalty in all instances. Christians should never rejoice when the death penalty is employed, but at the same time, Christians should not fight against the government’s right to execute the perpetrators of the most evil of crimes.'
As the Bible says:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 NASB)
The Lukan parallels (12:49–53,14:25–33) read:
NASB
" 49 I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism* to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father* against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. (Luke 12:49-53)
KJV
"49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. (Luke 12:49-53)
Verse comparison
NASB
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26)
And in Luke 22:35-38
"But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." (Luke 22:36 NASB)
And the related Gospel of Thomas 16 (non-canonical) (SV) reads:
"Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone."
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (KJV)
In lslam punishments are similar but mercy is to be shown but also punish when it is due...
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Who are the real Christians
The Ebionites (Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι Ebionaioi from Hebrew; אביוניםEbyonim, "the Poor Ones") were an early Jewish Christian sect that lived in and around Judea and Palestine from the 1st to the 4th century.[1]
To throw light on the views, practices and history of the Ebionites, modern scholars attempt to reconstruct information from the available sources. Much of what is known about the Ebionites derives from the Church Fathers, who wrote polemics against the Ebionites, whom they deemed heretical Judaizers.[1][2] Some scholars agree with the substance of the traditional portrayal as an offshoot of mainstream Christianity attempting to reestablish Jewish Law.[3][4] According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Ebionite movement may have arisen about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (AD 70).[5] Others have argued that the Ebionites were more faithful to the authentic teachings of Jesus and constituted the mainstream of the Jerusalem church before being gradually marginalized by the followers of Paul of Tarsus.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
In contrast to mainstream Christianity, the Ebionites insisted on a universal necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites,[12] which they interpreted in light of Jesus' expounding of the Law.[13] They regarded Jesus as a mortal human messianic prophet but not as divine, revered his brother James as the head of the Jerusalem Church and rejected Paul of Tarsus as an "apostate of the Law"[citation needed]. Their name suggests that they placed a special value on religious poverty.
Some scholars distinguish the Ebionites from other Jewish Christian groups, e.g. the Nazarenes,[14] while others believe the two names refer to the same sect and that noted disagreements among Jewish Christians do not correspond with these names.[15] Still others contend that the term was not used to describe a single group at all, but rather denoted any group of Christians of that time who sought to adhere both to Jesus and the Jewish law.[16}
To throw light on the views, practices and history of the Ebionites, modern scholars attempt to reconstruct information from the available sources. Much of what is known about the Ebionites derives from the Church Fathers, who wrote polemics against the Ebionites, whom they deemed heretical Judaizers.[1][2] Some scholars agree with the substance of the traditional portrayal as an offshoot of mainstream Christianity attempting to reestablish Jewish Law.[3][4] According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Ebionite movement may have arisen about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (AD 70).[5] Others have argued that the Ebionites were more faithful to the authentic teachings of Jesus and constituted the mainstream of the Jerusalem church before being gradually marginalized by the followers of Paul of Tarsus.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
In contrast to mainstream Christianity, the Ebionites insisted on a universal necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites,[12] which they interpreted in light of Jesus' expounding of the Law.[13] They regarded Jesus as a mortal human messianic prophet but not as divine, revered his brother James as the head of the Jerusalem Church and rejected Paul of Tarsus as an "apostate of the Law"[citation needed]. Their name suggests that they placed a special value on religious poverty.
Some scholars distinguish the Ebionites from other Jewish Christian groups, e.g. the Nazarenes,[14] while others believe the two names refer to the same sect and that noted disagreements among Jewish Christians do not correspond with these names.[15] Still others contend that the term was not used to describe a single group at all, but rather denoted any group of Christians of that time who sought to adhere both to Jesus and the Jewish law.[16}
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