by I. Ahmad Source: Al Hakam

Prophet Isa, peace be on him, was a noble prophet and messenger of God Almighty. As a prophet subordinate to Moses, peace be on him, he presented the Mosaic Law in its true form to the Children of Israel and endeavoured to guide them to the right path. Although the Israelites of Palestine generally rejected him, he migrated from Palestine, travelling through Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually arriving in the Indian subcontinent. He preached to all the Jewish tribes who had migrated to these regions due to the invasions of Shalmaneser and the calamities of Babylon. Ultimately, he passed away in Kashmir, where his tomb is still present today in Khanyar, Srinagar.

However, as many Christian scholars have also been compelled to admit, after his migration, Paul began to corrupt his teachings. Although the original Christian community in Palestine, which operated under the supervision of Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, outright rejected Paul and his teachings, Paul found success among the Greeks and other nations to whom Jesuswas not even sent. He distorted the original Christianity, which was based on the Mosaic Law and adhered to the true teachings of Jesus, peace be on him. This corruption culminated in seven fundamental changes to Christianity.

The first change

Jesus repeatedly taught the lesson of Tauhid (the Oneness of God). He believed in and preached One God. Although the current New Testament is plagued by alterations, contradictions, and discrepancies, there is still no mention of the Trinity anywhere within it, nor does the word Trinity” even appear, which is defined as the belief that there are three hypostases in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are absolutely equal in their knowledge, will, status, and authority. Yet, there is a real distinction between them: he who is the Father is not the Son, he who is the Son is not the Father, and the Holy Spirit is entirely separate from the Father and the Son. Despite this, God is not three, but one.

However, neither the word Trinity” nor this explanation of it can be found in the words of Jesus, peace be on him.

Due to connections with India and Greece, their Trinitarian concepts entered Christianity. As the Holy Quran states concerning these beliefs:

They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before them.” (Holy Quran, Ch.9: V.30).

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 29,30 it is written:

And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

In Mark, chapter 10, verses 17-18, it is written:

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

The Church claims that Jesus, son of Mary taught the Trinity. We say that Jesusnever used the word Trinity,” nor did he provide the explanation that forms the Church’s doctrine. Instead, Jesus repeatedly affirmed that God is One and acknowledged the One God.

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him states:

The doctrine of Trinity is also rather peculiar. Has anyone ever heard of something being permanently and perfectly ‘three’ and ‘one’ at the same time? Or that one God should be as perfect as three Gods?”⁶

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as_, Chashma-e-Masihi, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, p. 348).

The second change

The second change the Christian Church made to the teachings of Jesusof Nazareth was to declare Jesus of Nazareth – who was in every respect, from every angle, and in every aspect a human being – to be God, despite him being human.

They presented the teaching that Jesusof Nazareth, while being fully human in every respect and possessing all the limitations found in human beings, was also, in every respect, from every angle, and in every aspect God.

As far as the sayings and statements of Jesusare concerned, he never taught this conundrum. Rather, everywhere and always, he referred to himself as the Son of Man.” The Greek expression used for this in the New Testament is:

Greek Transliteration – ton huion tou anthropou

Translation: the Son of the man

Although Urdu translations attempt to obscure this by rendering it as Ibn-e-Adam (the son of Adam), the reality is that Jesusnever uttered a single word about his own divinity. Everywhere, he described himself as one sent by the Father and one who obeys the Father’s words.

If the Church’s conundrum is accepted, one must concede that:

• Jesuspossessed complete knowledge of the unseen because he was God, yet he had no knowledge of the unseen at all because he was human.
• Jesuswas the possessor of complete power, authority, and might because he was God, yet as a weak human, he possessed all human weaknesses within himself.
• Jesuswas entirely free from eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, and suffering pain and affliction, yet as a weak human, he ate, drank, slept, woke, and suffered pain and affliction.
• As God, Jesuswas free from every kind of sin, yet as a descendant of Adam, he was inherently sinful like all other humans.
• As God, he was a perfect knower of all knowledge, yet as a human, he did not even know what or who was behind his back.

Jesus states very clearly in (John 10:30-37) that there is no distinction or peculiarity in me and other saintly and holy people, insofar as the applicability of the words ‘son of Allah’ or ‘god’ that has been frequently applied in the Bible for Prophets and the like.

The third change

The third change made to the teaching and practice of Jesus was that, while Jesus adhered to the Mosaic Law with full intensity and observance and taught the same to his disciples, making adherence to the commandments of the Mosaic Law essential for salvation, later, as a result of Paul’s teachings, Christians gradually abandoned the practice of the Mosaic Law. Paul declared the Law to be a curse. Subsequently, the Church adopted the doctrine that for salvation, it is not necessary to act upon the Law; it is only necessary to believe that Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins and accepted death on the cross.

Jesusnever gave this teaching. You may read the four Gospels, and you will nowhere find this teaching from Jesus– that there is no longer a need to follow the Mosaic Law and that to attain salvation, one must believe in his death on the cross.

In Matthew, chapter 5, verses 17-20, it is written:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20).

Then, in Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16-21, it is written:

Then, in Matthew, chapter 23, it is written:

Then, in Matthew, chapter 22, verses 35-40, it is written:

If Jesus had taught the abandonment of the Mosaic Law and, as Paul wrote, declared the Mosaic Law a curse, then why did Jesus present this very point to strengthen his teachings?

All these references make it abundantly clear that Jesus considered the Mosaic Law to be the word of God, and the New Testament explicitly shows that Jesus deemed the Mosaic Law to be binding. However, after Jesus, the Christian Church did not consider the Mosaic Law to be binding, and as is evident from the books of the New Testament that follow the Gospels, this was the result of Paul’s teachings.

The fourth change

This change is a continuation and completion of the third change. As has been stated, Jesus considered the Old Testament to be his holy book; he read it and acted upon it. However, after the event of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Church’s alleged view of his ascension to heaven, the Gospels and epistles of the New Testament were gradually, over several centuries, given the status of God’s word and holy scripture. Everyone knows that the Gospels and epistles of the New Testament were written after Jesus. Their authors had no inkling that they were composing a holy book. Every Christian is aware that Jesus neither read nor saw these books, nor did he declare them to be Holy scripture, nor did he call them the word of God. The reality is that even the authors of these books did not declare their own works to be the word of God. Christian scholars are well aware that these books contain contradictions, discrepancies, interpolations, and omissions.

For example, the entire story of the woman caught in adultery was added later to the Gospel of John. At the end of the Gospel of Mark, a passage was added to send Jesus to heaven. In a manuscript like the Codex Sinaiticus, additions and changes were later made by nine different hands, and the original manuscript of Luke contains no mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven, which was added later.

The fifth change

Among the changes made to the teachings and actions of Jesus after his time is the doctrine that salvation is attained by believing in the crucifixion of Jesus, instead of considering faith and the grace to perform good deeds, through God’s favour, as the means of salvation.

In the Gospel of Mark, it is written:

And as he went forth into the way, a certain man ran to him, and kneeling before him, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”(Mark 10:17-21).

The sixth change

The sixth change that the Church made after Jesus is the belief that Jesus died on the cross. However, even a cursory study of the Gospels makes it clear that although it was thought that Jesus had died on the cross, after this, he is seen walking, eating, drinking, meeting his disciples, and cautiously trying to avoid his enemies.

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, has proven with very solid scholarly and rational arguments that Jesus^as of Nazareth was saved from death on the cross.

According to the Bible’s statement, death on the cross is a cursed death. Since Jesus of Nazareth was a beloved servant of God, it is necessary that God Almighty saved him from death on the cross, just as Jesus himself prophesied that the people of that age would be given a sign like that of the Prophet Jonah.

The seventh change

The seventh change made to the teachings of Jesusafter his time was that after the event of the crucifixion, Jesus was raised to heaven and will at some time descend from heaven.

The belief of Jesus’s ascension to heaven is entirely fabricated. The Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew, which are attributed to the apostles, make absolutely no mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven. Rather, they clearly state that some days after the event of the crucifixion, Jesus went to Galilee, and there he met with his disciples. And it has been proven concerning the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke that the mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven in them is entirely an interpolation and a later addition. All serious biblical scholars understand and accept this fact well.

Full Text: https://www.alhakam.org/the-seven-great-errors-of-the-church/