De Maria:
…Islam is a man made religion. Proof is that only Mohammed received the alleged revelation without verification nor proof. He did not provide proof by miracles nor did anyone witness the revelation besides him.
In contrast, Jesus provided HIs revelation and was witnessed by thousands. He established a Church which carries His Monotheistic Word in Trinitarian form, by Teaching, Tradition and Scripture. This Good News was witnessed and written by His Apostles and put together with the Old Testament which itself reveals the coming of Christ in signs and foreshadowings…
Those are all excellent points, Maria. The life and miracles of Christ are so historicaly verifiable that it is really amazing. A book I am currently reading, for example, explains how the early Talmud actually details accounts of Christ’s teachings, but warns Jews not to be taken in by these “false” miracles. The Gospels themselves are so powerful because there are differences in the account. One might think that this is actually a problem, but it is important to remember how different persons will view the same event slightly differently, since they are seeing it through the lens of human experience.
#11 refers to “graven images”, and I’d like to make a few comments on that. First, here is a quote from an artist relative of mine, which sheds some light on the subject. “If one uses the amount of space devoted to a subject as indicative of its importance in Scripture, then the design and construction of the art in the ancient temple is more important than the creation of the whole universe.” Likewise, a tremondous amount of text is given to how the Arc of the Covenant was to constructed. Art and beauty have always been important to God, and these attributes have also always followed the people of God. Why should it be surprising, however, that the creator of all would also desire artists and writers to use their own gifts of artistic creation to create works to bring praise to God?
(Brief aside here. Not long ago, I asked a forum member who is of the Islamic faith what his religion had accomplished since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. You know what he admitted? His response was that Islamic cultures had done nothing of any value since that time–nothing in the cultural, artistic, or scientific fields. I respect that gentleman’s honesty, and I think what he was trying to bring attention to was that we are nothing without God. Christians agree with this sentiment also, however, but perhaps the difference is that we believe that God gives us gifts or inspires us to do things for him better than our paltry talents should be able to complete.)
To continue on the earlier theme, do you have pictures of those you love or honor in your home? This kind of thing is no different than having paintings or sculptures of saints or Jesus in our churches. It sets a tone of reverence and draws our eyes to the profound reality of the faith which is all around us. We are not whorsiping the statues, but only using them as tools or objects of encouragement in our walk with Christ.
As far as the Trinity, it is probably important to note that the Bible does not identify this in so many words. It is instead understood or inferred by a careful reading of the Scriptures. It is called a mystery, and we can’t understand it. We accept it on faith–just like you accept your prophet’s unverified revelations by faith.
