Through Force or Faith? — Page 257
Chapter 7 — Novelty in the Teachings of Muhammad 257 sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 16:24). When a Canaanite woman approached him crying for help, he responded by saying, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread, and to throw it to the dogs’ (Matthew 15:26). This was his view about other nations! He prac- ticed the same teachings. All of his twelve disciples belonged to the tribe of Israel. Though towards the end of Gospel of Matthew, following words are attributed to Jesus: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19), it was not in contra- diction to the above mentioned teachings. It only meant that Jesus was telling them to go to all the tribes of Israel that were scattered in many lands. This fact is confirmed by the actual actions of his disciples who received the teachings directly from him (The Acts, 11:1–3; 11:19). Thus, when Paul, who is in fact the founder of present day Christianity, started to convert Gentile (non-Jewish) people to Christianity, he met with resistance from apostles and elders who were taught directly by Jesus, and he had to explain and defend his position in front of them (The Acts, 15). It was the same teachings of Jesus that compelled Paul to declare, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; for the Jews first, and also for the Greek’ (Romans 1:16). This declaration was also Paul’s own innovation, because Jesus was against preaching the gospel to any nation other than the Children of Israel. To read in detail how the Gentiles received the teachings of Jesus, please see The Acts, 11. Islam is the only religion that presents the concept of a uni- versal God. The very first verse in the Holy Quran introduces God as the Lord of all the worlds ( S u rah al-Fāti h ah, 1:2). Islam also teaches that God is the God of all nations, and He sent his messengers to all peoples ( S u rah F āt ir, 35:25) so that all mankind