Truth About The Crucifixion — Page 122
and was crucified, while Jesus was raised by God bodily to heaven. (c) The Ahmadi Muslims believe that Jesus was put upon the cross but God Almighty so planned that he was removed from the Cross while he was still alive and was ministered unto and having recovered completely he departed from Judea in search of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He lived to a good old age and died and was buried in Kashmir. They base themselves upon the Holy Quran, the traditions of the Holy Prophet and the writings of the ancient divines. They also rely upon statements in the New Testament which establish beyond doubt that Jesus was put upon the cross but was delivered by God Almighty from death upon the cross and the designs of his enemies were thus frustrated. As is indicated by the title of my address, I shall support my thesis with statements comprised in the New Testament and in the commentaries thereon. It is necessary, however, to state in this context, that we do not consider the books of the New Testament as infallible and binding upon us. They were compiled a long time after the event of the crucifixion and do not possess the status of revealed books. Even the authorship of some of them is in dispute. The words of Jesus himself have not been reproduced in them in their integrity. The method adopted by the ecclesiastical authorities for their selection also shows that these books were not considered as revealed. Besides, their statements sometimes contradict each other. By the time they were compiled the notion that Jesus had died on the cross had gained acceptance. Nevertheless any statements comprised in them which militate against the death of Jesus on the cross would furnish strong evidence that he did not die on the cross. I would preface my address with a brief account of the last few days of the life of Jesus, preceding the event of the crucifixion, 114