Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 142
142 Christianity – A Journey from Facts to Fiction four thousand years of their existence, have at least learnt the lesson of Unity which is vital for the spiritual life of any religion. Yet despite this closeness to Islam in the basic doctrines, there are other factors which make the Jews even more adamant in refusing to accept Islam in large numbers. This study leaves me to believe that unless the Jews develop that frame of mind and attitude which is a requisite for the under- standing of Christ as , despite their doctrinal similarities, they will remain farther apart from Islam than the Christians. They have missed a most vital link, that is Jesus Christ as , between them and the advent of Prophet Muhammad sa. This denial of truth has hardened them to such a degree that they are not psychologically prepared to accept any new message. They continue to wait for Christ as , while Christ as has come and gone. Having failed to recognise him once, they are far less likely to recognise him again during his second advent. They are destined, it seems, to be waiting for the Christ as of their dreams eternally. It was Christ as who was to prepare the pathway to the following higher order religion which is Islam. This statement should not be taken too rigidly. We are not suggesting that the Jews should first accept Christianity and then take the next step into Islam. It would be too naive a view of religious manifestations as they take place. What we are trying to point out is that a people who have rejected a Prophet as or a Messenger as , who was not just an ordinary Prophet as but was to play a very important role in the task of the mental and spiritual training of that people, do so only when they are spiritually and psychologically ill. Unless this malady is cured and that distorted attitude towards truth is rectified, they are less