True Christianity and How It Leads to Islam — Page 17
TRUE CHRISTIANITY AND HOW IT LEADS T O IS L A M 17 The belief in atonement rests on the supposition that every human being is sinful. The Bible refutes this idea. Several persons have been mentioned to be righteous, such as Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth. “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Juda, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaran, and her name was Elizabeth. “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”. (Luke 1:5 - 6) Since Jesus’ mission was with the Israelites, as he himself declared (Matthew 15:22 - 24), the question of atoning for the sins of all mankind does not arise. Furthermore, if death on the cross would have been pleasing to God, if it would have been the instr ument of human salvation, he would not have so earnestly prayed for his relief the night before the crucifixion. The Bible says: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli Eli, lama sabachthani?’ That is to say, ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?'” (Matthew 27:46) The fact is that Jesus did not die on the cross and was spared this humiliation. Thus, there is no basis for the doctrine of atonement.