For those who receive religious education from an early age and develop reverence for their holy books, everything in them is credible. For those who start reading the Bible or the Qur'an after receiving secular and scientific education there is much to confuse and raise doubts. The following rationalization may help them to try and understand religion rather than ridicule it.
Civilized people take great care to pronounce proper names, especially those of people they respect, correctly. But, unfortunately, an exception has been made in the case of Biblical characters. The correct pronunciation and corresponding spellings can best be ascertained from the people who have lived continually through generations in the same lands where the Biblical events occurred, such as Palestine, Iraq and Egypt. In the following text, the Arabic versions of names are given along with the popular English names of the Biblical characters. PBUH is the abbreviation for Peace Be Upon Him or Her.
2.6 Jesus son of Mary
The translated versions of the Bible this author has studied, assign to Mary (Marium PBUH) a husband named Joseph who was a descendant of an unbroken line of prophets or saints or kings starting with Adam (PBUH) and who is said to have fathered Jesus (Issa PBUH). At the same time there is a hint that some misunderstanding may have existed between Mary (Marium PBUH) and Joseph. It is interesting that in the Bible, chapters containing the assertion that Jesus was the son of Joseph and that he was a divine manifestation born to Virgin Mary (Marium PBUH) have existed concurrently. The immaculate birth version of Luke is corroborated by Qur'anic text. Nearly half of the world’s population believes in the immaculate conception of Jesus (Issa) son of Mary (Marium). Mary(Marium) is said to have denied that any man had touched her before the angel informed her that she was going to become a mother, and there is no reason to doubt it. Angels are massless beings with such a low energy density that they can not be perceived by normal human senses, nor detected by sensitive instruments, though they have the capability to stimulate human brain cells in a pattern to produce a graphic image or vision. It seems unlikely that an angel would be able to synthesize a human sperm with extraordinary features inside a woman. The Immaculate Conception would have to be congenital. Improbable as it may seem it can be rationalized in the following way.
Embryological anomalies are not uncommon in any part of the world. Medical museums are full of extraordinary or miraculous partially and fully developed fetuses both single and twin. Some exceptional fetuses have even been born and survived with medical help. About two thousand years ago when the wife of Imran who lived in either Nazareth or Bethlehem became pregnant, two of her ova were fertilized and if things had gone on normally she would have had twins, a son and a daughter. However, due to some biological accident or divine interference the male embryo soon ceased to grow and somehow got embedded in that part of the female fetus which was to constitute its reproductive organs. The probability that one embryo would penetrate another without significant damage is so remote that it would, perhaps, never happen again. So, the wife of Imran delivered a baby girl called Mary (Marium) who, though apparently normal, was carrying a dormant fetus. As Mary (Marium PBUH) learned to speak, some of the speech information was also transferred to the partially developed brain of the fetus; and when Mary (Marium PBUH) became an adult the dormant fetus became active and began to grow. Thus Mary (Marium PBUH) became, perhaps, the world's first surrogate mother, and the child Jesus born to her surprised everyone when he was able to talk when only a few days old. There is striking similarity between the descriptions of the event given in the Book of Luke in the Bible and the Chapter Marium of the Qur’an.
Jesus (Issa PBUH) quietly grew up to be a good carpenter or fabric dyer (traditions vary), and it is possible that he may also have attended some courses at the University of Ka'bah during the period of his life for which there is a blackout in known history. Even Mary (Marium PBUH) may have felt the need for a redeeming factor to restore her respectability in view of the accusations she was facing. Makkah is less than a hundred kilometers from Jeddah, the Red Sea port which lay on the trading caravan route between Palestine or Jerusalem and Yemen, the home of Bilqees the queen of Sheba made famous by king and prophet Solomon (Suleiman PBUH). In any case, he did not become prominent until he denounced the existing order based on Judaic argument and Roman tyranny. Corruption and conceit in the community had risen to such a level that when Jesus Issa (PBUH) challenged those about to stone an adulteress to death saying that only one who had never committed adultery himself had the right to throw a stone at her, no one came forward. He was accused of committing heresy when he started talking of conscientious mutual treatment and human relations based on inviolable commitment in the name of God, the inimitable Power. In spite of being opposed to the prevailing political situation, he is said to have refused to lead an armed insurgency; and is quoted to have disapproved of being called the Messiah (anointed one) or Christ cryptically meaning King. Nevertheless, his ability to cure psychosomatic disorders, his discovery of the technique of reviving unconscious people by sprinkling water on their faces and his preaching of nonviolence were greatly admired by the masses. (In many Islamic communities the word Masiha meaning the Messiah or Christ signifies a doctor). Soon he found himself at the head of a well-organized and fast expanding medical and educational volunteer corpse. Unfortunately, his teachings of loyalty to God alone, forgiveness rather than revenge and equality of men did not win him any favors with the Roman governor or the Jewish establishment of Jerusalem and its adjoining areas. A vilification campaign was started, and what could be a greater taunt for a man whose parentage was disputed than to misquote his teachings substituting the word Abb (father) for Rabb (Lord). It is not easy to determine the exact words in which he preached for most part, but he did make a statement that was to become the hallmark of decency for all times to come. He told his followers that 'the spirit of staying clean' (Rooh-ul-Quds in Arabic) would guide them after he was gone. When translated into Greek, with the spice of Greek mythology, it became the 'Holy Spirit' and eventually the Holy Ghost. However, the commitment to self-denial and chastity apparent in the lives of many of those dedicated to the Christian cause clearly shows that they are guided by, among other things, the spirit of staying clean.
The animosity of the Roman colonialists and their local lackeys grew to such an extent that Jesus was accused of treason and summons for his arrest were issued. It seems that his companions reached the conclusion that the main cause of the wrath of the Romans was his opposition to wine and larded bread, both of which were imported in large quantities from the Roman homeland in what is now Italy. Jesus' (Issa's) opposition of wine and lard (traditionally prohibited in Jewish faith but forgotten) was a threat to the Roman economy. So they pressurized him into renouncing his opposition to wine and lard for the sake of saving the higher purpose and noble ideals of his movement. They may even have received such hints from the establishment. According to Biblical descriptions Jesus (Issa PBUH) had, during the Last Supper, produced a container of wine and told his companions that it contained his blood. In the light of Semitic custom such an action would constitute an oath meaning that drinking of wine would be as heinous as drinking his blood. By changing emphasis on the words, the prohibition has been turned into an encouragement. Similarly, he called larded bread his flesh and cursed its consumption. But when the mood of his companions did not change, he gave in and renounced his position by tasting both. His companions followed suit.
The next day, Jesus was arrested, tried and tied to the cross to die a slow death. However, as the news of his renunciation reached the Roman governor, he was pardoned, quietly removed from the cross and sent for treatment. A few days later he was released. He returned to his companions who refused to recognize him. After this, one of the following may have happened:
1) Jesus (Issa PBUH) was so disheartened that he went away to some distant shrine and spent the rest of his life meditating.
2) When the establishment learned about this split, they had him quietly picked up and terminated and buried him.
3) As most Christians and Muslims believe, he was taken away by the angels to heaven where he lives to return someday.
2.7 The Rise of Christianity
After the crucifixion and disappearance of Jesus (Issa PBUH) the political ambitions of his followers evaporated, but the service organization he had left behind grew into a sizable network. The rulers who were impressed by the discipline and services provided by them soon realized that if they could use the vast communication network of the Christian volunteers, their imperial power could grow many-fold. Moreover, the same network could be used to defeat the resurgent movement of dignity, freedom, democracy and clean living which was not in their best interests. Therefore, perhaps, the Empires of both Rome and Byzantium made themselves 'holy' by adopting Christianity as state religion. They also appointed a 'Committee of three' to act as God, including Jesus (Issa PBUH) himself in it -- thus perpetuating the worship of man by man and, by implication, the exploitation of man by man. Even today there are large numbers of people who accept the orders of heads of churches and governments as the words of God. They also made every effort to destroy the original works of Jesus son of Mary (Marium PBUH) and his close followers, and replace them with literature that would help to support their colonial ambitions. Moreover, having failed to intimidate the believers by a spectacle of the crucifixion of Jesus (Issa PBUH), they managed to reproduce and sustain the same effect by making it customary to have a miniature replica of the crucifixion in every church and home. With the passage of time, depending on local perceptions, the Cross acquired resemblance with objects of adoration ranging from flower to rapier. The Protestant movement in Europe was, it seems an attempt to break loose from the clutches of this lingering sense of intimidation and promote the original democratic values of Jesus (Issa PBUH) without acknowledging the contributions of such other great reformers and prophets as Abraham (Ibraheem PBUH), Moses (Moosa PBUH) and Muhammad (PBUH).
It took faithful Christians many centuries to find a plausible justification for the tradition of Trinity. Philo's concept of the logos which was supposed to act as an intermediary between perfect God and imperfect matter was identified with Jesus (Issa PBUH). Similarly, it came to be held that a power of divine origin permeated the universe, namely the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The ideas were then combined into the catchy slogan "God is One; but He is also Three: Father, Son (the logos or Christ), and Holy Ghost". One wonders if Jesus (Issa) son of Mary (Marium PBUH) would himself have approved of such a statement.
The adoption of the Christian Churches by the State had many benefits for the rulers. Every crime that was committed was confessed by the culprit or his more religious minded accomplice before a minister of the Church and the information was passed on to the authorities. The police, after making an impressive show of investigation, would solve the crime and bring the culprit to trial with great efficiency. This established the authority and popularity of the police and judicial systems in the Christian world. Today, after having lost the benefit of the confessional policemen are being called by expletives that can not be printed.
The preceding analysis is not intended to offend faithful Christians, but represents the personal opinion of this author. To anyone who feels hurt by reading the above text, this author tenders profound apology.
