The Antichrist in Muhammad: Blaspheming Against the Holy Spirit
house" (Bait ul-Lah). Oftentimes it is used to refer to the created soul, as, for example, in Qur'an 32:9 "But He fashioned him [man] in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!" (see also Qur'an 15:29, 21:91, 38:72, 66:12).
Finally, the term "spirit" (ar-Ruh) is used within the context of command. For example, in Qur'an 40:15: "Raised high above ranks (or degrees). (He is) the Lord of the Throne (of Authority): by His Command does He send the Spirit of His command (ar-ruha min amrihi) to any of his servants he pleases, to warn (men) of the Day of the Meeting." Indeed, this is the definition clearly given in Qur'an 17:85 ("They ask thee concerning the Spirit (ar-ruhi) (of inspiration). Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command (ar-ruhu min amri) of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)."
In short, the "Spirit" is never equated with Allah or God in Islam. We can therefore conclude that Muhammad, in his supposed revelations, rejected any notion of the divine personhood of the Holy Spirit.
While Muhammad rejected the divine personality of the Holy Spirit, his followers have not scrupled to attribute to Muhammad one of the titles of the Holy Spirit: the Paraclete.
The efforts of his followers stem from the problems arising out of Muhammad's declaration (in Qur'an 7:157) that the Gospels supposedly prophesied of the coming of an illiterate prophet: "Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),--in the law and the Gospel;--for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil . . . ."
In Qur'an 61:6, it is supposedly Jesus who promises such a thing: "And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: 'O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad [a variant of the name Muhammad, meaning "praiseworthy one"] . . . .'"
The problem for Muslim scholars is that the Gospel nowhere predicts the coming of a prophet whose name means "praiseworthy one," much less an illiterate prophet with that name. The absence of such a prophecy in the Gospels (which is quite damaging to the authenticity of the Qur'an and its claim regarding Muhammad) has led to a desperate dual strategy on the part of Muslim apologists.
First, Muslim apologists implausibly suggest that Muhammad was the promised "Paraclete" of the Gospel of John. (See John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1) Second, because the word "paraclete" (in Greek, parakletos) does not mean "praiseworthy one," but counselor or advocate, they argue that the Greek term parakletos was corrupted by the Christians, and that the original word was periklytos, supposedly a Greek word that means "praiseworthy one."
The argument is, in a word, nonsense. Not only does it fly in the face of the unchanging Tradition of the Church which understood the "Paraclete" to refer to the Holy Spirit, it is unsupportable contextually, historically, and textually.
First, the context expressly ties in the "Paraclete" to the Holy Spirit, and not a prophet. "But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26) Contextually, the claim is hogwash.
This sense that the Holy Spirit--the Paraclete--was the soul of the Church and not any prophet to come is found beautifully expressed by St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement (paraklesis), who encourages (parakaleo) us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage (parakaleo) those who are in any affliction with the encouragement (paraklesis) with which we ourselves are encouraged (parakaleo) by God." (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
These verses from St. Paul's epistle literally drip with the notion of the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete, the Helper, the Encourager, the Comforter, the Advocate. This is how the Church understood it from the beginning. It is disingenuous in the extreme to construe Christ's promise of the Paraclete as referring to a prophet coming hundreds of years hence.
Second, there is no historical evidence that the word parakletos was ever anything but parakletos. The earliest extant manuscripts of the Gospel of John show "parakletos." There is no variant of any surviving manuscript of John's Gospel that uses the term "periklytos." There is no Apostolic or Church Father that ever read "periklytos" instead of "parakletos" or that understood this reference in John's Gospel to refer to an illiterate prophet. Rather, monolithically and unanimously, the promised Paraclete is always regarded as a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit enjoyed by the Church and her members, and which was received by the Apostles after Christ's Ascension on the Jewish feast of Pentecost.
Third, the word periklytos (which is used nowhere in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, but is used in classical Greek) does not mean "praiseworthy one," but rather it means famous or renowned. The word for praised one in Greek is epainos, not periklytos.
One cannot help but wonder whether Muhammad's denial of the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the arrogation of the Holy Spirit's office as Paraclete--this "speaking against the Holy Spirit"--is not that "fearful thing written in the Gospel," in the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Lectures, known as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12:30-32; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:8-10)
"But if any one should deny the dignity, majesty, and eternal power of the Holy Spirit," says St. Ambrose in his treatise on the Holy Spirit (I.3.54) (which is exactly what Muhammad does in his supposed revelations), "there is fullness of sacrilege," ubi sacrilegi plenitudo est.
An authentic prophet would not be guilty of sacrilege, much less the fullness of sacrilege, though one moved by the spirit of antichrist would. Muhammad's teachings which impugn the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and his assumption of the Holy Spirit's title and office, is just another brick in the wall of evidence that supports the thesis of this series of articles that the spirit of antichrist is in Muhammad.
In our next article, we will address the Qur'anic rejection of the Blessed Trinity. We will then turn from God to God's interaction with humanity, specifically addressing issues relating to the Christian doctrine of salvation--the heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ--sadly rejected by Muhammad along with the God as revealed in Jesus and the New Testament.
-----
Andrew M. Greenwell is an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas, practicing in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is married with three children. He maintains a blog entirely devoted to the natural law called Lex Christianorum. You can contact Andrew at agreenwell@harris-greenwell.com.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Muhammad, antichrist, false prophet, Andrew M. Greenwell, Holy Spirit, Paraclete, Parakletos
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Muhammed and the koran are dead faith. Nothing can come out of it except violence
and mayhem. Murder, executions of Christians, violence against women, extortion and political upheaval. Pray always to Our Lord and God Jesus Christ.
I find it amazing that Muslims believe that God is all powerful, and then turn around and say that he couldn't do this, or couldn't do that. "God doesn't need helpers", they say. No he doesn't need helpers. But He can use absolutely anyone or anything at His disposal. He can manifest Himself however He sees fit, at whatever the juncture in time in space.
I also pray that Christians, ALL Christians, take every opportunity to witness and evangelize Muslims. In my humble opinion, the only reason that Christianity doesn't take off and leave Islam in the dust in many parts of the world, is simply due to the authorities and clerics in Muslim nations. They will not give the people a free choice, which is of course at the heart of the Christian message. This places the two religions at opposite poles from one another. Muslims never hear the Christian gospel, or think wrong-headed things about our faith, because those in power will never let them. A free choice would be a death knell for Islam in many instances.
We need to pray, and regularly, for the souls and salvation of all people, including Muslims. I also hope that we act and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate, to those who have never heard it or are being restrained from doing so.
May God Bless You All.
Daniel
My comment is for Naveed Ul Islam, who posted a few days back.
I think that your intentions are fine with your post, and I agree on the need for civility when discussing religion.
I would like to say that you seem to start off with sincerity, but then, when speaking about Islam being "an enemy of Christian philosophy, well mythology", you fall back on some apparent condescension regarding our faith. How do you know it is a myth? You quote the New and the Old Testaments, but have you read them? I could just as easily pluck passages out of the Koran as testimony or proof when it suited me, being totally unaware of the larger scope.
I would greatly encourage you to pick up and read a Bible, and to attend a Catholic Church at least once. I think that you could quickly see that we worship One God; Christ is the Word of God made flesh, doing what no man, such as Mohammed, could do. Christ demonstrates, through His actions on Earth, power possessed by only one being in the universe: the One, transcendent, omnipotent God. Since there is only one God, this means that Christ IS God. The Holy Spirit, the subject of this article, is the breath and life of God moving amongst the people of the Earth. As the angel said to Mary, "through God, all things are possible". God's infinite power is something I firmly believe Muslims do not believe in, or else they could easily see how all that we believe is possible through God.
May God Bless you.
Francis Xavier, what you say is utterly false: islam is a violent ruthless religion.it grew and keeps growing using violence, offensive war(jihad), blackmail, slavery, entrapment, and every kind of lie and deception jihadists can possibly imagine..all sanctioned by sharia law:
Sure, the Koran says “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out
clear from Error: whoever rejects Taghut (evil) and believes in Allah hath
grasped the most trust worthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth
and knoweth all things. ” (Sura 2:256). What Islamic apologists fail to add is
that this verse was written when Mohammad was in Mecca and had only 150
followers, but when he got to Medina, his flock of Mohammad worshipers increased
to about 10 thousand.
It is important to know that the Koran is not laid out in chronological order,
but in the length of the chapters (Suras). Sura 9:5 came well after the peaceful
Sura (above) and states “When the sacred months have passed, kill the idolaters
where ever you find them.” Another Sura, 47:4 says: “When you encounter the
unbelievers, Strike off their heads. Until you have made a wide slaughter among
them tie up the remaining captives.” Verses that come later in the Koran
abrogate all prior verses. So then, Sura 9:5 was written near the end of the
prophet’s life and abrogates all the peaceful verses. Islamic apologists would
have you believe Islam is a religion of peace, but the Koran says otherwise.
Andrew Greenwell: Thank you for this continuing series of Clarity on Islam. The word i would use to describe your series is Transparent: allowing light to pass through (this particular topic between Islam and Christianity);making it easy to perceive or detect. Here, transparent is used to "shine through" the muddle of the psyche which was and is Muhammad. You do not perceive that your audience knows a little or a lot. You just know that the Truth has to be told. Blessings...
@Jim:
In general, I don't disagree with your comments. I doubt the series will convince a faithful Muslim or a lapsed Catholic who has already rejected the teaching Church. To some extent, I am preaching to the choir. The purpose of the series is to try to inform faithful Catholics of the huge differences between Islam and Christianity. There is a tendency to regard Islam as a Christian heresy. This was the view, for example, of Belloc. In my mind, however, Islam cannot really be regarded a Christian heresy because of its fundamental anti-Jewish and anti-Christian character. There is also a tendency to believe that Islam and Christianity ought to join forces against secularism. I think there is a huge danger in this latter perception caused, in part, in failure to appreciate the real anti-Christian character of Islam, at least in its traditional and orthodox manifestations. Finally, Muslims typically stress the fact that it believes that Jesus is a prophet, suggesting that there is compatibility between Islam and Christianity. But the belief that Jesus is a "prophet," is, at the same time, rejection of everything Jesus did and taught. We need to be aware that the Jesus of the Qur'an is not the Jesus of Christianity. It is these audiences to which this series is primarily directed.
I'm sorry, Andrew, but I think you are wasting a lot of time here.
First, you begin by arguing at great length that Islam does not teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person of the Trinity but rather that it is a created thing. You don't really have to argue that. You can just state it, since it is common knowledge. Islam teaches that God is a single person in a single substance. This is basic knowledge about Islam.
Second, you spend a lot of words arguing that Islam Koran gets the Gospel wrong by citing Koranic passages that appear to get the New Testament wrong. You need to realize that Islam does not believe that the New Testament is inspired and inerrant. It believes that the teachings of Jesus had been corrupted by the time they were written down in the Gospels. The Gospels and other New Testament writings, according to Muslims, are still useful historical tools for extracting the teachings of Jesus, but one must read them keeping in mind that they are corrupted. So, for example, Jesus really did predict Muhammed the paraclete, but as the prophecies were orally transmitted they became muddled and altered so that, by the time they were written down, people thought Jesus had predicted that the Holy Spirit was a paraclete.
In light of these issues, I have to ask what your target audience is. Are you writing to Muslims, trying to convince them of the truth of Christianity? If so, you will get nowhere by arguing on the basis of scriptures that they do not take to be authoritative. Are you writing to Christians, trying to edify them and increase their certainty that Islam is false? If so, though that is a worthy goal, a Christian who thinks that Islam might be true will not be swayed by arguments that rely on the authority of Christian scripture unless they are somehow under the illusion that Islam and Christianity are compatible.
Now, I am a Catholic, and I believe that Islam is false. It is all well and good to point out why, but we look bad when we make fallacious or dialectically unstable arguments such as these. If you want to argue that Islam is false, it makes more sense to talk about scholarship as to the authorship of the Koran, or to argue that the Koran, as interpreted using Muslim hermeneutics, cannot be true. You don't get anywhere by arguing against Islam on the basis of the truth of Christianity. That is simply circular reasoning.
There is a bit of sense in what Joseph said,the spirit of the church can never be a spirit of commotion.we did know that in the gospel Jesus said that not all who call him Lord will enter his kingdom but those who do his Father's will.islam is a peaceful religion,when the prophet Muhammed started preaching islam, he did not preach violence but today most followers of islam are abusing the religion.in the qua'ran,they miss-interprete 1kings 18:1-40 where Elijah prooved that the Lord is God.in that same text,it is said that anyone who is not a follower of the true religion(that is islam) should be eliminated,he has nothing to do with God.I thank you mr Greenwell for this interesting topic but be it known to you that some strict muslims might read this article and take it as an insult(which may lead to riot).the pope's intention for the month of November was that the pilgrim church on Earth may shine as a light to the nations.our main duty as catholics according to saint Francis Xavier is that the church expands that is why the church in her wisdom introduced the second vatican council,making salvation necessary for everybody.how will the church expand if we neglet our fellow human beings in their failings?
In the gospel,Jesus said;"not all who call me Lord will enter my kingdom but those who do my Father's will".
@Naveed Ul Islam, you know that Muhammad was not first a Jew before he magically transformed into an Arab (Muslims tend to believe in magic a great deal). You also know that the Bible was about the Jews and their prophecies about their Messiah which was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Your inability to find quotations in the Koran or in the Arab pagan gods and teachings/practices to justify Mohammad as a prophet has led you into the frustration of laughable quotations from the Bible. One thing, however, is clear and you have also made it clear that it is more realistic and defensible to believe in Christ Jesus than in Mohammad's self proclamation as a prophet. May Our Lord Jesus Christ grant you and other knowledgeable and inquisitive Muslims the grace to overcome your fear and psychological crises to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. That courage will deliver you from darkness into the light of life in Jesus Christ. May Our Lady, Mary Most Holy, come to your aid.