Nathan E. Lewis

Islam, Christianity and Resurrection
Presented by Nathan E. Lewis
Evergreen Presbyterian Church
Beaverton, Oregon
March 17, 2010
At Sciligion Discussion Group

What Islam and Christianity Teach About God:
God is both transcendent and immanent.
Transcendent God = An “other-worldly” being infinitely distinct from creation/nature. A supreme will who controls all systems and beings including humanity.

Immanent God = This supreme and only deity is powerfully present with creation/nature. God is not detached but connected, if not united to humanity.
Qur’an surah 50:16= And indeed we have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and we are closer to him than (his) jugular vein. (not physical/spatial nearness but spiritual awareness, complete knowledge of humanity and nature)
Bible, Psalm 94:11 = The Lord knows the thoughts of man.
James 4:8, Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

(Islam and Christianity do not teach the same degree of divine immanency but the point here is that both theist religions present a God who is both transcendent and immanent. The difference in degree can be readily seen in the Christian teaching of the incarnation of the Son of God, a significant point of difference of degree in the realm of time and space. The similarity is that both pray to a God who hears and responds. )
God Usually works through secondary/natural means but at times with special purpose works miracles.
Miracle = a divine sign that seems to defy the common experience in a world governed by the laws of nature.
(Both the Qur’an and the Bible uses the word “sign” to refer to the works of God rather than the use of the word “miracle,” which would carry a range of meaning including the defying of the rules of nature. By using “sign” both scriptures emphasize God who controls by his laws, at rare times seemingly suspending the rules we have observed, researched and documented as “usual means.” )

The Greatest Miracle in Islam = The mathematical miracle of the Qur’an
The Greatest Miracle in Christianity = The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.

The Use and Purpose of “Sign” in Islam and Christianity = God revealing himself to humanity rather than God proving his existence to humanity.

Islam, Christianity and Resurrection:
Qur’an surah 41:39 = Among His signs is that you see the earth dry and barren; and when We send down rain on it, it stirs to life and swells. Surely God Who gives the dead earth life will raise the dead also to life. Indeed, He has power over all things.
From surah 22: 5-6 = O mankind! If you are in doubt concerning the Resurrection…. God is the Truth, and He it is Who gives life to the dead, and He is powerful over all things.
From surah 30:50 = Look at the prints of God’s Mercy: how He gives life to the earth after its death. Lo! He verily is the Reviver of the dead, and He is able to do all things.

Bible, John 11:25-26 = Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die….
I Corinthians 15: 42-44 = So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

The Difference Between Islam and Christianity Regarding Resurrection = The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Qur’an, surah 19: 30-35 = Thereupon she pointed to him. They said, ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?’ Jesus said, ‘I am a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book, and has made me a Prophet; ‘And He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me Prayer and almsgiving so long as I live; ‘And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and has not made me arrogant and graceless; ‘And peace was on me the day I was born, and peace will be on me the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised up to life again.’ That was Jesus, son of Mary. This is a statement of the truth concerning which they entertain doubt.
Surah 3:55 = O Jesus, I will cause you to die, and exalt you to My presence, and clear you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve till the day of Judgment.”
Surah 4:156-159 That they rejected Faith; that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge; That they said: ‘We killed Christ Jesus The son of Mary, The Messenger of Allah.’ But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is exalted in Power, Wise. And there is none of the people of the book, but must believe in him before his death; And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them.

Bible, Acts of the Apostles 2: 22-32 …this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “… you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see decay….” “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”
The Gospel of Matthew 28:1-10 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Both Islam and Christianity make historical claims concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
Both make credible arguments that would hold up in court, both in the courts of the USA founded upon the legal principles of Judaism, the Reformation and the Enlightenment and in the courts of Islamic nations founded upon the legal principles of Judaism, Qur’an law and the Ottoman Empire. (Two legal systems sharing the same primary source yet developed in two different social and geographic contexts.)

These historical arguments are based upon the testimony of witnesses who describe what they have observed. In our modern and post-modern legal systems we still give legal and binding credence to the testimony of witnesses over and above circumstantial evidence. This is not a denial or aversion of science but rather an acknowledgement that human observation is primary and fundamental not only to historical record but also to science.

The Credible Historical Testimony of Islam Delivered by Angels to the Prophet Mohammed = Jesus did not rise from the dead directly following the crucifixion as Christians claim, but rather, Jesus shall surely rise after his natural death which occurred without historical human testimony at a later date.
The Credible Historical Testimony of Christianity Delivered by Angels to the Apostles/Eye-witnesses = Jesus died on Friday, was laid in the tomb, dead, on Saturday and rose from the dead on Sunday morning, appearing to more than 500 individuals.

These credible testimonies, though opposing each other, cannot be decided through the grid of science because they are not arguments of scientific observation but of historical observation.

Islam, Christianity and Science
*The notable founders of science were both Muslim and Christian.
*While both the Bible and the Qur’an are clearly historical texts, the “people of the book,” Jews, Christians, and Muslims have pursued science, discovering, developing, teaching and researching toward an undeniable and rich legacy of science.
*Sloppy science aside, both Muslim and Christian (and Jewish) scientists remain in the mainstream of the practice of science acknowledging that not everything observable in this world has yet to be explained by the principles and practice of science…AND that science does not negate the importance of historical observation and discovery.
Credible Debate Concerning the Resurrection is not “Faith vs. Science,” but Rather a Debate of History.
What did fellow human beings observe? What was their primary, eyewitness experience?

No field of inquiry is autonomous: History and Science must work together.
e.g. present research working to link morality to genetics is a worthy pursuit. It is not unthinkable to some Muslims and Christians that behavior can influence anatomical matter or that anatomical matter can influence behavior.
Suggestion: Perhaps scientists should also explore the existence of angels.
Fact: Medical research is further along in understanding death and resuscitation than it was 50 years past.

Upon this historically sound argument, the Christian answer to the question, “Did Jesus rise from the grave?” is “Yes.”

C.S. Lewis “Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning. . . Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.” – Mere Christianity 

”A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere — ‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,’ as Herbert says, ‘fine nets and stratagems.’ God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.” – Surprised by Joy
Note of Caution as We Discuss Matters Beyond Any of Our Individual Capacities: We should not make the mistake of calling Dr. Luke a science bozo only because he practiced in an unfolding human discovery and now, we think that we know more than him or that our ability to observe is more acute than his. Or, that the Prophet Mohammed, illiterate by our modern standards of literacy, did not have the human ability to observe and to receive information and thus should be categorically dismissed because he used the grid of the ancients while we use the grid of modern science. At the rate of human discovery unfolding, in a few short years, some of our illustrious scientists could very well be labeled science bozos. This could and most likely will occur not because we have used unsound principles and method of discovery but rather, we have been placed in a particular and inescapable historical context with the same human acumen for observation. None of us today have enhanced abilities to observe, greater than the Bedouin who observed the stars nightly and intently. We stand on their shoulders humbly searching the heavens for additional light to that which we cannot yet explain.