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Why So Few Gospels? Inquiring Muslims Want To Know!
National Catholic Register ^ | 6/12/2010 | Jimmy Akin

Posted on 06/13/2010 6:41:27 PM PDT by markomalley

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1 posted on 06/13/2010 6:41:27 PM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

The enquiring friend could ask his Muslim friend how come the Muslim account of Abraham and his sons contradicts what it says in the Old Testament, as accepted by both Jews and Christians. But careful, he doesn’t want to have his head cut off if he asks an awkward question.


2 posted on 06/13/2010 6:45:58 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: markomalley

This issue is what caused my wife and I both to convert as adults to Catholicism. Because your friend is right, there were many Gospels and there had to be something with the authority to include or exclude the books. That something was the people that Jesus left in charge which early in the second century called itself the “Universal” or Catholic Church.


3 posted on 06/13/2010 6:46:46 PM PDT by ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton (To those who believe the world was safer with Saddam, get treatment for that!)
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To: markomalley
Put simply many of the "gospels" had an unknown origin. Others were from heretics like the gnostics etc.

The ones that were included in the canon were those that the early Church quoted and used.

4 posted on 06/13/2010 6:46:59 PM PDT by ColdSteelTalon (Light is fading to shadow, and casting its shroud over all we have known...)
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To: markomalley

Because Constantine said so.


5 posted on 06/13/2010 6:51:12 PM PDT by HospiceNurse
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To: markomalley

Maybe this guy’s Muslim friend can answer a question of mine.

If Mohammed (or however they’re spelling it today) is really a prophet and has a direct link to God and therefore truth, why did Mohammed implement a system of abrogation in the Koran?

That system of abrogation means that if after Mohammed died (which he did die and from which he did not return) if another inspired Muslim came along and wrote something for the Koran that conflicted with something already in the Koran, then that latest addition is “the truth.”

This is the same tactic that lying politicians use when they are campaigning. During one speech, they’ll say they support tax cuts. At another they’ll say they support tax increases (on the rich or some similar cajoling phrase). Then, when they are elected and they push a policy, they have all bases covered. “But I told you I supported raising taxes on those filthy rich. I’m just now defining “rich” as anyone who earns over 10K a year.”

That abrogation was built into the Koran proves it is not based on truth and that it was intended to provide cover for a gang as that gang went through changing societies. And what sort of person looks at a foundational document as a “living, breathing document” that needs to “evolve” with society? Those who want to have the POWER to manipulate what has been considered the highest standard FOR THEIR OWN INCREASED POWER AND SELF-GLORY.

If Islam were ever true (which it is not, because “Truth” does not change or evolve or adapt to suit a particular set of mores), it is now based upon the lies of subsequent contributors to the Koran.


6 posted on 06/13/2010 6:51:54 PM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Prepare for survival.)
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To: ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton
That something was the people that Jesus left in charge which early in the second century called itself the “Universal” or Catholic Church.

Uh the Catholic Church did not get started from the beginning. The Churches were separate entities that were combined by the Church and Bishop of Rome. Constantine was the first pope. Not Peter.

7 posted on 06/13/2010 6:54:58 PM PDT by ColdSteelTalon (Light is fading to shadow, and casting its shroud over all we have known...)
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To: HospiceNurse

Hehe! Watch out for incoming fire.


8 posted on 06/13/2010 6:55:34 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
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To: Ghost of Philip Marlowe

Enjoyed your reasoning, ty !


9 posted on 06/13/2010 6:59:49 PM PDT by SIRTRIS
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To: markomalley

Only 2 eye-witnesses are required to verify the story.


10 posted on 06/13/2010 7:02:51 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: HospiceNurse
That’s it . . . in a nutshell. IMHO, Christianity first started to go off track when Constantine made it the state church. That is why the blood of thousands of martyrs was shed and why we have hundreds of brands of Christianity today.
11 posted on 06/13/2010 7:07:13 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton

Or could it be one holy catholic church?


12 posted on 06/13/2010 7:11:47 PM PDT by aliquando (A Scout is T, L, H, F, C, K, O, C, T, B, C, and R.)
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To: markomalley

Well... “The Gospel Of Jesus Christ” is plain and simple...one can get hung up on volumes of “Other” Gospels... after all it’s clearly a distraction from the simplicity of The Gospel of Christ.....available to all who desire.

However, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Christ...each in God’s own time. Some have to take the long way around in certain circles I think. If it’s not complicated and doesn’t require a great deal of investigative work then it can’t possibly be for them in their thinking.


13 posted on 06/13/2010 7:18:00 PM PDT by caww
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To: markomalley

Well... “The Gospel Of Jesus Christ” is plain and simple...one can get hung up on volumes of “Other” Gospels... after all it’s clearly a distraction from the simplicity of The Gospel of Christ.....available to all who desire.

However, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Christ...each in God’s own time. Some have to take the long way around in certain circles I think. If it’s not complicated and doesn’t require a great deal of investigative work then it can’t possibly be for them in their thinking.


14 posted on 06/13/2010 7:18:30 PM PDT by caww
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To: markomalley
They actually had a special on the history channel about this very subject. It was called “Banned from the Bible”. At one time there WERE hundreds of gospels. Many were obvious frauds, some were questionable. Back after the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, there was a big powwow with the fledgling church were it was decided what books were real and what were not. Many of the other gospels can still be found in the gnostic texts.
15 posted on 06/13/2010 7:31:19 PM PDT by apillar
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To: Cicero

COUNTER QUESTION to the Muslim: Did you know that there is no proof whatsoever that the Koran dates back to the 7th Century.


16 posted on 06/13/2010 7:31:23 PM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: apillar

As the poster says, authentic gospels were those those used in he liturgy from the first century on. The obvious differences between them led a Syrian `Writer To produce a single reconciliation of them that was used in many churches> ~But it did not find wide acceptance because the churches were convinced that the four were authentic views by four reliable witnesses,


17 posted on 06/13/2010 7:38:42 PM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: markomalley

btt


18 posted on 06/13/2010 7:44:22 PM PDT by Cacique (quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat ( Islamia Delenda Est ))
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To: Ghost of Philip Marlowe

The abrogation in the Koran doesn’t even date from after muhammad’s death. He was changing things as the situation on the ground changed in his favor. In the early days he was talking about mutual respect and living in harmony with other religions. As muslims gained power, it quickly changed to killing the infidel and dhimmitude for Christians and Jews.


19 posted on 06/13/2010 7:44:29 PM PDT by MediaMole
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To: markomalley

Simple answer: Because the Christian writings that did and did not “make it” into the New Testament were subjected to the test of the TEACHING OF THE CHURCH. Those that were heretical—e.g., gnostic writings—were rejected.

The very process by which the writings that were inspired were eventually identified would have been impossible if the notion of “sola scriptura” had been invented at the time.


20 posted on 06/13/2010 7:48:35 PM PDT by Arthur McGowan (In Edward Kennedy's America, federal funding of brothels is a right, not a privilege.)
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