Quran Issues
Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary, and those who believe this are disbelievers.
Quick answer
Christians do not believe that God is the Messiah; rather, they hold that the Messiah is God. The orthodox Christian position maintains that while Jesus is fully divine, He is not the entirety of God, as the Father and the Holy Spirit are also divine persons.
Full argument
The Quran asserts that those who claim Allah is the Messiah are disbelievers, but this misrepresents Christian theology. Historically, Christianity teaches that Jesus, the Messiah, is divine, but that does not equate to saying that God is merely Jesus. The distinction lies in the understanding of the Trinity, where Jesus is one person of the three that make up the one God. As theologians like Paul Copan and Murray J. Harris explain, saying 'Jesus is God' does not imply that 'God is Jesus' in a reciprocal manner. This means that while Jesus shares in the divine nature, He does not exhaust the entirety of what it means to be God. The Father and the Holy Spirit also share in this divine essence, thus maintaining the personal distinctions within the Godhead. Therefore, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity clarifies that Jesus is fully God, yet He is not the totality of God, which aligns with the orthodox Christian understanding of the divine nature.
Key verses
John 1:1bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Matthew 28:19bible
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
John 10:30bible
I and the Father are one.
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