christians always ask : what would Jesus do ? and he used to be able to buy these little wristbands
and i used to wear one myself , particularly in the usa where i bought one once .
but christians rarely ask : what did Jesus do ? because that question produces a very different
answer and the reason why it does , according to this book is very interesting , this is a great
book i do recommend it . it's called "the first and final commandment : a search for truth in revelation
within the Abrahamic religions" by a chap called Laurence Brown .he's a doctor , he's actually
a convert to islam and he's a medical director in Medina in Saudi Arabia . and i do recommend
this book , you can see it's quite thick and he discusses judaism , islam , christianity with
great intelligence and insight . but i just wanted to just to read you a bit it's quite
fascinating actually where he talks about this issue : christians going on about what would Jesus
do , what would he you know , what would he do now . but in fact they never asked what did he do .
he unpacks what he means by this . the vast majority of christians (he writes) claim to follow
Jesus . but to their own embarrassment follow what others have taught about Jesus in preference to
what he himself taught . Unitarian Christians and Muslims claim to follow Jesus and then actually
do so . christians who make , who claim to take their religious origins from the teachings of Jesus
should feel some sense of humiliation when they find that his teaching is better exemplified
in the manners of the islamic community than in those of the christians themselves . so what does he
mean by that ? well , he gives some practical examples . for example : appearance (what people look like) .
the world acknowledges Jesus to have been bearded which religious groups emulate this example .
so our christian men tradition typically bearded or was it muslim men , you tell me .
jesus is commonly acknowledged to have dressed in modesty , nobody imagines Christ Jesus in shorts
and a t-shirt or even a form-fitting suit . if anyone attempts to construct a mental picture ,
the result typically involves flowing robes from wrists to ankles without any hint of even
the shape of his body . when jesus delivered his sermon on the mount , did he have a pouch ?
we like to think not but in fact nobody knows . and his loose clothes may be the reason for that .
so how many practicing Muslims does a person find dressed with Christ like
modesty ? that's a good question . the traditional clothing of the Middle East and India , Pakistan
subcontinent are perhaps the best examples . now how many christians bear out this modesty ?
the next example of appearance : the mother of Jesus covered and the practice was maintained amongst
the christians of the holy land up to the 20th century . any photograph of a palestinian christian
parade or congregation prior to the 1950s shows a field of head scarves , the women wore hijabs .
but which women of party cover now ? practicing christians or practicing muslims ?
so who dresses like Mary now . and then he goes on to discuss the manners , jesus (he says)
placed emphasis on the next world and was a man preoccupied with striving for salvation .
how many righteous christians fit this it's not just sunday's profile .
how many five prayers a day every day of the year muslims . Jesus spoke with humility and kindness ,
he was not known to showboat , his image is not associated with theatrics .
he was a simple man known for quality and truth . how many preachers and how many evangelists
follow his example ? jesus taught his disciples to offer the greeting of peace luke 10 5.
he then set the example several times by offering the greeting : peace be with you . see luke 24 36.
john 20 19. john 20 21. john 20 26. who continues this practice to this day , christians or muslims ? peace
be with you is the meaning of the muslim greeting "Peace be upon you" interestingly enough emphasis on
this greeting is to be found in judaism as well see genesis 43 23. numbers 6 26. judges 6 23. and he
goes on i'll not list them , there's a lots of examples . the next category of practical examples :
what did Jesus do ? Jesus was circumcised . luke 2 21. the apostle paul taught it was not necessary
romans 4 11. galatians 5 2. which religious group follows Jesus and which follows paul ?
next example of religious practices : Jesus did not eat pork . in keeping with the torah (the old
testament law) leviticus 11 7. and deuteronomy 14 8. how many christians can make this claim ?
next example : Jesus did not give or take usury in compliance with the biblical command , if you lend
money to any of my people who are poor among you , you shall not be like the money lender
to him . you shall not charge him interest . exodus 22 25. usury is forbidden in the
books of the old testament and the Quran as it was forbidden in the religion of Jesus .
of course christians today have no qualms about banking and taking an interest and so on .
next example : Jesus did not fornicate abstaining from extramarital contact with the opposite sex .
how many christians adhere to this example ? note : the issue surpasses fornication
extending to the least physical contact with the opposite sex . with the exception of performing
religious rituals and helping those in need , Jesus is not recorded as ever having touched a woman
other than his mother . strictly practicing orthodox jews maintain this practice to this day
in observance of the torah law . likewise practicing muslims do not even shake hands between the sexes .
can christian hug your neighbor and kiss the bride congregations ? make that claim . it's an
interesting point . the next category : religious practices associated with worship . Jesus
(he writes) purified himself with washing prior to prayer as was the practice of
his religion (which is judaism) and the pious prophets before him . see exodus 40
31-32 in reference to Moses and Aaron who purified themselves with washing prior
to prayer . who does that ? who does ablution ? do christians do that ? order muslims .
Jesus prayed in prostration . matthew 26 39. like the other prophets . see nehemiah 8 6. with regard to
ezra and the people . joshua 5 14. for joshua genesis 17 3 and 24 52. for abraham and the passengers in
exodus and numbers and so on . who prays like that in prostration : christians or muslims ? next example :
Jesus fasted for more than a month at a time . matthew 4 verse 2 and luke 4 verse 2. Jesus
was following an example set by the pious who preceded him . exodus 34 28. 1 kings 19
8. so who follows the example of Jesus ? if not those who annually fast the month of Ramadan ?
another example : Jesus made pilgrimage for the purpose of worship , as all orthodox jews
aspire to do . in his day , pilgrimage (as recorded in the bible) was directed to Jerusalem . Muslims
if able make pilgrimage to Mecca as directed by Allah in the holy Quran .
then we have matters of creed , what people believe about God . Jesus taught the oneness of God . see mark
12 29-30. matthew 22 37. and luke 10 27. as conveyed in the first commandment (which we see in exodus
20) Jesus declared himself a man and a Prophet of God and nowhere claimed to be
god himself . which creed are the above two points more
consistent with : the trinitarian formula ? or the absolute monotheism of Islam "tauhid" ?
the practical question in this regard arises questions like : what was the religion of jesus ?
and if jesus lived , preached and completed his ministry faithful to the religious law of his time ,
why are those who claim to follow him in his name not living by his example ? because christians today
typically do not follow any of these things that Jesus practiced and taught .
after all , the book of acts documents how strict the practices were amongst the early followers
of christ . acts 10 14. documents peter's avoidance of unclean animals in
chapter 11 verses 2 3 and 15 verse 1 and 15 verse 5
the emphasis is on circumcision . and in 6 7 and 15 5 the conversion of priests
and pharisees to the faith (this was a jewish faith of course with a belief in Jesus as the Messiah)
and acts 21 20 emphasizes the zeal of thousands of believers for the law . this is something that by
the way james the head of the church in Jerusalem boasts about , how zealous for the law were the
converts into the jesus movement . in this regard , carmichael notes and he's quoting someone here :
the above passages are astonishing , they indicate that for a whole generation after Jesus
death , his followers were pious jews and proud of it . had attracted into their fold members of
the professional religious classes and did not even deviate from the burdensome ceremonial laws .
so that was the first generation of Jesus followers . yet despite the presented
scriptural evidences , many christians prefer to follow the teachings of paul
or the pope or priests and ministers over the recorded teachings of Jesus .
as a result , common ground for discussion between the true followers of Jesus
and the followers of what somebody says about Jesus is frequently found to be lacking . i think
i'll leave it there , that's more than enough but this book is full of fascinating information about
the Quran , about Muhammad , Jesus , the Bible , the Old Testament , about Theology , contradictions in the
bible he lists acres and acres of those doctrinal differences , new testament evidences for the
Quran being the word of God and so on . it's just endless so it's not too expensive , it's good to
read and i think it's for what it is . it's a very reliable text , it's not too academic but it's not
too simplistic and slogany either it's a kind of middle ground between the two . until next time