open source theology

The emerging church is in the process of rethinking the eschatological narrative that lies at the heart of Christian faith - so the question of what we mean exactly when we speak of the ‘coming’ or ‘return’ of Jesus is an important one. I also think that in time the emerging church will want or need to enter into constructive dialogue with Islam, and the person and mission of Jesus will clearly be central to that dialogue. However, it seems to me, as a general observation, that this time has not yet really arrived, and more specifically, that the theological and spiritual gulf between the emerging church and the book to which your post links is really too great to be bridged on this website. Someone may wish to prove me wrong, but I think this takes us too far beyond the current reach of an emerging theology.

As muslims, we believe and we expect the 2nd coming of the Jesus to the eart. And we take it as a sign of the end times and golden Age which is mentioned in the Qur’an.As it is mentioned, we have no choice but to believe. Some circles take it as missionary moves but as a pure muslim, I only take it as a word of God.

Surah Al ‘Imran 55 is one of the verses indicating that Jesus (as) will come back:

When Allah said, “‘Isa, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and purify you of those who are disbelievers. And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge between you regarding the things about which you differed. (Surah Al ‘Imran: 55)

The statement in the verse, “And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising” is important. Here, there is reference to a group strictly adhering to Jesus (as) and who will be kept above the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement. Well, who are these adherents, then? Are they the disciples who lived in the time of Jesus or are they the Christians of today?

Before he was raised up to Allah, the followers of Jesus (as) were few. After his ascension, the essence of the religion degenerated rapidly. Furthermore, the people known as the disciples faced serious pressure throughout their lives. During the succeeding two centuries, having no political power, those Christians having faith in Jesus (as) were also oppressed. In this case, it is not possible to say that early Christians or their successors during these periods were physically superior to the disbelievers in the world. We might logically think that this verse does not refer to them.

When we look at the Christians of today, on the other hand, we notice that the essence of Christianity has changed a lot and it is quite different from what Jesus (as) originally brought to mankind. Christians embraced the perverted belief that suggests that Jesus (as) is the son of God and similarly held the doctrine of the trinity (The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). In this case, it is flawed to accept the Christians of today as the adherents of Jesus (as). In many verses of the Qur’an Allah states that those having faith in the trinity certainly are disbelievers:

Those who say that the Messiah, son of Maryam, is the third of three are disbelievers. There is no god but One God. (Surat al-Ma’idah: 73)

In this case, the commentary of the statement, “And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising” is as follows: first, it is said that these people are the Muslims who are the only true followers of the authentic teachings of Jesus (as); second, it is said that these people are the Christians, whether or not they hold idolatrous beliefs, and that could be seen to be confirmed by the dominant position that nominal Christians hold on the earth today. However, both positions will be unified by the arrival of Jesus (as), since he will abolish the jizyah, meaning that he will not accept that Christians and Jews live with any other religion than Islam, and so will unite all the believers as Muslims.

Allah tells about the death of Jesus (as) in one verse in Surah Maryam as follows:

(‘Isa said,) Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die and the day I am raised up again alive. (Surah Maryam: 33)

When we consider this verse together with Al ‘Imran 55, it indicates a very important truth. In the verse in Surah Al ‘Imran it is stated that Jesus (as) was raised up to the presence of Allah. No information is given in this verse about death or killing. Yet in Surah Maryam 33 information is given about the day when Jesus (as) will die. That second death can only be possible if Jesus (as) dies after returning to and living on earth. Only Allah knows for certain.

you can visit www.muhammedhasenoglu.com for further reading.