ABSTRACT

There is an undeniable common denominator that links the original teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. To deny this common denominator necessitates the rejection of the teachings of the Torah, the New Testament and Qur'an. The acknowledgment and acceptance of this common denominator would be the foundation of the harmonious coexistence of the children of God.


PREFACE

The bold and unequivocal statement of what I believe to be true does not, in any way, constitute a judgment against those who believe differently; I, at one time, did not believe some of these truths myself. It was through the loving patience of God that I came to His Light without ever forgetting where I came from, and without ever forgetting those with whom I shared other beliefs.


INTRODUCTION

Before embarking on this potentially controversial document and to counter, from the outset, any accusations that the author is anti-Catholic, it is important to make very clear that miguel de Portugal is not against the Catholic Faith. On the contrary, he lives it. (1)

Every single quote from the Qur'an that the reader will find in this document has been checked in versions translated into the English, Spanish and Portuguese languages to ensure that the core message of the particular quote truly reflects the version in its original language.


BACKGROUND

Most everyone has "a faith of sorts" on which to anchor their lives. Even the militant atheists have a "faith of sorts". By their active denial of a God they are actually acknowledging Him - so they actually believe in God - they just reject Him or, in most cases, they actually reject those who claim to be representing God.

The agnostics also have "a faith of sorts". They are still gathering information before making up their minds about God. If they did not have "some sort of faith", they would not bother with evaluating information relevant to something that is completely irrelevant to them.

However, the "faith of sorts" of the militant atheists and the agnostics is not the issue we are addressing now. The issue we wish to address now lies on the faith that many profess to have but seldom live.

This is a crucial issue because the majority of those who claim to have faith, most likely have faith in everything related to God but not in God Himself! We have the history of ongoing bloodshed in "the Name of God" and for "the Glory of God" that humanity has lived through during the past 6,000 years to back up this statement as well as the condition - social and moral - of the world today.

For example and in general terms...






This thorny issue - dissonance and duplicity, that is, a complete lack of coherence - is what we are going to address in this Document. This is not with the intent of defacing any of the Faiths - which we truly respect by word and deed. Our intent is to be like a mirror and to assist our brothers and sisters to see that, in most cases, they are deceiving themselves. At the same time, we are issuing a call to union under the spiritual banner on One God, adored differently only in the minor culturally inspired details.


DETAILS

To illustrate our point we will utilize the irrational logic that lead to the wave of "killing in the Name of God" and "in the Name of Christ" over the last fourteen centuries.

For this purpose, we shall study the interaction of two man-made archenemies - as defined and quantified by the amount of blood shed: Christians and Muslims.

From the brutality exhibited toward the so-called "infidels" by the so-called "Christians", one would think that the Holy Qur'an is an evil book wherein the children of Islam are taught to be anti Christian.

To dispel such error let us go directly to the most venerated Holy Qur'an and see what they say about Jesus Christ.


The Annunciation

[Note: In the Holy Qur'an "Sürah" is the equivalent to "Chapter" in the Judeo-Christian Holy Scriptures. We will simplify by using, for example, S. III. 45, to signify: Sürah III, verse 45] (3)

The Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary:

in S. III. 45


and in S. III. 48


Now, let us take a close look at this: The Prophet Mohammed reports that God said what we have quoted above. The Prophet does not say that it is he who was taught "the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel". He says that it was Jesus the one who was taught "the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel".

We further read in S.II.45


This is a firm and clear declaration, through the Prophet Mohammed, that Jesus Christ is the "Word of God made flesh".

Let us Christians give due credit to the Prophet Mohammed for he is acknowledging here far more than most Christians believe in, if we gauge their belief by how much importance they give to the reality that "...in Jesus resides the Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel."


Spelling out the Mission of Jesus

Mohammed further states in S.III.49 that God said:


According to the Gospel, Jesus never claimed to do anything on His own - He always invoked "God's leave" - His Father, His God and our God (paraphrasing His own words). [John 17:1-4]

It seems to even a casual, but objective, observer that the Prophet Mohammed was a staunch supporter and promoter of Jesus Christ and His mission. This is why the wayward Christians and Jews of the time became the enemies of the exhortations of God through the Prophet Mohammed. This enmity resulted in wars and mutual persecutions.


Pondering on the above...

Let us Christians remember that Jesus ran into very serious trouble with the Temple Masters [the equivalent of the established Religious Institution in those days]. He was obedient to God, the Father, and not to tradition. Mohammed was entreating the Christians of his time to be obedient to Jesus Christ and not to regress to Pagan style worship.

Should anyone then expect the Christians of that time to be kind to those who were attentive to what the Prophet Mohammed had relayed, calling to their attention, in the Name of God, their abuses and excesses? (4)

But what should we expect? These same "Christians" burnt Joan of Arc, and later placed her in the altar as St. Joan of Arc; they also sacked Constantinople and massacred the Christians of the Church of the East. (4)

Who can then take seriously the claim, with its implication of infallibility, that the Holy Spirit is the Infallible Guide of the Roman Catholic Church? Although it is indeed true - the problem has been that such Infallible Guidance is mostly ignored by those who have placed the Church ABOVE God. (5)


The Greatness of Jesus according to the Qur'an

In S. III 55, God the Father, according to the Prophet Mohammed, said:


The Prophet Mohammed is not saying that his own followers will be "superior" - he is saying, in the Name of God, that those who follow Jesus will be made superior. Hardly a position to justify the abuses by Christians against the Muslims over the centuries - abuses which are now yielding the horrible fruit of terrorism.

In the same verse we read about Jesus' Resurrection and Glorification: "I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme..."


Summarizing what has been stated about Jesus in the Qur'an

In S. III 60 we read:



The accuracy of the Holy Texts

Let us ponder the significance of a new book (6) published in the Fall of 2003, written by a German Middle Eastern linguistic expert under the pseudonym Christoph Luxenberg. He challenges the accuracy of the translation of the Qur'an from the alleged Aramaic-like original language to the Arabic. (It is the Arabic text which Islamic orthodoxy claims to be the original words spoken by God to the Prophet Mohammed.)

At this time we should remember that the Judeo-Christian Holy Scriptures have been translated 3,000 times (7), and in far too many cases altered just to suit very temporal agendas.

Statistically speaking - one or two translation versus the 3,000 translations of not very original texts (8) renders the "once translated text" as "original" as it could ever be.


Apparent inconsistencies in the Qur'an

Now it appears that confusion sets within the Qur'an - or is it that God has chosen not to reveal to Mohammed the reality of the Trinity (9)?

For those not familiar with Islam: Muslims do not believe in the Trinity, yet, one may read about it in the Qur'an.

In S. IV. 171 we read:


It is crystal clear: In the same paragraph where the Trinity is denied they speak of God the Father ("He bestowed on Mary"), the Holy Spirit ( "a spirit proceeding from Him") and Christ Jesus ("His Word") Actually, the Trinity is more clearly illustrated in the Qur'an than in the New Testament. Odd isn't it?

This dichotomy of word and understanding can only be possible if God does not wish the children of Islam to understand the Trinitarian concept as of yet, and that is God's prerogative. This obvious inconsistency, as should be expected, does not diminish the importance the Qur'an ascribes to Jesus and Mary and their mission as the Qur'an continues to uphold and defend them.

Another apparent major problem is a matter of terminology and lack of information.

Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God... And He is not, if one defines "son" or "daughter" as the product of the union of a male and a female of the human species.

In the Qur'an [S.IV. 171] we also read:


Of course - God is The Uncreated Pure Spirit from Whom all issue. Obviously He did not "father" Jesus as a man would father a son. The incarnation of Jesus took place as quoted above which is the same that we find in any translation of the New Testament, i.e.


and


But why does this serious challenge appear in the Qur'an who speaks so highly of Jesus, and place Mary on a pedestal which not even the Christians have been able to match in the New Testament?

Simply because by the time God entrusted Mohammed to communicate His displeasure to the then known world, the Catholic Church was well into the road of corruption and self service (3)(4), and not in the service of God. In essence, normally functioning in direct contradiction to what Jesus taught through Matthew 6:24-34.


Some Specific Examples of Deviation

In Pagan mythology it was customary to believe that a "God" who resided in their Heaven equivalent would have physical intercourse with a human maiden with the offspring becoming a "lesser God", yet, a "God".

The by now well developed self-serving mentality of the Catholic Church Administration took advantage of such psychological predisposition of the pagan masses for the easy introduction and promotion of the new religion amongst them. They allowed the unspoken inference of such union between Heaven and Earth to stand.

What God tried to set straight utilizing the Prophet Mohammed was that Jesus Christ was not the offspring of His physical interaction with Mary as it was being subtlety inferred by default.

For the same ulterior motives, the Catholics (East and West) heavily promoted the concept of Mary being the Mother of God and later named Her Queen of Heaven. It fitted perfectly with the Pagan concept of a Supreme Mother Goddess (10) denounced by Jeremiah [Jeremiah 7:18], thus Christianity would be easier to promote in this fashion.

No doubt - Mary is the Mother of the Word of God manifested in Jesus, as we have theologically explained (11); but Mary IS NOT the prime cause nor is She Divine (though some have claimed this and many behave as if it were true). The only Prime Cause is the uncreated Creator - the Father.

Nonetheless, the implied concept, the Administrators thought, was more advantageous for the spread of their temporal power and control.

If you wish to have another example of the Paganization of Christianity consider the following...

The Cherubs that one does not seem to be able to get away from in traditional Catholicism (little children with wings) - Where do they come from? There is nothing Biblical that indicates that Cherubs are like that.

Those little and very traditional Catholic cherubs are no more and no less than the way the Pagans represented their god of love "Eros".

We wish to digress at this point and....


Let us Glorify God further...

Men of the Catholic Church have tried, utilizing marketing techniques as well as financial and brutal physical power, to "Evangelize" the world. [Even Mary had to intervene in México as Our Lady of Guadalupe to subtlety, but effectively, correct such behavior in the alleged Christianization of the New World.]

This was the result of their lack of true faith. If they had Faith in God, they would have acted as Jesus taught, and Don Bosco demonstrated (12), and, empowered by that Faith, the new religion, with the true and awesome Good News, would have spread like wildfire.

Unfortunately, it seems that the only "Faith" that the Church Administration was interested in promoting was:


Should we then be surprised that the Roman Church became the temporal power that it did? After passing off amongst the innocent faithful the Constantine Donation (4) as something real, they combined the Pharaonic Egypt and Imperial Rome into an Imperial Church with its own Pharaoh-Emperor: the Pope - a concept which even a true Egyptian Pharaoh rejected (13) and a condition Blessed Pope John XXIII started to dismantle through the Grace of God.

What is to the Glory of God, and certainly not of man, is that in spite of those abominable abuses carried out by the Administrators of the Roman Catholic Church, the pristine Catholic Faith reached the 20th Century. Unfortunately, that Faith is now being also tainted as the centuries old scandals and abuses and excesses of said Administrators come to light. Since the average individual does not have the intellectual or spiritual maturity to separate the Wheat (the Faith) - from the Chaff (the Administrators) their Faith suffers (14).

Now, back to the Qur'an and the exaltation of Jesus and Mary within it.


The Qur'an Exalts Mary

We have heard Catholics, priests included, who have referred to the children of Islam as "camel drivers". To those we have said and say:


In S.III. 42 we read:


Catholics should be so Blessed if the much hallowed Vatican and its almost adored Popes had acknowledged Mary's highly exalted position and Immaculate condition 1600 years ago!

But all is not a "bed of roses" in the Qur'an either. In S. IV. 163 Jesus is lumped together with Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac... Solomon and David while, at the same time, in S. V. 49 they exalt Him above all:



CONCLUSION

We may logically ask: "Why did God send Mohammed six hundred plus years after the establishment of the Catholic Church?" Or as some skeptics may ask: "Was Mohammed really sent by God?"

Let us review what was happening to the Church founded upon the Rock of Christ (15) by that time:

Mohammed came into the scene about two hundred years after the Church was "purchased" by Emperor Constantine and its decaying had set in. Not only history backs such statement but the Qur'an very clearly addresses it too. In S. IX. 31 we read:


And in S. IX. 34. We further read:


Such warning was given by Heaven ca. 1300 years before Mary started appearing (16) trying to get our attention about similar issues...

1300 years later the Roman Catholic Church was busily doling out three billion dollars, in the United States alone, to sweep under the rug the utilization of children of God as sex toys (17) by the so called Pastors who, in turn, were protected by the "Great White Shepherds" (18) like the late Cardinal Law (19), Cardinal Egan (20), Cardinal Levada (21) and many others who continue to be rewarded by the Vatican Leadership (22) for their loyalty to the Church and not to God.

Never mind that Mohammed relates to us in S. XXI. 91 what God stated about Mary:


Events seem to indicate that the Roman Catholic Church Administration may have understood this "sign" to be a "Dollar Sign"!


EPILOGUE

There is a problem that we have not touched here because it demands a whole document; however, we must mention it.

In the Qur'an (the English translation) (3) we read that Jesus was not crucified (and did not die) but in some verses one reads about His being raised up as well as the future resurrection for all. According to A. Yusuf Ali (3), the Islamic theologians cannot agree whether He was crucified or not - but, of course we Christians do know that...


Which, of course, brings us back to the original and central point of this document - Faith!

We must have Faith in God above all. Religion, whether Judaism, Christianity and Islam are only the means, the tools, for humans to reach God.

Religion with its symbols and props - the Vatican, Mecca, Medina, the Pope, the Wailing Wall, Rebekah's Tomb, etc. - IS NOT our goal and objective. Our sole goal and objective was, is and must always be - God!

The condition of the world today accurately reflects what went fundamentally wrong with the Faith - be it Judaism, Christianity or Islam and God is not responsible for it. We are!










En Español:  El Judaísmo, el Cristianismo y el Islam no son incoherentes entre sí

Em Português:  O único fundamento válido da Fé é Deus

Document originally published on September 23, 2003 - In the Eastern Catholic Church, today, the Conception of John the Baptist, is celebrated. • Edited for clarity and for a universal audience on November 7, 2003, on April 30, 2006 and on October 4, 2008