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EXAMINING
AN EPISTLE OF
PAUL
Saul, who later changed his name to Paul (d. c.64 or c. 67 C.E.),
was a zealous persecutor of the early disciples of Christ. At his feet
were laid down the clothes of the first Christian martyr - Stephen, who
was stoned to death. Paul claimed, he had a "Vision" during his journey
from Jerusalem to Damascus and that had converted him to Christianity.
Was he really converted and appointed as an Apostle to the Gentiles? Please
click *HERE* to read the details of this historical
"Vision".
During the ministry of Jesus (peace be upon him), Saul (Paul) was
a dedicated member of a powerful, exclusive Jewish sect called Pharisees.
The sect's distinguished descent from the prophet Isaac (peace be upon
him), was a matter of great pride for the self-righteous Pharisees. Their
pretensions to sanctity had labeled them as hypocrites and the "stiff-necked,
uncircumcised in heart and ears", in the Bible.
In his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul writes;
For
it is written, that Abraham had two sons,
the
one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
But
he {who was} of the bondwoman was born after the flesh;
but
he of the freewoman {was} by promise. Gal. 4:21/22
1. The phrases “For it is written"
and "was born
after the flesh” insinuate that the Holy Scriptures do mention,
there was a kind of unscrupulous desire of the fleshes within the relationship
between the prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), and his wife Hagar.
And, that had resulted into the birth of the prophet Ishmael (peace
be upon him).
2. The Bible indicates no such relationship or licentious corporeal
desire on the part of the prophet or his wife Hagar. The passage
quoted below reveals that it was a “prayer”
from Sarah (the prophet's wife), that joined Ishmael's parents in holy
matrimony. The prophet “hearkened to” the
supplication of Sarah - the so called "freewoman", and Hagar - the
so called "bondmaid", was given as “his wife”.
Note: In the following
verse, prophet Abraham is called “Abram” and
Sarah as
“Sarai”.
Now
Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children:
and
she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose
name {was} Hagar. And
Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now,
the
Lord hath restrained me from bearing:
I
pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by
her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
And
Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian,
after
Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan,
and
gave her to her husband Abram
to be his wife.
Genesis 16:1-3
Instead of building the bridges between the descendants
of Ishmael and Isaac, Paul widens the gap when he records the event of
a domestic quarrel, within the family of the prophet Abraham, with a twist:
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are
the children of promise.
But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him {that was born} after the Spirit,
even so {it is} now. Gal.
4:28/29
So then, brethren, we are not children of
a bondwoman,
but of the free woman. Gal.
4:31
1. Paul claims: the descendants
of Isaac were “brethren” and
“the children of promise”.
2. Paul also claims: the birth of Isaac was “after
the spirit”.
The Bible speaks of “the promise” but
makes no mention of “the spirit”. Isaac was
born from the flesh like his brother Ishmael. There are many in
the Bible whose births were promised by God e.g. John the Baptist. As a
matter of fact, God had promised Abraham twelve sons (princes) from Ishmael
(Gen. 17:20). The only birth "after the spirit"
or "through the spirit" recorded in the Bible
is that of Jesus Christ. Paul,
a zealous Pharisee, has in his Epistle tried to place Isaac and
the descendants of Isaac - "his brethren" -
on a lofty pedestal.
3. Paul's racist tendency becomes obvious when he writes,
Ishmael “persecuted” Isaac. No where
else in the Bible it is recorded that Ishmael "persecuted"
Isaac. Finding his younger brother suckling his mother, Ishmael mocked
at him which angered Sarah. (Gen. 21:9). Surprisingly, Paul himself
in the ensuing verse tells us that the persecution came from Sarah,
who asked Abraham to “cast out” Ishmael and
his mother.
Nevertheless
what saith the scripture?
“Cast
out the bondwoman and her son:
for
the son of the bondwoman shall not be
heir
with the son of the freewoman.”
Galatians 4:30
The Scripture quoted above by Paul does not correspond
with the text recorded in the Book of Genesis and reproduced
below:
Wherefore
she (Sarah) said unto Abraham,
"Cast
out this bondwoman and her son:
for
the son of this bondwoman shall not be
heir
with my son,
{even} with Isaac."
Genesis 21:10
The above speech by Sarah, which is in the first person direct (my
son), has been converted into an indirect third person speech.
This willful conversion is an attempt to indicate that the quoted text
of Galatians 4:30, was a Divine Command made by the Almighty God Himself.
The truth is, the "quoted demand" for the persecution
was made by Sarah.
PAUL EXPRESSED HIS PERSONAL OPINION
One may be inclined to mention that the texts of Paul's Epistles
were inspired by God Himself or by God's Spirit. In the following two verses
quoted as examples, Paul admits he was not inspired. He had "given
his (personal) opinion" and had expressed what he personally "thought to
be good".
Now concerning virgins I have no commandment
of the Lord;
but I give my
opinion.....
I think then
that this is good for the present distress,
{I say}, that {it is} good for a man to remain
as he is.
1 Corin. 7:25/26
CONSEQUENCES OF THE MISREPRESENTATION
Without enumerating the political fall outs, which could be many,
let us examine one particular historical influence of religious consequence
by the placing of Isaac and his descendants on a lofty Spiritual pedestal
and simultaneously casting out of Ishmael and his descendants with an alleged
Scriptural Dispensation, by apostle Paul.
God said to Abraham, the father of Ishmael and Isaac:
And said, By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only {son}:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which {is} upon the
sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou
hast obeyed My Voice. Gen. 22:16/18
Since the above promise was for a "seed" (singular), only one descendant
of "One" of the two sons of Abraham, was qualified to receive this extra
ordinary singular honor.
In Galatians 3:16, Paul gives this Glory to Jesus Christ, a
descendant of Isaac.
(KJV) Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many;
but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
The Bible records that the God had Bestowed this significant favor
upon prophet Abraham
when he had obeyed His Voice.
The questions that follow are:
What was that Voice or Command that
prophet Abrahamhad obeyed? When and how was it obeyed
by prophet Abraham?
Was Isaac born when this "Voice of God" came
to Abraham?
To whom is this Glory given, by the
Qur'an?
To find the answers to these questions and much more please click:
JESUS AND MUHAMMAD and read the sub-headings;
God makes one significantly
important promise to Abraham and
Prophet Muhammad, a mercy for all creatures.
Please send your comments directly to the
author,
Akbarally Meherally, by e-mail at
trustone@bc.sympatico.ca
AGA
KHAN'S DIVINITY * BIO-DATA
* CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
* CRISIS
DU'A OF ISMAILIS Part 1
* DU'A OF ISMAILIS Part 2 *
EPISTLE BY PAUL
FAQ BIBLE Q. 1 to 12
* FAQ BIBLE Q. 13 to 16 *
FAQ BIBLE Q. 17 to 25
GOSPEL OF GOD
HISTORY OF THE
AGA KHANS Sect. 1 * HISTORY OF THE AGA KHANS
Sect. 2 HISTORY OF THE
AGAKHANI ISMAILIS Section 1
HISTORY OF ISMAILIS
Section 2 * HISTORY OF ISMAILIS Section
3
HISTORY OF ISMAILIS Section
4 * HISTORY OF ISMAILIS Section 5
HISTORY OF ISMAILIS Section
6 * HISTORY OF ISMAILIS Section 7
INDEX *
ISLAMIC RITUALS
* JESUS & CHRISTIANS IN QUR'AN
JESUS & MUHAMMAD
* PAUL'S AUTHORITY
PROPHECIES No. 1
* PROPHECIES No. 2
UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 1 * UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 2 UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 3 * UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 4 UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 5 * UNDERSTANDING ISMAILISM
Sect. 6
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