By Sam Shamoun (Original article 1, 2, 3)
“In the article below, the Muslim being addressed commits a clear non-sequitur fallacy in an attempt to support his case. It’s evident that he either lacks a proper understanding of the topic that he is presenting or is being intentionally misleading. While this is an older article, it still holds valuable insights. For now, I’ve included only the relevant portion that pertains to the Bible, but I plan to share the rest of it at a later time.
Our ultimate goal is to equip Trinitarian Christians with a deeper understanding of their faith. As true followers of Christ, we must prioritize knowing and studying the Bible before delving into the beliefs of other religions.” – AC
The following is a response to the deliberate lies, slander and insults against the Apostle Paul published by Bismikaallahuma in the article titled Paul of Tarsus: The Clear-Cut Hypocrite.
The author, Tera Tak Adamar (TTA in the following), begins by stating:
Introduction
We read the following teachings of the so-called “apostle” from Tarsus, Paul, written in his epistles, as follows:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” (Romans 12:18-19)
Another teaching which Paul had written is
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3:13)
A summary of the above recorded statements by Paul:
- Be at peace with all men.
- Never take your own revenge, beloved!
- Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
We admit that these are all beautiful teachings. The question now, however, is did Paul himself put these very same teachings of his into effect? As it so happens, we beg to differ!
RESPONSE:
Let us highlight one key aspect of Paul’s statement which the author conveniently overlooked:
“IF IT IS POSSIBLE, AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’” Romans 12:18-19
Paul clearly states to seek peace IF IT IS POSSIBLE. Yet, if the circumstances are such that it is not possible, then there is no sin on the part of the individual.
In the following, TTA is going to grossly misapply this passage for the purpose of mockery. We will discuss TTA’s interpretation after we have quoted his discussion. Suffice it to say for now, that this verse certainly does not mean that Christians have to agree to everything anyone says or does. It is not about a superficial ‘peace’ that only consists in aquiescing to whatever the other person wants. Paul certainly leaves room for the discipline and rebuking of Christians for disobedience, failure or heretical teaching, as well as opposing and rebuking false believers:
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” Romans 16:17-18
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord… I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked man from among you.’” 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13
“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent – not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:4-11
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it – I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while – yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged.” 2 Corinthians 7:8-13
“We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY FEEL ASHAMED. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” 2 Thessalonians 3:11-15
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, REBUKING, CORRECTINNG and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5
These passages make it abundantly clear that discipline, rebuking and even disfellowshiping believers are necessary at times and are essential aspects of the Christian life and experience. Since Mark was clearly wrong for abandoning Paul and Barnabas, as the author himself will later note, Paul was therefore justified in administering discipline. Yet note that Paul’s purpose in disciplining and rebuking a wayward Christian was to lead them back to repentance and right standing before God and the Church. As we shall see, this is precisely what happened with Mark. More on this below.
The author of the article under discussion has, however, his own agenda.
TTA:
Paul’s Hypocrisy Revealed
We read in Acts that
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. (Acts 15:36-40)
It is clear that Paul and Barnabas had had a sharp disagreement and later parted company because of that disagreement. So Paul was not following what he had preached, namely to “…be at peace with all men” (Romans 12).
We also observe that Paul had not forgiven John (called Mark) for having abandoned him and Barnabas at Pamphylia (Acts 15:38) and opposed Barnabas’ plan to take John with him. Apparently Paul had amnesia with regard to his teaching, “forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13). So why did not Paul forgive John for abandoning him earlier?
Further, regarding revenge this snake taught that “Never take your own revenge, beloved!” (Romans 12) but yet Paul himself took his revenge against John (called Mark) by refusing to take him in the journey. So again we ask, why did Paul seek his revenge against John when he had clearly forbidden this? He is truly no doubt a clear-cut hypocrite, through and through!
RESPONSE:
It is as sad as it is obvious that TTA has no interest in examining the situation honestly and coming to a fair conclusion. His chosen language of insult (“snake”) and sarcastic mockery (“apparently Paul had amnesia”) leaves little doubt about his motivation.
Apparently TTA thinks that striving to be at peace with all men means that it is forbidden to be in disagreement with anybody or about anything. He seems to have a very low and superficial understanding of peace, if he thinks that peace is the same as not disagreeing and not being allowed to argue passionately about convictions.
In a moment we will actually use the very same letter to the Colossians refered to by TTA to prove that Paul DID IN FACT FORGIVE MARK, exposing the author’s distortion of the facts for the sake of cheap polemics. But before we answer, let us continue quoting some more of TTA’s venom to have his complete argumentation in front of us.
TTA:
On a related side note, this snake also has used Jesus'(P) name in his teaching when in reality it is not originally from Jesus(P), but from his own concoction. For example, in 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul taught that the resurrected Christ had appeared to over five hundred breathren at one time whereas this episode is not available in the Gospels. Another proof is in Acts 20:35, whereby Paul cites, “remember the words of the Lord Jesus how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”. This citation is certainly not from Jesus(P) because nowhere in Gospels is this quote to be found and attributed to Jesus(P). This same snake has also urged all the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses(P), he told them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs (Acts 21:21), this goes against what Jesus(P) himself taught. But sadly, the Christian missionaries and Christians in general have taken this hypocrite as their “apostle” and they generally behave like him as well.
RESPONSE:
[ First a side remark on the chosen form and language of the article before we continue our discussion of the content. In the Qur’an we find this injunction:
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching;
and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious. … (Sura 16:125)
The author would certainly preach and defend this verse as being the command of God. With this article being so full of aggression, insult and mockery TTa has clearly broken the command of Sura 16:125 on how to deal with those who do not yet believe in Islam. Assuming that TTA would uphold this verse as God’s command, would he not be liable to judgment as a hypocrite under his own criteria? How can we take TTA and his writings seriously, if he does not obey what he wants us to accept as the Word of God? For us, it is clear that these observations certainly and severely damage the credibility and integrity of TTA and whoever is on the editorial board of Bismikaallahuma making the decision what to publish on their web site. ]
We are glad that the author was honest enough to make mention of the fact that Mark had abandoned Paul and Barnabas. This demonstrates that it is the author’s agenda that is at fault, not Paul. His anti-Pauline stance leads him to seek for anything he can find in order to assault Paul’s character. Yet as one reads the wider biblical context one will discover that it is the author who is being deceptive:
“JESUS DID MANY OTHER MIRACULOUS SIGNS IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS DISCIPLES, WHICH ARE NOT RECORDED IN THIS BOOK. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31
“JESUS DID MANY OTHER THINGS AS WELL. IF EVERY ONE OF THEM WERE WRITTEN DOWN, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25
The fact that John himself explicitly testifies that Jesus did and said many other things which he hadn’t recorded exposes the sheer stupidity and illogicalness of the chosen approach since it is essentially an argument from silence. Just because the Gospels do not record all the resurrection appearances or words of the Lord Jesus DOES NOT MEAN THAT JESUS DIDN’T DO OR SAY MORE THAN WHAT IS WRITTEN.
Second, Luke wrote both Luke and Acts. This means that the author’s claim that Paul made things up is a lie as well. Here is the reason why:
“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to US by those who from the first WERE EYEWITNESSES AND SERVANTS OF THE WORD. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know THE CERTAINTY OF THE THINGS YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT.” Luke 1:1-4
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.’” Acts 1:1-4
Luke claims to have carefully investigated all things to insure the accuracy of his report, having heard from the eyewitnesses and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. This proves that Paul was transmitting the actual words of Christ since Luke would not have included Paul’s statements in his account had they been fraudulent.
Furthermore, Luke mentions Paul’s warm reception by both the apostles and elders at Jerusalem:
“Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem TO SEE THE APOSTLES AND ELDERS about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.’ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, PETER got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’ The whole assembly became silent AS THEY LISTENED TO BARNABAS AND PAUL telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, JAMES spoke up: ‘Brothers, listen to me … It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.’ Then THE APOSTLES AND ELDERS, WITH THE WHOLE CHURCH, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with OUR DEAR FRIENDS BARNABAS AND PAUL – MEN WHO HAVE RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.” Acts 15:1-14, 19-35
“After this, WE got ready and went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where WE were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples. When WE arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of US went to see JAMES, AND ALL THE ELDERS WERE PRESENT. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, THEY PRAISED GOD …” Acts 21:15-20a
If Paul were making things up, he wouldn’t have been received so warmly BY JESUS’ VERY OWN FOLLOWERS WHO HAD FIRSTHAND KNOWEDLEGE OF WHAT JESUS SAID AND DID!
Third, it is a deliberate lie by the author TTA when he says that Paul
“urged all the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, he told them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs (Acts 21:21), this goes against what Jesus(P) himself taught”.
Here is the passage in question:
“… Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. THEY HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT YOU TEACH ALL THE JEWS who live among the Gentiles TO TURN AWAY FROM MOSES, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. THEN EVERYBODY WILL KNOW THERE IS NO TRUTH IN THESE REPORTS ABOUT YOU, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. AS FOR THE GENTILE BELIEVERS, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.’ The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.” Acts 21:20b-26
The context shows that Paul WAS BEING FALSELY ACCUSED of teaching that the Jews need to turn away from the Law of Moses. As the context shows it was the Gentiles who were not required to observe the Law of Moses, something which both Paul AND THE OTHER APOSTLES were in agreement on.
This means that the author either has not read the passage and is therefore speaking out of irresponsible ignorance. Or he has read the passage and is therefore willfully lying.
Finally, we now turn the tables and examine some of the “words” of Jesus in the Quran which are not found in the Gospels:
And (appoint him) as a messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): ‘I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah’s leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I bring the dead into life, by Allah’s leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe; (I have come to you), to attest the Torah which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was (Before) forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me. It is Allah Who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a Way that is straight. When Jesus found unbelief on their part he said: ‘Who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah?’ Said the disciples: ‘We are Allah’s helpers: We believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness THAT WE ARE MUSLIMS.’ ‘Our Lord! we believe in what Thou hast revealed, and we follow the Messenger. then write us down among those who bear witness.’” S. 3:49-53
“At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: ‘O Mary! truly a strange thing has thou brought! O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!’ But she pointed to the babe. They said: ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?’ He said: ‘I am indeed a servant of Allah. He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He hath made me) kind to my mother, and not overbearing or unblest; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)’! Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.” S. 19:27-34
Since the Gospels do not record Jesus or his contemporaries saying any such things does this then not demonstrate – according to TTA’s own criteria – that Muhammad was a snake and a liar? It is Muhammad, not Paul, who made up fraudulent speeches of not only Jesus, but of the other prophets and messengers of God as well (for details see, e.g., Rev. Tisdall’s work The Original Sources of the Qur’an).
This in itself sufficiently vindicates Paul’s honesty and integrity while exposing the shoddy scholarship and intentional deception of the author.
We move on to some more of the author’s deliberate insulting and false statements.
TTA:
Conclusions
It is very clear from the above exposition that Paul was a hypocrite, and hence, how can the Christian missionaries expect Muslims to accept this snake as a legitimate “follower” of the Messiah Jesus(P), son of Mary? Paul clearly told others to make peace but he himself did not practice what he had preached when he had a sharp disagreement with Barnabas and they parted company (Acts 15). This totally contradicts what he had earlier taught, namely “be at peace with all men” (Romans 12) and “forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13)
He had also taken his revenge upon John (called Mark) because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work in Acts 15, even though he told the Romans, “Never take your own revenge, beloved!” (Romans 12). It seems that it was Barnabas who was more religious than Paul because he did not taken the revenge upon John.
Which leads us to the question:
If Paul himself has failed to follow what he had taught, would he indeed follow what Jesus(P) had taught?
And only God knows best.
RESPONSE:
First, we observe that TTA has his chronology all muddled up. Paul wrote the letters to the Romans and Colossians YEARS AFTER the incident reported in Acts. It is simply wrong to state, “This totally contradicts what he had earlier taught,” because at the time of the reported disagreement with Barnabas those letters were not yet written. Thus, Paul has not contradicted his own teaching.
Secondly, let us quote Colossians in context to expose the author’s willful twisting of scripture:
“My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, AS DOES MARK, THE COUSIN OF BARNABAS. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, WELCOME HIM) … OUR DEAR FRIEND LUKE, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.” Colossians 4:10, 14
Paul refers to Mark as being present with him in the very same epistle where Paul commands believers to forgive one another! This clearly demonstrates that, unlike Muhammad, Paul did in fact practice what he preached, SINCE HE DID FORGIVE MARK! Other places where Paul speaks highly of Mark includes:
“And so do MARK, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, MY FELLOW WORKERS.” Philemon 24
“Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, BECAUSE HE IS HELPFUL TO ME IN MY MINISTRY.” 2 Timothy 4:11
These statements were all written after Paul’s dispute with Barnabas about Mark. This shows that despite Mark’s disloyalty to Paul on their first trip, Paul and Mark later reconciled for the sake of Christian love and unity!
Before we turn to an examination of Muhammad’s words and deeds, we need to come to a proper understanding of the incident in Acts that was abused by TTA to accuse the Apostle Paul.
These missionary journeys were quite dangereous. Preaching to anyone that his religion is wrong and God is calling them to repentance is bound to stir up opposition. On the first journey Barnabas and Paul were persecuted and finally expelled from Antioch (Acts 13:50), nearly stoned in Iconium (Acts 14:5-6) where they were able to flee, and finally Paul was actually stoned and left for dead in Lystra (14:19).
In such dangerous missions it is very important that all members of the team can fully trust each other. Mark had abandoned Paul and Barnabas in the early part of their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13). The time came to plan the second journey for revisiting also those areas where they had encountered the hostile opposition mentioned above. We read:
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:36-40)
In every industry, company, government, administration, army and also in the church, the leaders of a team or project have to decide who would be suitable co-workers that should be recruited for a specific given task. Paul and Barnabas disagreed whether Mark would be a good team member, having the strength of character and the stamina necessary to persevere when the situation would become difficult and even dangerous again.
Paul and Barnabas had become deep friends during the years that they had worked together. The experience of being persecuted, together risking their lives for the common cause and nearly being killed inevitably creates a deep bond between people. But they were both men of strong convictions. In this case, they could not come to an agreement. Because of their deep bond, they did not shrug it off as if their disagreement didn’t matter. They were deeply committed to each other. They really argued long and sharp because it was important to both of them to solve their disagreement and travel together. However, none was able to convince the other, so that in the end, they decided to separate and make two teams instead.
Note that there is no report of an argument between Mark and Paul. There is no mention that Paul was angry and revengeful against Mark. Regarding their personal relationship, Paul had probably forgiven Mark long ago. This was not about personal grudges on Paul’s side, but about his responsibility of selecting team members who were suitable for the difficult mission they had ahead of them. Mark knew that he had deserted them and was certainly sorry for what he had done. He probably had not even requested to be taken on the next journey because he knew he had no right to it. This was Barnabas’ idea and the disagreement was between Paul and Barnabas. Mark probably only heard about it afterwards.
To “live at peace with all men” can hardly mean: employ anyone for any job disregarding his training, gifting, and proven (un)reliability. We may personally have forgiven a person who has failed us, but still not think that the person is currently qualified for a certain job. That is no sin.
Later, after Paul became convinced that Mark had grown and was now reliable and trustworthy, he took him on journeys again and gave him responsibilities as we have read above. In fact, apart from Paul’s refusal to take him on this particular journey, everything Paul says about Mark in several different letters is only positive.
Certainly Paul was disappointed with Mark after his desertion at the first journey, and he was not willing to take him again on the very next journey, but revenge? Where is there any mention of Paul being vindictive and making an attempt of taking revenge as TTA claims? Where is there any indication that Paul tried to harm or hurt Mark? Did he injure him or try to kill him? Did Paul curse him, insult him, or seek to spread false rumors about him? Did he try to separate him from his wife and get her for himself? Did he try to sue him in court or try to destroy his professional career? No to all of this. There was no attempt of any kind of revenge. What is TTA talking about?
TTA has failed to bring proof on all counts of his charge. The decision not to take Mark on this journey was made by Paul in his position as responsible team leader. There is no indication anywhere that on a personal level Paul and Mark were (a) not at peace with each other, that (b) Paul ever took revenge against Mark or (c) had not forgiven him.
After looking at Paul’s responsible and peaceful behavior towards Mark who abandoned him on a dangerous journey, or to Barnabas who disagreed with him on the right action, let us shortly contrast this with Muhammad’s way of response.
Abdullah ibn Sa’d Ibn Abi Sarh was one of Muhammad’s companions and for some time acted as his scribe writing down the revelations of the Qur’an. Because of a certain incident Abdullah came to the conviction that Muhammad was not a prophet after all and left him. What is Muhammad’s response? He gave the order to kill Abdullah (see this article for details). In fact, there are at least a dozen people which Muhammad commanded to execute for reasons of personal revenge (see Muhammad’s and his Personal Enemies) as well as the genocide against the tribe of the Banu Qurayza. Not satisfied with the murder of his personal enemies in his own life time, Muhammad instituted the death penalty for apostasy in Islamic law: If anyone leaves Islam, kill him (consult these pages for details), thus ending freedom of religion and freedom of conscience once and for all. Sura 111 is dedicated to the curse of Abu Lahab, one of Muhammad’s uncles, who opposed him. And even on his death bed, Muhammad had nothing better to do than to curse the Jews and the Christians (see for example this article). And this list could be continued with many more examples.
The members of Bismikaallahuma including TTA, the author of the currently discussed article are proud to be followers of Muhammad. For them, there is no reason to doubt that Muhammad was a true and the final messenger from God. They find nothing questionable in Muhammad’s behavior that would throw doubt on his authority. But the grave offense of Paul, to refuse to take Mark on a journey with him, and him having an argument with Barnabas are clear proof that Paul is a hypocrite, snake, liar and false apostle. Are we the only ones who have the impression that there is something grossly out of balance in the author’s thinking and ability of discernment? A serious loss of common sense?
Maybe TTA does not think the above examples count, because Muhammad was consistent: He killed those who opposed them in agreement with the command of the Qur’an to kill the disbelievers. He cursed his opponents, just like in the Qur’an he puts curses on those who oppose Islam. Therefore, Muhammad cannot be accused of being a hypocrite. As ridiculous as that excuse would be, we will entertain it for the moment, and in the second part below we will present a detailed examination of a number of serious discrepancies between Muhammad’s words and deeds.
What would TTA have done, if Paul had just accepted the suggestion of Barnabas and taken Mark with them despite his serious failure? Most likely he would have quoted a couple of verses on disciplining disobedient believers (several were quoted above) and would have complained that Paul preaches disciplining the disobedient but here he just forgives – contrary to his own preaching! Therefore, Paul is a hypocrite, snake, liar and false apostle.
Clearly the problem is not with Paul, but with various Muslims who desparately seek to find anything that may subtract from the authority of Paul because the Gospel he so clearly preached exposes Muhammad’s message as anti-Christian, vastly inferior and not coming from God.
TTA has presented to us his criteria for a test of an apostle of God, criteria applied by him in his article to the Apostle Paul. As a Muslim and author publishing at Bismikaallahuma TTA is part of the effort to call people to Islam, as the religion of God, to believe in Muhammad as the last messenger of God, and to follow Muhammad as the ideal role model for human behavior. TTA claimed (though falsely and only by twisting what the Bible actually says) that because Paul did not do what he preached, and is, therefore, a hypocrite, a liar, a snake and a false apostle, definitely not sent by God and not to be believed or followed.
It is certainly fair to ask whether Muhammad passes the test of these same criteria established by TTA. Therefore, we now logically proceed to the second part of this paper.
To explore the rebuttal against the Muslim perspective, please continue reading the article below.
