Epigraph:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
The life of Jesus as presented by the Gospel of Matthew was about Judaism, the Jewish Law and the Kingdom of Heaven rather than an obsession about his own death and vicarious atonement, as preached by St. Paul.
The title of this article is a four hour PBS documentary about the early history of Christians, which can be seen below in this post. Let us start our review with two verses of the Holy Quran. It states:And when Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?’”, he will answer, “Holy art Thou. I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou Who art the Knower of hidden things. “I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me — ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the Watcher over them; and Thou art Witness over all things. (Al Quran 5:117-118)For a believing Muslim these verses give the essence of how the early history of Christianity started in the time of Jesus, may peace be on him. The Trinitarian Christians, under the influence of St. Paul have a fairly different idea about early Christianity and they try to find and defend their religion by claiming orthodoxy of Pauline’s views. In this perspective it becomes important for all seekers of truth to know as much as possible about the first three centuries of the Christian history and this four hour PBS documentary that is available online should be a good start:
To read a review from the Muslim perspective go to page 25 of the linked journal: Muslim Sunrise Summer 2010.
Suggested reading and viewing
Praying to Jesus: From Jewish Messiah to God Incarnate
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
From Jesus to Christ — the First Christians: A four hour PBS documentary https://t.co/cI138C40UA pic.twitter.com/ImLAtHW6dX
— The Muslim Times (@The_MuslimTimes) December 9, 2015
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We have saved the above documentary in the Muslim Times as well:
Categories: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics, CHRISTIANITY, Christianity, Documentary or movie, Easter, Original Sin, Pope, Video