Christians! Do you believe Mohammed's prophethood?

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PersonaNonGrata

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As You all know all Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, how about You, do you believe that Mohammed is/was a prophet?
and one question follows, if you dont is that because He lived after Jesus?
 
Nope, Mohammad was not a prophet to Christians, the guy was rich and he had multiple wives one of who was a widow and also something I might be ignorant on but did he commanded people to kill in battles if not did it himself?

Broke a lot of Christian rules right?
 
A prophet is a religious leader or teacher who claims to be divinely inspired and speaks for a god/dess, by definition.

So yes, Mohammed was a prophet.

The other question, of course, is if I follow Mohammed as a prophet. I own the Quran, and like all sacred texts, I believe it contains truth in that it is an account of humans trying to understand the Big Something/God. I do not make a judgment about whether Mohammed was actually speaking for God, but I do acknowledge that he was divinely inspired. One need not be penniless to be a prophet in my opinion, and as for polygamy, this was commonly practiced in middle eastern cultures, and the OT has righteous people with multiple wives too. That was just how marriage was done back then and in those cultures, and I don't find it a limiting factor on whether one can be inspired by God.

That said, one needs to understand that I do not believe that being "inspired by God" means one is infallible or always correct. I am inspired by God on many occasions and sometimes write down what I feel and think during these times of inspiration, but I don't believe I have the Truth. I believe I'm getting a glimpse of Truth, as it is limited by my physicality and culture and other contexts, and I'm trying to express that little glimpse.

So, I would say Mohammed was inspired by God, and can certainly help others with some of his very beautiful teachings, but that doesn't mean I consider him perfect or right for everyone.
 
Postmaster said:
Nope, Mohammad was not a prophet to Christians, the guy was rich and he had multiple wives one of who was a widow and also something I might be ignorant on but did he commanded people to kill in battles if not did it himself?

Broke a lot of Christian rules right?
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The basic rules of our old beliefs are shielded in quaran, I can go with you that afterawhile He could be defeated by HIS ...
SOphocles IE lets become, if you own a dozen hord of sheeps, and support your belief till the blood you can not BE a prophet? But then times changes, your own sacrifice may not be enough sometimes to support GOD/ALLAH's words... SO I do not think even then you cant be blamed of your thoughtsççç

rules are meant to be broken :p
 
path_of_one said:
One need not be penniless to be a prophet in my opinion
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However that is not a Christian point of view, that is yours...

Anyone can claim to be a prophet, hell people do it everyday. The problem is how can you be so sure? Well divine authority is shown to us by miracles. I've been a witness to an icon of the weeping virgin personally. However I will not say that there isn't other ways of worshipping God then Christianity. I view it as there are more passionate ways of worshipping god, Christianity to me is the ultimate way and this can be judged by the strict laws we have yet one of the most passive (from an envangelist point of view).. I think my life would be much easier if I was a Muslim! Not having to worry about wealth, having loads of wives, and sometimes even justify my violent acts.. I'm not saying a Muslim is better then a Christian because only God can judge that. However I will say Christianity is a more passionate (Latin for suffering) religon then Islam, therefore closer to God and the reason Christ was Crossed, that sybolism can even be undertood by an illiterate, however an illiterate would find it harder to understand truely what Islam is if he wasn't told.
 
If "divine authority" were based on purported "miracles," there have been alot of prophets in many religions over the ages. There's nothing wrong with believing your chosen religion is the "best," but true spiritual "prophesizing" is about spreading words of love not comparative judging. I do tend to think, however, that, if by prophesizing we mean God communicating in various ways with various folks, I doubt the Bid Guy remained fully mute until the Christians showed up-after all those New Testament sorts seemed to like to allude to Old Testament "prophets." Take care, Earl
 
As You all know all Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, how about You, do you believe that Mohammed is/was a prophet?
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If I believed Mohammed was a prophet, would I not have to accept everything he said? And if I accepted his claims, wouldn't I then have to deny Jesus' divinity? That is something I just can't accept...

And, on top of that, I view him as overly involved in politics - a real prophet of God wouldn't connect himself so closely to this world, imo...

Now, having said that, I do believe what Mohammed did was ultimately for the best. His teachings brought God to many pagans. The guidelines it set forth were far more charitable than the guidelines already in place.

So, I guess I would say Mohammed was a blessing from God (for the Arab world), but he really wasn't of God, if that makes sense.

and one question follows, if you dont is that because He lived after Jesus?
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Not really. I just reject his prophethood because his teachings are contradictory to Jesus'. If what he had said supported Jesus' teachings, I would call him a prophet.

Originally posted by Postmaster:
Well divine authority is shown to us by miracles. I've been a witness to an icon of the weeping virgin personally.
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I'm not so sure miracles alone show us divine authority. Can't Satan perform miracles? I think that the only way to establish divine authority is if the miracle worker confesses in Jesus Christ (the first letter of John says something to this effect when it discusses the testing of spirits) - if he/she doesn't confess in Jesus, then that person isn't of God, miracles or no.

But I do envy you for being witness to the weeping virgin miracle; I've always longed to see that event for myself.
 
Where does it say in the Bible that Christian prophets must be poor? It says you will know them by their fruits, but none of the fruits are poverty. That said, I do think that an attitude of giving and sacrifice is evidence of the fruits of the spirit, so overwhelming wealth would not make me comfortable for a Christian prophet.

But I wasn't saying Mohammed was a Christian prophet. I was just saying that he may well be a prophet for his people. Prophets arise in many cultures and are, in part, products of their cultural and historical contexts, as they must be to make any sense to the folks around them. They may be inspired by God, but they are still human and subject to the same influences of culture, history, and personality that we all are.

I find it very dangerous to base one's judgment of the divine rightness of a prophet on miracles, by the way. If you believe miracles occur, the Bible itself speaks of those who do miracles/create signs who are not of God. The pharoah's magicians, for example, did such. Magic/miracle-working/energy-working is a part of many neo-pagan religions, and is something many ordinary folks do. It isn't that difficult to work energy for some, but that doesn't make them divinely inspired. In fact, Jesus specifically said that many who say they did works in his name will, in fact, not be in him and will not be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven. To me, it is far more telling to look at the motivations behind people's works, to look at who gets the glory of those works, than simply who is working miracles.
 
So just anyone that can claim they are divinely inspired can be a prophet? lol Ive seen many of those on CR alone butI would not at all ascribe them to God. The bible tells us how to tell which is a true prophet of God and who is a false prophet. I would till the end of time use that formula.. I do not believe that Mohammed is a prophet of my God based on that same formula.

Might I remind you that the question was posed to the Christians.. Do you believe Mohammed's prophethood. We are saying why we do not believe he is a prophet to the Christians not to the other cultures of the world.

As for poverty and prophethood it would do you good to read the gospels to see exactly what they say about wealth.
 
As a Christian I do not believe that Muhammed was a Prophet

Muhammad was apparently a well-meaning man who sought to oppose paganism and evil in his day. While he succeeded in uniting the Arabian Peninsula and upheld several important virtues, I do not believe he received a fresh revelation from God. Jesus Christ fulfilled not only the final prophetic role from God, but He is the Savior or the world and God the Son. While Islam believes that some Bible passages refer to Muhammad (see Deut. 18:18-19; John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7), that is clearly not the meaning of the texts. Other passages may help in understanding and interpreting the previous texts (see Matthew 21:11; Luke 24:19; John 6;14; 7:40; Acts 1:8-16; 7:37).



The uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth was that He claimed He had power on earth to forgive sins (Matthew 9:2–6). No other prophet of any of the great religions made this claim. Only Jesus can provide peace with God. This is why He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
 
This is the interesting thing about "Christianity-" it doesn't speak with 1 voice, with the exception of honoring the role of Jesus/Christ. Some Christians-the "exclusivists, " particularly those of fundamentalistic orientation, would literally say only Jesus spoke with any divine authority and anyone who doesn't buy the literal, concrete interpetations of his message are going straight to a literal hell. And there are many within Christianity who not only don't take that view, but even embrace the notion of a "divine" aspect to nearly all of the world's religions. Maybe that in itself would make for an interesting discussion on the Christianity thread-"what beliefs to you have to pledge to to be considered Christian?";) Have a good one, Earl
 
Kindest Regards, all!

I think a lot of the trouble in answering the question is in the way it is worded. It is set up to pit the two against each other. Like it or not, this is not an either/or dilemma. Jews, and by extension Christians, are the heirs of the promise to Abraham through Isaac. Likewise, Islam is the heir to the promise to Abraham through Ishmael. The Monotheistic faiths are all cousins. They might not agree with everything to the letter, but overall they have the same obligations to each other and to the world.

My two cents.
 
Faithfulservant said:
Might I remind you that the question was posed to the Christians.. Do you believe Mohammed's prophethood. We are saying why we do not believe he is a prophet to the Christians not to the other cultures of the world.
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Perhaps I misread the question, but I believe it simply asked if us Christians believed Mohammed was a prophet. Not if we believed Mohammed was a valid prophet for us personally. Hence, I said, yes- a prophet for his own people/culture and no- not a prophet for me. But then again, I have chosen to follow Jesus, and I don't feel the need for another, more recent prophet.

I recognize that anyone can claim to be a prophet, but there are two different questions here in my opinion. One question is if a certain person should be recognized as a prophet for their own people/culture. Another question is if I personally should look toward a certain person's teachings on my path. What works for me is following Jesus, but also reading all cultures' sacred texts. I believe all sacred texts are divinely inspired, but are not infallible or 100% correct. I've still learned a lot from reading them and found much inspiration. Humanity's experience of the Divine is beautiful, no matter what language it is written in. It may not be an experience that resonates with me, but that is the extent of my judgment- is this for me, or not? I don't bother going beyond that into the realm of guessing if it is correct for others. Hence, I would recognize Mohammed as a prophet to his people, because they obviously feel he is and his teachings have inspired people to reach out to God, even if they are sometimes misused (as has been the Bible). However, Mohammed is just not for me, outside of my generalized reading and study.

Along the lines of Earl's post, I think part of the question in any specific inquiry like this is one's placement on the fundamental-liberal continuum in Christianity. I'm more of the type who thinks all world religions express humanity's experience of the Divine, and are thus divinely inspired, but all of us are also fallible and limited. It's up to us to figure out what path best leads us to the Divine/God, and I choose not to judge others' choices in this matter.
 
PersonaNonGrata said:
As You all know all Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, how about You, do you believe that Mohammed is/was a prophet?
and one question follows, if you dont is that because He lived after Jesus?
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First of all, I realize that Mohammed was a great and profound man. I will answer your question (which is quite significant in stature), if you can answer mine...

What one (any one) prophecy did Mohammed make pertaining to the fulfillment of God's/Allah's word, that no other prophet made before him, that has come true? Answer that, and I'll give you my answer.

v/r

Q
 
Muhammad claims to be a prophet of God. Christians cannot reject his claim as impossible because Christians believe that God has sent prophets. But this does not mean that Christians must blindly accept that Muhammad is a prophet, that would be foolish and disobedient. Instead we are commanded to test prophets to determine whether they are from God. The prophecy of Muhammad is recorded in the Qur'an so we need to test what the Qur'an says to see whether Muhammad is a true prophet.

The Qur'an makes three claims as to why Muhammad is a true prophet. These claims are "testable". These claims are:
  1. The Qur'an confirms the teaching of the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
  2. The Qur'an makes clearer the teaching of the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
  3. Muhammad is foretold in the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
In the Gospel Jesus very clearly taught that Christians are not to fight for their religion. His apostles also taught the same:
Mat 5:39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,and persecute you;
Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

But in the Qur'an it says that the Gospel taught that fighting for God (religion) is acceptable.
They fight in the way of God; they kill, and are killed; that is a promise binding upon God in the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Koran (Sura 9:111, Arberry).
What the Qur'an teaches about the Gospel is wrong. The Gospel clearly prohibits fighting for religion. The Qur'an does not confirm the Bible at this major point.

In the Bible Jesus clearly taught that he would die and be raised from the dead:
Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 20:26But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat20:27And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

However, when the Qur'an teaches about the death of Jesus on the cross it says that he never really died!
"We (the Jews) slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God" - yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. ... and they slew him not of certainty - no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is All-mighty, All-wise.(Sura 4:156-157, Arberry)


Jesus taught that his death on the cross was to pay for our sins and that it was part of God's work that he came to perform. However in the Qur'an Jesus' death on the cross is no death at all. Thus the Qur'an does not confirm the Bible at this most important point.

The Qur'an shows no understanding of the meaning of the title "Son of God". In the Qur'an it means nothing more than to imply that God had sex, and as we have seen from the Bible this is not what the title means. In the Qur'an Jesus is given the title of Messiah and yet denied the title of the Son of God; the Bible clearly teaches that both of these titles go together.Again we see that what was clearly taught in the Bible is confused by the Qur'an and has led to confusion and disagreements between Muslims and Christians. The Qur'an claims to make clearer the teaching of the Bible but this claim is false. It does not make clearer the Bible's teaching, in fact it only confuses it.

If you check all the prophocies in the bible that supposedly point to Mohammed you can see it is a stretch at the very least.


I personally can only conclude that the claims of the Qur'an are false. It does not confirm the teaching of the Bible; it does not make clearer the teaching of the Bible; and Muhammad is not foretold in the Bible. So an easy answer to me is no he is not a prophet.
 
I think if Christians accepted Muhammed to be a prophet, they would be calling themselves Muslims instead. :)
 
sometimes i do & sometimes i don't. i think he said some things that are quite contradictory to what Jesus & the Prophets & Apostles taught & then again so do some of the Christian leaders today. so I am staying with Jesus, because Jesus is the one, who God exalted & put him on the throne & not Mohammed.:)
 
sometimes i do & sometimes i don't. i think he said some things that are quite contradictory to what Jesus & the Prophets & Apostles taught & then again so do some of the Christian leaders today. so I am staying with Jesus, because Jesus is the one, who God exalted & put him on the throne & not Mohammed.:)
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however most christian leaders today do not claim to be prophets with a new truth. good point about jesus though bandit, i feel exactly the same way. as brian said, if we believed as muslims believed, we would in fact be muslims. although Islam recognizes Jesus as an historical figure, it does not recognize the same Jesus that the christian faith is built upon. If i look at a golden calf and see a god, while you see a pricey piece of art, one could argue we are not looking at the same thing.
 
I said:
I think if Christians accepted Muhammed to be a prophet, they would be calling themselves Muslims instead. :)
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ahem.. that makes all muslims christians, ı referred that: is it the timeline?
 
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