Answering Christian (Question 2)

Question 2
Muslim says that the Divine Trinity is invalid, where God, in the Quran itself, addresses Himself as plural, not singular, for example :
(( Indeed We have sent down the Dzikr and surely We are the ones who preserve it ))
We can see hear that God said "We" instead of "I" ! We is for plural, and that, of course, will be the Lord God, Jesus the Son of God, and Mary the Mother of God. From John chapter 10, verse 30 : "I and My Father are One" !.

Answer
Obviously this is not the correct way of interpreting that verse, or any other verse that Allah s.w.t. used "We". In interpreting the Quran, they are more than 13 field of knowledge that one has to master, such as the sciences of Quran, the sciences of Hadith, the knowledge regarding the Arabic language, the knowledge of the sirah of the Prophet, and so on. One cannot easily interpret the verses of Quran without a discipline, or else, everyone can claim anything, and bring their support with their own interpretation of the Quran.

The word "We" that Allah used here, doesn't refers to plural, but it is the form of ta'zim, or expressing His Greatness trough His Words. It is not hard to understand or accept it. If we look at Queen Elizabeth II, she also used the word we in referring to herself, her majesty. Does that mean that she is also included in the Trinity?

Allah is One, and His Oneness cannot be denied, nor it is denied by any Muslim lunatics, if there's any! He said :
(( Say! (O Muhammad) that He is One! Allah, the Eternally Besought of all! He begets not nor He was begotten. And there is none comparable to Him ))
This is the basic of Muslim theology, and no Muslim will deny it!

Besides, the quotation above regarding the words of Jesus, is not exactly means that Jesus and God are one. If we may look at the context of the story, from John chapter 10 verse 23 until the verse 30 :

23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

24 Then came the Jews around him. And said unto Him. How long dost thou make us doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND.

29 My Father which gave them to me, I greater than all, and no man is able to PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY FATHER'S HAND.

30 I and my Father are one.

We can see clearly, the oneness hear is the oneness in purpose, not oneness by nature. Any Messenger of God is one in purpose, so long as any man and woman in remains in faith!
In addition, the word Trinity does not even mentioned in the Bible, not even once. We bring here a quotation from former pastor, missionary, professor and is holding a Master degree in Divinity, Sister Khadijah "Sue" Watson :
" It is interesting to note that there were bishops during the first three hundred years of the Church that were teaching as the Muslims that Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet and not son of God!

It was only after the conversion of Emperor Constantine that was the one to call and introduce the doctrine of Trinity. He a convert to Christianity who knew nothing of this religion introduced a paganistic concept that goes back to Babylonian times. Because the space does not permit me to go into detail about the subject inshaAllah, another time. Only I must point out that the word TRINITY is not found in the Bible in any of its many translation nor is it found in the original Greek or Hebrew language! "

Answering Christian (QUESTION 1)

QUESTION 1

Why does Muslims adhere on a religion that imposes fear to his God? Isn't God deserves to be loved instead of feared? Even more, Muslims are required to have hope upon his God, isn't that's a feeling that contradicts each other?

In Christian, we love our Lord, Jesus the Savior. We are being forgiven as long as we have faith in Him. We believe that this is the best faith, where we don't have to fear our own loving God, and we worship Him, drink His Blood and taste His Flesh out of love, not fear.

Answer
It is true that we Muslims have sense of fear to our Lord, Allah s.w.t., and at the same time we have to have hope, and also love, the strongest love to Him, stronger that anything else in this world. This concept has to be understood properly. Fearing Him, does not mean that a Muslim should not love Him. A child, for example, loves his parents so much, but at the same time, has a sense of fear, fear that his parents will punish him if he had done wrong or behave improperly. If we should see from the parents' point of view, should the parents punish their child, if they had done wrong?

Of course, and the punishment is for their own good, so that they will not repeat that mistake again. At the same time, the sense of fear within the child himself will be some sort of guardian upon himself, so that he will behave properly, and thus, didn't hurt or affect himself or anyone else besides him. Now, shall we ask, does the child have hope upon his parents? Why, yes, that will be certain. After behaving properly, listen carefully to the words of his parents, certainly the child will hope rewards from his parents, especially in the form of love to him.
Can't we say now, that the child love, fear and hope for his parents' love, simultaneously? If we can accept this idea, then why the same idea cannot be accepted, with regarding to Islamic view of people and their Lord?

Even more, Allah loves us more than our parents love us. Once, the Prophet (pbuh) was having a walk with his companions, when they saw a mother was carrying his baby. The Prophet asked the companions, "Do you think there is anyone else that loves the baby more than his mother?" The companions answered, "No, O Messenger of Allah, there is no one else" The Prophet said "Indeed there is, that is Allah. Allah loves the baby more than his mother. Allah created for him his mother, so that he will live in peace and love. Allah also created milk in his mother's breast, so that he can drink from it, stay away from hungriness, and makes him feel warm and safe".
For that, Allah deserves our highest degree of love. He created us out of nothing and put us into existence. He even gave us His sustenance. For that, wouldn't it be just for Him to punish us, if we ignore Him? Wouldn't the act of ignorance to Allah even more serious than to ignore our parents? Obviously His punishment will be far greater than our parents, and for that, wouldn't it be necessary for us to fear Him. In fact, the fear of Him will be a reminder for us to behave properly according to His Syariah. If we had done good and follow His Syariah accordingly, wouldn't it be just for us to hope for His love and rewards, just like the case of a child and his parents I mentioned above?

As the matter of fact, Christians claim that as long as we believe in Jesus Christ, that he came for our salvation, we will be pardon, no matter what our sin was. But why then, those Christians countries including America, are putting those who committed crime in jail? Why are they punishing them, even some of them are being put into death sentence without any pardon? Aren't these contradict with the believe that ALL people will be forgiven just as long as they believe?

In contrast, if in any case, those who believe in Jesus committed crime, will be forgiven just like that, wouldn't that will bring harms to other people?
In conclusion, fear and hope is the best sense to be included in any forms of worship. You will never find other sense that is better than this.

Answering Christian

QUESTION 1

Why does Muslims adhere on a religion that imposes fear to his God? Isn't God deserves to be loved instead of feared? Even more, Muslims are required to have hope upon his God, isn't that's a feeling that contradicts each other?

In Christian, we love our Lord, Jesus the Savior. We are being forgiven as long as we have faith in Him. We believe that this is the best faith, where we don't have to fear our own loving God, and we worship Him, drink His Blood and taste His Flesh out of love, not fear.

Answer
It is true that we Muslims have sense of fear to our Lord, Allah s.w.t., and at the same time we have to have hope, and also love, the strongest love to Him, stronger that anything else in this world. This concept has to be understood properly. Fearing Him, does not mean that a Muslim should not love Him. A child, for example, loves his parents so much, but at the same time, has a sense of fear, fear that his parents will punish him if he had done wrong or behave improperly. If we should see from the parents' point of view, should the parents punish their child, if they had done wrong?

Of course, and the punishment is for their own good, so that they will not repeat that mistake again. At the same time, the sense of fear within the child himself will be some sort of guardian upon himself, so that he will behave properly, and thus, didn't hurt or affect himself or anyone else besides him. Now, shall we ask, does the child have hope upon his parents? Why, yes, that will be certain. After behaving properly, listen carefully to the words of his parents, certainly the child will hope rewards from his parents, especially in the form of love to him.
Can't we say now, that the child love, fear and hope for his parents' love, simultaneously? If we can accept this idea, then why the same idea cannot be accepted, with regarding to Islamic view of people and their Lord?

Even more, Allah loves us more than our parents love us. Once, the Prophet (pbuh) was having a walk with his companions, when they saw a mother was carrying his baby. The Prophet asked the companions, "Do you think there is anyone else that loves the baby more than his mother?" The companions answered, "No, O Messenger of Allah, there is no one else" The Prophet said "Indeed there is, that is Allah. Allah loves the baby more than his mother. Allah created for him his mother, so that he will live in peace and love. Allah also created milk in his mother's breast, so that he can drink from it, stay away from hungriness, and makes him feel warm and safe".
For that, Allah deserves our highest degree of love. He created us out of nothing and put us into existence. He even gave us His sustenance. For that, wouldn't it be just for Him to punish us, if we ignore Him? Wouldn't the act of ignorance to Allah even more serious than to ignore our parents? Obviously His punishment will be far greater than our parents, and for that, wouldn't it be necessary for us to fear Him. In fact, the fear of Him will be a reminder for us to behave properly according to His Syariah. If we had done good and follow His Syariah accordingly, wouldn't it be just for us to hope for His love and rewards, just like the case of a child and his parents I mentioned above?

As the matter of fact, Christians claim that as long as we believe in Jesus Christ, that he came for our salvation, we will be pardon, no matter what our sin was. But why then, those Christians countries including America, are putting those who committed crime in jail? Why are they punishing them, even some of them are being put into death sentence without any pardon? Aren't these contradict with the believe that ALL people will be forgiven just as long as they believe?

In contrast, if in any case, those who believe in Jesus committed crime, will be forgiven just like that, wouldn't that will bring harms to other people?
In conclusion, fear and hope is the best sense to be included in any forms of worship. You will never find other sense that is better than this.

101 Contradictions in the Bible (Section C)

41. Did Herod think that Jesus was John the Baptist?
Yes (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16)
No (Luke 9:9)

42. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus before his baptism?
Yes (Matthew 3:13-14)
No (John 1:32,33)

43. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus after his baptism?
Yes (John 1:32, 33)
No (Matthew 11:2)

44. According to the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say about bearing his own witness?
If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true (John 5:3 1)
Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true (John 8:14)

45. When Jesus entered Jerusalem did he cleanse the temple that same day?
Yes (Matthew 21:12)
No. He went into the temple and looked around, but since it was very late he did nothing. Instead, he went to Bethany to spend the night and returned the next morning to cleanse the temple (Mark I 1:1- 17)

46. The Gospels say that Jesus cursed a fig tree. Did the tree wither at once?
Yes. (Matthew 21:19)
No. It withered overnight (Mark II: 20)

47. Did Judas kiss Jesus?
Yes (Matthew 26:48-50)
No. Judas could not get close enough to Jesus to kiss him (John 18:3-12)

48. What did Jesus say about Peters denial?
The cock will not crow till you have denied me three times (John 13:38)
Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times (Mark 14:30) . When the cock crowed once, the three denials were not yet complete (see Mark 14:72). Therefore prediction (a) failed.

49. Did Jesus bear his own cross?
Yes (John 19:17)
No (Matthew 27:31-32)

50. Did Jesus die before the curtain of the temple was torn?
Yes (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark lS:37-38)
No. After the curtain was torn, then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:45-46)

51. Did Jesus say anything secretly?
No. I have said nothing secretly (John 18:20)
Yes. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything (Mark 4:34). The disciples asked him Why do you speak to them in parables? He said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given (Matthew 13: 1 0-11)

52. Where was Jesus at the sixth hour on the day of the crucifixion?
On the cross (Mark 15:23)
In Pilates court (John 19:14)

53. The gospels say that two thieves were crucified along with Jesus. Did both thieves mock Jesus?
Yes (Mark 15:32)
No. One of them mocked Jesus, the other defended Jesus (Luke 23:43)

54. Did Jesus ascend to Paradise the same day of the crucifixion?
Yes. He said to the thief who defended him, Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)
No. He said to Mary Magdelene two days later, I have not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17)

55. When Paul was on the road to Damascus he saw a light and heard a voice. Did those who were with him hear the voice?
Yes (Acts9:7)
No (Acts22:9)

56. When Paul saw the light he fell to the ground. Did his traveling companions also fall to the ground?
Yes (Acts 26:14)
No (Acts 9:7)

57. Did the voice spell out on the spot what Pauls duties were to be?
Yes (Acts 26:16-18)
No. The voice commanded Paul to go into the city of Damascus and there he will be told what he must do. (Acts9:7;22: 10)

58. When the Israelites dwelt in Shittin they committed adultery with the daughters of Moab. God struck them with a plague. How many people died in that plague?
Twenty-four thousand (Numbers 25:1 and 9)
Twenty-three thousand (I Corinthians 10:8)

59. How many members of the house of Jacob came to Egypt?
Seventy souls (Genesis 4 & 27)
Seventy-five souls (Acts 7:14)

60. What did Judas do with the blood money he received for betraying Jesus?
He bought a field (Acts 1: 18)
He threw all of it into the temple and went away. The priests could not put the blood money into the temple treasury, so they used it to buy a field to bury strangers (Matthew 27:5)

Konsep Ketuhanan dalam agama Hindu

CONCEPT OF GOD IN HINDUISM
by
Dr. Zakir Naik


1. Common Concept of God in Hinduism:

Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in multiple Gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe in thousands of gods, and some others in thirty three crore i.e. 330 million Gods. However, learned Hindus, who are well versed in their scriptures, insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.

The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus’ belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living, to be Divine and Sacred. The common Hindu, therefore, considers everything as God. He considers the trees as God, the sun as God, the moon as God, the monkey as God, the snake as God and even human beings as manifestations of God!

Islam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of Divine Creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is God’s i.e. the word ‘God’ with an apostrophe ‘s’. In other words the Muslims believe that everything belongs to God. The trees belong to God, the sun belongs to God, the moon belongs to God, the monkey belongs to God, the snake belongs to God, the human beings belong to God and everything in this universe belongs to God.

Thus the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is the difference of the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is God’s.

2. Concept of God according to Hindu Scriptures:

We can gain a better understanding of the concept of God in Hinduism by analysing Hindu scriptures.

BHAGAVAD GITA

The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita.

Consider the following verse from the Gita:

"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."
[Bhagavad Gita 7:20]

The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.


UPANISHADS:

The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus.

The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God:

"Ekam evadvitiyam"
"He is One only without a second."
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1

"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah."
"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Him."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3

The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a particular form:

"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."

"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4

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1[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93]

2[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 745]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page 263.]

3[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]

4[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]

THE VEDAS
Vedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.

Yajurveda
The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God:

"na tasya pratima asti
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]5

"shudhama poapvidham"
"He is bodyless and pure."
[Yajurveda 40:8]6

"Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste"
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti."
[Yajurveda 40:9]7

Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

The Yajurveda contains the following prayer:
"Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander."
[Yajurveda 40:16]8

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5[Yajurveda by Devi Chand M.A. page 377]

6[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538]

7[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538]

8[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith page 541]

Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda praises God in Book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3:

"Dev maha osi"
"God is verily great"
[Atharvaveda 20:58:3]9

Rigveda

The oldest of all the vedas is Rigveda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46:
"Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names."
[Rigveda 1:164:46]

The Rigveda gives several different attributes to Almighty God. Many of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1.

Among the various attributes of God, one of the beautiful attributes mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3, is Brahma. Brahma means ‘The Creator’. Translated into Arabic it means Khaaliq. Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Khaaliq or ‘Creator’ or Brahma. However if it is said that Brahma is Almighty God who has four heads with each head having a crown, Muslims take strong exception to it.

Describing Almighty God in anthropomorphic terms also goes against the following verse of Yajurveda:

"Na tasya Pratima asti"
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]

Another beautiful attribute of God mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3 is Vishnu. Vishnu means ‘The Sustainer’. Translated into Arabic it means Rabb. Again, Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Rabb or 'Sustainer' or Vishnu. But the popular image of

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9[Atharveda Samhita vol 2 William Dwight Whitney page 910]

Vishnu among Hindus, is that of a God who has four arms, with one of the right arms holding the Chakra, i.e. a discus and one of the left arms holding a ‘conch shell’, or riding a bird or reclining on a snake couch. Muslims can never accept any image of God. As mentioned earlier this also goes against Svetasvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19.

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Him"

The following verse from the Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being:

"Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata"
"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone."
[Rigveda 8:1:1]10

"Devasya samituk parishtutih"
"Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator."
[Rigveda 5:1:81]11

Brahma Sutra of Hinduism:

The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is:

"Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan"

"There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit."

Thus only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism.

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0[Rigveda Samhita vol. 9, pages 2810 and 2811 by Swami Satya Prakash Sarasvati and Satyakam Vidyalankar]

11[Rigveda Samhita vol. 6, pages 1802 and 1803 by Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati and Satyakam Vidyalankar]

as from the sun." The Prophecy confirms:

The name of the Prophet as Ahmed since Ahmed is an Arabic name. Many translators misunderstood it to be ‘Ahm at hi’ and translated the mantra as "I alone have acquired the real wisdom of my father".

Prophet was given eternal law, i.e. the Shariah.

The Rishi was enlightened by the Shariah of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an says in Surah Saba Chapter 34 verse 28 (34:28):

"We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not."

Kepercayaan dan Perayaan Kaum Cina (Buddha)

Kebanyakkan daripada kaum Cina di Malaysia adalah bukan Muslim dan kepercayaan
mereka terdiri daripada pelbagai pantang larang, tradisi dan adat resam budaya Cina
dan berasaskan kepada ajaran Buddhisma, Taoisma dan Konfuciasma.

Kitab-kitab Suci:

Buddhisma
· Teks Mahayana – Terdiri dpr 7 buah buku
· Dhammapada
· Lotus Sutra
· Dialog dengan Buddha

Taoisma
· Tao Te Ching
· Chiang Tzu

Konfuciasma
· Confucian Analects
· Mencius
· Doctrine of Mean
· Great Learning

Buddhisma
Asal-usul Buddhisma adalah dari India dan memasuki China pada zaman pemerintahan
Han Min Ti lebih kurang pada tahun 65 selepas Masihi dan pada masa yang sama Buku
Revelation dalam Kitab Perjanjian Baru ditulis. Walaupun Buddhisma telah wujud di
China pada peringkat yang awal, ia hanya mendapat pengikut-pengikut yang ramai
pada tahun 290 Selepas Masihi. Ia menjadi popular apabila sering berlakunya rusuhan
dan pencerobohan orang-orang kejam. Ajaran Buddha yang menitikberatkan
kepentingan masyarakat dan keluarga mendapat sambutan yang baik ketika zaman
yang penuh dengan ketidakpastian itu.

Pengasas agama Buddha adalah seorng putera daridapa kerajaan Sakya, India yang
bernama Siddhartha Gautama. Beliau sebaya dengan seornag falsafah dari China iaitu
Konfucius. Sebagai seorang putera, beliau menikmati kemewahan sejak lahir dan tidak
tahu akan keadaan di luar istana. Pada satu hari kemudian, beliau terserempak dengan
tidak sengaja penderitaan rakyatnya dan beliau berasa sungguh sedih lalu
meninggalkan istananya dan mula mencari jalan untuk melegakan penderitaan
manusia.


Semasa bertapa di bawah pokok Bo, beliau seperti menerima wahyu dan mengalami
satu kesedaran lalu menjadi Buddha. Buddha berkata bahawa nafsu adalah punca
penderitaan dan kesusahan dan jikalau dapat menentang nafsu kita akan dapat
melegakan penderitaan.

Beliau menganjurkan satu sitem pertapaan dan mengikut undang-undang
yangterdapat dalam “The 8 Fold Path”. Undang-undang yangterdapat dalam “The 8
Fold Path yang seperti Hukum 10 (10 Commandments) dalam agama Judaisma.
Objektif seseorang supaya mencapai tahap “Nirvana” (mengalami kententeraman
rohani), di mana idaman, perselisihan dan kesakitan dapati di atasi dan rohani seseorng
itu akan merasa kelarasan yang berkekalan.

Buddhisma terbahagi kepada 2 bahagian di peringkat awal perkembangan ajarannya
iaitu Mahayana dan Hinayana. Ajaran dalam Hinayana mempunyai
Buddhisma yang dianuti di China, Korea, Jepun , Tibet, Nepal dan Vietnam adalah yang
terdapat dalam ajaran Mahayana Buddhisma yang menggabungkan beberapa
amalan dan tradisi seperti memohan doa berulang kali, kepercayaan tentang syurga,
patung-patung berhala(Bodhisattvas). Di negara China, ia terbahagi kepada beberapa
kumpulan termasuk Ch’an (Zen di Jepun), Tien-t’ai (Tendai di Jepun) dan “Pure Land”.

101 Contradictions in the Bible (Section B)

21. How many were the children of Bethel and Ai?
• Two hundred and twenty-three (Ezra 2:28)
• One hundred and twenty-three (Nehemiah 7:32)

22. Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the total number of the whole assembly was 42,360. Yet the numbers do not add up to anything close. The totals obtained from each book is as follows:
• 29,818 (Ezra)
• 31,089 (Nehemiah)

23. How many singers accompanied the assembly?
• Two hundred (Ezra 2:65)
• Two hundred and forty-five (Nehemiah 7:67)

24. What was the name of King Abijahs mother?
• Michaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chronicles 13:2)
• Maachah, daughter of Absalom (2 Chronicles 11:20) But Absalom had only one daughter whose name was Tamar (2 Samuel 14:27)

25. Did Joshua and the Israelites capture Jerusalem?
• Yes (Joshua 10:23, 40)
• No (Joshua 15:63)

26. Who was the father of Joseph, husband of Mary?
• Jacob (Matthew 1:16)
• Hell (Luke 3:23)

27. Jesus descended from which son of David?
• Solomon (Matthew 1:6)
• Nathan(Luke3:31)

28. Who was the father of Shealtiel?
• Jechoniah (Matthew 1:12)
• Neri (Luke 3:27)

29. Which son of Zerubbabel was an ancestor of Jesus Christ?
• Abiud (Matthew 1: 13)
• Rhesa (Luke 3:27) But the seven sons of Zerubbabel are as follows: i.Meshullam, ii. Hananiah, iii. Hashubah, iv. Ohel, v.Berechiah, vi. Hasadiah, viii. Jushabhesed (I Chronicles 3:19, 20). The names Abiud and Rhesa do not fit in anyway.

30. Who was the father of Uzziah?
• Joram (Matthew 1:8)
• Amaziah (2 Chronicles 26:1)

31. Who was the father of Jechoniah?
• Josiah (Matthew 1:11)
• Jeholakim (I Chronicles 3:16)

32. How many generations were there from the Babylonian exile until Christ?
• Matthew says fourteen (Matthew 1:17)
• But a careful count of the generations reveals only thirteen (see Matthew 1: 12-16)

33. Who was the father of Shelah?
• Cainan (Luke 3:35-36)
• Arphaxad (Genesis II: 12)

34. Was John the Baptist Elijah who was to come?
• Yes (Matthew II: 14, 17:10-13)
• No (John 1:19-21)

35. Would Jesus inherit Davids throne?
• Yes. So said the angel (Luke 1:32)
• No, since he is a descendant of Jehoiakim (see Matthew 1: I 1, I Chronicles 3:16). And Jehoiakim was cursed by God so that none of his descendants can sit upon Davids throne (Jeremiah 36:30)

36. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on how many animals?
• One - a colt (Mark 11:7; cf Luke 19:3 5). And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it; and he sat upon it.
• Two - a colt and an ass (Matthew 21:7). They brought the ass and the colt and put their garments on them and he sat thereon.

37. How did Simon Peter find out that Jesus was the Christ?
• By a revelation from heaven (Matthew 16:17)
• His brother Andrew told him (John 1:41)

38. Where did Jesus first meet Simon Peter and Andrew?
• By the sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22)
• On the banks of river Jordan (John 1:42). After that, Jesus decided to go to Galilee (John 1:43)

39. When Jesus met Jairus was Jairus daughter already dead?
• Yes. Matthew 9:18 quotes him as saying, My daughter has just died.
• No. Mark 5:23 quotes him as saying, My little daughter is at the point of death.

40. Did Jesus allow his disciples to keep a staff on their journey?
• Yes (Mark 6:8)
• No (Matthew 10:9; Luke 9:3)