Introduction
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross is a topic that has sparked many controversies in the two main religions, Christianity and Islam. From a human and historical perspective, the answer is straightforward. That is, Jewish leaders, plotted against Jesus. He was betrayed by Judas, tried by Herod and Pilate, and executed by the Roman soldiers. On the one hand, Christians argue that Jesus was crucified as a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin, while on the other hand, Muslims state that his crucifixion was based on the fact that he was a traitor to Rome. Therefore, this essay focuses its research and analysis on these two perspectives arguing that the Christian perspective is right since Jesus was crucified so that we may be free of sin.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
One of the sources used to solidify this paper’s argument is the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. This source is of great value in bible study and research. It serves as a good bible reference as it entails several entries written by different bible teachers and scholars. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), it was God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge for Jesus to be crucified and die on the cross (Luering). In His wisdom and mercy, the father of humanity, God, offered human beings a second chance to reclaim membership in His family.
Therefore, the plan of God was centred on Jesus as the bible states that God gave his only begotten son who came to earth to live the forgiveness, love, and justice of His Father and surrender His own life. According to the scripture in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” this argument is evident. The ISBE highlights that blood delivers life to the body. The loss of blood symbolizes death (the penalty of choosing to walk away from God, the giver of life) (Luering). However, God will never walk away from his children; thus, his love and justice allowed the life of His only son to be shed for the freedom of all sinners. This master plan guaranteed that those who believed would inherit life everlasting rather than perish (Luering). In this way, the death penalty for all human sinners was paid, and any person who believes in Christ, repents their sins and invites the Holy Spirit into their life will be welcomed into the Everlasting Kingdom prepared by God.
Contrary to this belief, Islamism argues that although they killed him, it was not Jesus (Qur’an 4:157-159). This contradicts the crucifixion leading several Muslim scholars to interpret that someone else other than Jesus died on the cross. Individuals in this religion instead try to find a replacement for the Messiah. Some argue that Judas, a known traitor and thief who seemed to deserve death, was the one killed in Jesus’ place, as this would make sense from the human justice perspective (Bonner). Thus, the belief that the person crucified on the cross was crucified because of his character as a traitor and thief of Rome. Although He was arrested on the charge of treason and crucified (a primary method of execution for condemned criminals), Jesus was not a traitor of Rome (Luering). On the contrary, he was considered a martyr to Christians.
The Catholic Encyclopedia
The catholic encyclopedia is used in the essay to support the argument presented. The source was chosen because it deals with Christianity as a religion while describing its origin, relationship to other religions and essential nature. However, the catholic encyclopedia does not deal with other doctrines in detail. The encyclopedia was considered because it uses catholic perspectives of Christianity and not of other religions or the Non-Catholic Christian sectors. The catholic encyclopedia bases its information on the new testament scriptures and some sub-apostolic scriptures.
Therefore, the catholic encyclopedia, having used the knowledge gained from the new testament, bases its belief that Jesus Christ was crucified as a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin. In the encyclopedia, the catholic uses arguments that during the time when Christ was preaching to elevate the faith of the people, most of them did not believe even after countless miracles. However, Jesus sought to provide the people with a stronger incentive to strengthen their faith by dying on the cross despite the pain, defeat, and disgrace (Catholic Encyclopedia). The statements support the claim that Christians have, which says that Jesus died for the sins of the people.
On the other hand, the Muslims deny that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Instead, they believe that he was raised by Allah with his body and soul. This is because the Muslims believe that since Allah is wise and all-powerful, he could not have allowed Jesus to die (Lanier). Instead, Muslims omit the idea of crucifixion and argue that Jesus was taken to the Kingdom as he was.
As a result, the two arguments contradict each other as Muslims and Christians have different beliefs. However, based on the arguments, the Christian perspective outweighs the Muslim perspective as it is detailed. Further, the Muslims’ narration of their argument is based on what the Christians believe as they add their knowledge of understanding to that. The follow-up questions arising from the arguments are why the Muslims have contradicting ideas. As some believe Jesus’ death was due to being a traitor, others believe that he was resurrected.
The Christian Religion Encyclopedia
The Christian religion encyclopedia is a good source for the argument because it uses its perspectives from the bible, especially the new testament and other religions. The source was considered because, unlike the catholic encyclopedia, the Christian religion encyclopedia acknowledges other religions that embrace and spread Christianity. This encyclopedia identifies with other religions like Judaism as it borrowed some aspects of a few religions that acknowledge one God’s presence. It spreads the knowledge that Christians share the body of Christ as the New Testament proclaims that believers are Christ’s body.
The Christian religion encyclopedia supports the argument that Christ’s sacrifice was for the atonement of the sins of the world. This is because it states that a cross is significant to the Christian faith. The cross is used to symbolize Christ’s death for the sins of the humans and, to some, a life of self-denial to which Christ calls his followers. The cross symbolizes Christ’s victory over sin and death (Cengage). Thus, it supports the allegation of the death of Christ due to the sin of the people. As for the Muslims, they counter the argument as presented above since they believe Christ did not die on the cross.
Although the arguments contradict each other, the argument that stands out is that Christ died for the people’s sin. The argument present is chosen because the Christian religion encyclopedia does not only focus on one sector of Christianity but a variety. Thus, having different forms of Christianity in the world that believe the same concept makes it believable that the event that took place was that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the people. However, the question that arises is whether because of the borrowing of specific information from Judaism affects how Christians in all forms believe in.
Conclusion
Christianity, as observed, is uniform as Christians believe in one common fact. The fact that Jesus Christ died for the atonement of sin is verified in the different encyclopedias. As such, Jesus is believed to have died on the cross due to God’s will to save humanity from sin and strengthen the faith of believers. However, the counter-argument that Christ never died on the cross is not valid as Muslims’ arguments are not supported. This makes their perspectives differ from each other, making them contradict. Some Muslims believe that the crucifixion of Christ was due to being a traitor to Rome, while others believe in the concept that he was taken by Allah. These contradictions are unreliable especially because most of the Muslim arguments borrow their ideas from Christianity. Moreover, the interpretations of the Qur’an by scholars raises the question of whether these scholars make accurate interpretations. As a result, this paper supports the Christian argument as it draws evidence from the bible.
Works Cited
Bonner, Matt. “Who Died on the Cross?” Crescent Project, Crescent Project, 2021, Web.
Catholic Encyclopedia. “Christianity.” CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Christianity, Web.
Cengage. “.” Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices.. Encyclopedia.com. 2022.” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, Web.
Lanier, Gregory R. ” ‘It Was Made to Appear like That to Them:” Islam’s Denial of Jesus’ Crucifixion.” Reformed Faith & Practice, 2016, Web.
Luering, H. L. E. (n.d.) “Blood and Water in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online, Web.