THE CROSS IN THE GOSPEL AND IN THE KORAN

In chpter one of his first letter to the Corinthians, verses 22 to 24, Paul, the apostle, said: "For the Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom, but we prech Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and wisdom of God." If we consider the words of the apostles generally we see that the Gospel which they preached from the dawn of Christianity and which people recieved nd accpeted by which they were saved, was the joyful news which Paul summarized in these words in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Even so, with the passing of some five hundred years after Paul nd the spreading of the Gospel in all the world, there were those who objected to this truth s to the saying to the Christians, "You are mistaken in your religion." Maybe these objectors took their ideas from heretics-Jews converted to Christianity, whose fathers were neighbours to those who believed tht Christ would (did) not die. We are very indebted to John, one of the writers of the Gospel, who mentions, this matter when he recorded for us the saying of the Pharisees in their dispute with Christ, in John 12:34 states: "We heared from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Mn must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?'" According to Iskander Jadeed in his book intitled "THE CROSS", page 10, that this heresy was widespread among the Christians of the rabian Peninsula, saying that Christ was able to transform from one image (form) to another, and when His enemies came to arrest Him He cast His likeness on to another man, who was crucified insted of Him, but Christ was lifted up to the One who sent Him, scorning His enemies.
Now my friend remember that the passage in the QURAN about the last dys of Christ is in greement with this story and opposed to the Jewish version. It says, Surat an Nisa 157-158, "Their saying, (that is the Jews) 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus the Son of Mry, Allah's Messenger', they slew Him not, nor crufified Him, but it appeared so unto them, and lo! Those who disagree concerning it, are in doubt therefore, they have no knowledge thereof, save pursuit of a conjecture, they slew Mhim not for certain, but llah took Him up to Himself."

Clearly we understand from the version of the heretics who clung to Christianity, that the Cross, in their estimtion, was not n historical event, or a doctrine of redemtion, but a symbol or a sign, as the str which guided the Magi to the cradle of the Child in Bethlehem, or as the apperance of dove in which the Holy Spirit appeared, coming to Christ at His bptism in Jordan. But the hevy cross on which Christ was hanged, which is the altr of redemtion, where the Lamp of God was sacrified to take away the sin of the world, was of no importance to them! They rejected the truth which Paul proclaimed to the nations in Galatians 3:13-14, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us;for it is written 'Cursed be everyone who hangs on tree, that Christ Jesus the blessing of Abrham might received the promise of the Spirit through faith'" (to be continued)

Catholic Doctrinal Exposition/Religious Debete between Catholic and Islam

A public debate held at Ozamiz City Public Market, last December 9, 2007, was challenged by Muslim preacher Muhammad Ali. The proposition was: Resolved, That Islam Religion can only be saved according to the Quran, Bible and Standard References. The Muslim Preacher Muhammad Ali defended the affirmtive side while Bro. Wendell Talibong, CFD National Vice President for external Affairs took the negative side. The Debate was aired in Dxdd AM.
In his introductory and first affirmative speech, Muslim preacher Muhammad Ali emphasized that only the Islam Religion can be saved. To prove his side from the Quran he cited Su.ah Al-Ma'idah 5:3; Surah Aal'mraam 3:67, and to prove from the Bible he quoted Matt.7:21.
During the Cross-examination, Muhammad Ali was confounded when confronted with a barraged of questions from Bro Wendell using the two versions of their Quran, and with their own Islamic books.
Brother Wendell's rhetoric cross-examiniation to Muhammad Ali drew a big applause from the audience when he cited the Quran 2:62, states that the Christians who believed in God and did righteousness will have their reward with their Lord.
In the latter part of the debate, the Muslim preacher had the difficulty in answering the contradictions of thier Quran and books. He accepted that he was not prepared for the public debate although he challenged the Catholic Faith Defenders.
When Muhammad Ali cross-examined the negative side, the answers of Brother Wendell to the questions of Muhammad Ali were so enlightening as cited by the Quran 2:62 and Quran 5:82.
At this juncture, the moderator, Bro. Adam Amper instructed Muhammad Ali to ask more questions since he still had 5 minutes more to the alloted 15 minutes cross-examintion. But Muhammad Ali said the he had no more questions.

Can Faith Alone Save You?

Many good people have been taught from childhood that they need only a strong faith in Jesus Christ as their Redeemer to be saved. By this they mean that obedience to God's Laws, the practice of virtue, good works, hve no effective part to play in the saving of one's soul. Here are the reasons why this is illogical:
1. Faith in Christ is incomplete and superstations if it does not mean faith in veerything Christ was and said and did. He presented Himself to the world as a Redeemer, indeed, but also as a teacher nd lawgiver. His constant stressing of the importance of obedience to God can only mean that it is necessary for a man's savaation, just s is belief in the merits of His passion and death.
2. Faith in Christ as a Redeemercaannot save a man who neglects to heed these specefic warnings He gave: "If thou wouldst enter into life, keep the commaandments."(Matt. 19:17 "Not every man that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven."(Matt. 7:21)
3. Fith in Christ as a Redeemer should not blind one to the great effort He mde to show the world the evil nd the punishments of sin,and to inspire men to repent of and renounce sin. His pssion and death, while they paid a debt that men could not hve paid, were at the same time a dramtic appeal for sorrow for sin and reformtion of life as necessaary for salvtion.
4. The doctrine of faith alone as the means of salvation has led inevitably to the minimizing of the importnce of some of Christ's most severely promulgated laws. It has led many to deny His sttement that divorce nd remaarige are the same as adultery; it has induced maany to renounce obedience tospiritual authority, which He inculcated so clearly; it has mde it easy for men to defend their avarice and social injustice.
5. If faith alone were necessary for salvation, there would be no point in a general judgement at the end of the world, which Christ described as an event in which "every man will be judged according to his works." If good works are not necessary to salvation, why should any man be judge ccording to thier deeds?
Faith in Christ is necessary to salvation, that is indeed clear. But it mus be a complete faith, faith in everyting Christ said, faith that overflows into ction, virtue, good works, St. James put it simply when he said: "Faith without works is dead."(James 2:14,17) and in James 2:24 of Revised Standard Version, states: " You see that a man is justified by works nd not by fith alone." God bless us and Pax Christi

Can the Bible Alone Guide You?

There are still many Christians who base their Christianisty on the Bible alone. This is evident from the fct that even outside the Catholic Church, no book sells more copies annually than the Bible. However, to try to mke the Bible the sole sourse of one's religious guidance is un reasonble and even impossible on the following considertions:

1. The Bible itself nowhere says that in it alone is to be found the whole secret of salvation. Christ said to His Apostles "He that hereth you, hereth Me" (Luke 10:16), He nowhere said "He that readeth the Scriptures shall be saved."

2. God inspired the Bible, but did not intendit as a full formulry of belief nd prctice, like Catechism or creed. This is evident becuse Christ Himself never wrote line surely a strange omission if He intended men to be saaved by the written word. None of the New Testment was written until some time after Christ's deth, some not till severl score of years-which leves rather strange gap in the continution of his work if He came to teach and save through the written word.

3.Men who have climed the Bible to be a sufficient source of all religious truth, have in history given the strongest refutation of their 'Religion,' they sid, 'pure, complete, simple, unchngeable, comes solely from the Bible,'-and within 100 years fter the proclmtion of this principle there were over 3,000 different nd inconsistent religions all climing to be the simple, cler, unchngeable religion of the Bible.

4. If it were not for the infallible Catholic Church, no one today would know what the Bible was, nor what books were inspired by God. Out of innumerable books pretending to be lives of Christ, nd histories of the Apostles, and their letters to the faithful, the Church used the authority given her by Christ to decide:"This is authentic and inspired and this is not!" Bible Christins are unwittingly accepting the authority of the Church when they ccept the Bible as universally constituted today, even through they deny this in words.

To Catholics, the Bible is a prize possession, inspired by Almighty God, written to confirm and testify to mny of the truth Christ taught His first disciples, nd to make unmistakable the authority and organization of His Church. Catholics are granted indulgences for reding the Bible, becuse, preserved from misinterpreting its difficult passages by an infallible Chrurch, they can gain from it light and inspiration for their lives.

Catholic Doctrinal Exposition, Cathedral Plaza, Ozamiz City, speakers Bro. Thata Rosal, Bro. Adam Amper and Bro Wendell Talibong

Brother Wendell P. Talibong gestures during a public debate held at the Ozamiz City Public Market

The Affirmative speaker Pastor Rolly Lomo failed to establish a prima facie evidence to prove his proposition, while Brother Wendell presented the Biblical evidences and with standard references to distroy the proposition of the Affirmative Side, that the Bible alone is not the final authority because it is the product of the True Church founded by Christ.

Most Rev. Jesus A. Dosado, CM,DD, Archbishop of Ozamiz, issued an Ecclesiasticl Authority for the Catholic Faith Defenders, Ozamiz Chapter