does christianity really necessitate ransom for salvation

8/13/2019 Does Christianity Really Necessitate Ransom for Salvation

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Does Christianity really necessitate ransom for salvation?

A comparative examination of vicarious atonement and repentance in biblical light

Question Mark

Prelude

In the recent past Muslim Apologist and Speaker, Paul Williams engaged in a debate regarding

the concept of Sin and Salvation in Islam and Christianity. Because the debate was very

successful this made Christian Apologist Sam Shamoun to write “responses” (1, 2 (1.)).

In doing so, Shamoun conveniently ignored scores of biblical passages which raises questionwhether Christianity actually require alleged death of Jesus (peace be upon him) for forgiveness

of sins and subsequent salvation. We would, inshallah, document all of them in this paper for a

neutral perusal.

Introduction

Jews believed in a concept of forgiveness called “Mehilah” which meant merciful cancellation of sins without any need of indemnification or clearance of debts:

“ Mehilah is a technical, legal term that applies when the lender of money forgoes or waives all or part of the debt another person owes him. When appl ied to the consequence of sin , mehil ah i s

the remission or cancell ation of the puni shment and any of the legal consequences of the

sin fu l act.” ( Forgiving the Unforgivable?)

Jews never had the concept of vicarious atonement for their sins, on the contrary, they had a lotof confidence and belief in their “Teshuva” – sincere repentance. They believed that sincere

“Teshuva” is never denied by God:

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/williams/death_necessary1.html






http://www.jsafe.org/pdfs/Must%20one%20forgive.pdf









“Rabbi Johanan explained:Were it not written in the text, it would be impossible for us to say

such a thing; this verse teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, drew his tallit (prayer

shawl) round Him like the prayer leader of a congregation and showed Moses the order of prayer. He said to him: “Whenever Israel sin, let them carry out this service before Me (i.e.,

read these passages containi ng the thir t een attributes of God‟s mercy), and I will forgive them.

And Rabbi Judah added that the verse, “Behold I make a covenant” (34:10) recorded just a fewverses later, indicates that the revelation of these thirteen attributes actually formed a covenantthat guaranteed that the people would never be turned away without forgiveness. This formula

is the central theme of the penitential Selihot prayers recited during the High Holy Day season,

culminating with Yom Kippur. ( Forgiving the Unforgivable?)

From the forgoing, quite naturally, Jews never felt any real need for somebody to be hanged for

their sins, contrariwise, they reclined to oft – repentance:

“Essentially, God is a forgiving God who desires the repentance of sinners . Three times a day

during the daily prayers, Jews recite the blessings: Br ing us back, our Father, to Your Torah

and bring us near, our King, to Your service. Cause us to return to You in perfect repentance.

Bl essed are You, God, Who desires repentance. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned.

Pardon us, our Ki ng, for we have transgressed. For You pardon and forgive. Bl essed are You,

God, the gracious One Who pardons abundantly. This theme is repeated again and again

throughout the liturgy. The rabbis even saw divine kindness and mercy reflected in God‟s

Name itself. The Tetragrammaton, YHWH, isused as God‟s Name when He manifests His

middat ha-rahamim (love, kindness and forgiveness), whereas El ohim is used to designate H is

attribute of justice.” ( Forgiving the Unforgivable?)

They derived these teachings from their sacred scriptures. Consider the following biblical verses

which stress on the concept of repentance and sub-sequent anticipation of forgiveness:

“Return to the LORD your God, people of Israel. Your sin has made you stumble and fall.Return to the LORD, and let this prayer be your offeri ng to him : “Forgive all our sins and

accept our prayer , and we will praise you as we have promised. Assyria can never save us. Wewill never again say to our idols that they are our God. O LORD, you show mercy to those who

have no one else to turn to.” (Hosea 14:2)











Note assiduously that according to so called biblical prophet Hosea and his community, the

prayer - (“this prayer” ) - of repentance and guilt was the “offering” to God for forgiveness of

sins; the “offering” was not the alleged, vicarious sacrifice of Messiah (peace be upon him).

Jews had no belief that they would be denied forgiveness if they did not believe in Jesus‟ (peace

be upon him) alleged death, rather, they believed that if they misuse God‟s oft forgiving capacity by repeatedly sinning then their repentances would be repealed and they would not be forgiven:

“Nevertheless, despite God‟s desire for repentance, His essenti al capacity f or mercy and H is

identif ication as a God of forgiveness , He Himself may withhold forgiveness at times. Th is is so

when a peni tent has not tr ul y repented or i f he uses the fu tur e possibi li ty of penitence as an

excuse to justif y his il li cit behavior , as the Mishnah, Yoma 85b, indicates, If one says, “I shall

sin and repent, sin and repent,” no opportunity will be given to him to repent .23 [If one says],“I shal l sin and the Day of Atonement wi ll procure atonement for me,” the Day of Atonement

procures for him no atonement.” ( Forgiving the Unforgivable?)

While Jews derived their concepts of “Mehilah” – cancellation of debts and “Teshuva” – sincererepentance from Bible, as we would shortly see more of it in this paper, Saul who changed his

Jewish name to Gentile Paul - contravened Jewish Scriptures to derive Gentile concepts of

forgiveness through offering of flesh and blood of innocent.

Paul preached that sins would not be forgiven unless blood and flesh of Jesus (peace be upon

him) is offered to God:

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no

remission.” (Heb 9:22)

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Chr ist, Who gave

himself for our sins, that he might deli ver us from this present evil worl d , according to the willof God and our Father: (Gal 1:3-4)

In whom we have redemption thr ough h is blood, the forgiveness of sins , according to the riches

of his grace; (Eph 1:7)







Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour

Jesus Chri st; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniqui ty, and pur if y

unto himself a peculi ar people , zealous of good works. (Tit 2:13-14)

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Co 15:14)

And, having made peace thr ough the blood of hi s cross , by him to reconcile all things unto

himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (Col 1:20)

(King James Version, e-Sword)

In the above passages, Paul assumes that the only way sin of mankind can be forgiven and

subsequent salvation can be attained, is through the blood shed of Jesus (peace be upon him).

Nevertheless, Paul by writing the above passages and Christian apologists by appealing to theabove verses reject the teachings of multiple Old Testament (OT) Prophets and New Testament

(NT) Prophet – Jesus (peace be upon him) himself. As we are going to see, Paul failed to realize

that their (OT prophet‟s) deity was less an exacting accountant and more a mercif ul God.

Pre – Pauline Teachings on Repentance and Forgiveness

For instance, consider the sayings of OT prophet Joel:

“But even now,” says the LORD, “repent sincerely, and return to me with fasting and weeping

and mourning. Let your broken heart show your sorr ow ; tearing your clothes is not enough.”Come back to the LORD your God . He is kind and ful l of mercy ; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish. Perhaps the LORD your God willchange his mind and bless you wi th abundant crops. Then you can offer him corn and wine.

(Joel 2: 12-14)

Notice that unlike Paul who nails the forgiveness of sins on the cross, Jewish prophet Joel

emphatically states that God is too kind, forgiving and considerate to accept sincere repentance

and blot out sins! Joel‟s God invites sinners to Himself so that He may forgive their sins! God of



the OT does not need any cross to forgive sins, His mere virtue of kindness is enough

amalgamated with the fasting, weeping and mourning of sinners.

Observe that God does not instruct Joel‟s community to return with belief in the alleged, would-

be crucifixion of Christ (peace be upon him) but with (i) fasting (ii) weeping (iii) and mourning!

In fact we do find God forgiving sins by blessing Joel‟s community with abundance of crops

production:

“…Have pity on your people, LORD . Do not let other nation despise us and mock us by saying,

“Where is your God?‟” Then the LORD showed concern for his land ; he had mercy on h is

people. He answered them: “Now I am going to give you corn and wine and olive-oil , and you

wil l be satisfied. Other nations wil l not despise you. I wil l remove the locust army that camefrom the north and will drive some of them in to the desert.” (Joel 2: 17-20)

Observe that God of the OT did not forgive Joel‟s community because they believed that one dayMessiah (peace be upon him) would be allegedly crucified, but they were forgiven solely on

God‟s mercy when they pleaded to him for “pity”.

Another noticeable point is that locusts has always been one of the means through which the God

of OT has wrecked His wrath on the wrong doers,

“You will sow plenty of seed, but reap only a small harvest, because the locusts wil l eat yourcrops.” (Deuteronomy 28:38)

“All your trees and crops will be devoured by insects .” (Deuteronomy 28:42)

“I will give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops. I t was I

who sent this army against you.” (Joel 2:25)

Nevertheless, God drove locusts away as a sign of His mercy and forgiveness on Joel‟scommunity:

“I wil l give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops . It was I

who sent this army against you.” (Joel 2:25)



However, Paul‟s influence makes Trinitarian apologists like Sam Shamoun claim that Christ‟s(peace be upon him) vicarious death was the only way their sins can be absolved:

“In the first place, the very same Gospels, which these dawagandists pervert in order make themsay something contrary to the intended meaning of the inspired authors, are the very same

writings which go out of their way to affirm that Jesus‟ vicarious death is both necessary and

foundational f or salvation.” ( Was Jesus’ sacrificial death necessary for the forgiveness of sins? )

However, contrary to what Paul teaches and Shamoun‟s claim, God of the OT had entirely

different concepts for the forgiveness of sins and subsequent salvation.

For OT Prophets (and their community) Christ‟s (peace be upon him) vicarious death was not at

all required, let alone, “foundational for salvation”, since their sins were always welcomed to be

forgiven as we saw above how Joel‟s community was forgiven!

If Jesus‟ vicarious death is (really) both necessary and foundational for salvation then how

was Joel‟s community forgiven without it? Seems it was not so “foundational” for them.

Consider another offer of forgiveness. This time the community of OT Prophet Ezekiel (peace be

upon him) was to be forgiven without Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged sacrif ice:

“Now, mortal man, I am making you a watchman for the nation of Israel. You must pass on to

them the warnings I give you. If I announce that an evil man is going to die but you do not warn

him to change his ways so that he can save hi s l if e , then he will die, still a sinner, and I will

hold you responsible for his death. If you do warn an evil man and he does not stop sinning, he

will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.”

Individual Responsibility

The LORD spoke to me. “Mortal man.” he said, “repeat to the Israelites what they are saying:

We are burdened with our sins and the wrongs we have done. We are wasting away. How can

we live? Tell them that as surely as I, the Sovereign LORD, am the living God, I do not enjoy

seeing a sinner die. I would rather see him stop sinning and li ve. I srael, stop the evil you are

doing. Why do you want to die?







“I may warn an evil man that he is going to die, but i f he stops sinning and does what i s r ight

and good – for example, if he returns the secur ity he took for a l oan or gives back what he

stole – if he stops sinning and follows the laws that give lif e , he wil l not die, but li ve. I wil l

forgive the sins he has committed, and he wil l l ive because he has done what is r ight and good. And your people say that what I do isn‟t right! No, it‟s their way that isn‟t right. When a

righteous man stops doing god and starts doing evil, he will die for it. When an evil man givesup sinning and does what i s r ight and good, he has saved his l i fe. But Israel, you say that whatI do isn‟t right. I am going to judge you by what you do .” (Ezekiel 33: 7-11, 14-20)

The verses teach the following:

(1)No matter how big the sins and wrongs be, “Life can be saved” or in other words,

forgiveness/salvation can be achieved by (2) turning away from sins, doing good deeds and (3)following the “Law that give life” , (in other words “law” is not a “curse” as Paul erroneously

assumes (c.f. Galatians 3: 13) but a blessing) and then (4) God “will forgive the sins they havecommitted”.

If God is/was willing to forgive even heavy burden of sins by virtue of His attribute, sinner‟s

repentance, acts of good deeds and obedience to Law – then was it required for Ezekiel‟scommunity to believe in any vicarious atonement which was allegedly going to take placethousands of years later? Or, was it required for any person to lat er “volunteer” himself for

crucifixion for sins of others?

It is not surprising that rather than any mention of vicarious atonement, Bible compilers gave the

sub-heading to these passages as “Individual Responsibility” – not Christ‟s (peace be upon him)

responsibility to bear the burden of others!

Another important observation is the stress on refraining from evil and encouragement to do

good deeds since (5) God will “judge by what you do” – not what Christ (peace be upon him)

did (or would do) for them. This also questions Paul‟s self made doctrine of mere faith on cross

(c.f. Romans 3: 20, 28).

Also please observe the stress that sinners should follow the LAW since it gives L I FE. No

wonder we found Jesus (peace be upon him) in the New Testament obedient to the Law:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law , or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to

fulfi l . For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise

pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shal l break one of these least

commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:

but whosoever shal l do and teach them, the same shal l be cal led great in the kingdom of

heaven . (Mat 5:17-19, King James Version, E-Sword)



Even after the assertions of God through biblical Prophet Ezekiel (peace be upon him) and Jesus(peace be upon him), we find Paul contravening the sacred Laws thereby contradicting Jesus

(peace be upon him) also:

But that no man is justif ied by the law in the sight of God , it is evident: for, The just shall live

by faith. (Gal 3:11)

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the LAW . (1Co 15:56)

Therefor e we conclude that a man is justif ied by fai th without the deeds of the law. (Rom 3:28)

Therefor e by the deeds of the law there shal l no f lesh be justif ied in his sight: for by the law is

the knowledge of sin . (Rom 3:20)

For the law made nothi ng perfect , but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we

draw nigh unto God. (Heb 7:19)

(King James, e-Sword Version)

Observe that for Paul, “Law” is not just impotent but that sin gathers its viability from God‟s

sacred Laws! When a person (Paul) believes that Law provides viability to sins (!) then he wouldcertainly like to do away and water down its benefits and coin a new doctrine of forgiveness

through cross – even though God asserts that Law provides “life” (2.).

Another notable facet, as mentioned earlier, that God will judge mortals according to their deeds,

however, Paul again infringes God. Consider the biblical verse where God stresses on personal

good deeds:

But Israel, you say that what I do isn‟t right. I am going to judge you by what you do (Ezekiel

33:20)



Compare it against Paul‟s words:

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Rom 3:28)

Therefor e by the deeds of the law there shal l no fl esh be justif ied in his sight: for by the law i s

the knowledge of sin . (Rom 3:20)

Hardly did Paul realized that he was even contravening his “lord and savior” since Jesus (peace

be upon him) for salvation, (1.) did not place any weightage on cross (2.) gave much importance

to deeds. As is illustrated from the following statements of Jesus (peace be upon him):

“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I

may have eternal li fe? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there isnone good but

one, that is, God: but if thou wi lt enter i nto l if e, keep the commandments . He saith un to him,

Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not

steal, Thou shal t not bear f alse witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shal t

love thy neighbour as thyself . (Mat 19:16-19, King James, e-Sword Version)

Observe that according to Jesus (peace be upon him), not Paul, salvation can be achieved by (i)

not murdering (ii) abstinence from adultery (iii) abstinence from theft (iv) abstinence from false

witnessing (v) honoring parents (vi) and loving our neighbor. Al-hamdolillah.

Starkly, Jesus (peace be upon him) did not enlist belief on his alleged cross to attain salvation

which for Shamoun is “both necessary and foundational for salvation” . Seems that for Christ(peace be upon him), cross was neither necessary nor foundational for salvation!

Christians need to choose between Shamoun and Jesus (peace be upon him) – I will put my

money on Jesus (peace be upon him).

No matter what God ordained, Paul always seems to contravene Him and yet he is ironically purported to be a divinely appointed “apostle”! More on this topic in our future papers,

inshallah. However, for the time being we would direct readers to the following related articles:

Paul: Can he be a prophet of God

Paul and his Coat

http://muslimdebateinitiative.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/paul-can-he-be-a-prophet-of-god/


http://muslim-responses.com/Pauls_Coat/Pauls_Coat_






Bible does not stop with biblical prophets Joel and Ezekiel only (peace be upon him) but evenJeremiah taught the concepts of forgiving God through repentance from sins.

In the following verses observe the ghastly sins committed by Jeremiah‟s community:

“But the worship of Baal , the god of shame , has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and

daughters – everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times. We shoul d li e

down i n shame and let our disgrace cover us. We and our ancestors have always sinned

a gainst the LORD our God; we have never obeyed his commands.” (Jeremiah 3:24-25)

Even after the worship of the idol - “Baal”, witness the love, mercy and for giving capacity ofGod – Almighty:

“The LORD says, “People of I srael, i f you want to turn, then tur n back to me. I f you are

faith fu l to me and remove the idols I hate, it wi ll be right for you to swear by my name. Thenall the nati ons wil l ask me to bless them, and they will praise me.” (Jeremiah 4:1-2)

Notice that even when the Israelites acceded that they have “ALWAYS” sinned against God byworshipping others besides Him and “NEVER” ever obeyed His command, the forgiving God

responded by embracing them “BACK TO HIM (SELF)” . God had no need for Jesus‟ (peace

be upon him) blood to forgive even the most hideous and perennial sin of worshipping BAAL!

In fact God confirms through Jeremiah that if sinners mend their ways then He would forgive

them (without any need of innocent‟s blood):

“If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom,

but then that nation tur ns fr om its evil, I wil l not do what I said I would .” (Jeremiah 18:8)

The only ground on which God would not afflict punishment on the sinning nations is when it

wouldturn from i ts evil. Starkly, God did not need the alleged cross to forgive sins.



According to yet another biblical figure, Samuel, God – The most merciful will blot out even the

most heinous sin if heartily repented for:

“Samuel said to the people of Israel, “I f you are going to turn to the LORD with all your hearts,you must get rid of all the foreign gods and the images of the goddess Astarte. Dedicate

yourselves completely to the LORD and worship only him, and he wil l r escue you from the

power of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 7: 3-4)

Notice that according to Samuel (also), God “will rescue” the Israelites not because they

believed Jesus (peace be upon him) would allegedly die on cross someday and subsequently their

sins would be forgiven, rather, they would be forgiven if they turned from sins “with all your

(their) hearts” . Thus, here again, a strong importance is laid on heartfelt repentance and God‟s

infinite mercy rather than any alleged cross!

In fact, at one place God explicitly says that to forgive sins He does not need sacrifices but

emotions of heart:

“I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices and the burnt – offerings you always bring

me. And yet I do not need bul ls from your farms…Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood

of goats ? Let the giving of thanks be your sacr if ice to God ,” (Psalms 50:8-14)

Next we have very important chapter from Psalms where in important OT prophet David (peace

be upon him) not only teaches how to repent but he also puts forth the conditions how sins could

be forgiven:

A Prayer for Forgiveness

Be merci ful to me, O God, because of your constant love . Because of your great mercy wipe

away my sins! Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sins. I have sinned against

you – only against you – and done what you consider evil. So you are right in judging me; you

are justified in condemning me. I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I wasconceived, I have been sinful. Sinceri ty and tru th are what you require; f il l my mind with your

wisdom. Remove my sin and I wil l be clean; wash me; and I wil l be whiter than snow. Let me

hear the sounds of joy and gladness; and though you have crushed me and broken me, I wil l be



happy once again . Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out al l my evil . Create a pure heart i n

me, O God, and put a new and loyal spir it in me. Do not banish me from your presence; do not

take your holy spir it away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your

salvation, and make me wil li ng to obey you. Then I will teach sinners your commands, and

they will turnback to you. Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim your

righteousness. Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise you. You do not want sacri f ices , or Iwould offer them; you are not pleased with burnt-offerings. My sacri fi ce is a humble spir it , O

God; you wil l not reject a humble and repentant heart.” (Psalms 51:1-17)

Notice the reasons why David (peace be upon him) expects forgiveness from God:

(1.) Because of God‟s constant love.

(2.) Because of God‟s great mercy .

David (peace be upon him) did not had any third reason of Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged,

would-be, sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sins. In fact, he pleads God to “close His eyes from

his sins.”

Why would David (peace be upon him) request God to “close His eyes from his sins.” if he

(David) believed that Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) would pay the price for his sins? If David

(peace be upon him) had ransom currency in his hand then he would look into the eyes of God(so to say) rather than pleading to Him for mercy. A request for closure of eyes is positive proof

that David (peace be upon him) expected mercy rather than believing that his sins would be re-directed to Jesus (peace be upon him).

The truth of the matter is that David (peace be upon him) never believed in vicarious atonement;for him, his repentance and God‟s abundant mercy was enough. As a matter of fact, rather than

appealing God through Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged, would be sacr ifice, David (peace be

upon him) asserted that God does not r equi re sacri f ices but He looks out for “humble spirits” in

repentance. If David (peace be upon him) believed in Christ‟s (peace be upon him) would be,alleged, sacrifice then why did he assert that “my sacrifice is (my) humble spirit” ?

It gets no better for apologists like Shamoun because according to „Christian‟ Scholars of the

Bible, not Jews or Muslims, the only way sinners can be saved is, not through cross, but throughthe forgiveness and mercy of God:

“The only hope of a sinner when crushed with the consciousness of sin is the mercy of God ; and

the plea for that mercy wil l be urged in the most earnest and impassioned language that the



mind can employ . “Accordingly to thy Iovingkindness.” On the meaning of the word used here,

see the notes at Psa 36:7.

(a) The “ ground ” of his hope was the compassion of God:

(b) the “measure” of that hope was His boundless beneficence; or, in other words, he felt thatthere was need of “all” the compassion of a God. (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Psalms

51:1)

Notice that the Christian Commentator candidly accepts that the ONLY hope for sinners is mercyof God, not the alleged blood of Christ (peace be upon him). Furthermore, this hope of mercy

can be achieved not through the belief in alleged cross of Christ (peace be upon him) but through

mercy plea “in the most earnest and impassioned language that the mind can employ.” Thecandid commentator again repeats his message by stating that the “ground” for the hope ofmercy is “compassion of God” , not alleged cross of Jesus (peace be upon him).All of this

alludes that the forgiveness of God is indispensable than the purported, alleged cross of Messiah

(peace be upon him).

Moving on with OT prophets, we find God – Almighty promising prophet Isaiah that He alwaysgrants sincere repentance (and thus obviating need of any sacrificial death!):

“I am the high and holy God, who lives for ever. I live in a high and holy place, but I also li ve

with people who are humble and repentant , so that I can restore their confi dence and hope. Igave my people lif e, and I wil l not continue to accuse them or be angry with them for ever. Iwas angry with them because of their sin and greed, and so I punished them and abandoned

them. But they were stubborn and kept on going their own way. “I have seen how they acted,

but I wil l heal them. I wi ll lead them and help them , and I wil l comfort those who mourn . Ioffer peace to all, both near and far! I wil l heal my people . But evil men are like the restless sea,

whose waves never stop rolling in, bringing filth and much. There is no safety for sinners ,” says

the LORD.” (Isaiah 57:15-21)

Notice that according to Prophet Isaiah, not “apostle” Paul, God will not abandon sinners,

however, he will “heal his people” – “his people” who are “mournful” and “repentant”. If

sinners can be “healed” through “mourning” and “repentance” then is Christ‟s (peace be uponhim) alleged death indispensible, as Paul claims?



Observe that the verse says that God will “comfort those who mourn”; it does not says “those

who believe in the (alleged) would-be death of Christ (peace be upon him)!

Also notice the phrase where it says that “there is no safety for sinners” – from the context, the

sinners are the ones who do not humble themselves in repentance and mourning ; the verse does

not refer sinners to those who do not accept future (alleged) death of Messiah (peace be uponhim) like the Muslims! This yet again obviates any necessity of cross.

Not just Israelites but even Egyptians, a non-Semitic civilization with no expectation of Messiah (peace be upon him), would also be healed or in other words forgiven, if they repent:

“The LORD will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They wil l turn to him, and he

wil l hear their prayers and heal them . (Isaiah 19:22)

Notice yet again that Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged crucifixion was not required for the

forgiveness of sins and subsequent “healing” . All that Egyptians needed to do is to “turn

back” ,that is to repent through “prayers” , not belief in alleged would-be sacrifice of Christ

(peace be upon him),and then God will forgive them.

The Psalmist also asserts that God – Almighty is merciful and ready to forgive without any needof Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) death (!):

“You are my God, so be merciful to me ; I pray to you all day long. Make your servant glad, Olord, because my prayers go up to you. You are good to us and forgiving.

Proud men are coming against me, O God; a gang of cruel men is trying to kill me – people who pay no attention to you But you, O lord, are mercif ul and loving God , always patient, always

kind and faithful. Tu rn to me and have mercy on me; strengthen me and save me because I

serve you, just as my mother did.” (Psalm 86:3-5 & 14-17)

Here is something very interesting about this Psalmist. Notice that he requests for forgivenessand mercy not on the grounds that he has believed that Jesus (peace be upon him) would be

allegedly crucified some day, rather he expects it because of his own good deeds of serving Him

alone, as his mother did (!) and due to the merciful nature of God. This is again a positive proof



that during OT age, people did not used to rely on vicarious atonement on the contrary, they used

to rely on God‟s mercy and their good actions much like the Muslims!

The people of Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) – the citizens of Nineveh, deeply rooted intheir sins, were also forgiven by God – Almighty, neither on the account of the smallness of their

sins nor on the account of their believe in the alleged, would be, death of Christ (peace be upon

him) but because of their humbleness, fasting, obedience and repentance shown to God:

“Once again the LORD spoke to Jonah. He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to

the people the message I have given you.” So Jonah obeyed the LORD and went to Nineveh, a

city so large that it took three days to walk through it….he proclaimed, “In forty days Ninevehwill be destroyed!” The People of Nineveh believed God‟s message. So they decided that

everyone shou ld fast , and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to showthat they had repented . When the king of Nineveh heard about it, he got up from his throne, tookoff h is robe, put on sackcloth, and sat down in ashes. He sent out a proclamation to the people

of Nineveh: “This is an order from the king and his officials: No one is to eat anything: all

persons, cattle, and sheep are forbidden to eat or dr ink. Al l persons and animals must wear

sackcloth. Everyone must pray earnestly to God and must give up his wicked behavior and his

evil actions. Perhaps God wil l change his mind; perhaps he wil l stop being angry, and we wil l

not die !”

Notice the actions of the Ninevites when they came to know of their imminent destruction.Unlike Trinitarian understanding, they did not cry out that we have believed that someday

Messiah (peace be upon him) would be (allegedly) crucified, thus, they should be forgiven. Onthe other hand, they prayed earnestly, fasted, humbled themselves by wearing sackclothes so

much so that even their king did so and gave up their wicked ways.

Trinitarians would expect God to proclaim that their (Ninevites‟) fasting, prayer etc are useless

unless they believed in Messiah‟s (alleged) death (peace be upon him) since that is the only way

He would forgive their sins, however, contrary to this Pauline belief, a merciful God is ready to

forgive freely. As He actually did with the Ninevites:

“God saw what they did; he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior. So he changed

his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would .” (Jonah 3: 1-10)



We need to ponder whether the Ninevites were forgiven due to (belief in) Christ‟s (peace be

upon him) alleged, would-be death or due to God‟s free mercy shown on their repentance?

Jeremiah also accounts that if people would repent then God would change His mind, in otherwords, forgive them their sins:

“Soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became king of Judah, the LORD said to me, “Stand in thecourt of the Temple and proclaim all I have commanded you to say to the people who come from

the towns of Judah to worship there. Do not leave out anything. Perhaps the people wil l l isten

and give up their ways. I f they do, then I wil l change my mind about the destruction I plan to

bri ng on them for all their wicked deeds . (Jeremiah 26: 1-3)

Very ironically, in the above passage God – Almighty goes out of the way to ordain His prophet

to instruct people that He (God) is willing to forgive their sins (“change his mind”) if they mendtheir ways, compatible with Christian believe, God did not say “if they accept alleged blood of

Christ (peace be upon him)”.

Also, notice the yearning and initiative in God‟s behalf to forgive their sins – God is found to be

reaching out to sinners willingly to forgive their sins; even after this, Trinitarians resonate blindly with Paul that the only way sins can be forgiven is through the alleged blood of Christ

(peace be upon him)!

A little later, Jeremiah confirms that if people would give up sinning and repent then God WILL(positive affirmative) forgive them:

“Then I said, “The LORD sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this

Temple and against this city. You must change the way you are living and the things you are

doing, and must obey the LORD your God. I f you do, he will change his mind about the

destruction that he said he would bring on you. (Jeremiah 26: 12-13)

Furthermore, in the same book of Jeremiah we find yet another instance where merciful Godutterl y yearni ng to forgive Israelites when He found them repentant on their sins:



“I hear the people of I srael say in gri ef , „LORD, we were li ke an untamed animal, but you

taught us to obey. Br ing us back ; we are ready to return to you the LORD our God. We turned

away from you, but soon we wanted to retur n. Af ter you had pun ished us, we hung our headsin grief. We were ashamed and disgraced, because we sinned when we were young.‟ “ Israel,

you are my dearest son, the chil d I love best. Whenever I mention your name, I think of you

with love. My heart goes out to you; I wil l be mercif ul . Set up signs and mark the road; findagain the way by which you left. Come back, people of I srael, come home to the towns you left.

How long wi ll you hesitate, faith less people? I have created somethi ng new and dif ferent, as

dif ferent as a women protecting a man.” (Jeremiah 31:18-22)

Did you feel yearn in God‟s heart (so to say) to forgive returning sinners! When Israelites

humbled themselves as “untamed animal” and hung their “heads in grief” shame and

disgrace , God became extremely compassionate towards this act and called them back over and

over again. Being “merciful” towards them with a promise of an entirely new gift and as unique

as a “women protecting a man” ; no where sinners needed any belief in vicarious atonement to be freely forgiven by God!

Through yet another so called OT prophet Amos, God sets easy conditions for His free flowingforgiveness on sinners:

“I know how terrible your sins are and how many crimes you have committed. You persecute

good men, take br ibes, and prevent the poor f rom getting justice in the cour ts. And so, keepingquiet in such evil times is the clever thing to do!

Make it your aim to do what is right, not what is evil so that you may live. Then the LORD GodAlmighty really will be with you, as you claim he is. Hate what is evil, love what is right, and see

that justice prevails in the courts. Perhaps the LORD wi ll be merciful to the people of th is

nation who are stil l left ali ve. (Amos 5:12-15)

It is conspicuous that God would be merciful if the people of Amos were just and upright; yet

again there is no need of any vicarious atonement through Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged

death.



There is even more in the Bible. Trinitarian Apologists like Sam Shamoun who use the book of

Isaiah to somehow establish vicarious atonement, conveniently ignores, if not outright discard,

the following important passage from it:

“Tur n to the LORD and pray to him , now that he is near. Let the wicked leave their way of l if e

and change their way of thinking . Let them turn to the LORD, our God; He is mercif ul and

quick to for give. “My thoughts.” says the LORD, “are not like yours, and my ways are dif ferent

fr om yours . As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above

yours.

“My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. They

make the crops grow and provide seed for sowing and food to eat. So also will be the word that I

speak – it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do. “You willleave Babylon with joy; you will be led out of the city in peace. The mountains and hills will

burst into singing, and the trees will grow where now there are briars; myrtle-trees will come upin place of thorns. Thi s wil l be a sign that will last for ever, a reminder of what I , the LORD,

have done.” (Isaiah 55:6-13)

It must be observed that God claims that He is MERCIFUL AND ABUNDANTLY

FORGIVING (“quick to forgive”), in other words, He wants to copiously forgive returningsinners; all that sinners are needed to do is to “leave their (wicked) way of li fe and change their

way of thinking” . God absolutely does not put any restrictions on his incessant mercy and

forgiveness through sacrifice of any innocent Prophet (peace be upon him). We need to ponder

that if God is willing to excessively forgive solely on His own account then why will He needcross, blood and an innocent?

In fact, as a sign of this free out pouring forgiveness and mercy, God would grow “myrtle-treesin place of thorns” not to later nail and belittle it on the cross.

Another observable facet to the above passage is that it is human nature not to give things freely

but to ask for return, however, merciful God, in the passage, boasts of his free forgiveness by

proclaiming that His “ways are different from yours (humans)”.

This is an ironical response to Paul - a mortal, who thought that God like mortals would demand

blood and flesh of Christ (peace be upon him) to forgive heavy yokes of oft – repeated sins

resembling “give and take” policy. However, according to yet another Christian commentator,God was/is ready to forgive freely and abundantly:



“For - If any man injure you, especially if he do it greatly and frequently, you are slow and

backward to forgive him. But I am ready to forgive all peni tents, how many, and great, and

numberless soever their sins be.” (John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes, Isaiah 55:8)

Jewish commentator Solomon Ben Isaac (Rashi) also concurs of the free and unconditional

mercy:

For My thoughts are not, etc.:My laws are not like the laws of man [lit. flesh and blood]. As for

you, whoever confesses in judgment is found guilty, but, as for Me, whoever confesses and

gives up his evil way, is granted clemency (Source)

It can be deduced that for grant of clemency or forgiveness, unlike the understanding of vicarious

atonement, one needs to:

1. Confess his/her sins.

2. Turn away from sins.

3. And subsequently, receive clemency/forgiveness of sins.

In the above facts, it is hard to insert the concept of vicarious atonement through the alleged

death of Messiah (peace be upon him).

From the above cited Isaiah verse, esteemed Christian Commentator Albert Barnes (also)

postulates pre-requisites to avail salvation. It would be interesting to observe if he gives place to

the alleged blood and cross of Christ (peace be upon him). He comments:

“Let the wicked ... - I n thi s verse we are told what is necessary in order to seek God and to

retur n to h im, and the encouragement wh ich we have to do it. The fi rst step is for the sinner toforsake his way. He must come to a solemn pause, and resolve to abandon al l hi s

transgressions. H is evil course; his vices; his corr upt practices; and his dissipated

companions, must be forsaken.

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15986/showrashi/true/jewish/Chapter-55.htm






And the unrighteous man - Margin, “Man of iniquity.” This is a literal translation. The address

is made to all people, for all are such.

His thoughts - The Hebrew word denotes all that is the object of thought; and the idea is, thatthe man must abandon his plans and purposes of life. The thoughts, in the sight of a holy God,

are not less important than the external deportment; and no man can obtain his favor who is not

ready to abandon h is erroneous opinions, his pride and vanity, his plans of evil , and his

purposes of l i fe that are opposed to God.

And let him return unto the Lord - Man, in the Scriptures, is everywhere described as having

wandered away from the true God. Religion consists in returning to him for pardon, forconsolation, for protection, for support. The true peni tent i s desir ous of r etur ning to him, as the

prodigal son returned to his father‟s house; the man who loves sin chooses to remain at adistance fr om God.

And to our God - The God of his people; the God of the speaker here. It is the language of those

who have found mercy. The idea is, that he who has bestowed mercy on us, will be ready to bestow it on others. „We have returned to God. We have had experience of his compassion, and

we have such a conviction of his overflowing mercy, that we can assure all others that if they will

return to our God, he will abundantly pardon them.‟ The doctrine is, that they who have found

favor have a deep conviction of the abounding compassion of God, and such a sense of the

fullness of his mercy, that they are disposed to offer the assurance to all others, that they mayalso obtain full forgiveness. Compare Rev 22:17 - „And let him that heareth say, Come.‟

For he will abundantly pardon - Margin, as Hebrew, „Multiply to pardon.‟ He abounds inforgiveness. This is the conviction of those who are pardoned; this is the promise of inestimable

worth which is made to all who are willing to return to God. On the ground of this promise all

may come to him, and none who come shal l be sent empty away. (Albert Barnes’ notes on the Bible, Isaiah 55:7)

It is observable that Barnes felt no need to mention the alleged cross of Christ (peace be upon

him) to forgive sins, on the contrary, he states that sinners need to return to God as the “prodigal

son” returned to his father . Now, this father exacted no price from his squandered son to forgive

him, rather he merely forgave him, accepted him and went out of the way to organize a feast for

him!



Book of Proverbs also has the criterions for free mercy without any conditions of cross:

“You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Conf ess them and give them up;

then God wil l show MERCY to you.” (Proverbs 28:13)

Once again, to have “success” one needs to (i) Confess his/her sins (ii) Turn away from them

(iii) subsequently, God will show “mercy” and forgi ve sins.

Did you notice if God required any human sacrifice for forgiveness! Rather His forgiveness

comes out “freely, fully, without any grudges” or reserves even on the most hideous of sins.

Not merely Jewish Rashi but even much celebrated Christian scholars John Gill, who does

believe in vicarious atonement, agrees that God does and can forgive sins freely without the need

any human sacrifice:

In some things there may be a likeness between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of men, as

to the nature of them: thoughts are natural and essential to them both; they are within them, are

internal acts, and unknown to others, till made known; but then the thoughts of men are finiteand limited, whereas the thoughts of the Lord are infinite and boundless; men's thoughts have a

beginning, but the Lord's have none; though not so much the nature as the quality of them is here

intended: the thoughts of men are evil, even the imagination of their thoughts, yea, everyimagination is, and that always and only so; but the thoughts of God are holy, as appears from

his purposes and covenant, and all his acts of grace, in redemption, calling, and preparing his

people for glory: the thoughts of men, as to the object of them, are vain, and nothing worth; their

thoughts and sentiments of things are very different from the Lord's, as about sin, concerningChrist, the truths of the Gospel, the people of God, religion, holiness, and a future state, and in

reference to the business of salvation; they think they can save themselves; that their own works

of righteousness are sufficient to justify them; their privileges and profession such, that they shall

be saved; their wisdom, riches, and honour, a security to them from damnation: however, thattheir sincere obedience, with repentance for what is amiss, will entitle them to happiness: but the

thoughts of God are the reverse of all this; particularly with respect to pardoning mercy their

thoughts are different; carnal men think of mercy, but not of justice, and of having pardoningmercy in an absolute way, and not through Christ, and without conversion and repentance; and

so this is a reason why men's thoughts are to be forsaken, because so very unlike to the Lord's.

OR else these words are to be considered as an ar gument, proving that God does abundantl y

pardon al l returning sinners; since he is not l ike men, backward to forgive, especiall y great



and aggravated crimes, but is ready, free, and wi ll ing to forgive, even those of the most

aggravated cir cumstances.

Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord; the ways which God prescribes and directsmen to walk in are different from theirs; his are holy, theirs unholy; his are plain, theirs crooked;

his are ways of light, theirs ways of darkness; his are pleasant, theirs not so, at least in the issue;

his lead to life, theirs to death; and therefore there is good reason why they should leave theirevil ways, and walk in his. Moreover, the ways which he takes in the salvation of men are

dif ferent fr om those which they, natur all y pursue, and especiall y in the pardon of sin ; he

pardons freely, ful ly, wi thout any reserve, or pr ivate grudge, forgetting as well as

forgiving.(John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Isaiah 55:8)

It is very interesting and ironical to note that John Gill, a proponent of vicarious atonement,

firstly defends forgiveness through Christ (peace be upon him), however, he continues to

decidedly assert that the verse “proves” God forgives incessantly to all returning sinners (why?)since He is unlike niggardly men “backward to forgive especially GREAT and AGGRAVATED

CRIMES” ; He does not pardons on the basis of someone else‟s (alleged) sacrificial death but

He forgives fr eely, full y, WITHOUT ANY RESERVE OR PRIVATE GRUDGE, keeps nothing

in H is mind!

As we saw that a returning sinner is forgiven freely and “FULLY” by the outpouring of a loving

and merciful God then is Christ‟s (peace be upon him) alleged death really required?

In fact Paul alludes that Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) (alleged) death is in vain if there is freeflowing and unconditional forgiveness of God:

“I refuse to reject the grace of God. But i f a person is put ri ght with God through the Law, it

means that Chr ist died for nothing! ” (Galatians 2:21)

The book of Isaiah is far from over. We quote yet another passage from it:

“Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy

sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine



iniquities. I , even I , am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and wil l not

remember thy sins.” (Isa 43: 24-25, King James Version, e-Sword version.)

Unlike Christian theology where sins are forgiven because of Christ‟s (peace be upon him)alleged death‟s sake, in the above passage, God emphatically asserts that He forgives sins of HIS

OWN SAKE!

Albert Barnes provides a very unlike Christian commentary on the above verses where he puts

no stress on the alleged crucifixion of Jesus (peace be upon him):

“I, even I, am he - This verse contains a gracious assurance that their sins would be blotted out,and the reason why it would be done. The pronoun „I‟ is repeated to make it emphatic, as in Isa

43:11. Perhaps also God designs to show them the evil of the sins which are mentioned in the previous verses, by the assurance that they were committed against him who alone could forgive,and who had promised them pardon. The passage also reminds them, that it was God alone who

could pardon the sins of which, as a nation, they had been guilty.

That blotteth out thy transgressions - This metaphor is taken from the custom of keeping

accounts, where, when a debt is paid, the charge is blotted or cancelled. Thus God says he

blotted out the sins of the Jews. He cancell ed them. He forgave them. Of course, when

forgiven, punishment coul d not be exacted, and he would treat them as pardoned; that is, as

hi s fr iends.

For mine own sake - Not because you deserve it, or have any claim, or that it would not be rightto punish you. Not even primarily to promote your happiness and salvation, but f or my sake;

1. To show the benevolence of my character ;

2. To promote my glory by your for giveness and salvation (see Eze 36:22).

And will not remember thy sins - They shall be forgiven. Hezekiah Isa 38:17 expresses the sameidea by saying „thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.‟ We may learn from this verse:



1. That it is God only who can pardon sin. How vain, then, is it for man to attempt it! How

wicked for man to claim the prerogative! And yet it is an essential part of the papal

system that the Pope and his priests have the power of remitting the penalty oftransgression.

2. That this is done by God solely for his own sake. It is not,

(a) because we have any claim to it, for then i t would not be pardon, but justice .

(b) because we have any power to compel God to forgive, for who can contend with him, and

how could mere power procure pardon? It is not

(c) because we have any merit, for then also it would be justice, and we have no merit. Nor is

it

(d) primarily in order that we may be happy, for our happiness is a matter not worthy to be

named, compared with the honor of God. But it is solely for hi s own sake - to promote his glory

- to show his per fections - to evince the greatness of hi s mercy and compassion - and to show

hi s boundless and eternal love.

3. They who are pardoned should live to his glory, and not to themselves. For that they were

forgiven , and it should be the grand purpose of their lives so to live as to show forth thegoodness, compassion, and love of that merciful Being who has blotted out their sins.

4. If people are ever pardoned, they must come to God - and to God alone. They must come, notto justify themselves, but to confess their crimes. And they must come with a willingness that

God should pardon them on just such terms as he pleases; at just such a time as he pleases; and

solely with a view to the promotion of his own glory. Unless they have this feeling, they never

can be forgiven, nor should they be forgiven.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Isaiah 43:25)

There are various important details to be noted from the above exegesis. Firstly, the mercifulGod “blotted out, cancelled and forgave” the heinous sins of the Israelites and by doing so God

not only evinced His glory (as a God of mercy), His “compassion, boundless and eternal love”

but God also made the sinning Jews His “friends” and awarded them “salvation”. Did younotice the Jews were forgiven, made fr iends and awarded salvation (!) without so need of belief

in cross or vicarious atonement.



Secondly, Christian apologists claim that justi ce demanded (alleged) death of Christ (peace be

upon him) since God is both merciful and just. Through Christ‟s (peace be upon him) (alleged)

death Christians can claim their salvation. However, God out of his “boundless mercy” , not justice, is willing to forgive sins without any claim on Him: “…because we (do not) have anyclaim to it, for then i t would not be pardon, but justice .”

Another Christian Scholar accepts that God has no other reason (of cross etc) but of His owngoodness He forgives sins (!):

“For mine own sake - In the pardon of sin God can draw no reason but f rom hi s own inf ini te

goodness. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Isaiah 43:25)

If the Divine God forgives out of his own “ infinite goodness” then it has to obviate all econceptsof ransom offerings to God otherwise it will belittle and devoid God off his divine attribute of

“INFINITE goodness”.

Till now we have seen how God shows His merciful and forgiving nature by freely and

unconditionally pardoning sinners thereby obviating the eccentric notion of atonement through

alleged crucifixion.

In the next section we would see those biblical verses which out rightly negates Christ (peace beupon him) taking on sins of mankind upon himself.

These set of verses teaches, as we would soon observe, that each one has a personalresponsibility towards his/her sins; if a person sins then s/he personally needs to repent ratherthan finding a scapegoat in Jesus (peace be upon him) to pass the burden on.

Personal Responsibility – Not Christ’s (peace be upon him)

We read in Deuteronomy, God, not a mortal Paul, providing the following Law:

“Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are

not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; a person is to be put to death only

for a crime he himself has committed.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)



“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death

for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for hi s own sin .” (Deu 24:16, King James, e-

Sword version)

No stodgy passages are needed for the above limpidly clear verses. Each sinner is responsible for

his own sins; he can either repent or die in that state – God will deal with him accordingly. Son

cannot take Father‟s sin on himself, even if he wants to! yet Christians claim that son (of man)took sins of others!

We also have a similar message in the so called book of Kings where Prophet Solomon (peace be

upon him) is pleading to God:

“When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple totake an oath that he is innocent, O LORD, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish thegui l ty one as he deserves, and acqui t the one who is innocent .” (1 Kings 8: 31-32)

Finally, we have important and famous (3.) Ezekiel (peace be upon him) verses:

“But you ask: „Why shouldn‟t the son suffer because of his father‟s sin?‟ The answer is that

the son did what was right and good. He kept my laws and followed them carefu ll y, and so hewil l certainly live. I t is the one who sins who wi ll die. A son is not to suf fer because of h is

father‟s sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son. A good man will be rewarded for

doing good, and an evil man wi ll suf fer f or the evil he does.

“I f an evil man stops sinning and keeps my laws, if he does what i s r ight and good, he wil l not

die; he wil l certain ly l ive. Al l h is sins wil l be forgiven, and he wil l l ive, because he did what is

right. Do you think I enjoy seeing an evil man die?” asks the Sovereign LORD. “No, I would

rather see him repent and live.” (Ezekiel 18:19-23)

Although the verses are lucidly clear, however, very important deductions are to be taken fromthem.

Notice that (1.) through Prophet Ezekiel (peace be upon him), God defends the notion why SON

should NOT be punished for the sins of the FATH ER (! ) because son is/was righteous and did

what was good thus, he should not bear the sins of father.



To further support His divine Law: Punishment to un-repenting guilty and Safety to innocent;

God states that He wil l not pardon bloodshed of innocent:

“And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he fil led Jerusalem with innocent blood;which the LORD would not pardon.” (2Ki 24:4, King James Version, e-Sword)

If we apply the same principle of “Individual Responsibility” (Ezekiel 18) between son (Jesus)

and father (Adam) then Jesus (peace be upon him) should not be afflicted for the so called

“sins” of Adam (peace be upon him), especially, when God will not pardon shedding of

innocent‟s blood.

It is hard to reconcile that God who was resolute not to pardon bloodshed of innocent in OT era

all of a sudden He completely changed His methodology to kill an innocent to pardon sins ofentire human race! It raises questions whether God changed His ways or human(s) coined newdoctrine!

(2.) The verse emphatically asserts that the one who has sinned is responsible; obviating any

substitute to bear the sins for other. It will be against the just law of a just God to punish innocent

son for the sins of the father.

(3.) However, if father repents and turns back from evil, then ALL his sins will be FORGIVEN! – it yet again obviates the concepts of substitution for bearing of sins of others. No surprise,

Bible scholars and translators sub-headed the passages as “Individual Responsibility” :

To sum up, neither is there any need of Jesus‟ (peace be upon him) alleged crucifixion for bearing the sins of others nor can he take sins of others on his head because according to OT

books, namely, Deuteronomy, Kings and Ezekiel:

Every man is responsible for his own deeds – son is not to be held accountable for father;father is not accountable for the sins of son.

And, there is room for repenting sinners in mercy and forgiveness of God

In fact according to OT scholars, prophet Ezekiel declined any concept of vicarious atonement:

“God‟s prophet Ezekiel said that each person is held responsible for his or her own sins. The

Chr istian idea of vicari ous atonement through beli ef in the blood sacri f ice of Jesus is a moral



reversion. Mere belief is not an adequate substitute for following God‟s moral and ethical

instructions in the Torah. I n essence, the Jewish pr ophet Ezekiel rejected the Chr istian concept

of vicarious atonement.

In rabbinic thought, man does not stand before God, either as acceptable because of what he is.

Rather, he successfully stands before God by being good enough. Rabbinic Judaism rejects anyneed for a vicarious atonement f or sin . Man does not have this need. Being made in the image

of God, he was never separated from God. Regardless of h is conduct, he has the potential of

correcting his sins by return ing to the proper course of action. Since we can make any needed

corr ection ourselves, we need no mediator . I n tur n, if man can approach God on his own

me rit, God coming to man‟s aid as a mediator is unnecessary. Worse than that, it would be an

interference with human progress and man‟s job of perfecting creation.” (Twenty-six reasons

why Jews don’t believe in Jesus, Asher Norman)

Based on the law of “Individual Responsibility” , God rejected when Moses (peace be upon him)tried to vicariously bear the sins of Israelites:

“ Please forgive their sin; but if you won‟t, then remove my name from the book in which you

have written the names of your people.” The LORD answered, “I t is those who have sinned

against me whose names I wil l remove from my book . Now go, lead the people to the place Itold you about. Remember that my angel will guide you, but the time is coming when I will

punish these people for their sin.” (Exodus 32:32-33)

Yet Paul goes out of the way to coin a new doctrine in which Christ (peace be upon him) wassomehow made to bear the sins of others:

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that look for him shall heappear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Heb 9:28)

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave

himself for our sins, that he might deli ver us from this present evil worl d , according to the willof God and our Father: (Gal 1:3-4)

By writing so, Paul expects everyone to reject multiple teachi ngs in scores of OT passages from

mul tiple OT prophets, Jesus (peace be upon h im) and God-Almighty – teachings which comes

naturally acceptable to human cognizance.



We have seen over and over again that God in Old Testament is willing to pardon returning

sinners and award salvation purely because of His own self and merciful nature.

Yet Paul contravenes God and claims that there cannot be any forgiveness of sins and subsequent

salvation without the alleged blood shed of Jesus (peace be upon him):

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no

remission.” (Heb 9:22)

Unlike what Paul taught, a just God – Allah (SWT) warns that it is another sin to commit atransgression and then try to pass the burden on an innocent:

“And if anyone earns sin he earns it against hi s own soul : for Allah is full of knowledge andwisdom. But if anyone earns a faul t or a sin and throws it on to one that is innocent H e

carr ies (on himself ) (both) a fal sehood and a fl agrant sin. (Qur’an 4: 111-112, Yusuf Ali

Translation, Al-Alim CD – Rom Version.)

Nevertheless, much like OT rendering, Allah – The Most Merciful is always willing to forgive

returning sinners:

“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of

All ah: for Al lah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. (Qur’an 39:53, Yu suf

Ali Translation, Al-Alim CD – Rom Version.)

Conclusion, Recapitulation and Reconciliation

Christians who champion vicarious atonement should explain why Pauline verses is to be blindly

believed while rejecting multiple OT verses which teaches that:



1. God is very merciful, willing to forgive (freely) and forget, without any condition or

“give and take” policy, entirely for His own sake; if at all, then He wants to see HHis

creation feeling guilty and repentant.

2. Moreover, we saw numerous instances rigged in the Bible where sinners were forgiven

by God.

3. That there is a law of “Individual Responsibility” , wherein others cannot vicariously

bear for others. Thus this law obviates Jesus (peace be upon him) allegedly dying for the

sins of others. We saw how God rejected Moses‟ (peace be upon him) attempt for

vicarious punishment.

4. In fact, if God despises bloodshed of innocent so much so that He would not forgive it,

then there has to be strong enough ground and proof to believe Paul who claims thatJesus (peace be upon him), an innocent, was killed to bear the sins of others.

5. Prophet Ezekiel rejected vicarious atonement; Paul wants us to believe in it. It is much

safer to put our money on Ezekiel – God‟s chosen Jewish Prophet than Paul who nevermet Jesus (peace be upon him) let alone God; except that he saw some thunder and

lightning in sky, converted his Jewish name Saul to Gentile one and incorporated Gentileideas of vicarious atonement.

6. Based on OT scriptures, traditionally, Jewish sages never harbored any concept of

vicarious atonement. They never felt any need for it, given they had knowledge of God‟s

mercy, their repentance and man‟s capability to return back to correct path denouncingsins.

Although the above facts are irreconcilable, however, it can be done. All Christians need to do is:



I. Either reject Pauline verses as they contradict verses of multiple Jewish Prophets of

OT.

II. Or, accept Pauline verses with a condition that Jesus‟ vicarious d eath i s neither

necessary nor foundational f or salvation. Yet Hebrews 9:22 is to be rescinded.

III. Or, reject teachings of multiple OT prophets and their practices which, ironically,

availed them “life” and salvation.

There were numerous other OT verses which we did not quote because already much was

quoted, therefore, we request Christians to ponder once again if it is worthwhile to reject vast

amount of OT teachings from multiple OT prophets based on Paul‟s theology.

Foot notes:

(1.) In future installments, inshallah, we would take into account the specific Pauline verses

which Shamoun used to defend vicarious atonement. However, it would be interesting to note

that most of Shamoun‟s arguments are inherently responded in this paper.

(2.) The import of the word “life” is to be saved from consequences of sin, punishment of hell

and enjoyment of heaven:

“To “have eternal life” means to be saved. The happiness of heaven is called “life,” in

oppositi on to the pains of hell , called “death,” or an eternal dying , Rev 2:2; Rev 20:14. The

one is real life, answering the purposes of living - living to the honor of God and in eternalhappiness; the other is a failure of the great ends of existence - prolonged, eternal suffering, of

which temporal death is but the feeble image.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Matthew

19:16-30)

(3.) May Allah (SWT) reward Shaikh Ahmad Deedat for publicizing the verses.

(4.) Emphasize wherever not matching with the original is ours.

(5.) All biblical verses taken from Holy Bible, Good News Edition, Today‟s English Version.

Related Reading:



Did earliest Christians believe the alleged crucifixion to be indispensible?

http://donotsaytrinity.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/did-earliest-christians-believe-alleged-crucifixion-to-be-indispensible/



does christianity really necessitate ransom for salvation

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