Joshua Evans is a convert from Christianity to Islam. In the following video, Joshua Evans gives three reasons Jesus did not die for our sins:
Jesus’ death (history) and Jesus’ death for sin (theology)
There are two issues in the matter of Jesus’ death for sin. The first issue is historical: Did Jesus die? The second issue is theological: Jesus’ death for sin. The theological issue – for sin – is an interpretation of the historical event – Jesus’ death.
Joshua Evans’ three arguments are all theological in nature and not historical. Or to put it another way, just because you don’t agree about the meaning/interpretation of an event does not mean the event never happened.
This might not seem like an important point except for the fact that biblical religion is rooted in what God has done in history. 1“The uniqueness and scandal of the Christian religion rests in the mediation of revelation through historical events. The Hebrew-Christian faith stands apart from the religions of its environment because it is an historical faith, whereas they were religions rooted in mythology or the cycle of nature. The God of Israel was the God of history, or the geschichtsgott,
as German theologians so vividly put it. The Hebrew-Christian faith did not grow out of lofty philosophical speculation or profound mystical experiences. It arose out of the historical experiences of Israel, old and new, in which God made Himself known. This fact imparts to the Christian faith a specific content and objectivity which set it apart from others…. The Bible is not primarily a collection of the religious ideas of a series of great thinkers. It is not first of all a system of theological concepts, much less of philosophical speculations….The recital of God’s historical acts is the substance of Christian proclamation” (George Eldon Ladd, “The Knowledge of God: The Saving Acts of God” in ed., Carl F. H. Henry, Basic Christian Doctrines [New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962], 7-13). Joshua Evans is a convert from Christianity to Islam; and yet, after watching this video and others, it does not appear Joshua Evans ever understood this.
Muslims don’t simply disagree with Christians about the theological meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross – for sin. Muslims don’t believe in the historic event itself – Jesus’ death.
A difference between the Quran and the Bible
Here’s another way of thinking about the difference between the Quran and the Bible, history and theology:
- Muslims believe in the Quran because: “God said.”
- Christians believe in the Bible because: “God said” AND “God did”(“God did” refers to historic events witnessed by others; historic events remembered by God’s people [e.g. Passover; Lord’s Supper; Sabbath Day; etc.]). 2“The student of the New Testament should be primarily an historian. The centre and core of all the Bible is history. Everything else that the Bible contains is fitted into an historical framework and leads up to an historical climax. The Bible is primarily a record of events. The Bible contains a record of something that has happened, something that puts a new face upon life. What that something is, is told us in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The authority of the Bible should be tested here at the central point. Is the Bible right about Jesus?…If it is wrong here, then its authority is gone. The question must be faced. What shall we think about Jesus of Nazareth?” (J. Gresham Machen, History and Faith, Princeton, NJ : The Princeton Theological Review, 13.3 [July 1915], 337-351).
If you hold the theological conviction that an angel from heaven spoke to Muhammad, then it’s hard to discuss with Muslims events that have happened in history which the Quran denies. For Muslims, what “God said” in the Quran trumps everything else – including history.
Now you might think that this is the end of discussion, but it doesn’t have to be. Why? Because Muslims believe an angel from heaven spoke to Muhammad. Muslim belief that the Angel Gabriel spoke to Muhammad is a belief about history.
The question remains: Do Muslims have historic justification for believing that an angel from heaven spoke to Muhammad? 3Islam denies the established historic event of Jesus’ death on the cross. Islam’s denial of this historic event is a reason to reject Islam’s historic claim that an angel from heaven spoke to Muhammad.
Why is this important?
One reason this is important is because events that happen in history are true for everyone. That’s one of the reasons history is studied in school and university.
This is problematic for Muslims because Muhammad’s 7th century denial of Jesus’ death on the cross (history) is not historical and therefore it is not true for everyone.
What “God said” in the Quran about Jesus and the crucifixion was not witnessed in 1st century history. In fact, the Quran came about 600 years after the historic event.
Looking more closely at Joshua Evans’ three theological reasons for not believing Jesus died on the cross for our sins
Nevertheless, let’s look more closely at the theological reasons Joshua Evans gives not believing Jesus died on the cross for sin:
#1 Jesus’ Death and Ezekiel 18
The first reason Joshua Evans gives why Jesus did not die on the cross for sin comes from Ezekiel Chapter 18, verse 20,
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
The larger context of this verse involves repentance, the Temple, and the sacrificial system (cf. Leviticus 17:11). In other words, this passage does not teach something contrary to Moses. It does not teach that a person can be forgiven of their sins apart from what God revealed in the Torah (first five books of the Bible) concerning the sacrificial system, temple, Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), etc. Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), is the fulfillment of all these things (cf. Matthew 12:6; 27:51). 4Ezekiel “was not making a statement about atonement and forgiveness without sacrifices. Rather, he was responding to a widespread misunderstanding that existed among his contemporaries, a misunderstanding that completely undercut individual moral responsibility. According to this view, the parents could sin and escape scot-free, while their children would suffer for the parents’ sins…All of Ezekiel 18 is devoted to this subject, explaining the issue in great detail (see also Jer. 31:29–32). It has nothing to do with atonement” (Michael Brown, Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 2: Theological objections, pp.144-145).
It is curious that Joshua Evans, a former Christian, did not understand Christianity and the Bible better than this.
#2 You Can’t Kill God
The second reason Joshua Evans gives for why Jesus did not die on the cross for sin is, “You can’t kill God.” This is a common Muslim objection, and yet most Christians I know would agree that God cannot die. John Calvin explained centuries ago,
In short, since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome it, he coupled human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death; and that, wrestling with death by the power of the other nature, he might win victory for us (Institutes of the Christian Religion II,xii,3).
#3 If Jesus were crucified He would have been accursed
The third reason Joshua Evans gives for Jesus not dying on the cross for sin is that the Bible says those who hang from a tree are cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23).
The point of the New Testament is that Jesus did suffer the accursed death of the cross for the sins of His people (Galatians 3:13-14). In fact, this was prophesied in the Old Testament (Psalm 22:1 with Matthew 27:46).
If the three above arguments are the best Joshua Evans can muster, then the reasons for believing in the Quran instead of the Bible are unconvincing.
Articles you may be interested in:
Do you believe in the Bible Jesus believed?
The Uncertainty of the Quran and Jesus’ Crucifixion
Do you remember when you and every other soul testified to Allah on the Day of Alastu?
Related items you may find of interest:
How the Bible Led Me to Islam
James White, Joshua Evans on the Deen Show
References
