By Roland Clarke
This riveting and thought-provoking piece sheds fresh perspective on a Christian belief that has been fiercely opposed by Muslims for 1400 years. Like every good mystery, this story traces a series of clues spanning the entire Bible and concludes with 1 Timothy 3:16:
“Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.”
It's no secret that God loves every human being he created, so it shouldn't be surprising that he wants us to love him in return. What better way to encourage us to seek him than to reveal himself little by little so that we come to know him more and more. God said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” He uses prophecies and proverbs, parables and paradoxes, riddles and sayings of the wise to keep us engaged, intrigued and invested on the journey of discovering how magnificent and delightful he is. As it is written, “The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections.” So then, “Let us press on to know him.”
How the Bible Self-Testifies to its own Divine Origins
Although there are multiple human authors of Hebrew scripture1 (the Torah+Tanakh, or Old Testament) they are secondary to God. Only humans write, so everything that ever has been written was penned by human authors. This includes all the books of the Bible (Tanakh + New Testament), the Talmud, the Hindu Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Qur’an, and every other purported holy book. According to its own witness, the primary author of biblical Scripture is always God himself. In its multiple genres, all the scriptures of the Tanakh are regarded within itself as divine revelation and recorded as Holy Scripture, the LORD’s words and thoughts.
[1] …as there must surely also be for the Qur’an.
Wissam Al-Aethawi's Review of Scott Cherry's New Book, "The Reason of Job"
Get the book here: The Reason of Job on Amazon.com
قد تكون لغة الكتاب (نموذج المسيح) عسرة الهضم على المبتدئين, الا ان الكتاب يوفر كل المعلومات اللازمة لفهم اطروحته. يجادل المؤلف ان قصة ايوب هي نموذج المسيح, وان هذا النموذج يتكرر على طول الكتاب المقدس وعرضه. والنموذج هو نمط متكرر يمكن تمييزه مرئيا او سمعيا او خياليا. وايوب هو نموذج من نوع (النزول للصعود) لانه ينحدر الى وادي الياس ليخرج منه بافضل حال. يتولى سكوت مهمة طرح حجته في رحلة تاخذك للكتب السماوية والادب والثقافات المعاصرة ومحاوراته مع اصدقائه, والكتاب مساهمة ثرية للمكتبة المسيحية وقد يكون بركة شخصية للقارئ.
وسام العيثاوي, الخدمة العربية المسيحية
In his new book, The Reason of Job, Scott Cherry has assumed the monumental task of building his argument in a journey that takes the reader through scriptures, literature, pop culture as well as real-life conversations with his friends. This book is a rich contribution to the world library and can be a real blessing to the reader, Christian, Muslim, or other.
–Wissam Al-Aethawi, Arabic Christian Ministry, Dearborn, Michigan
Get the book here: The Reason of Job on Amazon.com
What did Jesus mean who said, "Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.”
by Roland Clarke
Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” thus echoing Jesus words, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me...will save it.” Emulating Jesus, Jim Elliot and his four teammates laid down their lives as martyrs so the Waodani people could hear and receive eternal life. Interestingly, the paradox of 'saving/losing' one's earthly life has wider application. As Solomon wrote, “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Jesus also said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” A modern Kurdish proverb echoes this paradox, “What you give away you keep,” as well as Arabic proverbial wisdom, “If you do charity your house will always be rich.” So what is the outcome of living this way? Cherokee (& Persian) sages came up with an interesting proverb, “When you were born you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” (cf. Book of Ecclesiastes 7:1-5)
Jonah's Story Was A Central Motif in Jesus's Preaching
“[L]et us consider which is harder, for a man after having been buried to rise again from the earth, or for a man in the belly of a whale…to escape corruption.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lecture 14.18 [1]
Jonah Ίωνας
The Jewish Tanakh, or the Hebrew scriptures of the revelation library that is the Old Testament of the Bible, contains the full writings of all the writing prophets. This includes the entire book of Prophet Jonah (4 chapters). Jonah is also importantly referred to in the New Testament by Jesus himself, as recorded seven times in two of the four gospels: three times in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12, once in verse 16:4, and three times in the Gospel of Luke chapter 11. In both gospels Jesus is asserting that he himself is greater than both Jonah and Solomon, and that is all the more reason why his audiences should repent. So much so that if they did not, then both the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites will rise up at the time of the final divine judgment to condemn them. Very strong words. But where did Jesus get off claiming to be greater than both prophet Jonah and King Solomon? Where indeed? Clearly Jesus believed he was the greatest of the prophets, and more than a prophet, the one-and-only Messiah, and rightful King of Israel (even though he never sought political power). If he was not then it