Let me review what I said in my last post.
Rational thinking is not to be the basis for rejecting the concept of the Triune Godhead. God as Transcendent is not restricted by our rational thinking.
Now.. I want to ask you a question. Does the Qur'an provide clear evidence that Jesus is NOT God's Son?
What the Qur'an repudiates, is a misconception of the Triune Godhead and of Jesus's Sonship.
To see what I am saying, you have to understand a number of things first
(and this is taken from "Faith to Faith" Christianity and Islam in dialogue" by Dr Chawkat Moucarry page 188-189 published by IVP)
1. The Trinitarian monotheism of the Bible, is NOT the tritheism denounced by the Qur'an. Christians believe in ONE God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not three gods God, Mary and Jesus.
2. Jesus is not the Son of God because He was miraculously conceived in Mary's womb, rather He WAS miraculously BECAUSE He IS the SON OF GOD.
3. God created Jesus's human nature when He was conceived. Jesus was fully human in the full sense of the word, and the Qur'anic name for Him "Son of Mary" is fully justified.
4. God cannot be reduced to to the person of the Son alone. While it is correct that Christ is God (by virtue of His Divine Nature), it is not true that God is Christ, which the Qur'an correctly rejects.
5. The incarnation of the Son of God does not mean making a man into a god. The incarnation is exactly the opposite of the deification of a man. The former refers to the self-abasement of God, whereas the other is about elevating a man to God's rank. Certainly God didnot take Jesus as His Son, which is as the Qur'an states.
6. The divine and the human natures have been united in the one person of Jesus Christ. Christians worship the personof Christ, not his divine or his human nature. The two natures remain distinct, unconfused and unmixed.. He was and is wholly man and wholly God.. not part man, part God. Therefore in no way do Christians, associate what is created with the Creator in their worship.
I'll close this post for now and then discuss how God begets not, nor is he begotten in relation to Jesus as the Son of God in the next post. I think it's easier to read when these are broken up.
Let me know if you agree
Carol[/i]