Imagine 5,500 people — Muslims and Christians side by side — gathered in a single hall, silent with anticipation as a debate unfolds over one of the most consequential questions in the history of faith: Is Jesus (peace be upon him) God? This episode of The Deen Show revisits that extraordinary live exchange, featuring the renowned Islamic scholar Ahmed Deedat in dialogue with a Christian representative, drawing directly on biblical scripture to address a claim that has shaped centuries of theology and divided billions of believers. What makes this debate remarkable is not its heat, but its clarity — because when the texts are examined honestly, the case for the divinity of Jesus collapses not from Muslim argument alone, but from the Bible’s own words.
No Unequivocal Claim: What the Scriptures Actually Say
The most powerful point raised in this debate is deceptively simple: there is no verse in any version of the Bible where Jesus explicitly says “I am God” or commands people to “worship me.” Not one. Every passage cited in support of his divinity requires layers of inference, mistranslation, or theological overlay. The Gospel of John — the text most frequently used to argue for the Trinity — is itself the most disputed of the four Gospels, rejected by early Christian sects as early as the second century CE and questioned by scholars including those within Christianity itself. Professor Stadlin attributes it to a student of the Alexandrian school; the Encyclopaedia Britannica calls it “undoubtedly fabricated” as a theological document. Meanwhile, the terms “Son of God” and “Father” that appear throughout the Bible are applied to Adam (Luke 3:38), Israel (Exodus 4:22), Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:6), and even ordinary peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) — demonstrating that these were metaphors for righteous servitude in the language of Scripture, never literal claims of divine parentage.
“Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” — John 20:17
- Jesus explicitly calls God his God — “my God and your God” — placing himself in submission to the Divine, not equality with it
- The title “Son of God” is applied to Adam, Israel, Solomon, and all believers — it is a Semitic expression of honour and piety, not a metaphysical claim of divine origin
- John 1:12 extends sonship to all who believe — stripping it of any exclusive theological weight unique to Jesus
- The Gospel of John, the primary source for Trinitarian theology, faces the deepest questions of authenticity even among Christian scholars, dating back to the second century CE
- When Jesus says “the words you hear are not mine but the Father’s who sent me,” he is speaking the language of prophecy, not of divinity
The False Trilemma and the Islamic Honour of Jesus
A common Christian apologetic asserts that Jesus must be either a liar, a lunatic, or God — a framework repeated so often it is mistaken for logic. But this is a false trilemma that deliberately excludes the most consistent and scripturally supported option: that Jesus (peace be upon him) was exactly what he claimed to be, a mighty Messenger of God. Islam does not diminish Jesus; it restores him. The Quran honours ‘Eesa ibn Maryam as one of the greatest Prophets ever sent — born without a father by Allah’s command, given the Injeel as divine revelation, and capable of miracles by Allah’s leave alone. What Islam rejects is not Jesus but the fabrication layered over him by centuries of institutional theology. As Deedat powerfully observed before thousands of listeners, following Jesus authentically means following his teachings, his commandments, and his submission to the One God — not replacing God with Jesus himself. To do so, to keep the laws, to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, to follow the Prophet sincerely, is to walk the path of complete surrender to God. It is, in the deepest sense, the path of Islam.
“There is not a single unequivocal statement in any version of the Bible where Jesus says ‘I am God’ or where he says ‘worship me.’ If there were, we Muslims would have no hesitation in accepting it — because we know that Jesus Christ, as one of the mightiest Messengers of God, would never lie.” — Ahmed Deedat
For every sincere seeker — Muslim, Christian, or otherwise — this debate is an invitation to look past centuries of institutional theology and return to the source with open eyes and an honest heart. The Islamic position on Jesus is not a denial but a restoration: he was human, deeply honoured, prophetic, and fully submitted to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. His message was Tawheed — the pure oneness of God — the same message carried by every Prophet from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them all. When Jesus says “my God and your God,” he speaks as a servant, not a sovereign, and in that submission lies the most profound spiritual guidance available to humanity. This is the clarity Islam offers to a world lost in theological complexity: that true faith, true purpose, and true closeness to God begin with La ilaha illa Allah — there is no god but God — a testimony that Jesus himself, in the Islamic understanding, bore witness to with every act of worship and every word of revelation he delivered. May Allah guide all who seek Him sincerely to His straight path, and may the light of His pure Oneness illuminate every searching heart.
