Introduction

Wide networks of Christian missionaries of various denominations exist all over the globe. Missionary work is a legitimate activity if its purpose is to impart religious education to adherents of one’s own faith and to inform others. Christian missionaries, however, have an agenda of obtaining conversions from other faiths. They often twist facts, enabling them to disingenuously proselytize gullible people. It needs to be stated at the outset that it is not the intention of this paper to criticize or denigrate Christianity as a religion but only to point out the methodology and rhetoric used by many Christian missionaries. For example, they tell people that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin mother and is therefore the son of God; he gave his life for the sins of all and should therefore be accepted as a savior by all; and that he rose from the grave, walked the earth and was later carried to heaven. No rational human being can accept these things uncritically. It is true that some of these things are part of the present Bible but it does not need much ingenuity to show that they do not accord with the relevant earlier entries in the scripture as will be discussed in this paper. Such things certainly make presentations of the missionaries interesting for the gullible audience but are not convincing for those who can analyse their claims. This has raised many questions on validity of Christian mythology. No wonder there are more atheists in Western countries in which Christians are in majority. The purpose of this paper is to find out the truth so that the tactics of Christian missionaries do not mislead the common people. The intent is to scrutinize those claims that are made to proselytize people of other faiths.

Scriptures

The Bible is the scripture of Christianity. It has two parts called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Jews and Christians accept the Old Testament as their scripture. Torah, which is the name of the first five books of the Old Testament is also accepted by the Muslims and finds frequent reference in the Muslim scripture the Quran as does the New Testament. The New Testament covers the period of Jesus and shortly thereafter. Christians believe that the prophecies made by the earlier prophets and contained in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the New Testament period. Those of major interest say that a Messiah, who would be the savior of the Jews, would come to this world. The Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah, fulfilling those prophecies. It is commonly understood that a prophecy is fulfilled on its own. However, the New Testament is at pains to show that the prophecies connected with the Messiah apply to Jesus. It is interesting to note that whereas the Quran accepts Jesus as a prophet, it does not accept his being the Messiah. The Jews do not accept Jesus as their Messiah.

The New Testament has four parts. The first part dealing with the birth, life and crucifixion of Jesus comprises of four gospels (Gospel means good news) one each by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The second part is the book of Acts describing the situation after Jesus’ death. It glorifies Peter and Paul the same way Jesus is glorified in the gospels. Luke is believed to be its author though not specifically mentioned. The third part comprises of the letters written, mostly by Paul to various destinations asking them to accept the new religion and is in the form of propaganda. The fourth part called Revelation shows the imagination of John about Jesus in heaven. The gospels are full of Jesus’ praises, miracles performed by him, his crucifixion and resurrection. The four gospels were chosen from numerous accounts. It is not clear who chose them and what the basis of selection was. There are considerable contradictions in the New Testament, which seem to have been caused by later additions. The accounts of different events given in the four gospels and Acts do not agree with one another in many cases. This applies to fundamentals like the birth of Jesus from a virgin mother, events immediately following his birth, Sermon on the Mount, his crucifixion – if it really occurred and whether it was on a cross or by hanging on a tree – and finally resurrection. This raises question whether the entries in the New Testament are based on actual observation or hearsay.

Originally, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. English translations of the Bible came much later. The best-known English translation called King James Version was published in 1611. Many other translations have been published later which differ from one another according to the translators’ understanding. The English translations of the Old Testament in the Jewish and Christian Bibles differ from one another. There is therefore no authenticity of the different versions. In this study, the quotations are from King James Version.

The Christian missionaries claim that Bible is the Word of God, but it is questionable. The Old Testament quotes God saying, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” (Deuteronomy18:18). However, the New Testament does not covey anything from God. In fact there are no notable words attributed to God except “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17 and Mark 1:11). These are meant to endorse Jesus. The gospels do not glorify God, instead Jesus asks God to glorify him so that he may glorify God, in other words glorification of God is subject to glorification of Jesus. John 17:1 says “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

The reader may be aware of more gospels like the Gospel of Judas coming into news lately. All religions have scriptures and life histories of their preceptors. Any doubts about the latter can be resolved in the light of the scriptures but in the case of the New Testament if the Gospels are in doubt, nothing is left against which other religious or historical claims may be judged. This, perhaps, explains the large number of denominations in Christianity, each one unable to fully agree with the other. The pity is that instead of resolving their differences more denominations and more versions of the Bible have been created.

Sermon on the Mount

In the Gospels, the only part of real spiritual value is the Sermon on the Mount. This does not appear in the Gospels by Mark and John. It appears in the gospels by Matthew and Luke but the details and language of the two are different. Furthermore, many parts are not common between the two. Let us examine what Matthew and Luke say on where the sermon was delivered, who all were present and whom it was meant for.

Matthew

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (5:1-3).

Luke

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;—(Luke 6:12-13)

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people — (Luke 6:17)

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20)

According to Matthew, Jesus delivered the sermon, only to his disciples, on a mountain. In addition, the sermon is applicable to all. On the other hand, Luke says Jesus delivered the sermon after he came down from the mountain after praying. Therefore, Luke does not accept it as ‘sermon on the mount’ the way it is traditionally known. The wording shows that the sermon was not for all but for the disciples alone as Jesus says “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God”. As may be seen Matthew uses the expression “kingdom of heaven” and Luke the “kingdom of God”. Additionally, whereas throughout the gospels the names of persons and places are mentioned, the name of the mountain is not given in either gospel. A study of Matthew chapters 5-7 and Luke chapter 6 would show considerable other differences. This casts doubts whether the sermon was indeed delivered or entries have been made in the two gospels later to show something spiritual.

Jesus Did Not Found Christianity.

It may come as a surprise to many that Jesus was not the founder of Christianity, although it carries his name. He was born and he died a Jew. Establishment of Christianity was due to the efforts of Paul and Peter. Paul was opposed to Jesus during his lifetime and persecuted his followers but converted after Jesus’ death. He labored hard in spreading the message of Jesus and succeeded largely. But he also sowed the seeds of anti-Jew sentiment contrary to what Jesus had been saying. Jesus said that he had come to fulfill the earlier scriptures (Matt 5:17). Referring to the laws given by Moses he said, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt 5:18). Paul went against this and said “But before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after the faith came we are no longer under the schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:23-25). This clearly shows that whereas Jesus had said that there would be no deviation from the law, Paul did not consider it relevant.

                         Christianity to day is what Paul said and it repudiates Jesus.

Jesus had condemned the practices of the Jews during his lifetime. Paul’s background is interesting. He used to preach in the synagogue and condemned Jesus’ actions. The Jews had two groups of priests. One was called the Sadducees and the other Pharisees. The Sadducees followed the law of the Old Testament strictly but the Pharisees were flexible in its interpretation and were amenable to change with time. Jesus had asked his followers to beware of both of them (Matt 6:12). The two groups were inimical of each other and often had arguments. Their differences have been highlighted in Acts 23:6-8 which also shows that Paul was a Pharisee.

Paul’s utterances poisoned the relations further exacerbating the antipathy. Plenty of human blood has been shed because of this.

Jesus Once asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I Son of man am”? To this, they said “Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13-14). He asked them again “Who say ye that I am”? Peter replied, “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). Jesus complimented him and said, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church” (Matt 16:18). He did not say that a new religion would be founded. It later transpired that Peter did not believe Jesus who told him “Satan: thou art an offence unto me” (Matt 16:23). The same Peter thrice denied that he knew Jesus (Matt 26:70-74). Peter’s conduct described above indicates that he satisfied Jesus’ expectation of endorsement and sycophancy; he did not have faith in Jesus. His denial shows that he had no commitment to Jesus. But it was on him that Jesus had intended to build his church. Jesus had said beforehand that Peter would deny him thrice (John 13:38), but did not revise his statement about Peter being the foundation of the church. This despite Jesus having said “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven (Matt 10:33). This would show that the church that came into being after Jesus was based on seeking endorsement, sycophancy, lack of faith and denial. This may seem blasphemous but that is the only inference that can be drawn from the aforementioned scriptural references.

Divisions in Christianity.

Considering the way Christianity came into being, it was natural that fissures should occur among its followers. The seeds of this were sown by none other than Paul himself who had the history of breaking up with the Jews due to dissensions. Acts 15: 38-40 tells us that Paul had fallen out with Mark and did not take him on his preaching journeys. The two parted ways and laid the foundation of divisions in Christianity which have multiplied in course of time. There are numerous denominations of Christianity differing from one another in many ways. They also seek conversions from one another. Europe’s history is full of blood of Christians against Christians. Large scale killings of Protestant Huguenots by Catholic France during Reformation,[1] the commencement of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) in England with its roots in the ongoing religious struggle between Protestants and Catholics,[2] continuing violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland[3] all show that all Christians sects have neither peacefully coexisted in the past nor there is cooperation among them today.So next time a Christian missionary asks you to convert to their religion, you should ask him about the number of Christian denominations and which denomination he wants you to join. They should also be advised to first establish unity within their faith and then ask others to join it. Who would like to go where such divisions exist? Please tell them we are happy where we are.

Offering Temptations.

Christian missionaries choose those areas for their operations where the people are poor and need help. With considerable resources at their command, they first establish facilities like schools and hospitals. They tell the people that they have come there to serve. Then they slowly  try to attract people to their faith either by offering concessions or preference in employment to Christians. Because poverty is a fertile ground for their operations, Christian missionaries say that poverty is a gift of God. They literally try to buy the poor people’s conscience with their resources. Is that service? All religions teach that tempting people is sin. They probably do not know that we, the Sikhs, have a proud heritage and shall not fall to temptations. Gurbani teaches us to be vigilant:

                        ਰਾਮੁ ਸਿਮਰੁ ਪਛੁਤਾਹਿਗਾ ਮਨ

                        ਪਾਪੀ ਜੀਅੜਾ ਲੋਭੁ ਕਰਤੁ ਹੈ ਆਜੁ ਕਾਲਿ ਉਠਿ ਜਾਹਿਗਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ਕ ੧੧੦੬

My mind, remember the Lord, lest you repent later.

The sinful man falls to greed forgetting he may die any time. (Kabir SGGS page 1106).

                         ਆਇਓ ਸੁਨਨ ਪੜਨ ਕਉ ਬਾਣੀ ॥

                         ਨਾਮੁ ਵਿਸਾਰਿ ਲਗਹਿ ਅਨ ਲਾਲਚਿ ਬਿਰਥਾ ਜਨਮੁ ਪਰਾਣੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥                                    ੫ ੧੨੧੯

Human birth is meant to listen to, read and follow the scriptures as a way to reuniting with God.

If man forgets God, falling prey to greed, he wastes the opportunity provided by this birth (5^th Guru, Page 1219)

Even their own scripture the Bible says “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). They should be asked why they are asking others to come to Christianity when they do not themselves follow it. They should be politely told “No thank you, we are happy with our own religion; at least we practice it”.

Jesus is Not God.

Christian missionaries talk of God occasionally but their main emphasis is not on God but on Jesus. They emphasize that the only way to salvation is by accepting Jesus as the savior. They not only do not hesitate to equate him to God but also call him God. Ironically, they call this concept monotheism. How can a mortal, who is born and then dies, be given the status of God? Those who believe in monotheism can never accept this. For them the only one fit for worship is one God. All faiths are unanimous on this. The Hindu scripture, the Gita says:

God is the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the dearest friend. He is the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything; the resting place and the eternal seed (Bhagvad Gita, 9:18).

The Quran says:

God, none else is fit for worship;

He is everlasting, neither dozes off nor goes to sleep. Whatever is in the heavens or earth is all His (Quran, 2:255).

Sri Guru Granth Sahib the scripture of the Sikh religion says:

                        ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਮੇਰਾ ਸਦਾ ਸਦਾ ਨਾ ਆਵੈ ਨਾ ਜਾਇ ॥

                       ਓਹੁ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਮਹਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਮਾਇ ॥੧੩॥ ੫੭੫੯

                       God is eternal; He is neither born nor He dies;

                        He is indestructible and all pervasive

(4^th Guru, Page 758).

                      ਖਸਮੁ ਛੋਡਿ ਦੂਜੈ ਲਗੇ ਡੁਬੇ ਸੇ ਵਣਜਾਰਿਆ ॥ ੧ ੪੭੦

Those who forget the Master and look elsewhere,

Drown in the world ocean ( 1^st Guru, Page 470).

The Old Testament says:

You shall fear the Lord thy God and serve Him

and shall swear by His name (Deuteronomy 6:13)

It is therefore surprising that Jesus is given status equal to

God. But there seems to be a reason for this and that is to

project Jesus as high as possible so that his stature is seen

higher than the others and he is easily accepted in

comparison with the earlier prophets, a view that Paul

wanted to promote as clear from his letters.

Fairy Tales.

Many stories have been made in connection with Jesus in order to improve acceptability. They are like fairy tales, as are told to children. For example, they say that Jesus was born to Virgin Mary through the Holy Ghost and therefore Jesus is the son of God. This is an attempt to project as truth something, which in reality was different. The story given by Mattew and Luke goes like this. God sent an angel to Mary to inform her that she would bear a child without the usual process of impregnation. This was done because it is forecast in the Old Testament that a virgin shall give birth to a child (Isaiah 7:14). The word used in the original Hebrew version of the scripture uses the word ‘Almah’ that means ‘young woman’. Similarly, the original version of the New Testament in Greek uses the word ‘Parthenos’ which again means young woman. It is only in the Christian versions of the Bible that the word ‘virgin’ has been used. It is a pity that such attempts should be made in respect of scriptures just to show that Jesus’ birth was miraculous. The New Oxford Annotated Bible mentions young woman.[4]

There are two widely different stories about Jesus’ birth. The first story says that when Jesus was born, a star appeared in the East. Some people were sent by the king to go and search where he was born; they departed and the star went before them stopping where the young child was (Matt 2:9). An amusing story yes, but can it be true? Can a star be seen during the day? Are the stars so near the earth that one can indicate the location of a house? Since the star appeared on Jesus’ birth, it should have been there during his lifetime but there is no mention of what happened to it afterwards.

Here is the second story. Jesus’ mother had been informed by God’s angel, “The holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Jesus was thus supposed to be a gift of God. The mother gave birth on due date and “Wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). It is obvious that parents of the baby were staying in an inn at the time of his birth. It is worth pondering whether a gift of God would be thrown into a manger like this. Even if the child was not considered a gift of God, but a child born under normal circumstances, would any parents be so cruel as to put their newly born child in a manger? The story of no room in the inn is a fabrication to show that the child was put in the manger. Like other things it is an effort to show that a prophecy in the Old Testament, which says “Voice of him that cries in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3), was being shown to be fulfilled to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. Making comments on a preceptor of a religion is not a matter of happiness; in fact, it is one of sadness because one does not know what to believe. Neither of the stories seems to be true. This casts doubts whether a personality with the name Jesus ever existed.

There is another aspect. It is claimed that Jesus alone is the begotten son of God, different from every one else. One is reminded of the dialogue Bhagat (Saint) Kabir seems to have had with a Brahmin who claimed to be special because of his supposed high caste. Bhagat Kabir then asked the Brahmin that if indeed he was so special, why he was born by a mother and not in another way.

ਜੌ ਤੂੰ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣੁ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਣੀ ਜਾਇਆ ॥ ਤਉ ਆਨ ਬਾਟ ਕਾਹੇ ਨਹੀ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥ਕ ੩੨੪

If you are Brahmin borne of a Brahmin (high caste) mother; why didn’t you come by anther route? (Kabir, page 324).

Similarly if Jesus was so special God would have sent him directly and not through the mother.

Jesus’ Ministry.

The Gospels do not give further details of Jesus’ life until he is about 30 years old. At this age, John the Baptist baptized him according to the Jewish practice. Here is the next fairytale-like story consequent this baptism: “And lo the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:16-17).

Jesus was then made available to the devil to be tempted. He was asked to turn stone into bread but he refused to show a miracle saying, “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). The devil then promised him all the kingdoms of the world and glory if he worshipped the devil, but Jesus told him “Get thee out of hence Satan for it is written, thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve” (Matt 4:10). After this, the devil left him.

Then the “angels came and ministered unto him” (Matt 4:11). Jesus thus assumed ministry at the age of 30, which lasted for about three years.

With this, the process of Jesus performing miracles started during which period he also taught people that no one could know God, the Father, except through him[5]. He also said, “And no man had ascended to heaven but he that came from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13). That means no one but Jesus can go to heaven. If Christianity teaches that no one except Jesus shall go to heaven, then why should anyone, who aspires to go to heaven, become a Christian?

Jesus was Not Divine.

The period during which Jesus performed miracles ought to be puzzling for those who believe that God alone controls every thing. Jesus is shown to say and do things against which he had himself taught. Given below are some examples.

Bible (Matt 15:4) asks man to honor his father and mother. However when one of his disciples asks permission to go and bury his dead father, Jesus does not allow him saying “Follow me; let the dead bury their dead” (Matt 8:22). On another occasion, when someone told him that his mother and brothers wanted to meet him, Jesus said, “Who is my mother? And who are my brethren”? Then pointing his hand towards his disciples said they were his mother and brethren. He further said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister and mother” (Matt 12:47-50). It is agreed that one should not have attachment to one’s relatives but not letting bury one’s father or refusing to meet his mother does not seem right from any standards. Or, was he trying to convey that either his family did not believe in God or he could not get along with them?

Jesus had said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5), but when a man asked him to cure his son of lunacy, he lost his temper and said “O’ faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and how long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me” (Matt 17:17). There are three significant points in this. Firstly, a divine person could not have used such contemptuous language. Secondly, this language was used for a whole generation, not just one man indicating everyone was bad. This is the very antithesis of spirituality. Thirdly, it cuts at the concept that Jesus had eternal life since he himself was not sure how long he would live, and actually died after some time. That means he was like any other mortal.

Similarly, when some Jews asked him to show them a sign from heaven, he used language that was still more offensive when he said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and there shall be no sign given unto it” (Matt 16:4). Again, once when Jesus was hungry, he went to a fig tree but found no fruit on it. He lost his temper and cursed the tree “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever” (Matt 21:19). That means that since he did not get the fruit then, no one else should get it in future. This can be divine.

Jesus made another strange statement. He was asked why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. His reply was, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man but to eat with unwashed hands defiles not a man” (Matt 15:19-20). It must be accepted that clean mind is essential, but surely that does not justify not washing the hands before eating which is necessary to prevent contamination of food. It also shows that he was not ready to accept even reasonable suggestions.

The Bible including the Ten Commandments teaches against adultery. However, there are examples of adultery in the Old Testament for procreation. The first example was that of Hagar the handmaid of Abraham’ wife Sarai later called Sarah, conceiving from Abraham (Genesis. The second example is that Lot’s two daughters conceiving from him after he had consumed wine (Genesis 32-36). Since all this is part of the Bible which they call the word of God, it seems to have been accepted as a way of life over the commandments against adultery. As a result no body in the Western countries where Christianity is the predominant religion, no body talks about it. Pre-marital and extra-marital sex is a way of life for many in these countries. There is hardly any respect for the institution of marriage. The only subject of discussion in this regard is whether abortion should be freely allowed or restricted. This virus is spreading fast. We need to practice the principle of sex-with-spouse only and protect our children against casual sex, by teaching and example.

Miracles.

The gospels are full of miracles performed by Jesus. As mentioned above he had initially refused to perform the miracle of turning stones into bread. Once again, after cleaning a man of his leprosy, told him, “See you tell no man but go your way, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them” (Matt 8:4). Afterwards, however, he started performing miracles frequently. These included curing of fever, restoring eyesight, cleaning of leprosy, removing lunacy, exorcising evil spirits, reviving the dead and feeding 5000 people with a small quantity of bread. There were so many and it appears as if that is for what Jesus had assumed his ministry. At least that is what the Bible indicates. Seeing this John the Baptist, who had earlier accepted Jesus as the Messiah (Matt 3:13-14), became doubtful about it. He sent two men to Jesus to ask whether he was the Messiah. They asked Jesus “John Baptist hath sent us unto thee saying: Art thou he that should come or look we for another”? Jesus replied “Go your way and tell John the things you have seen and heard: how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached” (Luke 7:22). There are two very significant points in this. Firstly, it seems very strange that a spiritual teacher instead of saying what he did to fulfill what the Messiah was prophesied, talks only of miracles. Secondly what Jesus was doing went against John Baptist’s perception of the Messiah. The Bible gives a special status to Jesus in that he foretold Jesus’ coming (Matt 3:11). So John saying at this stage if ‘they should look for another’ clearly shows that John had developed doubts about Jesus being the Messiah. This is confirmation of the fact that many religions teach, that one who performs miracles goes on a path that leads away from God. As mentioned above initially he refused to perform a miracle and when he did, he did not advertise but asked the man to go and make an offering. Once he got busy in performing miracles, it was only praise of him that mattered. Men of God are in fact ashamed even to talk of miracles. According to them, miracles are nothing but tricks of a magician and a man of God is ashamed even to talk of them:

The Sidhas learn many postures and think of miraculous powers which they show like plays on stage. They do not get the satisfaction, contentment or peace of mind, which can only be obtained, through meditating on the Name and holy company (4^th Guru, page 835).

ਆਸਣ ਸਿਧ ਸਿਖਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੇਰੇ ਮਨਿ ਮਾਗਹਿ ਰਿਧਿ ਸਿਧਿ ਚੇਟਕ ਚੇਟਕਈਆ ॥ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤਿ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਮਨਿ ਸਾਂਤਿ ਨ ਆਵੈ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਸਿਧਿ ਪਈਆ ॥੫॥੪੮੩੫

One who has miraculous powers would have nothing to do with others;

I will not comment on what you say, I am ashamed even to talk of it (Kabir, Page 1103)

ਰਿਧਿ ਸਿਧਿ ਜਾ ਕਉ ਫੁਰੀ ਤਬ ਕਾਹੂ ਸਿਉ ਕਿਆ ਕਾਜ ॥ ਤੇਰੇ ਕਹਨੇ ਕੀ ਗਤਿ ਕਿਆ ਕਹਉ ਮੈ ਬੋਲਤ ਹੀ ਬਡ ਲਾਜ ॥੧॥ਕ੧੧੦੩

Performance of miracles is theater, it is evil;

Men of God are ashamed even to talk of them.(Bachitar Natak 5:14)

ਨਾਟਕ ਚੇਟਕ ਕੀਏ ਕੁਕਾਜਾ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਲੋਗਨ ਕਹ ਆਵਤ ਲਾਜਾ ॥੧੪॥(ਬਚਿਤਰ ਨਾਟਕ੫:੧੪)

Jesus Drifted Away from God.

It appears that as Jesus performed more miracles he not only started thinking but also calling himself God. For example, he asked his disciples to go to the village and bring an ass and a colt which they would find there. He further told them that if any one questioned you, say: “The Lord has need of them” (Matt 21:3). On another occasion he told his disciples “you call me Master and Lord; and you say well; for so I am” (John 13:13). He not only equated himself to God but said that when he sits on the throne of glory, his twelve disciples would also sit on the throne and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28). This was said despite the assertion inAll this shows that he had started feeling proud. It is an accepted fact that God likes humility not pride. It appears that because of this pride Jesus drifted away from God and was ultimately forsaken by God. As we have seen above, he had started using intemperate language. This was the first sign of his losing sight of God’s presence. After this, performance of miracles took him further away from God. Jesus felt this when a woman touched his garment. He said “Somebody has touched me for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me (Luke 8:46).

Jesus’ drifting away from God weakened his spirit. For example at a meal, which is called the last supper, he broke bread, gave it to his disciples saying “Take, eat: this is my body”. He took the cup and after thanks gave to the disciples saying “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament” (Matt 26:26-28). That his spirit had weakened is clear for he said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me” (Matt 26:38). This also negates the claim that Jesus died for the sins of others. If he was dying for a cause he would not be sorrowful. After he was crucified at the cross, some people mocked at him, saying, he saved others, now let him save himself and come down from the cross. Jesus felt helpless and cried; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:34).

Jesus Did Not Die for Others’ Sins.

In spite of all this Christian missionaries do not tire of saying that Jesus alone can save. Who will believe that one who was forsaken by God can save others? Another thing they say is that Jesus gave his life for many for remission of sins (Matt 26:28). Except for such statements, there is nothing in the Bible to show that he died for others’ sins. Jesus was punished based on accusations by the Jewish priests. They had said, “We have the law, and by our law he ought to die, because he called himself the son of God” (John 19:7). So Jesus died because being a Jew he broke the law. That he did not want to die and was sorrowful has been brought out above. The Bible says about Jesus “And he went forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed that if possible the hour might pass fromhim”, and he said “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto you; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not that I will, but whatyou will” (Mark 14:35-36). It is significant that he said all this even before he was arrested and tried. Those who fight for a cause do not try to avoid suffering or even death. Probably the first example in history where someone raised his voice against atrocities on the common people was Guru Nanak (1469-1539). He highlighted and objected to the cruelties on the people. He was imprisoned and made to do hard labor. Guru Tegh Bahadur the ninth Guru was martyred for espousing the rights of the Hindu Brahmins of Kashmir to practice their religion, which was not his own religion. The Sikhs following the tradition of their Gurus saved hundreds of Indian girls being taken by raiders from the West and restored them to their homes.

It appears that some people have taken the statement of Jesus dying for sins of all seriously, because they are convinced that whatever they do, Jesus will save them. This seems to be the reason for the minds being in turmoil and violations of scriptural teachings being rampant. A little thought would tell that no one can die for the sins of others. The principle of ‘you shall reap what you sow’ is universal. The Bible says about God “Who will render to every man according to his deeds (Romans 2:6)Whatever good or evil man does goes into his account and he is judged accordingly. That is the concept of judgment day in the Semitic religions and Dharam Rai in Eastern religions.

Jesus’ Second Coming.

The Christian missionaries also talk of Jesus’ second coming i.e. he is to come again. One can hear this in discourses and even in written form. They use this to attract people to their faith. In this connection they quote chapter 24 of the Gospel according to Matthew in the New Testament which talks of destruction of the temple, wars, famines and earthquakes, after which Jesus will come. They also say that situation in the world is now building up as given in the Bible so Jesus is coming. They conveniently forget Jesus saying, “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled” (Matt 24:34). In other words, all this was to happen within 20 to 25 years after Jesus said this. That period was over in about 50 to 55 CE. Let us beware of the types of things the Christian missionaries say.

Jesus was Not Crucified and Not Resurrected

It does not seem likely that Jesus was crucified for the following reasons:

a) Neither Jesus’ mother or brothers nor any of his close disciples came forward to claim his body after crucifixion. They were also not present at his burial; in fact, they did not care to know where he had been buried.

b). It is generally stated that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. It was well known that the main interest of the Romans was to collect taxes and for this purpose, they had appointed tax collectors. The Jews resented this. However, Jesus was friendly with the tax collectors as is brought out in Matthew chapter 9. They came and sat with him and his disciples and shared food (Matt 9:10). While the Jews resented paying taxes Jesus said that taxes due to Caesar should be paid (Matt 22:19-22).So Jesus was on the side of the Romans. This would show that the Romans had no interest in having Jesus eliminated. This is also supported by the reluctance of the Roman governor to punish Jesus since he did not find any wrong-doing by him, as described below.

c) After interrogation of Jesus, Governor Pilate was of the view that at the time of the feast, Jesus should be released but the Jews insisted that he should not be. So Pilate asked, “Why, what evil hath he done” (Matt 27:23, Mark 15:14, Luke 23:22 and John 19:4)? However the Jews were vehement and Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucifiedbut said “I am innocent of the blood of this just man” (Matt 27:24)..

d) There is no unanimity among the gospels on the place of crucifixion. While Matthew, Mark and John name it as Golgotha, Luke names it as Calvary. Similarly, while the other three say Jesus was crucified on the cross, Luke does not say so. However, Luke says in the Acts that Jesus was hanged on a tree (Acts 5:30). This latter description seems plausible because as John 19:41 points out the place where he was crucified there was a garden, which also had a new sepulcher (tomb). That means it was not an official place for crucifixions. There is another reason for hanging on a tree. The gospels say that either Jesus himself or another man carried the cross. It needs thought whether a wooden cross that can be carried by a man, will be able to take his weight and wind pressure standing by itself. There is no mention of the cross being secured. Hanging on the tree therefore seems more likely because it was done in a garden.

e) Matt 27:60 tells us that the tomb mentioned by John 19:41 belonged to a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea. From all this it is clear that the garden also belonged to the said Joseph. Mark 15:46 and Luke 23:53 reveal that Jesus was placed in a new tomb nearby. The crucifixion in Joseph’s garden had thus been preplanned.

f) John 20:14 tells us that after Mary Magdalene had seen the tomb empty, she turned around and saw Jesus but did not recognize him. This is indeed surprising because she had a close relationship with Jesus and her not recognizing him says a lot. The riddle seems to be solved by John 20:15 wherein Mary thinks the man was the gardener. This says two things. Firstly, it confirms crucifixion in the garden and secondly that he was the man who had been laid in the tomb from which he came out. Since she was looking for the man who had been laid in the tomb, someone must have told her that he was the man. John does say that the man calls her by her name and she calls him Master but this is certainly not convincing. That Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus, is unbelievable.

g) Under normal circumstances, the governor would not have given Jesus’ body just for asking. In this case, it was given to Joseph of Arimathea, who is described as a disciple of Jesus at this last stage. There is no mention of him in the Bible before this. All gospels agree on this.

h) Now, how did the gardener get into the tomb? If we put all the above information together, it would be clear that the Romans and Pilate did not want Jesus eliminated. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich and influential man. Being a disciple, he would have wanted to save Jesus’ life. There was obviously an arrangement between Pilate and the said Joseph and the latter’s gardener was substituted for Joseph in the garden. It is also clear from Luke 23:49 that those watching the crucifixion were kept ‘afar’ and would not have recognized who was being hanged. For example John 19:26-27 indicates that Jesus’ mother and a disciple were present; but they were too far. The statement by Jesus asking his mother to go with his disciple seems impossible because she had her own sons. It has earlier been pointed out that Jesus had refused to meet his mother and brothers.

i) John 19:32-33 describes, as other gospels do, that there were two more men crucified with Jesus. Their legs were broken to ensure they died but legs of Jesus were not broken because he was already dead. It appears that the sponge given to Jesus (John 19:29) contained something that made him unconscious to show the man had died but was actually done to save his life. There was neither any official record to show the death nor any one to certify this. This account is at variance with what is explained above but has been included so that no aspect mentioned in the gospels is left out. Contradictions in the Bible are many.

The above details clearly give the picture how things were preplanned to save Jesus’ life and the he was not crucified or certainly did not die on the cross. There is a tradition that Jesus went to India and his tomb exists in Kashmir. I have not seen it and cannot vouch for it.

If Jesus was not crucified the question of his resurrection does not arise.

Countering Activities of Christian Missionaries.

The Sikh faith is the faith of the seeker as the name Sikh means a student. Teachings of the Gurus as enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib are so simple and straightforward that the Christian Missionaries feel threatened by it and hence concerted efforts on their part to target the Sikhs. Our weakness has been in not putting across the teachings to the common Sikhs and others. Once this is done, that itself will act as a deterrent against possible conversions from Sikhi. The most effective way to counter nefarious activities against any faith is to be steadfast in one’s religious beliefs and a commitment to them. This requires all round efforts. There has been an unfortunate tendency in the recent past to undermine the status of our established institutions like the SGPC and Akal Takhat Sahib by the people who matter. This has demoralized well-meaning people. The pristine status of these institutions must be restored.

It must however be acknowledged that people manning these institutions seem to have no time for parchar i.e. imparting knowledge of the faith, and are busy with activities like elections and meetings.The high incidence of shorn hair and excessive drinking in the Punjab as well as demand for a separate Haryana SGPC are results of this apathy on the part of people to organize parchar. There has also been a spurt in the number of Deras, which are being used to weaken the Sikh faith. Our leaders have to understand that the erosion of values by the likes of RSS is a big challenge and political exigencies should not be allowed to weaken the faith. It is no secret that organizations like the fake Nirankaris and Radhaswamis make concerted attempts to use Gurbani but try to weaken Sikhi. It must be appreciated that efforts on our part to counter these are not likely to show immediate results and long-term measures would be required. The youth, many of whom seem to be fired with zeal in this regard must organize themselves and start taking responsibility, overcoming the impediments that that come in their way. A word of caution is, however, necessary and that is about ego, because there are many cases where people have fallen out with one another simply on grounds of taking credit or position of power. The number of court cases involving Gurdwara managements is overwhelming. Unless it is remembered that every body has to have one aim, that of service without worrying for status, we shall be working splintered which is not desirable.

Conclusion

The author wishes to admit that writing this paper has not made him happy, in fact it has made him sad for criticizing someone. It is again emphasized that the purpose of writing was to suggest caution when confronted by Christian missionaries and not to find faults with their religion. This article is meant to point out the aberrations to the pristine teachings of Jesus. These are mostly in the form of dogmas. It is strongly felt that dogmas take one away from the essentials of religion and should not be its basis. It is most important, however, that we put our own house in order in order to counter the activities of the Christian missionaries..