Given the Christians’ belief that Jesus is God, though there are exceptions in some Christian denominations, in this article, I am going to use the Bible to question the Godship of Jesus in the Bible as well as his being loving including the reliability of the Bible.
We read in the Bible,
St. Mark 11:13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he (Jesus) came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
St. Mark 11:14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
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There is a little problem in the verses above. God is conceived by theists to be Omniscient, having total knowledge. If Jesus is God, he should have known that,
1) There was no fruit on the tree
2) It was not the season of the figs (something that doesn’t take any supernatural power to know)
Hence, The fig tree was not guilty of Jesus’ action against it. It wasn’t the season of the figs, the fig wasn’t responsible for Jesus’
hunger (God that hungers), neither was it responsible for Jesus not being Omniscient.
Now, we read further in this chapter,
St. Mark 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
St. Mark 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
According to these verses, The fig tree didn’t wither immediately. It was Peter who noticed and called the attention to its being withered. Let us see what the author of the gospel of Matthew has to say about this event,
St. Matthew 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And PRESENTLY THE FIG TREE WITHERED AWAY.
St. Matthew 21:20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
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This is a very serious contradiction. It is expedient for Christian apologists, Evangelists, bishops, Bible thumper to prove to us how God inspired that the fig tree withered immediately and also not immediately.
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However, the Gospel of Matthew and Mark agree that the fig tree withered away. It is also important to note that it is not as if two different authors are narrating the same event, the author of the gospel of Mathew copied from the Gospel of Mark and he was a very bad copier like his copy copy pal (the author of the gospel of Luke) who also copied from Gospel of Mark.
Since the fig tree withered away, there is a serious problem. Let us note,
1) The fig tree was not planted by Jesus
2) The fig tree must have been producing fruits before Jesus cursed it
3) people must have been feeding from this tree when it is in its season
4) Jesus cursed the fig tree, it withered, and he never planted another one. Hence, Jesus’ action was more of a criminal act against the tree and the people benefiting from the fig tree
Now, The fig tree is a member of mulberry family. The health benefits of figs come from the presence of minerals, vitamins and fiber contained in the fruit. Figs contain a wealth of beneficial nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, calcium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, potassium and chlorine… By making this tree wither, these are what Jesus destroyed without fixing it.
If Jesus wanted to show them miracles, He could have simply asked fruits grow on the fig tree to feed his disciples and for the betterment of the people in that vicinity.
We Muslims believe in and revere Jesus being a mighty messenger of God but attributes like these, we utterly reject them.
Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman
English 