is a simple explanation. He probably misunderstood what some Gnostic Christians tried to tell him about Jesus. Gnosticism was a cult denounced in the New Testament [e.g., I John 4:1- 4]. It taught that while one’s spirit is good, the body is evil. Gnostics believed in the deity of Christ, that Christ was God-become- man, but they denied Jesus’ humanity, which is just the opposite of Islam. Islam denies the deity of Christ but affirms his humanity. Gnostics could not believe that God would come in the flesh . They considered the “flesh” to be evil. Therefore, they taught that Jesus only “appeared” to have come in the flesh. This might explain how Muhammad came up with his teaching that the crucifixion of Jesus never happened, but only “appeared” to have happened [Surah 4:157]. Islamic history teaches that Muhammad was “Ummee” [unlettered, illiterate]. Muhammad never read the Bible . Even if he had been able to read, at the time he lived there were no
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