Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

210 Jesus, Prophet ofIslam

Emlyn also considered the statement which is attributed to Jesus

inMark 13: 32. Speaking of the Day of Judgement, Jesus is reported

to have said, 'Of that day knows no man, no, not the angels of

heaven, not the son, but the Father only.' Emlyn observed that for

anyone who believed in the divinity of Jesus this statement would

imply that God had two natures, or two different states of aware­

ness simultaneously. It would put Him in the ridiculous position

of knowing and not knowing something at the same time. IfJesus

was Divine and God had this knowledge then Jesus would not

have made this statement, sinceby having this naturehe too would

have possessed that knowledge.

Thomas Emlyn, who died in July 1741, was weIl aware that he

would be misunderstood by a large number of Christians. In de­

fending his belief he made it clear in his Confession of Christianity

that he regarded Jesus as his teacher, whom he admired and loved

beyond father, mother or friends. He continued, '1 know that Jesus

loves nothing but Truth, and will never be offended with anyone

who stands by his words, oiz., that, "the Father is greater than l,"

Uohn 14: 28).' In view of this statement, argued Emlyn, it would be

dangerous to say, 'God is not greater than Jesus.' 50

Thomas Emlyn was a leamed man of God who was distin­

guished by his learning and integrity, and for the firmness with

which he endured persecutionrather than compromise his beliefs.

He belongs to the galaxy of saints who defied those who opposed

and persecuted them. They suffered imprisonment, torture and

even death, but did not falter before the might of the established

Trinitarian Church and State which 50 often combined forces to

eliminate them. On the whole, each instance of persecution only

added to the popularity of their message which was, simply:

There are not Three but only One God.

Emlyn was one of the first of the Protestant dissenters who had the
courage to publicly pronounce their disbelief in the doctrine of the
Trinity. The number of Presbyterianministers who joined him, and
who embraced Arian and other Unitarian beliefs at the beginning
of the eighteenth century was considerable.Ten years afterEmlyn's
trial, for example, the muffled unrest which had been felt in the
Church of England as a result of the questioning of Jesus's sup­
posed divinity exploded with the publication ID 1712 of Samuel

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