A great revealing interview with Mario Joseph, the Muslim Imam - formerly known as Moulavi Sulaiman - who converted to the Roman Catholic Christian faith, now a guest in this Youtube recorded show: Changing Tracks with Cristina Casado to talk about his conversion.
In 1 John 4:8 (source: biblehub.com,NIV), "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
In the process of his interview, Mario Joseph, an ordained Catholic Christian priest, the following important parts of the interview are worthy of note (thanks again to my friend, Bob Villasor for sharing me this very important youtube video reference via email) that more may be inspired to share the light of truth in Christ with all others who may seek God's kingdom and His righteousness:
What does the Koran says about Mohammad and about Jesus?
"The name of the Prophet Mohammad I found in Koran 4 places. But the name of Jesus I found in 25 places. There itself I was a little confused. Why does the Koran gives more preference to Jesus?'
"And second thing, I could not see any woman's name in Koran. Prophet's Muhammad's mother's name or wife's name or children name, no. In the Koran, there is only one woman's name I found: Mariam (Mary), the mother of Jesus. No other woman's name.'
"And in the Holy Koran, Chapter 3, the name of the chapter is "Family of Mariam," and the Holy Koran Chapter 19, the name of the chapter itself is "Mariam." I was very curious to know why the Koran say all these things? About Mariam, Holy Koran Chapter 3 verses 34 onwards, says that 'Mary was born without original sin. She never commited any sin in her life, she was ever virgin.'
"Koran Chapter 3 verse 23 says that she went to Heaven with her physical body. Even the Assumption is in the Holy Koran.'
"And then about Jesus, I read Chapter 3 verses 45-55 verses, there are 10 points which the Koran makes about Jesus. The first thing Koran says, the Arabic word which means 'Word of God,' and the second things which means, "Spirit of God." And the third is 'al-Masih' which means 'Jesus Christ.' So Koran gives the name for Jesus: 'Word of God,' 'Spirit of God,' 'Jesus Christ.'
"And then the Koran says Jesus spoke when he was very small like 2 days after his birth. He began to speak. Koran says that Jesus created a live bird with mud. He took some mud, formed a bird, then He breath into it and it became a live bird. So I think he can give life. He gave life to mud clay.'
"And then Koran says that Jesus cured a man born blind, and a man with leprosy, etc. Curiously, the Koran says that Jesus gave life to dead people, Jesus went to heaven, He is still alive and will come again.'
"When I saw all these things in the Koran, my thinking was what the Koran says about Mohammad. According to Koran Prophet Mohammad is not the 'Word of God,' not the 'Spirit of God,' never spoke when he was 2 days old, never created any bird with mud, never cured any sick people, never raised any dead people, he himself died and according to Islam he is not alive and he will not come back.'
"So there was a lot of difference between these two prophets. I did not call Jesus God. My idea was, 'he is a prophet but he is a prophet greater than Mohammad."
Then Joseph asks of his Arabic teacher of 10 years in Arabic college how God created the universe, and he said, "through the Word," and when he asked, 'Word as Creator or creation?' His teacher was very careful in answering the question and may have felt he was being tricked.
When Joseph concluded that since the Word of God is the Creator, then "Jesus is the Creator, then the Muslims must become Christians," his Arabic teacher was irritated that he told him to get out, and so Joseph further narrates...
"Suppose if he says the Word is creation, he will be trapped, you know why? He said everything created through the Word. Suppose if he said the Word is creation then how did God create the Word? So he cannot say the Word is Creator, he cannot say the Word is creation so he was quite angry he pushed me out of his room and said, 'Word of God is not the Creator nor the creation, you get out of here,' he said.'
If you see things so clearly, why do you think Muslims do not convert to Christianity?
"They try to prove, they say, 'the Word is not the Creator, not the creation, the Word is not God. Not God. Not the Creator, not the creation, so not God."
"So they don't equal with God that's all their problem. So then when he said that, I told my teacher,
'Word is not the Creator, not the creation, that is why Christians say the Word is Son of God.'
"Then he told me if there was a son of God I must show him the wife of God. Without wife, no chance of having a son. Then I showed a portion from the Koran: Koran says that God can see without eyes, God can talk without tongue, God can hear without ears, it is written in Koran. I said if that is the case, He can have a son without a wife.'
"So there we had a big argument and you know at the end what I did? I took my Koran, put it on my chest and I said, "Allah, tell me what I should do? Because your Koran says Jesus is still alive, Mohammad is no more. You tell me whom should I accept.
"After my prayer I opened my Koran, I did not ask anyone, I asked only my Allah. When I opened Koran I saw Chapter 10 verse 94. You know what Koran says? (He said the verse in Arabic then translated it to English) "If you any doubt in this Koran which I give to you, go and read the bible or ask the people, those who read the bible, the truth is already revealing that."
What prompted you to become a baptized Christian (now being a Catholic Christian):
"So if you ask me who made me Christian? ... but the Holy Koran converted me to Christianity (referring to his previous story of his being led to that given Koran verse after praying to his Allah for enlightenment).'
What happens to those who will accept Jesus as their Savior?
"In John 1:12, it is written in the Bible that anyone who accepted Jesus, Jesus will give them power to become children of God."
The joy in believing in Jesus:
"When I know that it was my last moment of death (as his dad tried to kill him for believing in Jesus), I thought anyway Jesus died, but he came back. If I believe in Jesus, and die, I too may get my life, you know. A kind of joy, it is better to die in Jesus.'
When he was about to be killed by his father, uttered the name of 'JESUS' and was saved:
"When I decided, suddenly, a light fell on my forehead. A moonlight, something fell on me. And there was a kind of electric shock, something passed throughout my veins. I was so energized from somewhere the energy flowing through my body. I could not control myself. There was so much energy in my bones. I pulled my dad's hand down, and I cried out 'JESUS!'
"When I cried out, my dad fell on the ground. When he fell with the knife which he was holding there was a big wound on his chest. And there was bleeding, and some kind of foam coming from his mouth and he was screaming.'
"And all were shocked: my brothers and mom, my sisters. They don't know what was happening. So they thought my dad was already dead. They took my dad to the hospital. When they were running to the hospital, they forgot to lock my room from outside."
How he escaped:
"And I was in an energy that I cannot tell you because I was like I was only born, no food so many days, more than twenty days. New born but with a lot of energy.'
"So I just came out, put on my dad's clothes, and ran into a taxi on a way straight to get out (and the taxi driver was a Christian who knew what were his issues, he helped him providing him food, candies, he became his best friend with whom he has contact every now and then)."
He knows and believes that Jesus is everywhere:
"That day (having survived the whole harrowing ordeal with his dad), I know that Jesus is alive, even now. Whey I call him. Everywhere I know that he(Jesus) is present.'
"(Reiterating if he believed in the many gods and goddesses in India, he said he is not certain what happens when he dies) But in Christ, who died, but he came back. So I have a hope if I die in Christ, I will come back. So it is better to be sure of death, and that should be in Christ.'
"I am not afraid of death but that is a fact. The only thing I am thinking: after my death, what?'
"To have eternal life, you need Jesus."
Destiny after death in Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism - "uncertain:"
"You have to think like this, when Prophet Mohammed died, he was buried but we don't know where he went. If I believe in him and die, I don't know where I will go (so with those who believe in Buddhism of Hinduism, people lived and died in India, Mario's country, and says he does not know where they went).'
As Christians, where do people go after they die as they get purified in Christ?:
"But only in Christianity Jesus took my sin, my punishment, and removed sin from me, and He made me pure, and He can surrender me to God. The Father saying he's pure. I have purified, I have taken all his transgressions, his punishment and his sins. so now you can take him to heaven.'
"So Jesus is my Savior. He's a perfect man, because I am man. My Savior should be a man. And He is perfect to God because I need eternal life; Only God can give eternal life.'
"It's very simple to tell you. The consequences of sin is death. So, to remove the death what you must do ... to remove the darkness you must bring light. The same way, to remove death you must bring life.'
Whose sacrifice is needed for eternal life?:
"Whose life? In the Old Testament they were giving the life of animal, because they believe the life in blood and animal blood. And Muslims are doing this even now. But to remove my death, I need eternal life. From where I can get eternal life? Only from God. And that is given by Jesus on the cross.'
The essence of salvation in the body and blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Eucharist in the Catholic faith:
"So when I partake in His body and in His blood, I am partaking in His life. I am becoming part of His life.;'
"That's why Jesus calls me 'brother.' And Jesus and we both call God "Daddy." You know, it's a union in God, and we are obtaining eternal life. So to receive always, you must be a Catholic.'
"Because Jesus clearly said, "If you eat of my body, if you drink my blood, you shall never die. Even if you die, I will raise you."
"So, that's why I decided to become Christian, especially a Catholic."
What is the message to Europe regarding the new global evangelization trust in Christ?:
"In Revelation 2:2-4, "God himself says I know the hard work you did for me. Spain did lot of hard work for the name of Jesus, and I know how much you suffered for me. Lot of suffering we have gone through for Jesus.'
"And I know how you tolerate the false prophets. Spain has faught false prophets for many years, and then God says, but now I have a complaint against you. You lost that first love, get back that love. So then to Europe God is saying only one thing: get the same love back.".
"So then to Europe, God is saying only one thing: 'Get the same love back. How your forefathers where here - get back.'
"And we all will pray for that and we will work for that. That's all my ambition."
Amen. God bless Catholic Christian convert priest and preacher, Mario Joseph.
I strongly feel the Holy Spirit in him. He is an instrument of truth in Christ, and "boasts in the Lord," in his openly declared ambition, selfless with no malice, and in the purest of intentions.
As in 1 Corinthians 1:31(source: biblehub.com,NIV), "Therefore, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."
"God in Jesus calls on us to unite in Him, and by the power of God's words, in Jesus' mighty name, staying empowered in His lighted path with the crucified Christ in each and everyone of us, may we fearlessly enjoin Him, as we journey through life in Him and with Him to lead us back to the glory of God's love in Christ that we may all conquer the world in PEACE in His LOVE and COMPASSION and free it from the bondage of deception, malice, selfishness and pride, from the bondage of sin, in hatred and vengeance, senseless killings including abortion and violence, in worldly relationships and lust, in making money in Mammon as master in the idolatrous offender and deceiver who is but desperate to propagate only evil in darkness."
"To God be the glory, as we may 'let go' of all our fears and find more meaning in this life, as we may live in faith and strive to be perfect seeking God's kingdom in Christ's righteousness, in good deeds and kindness, in love and forgiveness, as we may put our trust in Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our true Master and King, and 'let God.'"
"Hallelujah to the Lamb!"
[Read related post: Supporting links and ebooks for "'Laminin,' Binding Truth of the Cross and Creation, Avoiding Hell and Purgatory on what physical manifestation the human body has that connects us to the truth about Christ Jesus and the power of His death on the cross, that more people in all nations may come united, steadfast and strong in sharing the light of truth in Christ Jesus, that more may be saved.]
