Decepto-Meter

Satanic Quote: secular

Our Islamic specialist applied the Muslim's own "hero myth test" to the Islamic religion itself and came up with a score of: 14/22! Moses scored 14/22 too! That is only one less than Christ at 15/22! Reglan never discusses Christianity in his book, but Muslims have drawn conclusions for Reglan.

What Anti-Trinitarians quote:

1. Lord Raglan, who has made a detailed study of the stories of mythical heroes in another of his admirable books. The Hero, has tabulated the typical incidents, which occur in the majority of stories, into the following pattern: 1. The hero's mother is a royal virgin; 2. His father is a king, and 3. Often a near relative of his mother, but 4. The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and 5. He is also reputed to be the Son of God. 6. At birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or his maternal grandfather, to kill him, but 7. He is spirited away, and 8. Reared by foster-parents in a far country. 9. We are told nothing of his childhood, but 10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes his future kingdom. 11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast. 12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor, and 13. Becomes a king. 14. For a time he reigns uneventfully, and 15. Prescribes laws, but 16. Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects, and 17. Is driven from the throne and city, after which 18. He meets with a mysterious death, 19. Often at the top of a hill. 20. His children, if any, do not succeed him. 21. His body is not buried, but nevertheless 22. He has one ore more holy sepulchres. (Lord Raglan, The Hero, p 178-79, quoted by Ulfat 'Aziz as-Samed, Peshaver University, Muslim, "A Comparative Study of Christianity and Islam", The Source of Christian Creeds, 1976, Pakistan, quoted by Muslims)
2. Muslims then comment: "Out of these twenty-two points, Lord Raglan informs us that Oedipus scores full marks, Theseus twenty points, Romulus eighteen points, Heracles seventeen points, Prerseus eighteen points, Jason fifteen points, Pelops thirteen points, Dionysus nineteen points, Apollo eleven points, and Zeus fifteen points. The story of the Christian Jesus closely conforms to the pattern and he scores fifteen points. His mother, Mary, is (1) a virgin, and his father Joseph is (2) a descendant of the great king David, and is (3) closely related to her; but (4) he is conceived by the Holy Ghost, and so (5) he is regarded as the Son of God (6) soon after his birth king Herod makes an attempt to kill him, but (7) he is spirited away, and (8) reared by Mary and foster father Joseph in the far-off country of Egypt. (9) We are told nothing of his childhood in the Gospels, but (10) on reaching manhood he comes out as a public preacher and finally enters Jerusalem riding on a colt and is greeted by the crowd with the shout "Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord" (John, XII, 13). Earlier, before beginning his public ministry, he had (11) gained victory over Satan. (18) He is crucified together with two malefactors, and (19) on the top of a hill (called Calvary/Golgotha. (21) Though he came back to life and ascended in his physical body to heaven to sit at the right hand of God, yet (22) he has a holy sepulchre near Jerusalem. (Lord Reglan, The Hero, p 178-79, quoted by Ulfat 'Aziz as-Samed, Peshaver University, Muslim, "A Comparative Study of Christianity and Islam", The Source of Christian Creeds, 1976, Pakistan, quoted by Muslims)

Our comment

• Muslims, who are anti-Trinitarians, will quote from Lord Reglan in an effort to trash the whole of Christianity.
• We invite Muslims to perform this same text on the Islamic faith and see what score they come out with!
• In fact, as you can see below Muhammad gets a score of 14/22, while Moses also gets 14/22. Jesus scored 15/22.

YES

1. The hero's mother is a royal virgin

Mother was Aminah, of Makkan nobility, she was a virgin when marraid to Abdullah. Page 48, "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

YES

2. His father is a king

His father was Abdullah, the son of the chief of the tribe of Zuhrah, as well as its eldest and noblest member. Page 46, "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

NO

3. Often a near relative of his mother

"On the same day that Abdullah Married Aminah, his father, Abd al Muttalib married a cousine of hers named Halah. It was thus that the Porphet could have an uncle on on his father's side namely Hamza, of the same age as he." Page 46 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

Maybe

4. The circumstances of his conception are unusual,

Conception was pretty quick, :-) and Abdullah, Mohammed's father died on a business trip before Muhammad was born.

Maybe

5. He is also reputed to be the Son of God.

However, he was reputed to be unusual. While still an infant, it is reported that a number of Abyssinians said to one another, "Let us take this child with us to our country and our king, for we know he is going to be of consequence." Page 50 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal. On another occasion, some "Monks" "recognized in Muhammad the signs of prophet-hood as told in Christian books." Page 54 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

Maybe

6. At birth an attempt is made, usually by his father or his maternal grandfather, to kill him

At the age of three, there was an unusual event in Muhammad's life. It is called "The Story of the Splitting of Muhammad's Chest." Here is the gist of it... "It is told that Muhammad was playing in a yard behind the encampment of the tribe with Halimah's son when the latter ran back to his parents and said, 'Two men dressed in whit took my Qurayshi brother, laid him down, opened his abdomen, and turned him around.' It is also reported that Halimah said, "My husband and I ran towards the boy and found him standing up and pale. When we asked what happened to him, the boy answered, 'Two men dressed in white came up to me, laid me down, opened my abdomen and took something I know not what away." Pages 50-51 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

YES

7. He is spirited away

After the death of his father, he is taken in by a wet nurse of the tribe of Banu Sa'd, Halimah al Sa'diyyah. For two years she kept him with her in the desert. "She related that after she took him, she found all kinds of blessings. Her herd became fat and multiplied, and everything around her seemed to prosper." Page 49 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal. After Muhammad turned 2, he was taken back to his mother, who sent him back with Halimah. He lived in the desert with his wet nurse until he was five. When he was five, Halimah attempted to return Muhammad to his mother, but Muhammad became lost in Mekkah. Abd al Muttalib, Mohammed's grandfather sent men to find him, and when they did, he took Muhammad under his protection. Muhammad became the favorite of his grandfather. Just a short while later his mother died. His grandfather and guardian, Abd al Muttalib died when Muhammad was eight. Muhammad now comes under the protection of an uncle, Abu Talib.

YES

8. Reared by foster-parents in a far country

. Muhammad became an orphan when his mother died when he was about five or six. Raised early on in the desert by the wet nurse and later by grandparents and an uncle.

YES

9. We are told nothing of his childhood,

There is much "mythology" of Muhammad's childhood, but biographers do not give it much space, and much of what is given is speculation, perhaps mythsMaybe

YES

10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to his future kingdom

He is exiled from Mekkah to Medina, and later returns as conquorer.

YES

11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast.

He defeated the Mekkan pagan merchants who had tried to destroy him and his new religion because it was ruining their business. The ruler of Mekkah, especailly the ruler's wife, had a real hatred for Muhammad and hired assassins to kill him...

YES

12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor

He married a very wealthy woman, Khadijah, whose wealth allowed him to become a gentleman of leisure.

YES

13. Becomes a king

Yes

NO

14. For a time he reigns uneventfully

His entire career was marked by turmoil and war

YES

15. Prescribes laws

Definitely

YES

16. Later he loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects

All through his rise to power, there were conflicts. Early on, he claimed to have had a miraculous journey on a winged horse that took him to Jerusalem. From there, he ascended into heaven and learned from God how to worship the five prayers a day came with this revelation. Many of his followers could not accept this tale, so fell away. :-) Pages 145-146 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal. :-) He never made this mistake again.

Maybe

17. Is driven from the throne and city

He was driven from Mekkah, but not after he became established in his authority

YES

18. He meets with a mysterious death

Muhammad died of a fever that many considered mysterious since he was never sick. During this sickness, on a sleepless night, Muhammad wandered to the cemetery where he stood between the graves and addressed his fallen. He told the servant who accompanied him that he was soon to be in paradise. Pages 492-495 "The Life of Muhammad," by Muhammad Husayn Hykal.

NO

19. Often at the top of a hill

He died in the quarters of his youngest wife, Aishah, with his head in her lap, finally with his head cradled on her breast.

YES

20. His children, if any, do not succeed him

None of Muhammad's children succeeded him. The Muslims selected Aby Bakr to succeed Muhammad

Maybe

21. His body is not buried

There was some disagreement about where to bury Muhammad. Some wanted the family burial plot in Mekkah. Others, Jerusalem where all the prophets were buried. Still others thought Madinah, the town which first declared for Islam and became his headquarters for so long. Still others thought the spot under the pulpit in the mosque he preached in so often was the best place. Abu Bakr settled the argument with the observation that Muhammad said a prophet should be buried where he died. So they buried him in the room in which he died in the apartments of Aishah.

YES

22. He has one or more holy sepulchres

Definitely one....

Our Comment

1. It is utterly deceptive, unscholarly and dishonest for Muslims to tell you that Lord Reglan "hero Myth test" gives Christianity a score of 15/22, when the Islamic religion scores AT LEAST 14/22 in the same test! (maybe more)
2. Moses scores 14/22, the same as Muhammad.
3. Similarities do not mean something is wrong. Lord Reglan is not a Christian and does not speak for Christians.
4. Lord Reglan's material was not intended to decide which hero is true or mythical, just that all hero stories have these in common.
5. We do not feel that Lord Reglan's "hero Myth test" is of any help in determining if either Christianity of Islamic religion is true!