He accepted the title “God” when it was addressed to him by his disciple, Thomas.
(John 20:28) Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
15Muslim : Thomas used the term “God” to refer to messenger of God
Muslim response
Muslims have argued that there are many uses of the title “God”. This is true. It can refer to the devil, angels, believers, judges or messenger of God.
Christian reply
Let’s look at the context of the verse. Which category do you think Thomas is referring to? After he had doubted that Jesus could raise himself from the dead and Jesus proved to him that he can, is Thomas calling Jesus his devil, his angel, his fellow believer, judge or just a messenger? You see, these meanings are theoretical possibilities but we have to look at the context to see if they are in actuality possible meanings.
Muslim : Thomas proclaimed towards God and not Jesus those words.
Christian reply
Again this is contrary to the text, which clearly says that Thomas said those words and addressed them to Jesus.
Muslim : Thomas’ words were those of self-reproach
Still others have said that when Thomas uttered those words, they were for self-reproach. In other words, he was saying, “My God! What a fool I have been!”.
Christian reply
Such a statement may be commonplace in our present day, but a Jew at that time would never dream of uttering the name of God in vain. Even God-fearing men of today would not think of using God in this kind of expression. No Muslim would utter, “My Allah! How could I have made this mistake.” No Muslim would dare to utter such careless remarks invoking God’s name in private, much less in front of a prophet of God.