Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

I came across a helpful article on this by Philosopher of Religion, Doug Groothuis:

Muslims and Christians both worship one God, and many would argue that they are the same God. Are they?

Muslims and Christians: How to Get Along?

They both believe in one personal and transcendent God who has sent his prophets into the world. They both believe in sacred writings that record the prophetic revelations. They both believe that Jesus was a prophet who was sinless and born of a virgin. And they both worship with these beliefs firmly in place. We are speaking of Muslims and Christians, whose members comprise the two largest monotheistic religions in the world.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans have become fascinated with the beliefs and practices of Islam, which is thefastest growing religion in the world, with approximately 1.3 billion adherents. Increasingly, Muslims are immigrating to the West. In various American cities, it is not uncommon to find mosques — many of them newlybuilt — and to see women in the traditional Muslim dress mingling with American women dressed quite differently.

In light of this, many Westerners wonder what do Muslims believe and why. They also question the relationship between Islam and Christianity. Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God, but merely in different ways? Should Christians seek to present their beliefs to Muslims in the hope that the Muslim might forsake Islam and embrace Christianity? Or is this simply a waste of time at best or rude at worst?

Many instruct us to be "tolerant" and to refrain from "proselytizing" anyone. In the name of tolerance, some people say that Christians and Muslims should coexist without trying to convert (or otherwise challenge) each other because "Christians and Muslims worship the same God." This, many believe, should be good enough for Muslims and Christians. Many also believe this arrangement is good enough for the God they both worship as well. If both religions worship the same God, why should they worry about each other's spiritual state?

Religion, God and Truth

If indeed Muslims and Christians worship the same God, there would be little need for disagreement, dialogue, and debate between them. If I am satisfied to shop at one grocery store and you are satisfied to shop at another store, why should I try to convince you to shop at my store or vice versa? Do not both stores provide the food we need, even if each sells different brands? The analogy is tidy, but does it really fit? Deeper questions need to be raised if we are to settle the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. First, what are the essential teachings of Christianity and Islam? Second,what does each religion teach about worshipping its God? Third, what does each religion teach about the other religion? That is, do the core teachings of Islam and Christianity assure their adherents that members of the other religion are fine as they are because both religions "worship the same God"?

In When Religion Becomes Evil (Harper. San Francisco, 2002), Charles Kimball argues that Christians and Muslims do indeed worship the same God. Kimball rightly observes that truth claims are foundational for religion. But he claims that believers err when they hold their religious beliefs in a "rigid" or "absolute" manner. So, he argues, when some Christians criticize the Islamic view of God (Allah) as deficient, they reveal their ignorance and bigotry. Kimball asserts that "there is simply no ambiguity here. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are talking about the same deity" (p. 50). This is because the Qur'an affirms that Allah inspired the Hebrew prophets and Jesus. Moreover, the Arabic word "Allah" means "God." Are Professor Kimball and so many others who echo similar themes correct? In search of a reasonable answer, we will briefly consider the three questions from the last paragraph.

Christianity and Islam: The Claims, the Logic, and the Differences

First, what are the teachings that each religion takes to be absolutely true? Although Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic, their views of God differ considerably. Islam denies (MORE)

For a great resource on understanding Islam, see The Ambassador's Guide to Islam by Alan Shlemon

Did Humans Invent God?

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Islamic Law in Action

An example of Islamic law in its non-politically correct expression (i.e., consistent with the authoritative sources of Islam) outside of the United States:

"The highest court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ruled that a man is allowed to beat his wife and children as long as he does not leave bruises or other marks, local newspaper The National reported Monday.

"Although the [law] permits the husband to use his right [to discipline], he has to abide by the limits of this right," wrote Chief Justice Falah al Hajeri in a ruling issued this month and released in a court document Sunday.

The limit, as the court defines it, is physical evidence of a beating that takes the accepted punishment to a more severe level. According to Islamic law, the man of the house is permitted to use physical discipline against his family if admonishing them and abstaining from sex with his wife do not work.

Judges were forced to clarify the legal boundaries of beating after a UAE man slapped and kicked his daughter and wife, leaving bruises and facial injuries on them.

Bruises and other physical marks were evidence, the court said, that the man had abused his right to discipline.

While many modern Islamic scholars and lawmakers denounce the practice of beating one’s family members, some maintain it is an appropriate response to a family problem: "If a wife committed something wrong, a husband can report her to police," Dr. Ahmed al Kubaisi, head of Sharia Studies at UAE and Baghdad Universities, said. "But sometimes she does not do a serious thing or he does not want to let others know, when it is not good for the family. In this case, hitting is a better option." (MORE)

(H/T John Stonestreet)

Did Humans Invent God?

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Secular "Values" and Islam

Can the thin worldview of secularism compete with the rise of Islam in an age of tolerance? Nancy Pearcey offers her analysis:

"Islamization" is coming to America. That's the meaning behind the controversial Islamic community center-slash-mosque near Ground Zero. The secularization of the public square has created a vacuum that Islamicists are finding ways to exploit.

America has always welcomed anyone willing to assimilate to its national character. But radical Islam rejects assimilation and is bent on the conquest of our national character.

This is clear in the thinly veiled threat by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who said on "Larry King Live" that if the proposed Cordoba mosque is moved to a different location, "anger will explode in the Muslim world" causing danger to "our national security."

Secularism has crippled America's ability to respond effectively to such threats, because it reduces morality to the subjective level -- to personal feelings or ethnic tradition. These are things that cannot be rationally debated.

Persuasion gives way to emotional manipulation and personal attacks. "Racist!" "Hater!" "Intolerant!" "Islamophobe!"

The word tolerance once meant we all have the right to argue rationally for our deepest convictions in the public arena. Now it means those convictions are not even subject to rational debate.

At the birth of our nation, the American founders recognized that politics is a profoundly moral enterprise -- the pursuit of moral ideals such as justice, fairness, and the common good. In the words of James Madison, principal author of the U.S. Constitution, the goal of government is not merely to protect individual interests but to secure "the public good."

The public good is, in turn, grounded in a transcendent source. The seminal insight in the Declaration of Independence is that human rights are secure ("unalienable") only if they are derived from a transcendent source -- "endowed by the Creator."

Even as those words were penned, however, the concept of the public good was coming under attack. Impressed by the rise of modern science, many Western thinkers adopted the philosophy of empiricism, the doctrine that all knowledge derives from sensation -- what we see, hear, touch, and feel. Even morality was reduced to sensation -- what feels good to you. Personal preference.

Virtues were replaced by "values," a term that literally means whatever a group or individual values. The moral principles that undergird Western civilization were no longer part of a coherent system of truth. They were shoved off into a separate and distinct category, on the same level as a preference for chocolate over vanilla.

The crack-up of truth had corrosive consequences in all the academic disciplines. In political science, theorists decided that statements about the public good were nothing but masks for private taste. As William Galston of the Brookings Institution writes, political thinkers concluded that saying, "X is in the public interest" was merely a covert way of saying, "I like X."

With the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th Century, this view became widespread among America's cultural gatekeepers. They argued that any commitment to transcendent, universal truth (dubbed "absolutism") would lead to tyranny -- to an elite who would seek to impose that truth on everyone else -- and that the way to protect liberty was to embrace relativism.

In The Crisis of Democratic Theory, Edward A. Purcell explains: "Most American intellectuals were convinced that theoretical absolutism logically implied political authoritarianism," while by contrast "philosophical relativism implied . . . an open and democratic structure."

The flaw in philosophical relativism is not hard to see, however: If there is no universal, transcendent moral truth, then there is no basis to condemn tyranny, injustice, or Islamic terror as morally wrong.

The acceptance of relativism...." (More)

See her excellent new book:

Did Humans Invent God?

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Muslims Coming to Christ at Historic Rate Evangelists Say

There is a lot in the news right now about Islam and Mosques...so I thought I would share this recent story to remind us that God is powerfully working to draw Muslims to Himself!

"Christians ministering quietly in the Middle East say Muslims are coming to Christ at an unprecedented pace despite intense persecution of those who leave Islam.

"Probably in the last 10 years, more Muslims have come to faith in Christ than in the last 15 centuries of Islam," said Tom Doyle, Middle East-Central Asia director for e3 Partners, a Texas-based missions agency.

A former pastor, Doyle has been to the Middle East around 80 times and last week returned to the U.S. from a trip to Jerusalem, where he said both Muslims and Jews are turning to Christianity.

Earlier this month, more than 200 former Muslims were baptized during a training conference in Europe led by Iran-born evangelist Lazarus Yeghnazar. Brenda Ajamian, a former missionary to the Middle East who partners with Yeghnazar's 222 Ministries International, said the event was unlike anything she'd seen during her years ministering in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.

"That many Muslims who converted to Christ in one place boggled my mind because missionaries have worked in the Arab world and Muslim world generally for years and without much fruit," Ajamian said. "God is at work among Muslims."

Ajamian said she was told at the conference that drug addiction and depression run rampant in many nations, particularly in Iran, where the cleric-led government has attempted to squash pro-democracy movements. "People are so fed up with the kinds of lives they lead. ... They're turning to Christ even in spite of the very real possibility of persecution and death and imprisonment," she said.

Desperation is also a big factor in bringing many Jews to Christ, Doyle said. "In the last 20 years more Jews [also] have become followers of Jesus than in the last 2,000 years of Christianity," he said.

Radio, television and Internet-based Christian programming have been key in evangelizing Muslim nations. Yeghnazar claims more than 3,000 Iranians are converted each month through his Farsi-language television and Internet broadcasts.

And Doyle said Father Zakaria Botross, a born-again Coptic priest, reaches about 60 million people through his television programs broadcast across the Middle East. "The apostle Paul to the Muslims is no question Father Zakaria," Doyle said.

But many Muslim-background believers have said they came to Christ after having dreams and visions of Jesus.

"I can't tell you how many Muslims I've met who say: ‘I was content. I was a Muslim, and all of a sudden I get this dream about Jesus and He loved me and said come follow Me," Doyle said.

Doyle notes that the supernatural is an important part of the Islamic faith. Through the course of his life, Mohammed claimed to have had visions and encounters, particularly of the angel Gabriel.

"God is going into their context," said Doyle. But instead of finding guidance from Allah, Muslims are finding Jesus...." (Read More)

Did Humans Invent God?

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Islam in Two Americas

Drew Douthat has written a helpful op-ed for the New York Times on the social / cultural responses surrounding Islam in America. Questions of rights and freedoms abound. But I want to add one more layer to his discussion. That of worldview. Judeo-Christian principles are the bedrock upon which freedom of religion and basic human rights reside and the framers of the Constitution were well aware of this. These "American Ideals" are most assuredly not the fruit of an Islamic worldview (a quick glance at history and around the world where Islam is the dominant religion make that very clear). So yes there are politics and cultural issues. But the more fundamental discussion that needs to be had is a worldview discussion--Is orthodox Islam (i.e., not the secularized / politically correct / privatized version) compatible with American Democracy?

"There’s an America where it doesn’t matter what language you speak, what god you worship, or how deep your New World roots run. An America where allegiance to the Constitution trumps ethnic differences, language barriers and religious divides. An America where the newest arrival to our shores is no less American than the ever-so-great granddaughter of the Pilgrims.

But there’s another America as well, one that understands itself as a distinctive culture, rather than just a set of political propositions. This America speaks English, not Spanish or Chinese or Arabic. It looks back to a particular religious heritage: Protestantism originally, and then a Judeo-Christian consensus that accommodated Jews and Catholics as well. It draws its social norms from the mores of the Anglo-Saxon diaspora — and it expects new arrivals to assimilate themselves to these norms, and quickly. These two understandings of America, one constitutional and one cultural, have been in tension throughout our history. And they’re in tension again this summer, in the controversy over the Islamic mosque and cultural center scheduled to go up two blocks from ground zero." (more)

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

New Think Christianly Podcast Available - How Should Christians Think About Islam?

I know it's been a while, but here is the latest tC podcast on Islam. Click here.

Add to iTunes.

For more on Islam, see my recent post.

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Understanding Islam from a Christian Perspective

What is Islam? What does Islam teach? How are the teachings of Islam similar to those of Christianity? How are they different? Here is a helpful article from Probe Ministries:

"First, we want to take a look back at the history of Islam. Islam was founded in the early seventh century by Muhammed. When he was 40 years of age, in A.D. 610, Muhammed claimed to be receiving messages from God. These messages were later compiled and recorded in the Koran--Islam's holy book.

About this same time, Muhammed began preaching against the greed, economic oppression, and idolatry that plagued the Arab peoples. He called on the many factions of the Arab peoples to unite under the worship of Allah, the chief god of the Arab pantheon of deities. Though his message was initially rejected, by the year 630 he had succeeded in gaining control of Mecca, the economic and religious center of the Arabian peninsula.

Though Muhammed died two years later, the religious/political movement he founded rapidly spread throughout the Arab world, and far beyond. By A.D. 750, the Muslim empire spanned from Spain in the west to India in the east. In the centuries that followed, Islam penetrated deeper into Africa and Asia, extending as far as the Philippines. During its "golden era" Islam claimed some of the world's finest philosophers and mathematicians. It was during this time also that Islam and Christianity clashed as a result of the Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims...." (more)

Answering Islam

Biblical Training Lecture on Islam

Ravi Zacharias on Islam

Helpful Books:

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

thinkChristianly Podcast

Immigration, Islam, and the West

As Islam grows--more by birth rate than adult conversion--there are new realities that we must be aware of as Christians (Muslims are 1/5 of the worlds total population - Christians are 1/3). Understanding is the first step. Engagement only follows after we understand. I came across this video from the wall street journal which highlights some interesting observations about Europe and America.



What do Muslims believe? A great place to start is The Baker Pocket Guide to World Religions: What Every Christian Needs to Know by Gerald McDermott.

Also, an excellent mp3 overview you can download is Decoding Islam: Understanding the Middle East Conflict in a Whole New Light-- Alan Shlemon (Stand to Reason)

thinkChristianly Podcast

ThinkChristianly.org
Think Christianly on Twitter
Welcome to College

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity

This is a remarkable story. As you read - and you simply must read this - look for how he highlights ideas and their consequences. Also, the need to examine your religion to see if it is actually true (whether that be Christianity or Islam). Finally, notice, this isn't a game for him; he is not playing church.

Here is a teaser from the interview:

JONATHAN HUNT: Aren't you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that's it, they're already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? ... They can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul.

JONATHAN HUNT: You're not afraid?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: As a human, you know, I can be very brave now, I'm not thinking about it at this moment and I feel that God is on my side. But if this will be the challenge, I ask God to give me enough strength.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you been threatened?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Honestly, most Muslims and Muslim leaders here in the U.S. community, European communities, they are trying to get ahold of me. They are calling my famiily, my mother, and asking for my contacts. They are telling her, 'We want to help him.'

JONATHAN HUNT: They think you need help?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, they think that Christians took advantage of me, and this is completely wrong. I've been a Christian for a long time before they knew, or anyone knew. I love Jesus, I followed him for many years now. It wasn't a secret for most of the time, and this time I just did it to glorify the name of God and praise him.

They're not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I'm educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn't make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.

What a powerful illustration of courage in both thinking and life.

Christianity and Islam: Compulsion in religion and the freedom to disbelieve

Iranian Christian Convert Detained by Secret Police

In America, we enjoy something many in the world do not--religious freedom and tolerance (in the true sense). Iran on the other hand does not offer religious freedom. Take a minute and read this, especially the last paragraph. (for the entire article, read here). This article reminds us of many things, not the least of which is that conversion is costly--not something you just add to your day.

(article begins) A former Muslim who converted to Christianity is being held by Iran’s secret police on suspicion of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, according to a report Wednesday.
Mahmood Matin, 52, has been held in a detention center in the southern city of Shiraz since his arrest on May 15, according to Compass Direct news. His wife, who visited him on June 24, said Matin did not know where he was being held until she told him, according to a source who requested to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Matin told his wife that authorities were pressing him to reveal what foreign church he was connected to. But that he told them he was not related to any church outside of Iran.

The imprisoned convert claims he is being treated well, but his wife believes otherwise. During their five-minute conversation, officials were listening in, the source noted.

Matin was originally arrested in May when he met with 13 other Muslim converts to Christianity in a park in Shiraz.

Under Iranian law, apostasy is a crime that can be punishable by death. The county’s parliament is reviewing this month a draft penal code that would make the death penalty mandatory for anyone found guilty of leaving Islam or who uses the Internet to encourage others to do so.

Muslims Coming to Christ

Is God at work in the world? Not just in Tennessee or California or New York or wherever you happen to call home; but other places? Absolutely! I came across some incredible news and I wanted to share it. It is about Muslims coming to Christ in powerful and amazing ways. Take a minute to read, reflect, pray, and worship.

In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."

One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims throughout the Middle East and even in the United States are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus. They are coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. -- Joel C. Rosenberg