Last week at Flinders Uni was Islam Awareness Week. I thought it would be appropriate to be aware of Islam (more that I am normally) by seeking to reflect on what is being communicated by our Muslim friends, and to give some responses and some questions from a Christian perspective. This third post is a repost from May 8, 2014.
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
This is something that Muslims and Christians must categorically agree about, otherwise both are being untrue to their own faith:
‘They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary”, while the Messiah has said, “O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the third of three.” And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.’ (The Quran, Surah 5:72-73)
While the Quran here gives an inaccurate representation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it nevertheless refers to Christians who claim Jesus is divine, a member of the trinity. The orthodox Muslim view is that Christians will end up in Hell unless they repent and confess ‘Allah is One and has no Son’.
‘Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.’ (1 John 2:22-23 ESV)
‘The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.’ (John 3:35-36 ESV)
The orthodox Christian view is that Muslims remain under God’s wrath unless they repent and confess Jesus as the Son of God.
From a Christian perspective, Muslims are not like the Athenians of Acts 17:23 who had an altar to an ‘unknown god’. Islam states categorically who Allah is and what He is like; it does not feign ignorance or an openness to being enlightened as to who this unknown God is whom they worship. Likewise, Christians can and should say very clearly that our God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only true and living God. Muslims do not worship, acknowledge or pray to this God, but rather to a god of Mohammed’s own devising. To affirm in any way to a Muslim that there is an affinity between our God and theirs is to add to their deception.
So don’t come at me with any of that nonsense about us worshipping the same God, just in different ways. Not only does it dishonour God, but it also dishonours your Muslim friend.
New Jerusalem 