In comparing Christianity and Islam, the most logical place to begin is with the doctrine of God. Although both religions are monotheistic - that is, they believe in only One God - each expresses its belief quite differently from the other. What are these beliefs, and how do they differ?
Simply put, Christianity is trinitarian, while Islam is unitarian. Christians believe in One God revealed in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Muslims believe in One God Who is absolutely One, without equals, partners, or associates. In other words, Muslims worship the One Whom Christians call God the Father, while rejecting the belief that Jesus and the Holy Spirit share in His Divinity.
Christians see the Muslim view as both inadequate and unacceptable, since belief in the divinity of Jesus is required for one to be saved from eternal damnation. Muslims see the Christian view as erroneous, unacceptable, and spiritually dangerous, since associating anyone with God (called shirk in Islam), is the most serious sin a person can commit.
It's worth noting that the Islamic doctrine of God corresponds exactly with the Jewish doctrine of God as found in the Torah (the Old Testament of the Christian Bible). Muslims would say that Jesus himself, being a devout Jew, believed what the Torah taught regarding God. In support they quote the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verse 3, where Jesus, praying to God, says these words: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". According to Muslims, this verse (from the Christian New Testament) clearly shows that Jesus saw himself as both separate from, and subordinate to, God.
It's clear that Christianity and Islam have very different views about the identity of God. Those differences are mutually exclusive and irreconcilable.
At this point, I want to try to clear up a misperception that many American Christians have about the name by which Muslims refer to God. Allah is, according to some authorities, a contraction of the words al-ilah, which simply means "The God". In the Middle East, both Arabic-speaking Christians and Arabic-speaking Jews use the word "Allah" to refer to God. I've heard some American Christians, including ministers, claim that Allah is the ancient pagan moon god of the Arabs, or "the Muslim god", different from the God of the Christians and Jews, or worst of all, Satan the Devil. Not only are these opinions deeply offensive to Muslims, they are also offensive to Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians, and most importantly, offensive to God Himself.
Let's move from the identity of God to the attributes of God. What do Christians and Muslims believe, do they differ, and if so, how? I plan to address this subject in my next post.
And this I will do, if God permits.
It's clear that Christianity and Islam have very different views about the identity of God. Those differences are mutually exclusive and irreconcilable.
At this point, I want to try to clear up a misperception that many American Christians have about the name by which Muslims refer to God. Allah is, according to some authorities, a contraction of the words al-ilah, which simply means "The God". In the Middle East, both Arabic-speaking Christians and Arabic-speaking Jews use the word "Allah" to refer to God. I've heard some American Christians, including ministers, claim that Allah is the ancient pagan moon god of the Arabs, or "the Muslim god", different from the God of the Christians and Jews, or worst of all, Satan the Devil. Not only are these opinions deeply offensive to Muslims, they are also offensive to Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians, and most importantly, offensive to God Himself.
Let's move from the identity of God to the attributes of God. What do Christians and Muslims believe, do they differ, and if so, how? I plan to address this subject in my next post.
And this I will do, if God permits.
No comments:
Post a Comment