Introduction
When Christians ask “Do Christians and Muslims worship the
same God?” they are asking:
“Is the Allah of Islam the same as God
the Father?”
“Is the God of Islam the same God of the Old
Testament who created the world and spoke with the prophets?”
“Did the same God who spoke with Jesus,
James, Peter, John, Paul, and Ananias, send His angel Gabriel to speak the
Quran’s words to Muhammad?”
They want to know if Muslims and Christians are worshiping
the one and the same Divine Person, the one and only one God.
Of course we know that both faiths refer to the One
Almighty Creator God. Muslims believe that they worship the God of
Abraham, the God of Moses, the God of Jesus. The question, however, is
not if they refer to the same God, but rather, from the way They are
identified, revealed, and described, are they the same God.
Christians who ask this question approach it from a matter
of personal faith. It is more to them than an academic question.
The answer counts. They understand that even if the faiths present
differing aspects about the Gods, They could still be the same God, and on the
other hand, if there are contradictions and opposites between these Gods then
They would not be the same.
For the Christian, if the answer is “Yes” then it validates
Islam and the Quran to some degree. If the answer is “Yes” it implies
that they are ignorant of much about the God they worship and love.
Further, if the answer is “Yes” it means that when Jesus prayed in the
Garden He was praying to Allah.
The most important aspect of this question is its eternal
significance. Although this question’s theme is in play as Muslims and
Christians interact in worldwide record-setting breadth and depth and its
answer affects how they view, interact, and treat each other, of far greater
consequence is that these Gods demand accurate worship. They both require
correct theological beliefs in worship. Neither of Them take
idolatry and the worship of a false god lightly and in both faiths idolaters
are condemned and sentenced to hell! Eternal consequence outweighs
temporal relations. Jesus said as such: “Do not fear those who kill
the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.”
This is a five part article which examines historical,
religious, and Scriptural evidence to answer that question. Its pace is
slower than normal but I am convinced that the answer to this question is of
the utmost importance for Christians. It affects how we relate to God,
practice our faith, understand Islam, and how we practice outreach to Muslims.
Groundwork
Three principles must be established before we move on to
examine the evidence.
Principle 1: The Integrity and
Authority of the Faith’s Scriptures
To answer the question accurately we need defined and
established references. Therefore, the general integrity of each faith’s
Scriptures is assumed in order to facilitate an honest and accurate
investigation. Each Scripture must be viewed as portraying the faith’s
God accurately. Let the Quran speak for Islam’s God and let the Bible speak
for Christianity’s God. The statements we’ll examine are not
abstract, masked, or mysterious. While the textual integrity of
both the Quran and Bible is not perfect scholars agree that what is written
closely represents the originals.
The authority of the faith’s Scriptures is
fundamental. Christians and Muslims know about their God through their
Scripture’s teachings. While exterior religious sources may provide
extra-Scriptural information about their God, (such as the writings of the Early
Church Fathers or Islam’s Traditions), those faiths’ Scriptures are their
primary theological sources. We understand the God of Christianity
because of the Bible’s teachings. Christians believe that God is
omnipotent, omnipresent, and so on because of what the Bible states. In
the same way, because of the Quran’s teachings, Muslims know that Allah is all
powerful, all merciful, and so on.
The Scriptures that tell us of these Gods’ omnipotence,
eternity, unity, etc., also give us their words, commands, intentions, plans,
and communications with mankind. If we take their lofty statements at
face value then we should also take their plain spoken statements at face
value. We must be honest and fair in our treatment and acknowledgement of
these Scriptures. If we ignore some verses out of personal preference, or
out of a desire to win an argument, then we only create a laughable mysticism
or a valueless superstition lacking substance. That approach is worthless
and deserves mockery.
Of course the Scriptures are limited in what they tell us
about God. Concerning this Francis Schaeffer said in Escape from Reason:
In this way we know true truth about God, true truth about
man, and something truly about nature. Thus on the basis of the Scriptures,
while we do not have exhaustive knowledge, we have true and unified knowledge.
We have limited, but accurate, truth and knowledge about God from our Scriptures.
We do not create these Gods from our imaginations.
Rather these Scriptures tell us about these Gods and from those Scriptures we
perceive God’s attributes and upon those Scriptures we stand and build our
metaphysical conceptions. Our perceptions and conceptions must be
established upon the Scriptures which tell us about these Gods, and they should
not contradict what the Scriptures state.
I make this point because some theologians pick and choose
specific Scriptures for their argument while conveniently ignoring or
discounting other Scriptures that undermine their argument. How would God
have felt if Moses gave the Israelites the “Eight Commandments”? Jonah
refused to proclaim God’s words to Nineveh and we know the results. When
Muhammad compromised with idol worship he was rebuked by Allah through
Gabriel. Shouldn’t today’s theologians be held accountable and expected
to engage all of God’s word?
Principle 2: Theological Setting and
Scope
The Story of the Blind Men and the
Elephant.
There is a notable parable about several blind men
examining an elephant. One man feels the tusk, another the trunk, and
another the tail. They discuss what attributes they’ve identified and
declare a truth about the elephant. Thereafter they argue and disagree
about its identity and attributes. “The elephant is solid, smooth, and
strong,” “No! The elephant is pliable like a rope,” “No! The elephant is large
and rough.” There are variations of the story but in general it is used
to teach the message that although all faiths have different understandings or
different truths about the one God they do indeed worship the one and the same
God. Therefore all faiths should accept and learn from each other,
respect each other, and live in peace.
The problem with this story is that from its beginning it
concedes and concludes that an elephant is being examined. There is no
real argument here because we know that the differing truths about the elephant
are complimentary, not contradictory. This story allows for no
possibility that the blind men are examining different creatures, for example a
bird, an elephant, or a fish. Applying this allegory to our
question establishes the answer from the beginning that Christians and Muslims
are indeed worshiping the same God. They just have different
understandings and know different characteristics of that One God.
However for our question a story could be titled “What the
Blind Men Examined.” It would start out by having each blind man examine
an unidentified creature and allow the possibility that they were examining the
same or different creatures.
In the case of the elephant the blind man who identified
the tusk’s strength made an accurate observation. It is not contradicted
or cancelled out by the testimony of the blind man who identified the tail’s
flexibility. But if one man examined a fish and stated “my creature only
breathes underwater,” while another man examined an elephant and said, “my
creature only breathes in air,” then we could conclude that they are not
talking about the same creature.
The challenge here is to identify key attributes that
confirm these Gods are the same, could be the same, or are not the same.
Principle 3: The Living Gods and the
authority of the Christian and Muslim Scriptures
We are talking about living and
speaking Gods whose actions are recorded in the faiths’ Scriptures. These
Gods were not silent observers. They were involved actively with their
followers and interacted with them. These Gods make it rain, save people
from death, and kill people. Comparing these Gods requires evaluation of
their attributes, words, and deeds. Comparing these Gods must involve
more than abstract academic fluff, metaphysical rhetoric, and trite
philosophical points. All too often the theologians approach this
question from an academic perspective which does not recognize that they are
examining living, powerful, and active Gods.
A “Yes” answer’s implications:
- If they
worship the same God then all believers would enter heaven/paradise.
- If they
worship the same God then Christians and Muslims could view each other as
fellow believers destined for eternal life.
- If they
worship the same God then it is possible that the one and same God is
behind both Scriptures: the God that inspired the New Testament also
sent Gabriel to give the Quran to Muhammad.
- If they
worship the same God then could they be free to mix practical elements of
both Scriptures and faiths? Wouldn’t it make sense to take the best
from each faith and apply it to our lives?
A “No” answer’s implications:
- If they
don’t worship the same God then one group is committing idolatry.
- If they
don’t worship the same God then the good and sincere believers of one
group are going to hell regardless.
- If they
don’t worship the same God then one group should be doing all it can to
spread the true faith to the other.
- If they
don’t worship the same God then at least one group’s Scriptures, as a
whole, are false and poisonous.
“Do Christians and Muslims worship the
same God?”
I’m trying to methodically present an examination based on
what both faiths teach so that we may reach a definitive answer. To that
end I’ve chosen three different theological topics to examine and compare.
The burden of proof is on me to show that they are either the same, could
be the same, or are not the same.
I need to arrive at a simple and concrete “Yes” or “No”
answer. I’ve read two books and some 20 articles on this subject and
many, (not all), of the answers are confusing, abstract, and unclear.
This answer has eternal consequences and it had better be more definitive than
a personal or philosophical opinion and involve more than cursory work.
NOTE: to simplify things
from here on out, when I’m differentiating between the Gods I’ll refer to
Islam’s God as “Allah” and Christianity’s God as “God.” When referring to
them both at the same time, or in a general sense, I’ll use “God” or “Gods.”
The context will define whom I mean. I understand that Arabic
Christians refer to “God” as “Allah” and that is fine. But for ease of
reading here, when warranted, I’ll distinguish them simply by calling Islam’s
God “Allah” and Christianity’s God “God.” No disrespect is meant to One
or the Other.
Definitions - Do Christians and Muslims
worship the same God?
I need to define the key term “same” for the context of our
question. Words have different contexts and different meanings at
different times. Sincere people in earnest conversations may
misunderstand and disagree on a word’s definition. On the other hand,
when Bill Clinton lied to the grand jury investigating his illicit sexual
encounters he said, “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.”
So too we must define what we mean by the word “same.”
Defining “same” here is also important because as we’ll see
later some of the “theologians” who address this question are reluctant to, or
have difficulty in, defining “same.” They are uncomfortable with
it. That such a fundamental aspect of this equation is avoided or fumbled
by the theologians is a sign that they are not up to, or unwilling, to tackle
the question as it should be addressed.
Below is Webster’s Online Dictionary’s definition, and I’ve
included its synonyms and antonyms because they provide contrast:
1
a: resembling in every relevant respect
b: conforming in every respect —used with as
b: conforming in every respect —used with as
2
a: being one without addition, change, or discontinuance :
identical
b: being the one under discussion or already referred to
b: being the one under discussion or already referred to
3
: corresponding so closely as to be indistinguishable
4
: equal in size, shape, value, or importance —usually used
with the or a demonstrative (as that, those) in all senses
Synonyms: coequal, duplicate, equal, even, identical,
indistinguishable, much of a muchness
Antonyms: different, disparate, dissimilar, distant,
distinct, distinctive, distinguishable, diverse, nonidentical, other, unalike,
unlike
Webster’s gives us a foundation to build upon. For our purposes, “same” is “resembling, conforming, identical, indistinguishable, equal in all respects and senses.” Can it be shown that these two Gods are distinct and different enough that they cannot be construed as being the same? If we cannot detect and identify distinctive differences, dissimilar characteristics, or disparate attributes between Islam’s Allah and Christianity’s God then we may conclude that they are, or could be, the same. However, if we can distinguish such differences then we must conclude that they are not the same. Agreed?
Let’s draw a further distinction here: “similar” does
not equal “same.” For example, both texts generally describe their God as
being omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. If those were the only
considered attributes then we could end the discussion now and conclude they
are the same. But their Scriptures contain many more attribute details
about these Gods. If there are significant differences then we could
conclude these Gods may be similar but they are not the same. Just
because they have similarities, or have some attributes in common, does not
negate the attributes in which they differ. Amanita mushrooms are similar
in many ways to white mushrooms but no mycologist would declare that they are
the “same.” Sulfuric acid is similar in some ways to water but no chemist
would declare them the “same.” Otherwise people would suffer pain and
death. Experts in such fields who made such fallacious declarations would
be either pernicious (therefore deserving punishment) or ignorant and laughable
(thereby proving they are not true experts).
In sum, when we ask “Do Muslims and Christians worship the
same God?” we are asking if their essence, attributes, character, and
identities, are identical or distinctly different.
(Also see: Do Muslims and Christians speak the same
language? )
The Approach - Questions
There are several key elements that must be defined and
then used to establish the basis for our final decision.
Q1: Where can we find the data we need
to examine and compare to evaluate these Gods?
Answer: As mentioned earlier, we must use
the Bible and the Quran. They contain the data we must draw from and
examine. These primary books provide definition and distinction for their
God. Islam has second and third sets of theological writings: the
Traditions (Hadith) and the biographical writings (sira) respectively, which I
will reference to expand the understanding of certain points, but the Quran
alone is our foundational text for Islam. Additionally, I may refer to
Christian and Muslim theological commentaries (tafsir) related to each faith
respectively.
Q2: What attributes, identifications, and characteristics do we evaluate to decide if they are the same God?
Answer: We must examine their Scriptures
and identify their words, actions, instructions, plans, intentions, commands,
and relationships with their followers. From this we can identify and
establish cross-characteristics to evaluate. By evaluating, comparing,
and contrasting those characteristics we compare and contrast these Gods.
We’ll have to have something more significant than varying
shades of gray or an ambiguous comparison to reach a firm conclusion. For
example, Allah has 99 plus names, (these names are attributes of Allah), and
not all of these names are attributed to the God of the Bible. Just
because a particular name, title, or attribute is not declared and shared
between the two does not necessarily mean that they are not the same God.
It only shows that that attribute has not been declared and attributed to that
God.
Q3: How can we decide if the differences are distinct enough to allow us to conclude that they are different Gods? (Distinguishing between similar Gods may not be as easy as distinguishing between coal and oranges).
Answer: We need answers that
identify these Gods’ attributes and characteristics distinctly. One of
the fundamental laws of classical logic is the law of non-contradiction, i.e.
"A is not B" or “A cannot be non-A.” Using the definition of
“same” above if we find different and distinguishing features between Islam’s
God and Christianity’s God then we must conclude that “A is not B,” i.e. that
Islam’s God is not the same as Christianity’s God. I’m not talking about
shades of gray, (even within Christianity’s theological branches there are
strong shades of grey), I’m talking about opposing or distinctly different
characteristics.
The three topics we’ll compare and
contrast.
We could approach this question from many different
directions and this topic could easily take up an entire book. If you
examine the books and articles that address this question you’ll find very
different methods and approaches are used.
I’ve chosen these three areas of comparison for our
evaluation:
1) The plan for the believers until
the final judgment
2) Jesus’ “Sonship”
3) Intimate knowledge and
relationship with God
The Bible and the Quran provide God-spoken words and deeds
for each topic. These three aspects are distinct from each other and
provide a spectrum of comparison & contrast. I think this approach is
more beneficial than simply using one topic, such as the trinity, for an area
of comparison which focuses only on the “personage” or “oneness” of God.
(Using the trinity is fine but I wanted to take a broader, perhaps less common
but less metaphysical, approach.)
End of Part 1. Continue with Part 2.
