Several prominent Christian leaders who initially endorsed the Christian response to the appeal of Muslim clerics for interfaith dialogue and cooperation on the basis of what Muslim leaders believe we have in common (love for God, love for people) have now retracted their endorsement.
Promise & Pleasure
pastoral thoughts about conscience, culture and Christ
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February 11, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Jennifer
Hi, Aaron. I’m Jennifer. Don’t believe we’ve met.
Just out of curiosity, what is wrong with the claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Would you have a problem saying that Christians and Jews worship the same God, or Mormons, since they understand that God in different ways? Historically, as I understand it, Allah has been thought to be the God of the Bible, but with new revelation of who he is. Am I way off?
February 11, 2008 at 7:14 pm
johnaaronmartin
Jennifer,
The problem orbits around the person of Jesus Christ and the Christian understanding of who the person of Jesus is versus the Muslim, Jewish, Mormon, Hindu, etc, understanding of the nature of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Yahweh (Christian, Jewish) and Allah (Islam) could be argued to be the same God only from the perpective that all three religions believe God to be the only true God and that God is one. But Judaism rejects Jesus as the Son of God and Islam only believes Jesus is a prophet like Muhammed is a prophet. Neither Islam or Judaism account for the fact that God has, according to the Bible, chosen to “make known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ…” (Eph 1:9).
Allah cannot be rightly argued as the God of the Bible because of the God of the Bible is undeniably linked to Jesus as the means of God revealing the fullness of his greatness and reconciling God to the world. It is this fact that causes me to say that I don’t believe that Allah, as he is worshiped and understood by Muslims, is the same as God has revealed himself in the Bible.
While I respect the montheism and devotion of Muslims, we aren’t worshiping the same revelation. There is another post on this site about the same issue if you want to take a look at it. You can also go here for fuller explanation (http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1032_a_common_word_between_us/)
February 12, 2008 at 11:54 am
Tim
Hello Aaron,
How are you doing cuz? I have been wanting to write since your comments on Rick Love. I have been a bit busy.
I just read you comments above and wanted to comment on the issue of Allah. I agree and disagree. I will explain. In our Arabic language we have but one word for God (the creator) that has been in existence well before Islam (635AD). Our Bibles have always refered to God as Allah as well as our semitic sister languages, Aramaic, Syriac and Hebrew; refer to Him in the consonant form EL. Jesus, himself calling out from the cross (Eloi, Eloi = my God, my God) is the same in pronunciation as we would call out to Him in Arabic (Allahi, Allahi). I just wanted to clarify that among believers here, we would take exception to saying Allah is not God. Looking at the linguistic development, you will find that very little has change in reference to name, but understanding of the person of God is different.
Islam has taken many things from Judaism as well as Christianity, language included. Jesus continues to be identified in name as the Messiah in the Qur’an but it does not mean anything other than a title given to Jesus. The question is, do we change our words or language in Arabic because of what has been hijacked by another religion? WOuld you stop using the term God because Mormons would use the term. No, of course not. The difference is as you said, AND I AGREE, God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. The word may be the same but the understanding is completely different. The revelation of who He is, is different. But the term “Allah” is a word that has been in existence in this part of the world for thousands of years (pronunciations varying slightly) and will not change soon. So you will have to understand that your brothers and sisters in Christ will continue to call out to and worship “Allah”, but in a full understanding of Emmanuel.
February 12, 2008 at 2:14 pm
johnaaronmartin
Tim,
Very helpful clarification. So much so that I will probably post it and allow it to stand alone. Thanks for your insight. You’ve spent a whole lot more time in this cultural context than I have.