Monday, December 21, 2015

Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God: a question renewed...


Back in early 2014, I published three posts concerning the issue of whether or not 'Muslims and Christians worship the same God' (first; second; third).

My contributions concerning this issue were not meant to be overly dogmatic—I was not trying to convince readers that a solid 'yes' or 'no' answer to the question should subsequently follow my reflections—but rather, I was attempting to demonstrate that the issue is much more complex than most folk realize.

My interest in the question was precipitated by a controversy that arose within the confines of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a conservative, Reformed denomination. (See first thread linked to above for pertinent information.) My interest in this topic has been renewed by a thread published yesterday by Fr. Kimel at his Eclectic Orthodoxy blog (LINK). His post details yet another controversy over the issue of whether or not 'Christians and Muslims worship the same God'; this time, at Wheaton College, a conservative, Christian institution about 30 miles west of Chicago. From Fr. Kimel's post we read:

Ten days ago Dr. Larycia Hawkins, a professor of political science at Wheaton College, announced her religious solidarity with Muslims. “They, like me, a Christian, are people of the book,” she states. “And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.” Wheaton College subsequently put her on administrative leave “in order to give more time to explore theological implications of her recent public statements concerning Christianity and Islam.” Twitter exploded.

The entire thread is certainly worth the time to read, providing some interesting reflections, and a number of germane links. One of the links provided is to an article posted by Dr. Francis J. Beckwith on the 17th (LINK). (Dr. Beckwith was the former President of the Evangelical Theological Society, who later returned to the Roman Catholic Church in 2007.) This article has produced 170 comments, many of which adamantly draw the conclusion that Christians and Muslims most certainly DO NOT 'worship the same God'.

Yet, it sure seems to me, that most of the folk who have already formed their conclusion on this question have done so without any in depth reflection on the complexity that permeates the issue at hand.

In ending, I would like to recommend a thread I posted back on 07-01-2013 (LINK). This thread (IMO), sheds some important 'light' on whether or not, 'Muslims and Christians worship the same God'.


Grace and peace,

David

2 comments:

Sean Killackey said...

I have some more thoughts to add, but for now I wish to point out that it is possible to worship God improperly. Therefore, it is not just the One worshiped that is anything but how and why (out of what motive). Therefore, it is possible to worship the same God, yet not have that worship accepted. Take the Samartians, Jesus said that they worshipped what they did not know, yet he added that it was then that the Father wanted worship in spirit and truth. Long before, Jehovah said, "It is in vain that they keep seeking me, for they fear me according to mere commands of men."

So, the outrage generated it misplaced. Muslims do worship the Mighty God of Abraham, the one True God. The question becomes, then, are they doing so acceptably. No, for "there is but one name under heaven by which men get saved." And, "whoever does not accept me does not accept him that sent me." Yet, this does not mean they do not love God or have zeal, but that they have zeal according to inaccurate knowledge. That is why, "to the ends of the earth their sound went out," for "the time is coming, and it is now that the Father is seeking for those who will worship him in spirit and truth." To do so, though, our knees must bend to Jesus, our one Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

David Waltz said...

Hi Sean,

Good to see you back; thanks much for taking the time to respond to my musings. In your post, you wrote:

==I have some more thoughts to add, but for now I wish to point out that it is possible to worship God improperly. Therefore, it is not just the One worshiped that is anything but how and why (out of what motive). Therefore, it is possible to worship the same God, yet not have that worship accepted. Take the Samartians, Jesus said that they worshipped what they did not know, yet he added that it was then that the Father wanted worship in spirit and truth. Long before, Jehovah said, "It is in vain that they keep seeking me, for they fear me according to mere commands of men."==

Excellent points Sean.

==So, the outrage generated it misplaced. Muslims do worship the Mighty God of Abraham, the one True God. The question becomes, then, are they doing so acceptably. No, for "there is but one name under heaven by which men get saved." And, "whoever does not accept me does not accept him that sent me." Yet, this does not mean they do not love God or have zeal, but that they have zeal according to inaccurate knowledge. That is why, "to the ends of the earth their sound went out," for "the time is coming, and it is now that the Father is seeking for those who will worship him in spirit and truth." To do so, though, our knees must bend to Jesus, our one Lord, to the glory of God the Father.==

I think your above assessment is an important one; and I would argue that when one brings the Jewish position on Jesus into the equation, a fairly clear demarcation between the Jewish, Islamic and Christian theological stances emerges: Judaism rejects ALL of the unique claims about Jesus that are presented in the Bible; Islam accepts some of those claims; Christianity embraces all of them.


Grace and peace,

David