Does Islam Really Serve The Same God
As Christians?
by Pete Fisher
1/3/05
Over the years I have discussed in length with Muslims, Jews, and
Christians about the Islamic profession that we serve the same God.
Some of those discussions were productive, but sadly many caused the
parting of ways between those people.
Christians and some Jews understand Christianity as an extension of
Judaism. Organizations such as Jews For Jesus believe the awaited
Messiah has already made His first appearance on Earth and will return
in the end times in total harmony with Christianity.
Which means that in that doctrine, the same God of Abraham with His
promises to both Jew and Gentile are fully in accord. Even if some
disbelieve the Messianic message and mission of Jesus Christ, the link
to the God of Israel is fully connected.
However, that link is not always fully connected in Islam. As we go
back to Mohammed and his beginning we see that he claimed to have
written the Quran as an extended message to the Jewish and Christian
scripture. And this is a belief that many Muslims have as well as
Christians who have little knowledge of the Quran and Hadiths.
Yet I see some huge discrepancies in that theology when comparing
Islamic theology to Judeo Christian theology. First and foremost, IF
Mohammed actually based his writings on Jewish and Christian
scriptures; one would think that the harmony and message that exists
in those texts would be carried over to the Quran, correct? Yet they
are not in essence carried over.
Mohammed lived in Arabia where at the time there were some Jewish
communities living side by side with some Christian sects. His
knowledge of those religions came from what he heard and learned from
those around him. Heretical Christian writings at the time were
abundant in the area, as many of those individuals had not been
allowed to teach their doctrine in many other places.
Which is why we see the Quranic verses about Jesus in such conflict
with the Biblical versions. The entire birth scenario is way off, as
well as reference to who Jesus was and His mission in this life. One
is that He is NOT the Son of God. Another is that His death was
basically faked. These are two huge conflicts that deny and diminish
the mission and life of Christ as per scripture.
Another conflict I see is that IF Mohammed based the Quran on those
two religions, why then does he later condemn them as erroneous? That
in itself would tell me that he claims to have written the Quran on
erroneous writings. Which would make the Quran in error as well, no?
It is obvious that Mohammed’s understanding of the Christian scripture
was quite limited. Because Jesus said that He was to be the LAST
Prophet of God, and any that came after Him would be false and not to
be believed. So In Christian doctrine how can this be reconciled as
legitimate? For one to believe that Mohammed was who he said he was,
they would have to make illegitimate the statement of Christ. So when
I hear Muslims telling me that they honor Jesus, I wonder how this can
be done if they so blatantly say His life and mission were false. How
then could Mohammed have built the Quran on the Bible? He could not
have.
As per Judaism, the God of Abraham blessed Israel and gave to them
an inheritance forever in the land Moses took them to. Even the Quran
states this:
"To Moses We [Allah] gave nine clear signs. Ask the Israelites
how he [Moses] first appeared amongst them. Pharaoh said to him:
'Moses, I can see that you are bewitched.' 'You know full well,' he
[Moses] replied, 'that none but the Lord of the heavens and the
earth has revealed these visible signs. Pharaoh, you are doomed.'"
"Pharaoh sought to scare them [the Israelites] out of the land [of
Israel]: but We [Allah] drowned him [Pharaoh] together with all who
were with him. Then We [Allah] said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this
land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the hereafter [End of
Days] comes to be fulfilled, We [Allah] shall assemble you [the
Israelites] all together [in the Land of Israel]."
"And [remember] when Moses said to his people: 'O my people, call
in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets
among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to
any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which
God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then
will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.'" [Qur'an 5:20-21]
Qur'an explicitly refers to the return of the Jews to the Land of
Israel before the Last Judgment - where it says:
"And thereafter We [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell
securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come
to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd.'" [Qur'an
17:104]
Yet later in Quran, Mohammed calls out for the killing of Jews and
Christians. The enslavement of both is mentioned as well as with any
other non-Mohammedan religion. How is it that Mohammed came to write
that somehow Allah changed His mind about these religions? The Bible
in both Judaism and Christianity shows a God who is quite sure of
Himself and very consistent with His commands. And if the Quran is to
be taken as quoted above, then NO Muslim can ever say that Israel
never existed, that Jerusalem belongs to Islam, and in effect they
would have to cede Jerusalem to the Jews. Yet later in Quran, we see
the command to obliterate them.
Arabs are mentioned in the Bible as the children of Abraham. The
God of Abraham also blesses them mightily. Yet it does say they will
be a wild people and they will fight against Israel. And the Arab
people are obviously greatly loved by God in Christian Judeo
scriptures.
Yet supposedly, the SAME God commands Muslims to dominate, to
enslave, and to kill those individuals in Quran. I guess I do not
understand the correlation. How could have Mohammed, whose life was so
drastically different than that of Jesus, be the successor to Jesus
when his life was in opposition to what Jesus said? Jesus never
attacked caravans, He never drew a sword, He never took several wives
and boasted on His prowess in the bed, He never demeaned women, He
never commanded war, jihad, and enslavement.
And when Jesus said in Revelation that ANYONE who took away or
added to the Holy Scriptures written therein would have their name
blotted from the Book of Life. Mohammed did this. And he also claimed
the same legitimacy of authority that Christ claimed as His.
So in short, Mohammed basically called Jesus a liar, did he not?
And he took the title that Jesus claimed was His, and that no other
could ever take without being illegitimate. So those who seek the
truth and reconciliation between these 3 religions have to basically
choose who the liar was, and who the legitimate title of Last prophet
goes to.
And I say, that if Mohammed truly based Quran on the Bible, and his
understanding of that Bible was solid, he could never have had written
what is within Quran. So how then can we serve the same God?
We cannot. Though Muslims have in their heart to serve the God of
Abraham, the theology and writings in Quran and the Hadiths are so
contrary to Judeo Christian scripture, which the reconciling of
theology between them can never be true. Because one must ask, "Was
Jesus correct, and His mission as stated?" or did Mohammed have the
authority to usurp that authority and have Quran over ride the things
said and done by Jesus Christ? In reality, the line is drawn in the
sand and one cannot accept both as legitimate. One or the other must
go. And one needs to ask in the true spirit of religion if they follow
a Prophet who taught love, or taught slaughter and jihad. One who
taught died for the sins of man, or one who would kill his fellow man
in pursuit of religious domination? One who said He was the First and
The Last, The Son of God, or he who said that God has no reason to
have a Son, and those who claim that are liars?
One who claimed that his theology was added on as an extended
belief, or One Who said that anyone who did so was stricken from the
Book of Life?
From all I have seen and read, I cannot honestly say the God of
Islam and Christianity are one in the same. In order to be so, He
would have to be schizophrenic to be so contrary unto Himself.
And the God I know is of one mind.
Pete Fisher is a political columnist in Chicago, Illinois. He can
be contacted at
PFisher2005@aol.com
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