Monday, April 8, 2019

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Are the Theologies of Islam and Christianity Really Very Different?


Once I was asked to take a business trip to Morocco.  I did not speak any of the local languages, so I arranged for an English-speaking guide.  We traveled together to several cities ----- Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Marrakesh.  He was the driver, but he also knew much about current events in Morocco and its history, so we had interesting conversations.  I was glad I had some time to become well-acquainted with him and with that country.

On one of our long drives between cities we found ourselves talking about religion.  He said he was a Muslim, an adherent to Islam.  I told him I was a Christian, and we started to compare notes.

It turned out we had a number of things in common.  Both faiths value prayer, worship (humbling ourselves before God) and fasting.  Both faiths shun the worship of idols.  We both honor and remember Adam, Noah and Moses.  We both believe we are descendants of Abraham, the patriarch of both our faiths, as well as of the Jewish faith.  For the Jewish people it was through the line of Isaac, and for Muslims through the line of Ishmael.  However, today Islam has two main denominations (Sunni and Shia) because of disagreement over the choice of Muhammad's successor.  Christian beliefs also vary somewhat by denomination.

In fact, my Moroccan guide said, Christians and Jews are recognized within the Qur'an (Koran), the Muslim Holy Book, as "people of the Book.  Muslims even honor Jesus Christ as a great Prophet," he continued, "and so we also believe that Jesus will return to earth."

I was surprised and pleased that there were so many commonalities between the Muslim and Christian faiths.  But now the conversation became a little more difficult.  Remembering my guide's reference to the Qur'an, I asked him what he believed about the Bible.

He paused a moment, and then said that for Muslims, God's revelation came in their holy book, the Qur'an, a complete code of laws, rules and regulations of behavior given by Allah (their name for God) to govern all life and society.  I responded that Christians also submit ourselves to a Holy Book.  We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God with the power to change lives.  However, I emphasized that Christians believe that God's full revelation in our lives came in the life and death of Jesus Christ.  I said the Bible's purpose is to lead us into an intimate relationship with God.  Throughout the Bible, the God of the universe is portrayed as seeking relationship with us, as well as seeking to cultivate warm personal relationships with one another.

My Muslim friend wanted to respond with the Muslim view of man's relationship with God.  The Qur'an, he said, describes our relationship with God in terms of master and slave.  But, while Allah is distant in his relationship with mankind, the Qur'an also describes Allah as merciful and compassionate to mankind.  This latter point pleased me, because Christians also seem to affirm this view of God ----- our Scriptures describe God as  merciful and compassionate to mankind, but also as being an intimate master.

Even though Jesus holds a high place in Islam as a Prophet, surprisingly the Qur'am teaches us the Jesus was never killed.  God is sovereign, the Qur'an teaches, and therefore God would not have allowed Jesus, His son and the great Prophet, to die such a violent death.

"Because Muslims don't share the Christian belief in original sin," said my Muslim friend, Muslims wonder why Christians even need the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross."  I told him that from the Christian point of view, the pain and death of Jesus (the Son of God) on a Cross provides us with the greatest gift from God we can imagine.  Jesus' humanity and suffering demonstrate the extraordinary lengths to which our Creator goes to lavish great love and forgiveness on us, in spite of our sinful ways.

"Well," my friend asked, "why don't you obey the teachings of our great Prophet Muhammad"?  I had to be careful here.  I said Christians believe that Muhammad's teachings contain much truth, but they are not part of our Biblical tradition.  "Don't be offended," my friend said, "but Muslims believe that in his teachings Muhammad corrected texts in the Bible." 

The prevailing view in Islam apparently is that everything that Muhammad said and did was inspired by Allah (their God), even though unlike Jesus, Muhammad was totally human.  The Qur'an claims that Muhammad has God's seal of prophet-hood, Muhammad being the last and final messenger to Islamic humanity.  "But, while Muslims venerate and imitate the prophet," my guide continued, "they stop short of worshiping him or regarding him as divine."

My Moroccan friend had one more great question:  If salvation is an "automatic" gift through God's grace (the Christian view) why do we need to do good works?  Muslims and Christians share a linear view of history, a belief that our destiny in Heaven or Hell depends on how we live our lives on earth.  We both believe in individual death, judgment and the resurrection of the body.  My friend continued: "In Islam, those whose good deeds to others outweigh their bad deeds, will attain salvation.  Those whose bad deeds to others outweigh their good deeds will abide in Hell."

Apparently, it is love for Allah and a desire to please Him that motivates the faithful Muslim to keep striving for good.  Paramount among the good behaviors to which Muslims aspire are the Five Pillars of Islam:  confession of faith, prayer, tithing (giving to the poor and helping in other ways people who are in need), fasting and (for some Muslims) pilgrimage to Mecca.

While Islam calls men and women to submit to their God's law, Christianity understands that Jesus has already fulfilled God's law on behalf of the world.  Muslim's submit to God's law with the passionate belief that their actions are working to bring the reign of God.  Christians believe that God's kingdom has already come. That Jesus Christ has already accomplished the ultimate reign of God, and therefore we strive as hopeful heirs of the promised kingdom.

"The Christian emphasis on God's grace could be seen as an easy pretext for personal and societal lawlessness," continued my Moroccan friend.  He certainly had a good point.  History provides many examples of people who claimed to follow Jesus and yet were perpetrators of evil.  On the other hand, the Islamic emphasis on absolute submission to God's law could be interpreted as unforgiving legalism, from a Christian's perspective.

These conversations left me with the hope of some greater harmony between our two faiths, or at least greater mutual tolerance and respect.  What forms could this greater harmony take?  For our Muslim friends perhaps some movement toward believing in grace and forgiveness.  For Christians, greater obedience to the teachings of Jesus as our greatest example of living by God's laws.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this Spring at CPC.
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