Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer PhD Family Worship Center Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God? Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer PhD Family Worship Center

Pastor Mark Schwarzbauer PhD Family Worship Center

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Do Christians and Muslims Part One: Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

Professor Larycia Hawkins stated on Facebook, “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.”

Some people who promote that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, like to accuse anyone who disagrees with them as using theology to cover bigotry. Those who make such accusations do so in order to win the argument by intimidation. Their manipulative style should lead you to question the validity and strength of their arguments. Pastor Mark

The arguments promoting that Christians and Muslims worship the same God   CHRISTIANITY ISLAM God: Only one in all existence Affirm God: Eternal, no beginning or end God:  Transcendent God:  Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God: Creator of Adam and Eve Believe in Noah and Abraham

Logic 101 My brother has ears. An elephant has ears. Therefore my brother is an elephant. Faulty logic: Similarity does not mean the same.

Nabeel Qureshi- “I should start by saying this: for years after leaving Islam and accepting Jesus as Lord, I believed that Muslims worshiped the same God as Christians but that they were simply wrong about what He is like and what He has done. After all, I had been taught as a young Muslim to worship the God who created Adam and Eve, who rescued Noah from the flood, who promised Abraham a vast progeny, who helped Moses escape Egypt, who made the Virgin Mary great with child, who sent Jesus into the world, who helped the disciples overcome, and who is still sovereign today. Is that not the God of the Bible?

For that matter, the Quran asserts that the Torah and the Gospel are inspired scripture and that Jews and Christians are people of the Book. The Quran tells Muslims to say to them, “our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender” (29.46). If the Quran asserts that Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians, does that not settle the matter?

For years I thought it did, but I no longer do For years I thought it did, but I no longer do. Now I believe that the phrase “Muslims and Christians worship the same God” is only true in a fairly uncontroversial sense: There is one Creator whom Muslims and Christians both attempt to worship. Apart from this banal observation, Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God. I do not condemn those that think they do, but the deeper I delve into the Christian faith, the more I realize that this assertion is not only untrue but also subverts Christian orthodoxy in favor of Islamic assertions.”

For years I thought it did, but I no longer do For years I thought it did, but I no longer do. Now I believe that the phrase “Muslims and Christians worship the same God” is only true in a fairly uncontroversial sense: There is one Creator whom Muslims and Christians both attempt to worship. Apart from this banal observation, Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God. I do not condemn those that think they do, but the deeper I delve into the Christian faith, the more I realize that this assertion is not only untrue but also subverts Christian orthodoxy in favor of Islamic assertions.”

The issue really comes down to “What is Your Foundation.” For years I thought it did, but I no longer do. Now I believe that the phrase “Muslims and Christians worship the same God” is only true in a fairly uncontroversial sense: There is one Creator whom Muslims and Christians both attempt to worship. Apart from this banal observation, Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God. I do not condemn those that think they do, but the deeper I delve into the Christian faith, the more I realize that this assertion is not only untrue but also subverts Christian orthodoxy in favor of Islamic assertions.” The issue really comes down to “What is Your Foundation.”

What is your foundation? Choice 1 – Whatever is popular - The foundation of public perception and political correctness.

What is your foundation? Choice 2 - The Quran as your authority. Nabeel says… “So how can people argue that Muslims and Christians worship the same God? By unduly giving priority to the Islamic assertion that this is the same God. The Quran says that Allah is the God of the Bible, so He must be. The Quran says that Allah is the God of the Biblical prophets, so He must be.”

What is your foundation? Choice 3- The Bible and Jesus as your authority.

Do not Worship the Same God. Part two: No. Christians and Muslims Do not Worship the Same God.

NO! Reason 1- Christians believe Jesus is God, but the Quran is so opposed to this belief that it condemns Jesus worshipers to Hell (Quran 5.72). For Christians, Jesus is certainly God, and for Muslims Jesus is certainly not God. How can it be said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God? This fact alone is enough to settle the matter.

NO! Reason 2 - According to Jesus, God is our Father, yet the Quran very specifically denies that Allah is a father (Quran 112.1-4). In fact, in 5.18, the Quran tells Muslims to rebuke Jews and Christians for calling God their loving Father because humans are just things that God has created.

NO. Reason 3 - Islam roundly condemns worship of the Trinity (5 NO! Reason 3 - Islam roundly condemns worship of the Trinity (5.73), establishing in contrast its own core principle: Tawhid, the absolute oneness of God. Tawhid specifically denies the Trinity, so much so that it is safe to say the doctrine of God in Christianity is antithetical to the doctrine of God in Islam. Not just different but completely opposed to one another.

NO! Reason 4 - There is much more to be said about the differences between the Christian God and the Muslim God, but this much can already be said with confidence: the Christian God, both in terms of what he is (Triune) and who he is (Father, Son, and Spirit) is not just different from the Muslim God; He is fundamentally incompatible. According to Islam, worshiping the Christian God is not just wrong; it sends you to Hell. They are not the same God.

Believe Jesus is God in the flesh Affirm Deny God is our loving Father   CHRISTIANITY ISLAM Believe Jesus is God in the flesh Affirm Deny God is our loving Father God:  Trinity of three Persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in One God  

Who is Jesus? Muslims reject that Allah has a son and teach that Jesus was a prophet and not God is the flesh. Jesus’ exclusive claims as in John 14:6. The Apostles made exclusive claims as in Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Who is Jesus? Colossians 1:15 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God…” I John 2:23 “Anyone who denies the Son doesn't have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

Part three: Why it matters

First, it matters because Jesus loves Muslims and also died to save them.

Second, it matters because In order to be saved, Muslims just like everyone else, need to believe in Jesus as the Son of God who died for their sins and rose again from the dead .

Third, it matters because if we do not have a clear understanding of God, what He justly requires and what He has done to save us, we will have a wishy washy, cowardly and ineffective spiritual life and witness.

know and stand for the truth of the Bible Finally, it matters because You are called to love everyone including Muslims, know and stand for the truth of the Bible and reach the entire world for Christ.

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