“Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” (Romans 12:11-13) This past week in worship we focused on the religion of Islam during our series "Christianity and World Religions" in an attempt to better understand our Muslim cousins so we can dialogue and share faith with them. During the sermon, time only permitted me to share one point of difference (#1: the nature of salvation and how we achieve it) and one point of commonality (#1: their commitment to prayer). However, here is a summary of several more such issues for your own consideration and further discussion (Read more detail about each of these in Endnote #22 and #25 in the sermon found here).
ADDITIONAL DIFFERENCES:
(#2) God’s relationship to humans – In Islam, Allah is a personal being (as in Christianity) who is understood and related to mainly as a transcendent “Sovereign Lord.” We Christians believe this, as well. But we also add that God is “immanent” – Jesus invites us to relate to Him intimately as our “Abba/Father/Daddy.”
(#3) How God speaks to humanity – Muslims believe that God spoke definitely and directly through Muhammad in the words of the Qur’an. We Christians, on the other hand, believe that when God wanted to speak a final, definitive word, it didn’t come through a prophet. Instead, we say that God Himself “became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). This is why the equivalent of the Qur’an in Christianity is not the Bible, but Jesus – for us, Jesus is God’s Word incarnate; for Muslims, God’s Word incarnate is the Qur’an itself.
(#4) The place and role of Jesus in faith – In Islam, Jesus is considered to be a great prophet of faith, but they deny that he was God’s son, that he died on a cross, or was resurrected. Of course, for Christians, these beliefs are at the core of our faith, as we believe these truths were affirmed and shared by eyewitnesses at the time of Jesus, rather than by a personal vision of one man (Muhammad) 500 years later.
ADDITIONAL SIMILARITIES (Please note that all of these -- plus commitment to prayer that was mentioned in my sermon – are mentioned in the Romans 12 scripture above):
(#2) Wholehearted submission to God – the Muslims that I know are deeply committed to following the will and ways of Allah in ways that often put us Christians to shame. In contrast to what often seems to be our tendency towards shallow, superficial faith, they are radically sold out to God. If more of us as Christians would capture that kind of wholehearted passion for God, it would transform the world with love.
(#3) The priority they place on generosity –Remember that Muslims are expected to give the zakat – 2.5% of their income each year to the needy, and most actually do that! What’s sad is that even though our Bible calls on us to give God at least a tithe (10%) of our income to God’s work, the latest data seems to show that we American Christians don’t even give as much as our Muslim friends – we only give a little more 2% . Perhaps we Christians can learn better generosity from their example.
I hope these insights will help you better understand your own faith and how it relates to that of our Muslim neighbors as we seek to find peace for our world through constructive dialogue. Remember, God loves you and I do, too!
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