Even as a born again Christian I had never considered the subject until I heard former president George W. Bush while being interviewed by former ABC News commentator Charles Gibson respond to the question, “Do we all worship the same God—Christian and Muslim?”
It was a puzzling question, but Bush seemingly had given it some thought. “I think we do,” Bush replied. “We all have different routes of getting to the Almighty…”
Considering his response, it is clear; many of us in America and abroad need to rethink our beliefs, and it’s a really good idea to make absolutely sure that the belief system we stake our eternal future upon—whether Christian, Jew, Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon (LDS), Jehovah’s Witness, Agnostic or Atheist—is the right one.
Everyone of the same mindset as president Bush would do well to reconsider the assertion that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and that, “We all have different routes of getting to the Almighty.”
Truth … and our faith in the right God will determine our eternal destination. In that regard, there are only two options: one is really good, while the other is … well, really not.
All of the world’s religions, of course, have specific beliefs concerning life after physical death; other contrasts will be offered as time and other factors allow. But for this article, we will focus on the two major religions addressed by Mr. Bush and Mr. Gibson—Islam and Christianity*.
*It must be noted here that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship, or as Jesus said, a friendship, between Himself and those who have placed saving faith in Him (John 15:15).
CONSIDERING THE CONTRAST
As we consider the contrast, we should ask ourselves this question: Is it possible for a sovereign God to contradict Himself? Consider the Scriptures:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NASB).
In time of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Even they will perish, but You endure;
All of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end. (Psalm102:25-27 NASB).
For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed (Malachi 3:6 NASB).
WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE SAY?
Considering these passages, the question remains: is it probable that God would change His story to accommodate a recently established religion?
We should understand that God has been God from eternity past, while Islam only began to emerge in 610 A.D., some 4,600 years after creation.
Nevertheless, let’s see if Islam and Christianity agree on the major issues.
| ISLAM SAYS… | CHRISTIANITY SAYS… |
|---|---|
| Allah is the one true God, the creator of the world, and the sustainer of all life. (From the Shahada: the Islamic declaration of faith and the first of the Five Pillars of Islam—the core beliefs of a Muslim.) | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it. (John 1:1-5) |
| The profession of faith, “There is no god but God.” (Shahada) | God exists in three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Trinity. (Ref. Matthew 28:19) There is no god who exists outside of the three Persons of the Trinity. |
| Muhammad is the Messenger of God. (Shahada) | Many other signs Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so you may believe Jesus is the Christ; the Messiah; the Messenger; the Savior; the life-giver; the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31) |
| The act of praying five times a day. (Salat: The practice of ritual prayer and the second of the Five Pillars of Islam.) | Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17) |
| Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a person’s lifetime. (Hajj: The fifth of the Five Pillars of Islam.) | There is no such New Testament directive concerning pilgrimages. However, exercising free will, more than two million Christians trek to Israel, the Holy Land, each year. |
| Allah is viewed as the sole God—creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. (Shahada) | Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. (2 Corinthians 4:4) |
| Salvation is achieved by following Islamic teachings and performing good deeds, essentially living a righteous life in accordance with Allāh’s laws. (From the Qur’an: The holy book of Islam, believed to be the literal word of Allāh revealed to the prophet Muhammad. It is the central religious text [gospel] of Islam.) | For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) |
| Muslims believe that Muhammad was a prophet who received revelations by God through the angel Gabriel. (Qur’an) | But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:8-9) |
Of course, there are many other contrasts showing that the god of Islam is at odds with our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ; the contradictions are stark. As pointed out earlier, a god who contradicts himself obviously cannot be God. Still, Islam teaches that Christians, Jews, and Muslims themselves, worship the same God.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Christians believe that Jesus is God, and since Muslims do not worship Him as such, the reasonable, logical, rational, conclusion is that Muslims do not worship the same God as Christians.
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).