Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

DO MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS WORSHIP THE SAME GOD?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

This question could be informed by the universalism view that all religions primarily worship the same God. This is best illustrated by the adage that all roads lead to Rome; an attestation of the universalism approach to understanding global religions. 

Universalism proponents argue that since it is logically given that there must be one eternal God, a supreme deity that created all things, religions in their diversities are merely attempts by human societies to relate with this one God in their specific cultural contexts. Each religion, according to universalism adherents, is therefore a culture specific expression and neither is superior nor inferior to the other. 

While this theory has received increasing attention in our postmodernist society, the biblical Scriptures refute its validity. 

Here's how...

The Bible recognizes that there is only one true God who is supreme over all creation and by whom all things in heaven and on earth exist (Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 24:1-2, 50:10). This, according to Christianity, is the God of Israel whose attributes are described in the Bible. Scripture attests to God's eternity (John 1:1; Rev. 1:8), immutability (Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17), preeminence (Exodus 20:4-6), omniscience (Jeremiah 17:9-10) and omnipotence (Colossians 1:15-18), among other divine attributes. 

According to the Christian faith, the God of Scripture has also revealed Himself in three divine persons that constitute the Holy Trinity. Islam rejects the trinitarian revelation of God. They also reject the divinity of Jesus Christ. 

This implies that a person subscribing to one of the two religions inescapably treats the other as false. This therefore excludes any possibility that another deity or religion can be contemplated outside each faith. 

Timothy Tennent observes the doctrinal distinction between the two major religions as thus:

"It is not as if the texts of the Qur’an and the Bible differ on minor points of eschatology or the precise nature of the soul. They differ on central doctrines of identity such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the doctrine of the incarnation, the redemptive power of the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. All of these doctrines are central to what we as Christians mean when we say, “We worship God.” For the Christian, the doctrine of God cannot possibly be separated from Christology." 

Islam is founded on the teaching of the Quran which proclaims that Muhammad is God's only prophet. This religion recognizes sections of the Old Testament Scripture as inspired. Islam however rejects the priesthood and prophetic mandate of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and men. It also rejects Jesus' incarnation and His redemption work. This is perhaps where the conceptions of God in Christianity and Islam are irreconcilable. 

Islam classifies Christianity as a pagan religion and Christianity on its part does not recognize Islam as a related faith in the same way that Judaism is! My view is that the two religions cannot be considered to worship one and the same God. Each has a distinct doctrine, text and eschatology. 

REFERENCE 

Timothy G Tennent: Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2022