Diplomacy Not Theology

Last week, President Bush said in an interview with Al Arabiya television that he believes all the world prays to the same God — promoting the doctrine of universalism.

“I believe there is a universal God.  I believe the God that the Muslim prays to is the same God that I pray to.  After all we all came from Abraham.  I believe in that universality.”

Wrong!  There is a God of the universe but not a universal God.  There are many religions that do not recognize, much less worship, the One true God…Animism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto to name a few.  So what about the President’s belief that Christians and Muslims all worship the same God.

Let us compare Islam with Christianity as recorded in the “Apologetics Study Bible” — Holman Bible Publishers 2007 edition.

Doctrine of God

Islam:  No God but Allah; a unitarian monotheistic faith which sees Allah as determining every specific event that happens in the world.  Allah is virtually co-terminous with his world, part of which is found in the Koran.

Christian:  Monotheistic, trinitarian belief; Father, Son and Spirit are equal and eternal and sovereign over all; God is love and is also holy; He is both transcendent and immanent, but is never dependant upon the world; His true nature is most easily seen in the Person of His incarnate Son, Jesus.

Human Predicament

Islam:  Humans are finite in contrast to the infinite sovereignty of Allah;  they are foolish and need instruction, which comes from the Koran; they are also sinners, such sin being especially seen in violations of Muslim taboos or prohibited behavior and failure to do the will of Allah perfectly.

Christian:  In their natural condition, humans are dead in trespasses and sins; they require a specific work of the Holy Spirit to rescue them; they cannot be saved by their own goodness and efforts.

Way of Deliverance

Islam:  Embrace the Five Pillars (daily recitation of creed, prayer, giving alms, pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting during Ramadan); complete and utter devotion to Allah; final salvation is reserved only for the most diligent of Muslims.

Christian:  Receive the gift of God’s grace by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, which He purchased with His shed blood; this initial experience of justification is followed by a life of fellowship with other Christians and faithfulness to the Lord.

Ultimate Goal

Islam:  Future resurrection of the righteous unto eternal bliss in a heavenly Paradise; all of the physical pleasures that one may not have access to in this life will be available in Paradise; infidels spend eternity in a most torturous hell.

Christian:  Immediate entering into the spiritual presence of God at death for believers; future resurrection of the body at the Second Advent of Christ; new heavens and new earth in an eternal realm of peace and righteousness for believers; eternal punishment in hell for the finally impenitent

Not only do Muslims not believe Jesus is the Son of God, they don’t believe atonement for sin is necessary.