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Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?


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Okay, but that isn't necessarily true is it? God existed BEFORE Jesus, and he would still exist if there were no Jesus. Even according to the New Testament. BUT you can't have SALVATION without Jesus. Or did I totally screw that up?

 

Actually, the NT specifically states that Jesus was at Creation, and was the Word that spoke the world into existence. (John 1:1~ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning." And it goes on from there to verse 18.) So, it's not that God existed *before* Jesus, Jesus is God, and a part of God (the Son, in the Trinity) that separated Himself from the Trinity (physically) for a time to come and be the Final Sacrifice.

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That's what I thought, but when you get to where people are saying "Jesus IS God," is that also to say that you can't have God without Jesus?

 

But the NT indicates that all people have some knowledge of God. I can understand the belief that that knowledge is incomplete, but I don't see any NT basis for believing that all non-Christians are worshiping a different God.

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Okay, but that isn't necessarily true is it? God existed BEFORE Jesus, and he would still exist if there were no Jesus. Even according to the New Testament. BUT you can't have SALVATION without Jesus. Or did I totally screw that up?

 

Jesus has always existed. It was just 2000 years ago that He came to earth in fully human form - fully God, fully man.

 

ETA: Salvation is only through Jesus, but we will all meet Him at the time of our death, and all judgment is entirely up to HIm. So someone may have lived their life as a devout Muslim or Jew, or ... and can still be given the gift of eternal life. : )

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Okay, but that isn't necessarily true is it? God existed BEFORE Jesus, and he would still exist if there were no Jesus. Even according to the New Testament. BUT you can't have SALVATION without Jesus. Or did I totally screw that up?

 

No. Jesus was there as part of God from the beginning of time, as was the Holy Spirit. See Gen. 1:26-28 where it says "And God said, Let US make man in OUR image..." (caps added to indicate what I'm referring to). The "us" and "our" God refers to there are the different parts of Himself.

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Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the God of Abraham.

 

Whether or not they agree on how to describe, define, and/or worship Him is a different question.

 

Excellent answer.

 

I'm never quite sure why people ask questions like this. I always feel like they have a hidden (or not so hidden) agenda.

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Okay, but that isn't necessarily true is it? God existed BEFORE Jesus, and he would still exist if there were no Jesus. Even according to the New Testament. BUT you can't have SALVATION without Jesus. Or did I totally screw that up?

 

Actually, the Christian faith believes that Jesus always existed, with God and one with God from the beginning of time. He took human form and came to earth at a specific point in history, but He existed before and after that. The Trinity - God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit existed together. Genesis mentions the Spirit hovering over the waters, which suggests the Holy Spirit. And many believe that the person in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego was Jesus. Here's the quote from the story in the book of Daniel. Daniel 3:25

 

25He answered (King Nebuchadnezzar) and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

 

I agree. I really hope this conversation stays civil. I love learning from others and seeing their perspective.

 

 

ETA: Sorry. I didn't realize this question had already been answered multiple times. It took me awhile to form my answer. By the time I hit "post", the conversation was already well past me! Not trying to "beat a dead horse"! :D

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Okay, but that isn't necessarily true is it? God existed BEFORE Jesus, and he would still exist if there were no Jesus. Even according to the New Testament. BUT you can't have SALVATION without Jesus. Or did I totally screw that up?

 

Not to stir this pot more, but according to scripture, Jesus was there with God at the beginning. They are one and the same. Part of a whole.

 

Colossians 1:16-17

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

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But the NT indicates that all people have some knowledge of God. I can understand the belief that that knowledge is incomplete, but I don't see any NT basis for believing that all non-Christians are worshiping a different God.

 

"I am the way, the truth, and the life; No man cometh to the Father but by Me" -Jesus. This NT quote addresses that.

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I'm not sure the issue of whether Jesus did or didn't exist eternally (although I do think the traditional Christian answer, based on the creeds, would be that he did--the Nicene Creed describes Jesus as "eternally begotten of the Father") really has much to do with the issue of whether Muslims worship the same God.

 

Traditionally, Christians have believed that Jesus existed eternally but, as noted by others, that Jewish people worship the same God, and that the God worshiped in the OT--before people had knowledge of Jesus--is the same God they worship. I can understand saying that Muslims lack full knowledge of God (and I'd say they do, but I also believe that I as a Christian lack full knowledge of God, but I can understand somebody believing that Christians have a full knowledge of God but Muslims only a partial knowledge) but I'm not sure what the basis would be for saying that they worship an entirely different God, especially if somebody doesn't believe that Jewish people worship an entirely different God.

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How so?

 

Bill

 

In many ways! Again, only in my limited understanding--I do not claim to know it all.

 

The Christian God provided a way of atonement by sacrificing Jesus (God the Son). The way of salvation that He provided, because of His character, is based on grace, not works. (Good works come as a result of a deepening relationship with Him.)

 

Just one difference. I'm sure someone else can chime in with others :)

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I'm not sure the issue of whether Jesus did or didn't exist eternally (although I do think the traditional Christian answer, based on the creeds, would be that he did--the Nicene Creed describes Jesus as "eternally begotten of the Father") really has much to do with the issue of whether Muslims worship the same God.

 

Traditionally, Christians have believed that Jesus existed eternally but, as noted by others, that Jewish people worship the same God, and that the God worshiped in the OT--before people had knowledge of Jesus--is the same God they worship. I can understand saying that Muslims lack full knowledge of God (and I'd say they do, but I also believe that I as a Christian lack full knowledge of God, but I can understand somebody believing that Christians have a full knowledge of God but Muslims only a partial knowledge) but I'm not sure what the basis would be for saying that they worship an entirely different God, especially if somebody doesn't believe that Jewish people worship an entirely different God.

 

But, many do have the knowledge and actively reject it. That isn't the same thing. Islam pretty much teaches the same thing about Christianity, the real scriptures were revealed through Allah, and you must accept that form to enter paradise.

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Excellent answer.

 

I'm never quite sure why people ask questions like this. I always feel like they have a hidden (or not so hidden) agenda.

 

True, but don't discount genuine curiosity and desire to be informed. Some time ago a thread on part of SOTW came up and in it, I was able to ask a Muslim homeschool mom some of the harder questions I could not reconcile for myself. She was very gracious and the result was that I was able to let go of some harsh, generalized assumptions I'd been raised with. These were assumptions that I couldn't reconcile with the reality I saw and therefore had questions only someone in her position could answer. I agree these things can take an ugly undertone (or like you said, not so subtle ugly tone), but some good can come of it.

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But, many do have the knowledge and actively reject it. That isn't the same thing. Islam pretty much teaches the same thing about Christianity, the real scriptures were revealed through Allah, and you must accept that form to enter paradise.

 

Without getting into the question of salvation and who it is or isn't extended to, I'd say that there's a difference between worshiping God in a wrong or incomplete way or having a wrong or partial understanding of God, and worshiping a different God. Muslims don't believe that Christians worship a different God, and most Christians also don't believe that Muslims worship a different God. Each group might believe the other is doing it wrong, but they're wrongly worshiping the same God, if that makes sense.

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But the NT indicates that all people have some knowledge of God. I can understand the belief that that knowledge is incomplete, but I don't see any NT basis for believing that all non-Christians are worshiping a different God.

 

:iagree:God is exists separately from religion. He does not depend upon our understanding in order to exist. Religion and theology can come to many different opinions but the is our subjective view of Him, not His objective reality.

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To answer a previous poster the bible assures me that those who seek will find and that is consistent with God's expressed love for all and desire for those he loves. So I believe there is one God and those sincerely seeking God are praying/seeking the one God.

 

The God is indeed the God of Abraham, no question. The problem when you compare Christian teaching (actual teaching originally via revelation of Christ, not subsequent distortions) to Islam (actual original via revelation of Mohammad, not subsequent distortions) is that you have a very different set of teachings and representation of God.

 

I see the "whole" as different than the sincere people. In the course of all of humanity and throughout history far more are not exposed to Christianity directly than the number exposed. This doesn't even consider that those under Christian teaching may not be exposed to correct teaching. To limit a powerful and loving God to the small number humanity under Christian teaching, let alone correct Christian teaching, is something I won't do. Every knee shall bow...

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True, but don't discount genuine curiosity and desire to be informed. Some time ago a thread on part of SOTW came up and in it, I was able to ask a Muslim homeschool mom some of the harder questions I could not reconcile for myself. She was very gracious and the result was that I was able to let go of some harsh, generalized assumptions I'd been raised with. These were assumptions that I couldn't reconcile with the reality I saw and therefore had questions only someone in her position could answer. I agree these things can take an ugly undertone (or like you said, not so subtle ugly tone), but some good can come of it.

 

 

:iagree:

 

This is the ONLY place I am part of where these kinds of questions can be asked/answered. IRL, I don't know anyone I could ask.

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In many ways! Again, only in my limited understanding--I do not claim to know it all.

 

The Christian God provided a way of atonement by sacrificing Jesus (God the Son). The way of salvation that He provided, because of His character, is based on grace, not works. (Good works come as a result of a deepening relationship with Him.)

 

Just one difference. I'm sure someone else can chime in with others :)

 

But the reasons you give would also separate Jews equally as much as Muslims in their understanding of God and in issues of salvation. Why then say Christians and Jews worship the same God, but Muslim's do not? It seems the standards are inconsistent.

 

Bill

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To answer a previous poster the bible assures me that those who seek will find and that is consistent with God's expressed love for all and desire for those he loves. So I believe there is one God and those sincerely seeking God are praying/seeking the one God.

 

The God is indeed the God of Abraham, no question. The problem when you compare Christian teaching (actual teaching originally via revelation of Christ, not subsequent distortions) to Islam (actual original via revelation of Mohammad, not subsequent distortions) is that you have a very different set of teachings and representation of God.

 

I see the "whole" as different than the sincere people. In the course of all of humanity and throughout history far more are not exposed to Christianity directly than the number exposed. This doesn't even consider that those under Christian teaching may not be exposed to correct teaching. To limit a powerful and loving God to the small number humanity under Christian teaching, let alone correct Christian teaching, is something I won't do. Every knee shall bow...

 

:)

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To answer a previous poster the bible assures me that those who seek will find and that is consistent with God's expressed love for all and desire for those he loves. So I believe there is one God and those sincerely seeking God are praying/seeking the one God.

 

The God is indeed the God of Abraham, no question. The problem when you compare Christian teaching (actual teaching originally via revelation of Christ, not subsequent distortions) to Islam (actual original via revelation of Mohammad, not subsequent distortions) is that you have a very different set of teachings and representation of God.

 

I see the "whole" as different than the sincere people. In the course of all of humanity and throughout history far more are not exposed to Christianity directly than the number exposed. This doesn't even consider that those under Christian teaching may not be exposed to correct teaching. To limit a powerful and loving God to the small number humanity under Christian teaching, let alone correct Christian teaching, is something I won't do. Every knee shall bow...

 

Beautiful post.

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But the reasons you give would also separate Jews equally as much as Muslims in their understanding of God and in issues of salvation. Why then say Christians and Jews worship the same God, but Muslim's do not? It seems the standards are inconsistent.

 

Bill

 

Because, in short, our Scriptures include the OT and the NT, and clearly show us that we worship the same God.

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Because, in short, our Scriptures include the OT and the NT, and clearly show us that we worship the same God.

 

But Jews do not accept that Jesus is God, in fact they forthrightly reject such a claim. You may accept the Hebrew Scriptures but Jews do not accept the New Testament as scripture (and don't believe the Hebrew Bible is the "Old" Testament). They disagree that Jesus is the way to salvation.

 

In these ways Jews are not different than Muslims. And, in point of fact, Muslim's revere Jesus as a great prophet where Jews believe he was a criminal or worse. It strikes me as strange you insist Muslims worship a different God, yet claim the Jews worship the same God. I can't follow the logic that allows one, but not the other.

 

Bill

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But Jews do not accept that Jesus is God, in fact they forthrightly reject such a claim. You may accept the Hebrew Scriptures but Jews do not accept the New Testament as scripture (and don't believe the Hebrew Bible is the "Old" Testament). They disagree that Jesus is the way to salvation.

 

In these ways Jews are not different than Muslims. And, in point of fact, Muslim's revere Jesus as a great prophet where Jews believe he was a criminal or worse. It strikes me as strange you insist Muslims worship a different God, yet claim the Jews worship the same God. I can't follow the logic that allows one, but not the other.

 

Bill

 

I never said they did :)

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I guess I will bow out of this conversation. The topic really interested me, and I answered the OP from my point of view, never claiming to be an authority. Certain people seem intent on picking apart everything I say, and even making it appear as though I've said things I haven't. :glare:

 

I do hope the thread remains civil for others, because it's a great place to learn.

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In many ways! Again, only in my limited understanding--I do not claim to know it all.

 

The Christian God provided a way of atonement by sacrificing Jesus (God the Son). The way of salvation that He provided, because of His character, is based on grace, not works. (Good works come as a result of a deepening relationship with Him.)

 

Just one difference. I'm sure someone else can chime in with others :)

 

 

But these things do not define the entity that is the god itself. They are merely interpretations of its laws or its words or a manner in which one would/should worship it.

 

The OP asked if Muslims and Christians were worshipping the same ENTITY, not asking whether they believed they worshipped it similarly, or even if they had similar interpretations of what it is/was.

 

Someone else can have a very different set of laws, words and manners of worship, but still be worshipping the exact same entity that is the god in question.

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This has been so interesting to read! The kids and I were JUST listening to SOTW2 yesterday in the car and DD7 asked me if we worshiped the same "one true God".

 

Have to say, wasn't expecting to get into such deep territory so soon, but that is just one of the pleasures of homeschooling. This thread has given me a lot more to talk about with her!

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I never said they did :)

 

You articulated reasons why Muslims and Christians believe in different Gods. All the reasons you gave apply equally (or more) to Jews as they do to Muslims in distinguishing those religions from Christianity.

 

I do not understand your argument if you say one must believe Jesus is God to believe in the Christian God, and then claim that Jews do worship the Christian God (when they clearly do not believe in the divinity, or even basic goodness, of Jesus as a historical character, when Muslims view Jesus as a great prophet of God).

 

I am perplexed.

 

Bill

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Jews also reject the trinity. Yet many Evangelical Christians emphasize an important relationship between Jews and Christians. Certainly history has shown plenty of conflict between Jews and Christians, on the other hand.

 

Also not all Christians throughout time have believed in the trinity.

 

Individuals may not have, but it is and has been the official teaching of the church as a whole. The Nicene Creed (325 AD) was written to put into concise form what the church believed and the Trinity is part of this.

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I don't have time to read responses, so I have no idea what has said. I am Christian but have studied Islam extensively. They are not the same God in my opinion.

 

Christians believe in a triune God.

 

Muslims believe in a singular God.

 

So, I would say not the same God based on a fundamental difference in the view of the nature of God.

 

Obviously, the beliefs regarding what God requires for salvation are different as well. Christianity believing faith/grace alone. Muslims believing in keeping the five pillars of Islam. Again, fundamentally different.

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The Muslim faith began hundreds of years after Christianity, and denies a great deal of Christianity's most fundamental beliefs. One of the more notable examples is their denial that Jesus Christ was crucified.

 

It's reasonable to look at Christianity as the extension and fulfilment of Judaism, but it is not reasonable to look at the Muslim faith as the extension and fulfilment of Christianity. Christianity does not deny Judaism. The Muslim faith, however, denies Christianity.

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I don't have time to read responses, so I have no idea what has said. I am Christian but have studied Islam extensively. They are not the same God in my opinion.

 

Christians believe in a triune God.

 

Muslims believe in a singular God.

 

So, I would say not the same God based on a fundamental difference in the view of the nature of God.

 

Obviously, the beliefs regarding what God requires for salvation are different as well. Christianity believing faith/grace alone. Muslims believing in keeping the five pillars of Islam. Again, fundamentally different.

 

Then you would need to accept that Muslims and Jews (alike) believe in a different God than Christians do.

 

Bill

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:iagree:God is exists separately from religion. He does not depend upon our understanding in order to exist. Religion and theology can come to many different opinions but the is our subjective view of Him, not His objective reality.

 

:iagree: God also exists outside of human time constraints.

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This is probably not something I should ask, but I'm genuinely curious, because I don't get it: if you don't think Christians and Muslims worship the same God, what do you think Muslims are worshiping? A different God? A demon? Nothing?

 

I guess, as I said above, the way I see it, if there's an Ultimate Reality/higher power, then that's what sincere seekers are worshiping. (I'm not talking, for example, about a satanist who says they are worshiping Satan; obviously they aren't worshiping the same God that other religions are worshiping.) So I might not agree with the Hindu understanding of God, but I think they are attempting to know and access the same God (the one in whom we live and move and have our being, who is over all) that I am. I might even think they are totally wrong, but I'd have to think they are wrong in their understanding of the same deity that I am seeking to understand.

 

If we're monotheists, I guess I don't understand how we could think that sincere seekers aren't seeking after the same God. Again, that's not making a claim that all religions are the same or all equally right, but just that they are all seeking to understand the same thing, whether they are going about it the right way or not. If they aren't worshiping the same God, then what is the object of their worship?

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The Muslim faith began hundreds of years after Christianity, and denies a great deal of Christianity's most fundamental beliefs. One of the more notable examples is their denial that Jesus Christ was crucified.

 

It's reasonable to look at Christianity as the extension and fulfilment of Judaism, but it is not reasonable to look at the Muslim faith as the extension and fulfilment of Christianity. Christianity does not deny Judaism. The Muslim faith, however, denies Christianity.

 

It is not reasonable to Jews to see Christianity as an extension of Judaism. Nowhere in Judaism is there the concept of a divine man-god who is part of a multiple-parted god-head.

 

Judaism denies Christianity much (much) more than Islam does, although both are alike in denying the divinity of Jesus.

 

But if accepting that belief in Jesus as God is the standard for worshipping the same God, then both Jews and Muslims are alike in worshipping a different God than Christians.

 

Bill

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