Christianity and Islam

We come to the absolutely decisive and irreconcilable points of difference. Christianity and Islam have radically different views on the identity and the mission of Jesus, who He was and what He came to do. With the increasing number of atheists, there are many who still believe in a God and follow a false religion. So how can we have thoughtful conversations with those who deny Christianity? Welcome to Renewing Your Mind.

I'm Nathan W. Bingham. Increasingly, your neighbor or someone you go to school with or work with may call themselves a Muslim. How do you share the Gospel with a Muslim?

What exactly do they believe? Today, James Anderson joins us to clearly differentiate and contrast Christianity and Islam. What do we agree on?

What do we disagree on? Well, to begin an exploration of Islam over the next few days, here's Dr. Anderson. We want to understand Islam not simply on its own terms, but from a distinctly Christian perspective. And we want to critically evaluate it from a Christian perspective so that we can engage thoughtfully and fruitfully with Muslims and equip other Christians to do so. In this lecture, then, I want to turn to a direct comparison and contrast between the Christian faith and the Islamic faith. And I want to suggest that in order to properly understand the relationship between Christianity and Islam, we need to acknowledge both their major points of agreement and their major points of disagreement.

Now, this may seem very obvious to you. You may think, well, of course, if we're going to relate two things, then we need to understand on the one hand what they have in common and on the other hand where they differ. But the reason that I emphasize this seemingly obvious point is because there are many Christians who are focused on one side at the expense of the other. And there are two opposite errors that we need to avoid here. One error is to focus only on the points of agreement and to play down or ignore the significant points of disagreement.

The other error would be to focus only on the points of disagreement and to play down or ignore the significant points of agreement. If we're going to think responsibly about Islam as Christians, we need to consider both sides. So let's begin by reviewing some of the major points of agreement between Christianity and Islam.

And here I'm going to be focusing on mainstream Sunni Islam, the majority position. In the first place, both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions. Both affirm that there is one God, the all-powerful creator of the universe, who created the universe out of nothing and continually sustains it at every moment. Both affirm that this creator God is in absolute control of his creation and is directing history according to his sovereign purposes.

In fact, Islam has a very robust view of divine control and divine providence, holding that everything takes place according to the sovereign will of God. And so on these points, Christianity and Islam stand together against secular, atheistic and deistic worldviews and against Eastern pantheistic religions. Secondly, Christianity and Islam both affirm the reality of divine revelation. Both teach that God speaks and has spoken in history with authority. Both affirm that God has spoken through his appointed prophets and that the Word of God through these prophets has been recorded and preserved in divinely inspired scriptures.

Indeed, Islam acknowledges many of the same prophets as Christianity and some of the same scriptures, such as the Torah given through Moses. Thirdly, there's significant agreement between these two faiths on moral issues. Both affirm that morality isn't a human invention. Moral laws come from God.

They're commandments from God about how we should live our lives in a way that honors God and also promotes our own well-being and happiness. And there's even some agreement over the content of this moral law. Fourthly, despite the very different view of Jesus that Islam presents, there are still some points of agreement. Islam teaches that Jesus was sent by God and that he was a prophet.

We agree. Although we say, of course, that Jesus was so much more than a prophet. Islam also teaches, in accordance with the New Testament, that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he was without sin and that he performed miracles. Lastly, there are some areas of agreement about the future and the afterlife. Both Christianity and Islam teach that we have spirits or souls that are distinct from our bodies and that our souls continue to exist after our bodies have died and decayed.

And so both affirm that physical death is not the end of human existence. Furthermore, Islam joins Christianity in teaching that there will be a future day of resurrection and judgment and that there are two final destinations for mankind, heaven and hell. We can see then that there are some significant points of commonality between these two religious faiths.

What accounts for that? Well, from a Christian perspective, that is easy to answer. Everything that Islam gets right, it gets from Christianity. Historically and theologically, Islam can be understood as a kind of a Christian heresy. And every Christian heresy retains some truth, some element of a biblical worldview. But at the same time, every Christian heresy rejects or compromises some of the central teachings of orthodox Christianity, replacing them with human rationalizations and human superstitions.

And that is exactly what we see in the case of Islam. So let's now turn our attention to the other side of the coin, the points of disagreement. I'm going to outline what I take to be the major points of disagreement between Christianity and Islam.

And I'm going to do this under seven headings or seven topics on which there is major disagreement. Let's start with the topic of revelation. How do Christianity and Islam differ on the question of divine revelation? Both Christianity and Islam claim to be revealed religions. Both hold to the idea of divine verbal revelation and they locate their authority in that verbal revelation.

However, the two faiths take very different positions on the nature and the content of that revelation. According to orthodox Christianity, God has revealed to us both His character and His will. He has told us not just what He requires, but who He is and what He is like. In contrast, the traditional Islamic view is that God has revealed only His will. God does not reveal Himself in any personal way. You cannot truly know God's character or what God is really like.

You can only know what He demands of you. While both religions affirm that there are divinely inspired scriptures, again, there is a sharp division between them. Christianity teaches that the Bible alone is the written Word of God. The Bible alone is infallible, inerrant and authoritative. And so the Qur'an has to be a merely human book and therefore it's a mixture of truth and falsehood, of good and bad. Islam acknowledges that some parts of the Bible were originally given from God, namely the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. However, Muslims have to say that those earlier scriptures have been corrupted and are now unreliable sources of revelation. In contrast, Islam teaches that the Qur'an is divinely given and uncorrupted.

And so the Qur'an is the only infallible, inerrant and authoritative divine revelation today. Let's turn to a second topic, God, differences in the view of God. Christianity affirms that God is both transcendent and immanent. God stands above His creation in every respect and He is completely distinct from His creation, but He is also intimately and personally involved within His creation.

Specifically, Christianity teaches that God has voluntarily condescended to relate to human beings by way of His covenants, through which He blesses us with His presence among us. And that divine presence, of course, is manifested most powerfully in the incarnation of God the Son, Emmanuel, God with us. In contrast, traditional Islam affirms that God is utterly transcendent and not immanent.

Islam teaches that God is omnipresent, of course, but there's nothing like the biblical view of divine imminence, of intimate divine presence with His people. One distinctive teaching of Christianity, of course, is that God is a Trinity. There is one God who exists in three distinct persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are one in substance, equal in power and glory. In contrast, Islam insists emphatically that God is not a Trinity. God is a pure, indivisible unity.

Remember that doctrine of tawhid, absolute oneness. There's one further point of disagreement I want to highlight under this heading, because it has implications for the doctrine of salvation. On the Christian view, God's justice is an expression of His character. And that means that arbitrary forgiveness is impossible. God cannot simply will to forgive or overlook sin without satisfying His justice, His just character. On the traditional Islamic view, however, God's justice is purely an expression of His will, which means that arbitrary forgiveness is possible. Allah can simply choose to overlook sin and nothing more is needed. Justice is nothing more than what Allah wills.

There's no deeper connection with His nature or character. The third topic, mankind, humanity. Christianity, again, has a very distinctive anthropology that is a doctrine of man, of mankind.

And it differs from Islam on several points. Christianity affirms that human beings are made in the image of God and that God relates to us in a personal way, primarily by way of covenants. And it affirms that our highest purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

That's what we are made for. What is more, that highest end, that chief end, necessarily involves an intimate knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Think, for example, of John 17, verse 3.

This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Islam, on the other hand, does not teach that we are created in the image of God. That idea is completely absent from the Qur'an and from Islamic tradition.

Why is that? Well, it's because the Qur'an insists that God is utterly unlike any of His creatures. It's that absolute transcendence. Likewise, Islam puts no emphasis on God relating to us by way of covenants. What about our highest purpose? What would be the Islamic view? Well, Islam teaches that our highest purpose is simply Islam.

Submission. Our highest purpose is to submit to the will of God. But that does not involve knowing God. Topic number four, Jesus Christ. What are the differences in the view of Jesus?

Well, here, of course, we come to the absolutely decisive and irreconcilable points of difference. Christianity and Islam have radically different views on the identity and the mission of Jesus. Who He was and what He came to do. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became incarnate for us and for our salvation. He willingly suffered and died on a cross to atone for our sins and then rose again victorious from the dead.

And His mission was to glorify His Father by redeeming a people chosen by God. The Qur'an, in contrast, teaches that Jesus was merely a human prophet. And implies that it is blasphemous to call Him the Son of God. The Qur'an also denies explicitly that Jesus was crucified.

And thus implies that He did not make atonement for our sins and He did not rise again from the dead. Topic number five, Muhammad. What are the different views of Muhammad between Christians and Muslims? Well, just as there is fundamental disagreement about Jesus, so there is a fundamental disagreement about the identity and the significance of Muhammad. The Christian view, I would say, is that Muhammad was not a true prophet or messenger from God.

He could not have been. While he may have had some admirable qualities, he was far from sinless and certainly his behavior fell far short of Biblical moral standards. In contrast, Islam teaches that Muhammad was a true prophet and messenger of God.

Indeed, he was the seal of the prophets, the last in the line of prophets. Furthermore, Islam maintains that Muhammad was without sin and thus he can serve as a perfect model, a perfect example for believers. Remember, that is the very basis for the Sunnah. Topic number six, sin. Different views of sin.

Again, here we see some very clear points of divergence. Christianity affirms that God himself has a holy hatred of human sin. When we sin, our sin is primarily against God. Just think of what David says in Psalm 51.

Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Islam, however, seems to take the view that God is unaffected by human sin. Sin is simply whatever brings harm to ourselves and to others.

There's a striking difference in the way that the Qur'an recounts the story of the fall of Adam. When Adam and Eve sin, they eat of the forbidden fruit, we're told that they reply to God, our Lord, we have wronged our souls. If you do not forgive us and have mercy, we shall be lost. We have wronged our souls, not we have sinned against you, but we've harmed ourselves. Christianity, of course, has a very robust doctrine of original sin. Adam's sin brought the entire human race into corruption and under condemnation. It brought death and suffering into the world and a curse upon the whole creation. And as a consequence, we are all born in bondage to sin and we're unable to do any good apart from divine grace.

And that means, of course, that we can do nothing, absolutely nothing whatsoever to save ourselves. Our sins can be dealt with only through the substitutionary atonement of Christ and the inner supernatural renewal of the Holy Spirit. On the Islamic view, Adam's sin didn't have any deep effect on us other than simply setting a bad example.

Adam's sin didn't affect the creation. Death and suffering have always been present in the world. And we all have natural weaknesses, but even then we are still able to do both good and evil. So we can do something to get ourselves into paradise. We can do good deeds to cancel out, to outweigh our bad deeds. And any residual sin can simply be forgiven by Allah without any need for atonement. The last topic is that of salvation.

Salvation. If you have a different doctrine of sin, then of course you will end up with a different doctrine of salvation. The Bible proclaims that God's love towards sinners is unconditional and wholly gracious. Whereas the Qur'an implies that God's love is conditional upon faith and good deeds.

Allah loves those who love Him. Christianity teaches that salvation is a gracious gift of God, received by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. And what is more, salvation requires a radical, supernatural change.

What we call regeneration, being born again by the Holy Spirit. And then that internal work of God, that gracious work of God, produces good works. Good works are the gracious fruit of salvation. They're not the meritorious basis of salvation. All of this means that believers, according to the Bible, can have a firm assurance of salvation. We can know that we are saved because we are justified by faith alone. Islam, however, teaches that paradise is the reward for those who submit to God.

And also by implication, who submit to Muhammad, the messenger of God. Salvation is attained through faith and good works, with some allowance for divine mercy. Salvation, on the Islamic view, doesn't require a radical, supernatural, internal, spiritual change. In our natural state, we are able to do good works that merit salvation. But since it's ultimately up to us to do these works, Muslims can have no assurance of salvation.

There's no guarantee that you'll make it in the end. I want to draw one more point of contrast between Christianity and Islam, regarding how God relates to believers. How do these two faiths understand our relationship with God? How do we as Christians understand our relationship with God? Well, God relates to us primarily as a loving, heavenly Father. We are His sons.

That idea is utterly foreign to Islam. According to Islam, God relates to believers primarily as a sovereign, heavenly Master. Not a loving, heavenly Father, but a sovereign, heavenly Master. We are simply His servants. We should think of ourselves as slaves or servants of Allah rather than sons of Allah. That would be, in fact, blasphemous to claim that. Well, in light of that final point of contrast, let me encourage you to reflect afresh on these words from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians. This is Galatians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7.

And just think now of the significance of these words. Because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. What a precious, precious promise that is. See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are.

That is an incredible promise. And we should desire to share this good news with Muslims and all those who don't know of the saving work of Christ for sinners. You're listening to Renewing Your Mind, and that was James Anderson from his Exploring Islam series. This ten-part series is helpful for any Christian wanting to know more about this false and growing religion. But it's also designed to help those studying apologetics in their homeschool or church small group. You can request this DVD set for your gift of any amount at renewingyourmind.org. You'll learn more about Islam, Muhammad, the Qur'an, and also how to share the Gospel with Muslims. When you give your donation at renewingyourmind.org or by calling us at 800 435 4343, you'll also receive digital access to the series and the study guide. This offer ends on Wednesday, so don't delay. When sharing the Gospel with Muslims, there are common objections that you may hear. Tomorrow, James Anderson joins us to equip you with answers to those objections here on Renewing Your Mind. .