My
initial answer to the question at the top of this blog is yes.
Allah is simply the Arabic word for God.
When Arab Christians and Jews pray to God use the word Allah for God.
However, when I hear some people describe the God I pray to, I sometimes
wonder what God they are talking about because the God they are describing has
no resemblance to the God I worship. Therefore
it is important to give content to the word “God”.
What is this God like, what is your conception of him?
I recently came across the following article written by Nancy Ortberg
which you may find helpful as you wrestle this question.
“My
Muslim friend thinks we worship the same God. How should I respond?
Nancy
Ortberg writes:
“I
want to begin with a short reflection on the phrase contained in this question:
"My Muslim friend." Good for you!
When
I grew up, that wouldn't have been a common premise for a question about sharing
one's faith. But today's neighborhoods are much more diverse, and Christians
often rub shoulders with people from different religious and cultural
backgrounds. To make this choice for relationship is, I believe, reflective of
God's nature.
Jesus
told us to be salt and light in the world (Matthew
5:13-16).
In this situation, the salt part of the equation is your friendship. Salt
seasons and brightens, makes better, and preserves. No matter what your friend
believes, you can love her with the kind of love that isn't worried about who's
right and who's wrong, but is concerned with how you serve, listen, and
befriend.
Being
forthright about your religious differences within the context of your
friendship is being light. Light penetrates the darkness. And while you
can be friends with someone and still disagree, there are distinct
differences between Islam and Christianity.
As
a simple overview to a very complex issue, I offer three areas in which the
difference in Christian and Muslim beliefs is defining. These areas may be a
starting point for conversations with your friend.
First,
in Islam, Allah (God) is utterly unknowable. To think in terms of a God who can
be known and who desires a relationship with his creatures is actually
considered blasphemous. He is a distant God who is to be feared. In place of
relationship, there is only submission. Allah only reveals his will, not
himself, hence the Muslim practice of ritual prayers. These memorized prayers
are offered five times a day to appease a transcendent force with no personal
interest in his creatures.
Contrast
that with the God of the Bible, who reveals himself, knocks at the door of our
heart, and encourages us to enter in to an ever-increasing relationship with
him. He calls us his "friends" (John
15:15).
Second,
Islam requires a strict adherence to good works as the means to reach heaven. At
birth people are considered sinless with unlimited spiritual potential if they
faithfully adhere to the teachings of Allah, as reflected through the words of
the prophet Mohammed. It’s good works that open the doors to one of the seven
different levels of heaven. But there's no advocate to intercede with Allah when
one falls short of the level of good works required.
In
Christianity, it's only through the blood of Jesus Christ that we are in
relationship with God and given the promise of eternal life. Good works spring
out of that gift of relationship with God through Jesus; they aren't the means
to the relationship.
Third,
while Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, it rejects his divinity, and claims
that Mohammed is actually the superior prophet from God. He is the one
considered to have brought God's final revelation. The Koran (3:59-60) says that
Jesus was, like Adam, created from dust.
Contrast
that with Jesus' own claim that he is the only way to God (John
14:6),
and that he and God the Father are one (John
10:30).
Jesus' divinity and reflection as the final revelation of God are central to
what it means to follow him.
You're
off to a great start simply by embracing a relationship with your Muslim friend.
Now add light to that friendship—listen and engage in conversation around
truth. Be sure to breathe prayers to God about your conversations, and remember,
truth doesn't need to raise its voice; it speaks for itself.
Nancy
Ortberg is a church leadership consultant and popular speaker. Formerly a
teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, she now lives in California
with her husband, John.
For
more:
follow on Twitter @jefflampl
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