Today’s
neighborhoods are diverse, and Christians often rub shoulders with
people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. To choose
relationship is, I believe, reflective of God’s nature.
Jesus told us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13–16).
When we interact with people whose beliefs differ from our own, we
become the salt with our friendship. Salt seasons and brightens, makes
better, and preserves. No matter what your friend believes, you can
serve, listen, and love.
Being forthright about your religious differences within
the context of your friendship is being light. In a world full of
darkness, it wouldn’t make much sense to keep 50 lights in one room
forever—just as it doesn’t make much sense to only pursue friendships
with other believers. Light does its job when it penetrates the
darkness, which means that doing our job as Christians means we need to
encounter others’ opposing views. Thankfully, disagreement doesn’t
inhibit our ability to befriend and love someone. But we need to
understand opposing views to love others well and best share truth. With
this in mind, there are distinct differences between Islam and
Christianity.
As a simple overview of a very complex issue, I offer
three areas in which the difference in Christian and Muslim beliefs is
defining. These ideas 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 in
Islamic beliefs. 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 hearts, and encourages us to enter
into 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 Muhammad. 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 Muhammad is actually
the superior prophet from God. He is the one considered to have
brought God’s final revelation. The Qur’an (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 is
spoken best with love, humility, and it need not raise its voice; it
speaks for itself.
Nancy Ortberg is a church leadership consultant and popular speaker. This article is adapted from one that first appeared in Today’s Christian Woman.
0 Comments