Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Conflict between Islam and Christianity

Islam and Christianity, both lay claim to similar roots through the seed of Abraham of the Jewish faith found in the Old Testament. With such a shared heritage, one would expect the two faiths to have much in common, particularly world views pertaining to God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of the basic viewpoints of Christianity are in absolute conflict with those of Islam. Having contrasting teaching and understanding of God’s word, it is inevitable that the key decision-making motivators of each would be in conflict. Following is a brief outline of some of the most prevalent discrepancies between the two.

Islamic teachings center on the worship of one God, Allah. Contrary to Christianity, Muslims do not accept the concept of the Triune nature of that one God. Jesus, whom Christians recognize as God (part of the Trinity), is accepted by Muslims as a ‘good’ prophet, like Mohammed. This denial of Jesus’ divinity by Islam creates the major discrepancy between the two faiths.

Christian (as well as Jewish) teaching tells the reader that Adam sinned against God and could only be restored to God through Atonement. Additionally, Christian doctrine concludes that God sent His son, in human flesh, to die upon the cross to accomplish this Atonement of sins, thereby offering man restoration as an unearned gift. Islam counters that Adam was faultless in his walk before God; Jesus was only a man who did not suffer death on the cross, thus no Atonement was achieved, and that salvation is earned through deeds, not free as a gift.

Another major conflict in beliefs is found in the methodology of an individual’s conversion to the faith. Christianity teaches that each person must enter the faith of their own volition, as a voluntary action. Islam teaches that conversion to the faith must be imposed by forced upon individuals and/or communities.

Based upon today’s world standards, Christianity (in a diluted state) has the appearance of being more ‘tolerant’ of their surroundings. Tolerance, as a human trait, is generally a compromise in application of God’s word. Islam (in the most part) teaches very little tolerance, especially in areas that violate their understanding of God’s word as they understand it. The unfortunate thing about this is that mainline Muslims are in many ways more in line with the scriptural teachings of God on topics such as Homosexuality, Adultery, and Prayer than most ‘mainline’ Christian Churches.

Can Christians and Muslims become more unified in their beliefs and teachings? Can commonality be found in their worldviews? This is most likely not possible due to the large chasm between the two. As long as the two can not agree on; the fall of man, the atonement of sin through God (Jesus), and salvation as a gift as opposed to works, the basis for absolute values as truth in a worldview can not be achieved.

1 comment:

  1. This is excellent! Thanks for posting this!

    ReplyDelete