Tag Archives: Allah

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February 10, 2016

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Christianity, God, Islam, Salvation

Does God accept to Himself a Muslim’s sincere worship of Allah?

C.S. Lewis was an excellent author and noteworthy Christian thinker. The recent big screen success of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader have brought a few of his works to popular attention. The Chronicles of Narnia is a seven book series that tells the adventures of the Pevensies children and their relatives in the land of Narnia. The last book of the series tells of the overthrow of Narnia by their enemies the Calormenes. The Calormenes are a warlike people who worship the vulture headed, winged god Tash. The Narnians worship the true god and creator of their world, Aslan. C.S. Lewis very intentionally uses his work to depict some of the great doctrines of Christianity. Aslan is an unmistakeable picture of Jesus. Aslan’s death on the stone table in place of Edmund retells the death of Jesus on the cross for mankind. Likewise, Lewis includes other obvious imagery. The Calormenes are a very Turkish people obviously intended to bear strong resemblance to the Muslim countries.

In The Last Battle a sincere young Calormene soldier who devoutly worships Tash comes face to face with Aslan. The soldier is terrified because he has served Aslan’s enemy all his life and he now expects to be slain by Aslan. The Lion does not kill the young man but tells him something very surprising. All the good and sincere worship that was heaped upon Tash was accepted by Aslan as given to himself. Because Tash and Aslan are complete opposites, all evil done in Aslan’s name is actually done for Tash. All good done in Tash’s name is actually done for Aslan. Though the worshiper was mistaken in the object of his worship Aslan received all good as done for him.

The theological point Lewis appears to be making is that all those who worship in goodness and sincerity will be received by God. Though they think their worship is to a different god, the true God will accept all honorable and devout worship. This argument is still being made today. Some of those who say Allah and God are the same mean to say that it doesn’t matter what you call your god. If you are sincere in your attempts to do good and serve your god, then the true God will accept your worship. Is this true? Does God accept all sincere worship as if it was done for Him?

Recently I answered the assertion that Allah and God are really the same god. In March of last year I addressed why sincere worship is not by itself acceptable to God. God does not accept well intentioned but misplaced worship, because He accepts none apart from Jesus. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) Only Jesus has done that which is acceptable to God. God does not accept any man because of sincerity or goodness. God does not accept any worship apart from Jesus. God only accepts those who have been made righteous in Jesus.

The apostle Paul confronted the Athenians for their sincere but wrong worship. Acts 17 shows that they were deeply religious. They were so careful in their worship they built a statue to the unknown god in case they accidentally overlooked the worship of a god. Paul came to Athens and taught them of the the god they did not know. He did not comfort them that God accepted their sincere worship. He told them who is the true God and instructed them to repent of their wrong worship because God would judge them. Their well intentioned worship was not acceptable to God. In fact, their rejection of the gospel showed they were not seeking to truly worship God. Their worship of another god was rebellion against God. They did not want to worship the true God. So it is with all who worship another god. Their worship is not acceptable to God because it is in fact rebellion against Him. Only those who have trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of sin are redeemed by His blood and are accepted of God.

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December 30, 2015

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Current Events, God, Islam

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

The political turmoil in the world has brought to the forefront many questions about Islam. Some of these questions stem from curiosity about the beliefs of Muslims. Some of these questions stem from declarations made on the news or other pundits. One particular declaration demands careful consideration. A few weeks ago Pope Francis weighed in and repeated the common assertion that Allah is really the same as Jehovah. Is this claim true? Is the God of Quran the same as the God of the Bible?

Certainly Allah and Jehovah have much in common. They are both creator gods who rule supreme over all creation. They are both almighty, compassionate and just. They both offer eternal bliss to those who worship them. Neither shares worship with other gods, but declares himself to be the only true God. Even their common names seem to hint that these gods may be one and the same. In the Old Testament, God is identified as El and Elohim. Both words are generic Hebrew names for deities. The name Allah is rooted in the generic Arabic word for a deity. The similarity between the two terms even carries across in their English transliterations. Many have used these linguistic similarities to argue that El and Allah are just different names for the same God.

On the surface, these sound like reasonable arguments. With a little bit deeper digging it soon becomes evident that, despite some similiarities, the God of Christianity and the God of Islam are nothing alike. Consider three major differences. Allah is a single God, no deities are equal with him and his person is single. Jehovah is a triune God. No deities are equal with him and His person is triune. The Quran distinctly teaches that Allah has no parts, nor persons. The Bible distinctly teaches that Jehovah is one God who consists of three persons. Allah is not a Triune God, Jehovah is. Closely related to the first difference is the difference in their relationship to Jesus. Allah has no Son and none are equal with him. Jesus is not the Son of Allah. Jesus is not Allah made flesh. Jehovah has a Son who is fully God. Jesus is God made flesh, the second person of the Trinity. Jehovah is Jesus. Jesus is not Allah, Jesus is Jehovah. A third example is that of the grace of god. Allah saves according to his grace. His salvation is given to those who earned his grace by their submission to him. Allah’s grace is granted to those who deserve it. Jehovah saves according to His grace. His grace is given to those who do not try to earn it. The Bible presents God’s grace as something that cannot be merited. As Paul says in Romans 11:6, if grace is earned it is not grace. Though many similarities exist between Allah and Jehovah, even a brief comparison reveals the differences make it impossible for the two gods to be the same.

Consider someone who claims to have met your wife. As he talks about her he has some basic details correct. She is female, lives in your house, cooks meals for the family and likes to watch TV with you. As the conversation continues it becomes apparent that the other also believes your wife to be an 8 foot tall, green skinned ogress who rips the heads off small dogs. If you were protest that your wife is not actually a violent, green monster it would be ludicrous for the speaker to insist you are both talking about the same person. The similarities between the character being spoken of and the actual spouse in question do not outweigh the monumental differences. Though there are many similarities between Jehovah and Allah, the monumental differences render it impossible for them to be the same. Only one conclusion is possible, Christians and Muslims worship very different Gods.

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May 14, 2015

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Heaven, Salvation

Will those who worship Allah go to heaven?

Recent statistics show there are over 1.5 billion Muslims and approximately 1 billion Hindus in the world. Besides the two and a half billion people of the world’s second and third largest religions, there are hundreds of millions of other people who worship deities other than the God of the Bible. Many of these worshipers are devoted and serious about their religion. Many are good people who treat others with respect, contribute to their society and sincerely worship the god of their culture and heritage. Do Christians really believe these good, sincere people will be sent to hell because they don’t worship God the same as western Christians? Does the Bible teach sincere worshipers of other gods will go to hell?

These kinds of questions strike a chord deep in hearts. For good people to go to hell for not worshiping the right way or for not calling God by the right name seems patently unfair. The assumption of divine unfairness towards sincere worshipers of other religions reveals wrong ideas about salvation, heaven and hell. The question reveals a belief that one gets to heaven by worship, devotion, good behavior and sincerity.

The Biblical explanation of who goes to heaven has nothing to do with sincerity, goodness or practicing the proper religious rituals. The Bible gives specific examples of sincere, religious men who worshiped and did good but who were nonetheless condemned. Nicodemus was a good man who had great respect for Jesus and who sincerely worshiped God. Jesus told Nicodemus he was lacking something very important and could not enter heaven without it. In the book of Titus, we are told that salvation is “not by works of righteousness which we have done.” (Titus 3:5)

What Nicodemus lacked is what every man needs. Jesus said, “”Except a man be born again can, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Only those who are born again by believing Jesus is God the Son and their personal Savior will enter into heaven. Going to heaven is not a matter of sincere worship. Going to heaven is a matter of turning to Jesus for forgiveness and trusting only in Him to remove one’s guilt and its consequences. The issue is not an issue of devotion or sincerity. The issue is a matter of reliance.

Those who sincerely worship Allah have no more chance of entering heaven by their devotion than those who sincerely worship Jesus have by their faithful church attendance. Those who worship Allah cannot go to heaven until they acknowledge Jesus is God and Savior and ask Him to forgive their sin. Those who worship Vishnu cannot go to heaven until they acknowledge Jesus is the only God and Savior and trust Him alone to forgive their sin. Those who worship their ancestors cannot go to heaven until they acknowledge Jesus alone is God and is the only one able to wash away the stain of sin. Those who worship Jesus cannot go to heaven until they acknowledge He is God and Savior and rely only on Him for forgiveness of sin. Worship (in the sense of religious ritual and devotion) is never a means to salvation, no matter who is being worshiped.