Christianity vs. Islam: An Ideological Difference

We hear frequent references to Islam today, and yet many of us wonder about the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam. Do they worship the same God? Do they advocate violence?

Understanding Islam and Christian theology is extremely important because divisions among each of the religions is prominent. We must know where there is and isn’t dissension — and whether we’re considering mainline or extremist adherence.

“Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.”

The word Islam, which means submission, grew out of a belief that Allah — a monad — existed and that man’s purpose in life is to worship him. Allah instructed men how to worship him by sending prophets like Moses, Solomon, David, and Jesus. These prophets were not gods — they were men who taught others how to worship Allah. But people failed to live according to the prophets’ teachings, so Allah sent one final prophet: Muhammad.

He gave Muhammad the Quran through divine inspiration and it became the holy teachings. These teachings enlightened men on how to gain an abundant life and garner salvation. Muhammad taught that anyone who refused to follow him and the Quran were misled and that Islam was the one true religion.

Islam teaches that there will be a day of judgment in which each man and woman will be held accountable for their sins. Allah can be merciful and forgive sins, but no one can intercede for other people: Each believer must earn his salvation and acceptance into heaven. The only way to do this and gain favor with Allah is through following Sharia. When believers learn what to believe — aqeeda — and then how to live — Sharia — they will please Allah. Doing these requires them to follow the Five Pillars of Faith: proclaim the Shahada; pray five daily prayers; fast during Ramadan; give alms; and make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Related: A Plea to My Fellow Christians

Christianity teaches that Yahweh created the universe and always existed as a triune God — He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three parts of Yahweh are equal and share love for one another equally. God created men and women in His image for the purpose of giving and receiving love from them.

He didn’t want to force people to love him, so God gave men free will, allowing them to choose to love or reject Him. God gave men guidelines — the Ten Commandments — to follow in order to make life go well, but man couldn’t keep them. He sent prophets — Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others to show people the way to follow and love God, but men failed.

They repeatedly sinned and God wanted to save men from the ravages of their sin. He wanted to restore them to Himself and give them eternal life in heaven. God saw men so steeped in darkness that He knew men required more than simply doing good things to earn back His favor — they needed a miracle.

The miracle God gave was Himself — Jesus. He saw that sin had destroyed men and that the only way to give men full, abundant life and to bring them back to Himself and live with Him in eternity required far more than a man could give. So God took the problem on Himself. The triune God came to earth in the form of a man and took death on His shoulders. He died the death man was supposed to die and thereby absolved men of their sins. On Judgment Day, men would be sin-free because He paid the price for sin.

Related: ‘Islamapalooza’ Arrives at Florida University

We see that Muslims and Christians worship very different Gods. Allah is a monad and Yahweh is triune. Allah gave his people the prophet Muhammad and the Quran, instructing them to follow Sharia in order to please Allah. Yahweh saw men going in the wrong direction and brought them back by giving them Himself in the form of Jesus. So while Muslims and Christians appear to worship the same God before Muhammad and Jesus came, upon closer look we clearly see that Allah and Yahweh are very different.

The goal of religious life for both Christians and Muslims is similar in these ways: Each worships a God they love; each believes that following God’s ways is important; each believes that they should live counter to harmful ways of their culture around them; and each believes that obeying the tenets of their faith regarding honoring family, caring for other believers of their faith, and praying are important to a strong spiritual life.

They differ dramatically, however, regarding how to get to heaven. Muslims are taught they can get there only by following Sharia and Christians learn that only having faith in Christ can get them there. Also, Muhammad taught in the Quran that those who do not worship Allah are misled and wrong.

“Fighting in jihad was so good in Muhammad’s eyes that there was nothing equal to it in this world.”

As such, they did not adhere to Sharia, remained sinful, and therefore did not worship Allah. He taught that this was offensive and that sin should be eradicated. Muslim and Christian scholar Nabeel Qureshi writes in “No God but One” that “Fighting in jihad was so good in Muhammad’s eyes that there was nothing equal to it in this world. When a man asked if there was any deed in this world equal to jihad, Muhammad responded, ‘I know of no such deed.'”

Jesus, the Christian God, abhors violence, even when a believer’s faith is criticized. He proclaimed that the two greatest teachings were, “Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” When his disciple Peter cut off the ear of one of Jesus’ accusers, Jesus reprimanded Peter. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus resists violence — even unto his own death.

The issue of Islam or Christianity condoning violence is confusing for many. Fundamentally, if one looks at the character and teachings of the religious leaders, the answer is revealed. Muhammad advocated for ridding the world of sin by fighting infidels who are seen as offensive to Allah.

Jesus, on the other hand, never advocated violence against nonbelievers — but insisted on giving grace instead.

Grace, after all, is the defining word of Christianity.

Dr. Meg Meeker has practiced pediatrics and adolescent medicine for 30 years. She is the author of the online course, “The 12 Principles of Raising Great Kids,” which is part of The Strong Parent Project. Much of the above information is drawn from the book “No God but One,” by Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, a Muslim and Christian scholar.