Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? It's not uncommon to hear appeals for inter-religious tolerance claiming that Christians and Muslims worship the same God in different ways. There's a spirited discussion going on between some Christian bloggers about whether this is the case.

Keep in mind that the question isn't "Are both Islam and Christianity equally valid ways to worship God?"—obviously, Christians don't believe that Islam correctly describes the relationship between God and humanity. So does that mean that Muslims are worshiping a false god? Or are they worshiping the one true God, but in an erroneous way?

Between Two Worlds has a nice roundup of the discussion. Here's the quote that sparked the debate; it's by Rick Love, a Christian who does evangelistic work among Muslims:

Christian and Muslim views of God are similar in that we both worship the one true God, creator of the heavens and the earth. We both believe this God will judge all peoples at the end of history. We both believe this God has sent His prophets into the world to guide His people. Christian and Muslim views of God differ primarily regarding the Fatherhood of God, the Trinity, and especially regarding the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I believe that Muslims worship the true God. But I also believe that their view of God falls short of His perfections and beauty as described in the Bible. Thus, I try to model my approach to Muslims after the apostle Paul who said to the Athenians: "What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23).

Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds disagrees; read the full blog post for his response to Love—among other things, Taylor points to Jesus' interactions with the Jewish religious leaders as evidence that the "we all worship the same God" claim doesn't fly. However, Jeremy Pierce of the Parableman blog has a post defending Love's views, arguing from a linguistic standpoint that Muslims are certainly worshiping the God of the Bible, albeit it in a false and errant way.

What do you think? Is this important, or is this a silly theological debate? Love's quote suggests that the answer to this question has a big impact on the ways that Christians go about sharing the Gospel with Muslims. What are your thoughts?

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Comments (25)

I haven't read the Koran for myself, so I can't say anything about Islam directly. Personally, although there are parallels with YHVH and Allah, I don't believe they are the same. The thing is, we Christians have to really think hard about our attitude to God, what attributes we ascribe to Him and how well we know the Bible even. Very often we don't worship YHVH. If we are saved though we can sort of take comfort in David's example. He was marred by a terrible sin, but he was still a man after (looking for I suppose you could say) God's own heart.

Probably, whatever a Christian accuses Islam of, there will be a church somewhere that is even worse in theology and practice than any group of honest muslims.

To add more into the mix, I know Adrian Plass has worked with Muslim charity workers and says when they die Jesus will stand before them and they'll say, 'oh, it's you!'
I have not been able to comment in awhile but I can tonight so here I go.

To some it's a silly theological debate, I may be one of those =), but I think many people, especially non-Christians can think YHVH & Allah are one and the same. I can't comment on the Islamic side because like John I have never read the Koran, but i would agree too that they are not the same.

I also have a very high respect for Muslims because they worship Allah with such passion that we as Christians can only dream of in regards to God. They read the Koran and pray daily, something most Christians (Bible & prayer) do maybe once a week. Could you imagine if we did?

"Probably, whatever a Christian accuses Islam of, there will be a church somewhere that is even worse in theology and practice than any group of honest muslims."- I agree very much John.

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I am currently have a discussion with a Muslim over Islam and Christianity. Any tips on how to convert him? This is a first time for me.
No they are not. Allah is a false god. Like any other pagan god. Similarities? Sure! There are plenty of so-called gods with similarities to ours. They are called forfeits.

The Muslim God and the Christian/Jewish God are two completely different beings. Their characters are completely different. Their method of doing things is completely different. Our God is a God of love and compassion and justice. There god is an impersonal tyrant.

Allah would NEVER become a man let alone die for his creation. My God did.

It is a serious discussion. Because that is akin to asking me if Satanist are worshiping the same god as we are.

My God is not Allah and the Muslims do not refer to my God as Allah. He is called YHVH (Yahweh to us english speakers or Jehovah). Their word for our God is very different (although I can't recall the specific word at the moment...I'll have to look it up again). There IS an Arabic word for our God and it is NOT Allah. I don't know what anyone would be thinking claiming linguistically its the same. Its not.


Now if the question were in regards to the Jews then yes...we serve the exact same God. (although they've rejected the Messiah). Their God is our God. In fact their God adopted us. Allah never adopted us.

Even if they are using the same name that doesn't mean much. There are plenty of people running around with the name "Matthew" (My name). In fact millions upon millions of them. And I can assure not every one of them lives up to its Christian roots.

A persons name is only part of their identity. Likewise with my God. He is more than a word. He is.
Before Islam was a "Monothesistic" religion, it was a pagan "Polytheistic" religion, consisting of over 160 gods. Mohammed essentially picked one out of the many and decided it would be the focus of worship. Allah which now means simply "god" was actually the name originally given to the moon god of Arabia. You might have noticed that cressant moon shape on several Islamic flags (e.g. Turkey) and icons. The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob did not originate from a group of pagan gods. How about studying your history a bit before posting such ridiculous comparisons
I always wondered where the crescent imagery came from. Very interesting.

How about... being polite? The comment about studying your history - though valid - could have been said in a more constructive way.

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)
I've seen this type of cloaked discussion turns many people away from their
focus on GOD, by trying to be "religiously tolerant" of all faiths. Heresy
was never meant to be embraced. You're comment about the Proverb is valid,
because truth is always truth.
Proverbs 28:23 (NIV) He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor
than he who has a flattering tongue.
Great topic. I'd like to dive into this issue more deeply. There's Muslims from East Africa in my community that I would love to minister to.

I don't know where I fall on this question. Islam is descended from Judaism and Christianity; my understanding is that Muslims would say that they have the "true way" to worship God, just as we say we do. I'm not trying to be relativistic here, either - I don't consider Mormonism to be valid, because it adds a new "revelation" to the canon of scripture, just as the Koran does.

I'd like to start by having a family over to eat and fellowship. Muslims traditionally accept Jews and Christians as "people of the Book"; is there a place for them in our worldview, as people of our book (let's start with the Pentateuch =).
First there is not enough time and space for this. I have spent time in Iraq and the middle east, and because of that I studied both the religion and the history. I have been told by several muslims that (Isa) Jesus is a prophet and was born of a virgin, but not the son of God. In the Jewish community Jesus was a good man, but not the messiah. Mohammed had visions and claimed to have been taken into heaven. They believe that they are also a part of Abraham and Issac, but that Ismel is the one Abraham was to kill on the rock and not Issac. What a difference in those aspects. I do know that in the Quaran (Koran) they are to convert as many as they can to Islam, but if they can not to smite them in the neck with a sword. Kind of a harse punishment for not believing wouldn't you say. They also mainly because of culture have divided on many things and one of the reasons you have the sunni and shia denominations if that is what you want to call them. Mohammad wanted two of his daughters to be Iman, but his brother in-laws because of culture refused as no woman should be in control over a man, thus the division in ranks. I don't know everything we need to know about Islam, but there are as in the Christian world many good people who only want others to see God as they do. In God's Grace John
I haven't read the Koran either, but do not feel that I need to. The reason we are called Christians is because of Jesus Christ. If muslims calmed that the way to God is through Jesus Christ I would look into it, they do not. In John 14:6 Jesus said" I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If anyone says that there is a way to God other than Jesus Christ the Son of God it is a lie! How many Christians have allowed theirself to be watered down by going along with others so we don't offend them. That is where I stand firm, on the Rock!
This is a really difficult questions. Time ago, I would have said 'of course muslims worship the same God we do, they worship the God of Abraham.' But now I think I have changed my mind. Yahweh, the one true God, revealed Himself to us through his word and through his Son, Jesus Christ. While Muslims do recognize the Bible as a holy book, they think it is corrupted. I have read the Koran - but even if I hadn't, I would know that it is not God's word. How can Muslims know the true God if they replace his word with a false scripture? And while they do claim Jesus to be a prophet, they deny who he really is. Jesus said, 'if you know me then you know the Father.' Well, Muslims do not really know Jesus, so how can they know the Father? For worship of God to be in spirit and in truth, it must be as God Himself revealed, or it is not true worship.

All that being said, I do not think this is an issue we should dwell on for too long. It could just end up leading to distraction, discrimination or stereotyping. Instead our focus should be on loving the people God puts in front of us and, if given the opportunity, telling them about Jesus Christ.
All that being said, I do not think this is an issue we should dwell on for too long. It could just end up leading to distraction, discrimination or stereotyping.


It's also helpful to understand where people are coming from and what they believe. How can we minister to Muslims if we don't understand them? Perhaps this isn't an issue where you live, but it is in my neighborhood.
I completely agree with you, that is why I have read the Koran, read the writings of Muslim philosophers, gone to see Muslim religious leaders speak, and asked lots of curious and respectful questions of my Muslim friends. I didn't mean that we shouldn't dwell on the issue of Islam for very long - we had better think about it a lot - what I meant was I don't think we should dwell too long on whether or not they worship the right God. Rather, lets get to know them, love them and try to lead them to Jesus.
AmyB,

Well said. To me, the issue of "whether we worship the same God" is less important than understanding them, treating them with respect, and showing them Jesus.

It's easy to conflate the two topics - apologies if I got OT.
Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
~1 John 2:22-23

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