Is Allah a different God?

[Paidion]

Correct, Emily—except even the name is the same. "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God". When an Arabic-speaking Muslim becomes a Christian, he still prays to "Allah", for that is the word for "God" in Arabic.

[psimmond]

After reading through this thread, the reply I found most humorous was...

If you worshiped yourself as God, who do you pray to after you become born again?

Your wife?

I've been thinking about what dseusy said:

I believe the god of Islam is a different god than the God of the Bible. As I understand, we either worship our Father God or our father Satan.

"'You are doing the deeds of your father.' They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.' Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father" John 8:41-44a

Just because three religious groups claim to worship one creating god doesn't mean they worship the same god, imo.

Here Jesus tells the unbelieving Jews (who claim to worship the one, true God) that they worship Satan. If the unbelieving Jews worship Satan (unknowingly) I am fully convinced that the unbelieving adherents to Islam also worship Satan (unknowingly).

I wonder if it's correct to say the unbelieving Jews were "worshiping" Satan; Jesus just said Satan was their Father, not that they worshiped him. Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but it seems to me we can worship the one true God, but the one true God will not accept our worship because of our disobedience.

So do Muslims worship the one true God when they worship Allah? I'm only comfortable saying they worship one God.

[Singalphile]

(This is an old and interesting thread.)

I don't know very much about Islam. From what little I gather, they identify Allah with the God of Abraham and the God of Jesus of the Bible. In that case, it is the same God of Christianity that they are identifying (as opposed to, say, Vishnu). That is more obviously true about groups like the JWs and Mormons.

However, it's probably true that their ideas and attitudes about God are so different that they might as well be talking about a different god (or no god).

As others have said, just because Muslims and others worship the same God doesn't necessarily mean that their worship reconciles them to God and atones for their sin. That's a separate and more complicated matter.

[steve7150]

As others have said, just because Muslims and others worship the same God doesn't necessarily mean that their worship reconciles them to God and atones for their sin. That's a separate and more complicated matter.











Your right but i don't think "Allah" is the same God although he has some similarities. He is the creator of everything and omnipotent yet there are so so many differences in character that Allah is unrecognizable verses the God of the bible. Not just differences but the complete opposite value system in many examples like love your enemy verses kill the infidel etc etc.

[Paidion]

Your right but i don't think "Allah" is the same God although he has some similarities. He is the creator of everything and omnipotent yet there are so so many differences in character that Allah is unrecognizable verses the God of the bible. Not just differences but the complete opposite value system in many examples like love your enemy verses kill the infidel etc etc.

But isn't the case precisely the same within Christendom itself? The character of God is regarded very differently among various groups and denominations. Some see Him as pure LOVE who will do all that it takes, not matter how long it takes, to reconcile all people to Himself. Others see Him as love but ALSO what they call "a God of justice", where He will punish non-Christians eternally for their sins. You mention that Allah (in the Koran) asks them to kill the infidel. But does not Yahweh (in the OT) ask the Hebrews to kill the Gentiles? How is this different?

I might point out that in the earlier part of the Koran, Allah asks the Muslims to respect "the people of the Book" (Jews and Christians), to make covenants with them, and not to make war with them, unless the Jews or Christians break the covenant. My thought is that as Islam became more established, Mohammed became more aggressive toward the "infidels", and that is why the parts written later ask that the infidels be killed.

[steve7150]

But isn't the case precisely the same within Christendom itself? The character of God is regarded very differently among various groups and denominations. Some see Him as pure LOVE who will do all that it takes, not matter how long it takes, to reconcile all people to Himself. Others see Him as love but ALSO what they call "a God of justice", where He will punish non-Christians eternally for their sins. You mention that Allah (in the Koran) asks them to kill the infidel. But does not Yahweh (in the OT) ask the Hebrews to kill the Gentiles? How is this different?

I might point out that in the earlier part of the Koran, Allah asks the Muslims to respect "the people of the Book" (Jews and Christians), to make covenants with them, and not to make war with them, unless the Jews or Christians break the covenant. My thought is that as Islam became more established, Mohammed became more aggressive toward the "infidels", and that is why the parts written later ask that the infidels be killed.











I think the differences within Christendom is one of emphasis. One group emphasizes God's love the other his holiness but they read the same bible and worship the God of the bible. Yahweh ordered destruction of certain folks on certain limited occasions for specific reasons yet once the New Covenant became effective the commands of Jesus are now the law of the believer.
My understanding of Islam is initially Muhammed was interested in reconciliation with non muslims but later as he encountered resistance he became more hostile. The later writings of Muhammed carry more weight if it conflicts with an earlier command. Just in the last few days "Islamists" killed 90 people in a Nigerion village. They get the justification from the Quran. This is a different God, a god of war.

[Homer]

My understanding of Islam is initially Muhammed was interested in reconciliation with non muslims but later as he encountered resistance he became more hostile. The later writings of Muhammed carry more weight if it conflicts with an earlier command. Just in the last few days "Islamists" killed 90 people in a Nigerion village. They get the justification from the Quran. This is a different God, a god of war.

At one time we were supporting a missionary to Muslims in southern Europe (he is now a pastor in the south) who was knowledgeable about Islamic history. He said that Muhammad was all for peace and reconciliation until he gained strength over the opposition and then he began to teach that they should be killed. This change in his teachings is said to be seen in the Koran, thus Muslims can claim it is a peaceful religion and others can advocate killing in the name of their religion.

[morbo3000]

I don't have much to add to this.

From a practical level, I find it easier to build a bridge of conversation with a moderate/liberal muslim by agreeing that Allah is Yahweh. We share ancestry with Abraham. We are both monotheists. And we both agree that Jesus existed and was at the least a prophet. They don't find any of those things offensive, and it hurries up the process. There is less to agree with an atheist, for example. Or Hindu or buddhist.

And if they are a moderate/liberal, we can toil together at dealing with the character of God in the Old Testament and Koran. My bible reading today included Genesis 30 which is one of the weirdest family-tree texts I've read in the Bible. That it is included in our "holy" book is bizarre. Again.. we have that in common. When you try to talk with a secular about the Bible, you wind up trying to defend Judeo/Christian religion against texts like that. With a moderate/liberal Muslim, you can just agree that we have problems understanding our "holy" books.