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Major Biblical Themes
Compared with Viewpoints from Worldviews held by Many Muslims Today

Rick Brown, compiler
23 August 2004

            It is well-known that Muslims and Christians tend to misunderstand each other. When trying to explain their beliefs to one another, they usually end up “talking past each other.” In part this is because Muslims and Christians have traditionally used the same words with significantly different meanings (e.g., ‘prayer’, ‘sin’, ‘Holy Spirit’, ‘son of God’), but their miscommunication also arises because of unrecognized differences in worldview. 

People everywhere filter what they read and hear through the grid of their own worldview. The only exceptions are those who become bicultural to some extent and can understand other worldviews. For example, teachers and translators of the Bible need to understand the various worldviews, languages, and cultures reflected in the Bible before they can exegete the intended meanings. Cross-cultural communicators of God’s Word need to understand the worldview of their listeners before they can communicate with them accurately and effectively. Otherwise the audience will misunderstand the message. For example, if a person’s worldview includes the assumption that a person can avoid sin if he wants, that sins are not consequential unless they outnumber one’s religious works, and that sins can be atoned for by additional good works, then he or she will not understand the need for sacrifice, grace, regeneration, the Holy Spirit, etc. 

There are several works that compare modern materialistic worldviews or western evangelical worldviews with Muslim worldviews, but that is not the goal of this study. In general we have excluded modern viewpoints because they are not part of the Biblical message. (On the other hand, given the evangelical background of the compliler, contributors, and resources, it is inevitable that some modern evangelical understandings of the Bible will have influenced the analysis.) The exception is that a few traditional Christian customs, such as Sunday observance, have been included because these topics often arise in cross-cultural dialogues.

The purpose of this worldview comparison is to highlight those elements of the Biblical worldview which Muslims already share and those which they are likely to misunderstand or reject. By “Biblical worldview” we mean neither a modern Western worldview nor a Western evangelical worldview nor the worldviews of the diverse cultures reflected in the Bible but rather the worldview that is communicated piece by piece in the message of the Bible itself. In other words, it is the perspective that God is seeking to instill in His audience through the apostles and prophets, and most of all through His Word the Christ. Thus we are concerned with the views of man and God and the world that are being communicated by the message rather than the views of the original audience to whom the message was addressed.

Work on this comparison began in 1994 and was initially based on Islam and Christianity; A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue, by Kateregga and Shenk (1985). Since then it has incorporated insights from many publications and from many experienced observers.The hope is that it will help cross-cultural communicators understand their Muslim friends and express the Biblical message in ways that will penetrate the audience’s worldview grid with a minimum of distortion. In other words, the objective of this comparison is to help cross-cultural communicators understand their Muslim friends better so they can communicate with them more appropriately and more accurately.

            It would be useful to prepare another chart that shows how Christians misunderstand Islam. Such a treatment would begin with an integrated, holistic treatment of Islamic worldview, organised by Islamic categories such as the unity of God (tawḥîd), guidance (huda), prophethood (risâla), and the hereafter (’âkhira).  It would include more about family, community, education, health, social life, and the general outlook on life. But this requires a separate article. Meanwhile it is hoped that this chart will help help Christians understand their friends better and also alert them to problems their friends have understanding the Bible. Please note that it is not intended or recommended that Christians show a chart like this to Muslims, as this would just highlight the differences and make them defensive. A better approach is simply to discuss major questions of worldview, such as the eight questions suggested by VanderWerff (1994: 78).

The chart is rather detailed, but this is essential to avoid the misunderstandings commonly engendered by over-generalizations. It is not uncommon, for example, to see where someone has written that “Muslims and Christians share a common faith in God”, or where someone else has written that “Muslims and Christians believe in different gods.” Both generalizations are inaccurate, and both lead to unsuccessful dialogue, because the speakers fail to perceive important bridges and barriers.

The chart presents many aspects of a Biblically engendered worldview in the left-most column and compares them with corresponding viewpoints from various worldviews held by Muslims today. Italics have been used to highlight significant aspects of the Biblical worldview which Muslims often misunderstand. Biblical Christians in dialogue with Muslims will want to take care with the way they explain these points of their worldview and will want to monitor what their friends are understanding from their remarks.[1]

People from Christian backgrounds who are in dialogue with Muslims about Biblical Christianity would do well first to disentangle the worldview being communicated by the Bible from the modern worldviews of their own cultural background.[2] They might find it helpful to examine the left-most column of this chart, which attempts to present an overview of Biblical worldview.[3] Once they are clear in their own minds with regard to the Biblical worldview, they can be in a position to differen­tiate between Biblical and Muslim worldviews.

            Since one of the goals of this article is to promote understanding of the worldviews of Muslims today, the chart seeks to represent Muslim beliefs and practices as they are currently practiced and observed, especially within the Sunni tradition. It is not simply a reflection of the Koran, Hadith, and their ancient commentators, although these have been consulted. Rather it is a compilation of participant observations drawn from many books (see the partial bibliography) and from the many experts and experienced people who have commented on this chart and have suggested improvements. Their names are too many to mention here, but God knows them all. “May His blessings be upon them.”

In many places the chart distinguishes among the official views of Sunni teachers, views of Shi‘ites, views of Sufis of various degrees, and views of the general Muslim populace. Popular views run a spectrum that includes folk Muslims, secular Muslims, and Bedouin, but in the chart they are classed together as “popular”. Folk Muslims, for example, tend to be much more concerned with averting demons and evil and with gaining supernatural favours, and they view rituals, both Islamic and traditional, as means to these ends.  Secular Muslims practice few rituals, but their religious concepts and terminology are often those of popular Islam. Bedouin hold to traditional values of family honor that predate Islam, and this gives rise both to radical hospitality on the one hand and to honor killings on the other. Sufis seek religious experience and the intervention of saints, but at the highest levels they tend towards absolute monism.  Shi’ites value martyrdom and tend to be more tolerant of contrary views than are Sunnis.  The comparison, therefore, is between one basic worldview communicated by the New Testament message two thousand years ago and several current worldviews observed in a variety of traditional Muslim cultures. The intention is that it would lead Christians to a greater understanding of Muslims and of the difficulties Muslims have in understanding the Biblical message so that Muslims and Christians may dialogue more effectively.

In the narrow central column of the chart we have attempted to indicate the communicative relationship of the Biblical and Muslim worldviews. In some ways this column is the most important part of the chart as it indicates barriers, points of appeal, and common ground. Views held in common are often called “bridges”; they are symbolised as ‘=’.  Similarities are marked with an ‘~’.  More obvious differences are marked with an ‘x’ or an ‘X’.  “Barriers” are found where important points of worldview are in conflict; these mismatches lead to a distorted hearing of the message or to a complete rejection of it. Barriers are represented in the chart with a ‘|’ or ‘||’ or even ‘|||’, indicating increasing degrees of obstruction to communication. There is an important class of worldview differences which may be called “door-openers” (marked with ‘>’). These are Biblical viewpoints which are attractive to Muslims once they have understood them. The following list highlights the Bible’s main points of appeal to Muslims:

·         God’s holiness, integrity, and reliability;

·         God’s goodness, love, and care for His people, both male and female, young and old;

·         God’s benevolent management of history as he works through events to oppose evil, to train his servants in righteousness and truth, and to fulfill his good purposes for his people;

·         The portrait of Jesus himself: his kindness, devotion, wisdom, power, and ongoing reign as savior and king;

·         The love and forgiveness exhibited by the followers of Jesus;

·         The offer of personal forgiveness and acceptance by God;

·         The offer of assured and complete salvation from hell and acceptance into God’s kingdom;

·         The offer of a personal relationship with God, fully realized in the next life;

·         The offer of inner cleansing and renewal through the God’s Holy Spirit;

·         The offer and example of grace to live a godly life through the strengthening and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit;

·         The offer of power to resist and repel Satan and evil spirits in Jesus’ name;

·         The logical consistency and literary cohesion of the Bible;

·         Conviction by the Holy Spirit that the Bible is true and relevant to one’s life and salvation.

 

Some Major Biblical Themes

 

Views from some Islamic Worldviews

God

 

God

God is eternal, immutable, and self-sufficient.

=

 

God is omnipotent, all powerful

~

 

God is omniscient; He knows all things

=

 

God is omnipresent

=

 

God transcends this world.

=

 

God is also immanent in this world.

x

God is utterly transcendent but sees all.

Sufi: God may be experienced in ecstatic moments (ḥâlât khâṣa) during sessions of concerted praise.

God is holy, good and blameless; He never violates His own principles.

>

God can do anything, but He will not change what he has decreed for a person, and He would not tarnish his dignity by being incarnated as a man. He does not limit Himself to any predictable behaviour or standard of justice, yet He is just in whatever He does.

Because God is holy; he loathes sin.  Sin distances people from God.

x

God is unaffected by sin.

God is reliable; He will fulfill His promises and prophecies.

>

God keeps his promises, but in general one does not know what to expect from God.

God makes covenants to define his relationship with groups of people.

x

God made the Children of Israel agree to a covenant, but they were unfaithful to it. God does not define his relationship by covenants.

God is one, without equal, but reveals Himself to us as three persons (from Latin persona): the Most High (the Father), His Word (the Son), and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit ).  (So among the eternal attributes of God are fellowship, harmony, love, and communication, yet with one will.)

|||

God is absolutely one and indivisible, without equal, without associates, without “persons”. Love and fellowship are not important attributes of God. Christians are said to worship three gods: Allah, Jesus, and Mary.

Christ is the divine, eternal Word of God expressed in fully human form, revealing to mankind what the invisible God is like.  He was born of the Virgin Mary after Mary had received the Spirit of God.  He is also called “the Son of God.”

|

Christ is “a word” from God and a “spirit” from God, born of the Virgin Mary after Mary had received the Spirit of God, but Christ is neither pre-existent nor divine. It is the Qur’an which is the eternal, un­created Word of God. God neither begets sons nor adopts them.  (The Qur’an suggests that Jesus existed as God’s Word before his birth, but modern Muslims do not believe this.)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God Himself, with which He gives life to mankind, communicates with His people, cleanses their hearts, inspires them with His love, and enjoys their company.

>

When God created man, he breathed into him from his Spirit.

The “Holy Spirit” is the angel Gabriel.

Official Sunni: there is no role for the Spirit of God.

Shi’ite: The Spirit of God is a source of blessing.

God and Creation

 

God and Creation

God created all things in six days.

=

God created all things in six days.

God made the seventh day holy, a day of rest and remembrance, for on that day he ceased from his work.  (By the time of the New Testament, Jews observed it as a day of both rest and  religious observances.  Most Christians make Sunday a special day of religious observances.  The true Sabbath rest is entered, however, by relying on the work and grace of Christ.

x

On the seventh day God sat on His throne, but He was not tired and did not need to rest, as Christians outrageously claim. God does not require a weekly day of rest for people, but Muslims should cease work for the Friday prayers.

God created all things through His Word, Who is Christ

|

(no such concept)

God created the earth entirely good, without evil.

X

God created the earth as it is now.  He created mankind as good, although weak and in need of guidance.  Individuals may become evil through unbelief and sins.

God created Adam from dust of the earth and breathed life into him from His breath (=His Spirit) and so Adam became a living soul.

=

God created Adam from a lump of clay and breathed life into him from His spirit.

Death and suffering are tragedies which entered the earth because of man’s sin.  God can utilise sinners and suffering for his good purposes, but He does not generally cause people to sin.

X

God created the earth to have death and suffering. Death is God’s will for man and his mercy to society.

The Angels, Satan, Evil Spirits

 

The Angels, Satan, Evil Spirits

God created angels as spirit beings with supernatural powers.

=

God created angels as spirit beings with supernatural powers.

The angels serve God as messengers to intervene on earth and to praise Him.

=

The angels serve God as messengers to intervene on earth and to praise Him.

(No such idea.)

x

God created angels from light.

(No concept of Jinn at all.)

X

The Jinn stem from a pre-Adamic race, which God created from smokeless flame or from the fire of desert wind.

Satan was a glorious angel; he and his angels opposed God and were rejected by God.

x

Satan became proud and disobeyed God by refusing to bow down to Adam. Satan and his demonic soldiers were rejected by God. Satan is classed among both angels and jinn, but unlike the angels he was made of fire.

Satan is the enemy of man and of his right relationship with God.

=

Satan is the enemy of man and of his right relationship with God.

Satan enticed Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

=

Satan enticed Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

Demons are of uncertain origin, but some‑-if not all-‑are fallen angels.

x

The demons (shayâtîn) are of uncertain origin but are thought to be rebellious jinn.

Satan and his angels entice people to distrust God, to abandon His guidance, and to follow them instead.

~

Specifically, Satan and demons entice people to disbelieve in God and to neglect His laws. Sometimes they appear in human form to lead people astray.

Satan accuses sinners and he or his demons can inflict the punishment God has ordained for their sin, even death; thus he manipulates people by the fear of death.

X

Official: Satan and demons have no power to benefit, harm or kill; only God can do that. 

Popular: Demons cause serious harm to people.

Those who are in Christ can effectively resist Satan and be delivered of demons through the name of Christ and their position in Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit that is within them, and through the Word of God.  Those outside the Kingdom are subject to Satan’s tyranny and have little effective means to resist demonic evil. Some are even deceived to worship demons.

>

Official: God causes demons to accompany and mislead those who disbelieve, but others are also tempted. A Muslim can prayerfully affirm that he “takes refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.”

Popular: Demons are a danger for everyone.  By various rites, verses, and talismans one can hope to ward off their evil influences or at least appease them.

Mankind

 

Mankind

God made man in His own spiritual image, with some of his attributes, so that man can have fellowship with God. (Examples include awareness of God, moral consciousness, and the abilities to love, laugh, create, ponder, and communicate with language.)

|

Official: God gave man spiritual qualities, but God is entirely unlike man; not only is He non-physical, He is not a person and not a spirit.

Sufi: God made man in His spiritual image.

High Sufi: Man is not really distinct from God; it just appears so until the veil is lifted from his vision.

God put man in authority on the earth and told him to obey Him.

=

God honored Adam and made him his viceroy (khalîfa) over the earth.

Adam and Eve doubted God’s guidance and ate the forbidden fruit.

=

 

The garden of Eden was on earth. It is not identified with paradise.

X

The garden of Eden was probably not on earth. It is the same as paradise.

Mankind fell from the previous spiritual condition, and since then, man is born with a sinful nature. 

||

Adam repented and was forgiven.  There was no spiritual fall, only a physical fall from the heavenly paradise to earth. Man continues to be born with a good nature, free from sin, although he is weak and forgetful of God's laws.

All people sin.  Sin disqualifies a person from paradise.

|

The classes of sin include inadvertent slips (zallât), lapses (hafwât), offenses (dhunűb), and transgressions (’âthâm). All people (except Jesus and perhaps some prophets) commit offenses (dhunűb), but if they repent they are forgiven. They are punished for unforgiven offenses by spending time in hell. Not all people, however, commit transgressions (’ithm), and it is only this (’ithm) that permanently disqualifies a person from paradise, and then only if God chooses not to forgive it.  God has kept prophets and saints from transgression. Some say that everyone has a kernel of transgression in their hearts.

The main reason people sin is because their fallen human nature (called "the flesh") inclines toward sin.

|

The main reason people sin is because they are weak and forgetful of God’s laws.

Official: Ultimately, every good or evil action is the result of God’s predestination.  Those whom He guides fulfil His requirements.

Popular: When wronged, people generally blame the wrongdoer rather than God.

High Sufi: People sin because they do not focus their minds on God as the Absolute and Only Reality, and instead attribute value to physical things.

God and Mankind

 

God and Mankind

God is merciful, gracious, and provident toward mankind.

=

God is merciful, gracious, and provident toward mankind.

God desires people to do what is right and not sin.

~

God calls all people to follow his laws, but He causes or allows some people to go astray.

God loves all people, including those who do not love Him.

|

God loves his followers and slaves but hates His enemies.

God’s love includes a genuine concern for people’s well-being, including a concern to rescue them from sinfulness and folly.

>

God’s love is a reward to those who please Him.

God delights in righteousness and grieves over sin and evil.

>

Official: God is not moved or influenced by what man does or feels, but He responds to it as He wills.

God desires personal fellowship with people.  His greatest desire for them is that they should love Him and trust His love for them forever.

>


~

Official: God does not have personal fellowship with man. 

Sufi: One can experience God in praise rituals. A saint is close (walî) to God.

High Sufi: God desires that people love Him and realize that they have no separate reality apart from Him.

God establishes covenants with people as a way of defining a relationship with them. These agreements rest on His promises, on His nature and give people an opportunity to obey Him. 

X

God’s relationship with mankind is determined by his election and their obedience to his laws, which are eternal and not determined by covenants.

Because of man’s sin, fellowship with God was broken and remains hindered.

X

Official: Fellowship is impossible because of God’s transcendent nature.

High Sufi: Lack of union with God is caused by failure to recognize Him as the only absolute reality in all things.

In the New Covenant, God forgives people and gives them the power to obey.

X

God can keep people from sinning but does so only for prophets.

God is knowable and has a relationship his people through His Spirit, which indwells those who belong to Jesus Christ.  They can draw closer to God by relying on Him, by studying/meditating on His Word, by worshipping Him, by spending time with Him in prayer, and by being attentive to the indwelling Holy Spirit and by accepting His chastening.

 

>

Official: There is no possibility for man to experience God because of His absolute transcendence. 

Popular: One can feel closer to God by reciting His eternal Word, the Qur’an, in God’s own language (Classical Arabic).

Sufi: God can be experienced by chanting His name (dhikr) until ecstasy (wajd) is reached.

High Sufi: Ultimately, the advanced Sufi can come to realize that he is not separate from God (riḍwân).

God’s Rule

 

God’s Rule

God’s power is absolute, but his rule is self-limited. He allows man some freedom of choice and works to influence those choices and to teach mankind to choose well.  Example: God allowed Adam to name the animals.

>

God’s power and rule are absolute. He decrees every deed, whether good or bad.  Man has no freedom of choice.  Example: God taught Adam the names of the animals.

God sets the dates of one’s birth and death, etc.

=

God sets the dates of one’s birth and death, etc.

Before creation, God planned the general course of history, including the means of salvation. He remains in active control of human events and history, ensuring that His promises are fulfilled, His Kingdom established, and His people saved and sanctified.

>

God decreed everything before creation and now watches it unfold.  There is an end to history, and the goal of a universal umma, but little sequencing of events to achieve that goal, little purpose to history or events.

In accord with His will, God may change the course of events in response to prayer, repentance, etc.

>

Official: Fate cannot be changed. Everything is already written.  People have no power of choice.

Popular: When opportunity allows, Muslims do in fact exercise choice and pray for God to intervene, but they resign to fate when things do not work out.

People are slaves to sinfulness and in subjection to the kingdom of Darkness until they are set free by Christ and enter the Kingdom of God.  They then relate to God as sons, with an obligation to obey Him as Father.

||

All people are slaves to God, but Muslims are those who acknowledge this servitude and submit to it.

God, to achieve His purposes through or for his saints & prophets, may allow them to suffer, but not more than they can endure with His strengthening and comfort, and He will reward them later, in this life or the next.

|

God prospers those who believe & obey, but he also allows people to suffer as fated.

Popular:  God allows people to suffer more than they can endure.

Mankind’s Predicament

 

Mankind’s Predicament

Man has misconceptions about God.

=

Man has misconceptions about God.

Man has misconceptions about God’s requirements.

~

Man is forgetful of God’s laws.

Evil exists among mankind because of man’s sinfulness and its consequences. Satan can cause evil directly to lawbreakers deserving punishment, which is everyone on earth.  God can also use evil circumstances to discipline and train his people.

|

Evil exists because God created it and wills it.  God allows Satan to mislead those people whom God wants to destroy, but Satan has not power to harm, nor does anyone else.

A sin is failure to love God fully and keep all of his commandments.

x

A sin is breaking one of God’s laws.

Man is by nature a hopeless sinner, unable to comply with all of God's requirements.

|

Official:  Man is forgetful but good; he only needs instruction in order to comply with all of God's requirements.

High Sufi:  Man is confused by what seems to be real but isn't, and fails to realize that within him is the Perfect Man, which is a projection or image of the Divine Being, from which he is not really distinct.

Because of man’s sin, he is unsuitable for the Kingdom of God and is condemned to hell.

||

Only great sinners and those who refuse to submit to Islam are condemned permanently to hell; most Muslims will pass through hell and then go to paradise.  Nevertheless, God has already consigned to hell whomever He wanted, and there is nothing anyone can do to change it.

Man needs fellowship with God, but because of his sin, he is separated from fellowship with God.

X

Official: Man cannot have much fellowship with God, because it is not possible and God does not desire it. God’s relationship with mankind is determined by his election and their obedience to his laws, which are eternal and not determined by covenants.

Man needs deliverance from the tyranny of his sinful nature, but he is unable to free himself.

|

Man needs right guidance, but God sometimes allows Satan and others to mislead him.

Man wants life, but because of his sin, he is spiritually dead and doomed to die physically.

X

Physical death is not the result of sin.  There is no concept of spiritual death.

Man can do nothing of himself to make himself righteous and acceptable to God.

|

By right guidance and observing God’s laws man can please God.

The mortal judgement on man’s sin can only be borne by the death of a perfect substitute, since a sinful substitute would need to die for his/her own sinfulness, but no man is without sin.

||

No one can be a substitute to bear the judgement for the sins of someone else, but ablutions may wash away sin, and fasting and alms may atone for them.

Because of man’s sin, the natural world suffers from death and corruption.

x

Man’s sin did not affect the natural world.

Because of man’s sin, he is under the sway of the accuser, Satan, who lords it over the world.

|

Man suffers from the temptations and doubts whispered by Satan.  His activity is not the result of sin.

Jesus Christ

x

the Messiah ‘Isa son of Mary

The coming of the Christ was foretold by the prophets, as recorded in the Old Testament.

 

~

The coming of Jesus was foretold by the prophets.

There were shadows or forerunners of Christ in the Old Testament.

 

(no such concept)

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and did many miracles.

=

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and did many miracles.

Jesus Christ was a prophet.

=

Jesus Christ was a prophet.

Jesus Christ was without sin.

=

Jesus Christ was without sin.

Jesus Christ embodies the eternal, creative Word of God.  He is God’s supreme message and self-revelation to man.

~

Jesus was a word sent from God (a phrase with uncertain meaning)

Jesus is called Christ (the Messiah) because he is the anointed Saviour-King over God’s Kingdom.

X

The title “Messiah” is of uncertain meaning.

Other Messianic titles from the Bible include “The Son of Man”, “The King of the Jews”, “The Son of David”, “The Saviour”, and “Lord”.

X

(no other Messianic titles and no Messianic concept)

“The Son of God” is another Messianic title in the Bible, affirming his special relationship with God as the saviour and lord of all.

||

The Christians claim that God slept with a woman and had Jesus as an illegitimate offspring, but this is blasphemy. Anyone who says that goes to hell.

Jesus Christ is God and reveals what God is like.

||

Jesus was only a prophet; he was not like God, and was not divine in any way.

Jesus Christ died on the cross as the only perfect sacrifice for sin.  This sacrifice benefits all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is our advocate before the Father.

|||

Jesus did not die; someone else died in his place.  There is no sacrifice that can atone for sin.  No one can help man at the judgement.

God’s love for mankind, and Christ’s love for the Father, is demonstrated in the sacrifice of Christ.

|

It would have been shameful for God to have allowed his prophet Jesus to be killed, but it would be honorable for Jesus or anyone to sacrifice his life in service to God.

God was honored when Jesus obeyed Him even to the cross.

>

Although martyrdom is valued, God would never allow His prophets to be badly mistreated.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

|

Jesus did not die or rise from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that He is the Messiah, the righteous Son of God, who has conquered sin and death and will come again to rule and judge all mankind. 

|

Jesus ascended without death and resurrection. He will come again to rule and make everyone Muslims, then he will die.

Jesus Christ ascended to heaven.

~

Jesus ascended into heaven in his normal body, without dying and rising.

Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on the earth; he rules and expands his kingdom from heaven.

>|

Jesus does not rule. Only God has power; only He can harm or benefit.

Petitions to God are most effective when made on the basis of one’s standing in Christ (in the name of Christ).  They may be addressed to Christ.

|

 

 

~

Official: One cannot make petitions to Christ or to God in Christ’s name.  This would be shirk, the worst of sins.

Popular: One can address petitions to Jesus (or other prophets and saints)

Jesus will return to earth from heaven at the end of this age.

~

Jesus will return near the end of history.

Jesus will judge the living and the dead.

|

When Jesus returns, he will break crosses and force everyone to become Muslims. At the resurrection, God will be the judge.

Jesus will establish His universal kingdom over heaven and earth.

|

Jesus will proclaim and demonstrate that Islam is the true religion and will become part of the universal Umma.

Jesus will rule forever.

x

Jesus will die and be buried.

The Holy Spirit

 

 

The Holy Spirit is God and has all the attributes of God.

|

Official: The Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel. God has a spirit which he breathed into Adam and Jesus when he created them.

Shi’ite: The Spirit of God brings blessing to people

Sufi: The divine secret (as-sirr ul-’ilâhî) or divine accompaniment works in the lives of godly people.

God gives life to mankind through His Spirit.

=

God gives life to mankind through His Spirit.

The Spirit of God convicts people of sin and leads them to Christ.

x

(no such idea)

The Spirit of God indwells believers in Christ and enlightens and guides them and makes them more like Christ.

>

God guides us by giving us law.  There is no spiritual indwelling, no sanctification.

The Spirit of God empowers believers to overcome the sinful nature and to live in a manner pleasing to God.

>

(no such idea)

The indwelling Spirit of God allows fellowship with God and allows the church to be a community of God."

>

(no such idea)

Prophets

 

Prophets

A prophet is someone whom God calls to speak His message to people.

~

A prophet is someone whom God calls to warn people to repent and observe His laws.

An apostle of Christ is someone sent by God to spread the Gospel and establish the church.

X

An apostle of Christ (hawâri ) is one of his close companions.

(Jesus and certain prophets were apostles sent by God. Heb 3:1; Lk 11:49 )

x

An apostle (rasűl) is a someone to whom God has sent down laws for a “people of the book” to follow.  God sent down to each of the main apostles a book of law and gave them political authority over a people.

A prophet is inspired by the Spirit of God, but he uses his own language and manner of speech to deliver the message.

|

God sends down to the apostle the exact words to speak to the people.  The prophet could be in a fit and understand nothing.

Christ foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit.

x

Christ foretold the coming of Muhammad.

There have been false prophets, whom God has not sent, and there will be false prophets and antichrists.

~

There have been false prophets, and there well be false prophets, especially Al-Masîkh ad-dajjâl, the false Christ,

A true prophet not only directs people to obey the Creator, he is also attested by miracles such as foretelling events which come to pass and praying for healing for people to be healed.

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Most major prophets were attested by miracles, but the last prophet was attested only by the quality of the verses he uttered in the Qur’