Download Class # 2: Islamic Theology

Class # 2: Islamic Theology
The Clash of Monotheisms: Christian Encounter with Islam
5/12/2013
Introduction:
Spiritual Realities of those who are lost without Christ
(2 Corinthians 4:3-7 ESV)
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with
ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
-Sinners are blind/deceived unless God opens their eyes. So even though there is a sort of coherence to Islam (more
than some other religions), much of it doesn’t make sense to us because God has revealed himself to us in his son,
Jesus Christ. It is easy to judge Muslims based on our knowledge of the truth but the Bible says in 1 Cor 8:1 not to
become conceited but to love others. As we go through this class on Islamic theology, we should be driven by
compassion for Muslims and a sense of purpose that the Gospel is to be preached to the whole world. We should
also have a heart to pray for Muslims that they would be given new hearts full of faith in Christ.
Islam as Worldview
? What is a worldview? Why is it important? (We all have one)
-Islam is the lens through which Muslims view their world (like Christianity)
-Affects all areas of life: personal behavior, family, work, politics (contrast Christian view of worldly authority
(submission) with Islamic view (struggle))
Principled Evaluation
-As Greg mentioned we want to be careful that we don’t make a caricature out of their theology, but at the same
time I don’t just want to “state the facts.” So we will be critiquing these views as we go to show where they are out
of accord with God’s word and show that this is not just another way to God. I have passed out the summary of
beliefs from the Uptown website to use as a reference as we go along.
-Notice that there is a lot of similarity between the starting point for Islamic belief and Christian faith: an allpowerful God who created the earth by speaking, is somewhat relational, will judge sin. But there is a strong
element of rejecting the truth of God found in the Bible for a religion that puts the work of salvation to man. I
imagine Muhammad hearing the Gospel and thinking: “Well that’s ok, but I prefer a God who lets me be in charge
of whether I am going to earn salvation, not one who does the work for me and just asks that I trust Him.”
A Note on Diversity within Islam
-We will cover the basic principles but there is a wide range of beliefs within Islam. Imagine someone summarizing
the beliefs of all Christians worldwide.
-Main distinctions: Sunni (85%) vs Shia (10%); Sufi/Folk; Fundamentalist vs Liberal
-This is an overview
Key Theological Beliefs:
6 Articles of Faith
I.
The Doctrine of God.
- Allah – name of God. Cannot be pluralized or turned into ‘goddess’
- Above all comprehension, “Unknowable” except as he reveals himself, NO images of God (Hagia
Sofia)
-
-
Tawhid – God is one. Absolute oneness – no one like him, no one proceeding/begotten from him, no
relationship within the Godhead (contrast with Trinity’s relational aspect – He is eternally relational so
he is relational with his creation)
Ascribing God’s nature to anyone but Allah (blasphemy) is the unforgiveable sin
O People of the Book, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The
Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary
and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say,
"Trinity"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To
Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of
affairs.
-
Sovereignty – God is in charge of everything and knows everything
Relation to man – God created man and the world by speaking, close to man, “as close as your jugular
vein”, no mediator/priest, sin does not separate until final judgment
o God loves his creatures but more often talked about helping them or blessing them, not as a
loving God
o He doesn’t show favoritism – people distinguish themselves and earn God’s favor by virtue
and piety alone
o He is merciful and just – quote from ICC: “Expecting the same treatment for [good and bad
people] will amount to negating the very belief in the accountability in the Hereafter and
thereby negating all the incentives for a moral and virtuous life in this world. – ***They are
saying that Allah treats people exactly as they deserve and that our righteousness is worth
something
- contrast Christian view of righteousness from Christ by the Holy Spirit in thanksgiving for
his grace. Our righteousness is “filthy rags”
II.
Prophets and Messengers
-God sends his prophets so people will know the truth about him. A prophet has been sent to every country,
otherwise how would they know him? Many prophets but not all are Messengers – special prophets who bring
God’s revealed word. Once a prophet has heard from God, he cannot sin but he can be wrong. I.e. Jesus was perfect
but made mistakes that needed to be corrected by Mohammed. Opposite view of Biblical prophets except Jesus
(they were sinful but got God’s message right) and Jesus the ultimate prophet was both sinless and error free. He is
the WORD of God.
- Jesus (Gospel), Moses (Torah) and Abraham (Scrolls of Abraham)
- Mohammed – final and most important prophet. Given high regard, but not God. Considered by
Muslims to be the greatest poet: “the Quran was his miracle.” PBUH
Story of visit to the mosque in Atlanta- I asked why is Muhammad so important? The reply was why is Jesus so
important?
III.
Scriptures
Will focus more on these in 2 weeks.
- Quran – word of God from the golden tablets, given to Muhammad by angel Gabriel over period of
many years. Mostly during Rammadan.
- Hadith (Sunnah)– sayings attributed to Muhammad, similar to our proverbs but more proscriptive.
- Torah (Tawrat), Psalms (Zabur), Gospel (Injil) – quoted in Quran but we supposedly don’t have the
originals, what we have is “corrupted” and has been “corrected” by the Quran. Example is the Injil was
single book written by God and given to Jesus. The 4 gospels are just incorrect history books written
too long after Jesus to be believed. – affirm truth of the gospels that tell the story of Jesus – who is God
incarnate, the Son of God.
- Sharia – moral code that prescribes how to live, adopted as the law of the land in many Muslim
countries – Worldview comment from Cross and Crescent re: majority of Muslims who think sharia is
ok as law because Islam is supposed to dictate every sphere of life.
IV. Angels
- messengers of God
- no free will, only do what God tells them (including tally actions of men)
- different from Jinn –spiritual creatures made of “smokeless fire”, angels are made of light
V. Predestination
- God is sovereign and knows everything that comes to pass
- man still has free will to do good or bad which results in heaven or hell
- leads to uncertainty in salvation because only the chosen ones can be saved – different from our concept of
election and assurance of salvation – we are chosen and promised in Scripture that all who are in Christ by faith
will be saved.
VI. Day of Judgment
- all people will be judged at the same
- dead will rise to stand trial for their deeds, words, thoughts, and intentions
- accurate record is kept (hope that good outweighs the bad)
- Some good deeds are extra good and count against more than one sin (I.e Pillars, PBUH, service)
5 Pillars (Morality)
Quote from Islamic Center of Charlotte website: “God asks us to know him, to love him and the enforce his law for
our benefit and our own good”
Ritualistic – contrast with Christian view of ritual as reminder of God’s grace, not as a way to earn favor – (when we
take Lord’s supper or celebrate baptism we are acknowledging that Jesus has done the work for us and we can only
receive his grace by faith)
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Shahada – Profession of Faith – “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Salah – 5 times of daily prayer
Zakat – Alms
Sawm – Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj – Travel to Mecca once in a lifetime
Sin and Salvation
-Man is basically good and has fallen away from state of Islam (submission)
-God punishes sin, but gives people a chance to make up for their bad deeds by working hard and doing good works
-Ultimately up to God’s mercy- no mediator necessary (false view of God’s justice)
Gathering of Believers
-mosque is important as a cultural and community center, but no concept of universal body
-Islam is ultimately a personal religion
-contrast with Christian church as “Body of Christ” – God has chosen to call a PEOPLE to himself, out of the world.
- similar in view of a kingdom where God will reign over the whole world, except our God has promised that we are
co-heirs with Christ and will reign in heaven with him because he has adopted us as sons.
APPLICATION