Why Christianity and Islam differ about Jesus Christ

Why Christianity and Islam differ about Jesus Christ (and where they agree!)

I plan to write something that will be fully referenced with quotes from the Bible and the Qur'an on this subject. You can think of this post as just a quick outline of what I will cover.

As I've shown in previous posts, Muslims believe that Jesus was a great Prophet who was empowered by Allah to perform miracles and teach Allah's will. They refer to Jesus as "Jesus son of Mary" (Isa son of Marium.) They believe in and acknowledge the virgin birth, and highly praise Mary for her obedience to Allah's will and her as an example of purity and a sign for all people. They also believe that Jesus knew how to speak the words of Allah even as a child. In a way, they have a sounder faith in these dimensions of Jesus Christ's life and works than some liberal "Christians" I could mention, who do not believe in the literal performing of miracles, the virgin birth, and his role as a divinely inspired Prophet of God. They believe that he ascended up to heaven. They believe Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah predicted in the Old Testament and they call him by that title at times in the Qur'an.

Where they differ is that they do not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God ("is not Allah" and "is no more than a Messenger of Allah") and they do not believe that he physically died. They believe that the report of his death was an honest mistake and that people did not understand that he arose.

Surach 4: 156-158

And for their unbelief and for their having uttered against Marium a grevious calumny.

And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.

Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Now, what I'll demonstrate in a future post, and what I've alluded to in previous posts, is why they do not believe that Jesus the Messiah physically died and was the Son of God. In summary though the reasons are twofold:

o While they believe that Jesus is the Messiah of the book (the one predicted in the Old Testament) they do not believe that Allah would appear in a human form and be subject to human physicality and persecution. They believe that this would be incredibly beneath the dignity and all powerfulness of Allah himself. Muslims accept that Jesus lived as the Messiah as the result of virgin birth from Mary and the spirit, and received power and support from Allah to perform miracles, and that he was called up to heaven to Allah without dying a physical death.

o Muslims also do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God because they reason that if he was, and since Allah is all powerful, that the entire Jewish people would have converted. This is one reason there is hostility between Muslims and Jews, because Muslims point out in the Qur'an that Jews did not believe their own Messiah when he appeared. So they criticize Jews for their lack of belief, but they also reason that Allah would have converted everyone and there would not have been the rejection of Christ that did occur. They point to scripture where they believe that Jesus Christ, correctly, cursed the Jews for their lack of faith. (They also believe that some words of King David could be interpreted the same way.)

Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born Son of God because Christians believe in one God (Allah) but they believe that God has the form of the Holy Spirit, who becomes the spirit father of Jesus through the Virgin Mary, and that therefore God takes form as the Son within Jesus Christ. This is known as the Trinity in Christian faith, whereby there is one God in three forms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God remained in heaven as all powerful God, even as him as Son in Jesus Christ, was on earth. In other words, God did not remove himself from heaven in order to be inside a human body. This is an important point to emphasize when having dialogue with Muslims, because obviously no one would agree in God ever in total giving up his universal being and infinite existence beyond human understanding. But sometimes Christianity can sound like that at first listening. Jesus Christ often referred to God the Father as being in heaven and that all that he does is the will of God the Father. One reason Muslims are very cautious about Christians who focus exclusively on Jesus Christ as Son of God is that they do not hear as much emphasis on the all powerful and wise God the Father (Allah) and if one looked at the scriptures, Jesus Christ himself constantly pointed back all glory to God the Father (Allah.)

Christians argue that the way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, and quote scriptures to that effect. Muslims agree that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the Jewish faith predicted in the Old Testament and of the House of David. So Muslims would understand perfectly well Jesus Christ's teaching of being "the way" in the context of the time and audience, which is the Jewish Messiah being the way to fulfill the old covenant and inaugerate the new covenant. That would be their interpretation of Jesus Christ being "the way." However, they believe that literal worship of Jesus Christ as God takes away from their absolute and firm belief in One God, who they call Allah and who Christians call God the Father. In a way, Muslims view themselves as being the true defenders of faith in One God and One God alone. And this is the same God who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Elias, Aaron, Noah, Jacob (all the Old Testament Prophets and Patriarchs) right down in time to John the Baptist, who they also believe heralded the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. Here is one of the references to John the Baptist (whose day we just celebrated this past week):

Surah 19: 7, 12-15

O Zakariya! We give you good news of a boy whose name shall be Yahya. We have not made before anyone his equal.

O Yahya! take hold of the Book with strength, and We granted him wisdom while yet a child.

And tenderness from Us and purity, and he was one who guarded (against evil).

And dutiful to his parents, and he was not insolent, disobedient.

And peace on him on the day he was born, and on the day he dies, and on the day he is raised to life.

So the point of this post is not to minimize the differences between Islam and Christianity, but to show that the differences are easily understood, if not so easily resolved. There is far more in common between Christianity and Islam than the rhetoric of extremists on both sides would lead one to believe who did not read and study for oneself. I'm willing to bet that few people really understood before reading this the huge amount of common body of belief between Christians and Muslims. And this study will help people to understand some of the harder sections of the Qur'an regarding tolerance, because it is essential to understand that Muslims feel they are the true vanguard of belief in One God, the original God, Allah, of the time of Abraham through the time of Jesus Christ and to the present time. It is that belief that drives some of the vigor and rigorousness of the Islamic faith (and again, I'm talking about mainstream reading of the Qur'an, not extremist on either side.)

I hope that this is helpful to understanding and truly fruitful dialogue, and to the mutual interest in maintaining devotion to God/Allah in an increasingly secular and de-sanctified world that is so impious and demeaning of the sacred.