Bush says Muslims and Christians Worship Same God

CNN | 11/20/03

[truthandlife]

I was watching the Tony Blair and President Bush press conference and an American reporter asked a question on the lines of do you believe Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

President Bush said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God!!!!

[anniegetyourgun]

Let's see....it only matters what scripture/God says on this (or any) subject:

"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ [Christ means Messiah, son of the living and true God] has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist...." I John 4

Therein is the only answer I need.

[azhenfud]

"How many Gods are there, anyway?"

I've a sense it's an equal and direct correlation to the quantity of visable Universes.

[MosesKnows]

We do not worship nor believe in the same God. Sure, He has the same name, but that is where all similarity stops.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same God, the God of Abraham. That is where the similarity begins, not ends.

[Lunatic Fringe]

This could do in his whole Presidency.

Only with ignorant, intolerant fools.

Yes, they do worship the same God... Just like the Klan worships the same God as decent, law-abiding Christians. You cannot judge a God based on the acts of a fringe element. I do believe that most Muslims are good and decent people who only wish to live in peace, work hard, and make a better life for their children.

Personally, I am sick of seeing the spewing hatred on this board. Learn to separate the extremists from those who only wish to lead a normal life.

[First_Salute]

.

[MosesKnows]

The view that Allah and God are basically different names for the same Person is naive.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same God, the God of Abraham.

If you feel that is a naive assertion then refute it by showing how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not pray to the God of Abraham. Allah is simply the Arabic word for the English word God. If you doubt that then show me the Arabic word for God that surely must exist.

[First_Salute]

You are beautiful.

[milan]

Thanks for ringing in. What you just said is inaccurate. Believe what you will and base it on whatever evidence you do.

Does God say it is okay to kill someone if they commit adultry? All those reading the Koran believe so. Same God? Me thinks not. Hostorically the same God? Maybe. Realistically the same God? No.

If I create a religion (David Koresh) where I get to sleep with all the female memebers of my church and I base it on the Bible, do I worship the same God as you? No, I am worshipping a false god which I have created becuase I have distorted the true meaning. Islam. Nuf said.

[gcruse]

What an awesome list. As an atheist, I have been underperforming without knowing it. I had to idea how many gods I don't believe in.

[gcruse]

If you think that biological and physical piece of art was made by a bunch of mutations over millions of years, then there is no hope for you.

Maybe so, but that is not proof of god or anything else.

[Buggman]

Allah is simply the Arabic word for the English word God.

No, it isn't, any more than Zeus was simply the Greek word for the English word "God." Al-Ilah was the Arab moon god, one of 360 worshipped in the Ka'aba in Mecca before Mohammed imposed monotheism--which is why to this day, the crescent moon is the symbol of Islam.

But quite apart from that are the personality differences between Allah and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as outlined in my previous post. I don't know about you, but if I meet one person and then meet another with a different name and a completely opposite personality and attributes, I don't generally make the leap of logic that they are really the same person, all evidence to the contrary.

[No Blue States]

Great Post.

What an interesting thread, it took forever to reach the end but was well worth it. I started a thread on this very subject this am before i was told by others it was already here and was provided a link. No other site could have accomadated this topic with such a relative lack of chaos and general civility.

What a disappointing and untrue answer President Bush gave. but alas, He will get my vote again for lack of a better option. No one else is even close imo.

Milan, ive especially enjoyed your posts on this subject.

[Alamo-Girl]

Jeepers, First_Salute! Thank you so very much! (blushing...) Hugs!!!

[The Grammarian]

You might also try this article that I posted some time ago on the very subject. (From the Methodist point-of-view.)

[anniegetyourgun]

I suspect that the prez acknowledges that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead - which is biblical. He may, however, not know that the Muslim does not believe that. Unfortunately, many (including those who call themselves Christians) don't know what God has said about Himself, don't know what other religions claim about God, and aren't able to see the illogic in the argument that two (or three or six) differing statements cannot simultaneously be true. Hence, we get to the "all paths lead to God" soteriology of today.

[Terriergal]

Yep that sounds about right.

I guess I take into consideration that Paul himself, although perfect in Christ, admitted that sin waged war in his flesh. I have to look at all of Scripture and realize that prophecies are given in the past tense in order to illustrate the certainty of what God will do. Not necessarily that it's already done, in our finite reality. God, being existent in the future as well as the past and present at the same 'time' - can say truthfully 'It IS done' when from our point of view, it seems not yet to be done. (e.g. being perfect.)

[The Grammarian]

I guess I take into consideration that Paul himself, although perfect in Christ, admitted that sin waged war in his flesh.

Did he? I know that he said that he 'dies daily,' but that hardly means that his sin-nature was still alive and kicking to the end of his days. He also says "Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded..." (Phil. 3:15)

I have to look at all of Scripture and realize that prophecies are given in the past tense in order to illustrate the certainty of what God will do. Not necessarily that it's already done, in our finite reality. God, being existent in the future as well as the past and present at the same 'time' - can say truthfully 'It IS done' when from our point of view, it seems not yet to be done. (e.g. being perfect.)

I fail to see how this applies to the very real command Our Lord gave us to "Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Mt. 5:48) nor the constant prayers of Paul that we "be filled with all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:16-19) and that "the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely" (1 Thess. 5:23). These aren't prophecies that God will do this in the future--these are a command and prayers that we would be perfected in love and made completely holy (which, ethically, would exhibit itself in a loving of God and neighbor with the whole heart) now.

[milan]

Your existence proves God and the Bible says as much.

[gcruse]

Your existence proves God and the Bible says as much.

And if the bible is nothing more than documented superstition?

[milan]

Then you die, and that is it. Good luck.