Can we distinguish between Islam and Christianity

Recently, Franklin Graham, son and religious successor to the legendary Billy Graham, caused a furor when he said: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."

The politically correct and the multiculturalists became unhinged. They criticized him and everything he stands for, from every direction. Of course, relatively few people are qualified to make such comparisons, and I am not one of them. You need not be a divinity scholar, however, to see th at the actions, beliefs and proclamations of Muslims are in no way similar to the beliefs of Judeo-Christians, and particularly those of the United States.

Our nation was founded by WASPs, white, Anglo Saxon Protestants. They were initially from England, and were followed by Irish, Scots, French and others from western Europe. Their ideas were in conflict with the official religions of their country of birth, so they fled to North America where they believed they would be free to exercise their Judeo-Christian beliefs.

From the very beginning, political as well as religious leaders, spoke and wrote about the God they believed in. The United States was founded by these men, and there is abundant documentary evidence to support this

The Pilgrims were Protestants, who rejected the institutional Church of England. They believed that the worship of God must originate in the inner man, and that forms of worship prescribed by man interfered with a true relationship with God. The Separatists used the term "church" to refer to the people, the Body of Christ, not to a building or institution. As their Pastor John Robinson said, "(When two or three are) gathered in the name of Christ by a covenant made to walk in all the way of God known unto them as a church ."

"That all the People may with united Hearts on that Day express a just Sense of His unmerited Favors: --Particularly in that it hath pleased Him,by His over ruling Providence to support us in a just and necessary War for the Defense of our Rights and Liberties; ...by defeating the Councils and evil Designs of our Enemies, and giving us Victory over their Troops --and by the Continuance of that Union among these States, which by his Blessing, will be their future Strength & Glory." --Samuel Adams on behalf of the Continental Congress, November 3, 1778, calling for a day of Thanksgiving during our Revolutionary War

"The Pilgrims came to America not to accumulate riches but to worship God, and the greatest wealth they left unborn generations was their heroic example of sacrifice that their souls might be free." --Harry Moyle Tippett

The first national Thanksgiving Proclamation, issued by the revolutionary Continental Congress on November 1, 1777, expressed gratitude for the colonials' October victory over British General Burgoyne at Saratoga. It was authored by Samuel Adams, the man the other Founders turned to for reasoned statements of liberties as God's blessings, its one sentence of 360 words read in part: "Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received...together with penitent confession of their sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor; and their humble and earnest supplications that it may please God through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance...it is therefore recommended...to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feeling of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor... acknowledging with gratitude their obligations to Him for benefits received....To prosper the means of religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth 'inrighteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost'."

When independence from England was achieved, and a Constitution written and ratified, freedom of religion was included. It was clearly stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

At the time the Constitution was written, I doubt that there were any people in the United States who called themselves Muslims. In fact, very few if any even knew there were such people. There were still very few until WW II, when American military men were stationed, and fought all over the globe.

After that war the influx of Muslims, Buddhists, Confucians, and a host of other people with other religions started to immigrate to the United States, in ever increasing numbers. The Constitution guaranteed their religious freedom, and slowly but surely, they started to impose.

Muslims come to the schools in the United States by tens of thousands a year. I would imagine that the number of Americans who go to an Arab country to study could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Simultaneously, they say and do things which clearly show that they, as Muslims, have an inherent hatred of America and Americans. What benefit do we derive from this exchange?

The Muslims who come to the United States as immigrants, and those who become citizens, have no intention of integrating into the existing society They demand special considerations and special privileges - and usually get what they want. Americans have been taught that to do otherwise might be considered racist, and there is nothing worse than that.

No person can live in the United States and not be constantly reminded that we were founded as a Christian nation, and we remain one. You need money to live, and the dollar bill is a constant reminder. Benjamin Franklin believed that no man could create a nation alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on our currency. The Latin above the pyramid on the dollar, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, "God has favored our undertaking." The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, "a new order has begun."

I have not read the Koran, and I doubt that I will, but there are enough quotes easily available to provide an overview. I think that Franklin Graham said it very well: "The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us
All that means to me is that He spoke the word of God.

If he spoke the word of God, then do you believe that Jesus is THE way, THE truth and THE life and that nobody can get to heaven but by HIM?

Jesus claimed to be the I AM, which means he claimed to be the one and only true God. Do you believe him? If not, then how can you claim that he spoke the word of God and yet not believe that He IS god?

Explain where in Islam Jesus Christ is called God. Then I'll believe Islam is in harmony with Christianity. But until then...

Islam accepts Jesus as the Messiah, and passes on his teachings.

Given that this teaching is the foundation of Christianity, and taught throughout the New Testament, those who claim Islam builds on the Bible have a rather high obstacle.

The core of Christianity, as I understand it is not the clothes He wore, but what he taught: The most important Commandment is really two: Love God, and Love your Neighbor.

I haven't read the Koran either, so I wouldn't make any sweeping judgements about Islam.

You don't have to drink an entire vat of poison to prove its foul nature.

The issue posed here is simple: is Islamic faith congruent with the Christian faith? There is no need to quibble over far-flung abstruse points of theology and doctrine to arrive at an answer. Simply find the absolute essence of Christian faith and evaluate it in light of the Koran.

The absolute essence of Christian faith is the belief and confession that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, that he was put to death on the cross and was resurrected three days later. His actual physical death and ressurection comprise the sign that Jesus Christ himself gave as proof of his divinity, nature, and the purpose of his ministry when he compared himself to Jonah. Deny these things and you deny Jesus Christ.

You may praise Jesus Christ as a great ethics teacher or as a great prophet, but if you deny these essential matters of faith you have merely praised a form of Godliness while denying the power thereof. It is that simple.

Islam denies these things. Islam is Anti-Christ. It is that simple.

Islam accepts Jesus as the Messiah, and passes on his teachings.

No, it pays lip service to a form of Godliness and flat-out denies its Power.

First things first. Unless a Christian is fixed FIRST on the foundation of the divinity, the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as God, he cannot hope to properly understand or fulfill any other commandment given by Jesus Christ.

knows more about history and religions than 95% of people on this board.

Knowing and understanding are two different issues. If Islam is not anti-Christ then what happens to anyone who wants to start a Christian church in Saudi Arabia? Jail? Death? What is the status of religious freedom for Coptic Christians in Egypt? Persecution. How about in the Islamic Republic of Iran?

Yes it is possible to be a loving person and be Islamic, however the tendency and reality of history shows that Islam is often intolerant and spreads itself by force.

a_Turk knows more about history and religions than 95% of people on this board.

If you say so, it must be true.

Until he informs you of the Islamic position on homosexuality. Then you'll beat a hasty retreat.

But how do YOU respond to Christ's own claims that he was The Son of God? How do YOU view his claim that no one comes to God except through the person of Jesus Christ?

Three possibilities--

1. He's telling the truth.

2. He's deluded and talking non-sense.

3. He's deliberately lying.

He's either telling the truth, telling a lie, or He's delusional-- which is it?

I'm interested in what kind of spin you'll be able to put on this.

Just out of curiousity-- What, in your mind, is the single greatest benefit that Islam has over Christianity?

Thanks for the question. I am not here to convince you that one is better than the other. That is an extremely personal thing. All I am interested in doing here and anywhere else is to bring to light the vast array of commonalities that exist.

In the end, the only thing that will bring you or me any benefit is our conscience, which should, if we are in touch with it, tell us if we are being kind to one another.

We must be kind to one another and spend some effort to really understand each other. Satan, if you will, exploits ignorance. We should not allow that.

What does Islam teach should be done to Muslims who proclaim that Jesus Christ is God, and who confess their faith in the belief that he was put to death on the cross and was resurrected three days later?

Quit avoiding the question. hog_waller says that you are a genius on matters of religion. This question should be a chip shot for you.

I'm interested in what kind of spin you'll be able to put on this.

The good books are written to speak to people of all levels of intelligence. Some will take things literally, while others will interpret. There are teachings at all levels in these books, I don't suggest one is better than the other. If believing that Jesus is God will make you a good person, then that's what works for you. My interpretation of "through Me" is "through my teaching." That's what works for me.

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