Recently, Dom (of villageidiotsavant ) recommended that I check out a blog called christian cognition.The writer, Mike Lee, is a police officer living in Jackson, MI (birthplace of the Republican party).Currently, Mike is having a "weekly challenge" with another blogger (Alex).
I want to comment on something Mike wrote in his answer to their question of the week. "President Bush also said Christians and Muslims worship the same God (you know my position on that one)"
I felt it was more appropriate to put my comment here rather than in the comment section of his blog; I intend to have a rather lengthy comment and I don't want to monopolize Mike's space.
First of all, I've only recently begun reading his blog, so, I don't know his position viz a viz Bush's statement on Christians and Muslims worshiping the same God. I'm assuming, from the tone, that he doesn't agree with Bush on that.
Not a few Christians are uncomfortable with the idea that Muslims might worship the same God we do.We worship God, not Allah, they'll say. We believe in the Trinity....Father, Son and Holy Spirit...and the Muslims don't. How can anyone believe our God and theirs is one and the same?
But, look in the Quran, and you'll find stories of Adam, Moses, Jesus and even the Virgin Mary.
Our understanding of the God we worship in Christianity comes from the Jewish tradition in what we call "the Old Testament". Our God is the God of Abraham.
Muslims, like Jews and Christians, also worship the God of Abraham, although the traditions in each religion differ in many details. In Judaism and Christianity, it was Issac who God asked Abraham to sacrifice; in Islam, it is believed that the son Abraham was to sacrifice was Ishmael- who they also believe to be an ancestor of Muhammad.
Many Christians will argue that Muslims do not believe in the Triune God, therefore, Allah is a different deity. Jews do not accept the Trinity either, yet, no one will deny that we worship the same God as the Jews.
I don't want to gloss over the disagreements. Christianity and Islam are different. Our world views are light years apart....so far apart that it would be impossible for both religions to be right. But, there's no denying that both religions have a common root.
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