Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
That question has generated passionate debate for ages. And those debates increased in frequency after a professor at Wheaton College claimed God and Allah are one and the same.
Marv KNoxLarycia Hawkins, a tenured associate professor of political science at the highly regarded evangelical liberal arts school near Chicago, set off the latest divinity dispute shortly before Christmas.
She announced via Facebook she would wear a hijab, the traditional Islamic headscarf, during Advent as a symbol of her solidarity with Muslims. More pointedly, she called Muslims “people of the book” who “worship the same God” as Christians.
Her comments flew around the globe on social media and landed in international headlines. She attracted both criticism and acclaim. Wheaton placed her on leave and later initiated proceedings to terminate her tenure and fire her if administrators determine she violated the college’s statement of faith.
Hawkins’ case created controversy in two spheres.
The first is the nature of academic freedom in a faith-based school. Among many issues, it pits the unbridled search for truth against the generally affirmed doctrines of a faith community. It asks whether professors can push the limits of traditional orthodoxy and prompt their students to question conventional wisdom. It tests the tension between historic belief and open inquiry.
The second sphere is more approachable for regular Christians outside academia. It repeats the not-so-simple question Hawkins raised: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Devout Christians answer the question differently, with some saying yes and others saying no. They take three basic approaches to reach their conclusions. Those approaches and their answers are:
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Historical — yes
The historical approach traces the question all the way back to the first encounter between God and Abraham, when God promised: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).
Advocates of the historical approach note God Almighty, Lord and Creator of the universe, intervened in human history by speaking directly to Abraham. Jews, Christians and Muslims all point to that moment and that God—whom Jews call YHWH, Christians name God the Father, and Muslims designate Allah—as the genesis of their faith.
So, since all three faiths assign their start to a relationship one person, Abraham, had with the divine being, they say Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship that same God.
Many missionaries who minister to Muslims favor this position. It provides them with broad common ground. They find this starting point—the Lord talking to Abraham—enables them to begin open and trusting conversations. Those discussions inevitably lead to Jesus, and the missionaries build off Muslims’ reverence for the “same” God to support the divinity of Jesus.
Theological — no
The traditional Christian view, particularly for Protestants and especially for evangelicals, grounds its understanding of God in the Trinity. God is fully revealed only in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This position maintains Muslims do not worship the same God as Christians, because anyone who doesn’t accept the divinity of Jesus does not understand the Christian revelation of God.
Acknowledging the historical common denominator but affirming the Trinity, SMU theology professor William Abraham told a Truett Seminary audience: “Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. They do not worship the same God.” He cited the missions imperative of this approach: “Coming to terms with the Christian identity of God is not philosophical nitpicking. Expounding the identity of the Triune God calls for joyous sharing and celebration of the gospel with the Muslim world.”
Many traditionally evangelistic Christians follow this same line of reasoning when they witness to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Those groups claim to follow Jesus, but their understanding of Jesus and of his incarnation is far from classic Trinitarianism. This logic also would apply to Jews, who definitely share Christians’ reverence for the God of Abraham but do not believe Jesus is divine.
While many Christians who take this approach respect Muslims and Jews, and possibly Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, they feel bound to insist the distinctiveness of Jesus divides the religions.
Philosophical — yes
People who seek to step outside their faith tradition and apply logic to the question take a philosophical approach. They point out all monotheistic faiths—such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam—believe in only one God. Monotheists describe that one God differently, due to language, culture and experience, but they insist only one God exists. Therefore, they’re all worshipping the God, but by different names.
Believers in one God arrive at that conclusion from a variety of paths—affirming sacred texts, reasoning the existence of God based upon nature, trusting basic intuition or leaning into divine personal revelation. Advocates of this approach stress these people all bow down before the one true God who created the universe and is Lord over all creation because that is the only God who exists.
They also cite their position to accommodate for variables that make enormous difference in everyone’s life. Individuals born in 1970 to families of the dominant faith groups in Fort Worth, Mecca, Tel Aviv and New Delhi almost certainly would grow up to become Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu. Advocates insist a just and loving God would not punish people because of where they were born, the beliefs of their families or their opportunity to know about, much less seriously consider, another faith.
The vast majority of Baptists affirm the Trinity and consequently maintain Muslims and Jews, however close their origins, do not worship the God who is expressed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But this is a complex issue, and we live in a complex and pluralistic world. So, the question will remain before us—probably until Jesus comes back.
For more information, see …
• “Christian college puts professor who wore hijab on leave” — CNNCNN
• Larycia Hawkins’ academic biography — Wheaton College websiteWheaton College website
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