Success and Failure Blog

I came across an article that is a dangerous example of how people can be led astray from the truth of God.  Quoted portions are from the article, except for scriptural references.

Article - 

Jews, Christians And Muslims Are Cousins In Religion

FOR OyeTimes.com JACOB K. LUPA  - WRITER “The problem seems to be the adherents of the three religions who create problems through greed, marginalisation and humiliation of fellow human beings.”

Basically, those who adhere to the laws and doctrines of their faith are considered to be greedy, narrow minded, and alienate our fellow man.  As I can not speak for any other faith, as a greatful believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible teaches that there is only one true Word of God, and the laws that are given there-in are to be followed unquestioningly, unerringly, or retribution will follow :

Deuteronomy 28:57-59 “⁵⁸ If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- ⁵⁹ the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.”

This is what God has spoken, and who am I to argue with God. He instructs and rewards obediance, conversely, He punishes the wicked :

Proverbs 10:16 “The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.”

I can’t say what Mohamad teaches in the Qur’an, but the Deuteronomy and Proverbs verses are both from the Old Testament, out of Mosaic Law, which is of God via Moses, and the foundations of the Jewish doctrines.  Jews and Muslims perhaps may be cousins, to use the term loosely, and I’ll explain why, but Christianity is rooted in Judaism, the difference is Jesus Christ.  The Jews do not believe that He is Messiah, Christians do. The point is God’s law is definitive.

“Judaism, Christianity and Islam have the same concept of God. With regard to this in Judaism, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. In Christianity according to the Gospel of Mark (New Testament) 12:29-30 “when asked what was the most important commandment Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one Lord: Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”. In Islam when the faithful are called to prayer they hear, “God is great. I bear witness that there is no deity but God”.

To put correctly, Judaism and Christianity and Islam all have the same God. The main difference here is that the Old Testament(Judaism) and the New Testament(Christianity) of the Bible are written by many authors directed and inspired by God and compiled into one book, although there is still the Jewish Torah. There is still debate as to who authored the Qur’an be it God, an illiterate self-proclaimed prophet, or a group of Arab poets.

As to why Judaism and Islam are related in origin, the Jews trace their beginnings from Sarah and Abraham, while Islam claims birth right to Abraham and Hagar, a bonds-woman.

Genesis 16:15 “So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.”

Having the status of bonds-woman, the Jews view the Arabs to be of an inferior lineage, thus the reason for the hatred between the two.

“Sudan needs a Christian Islamic Council to work on issues that divide Christians and Muslims for development of concepts that promote mutual understanding, tolerance, respect and peaceful-co-existence. This is important for equality of religions for people who believe in the same one God held as loving, merciful and compassionate. Probably that could have saved the unity of Sudan as religion could not have been politicised that too far where the concentration would have been on equitable development in the country.”

See the problem here is, in the Old Testament, Jesus’ fulfillment of God’s purpose is revealed in many books of the Bible, this verse from Isaiah being the most notable:

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.

God confirms this in the New Testament :

Matthew 3:17 “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.

Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Jesus explains that there is only one way to God:

John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

For whatever reason, the Jews do not believe the Messianic prophecies that are in the Old Testament, that through ritual fasting, prayer, and repentance, one will enter the Gates of Heaven.  The Qur’an says all you have to do is believe in the One True God, and repent of your sins, that you are pretty much free to do what you would like, as long as you do not deny Allah as the only god, and repent fastidiously.

The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus is the only key that is found on earth to unlock the gates of Heaven.  Without Jesus, salvation is unattainable.   The Jews may have missed the prophecies, but there will come a time when there will be a mass conversion from Judaism to Christianity.  There will be Muslims who will be come believers.  Sadly this will not take place until after the rapture, when realization of what is happening begins to settle on the world.

It is my opinion that Judaism and Islam is nothing more than a centuries old sibling rivalry.

Genesis 21:9 “But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking.”

Jesus can trace his lineage back to Abraham and Sarah

Genesis 21:12 “But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”

Isn’t that interesting? God reveals to us here that the child of Hagar will be a nuisance to Christianity, and God then tells Abraham to not worry about Ishmael, but listen to Sarah because through Isaac, Jesus will be born.

Always study the scriptures, know the truth.  Do not be fooled by silver tongues and pretty speeches.  Never take anything at face value always reference the bible and ask God for revelation, for the scales to be removed from your eyes so that you will not be deceived.  Even the devil can mimic God.

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Is Allah the God of the Bible? Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Islam has become a major force in the world today. Because they believe in a few of the things Christians and Jews do, especially monotheism (one God), there is question as to whether Allah and the Judeo-Christian God are the same.

Son of God? Who is God?

Let’s start by looking at the God of the Bible. He is called Elohim when the Godhead is emphasized, and Yahweh when referring to His nature as one god.

This means that God shows Himself in three distinct ways, yet He is one God. If a man is married with children, and his father is living, he behaves (or, should behave) in a different manner toward his father than he does toward his wife, and in yet another way toward small children. He is still the same man. Another example is an egg – the yolk, the egg white, and the shell are all part of the egg. And yet, they are distinct. Finally, there is water. The chemical formula for it is H2O. H2O exists as a solid, liquid and gas all at the same time, in different part of the world.

So, we see the Godhead – what some call the Trinity – is very clear. God manifests Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. God is eternally pre-existent in the spirit (non-physical) realm, in all three persons. In other words, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit were all part of Creation. (Ge. 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, Col. Col. 1:16-17) God the Son appears in the Old Testament – before His miraculous birth via the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary – a number of times as the Angel of the Lord. This is how He wrestled with Jacob, how He likely made the animal skins for Adam and Eve, and so on.

The Koran/Qur‘an, on the other hand, makes it very clear that Muslims believe Allah has no son. The idea of Allah having a son is “blasphemous” and a “monstrous falsehood” (18:46, 9:30-31) to them. Muslims are told, “[F]ight everyone who rejects Islam, even Christians and Jews, until they pay regular financial tribute with willing submission and feel themselves completely subjected to their Islamic conquerors.” (9:29) While the Koran/Qur’an says to say that they are the same (29:46), elsewhere it considers this a lie, and in fact states that Christians and Jews are the “worst creatures on earth.” (98:6) It says that Allah is “too majestic” to have a son. (4:171-172)

This goes opposite the Bible in a few ways.

First, Jesus commands us to love our enemies, and bless them that despitefully use us. (Mat. 5:44, etc.) We are to be known by our love, and not fight each other. Many places, that great unconditional love is proclaimed. Yes, evil people who refused to follow Jesus have tried to conquer claiming to be doing it for God, any a close reading of the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ commanded His followers to show Godly compassion to others. God is longsuffering toward us; while he is holy and must punish sin, He is also faithful to save the souls of any who call upon Him, and take them to His perfect heaven, even if – like the thief on the cross – they have forfeited their chances in this world. Sin has consequences, but God is love.

Second, it goes against the Bible’s insistence that Jesus is totally equal with God. He and the Father are one. (John 10:30) he is God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16, etc.), which means that He is of the same substance – that’s what Son of God means. Yes, there is the relational aspect as humans understand it – but Jesus is never seen, in the Bible, as being inferior. Everywhere, He is shown to be the one and only God. He simply chose to step down from His Heavenly throne to this world, in order to die for our sins, and rose from the death, defeating the devil once and for all.

A few other aspects:

The one above is crucial. There are too many differences to cover here, but a topical study of the Koran/Qur’an would be quite rewarding. For now, let‘s look at just a few short ones, which you may view more yourself:

Personal God of love:

That part about being too majestic comes from their concept that God can‘t be approached. However, the Bible says otherwise. God is very personal, and in fact, wants a personal relationship with each of us. He wants us to take all our cares and worries and burdens to Him. (Mat. 11:28-30, 1 Peter 5:7, etc.). He understands all of what we go through (Heb. 4:15-16), because He lived a sinless life, bearing our sins (1 Peter 2:24) – so He lived, but never sinned, thus He can help us through whatever we’re tempted by.

He is a personal God of love, too – this means He is always moved with compassion and will not only never tempt us beyond what we are able, he will provide a way out for us. He will lovingly guide us according to what is best for each of us.

Sacrifice for our sins:

A great archaeologist named William Ramsey set out to prove the Bible wrong, and wound up finding Luke to be an incredible historian who got all his facts right. One of those facts that Luke and the other Bible writers note is that Jesus willing gave himself for us. Because he was God, He could have come down from the cross – He could have called 10,000 angels. Yes, another man had to carry the cross part of the way, but this was very common – quite a few people never survived the scourging before they were crucified, and Jesus didn’t have the strong, broad shoulders that the thieves who were crucified often had. Jesus clearly died on that cross, then rose from the dead. Indeed, among early believers were likely his two sons – otherwise, it’s not likely they would have been mentioned.

Compassion, not honor:

Among some Muslims, there is a form of law called sharia,. This law boasts no compassion when it comes to the treatment of women. It is all about honor. On the other hand, jesus and His followers insisted that women be honored, and when he came across an adulteress, He pardoned her. Jesus constantly forgave sins.

It can be argued, of course, that this law – like some unorthodox Christian teachings – isn’t in the Koran/Qur’an. What’s important, though, is that believers in Christianity are admonished to loves their wives as Christ loved the church. And, if someone sins against another, the only one at fault is the one who sinned, not the victim. God consistently has compassion on those who suffer. The Bible also clearly says that men should love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25); and He was constantly giving Himself for it.

Indeed, elsewhere, we read that God is no respecter of persons, and that all are equal in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28) – there is no disparity between man and woman, except in how men are called to be the spiritual leaders. But, this doesn’t give man the right to walk all over a woman, and when the man won’t or can’t lead a family spiritually, a woman can still become great for doing so. (2 Kings 4:8 onward)

Another excellent article, which contains facts from The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Edition 15, Volumes 22 & 25, discussing how the ecumenical movement has discusses things such as the origin of Islam. There is also much evidence for the truths of the Old Testament, and the people mentioned therein – evidence which is being destroyed.

However, the important thing to remember is this:

The God of the Bible, the Creator and sustainer, loves you. He is not the same as that of Islam. Instead, He is a personal, loving, and caring God, who deliberately came to this world and died on the cross, rising from the dead so we could go to Heaven.

He doesn’t require anything of us but our faith. To get to Heaven, one must: A. Admit your status as a sinner, that you fall short of God’s perfect glory, and that this means you can’t get into His perfect heaven on your own; B. Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, was born of a virgin, took the punishment for your sins when He died on the cross, and then rose victoriously from the dead; and, C. Choose to repent of your sins – that is, agree with god about your sin – and receive him as your Savior by simple faith. For by grace are ye saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

God will never just weigh things in a balance the way other religions claim. No sin at all can get into heaven. The Bible is true when it says, “Ye must be born again.” (John 3:3) This concept is not present is Islam. It is the truth that God, in His perfect love, only wants us to come to Him and accept that we need Him to forgive us and save us, and to then receive that forgiveness by faith, letting Him make us new on the inside. Then, we will no longer be slaves to self, but we will be free. And, we can be certain – because, He wants us to be sure, and to know that just by believing – receiving Him by faith (John 20:31, 1 John 5:13) – we can have life forever with Him, now and in Heaven, where nobody suffers, nobody feels pain, nobody dies, and where nobody can imagine the wonders that await us.