David Miller's 'Taxonomies of Deity' - Response by Brad Jersak

Biblical Scholar, David Miller has weighed in on the question about whether Christians and Muslims worship the same Allah. The following is his introduction with a link to the full article, followed by a response from Brad Jersak.

Taxonomies of Deity: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same Allah?             by David Miller

The news that Wheaton College placed tenured professor Larycia Hawkins on "paid administrative leave" for stating that Christians and Muslims worship the same God surprised me. I was even more surprised as I watched a ground swell of support for Wheaton's apparent theological position among evangelical commentators as diverse as Scot McKnight and John Piper. Writing for Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer claims that the view that Christians and Muslims worship the same God is "just not what most evangelicals believe."

In this post, I will try to explain why for the last 20 years or so I have taken it for granted that--at a level of abstraction required by discussion of religions as a whole--it is correct to say that Christians and Muslims do worship the same God.

CLICK HERE to continue reading David Miller's post

Response to David Miller - by Brad Jersak

Well said David. A few thoughts and questions, where I believe I may be tracking with you. Some of these points may just be restatements or reflect own my need for clarification.

One God, multiple revelations, divergent practices 

• Christians, Jews and Muslims all claim and fully intend to worship the one God of Abraham. The same God.
• Christians, Jews and Muslims embrace divergent and competing revelations about that same God and how we come to know that God. Each claims to steward the best and fullest received revelation of Abraham's God. 
• Christians, Jews and Muslims have divergent and drastically different faith practices, offered to that same God, even within and across their own traditions.  
  
  

Multiple Muslim perspectives on Christ and Christianity

• Muslims hold a variety perspectives about Jesus--while they fundamentally deny the deity of Christ, many believe that Jesus is more than a prophet--that he was God's messenger, that he is alive, that he is the Messiah who will return, will defeat the anti-Christ and establish God's reign.
• Historically, Islam's rejection of the Trinity was a rejection of Tri-theistic Christian heresies or misunderstandings of the Trinity. By listening carefully to their concerns, Christians can note the perils that really do cause us to slip from trinitarian monotheism to the tritheism Islam rejects.

Multiple Christian perspectives on Mohammed and Islam

• Christians hold multiple perspectives about Mohammed and Islam, from a demonic cult to another religion. But one perspective that speaks to this issue is that it is not simply a different religion, but more accurately, a Christian heresy.
• Some Christians note important aspects of Mohammed's primary revelations as important common ground. Namely, that Gabriel showed him there is one God, rather than the hundreds of his grandfather; that this God was (surprisingly), the God of the Jews who appeared to Abraham; and that Jesus of Nazareth, born of the Virgin Mary, was indeed God's true messenger. While our paths diverge from there (re: the 'deal-killers' of Christ's deity and crucifixion), the convergence is significant (indeed, goes further than Judaism) and grounds for real dialogue. 

One actual God, many conceptions of God 

Perhaps I will overload David's intent here with my own opinion, but the key to his article seems to be the important distinction between God as he truly is vis-a-vis our conceptions of God. God in Godself is an ineffable and transcendent Mystery, who loves all and hears all in spite of our incomplete and often distorted conceptions of him. Over against this, we have our own conceptions of God, not just between religions or denominations, but a personally constructed image--a recipe of religious indoctrination, our place of birth, our family of origin, our experiences, interpretations and opinions. My image or conception or concoction of God is not only different than that of Mohammed ... it is likely quite different than that of my priest or my wife or most especially of Jesus! He would likely say to me what he said to the woman at the well: "You Samaritans--you, Brad--worship what you don't know."

The question is then whether we are worshipping God ... or our conception of God. We could be worshipping one and the same God as he is (in spite of our ignorance) Or we could be worshipping our own, very different conceptions of the one God. The latter is a more dangerous proposal. Why is that?  

When we reify our concept or construct of God into the absolute object and image of our worship--especially as a justification for fear and hatred of the other--this is an act of idolatry. And it's just as idolatrous in any of the three Abrahamic faiths. This is not to abandon our respective core differences as inconsequential. Indeed, I regard the revelation of God in Christ as full and final. But perhaps the best of all three faiths may learn to look on the others graciously, as 'worshiping what they don't know,' while making space for the possibility that Abraham's God is big enough to regard our poorly scribbled crayon images of God with the charity of one loving Father.

**Other articles I found interesting as I ponder, thinking both about John 4 but also Paul's generosity to the Athenians:

From Morgan Guyton: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice/2015/12/16/do-christians-worship-the-same-god-as-muslims/

From Roger Oldson: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2015/12/here-we-go-again-an-evangelical-controversy-over-whether-christians-and-muslims-worship-the-same-god/

Addendum: 'One' versus 'same'

After further discussion (with Anglican minister, Sean Davidson), I am starting to see how the issue of 'One God' and 'Same God' can become muddled. The question involves the referent for the word 'same.' Does 'same' refer to the one God who actually exists? If so, there is only one God so those who worship the one God (even with different understandings and practices) must be worshiping the same one God. But if 'same' refers to our different conceptions of God -- then having different conceptions of the one God means we can't assume equivalency in what we say about the one God. That is, the gods of our understanding and our worship are obviously NOT the same. This may be where the debate unravels: if 'One God' and 'Same God' aren't the same thing--or if 'Same' automatically adheres to our conceptions of God and not only God as such.

This, of course, would also be true among Christians: for example, John Piper and I worship the One Christ (as such), Jesus of Nazareth, but not exactly the Same Christ (of our understanding) in that our conceptions of Christ are not only different but often in conflict. As above, the crux of the debate comes down to the God as such vs. God believed in distinction. It seems to me that more mystical traditions (of Christianity and Islam) elevate transcendence and mystery such that they can imagine different faiths worshipping the one God (beyond reification), while the more fundamentalist types (of both faiths) elevate their doctrinal categories of God so that they 'know for certain' that others are worshiping different gods (which, they would clarify, are not gods at all). Is there a compromising position? 

I think the best course forward is backward: to Jesus and the woman at the well. As I suggest above, what if we acknowledge, as Jesus did, the following:

1. That different faiths are, in good faith, devoting themselves to the worshiping the one God. Jesus acknowledges the Samaritan worship of God while also identifying some key differences between them (e.g. location of the temple mountain). 

2. That not all faiths (including their respective revelations, dogmas, ethics or worship) are equivalent. The different faiths claim superior conceptions to the others and should not be expected to jettison their core identities for the sake of a watered down common ground. Jesus acknowledges his believe that Judaism had a better knowledge of God than the Samaritans. And this is where postmodern empathy (think Stan Fish) can serve us well: what if I can embrace my convictions that Christianity is the fullest revelation of God, while also understanding the Muslims and Jews feel exactly the same way about their revelation. Then we might talk (or better, listen carefully) about why we feel that way.   

3. That all faiths face their own deconstruction in light of his Father's forthcoming quest for those who will 'worship in spirit and in truth.' He makes it sound like the end result will transcend temples, mosques, cathedrals and synagogues! The question for me is not what needs deconstructing in Judaism or Islam, but in my own faith. If I think my faith best represents 'the household of God,' the NT assures me that is exactly where judgment (crisis) begins. And perhaps this go around is one such case. 

Comments

[jan]

the only thing i am convinced of is this..

we kid ourselves when we make definitive statements.. the best we can muster is guesses..
we are out of touch with the depth of our own ignorance.. but Love will correct that in an instant the moment we see Him as He IS.

good for you as you keep stretching the tent of our understanding.