reformed blogging.

Recently, International Director for Frontiers, Rick Love, responded to John Piper’s video on A Common Word, a document sent from Muslim scholars, which 300 Christian leaders have signed, expressing unity with Muslims on God’s command to love one another as central to both religions. For the full response see here. I do not question motives and I think it’s safe to assume that none who signed the document did so with any intent or motive to dishonor Christ, but were seeking that through open dialogue and discussion to share the gospel of Christ.

In his response, Rick Love mentions dialogue as a means of evangelism rather than replacing evangelism, and I find this very much agreeable. Yet dialogue presupposes common ground and I am hard-pressed to find any genuine points of agreement between the foundational beliefs of Islam and Christianity. According to Rick Love one common basis is God or Allah. Below is a portion of his response to Piper’s video and I while much of it sounds good, I think that to hold to the common ground that the document calls for is to abandon the fundamentals of Christianity.

Here’s Rick Love’s response as well as some commentary:

Q: The Yale Response seems to imply that Allah is the same God that Christians worship. Is this true?

A: I do not hesitate to refer to the God of the Bible as Allah, since Arab Christians before and after the birth of Islam use the term Allah to describe the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I think if we’ve learned anything from our dealing with the Emerging Church it’s to define our terms. Over time words change their meanings, sometimes meaning something completely contrary to what it first meant. For instance, words like “bad” sometimes take on a radically different meaning and go from a negative word to a positive one. This can also occur with more important words, such as Allah. Though earlier Christians have used the word in reference to the Christian God, and some may use it even now in other cultures, I do not think it is wise nor completely honest for us, Western Christians, to refer to God as Allah for the sake of “common ground” and I think this becomes mere dishonesty if we use it with Muslims. If we are to use it we must make it absolutely clear (which Rick Love does, but this cannot be said for the general signers of the document) that the Christian “Allah” is the only God, the God of the Bible, and as it says in Scripture, He is the Triune God, one God, three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Christian and Muslim views of God are similar in that we both worship the one true God, creator of the heavens and the earth. We both believe this God will judge all peoples at the end of history. We both believe this God has sent His prophets into the world to guide His people. Christian and Muslim views of God differ primarily regarding the Fatherhood of God, the Trinity, and especially regarding the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Here Rick Love seems to contradict himself. If a Christian Allah is Triune, while the Allah of Islam is not, if Islam does not acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, the image of the Father, then we cannot properly say that we are both worshiping the same God, much less, the one true God unless we throw out any form of rationality. Until Muslims agree that Allah is the Triune God we cannot say, and ought not dare come close to saying that we worship the same God lest we dishonor the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And if God is to judge all peoples at the end of history, according to what standard will He judge? Based only on works based righteousness? Will God forgive those whom He chose through Jesus Christ His Son whom He reconciled to Himself through the propitiation of Christ? Or will He unjustly allow imperfect sinners who try hard to enter into heaven? We both believe God has sent His prophets, but to what end? And was Jesus Christ merely a prophet? Was Mohammed a prophet? The fact that Christians and Muslims differ on their views of the Fatherhood of God, the Trinity and life, teaching, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ means that they disagree with all of Christianity. What has Christ to do with Belial?

I believe that Muslims worship the true God. But I also believe that their view of God falls short of His perfections and beauty as described in the Bible. Thus, I try to model my approach to Muslims after the apostle Paul who said to the Athenians: “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23).

If Muslims deny the Deity of Christ, the exact representation of God’s nature, the image of the invisible God, then we cannot say that we are worshiping the same God. Their view is not a view that merely falls short, their view is completely contrary to the Christian God. When Paul was in Athens he said what he said because he saw an altar with an inscription “to an unknown God.” The Athenians were clearly lost and confused. They were searching for something they did not know. This cannot be said about Muslims. They have already declared that Christ Jesus is not the Son of God. They do not worship in ignorance, they are very clear about their beliefs and so it would require turning our backs to what is plain to say that they are not at this moment worshiping in ignorance. Muslims do not claim to be seeking anything more than what they have, just as Christians do not claim to seek more truth outside of Scripture. Unless we show them that the basis of their entire faith is contrary to Christ, rather than encouraging them to continue in their ways, then we cannot lead them to the truth.

Muslim background believers all over the world testify that they were previously worshiping God in ignorance and now they have come to know him in Jesus Christ.

I know that Rick Love is sincere in wanting to see Muslims come to Christ, and we all should be. Yet the way to win the lost is not to give in to undefined, vague commonalities. If we are to establish dialogue with Muslims it must be on honest and open truth. We must state at the forefront what it is that we believe about the fundamentals, about Scripture, the Deity of Christ, the Triune God, etc. God is the one who changes the heart, He grants repentance. It will not come about through compromises but through the upholding of the message of Christ. Namely, we need to preach repentance to all men that they may turn to Christ. All men are under sin and no matter how religious one is, they still need to realize that they are not just confused people heading in the right direction. No, all have sinned and there is no one who seeks after God. Muslims, Hindus, atheists, Buddhists, agnostics, all men everywhere must repent. Why? Because we are all sinful people who have rebelled against a holy God. And the only way to get to a holy God is through His perfect Son who came and died to be punished as a substitute. And it was necessary that He be God, for none but God can pay the penalty of the Father’s wrath which we deserved. It was necessary for Christ to die and be raised again to life to demonstrate His victory over death. The message of Christ is not a message of encouraging rebellious sinners to continue in their obstinate ways but to turn to Christ! We must not peddle the gospel, but must preach the word of God without fear. Yes, people will be offended, yes, there will be those who hate us for it, but Christ has promised that persecution would come to those who followed Him. Because the world hated Him they will hate us as well.

I know that those who signed the document did so with good intentions and to win over the lost. But how will we convince Muslims of the supremacy of Christ when we leave Him out of the main discussion? We must show that there is no one greater than Christ and that He is all in all, and we cannot do this unless we refuse any form or hint of compromise. We will not allow anyone to even begin to think that Christ is not the Son of God, that He did not die, that He was not raised again, that He does not sit at the right hand of God, for to compromise Christ is to compromise the entirety of our hope and faith.

Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria