“We all worship the same God”. Table of Contents 1) Where YHWH and Allah Appear Similar 2) Where Allah’s Character Contradicts YHWH’s Goodness 3) Where Their Revelations Directly Contradict Each Other 4) YHWH’s Love for the Nations vs. Allah’s Commands to Subjugate 5) Can God Be Seen? What the Bible and Qur’an Say 6) Salvation by Grace vs. Salvation by Works Conclusion: Same God? Or Different Revelations? You’ve heard it from politicians, celebrities, and even some pastors. It’s become something of a modern mantra, trying to shoehorn acceptance of other beliefs and blend all religions into one, especially the Abrahamic ones. But what if the Bible and Qur’an tell different stories? Let’s see what their own words reveal so you can judge for yourself. This Tweet recently caused a stir on social media 1) Where YHWH and Allah Appear Similar Many point out that Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a belief in one eternal Creator God. That’s true — up to a point. Both the Bible and Qur’an describe God as powerful, all-knowing, merciful, and more. Here’s a list comparing some of the common shared attributes between YHWH and Allah, with direct citations from both Scriptures: 26 Shared Attributes of YHWH and Allah According to the Bible (NRSV) and the Qur’an Eternal YHWH: “From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” — Psalm 90:2 Allah: “He is the First and the Last…” — Surah 57:3 Creator YHWH: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1 Allah: “The Originator of the heavens and the earth…” — Surah 2:117 Omnipotent (All-Powerful) YHWH: “Nothing is too hard for you.” — Jeremiah 32:17 Allah: “Allah is over all things competent.” — Surah 2:20 Omniscient (All-Knowing) YHWH: “Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it.” — Psalm 139:4 Allah: “He knows what is on the land and in the sea…” — Surah 6:59 Omnipresent (Present Everywhere) YHWH: “Where can I go from your Spirit?” — Psalm 139:7–10 Allah: “He is with you wherever you are.” — Surah 57:4 Holy YHWH: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” — Isaiah 6:3 Allah: “The Holy One (Al-Quddus).” — Surah 59:23 Just YHWH: “A God of faithfulness and without injustice.” — Deuteronomy 32:4 Allah: “Is not Allah the most just of judges?” — Surah 95:8 Merciful YHWH: “The LORD, merciful and gracious…” — Exodus 34:6 Allah: “The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” — Surah 1:1 Compassionate YHWH: “As a father has compassion on his children…” — Psalm 103:13 Allah: “He is the Forgiving, the Affectionate.” — Surah 85:14 Faithful YHWH: “Great is your faithfulness.” — Lamentations 3:22–23 Allah: “Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth.” — Surah 30:60 Unchanging YHWH: “For I the LORD do not change.” — Malachi 3:6 Allah: “None can change His words.” — Surah 6:115 Sovereign YHWH: “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens…” — Psalm 103:19 Allah: “Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion…” — Surah 67:1 Loving YHWH: “God is love.” — 1 John 4:8 Allah: “Indeed, my Lord is Merciful and Affectionate (Al-Wadud).” — Surah 11:90 Forgiving YHWH: “I will not remember your sins.” — Isaiah 43:25 Allah: “Allah forgives all sins…” — Surah 39:53 Wrathful toward evil YHWH: “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God…” — Nahum 1:2 Allah: “For them is a severe punishment.” — Surah 3:4 One/Unique YHWH: “The LORD is one.” — Deuteronomy 6:4 Allah: “Say: He is Allah, One.” — Surah 112:1 Jealous of worship YHWH: “I the LORD your God am a jealous God.” ...
Will Jesus return in the way most of us have been taught? I suspect that when many people think of the "Second Coming" — that is, the return of Jesus, images of the world ending in a blaze of fire and glory come to mind; or of some super-war called Armageddon where the Anti-Christ battles it out with God's people one last time before the End comes. You may even think of Jesus surfing across the sky on clouds with a bunch of angel in tow, or maybe the Left Behind bo...
By now, most people (in Christian circles, at least) will have heard about the Jars of Clay controversy. For those that are thinking "how on earth could there be controversy over some jars?" let me clarify: they are a contemporary Christian music band. The controversy is because the frontman, Dan Haseltine, tweeted some thoughts on the topic of gay marriage. Shocking, I know. This is what started it all: The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of...
The Church is so whiny at times. At least in the West it seems, from the various news outlets which like to showcase the "worst" (and actual worst) of the bunch. Sometimes I read articles and wonder why do certain Christians care so much about this!? It's usually a non-issue really, often under the guise of "principles" or "persecution." Now I realise that some of the articles I linked to above could also relate to serious issues that we, as Christians, should face and discuss. But even from a ...
Or do we retroactively place our current theology of God on God? Consider the Garden of Eden: '[T]he Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”' (Gen. 3:8-10) Now today we make it into a rhetorical question, but was this always so? In this story, God is spoken of almost in a physical-bodily sense as walking in the garden, since "they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden" as he moved about, and then tried to hide themselves from his view! Next think of ...
Coming on the clouds of heaven Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. When people read Jesus saying that he will be "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" in Matthew 24:30, it often taken to mean that he will be doing that literally as opposed to figuratively. Kinda like this, but on clouds. Carefu...
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