Islam's Allah is NOT the same as the Christianity's God with a different story

[Honey]

(03-16-2012 05:36 PM)harbl_the_cat Wrote:  The Koran's account of the creation story has one very subtle difference from the one in the Book of Genesis.

Not being an expert on the Koran, the Islamic account of the creation story was that, God created Adam and instructed the angels to submit before him. Iblis (Satan) refused, and instead lured and deceived Adam and Eve to eat of the Forbidden Tree, for which God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve are lured by the serpent to eat of the tree, but there is no mention of God instructing the angels to submit to to man.

Furthermore, the Koran claims that God forgave Adam after he repented, whereas there is no such indication in the Bible. The ambiguity of Adam's salvation is perfectly consistent with the Biblical theme that salvation is received by faith not by and deed (including repentance).

The difference in the story is subtle, but on determining the character of God and of man's position relative to him, it's of fundamental importance.

If God would instruct parts of his creation (the angels) to worship another of his creation (man), it stands to reason that as created beings, it is acceptable that God will lead us to prostate to and worship other parts of creation. The texts of the old and new testament of the Bible are absolutely adamant that doing so is sinful (it's in fact, the first of the ten commandments and the first part of greatest of commandments given by Christ).

More importantly, though, because of the emphasis in the Koran on Satan's rebellion, there is no notion of original sin - the generational curse God placed on Adam (and through him, all of his offspring- all of mankind) that was only broken through the sacrifice of Christ. According to the Bible, all men are born sinful, whereas the Koran insinuates men are born righteous.

According to the Bible, Christ's sacrifice as the Son of God (and thus fully God) was enough to break the curse all people are afflicted with from birth, and is a free gift that is only received by faith. That is the biggest difference though between God of the Bible and Allah of the Koran, that God in the Bible reveals himself in 3 distinct but perfectly unified persons in the Holy Trinity.

The Koran explicitly states that neither Jesus or the Holy Spirit are God, whereas the Bible is entirely based on the premise they both are full members of the Godhead. That is an irreconcilable difference between the Koran's version of God and the Bible's.

That said, the Koran does speak positively of Christians. I can't say I understand the full context but there are several verses in the Koran that speaks positively of Christians and for Muslims to respect "People of the Book" (as Christians are referred to).

It's important to note that the Bible says nothing specifically about Muslims, since the Koran was written hundreds of years after the Bible during the life of Muhammad (in 600 AD)... The Revelation of John does specifically warn against adding to it or taking away from it (which it has been argued, the Koran has done entirely).

Understanding this, for a personal application, I fully believe by faith that Jesus Christ was fully God and I cannot accept the Islamic assertion that he isn't. That's not to say I think I personally have any obligation to "convert" or wage war with Muslims.

John's warning in Revelation 22:18-19 reads:

Quote:"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

In other words, God will give and take away, not God's children. In contrast, Jesus himself said in Matthew 28:16-20

Quote:"...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Jesus, declaring himself fully God, commissions his disciples to "teach all nations," not to wage war on them or forcefully and violently convert them.

When I realized that, I realized my previous life as a Canadian soldier, the widespread (if unofficial and non-politically correct) belief in the threat Islamic terrorism was a false and that the wars waged to counteract that threat were immoral.

This was extremely interesting... Thanks...