Differences
Islam and Christianity disagree over Jesus' identity
Although Muslims believe in one God, as do Christians, they reject as heresy that this one God is three persons. For more detail on what Christians believe on this, see the slot we did on this a few weeks ago which is posted on our website. For now, let's suffice to say that Muslims reject the idea of God being three in one. Especially, the Qu'ran (main holy book of Islam) is strong on saying that Jesus isn't God;
'Isa (Jesus) was simply a created human being, and a slave of Allah'
An-Nisa' 4:172
Jesus is given great honour in the Qu-ran, his status as a prophet and as a miracle-worker, even as God's Christ is strongly affirmed. But he's not God. In contrast the Bible is adamant that far from being just a created being, that Jesus is God himself become a human being.
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.'
John 1:1 and 14
Islam and Christianity disagree over Jesus' death
Because Jesus is just a prophet, (albeit a great one) it is unthinkable to the teachings of Islam that a prophet of Allah could die a horrible shameful death like a crucifixion. So the Qu'ran actually goes so far as to claim that Jesus didn't die on the cross, Judas died in his place, God made him to look like Jesus as payback for his wicked betrayal of Jesus and the two were switched at the crucial time.
'...in reality he was not killed or crucified, and those who said he was crucified lied.'
An-Nisa' 4:157
In contrast, the early Christians were willing to stake their honour, face ridicule and shame, by declaring that Jesus was the messiah who was crucified, that he did die a shameful painful public humiliating death. So Paul can even boast that
'...we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to Gentiles.'
1 Corinthians 1:23
Because they disagree over these two things there is a third fundamental disagreement between Islam and Christianity.
Islam and Christianity disagree over the way to escape judgment
In Islam, the way someone gains God's approval and escapes his wrath on the final day of judgment is by 'falah', that is a word that means self-effort or positive achievement. Submit to God and follow all of his directives as found in the Qu'ran. Judgment day will involve some kind of weighing up of what we've done wrong and what we've done right. And even then entry into heaven is down to whether or not Allah decides to grant you mercy on the last day. This is diametrically opposed to Christianity. According to the Bible, no-one can ever be good enough to deserve God's favour, to win God's heaven, because from birth we are all pre-disposed to rejecting God and living our lives our own way. That's why it was necessary for God himself to shrink into a human body and die on a cross, dying the death we deserve.
The only way to escape judgment and rejection from God according to the Bible is for God himself to have taken the full force of that judgment for us, which is what Jesus' humiliating death on a cross was all about. What we need according to the Bible is not 'falah' but faith. To have faith in, to trust, to rely on Jesus and his death as our escape route. Those with faith in Jesus now can be sure that in the future God will welcome them into his heaven with wide open arms as if they deserved to be there as much as Jesus himself.
Islam and Christianity disagree over Jesus' identity
Although Muslims believe in one God, as do Christians, they reject as heresy that this one God is three persons. For more detail on what Christians believe on this, see the slot we did on this a few weeks ago which is posted on our website. For now, let's suffice to say that Muslims reject the idea of God being three in one. Especially, the Qu'ran (main holy book of Islam) is strong on saying that Jesus isn't God;
'Isa (Jesus) was simply a created human being, and a slave of Allah'
An-Nisa' 4:172
Jesus is given great honour in the Qu-ran, his status as a prophet and as a miracle-worker, even as God's Christ is strongly affirmed. But he's not God. In contrast the Bible is adamant that far from being just a created being, that Jesus is God himself become a human being.
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.'
John 1:1 and 14
Islam and Christianity disagree over Jesus' death
Because Jesus is just a prophet, (albeit a great one) it is unthinkable to the teachings of Islam that a prophet of Allah could die a horrible shameful death like a crucifixion. So the Qu'ran actually goes so far as to claim that Jesus didn't die on the cross, Judas died in his place, God made him to look like Jesus as payback for his wicked betrayal of Jesus and the two were switched at the crucial time.
'...in reality he was not killed or crucified, and those who said he was crucified lied.'
An-Nisa' 4:157
In contrast, the early Christians were willing to stake their honour, face ridicule and shame, by declaring that Jesus was the messiah who was crucified, that he did die a shameful painful public humiliating death. So Paul can even boast that
'...we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to Gentiles.'
1 Corinthians 1:23
Because they disagree over these two things there is a third fundamental disagreement between Islam and Christianity.
Islam and Christianity disagree over the way to escape judgment
In Islam, the way someone gains God's approval and escapes his wrath on the final day of judgment is by 'falah', that is a word that means self-effort or positive achievement. Submit to God and follow all of his directives as found in the Qu'ran. Judgment day will involve some kind of weighing up of what we've done wrong and what we've done right. And even then entry into heaven is down to whether or not Allah decides to grant you mercy on the last day. This is diametrically opposed to Christianity. According to the Bible, no-one can ever be good enough to deserve God's favour, to win God's heaven, because from birth we are all pre-disposed to rejecting God and living our lives our own way. That's why it was necessary for God himself to shrink into a human body and die on a cross, dying the death we deserve.
The only way to escape judgment and rejection from God according to the Bible is for God himself to have taken the full force of that judgment for us, which is what Jesus' humiliating death on a cross was all about. What we need according to the Bible is not 'falah' but faith. To have faith in, to trust, to rely on Jesus and his death as our escape route. Those with faith in Jesus now can be sure that in the future God will welcome them into his heaven with wide open arms as if they deserved to be there as much as Jesus himself.