Abrahamic Religions: Islam

Why So Many Gods?- Islam


Islam is one of the Three Great Monotheistic Religions because, like Judaism and Christianity, it has Abraham as its father.

How Did Islam begin? Muhammad, a prophet alleged to have received revelations from Allah (his name for God) over a 23 year period. He recorded these revelations in the Quran, Islam’s holy book. It’s divided into chapters called Surahs.

"Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds." -Jeremiah 14:14

What is Islam’s connection to Abraham? Abraham’s first two sons were: Ishmael by Hagar (Sarah’s handmaiden), and Isaac by Sarah. Arabs are descendents of Ishmael and his wife Kadijah. See Gen. 17:18,20 [This scripture prophecy said he would be a multitude- Muslims are the second largest religious group in the world. Second only to Christians in number. The prophecy that he would be the father of 12 rulers was fulfilled by his fathering 12 sons.]

What are the major differences between Islam and Christianity?
Muslims believe that Ishmael, not Isaac was God’s chosen one, because he was the ‘firstborn.’ However, his birth was an unfortunate result of man trying to do his best rather than waiting on God’s best. Since God had promised that He would bless the world through Abraham and Sarah, Ishmael was rejected as a fulfillment of His promise and could not share in the covenant. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews " [emphasis mine]- John 4:22. In Gen. 17: 19, 21 the Lord specifically states that His covenant would be with Isaac and his descendants: "But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."

Muslims believe that the son that Abraham was called to sacrifice was Ishmael, not Isaac. They say that since the Bible says that he sacrificed his “only son,” that it must be Ishmael, since Ishmael was the only son for 13 years prior to Isaac’s birth. However, there is actually much debate among Islamic scholars as to who the son was, because even the Quran states that Abraham sacrificed his son, but never says the name of the son.

There are 3 reasons why God would have referred to Isaac as Abraham's “only son”:

•  Isaac was the only promised child of Abraham, a fact which the Quran agrees with (cf. Genesis 17:15-21; Surah 11:69-73, 37:112-113, 51:24-30). Ishmael was never a promised child.
•  Isaac was conceived miraculously to a barren mother and a very aged father, with the Quran likewise agreeing (cf. Genesis 17:15-17, 18:9-15, 21:1-7; Galatians 4:28-29; Surah 11:69-73, 51:24-30). Ishmael was conceived normally without the need of any miraculous intervention.
• God promised that it would be Isaac's descendants who would inherit the land given to Abraham. (Genesis 13:14-18, 15:18-21, 28:13-14). Ishmael had no part in the inheritance and promise given to Isaac through Abraham
  
  The Holy Bible states: “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Gen. 22:2

What is the significance of Mt. Moriah?

The significance of Isaac being sacrificed on Mt. Moriah is that it would be the future sight of Solomon’s temple and eventually the Dome of the Rock (Islamic temple). “So Solomon broke ground, launched construction of the house of GOD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the place where GOD had appeared to his father David. The precise site, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, had been designated by David.” 2 Chronicles 3:1. It also was the site where Jacob had his dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven to earth. (Gen. 28:12)

Isn’t Allah the same as our God?

Some Muslims in an act of goodwill will tell you that our God is the same as their God. When they refer to Allah, they are referring to the same God as in the Old Testament, however, since they misrepresent Who He is in that they deny His Word-the Bible and His Son- Jesus, in essence, they have made up a false god to whom they have attributed acts and words that are against His nature. For example:
What if your father told you to go on a long journey, then you told your child about your father and his attributes, but the things you tell him about your father are not true, or they are distortions of what your father told you. Your son begins to see your father as an unmerciful man, and tells others things he had said that he hadn’t. He may believe he is still following the ways of his father’s father, but he has been deceived as to the real nature of his father’s father. The granchild may be doing the very things his grandfather told his father not to do. However, he has not made an effort to go see his grandfather to discover the truth for himself, so he will remain in darkness until he seeks him out himself.

But we as Christians should not be discouraged over this fact…remember God promises us:

• “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

How does one gain salvation in Islam?

1. Salvation is found in complete submission to Allah (Islam means submission) and Muslim means “one who submits.” Human effort and works are most important in Islam. [All our works are like filthy rags…good works do not save us. see Isaiah 64:6].
2.  They must follow “The Five Pillars of Islam”:

•  Recite the creed: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet” (They deny the Trinity). Duet. 18:15 states that God would raise up a Prophet from among the people of Israel. However, Muhammad was not a Jew, nor does he claim to be.
•  Prayer- Muslims must pray 5 times a day while facing Mecca. The first is at sunrise last at sunset. I Thess. 5:17 tells Christians to pray without ceasing .
•  Fasting-during the month of Ramadan, one must not eat, drink, or engage in sexual relations during daylight hours. (Compare to how Christians are to fast in Matt. 6:16 )
• Alms-giving- charity giving to the poor as an act of worship. “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.” Matt. 6:4
•  Pilgrimage (Hajj)- All able-bodied Muslims are to journey to Mecca at least once in their life.  "...believe Me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” “The time is coming, yes, it is here now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father wants that kind of worshipers.” John 4:21, 23.

Why do so many Muslims blow themselves up or participate in other suicide attacks such as 911? These are Muslim extremists. However, there really is some reasoning behind their madness. Since the Quran does not point out any clear way to be assured of your salvation, it leaves many adherents in fear about their eternal destiny. Muhammad says that one must follow the ways of Islam and then at the end of life their works will be weighed in the balance. However, there is one sure way of going to eternal bliss: dying while killing enemies of Islam. So Satan has devised a cunning plan to assure that those who are desirous of assuring that they receive an eternal reward will in fact receive eternal damnation while causing a great deal of suffering and pain to others they attack.

How does someone become a Muslim?

Believe and recite this credo: God is…and Muhammad is his Prophet.
Muhammad was a violent, unmerciful and cruel man. His biography which most Muslims are familiar with is replete with references to acts of cruelty and barbaric attacks.


How do I witness to a Muslim person?

“Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” 1 Peter 3.15-16.

Muslims need to know they should be seeking a relationship, not a religion. They do not believe that God is approachable. They do believe He is a God of judgement. This is why so many of the Muslim countries that have adopted strict codes of Muslim conduct are unmerciful in their punishment of crime.

• It is most important to be very patient, praying for the Lord’s work in their heart. A Muslim has even more to lose in converting to Christ then a Jew. So it will take a lot of deep thought and courage for them to accept Christ. If you make a Muslim think you have an agenda- specifically to ‘convert’ them, they will be even more likely not to accept your words as truth. When they see you go through bad times and good times unruffled in your dependence and faith in God, you will make much more of an impact on them. If you see winning someone to Christ as a personal victory, then you have a wrong motivation in soul-winning, and will not have the endurance it often takes to lead a Muslim to Christ. It is also important not to see Muslims as our enemy, they are made in the image of God.

• Most Muslims are peace-loving people. However, just like Judaism, they have sects that believe that violence is the way to promote their religion. Among Muslims there is a great disparity about what they believe about peace and war. The moderates will point out verses in the Quran that advocate peace and understanding, and yet others will point out verses where the promotion of Islam is encouraged at all costs- namely by force.

• If a Muslim asks you what you think of Muhammad, resist the urge to tell them he was a false prophet. This will close them to any possibility of listening to your proofs of Christ. On the other hand, do not betray your own faith by saying nice things about Muhammad. It will hurt your witness in the long run. If you must say anything about Muhammad, say something truthful that neither affirms his claims of representing God nor denies your belief that he isn’t. Since it is true that he turned the Arabs from idolatry to worship of one God, you can concede this point, and that he brought warring factions together so that the Arabs could build a more productive society.

• The Koran (also written Qur'an) mentions Jesus in several places; it admits He was of virgin birth, that He did perform miracles, that He was a good man and a Prophet of God. They do not believe He was crucified, even though it is a recorded fact in the Roman record. Your desire then is to help them to understand that He was God. Points toward this end:

• First, is it possible that since God is all-powerful (and Islam teaches that He is) , that He would be incapable of coming to earth in the form of a man?

• Secondly, since Jesus claimed to be God, He could not have been a good man or a prophet sent by God. How could someone be sent by God as only a prophet and blaspheme by saying He is God? How could He be a good man and be lying about His deity? How could He be sane if He really thought He was God? If He were insane, how could He be a prophet? How could He be a good prophet and be wrong about His prediction of dying and resurrecting?

Abrahamic Religions: Judaism

The Three Monotheistic Religions are: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

We will start with Judaism, since the other two belief systems sprang from it. Then, on to Islam. Both will be compared to Christianity.


As Christians we are familiar with Judaism based on our knowledge of the Old Testament. 

• Judaism began with God’s promise to Abraham 2,000 years B.C. Gen. 12:1-3
•  Judaism comes from the name of Judah, the 4th tribe of Israel, named after the 4th son of Jacob (Jacob was later renamed Israel by God). Gen. 35:23; Gen. 32:28
•  In the historical books of the OT, Judah was used when referring to the people from the southern region of Israel. This region was named Judah (later Judea), because this is where the tribes of Judah & Benjamin settled.2 Sam. 2:10
• The nation of Israel became a divided nation after the death of King Solomon; Judah (southern kingdom) was led by Solomon’s son Rehoboam, while Israel (the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom) was ruled over by Jeroboam. However, they are collectively referred to as Israel. 1 King 12:1-17.
• “Jew” is a shortened form of the word Judah, which is synonymous with someone who is an Israelite. 
•  Not all Jews practice Judaism. Some are atheist and any other religions you can think of. However, the Israeli government now classifies all persons of Jewish decent as Jews (so the term can be ethnic without being religious). 
•  Although Israel is a country, its official name is “The State of Israel.”
•  Hebrew is the language spoken by the Jews; however, the Bible often uses the term to refer to the people themselves. Hence the New Testament book of Hebrews.
• Palestine is a derivative of “Philistia,” the name the Romans gave to the boundaries of the actual state of Israel

What they believe or do not believe:

1. They do not believe in the Trinity. However in the OT, Christians believe that there is scripture to support a triune God: Gen. 1:26-27 (let Us make man…); Gen. 15:17-18 (smoking furnace- smoke represents the Holy Spirit; burning lamp- Jesus is the light of the world); Gen. 3:22 (man has become like Us. Knowing good & evil…); Gen. 11:7 (Come, let Us go down and confuse their language…)
2.  They do not believe Jesus was God’s Son or that He is Messiah. Some believe that the prophecies of a suffering Christ and a conquering Christ mean there will be two different Messiahs. They are only concerned with the conquering one. The most important scriptures (and most damaging to Jews who claim that Jesus was not who He said He was) are: Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.
3.  Some Jews do not believe in an afterlife, so they do not believe in a literal hell; others do not believe in a conscious life after death. Some believe hell is total annihilation for your sins (ie, you just cease to exist after death). The OT makes it clear (as does the NT) that hell is a place of eternal suffering and pain. Deut. 32:22; 2 Sam. 22:6; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 116:3; Psalm 9:17; Job 26:6
4.  The Zionist movement began in the late 1800’s with the publication of a book called “The Jewish State.” However, many Jews are unaware that it is really a supernatural calling of Christ who promised to gather them back to their own homeland in Isaiah 49:6-7;17,19 . Many of them would say it is God’s will, but unaware of the implication that it is Christ who is speaking in this scripture.

What is the difference between Judaism & Christianity? There are many sects of practicing Jews; however, the main ones are the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Hasidic. All generally believe in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible), which they call the Torah. Some accept the whole Old Testament as true (Tanakh). Still others believe in the authority of the Talmud which is an explanation of the Tanakh. Each branch has its own teachings as well. Christianity would not exist without Judaism. Christians believe that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament. Jesus makes all the difference between Judaism and Christianity.
 
Can someone who practices Judaism go to heaven? No man comes to the Father but by me…Jews do not believe Jesus was the promised Messiah, so they cannot have a belief unto salvation by any other means—their belief does not offer them a way to God through Jesus, therefore, they are not going to heaven unless they believe on Him. Look up: John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” & Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 
Paul, a Jew, said in Romans 10:1-4: Brethren, my [Paul’s] heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.


How do I lead a Jewish person to Christ? What if I say the wrong thing?
Keep in mind first and foremost that it is the Holy Spirit that calls people to Himself. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:1-5 “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.”

1.   Sometimes you do not have the opportunity to share lots of scripture with someone, or it may be overwhelming. You want it to sink in. So if you only want one scripture to share, make it this one: Micah 5:2 which in the Jewish Masoretic text is Micah 5:1. Then if you still have their attention, have them read Psalm 2. It shows that the Messiah was to be the Son of God, that He would be opposed by the rulers (Pharisees, etc.), and that He would gain the allegiance of the Gentiles. Finally, if they are still interested, use your most powerful evidence last: the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 52:13-Isaiah 53:12. Theologians regard this passage as the most succinct message of the Christ and His salvation in the Hebrew Scriptures. *
2. Since Jews do not believe that the New Testament is valid, refer to scriptures in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament and help them to see that these scriptures together fulfilled in one man are impossible without them being miraculous and true. Isaiah 7:14 fulfilled in Matt. 1:23; Micah 5:2 fulfilled in Matt. 2: 1-6; John 1:45 disciples recognize fulfillment of scripture in Jesus.
3. If the Jewish friend says “I’m a good person, isn’t that enough?” According to Psalm 14:3, “…there is no one who is good, not even one.” Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” And David said in Psalm 53:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.” God has made a way to forgiveness for our lack of goodness- beginning with the OT sacrifices, and culminating in the death of the Messiah- The Sacrifice.
4. According to Jews for Jesus, the best thing to say to a Jew that says they think the Bible is full of myths and lies, ask them what specifically in the Bible is a myth, and how do they know it is a myth. Many Jews do not even read the scriptures anyway, so this is a ploy to avoid admitting their ignorance about the Old Testament, much less the Bible as a whole. There are many people that become Christians without ever believing that the Bible is true until after their conversion! God knows this, which is why he gave us Romans 1: 19-20
5. The Daniel prophesies gave a timeline for the arrival of messiah which Christ fulfills. If Christ or somebody born about the same time isn't the messiah, then the messiah isn't coming.*

So, the most important thing you can do is pray for the person you want to witness to. Your words do not have to be fancy or perfect to win someone over. Your faith must be sincere, your love and concern for their eternal well-being real. Jews for Jesus did a survey of 8,000 completed Jews and the overwhelming majority came to Jesus through a friend or family member who was already saved, only 6% reported that they came to salvation through the Bible. It does not mean the scriptures were not used, but the person was much more likely to come to belief if someone who cared for them lived the gospel and shared the gospel with them. Read I Corinthians 3:7 & Galatians 6:9


* Jews for Jesus website

Introduction to Worldviews

Why does Religion matter?

Man has an innate need to know why he is here, what his purpose is, and what happens after death.

Romans 1:18-20 ‘But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.’

Ecclesiastes 3:11 ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.’

What is Religion anyway?
According to the American Heritage Dictionary: “A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.”

--So this means that atheism, agnosticism, humanism and all other non-belief systems fall into the designation of being a religion, despite the fact that these groups deny that they are religions. And like all other belief systems, their religion is defiled (polluted, a lie).

James 1:27 says: "Pure religion, undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

A lot of people think of religion as something you do, however, Christianity teaches that what you do (good works) is borne out of what has been done in you. That is why most Christians take exception to being called “religious.” True religion is demonstrated by charitable conduct and personal purity; if we consider the criteria that it is ‘before God,’ as indicated by this verse, then we must recognize that the motives of our hearts are weighed, and our actions must be purely motivated by our relationship with Him.

How does someone who doesn’t know what to believe decide on whether God exists?

There are Four Basic Argument for the existence of God.


1. Design – “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”--Romans 1:20,

2. Ontology -“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”--John 1:1,

3. Cosmology -  “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”--Colossians 1:16-17

4. Entropy- “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”--Romans 8:20-22

Design- This is a refutation of the Big Bang Theory. If you took a bunch of something and blew it up, is there any chance that it will fall into an orderly, working thing? Another illustration often used by apologist: if you put all the parts needed to make a fully-functioning watch into a box and shook it up, how many tries do you think it would take for it to all fall into place in such a way that it would work? Why will it never work? [It requires a designer, someone or something to inject order into chaos.] The universe is pretty intricate for something that “just happened” on its own. Man has filled whole libraries with volumes of information about the intricacies of the workings of the universe. And scientists will admit they still only know a small fraction of what there is to know about it.

Ontology (Ontological)- This is deep, metaphysical stuff which says “God, by definition is perfect. Or, God, in order to be God, must be perfect.” If God does not exist, then the name “God” refers to an imaginary being. In order for God to be God, He must exist. God cannot have started the world then disappeared or anything like that. He would not be perfect if He did that. Since God is perfect, and this world does exist, God must exist.

Cosmology (Cosmological)- Here’s another deep thought. Everything that exists is “contingent” (or dependent). Meaning that everything has a cause and every cause has a cause and so on. For example, Your car came on because of the key, the key turned because you turned it, etc. Everything around you has a cause. Cosmological arguments state that there has to be a First Cause: that thing which all causes can be traced back to. In order for everything to make sense, there must be that one thing that started everything. That First Cause would need to be independent. It does not rely on any contingent to exist. If there is no Independent Being, what explains the beginning point for all things that are dependent upon a beginning? God must exsit.

Entropy- You may have heard of Murphy’s Law: “whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” Among scientists it’s known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Simply put, it says that all things tend towards disorder. So, this busts the whole idea of evolution to pieces. The theory of evolution states that we are moving from disorder to order (man and all other creatures have become more and more complex and better suited for their environment over time—evolving from one celled to complex multi-celled beings). How can you have a theory that defies a law anyway? So, since we know that a law supersedes a theory, we realize that in the beginning there had to have been perfect order. Look around you and you see a fallen world, one that is decaying, and dying; humans that are aging and sinful and flawed. Man is not getting better, our world is not safer than it ever has been, nor is it evolving to perfect completion. The only answer for an originally perfect world is that there is a God.