By Matthew Stone
As a messianic Jew, I have been following very carefully the controversy surrounding Dr. Larycia Hawkins, the political science professor who was suspended from Wheaton College after saying Christians and Muslims “worship the same God.”
In this piece I am not taking sides on the issue whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Many have already made declarations that Muslims and Christians do, or do not, worship the same God.
For example, I recently noticed that Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, weighed in on the controversy: “Islam denies that God has a Son. They deny that Jesus is God. They do not believe in a Triune God–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” Graham continued. “I can tell you – Islam and Christianity clearly do not worship the same God.” That is certainly a clear and unambiguous statement of his position.
Other Christians, however, make the same claim with similar arguments set forth by Franklin Graham. What concerns me about such statements is that if one says Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God because Muslims reject Jesus as God, as well as the doctrine and reality of the Trinity, then we must also say Jews and Christians do not worship the same God.
Wouldn’t we be claiming that the God believed in by the Jews for centuries, as described in the Old Testament, is not the true God? When God chastised the Jews for drifting into idolatry, doesn’t it suggest that at one point Jews did worship the true God, but at another point in time, they didn’t? That is, they moved from true belief into idolatry. Some Christians claim Jews do not worship the true God, or the same God as the Christians. However, few evangelical Christians actually go that far. To my knowledge, Franklin Graham has not said that. As a messianic Jew and a professor of philosophy, I have always believed in the true God, but it was only when embracing Jesus as Messiah, was I blessed with the fullness of God. Perhaps I am wrong and need to reconsider this more seriously.
However, as a philosopher I also know that I have to be aware of my assumptions, and the assumptions of other Christians and Jews.
Click here to read the rest of the article Allah vs God Debate