By Joe Carter: Throughout the world, Muslims are observing their annual observance of Ramadan. Christians need to become more aware of Ramadan as well as the other practices and tenets of this fast-growing global religion. As an aid in that effort, here are nine things you should know about Islam. 1. Islam in Arabic is a verbal noun, meaning self-surrender to Allah (literally: “the god) as revealed through the “message and life of his prophet Mohammed.” In the religious sense, Muslim means “anyone or anything that surrenders itself to the true will of God.” 2. The Quran (literally meaning “the recitation”) is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the unedited revelation from Allah verbally revealed through the angel Gabriel to Muhammad while he was in a trance-like state. This “revelation” occurred gradually over a period of approximately 23 years concluding in the year of Mohammed’s death. A number of his companions who knew the
Islam
Christianity and a Much Deeper Problem Than the Will
Ever wondered what the basic difference between Christianity and Islam is? Read on… From Mark Dever, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church: One time at Cambridge I was talking with a Lebanese Muslim friend of mine about a mutual friend who was a fairly secular Muslim. My friend wanted him to embrace a more faithful Muslim lifestyle, and I wanted him to become a Christian. So, in a strange way, he and I had something in common. We were both concerned about this friend, though we had very different solutions for his problem. We commiserated on the difficulty of living in a secular British culture. Then my friend remarked on the corruption of this Christian country. I responded that Great Britain is not a Christian country, that in fact there is no such thing as a Christian country. That, my friend said, quickly seizing the opportunity, is the problem with Christianity compared to Islam. Christianity does not provide answers and guidelines
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Come and Rest — It is Finished
Jared Wilson: This is a photo of Shiite Muslims in New Delhi, India flagellating themselves in honour of the grandson of Mohammad. As I study this image, I experience a mixture of feelings and convictions. Resonance — I understand deep in my bones the essence of this impulse. The inclination to self-abasement as justification is embedded in each one of us. These men have the courage to indulge it, to take it seriously enough to harm themselves as some form of propitiation. They know a gap between themselves and holiness must be bridged. Fear — Because of the resonance, I am fearful. For them and of myself. It is not really humility that drives self-justification but pride, and pride is not something to be indulged, even if on the surface it appears to be assaulted. Pity — I feel sorry for them for not knowing the gospel, or for having rejected it. I pity them for believing the bridge can be built by
Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
Having just returned from a highly profitable trip to The Lebanon, I found this piece from The Gospel Coalition really helpful. I dedicate this post to my new friends in the Middle East. Can someone be both a practicing Muslim and also 100 percent Christian? Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Yes and yes, says Yale Divinity School theologian Miroslav Volf in his new book Allah: A Christian Response (see The Gospel Coalition’s review). Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile draws upon his experience as someone who formerly practiced Islam to respond to Volf’s arguments and efforts to clarify Christian views for Muslims who often misrepresent such doctrines as the Trinity. Contrary to my opening question in the video, Volf does not explicitly state in the book that someone can be both 100 percent Christian and 100 percent Muslim. Rather, he argues more narrowly that you can practice Islam and be 100 percent Christian. He explained in the comments section following TGC’s review
Already Not Yet 