BP 178
I need to begin by admitting that I’m not an expert on World Religions. However, I have read a fair amount and took a course addressing the various religions in the world—especially Islam—and so I want to reflect on how Christianity is healthier to embrace than the crescent moon and star religion that appeared seven centuries after Jesus walked this earth.
Before I juxtapose Christianity and Islam, I want to make a comment about Buddhism. What leads me to easily dismiss Buddhism (and every other similar eastern religion) is that there is no personal deity to be found. Yes, there might be “devas,” some type of god, but there are no personal deities with whom a person is called to enter into an intimate relationship. Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to attain the state of enlightenment and thereafter was known as the Buddha, but he was not a deity, and the goal of Buddhism is not to know Buddha as your Creator God and friend.
To clarify further, the goal of Buddhism (and similar eastern religions) is not a relationship with a god who can be personally known but some impersonal objective. Again, I am not an expert on Buddhism, but it appears that this religion focuses on ending the cycle of suffering, detaching from desires, becoming enlightened and reaching nirvana.
Some other eastern religions will focus on healing crystals, yoga, becoming one with the universal self, losing oneself in the ocean of consciousness, and undoing bad karma so one might be reincarnated at a higher level. All these beliefs and practices are so impersonal and even encourage us to lose our own self.
In my work as a clinical psychologist over three decades, I have repeatedly witnessed in my clients and patients a fundamental need for personal relationship. In fact, as Designer Therapy for Life has repeatedly emphasized, it has become crystal clear (forgive the pun) to me over the years that the roots of mental illness lie in distance and separation from God, others, and one’s own self. In other words, the goal and pinnacle of life is being in close, intimate relationships with others. Nothing else really matters.
Therefore, it is easy for me to readily dismiss eastern religions that have little or no emphasis on love, relationship, being with God and others.
Spiritually, psychologically, and relationally, we are creatures who must have intimacy and love to function well. Becoming part of some impersonal cosmic consciousness is the last thing we need.
Okay, let’s move on to the comparison of Islam and Christianity. To begin, I wish to make four main points.
First, let’s look at being friends with God.
Jesus amazingly said, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” ~ John 15:14ff.
What an approachable God we have in Jesus. We are not just His servant or His disciple or His follower. We are His friend! But it is not simply the Son who calls us to intimacy. Even God the Father is approachable. Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”
There are numerous passages in Scripture that speak of God’s intimacy and approachability. Take a look at Jeremiah 31:20, for example: “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the LORD.”
Amazing! The God who created everything and has existed forever has a heart, and that heart yearns for His human children! Did you know that God yearns for you? How much does that sound like a dad loving his children.
Psalm 139, of course, is a profound picture of God’s intimacy with His children. I don’t have space for the whole Psalm in this post, but here is a portion of it: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. . . If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” ~ vv. 1-4, 10.
In Islam, Allah is referred to as Companion and Protector. However, he is not a friend (even though the Quran refers to the Bible’s reference to Abraham being a friend of God). One Islamic scholar writes on Islamweb.net, “As for the term ‘friend’, we could not find any text or evidence that it could be used in reference to Allah in a specific context or in a general sense. Therefore, it is absolutely impermissible [my bold print] to use it in reference to Allah because, as we mentioned above, the Attributes of Allah are determined only through the divine revelation.”
So, in Islam, Allah is not to be referred to as a friend while Jesus specifically calls us friends since He shares with us all that the Father has revealed to Him. Clearly, if the purpose of human existence is love, friendship, “withness,” then Christianity is psychologically healthy while Islam seems to be more distant and detached. In fact, it appears to oppose the deepest hunger of the human heart, namely, to be lovingly seen by others and by God.
A second comparison between Christianity and Islam is akin to the first one. In Christianity, God is often referred to as “Father,” a very familial term. In the Pauline letters alone, father references occur over forty times! In the Muslim faith, there are 99 names for God but never is he referred to as father. In fact, there are some Muslim scholars who believe it is blasphemy to view Allah as father.
Allah himself says, “Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to [Allah] Most Gracious as a slave” (19:93).
In addition, one Muslim commentator writes, “No one has the freedom, no matter how well-intentioned, to ascribe to Allah Most High such false names and attributes as ‘father’ that they themselves create. That is a very grave sin indeed. Rather, Allah Himself provided all His beautiful names . . . in the Quran, and ‘father’ is most certainly not one of them, and can never be one of them.”
‘Friend’ and ‘father’ are intimate and familial terms respectively that have deep connotations of closeness and love. Intimacy, love, trust, attachment—these are all experiences that describe and promote healthy psychological adjustment. The God of Christianity is a personal Being, a Friend, Father, and Savior who pursued His people in love. He is not detached. Rather, He desires to be attached to us as His children.
We do not need to fear God’s anger or judgment since Jesus absorbed those for us. We can run toward His throne. In Islam, Allah is to be deeply feared because a person’s salvation is contingent on his whim and caprice. There are no guarantees. There is no deep inner peace based on the assurance of being with him forever (unless you die fighting the infidel).
Yes, that is a third difference between Christianity and Islam, namely, that a person is not guaranteed salvation in Islam while Jesus promises us eternal life with Him because such a gift depends on Him instead of our efforts. Since salvation from sin is not necessary in Islam and since there is no belief in original sin, the attainment of salvation is based on a person’s good works outweighing their bad works instead of the removal of sin and the crediting of righteousness.
A frightening, bone-rattling, teeth-grinding aspect of Islam is that no one can have an assurance of their salvation. Followers of Allah will not know if he will accept them until Judgment Day. There is no assurance in this lifetime where believers will go after death. Salvation is scarily contingent on some unknown, subjective determination by Allah.
In great distinction from Islam, Christianity declares that humans must receive forgiveness of sins in order to receive salvation. Good works will not suffice. The only way to salvation is to have faith in Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sins. The good news here is that we do not have to tremble for eighty years as we wait to see if God will subjectively decide if we have earned our way into the kingdom, if we have done enough to earn his favor.
The amazing truth and grace of Christianity is that if we believe and receive Jesus, we are in. We are saved. He will remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh. We will be in heaven. Our names will be indelibly written in the Book of Life. How relieving and peaceful it is to know that our salvation does not depend on us being good enough! How men and women gain access to heaven could not be more radically different in Islam and Christianity.
Yes, the good news is that if we trust in Jesus, we are promised that we have eternal life. God’s word says in John’s epistle, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” ~ I John 5:13
The words of Romans 5:1-2, 8-11 brim with the confidence we have as Christians to know we are saved and will be with God forever: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God . . . . for God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
A fourth departing of ways between Islam and Christianity is reflected in just a glance at the personalities of the primary prophets representing each faith, Muhammad and Jesus. One way they radically diverge (besides Jesus claiming that He is God!) is how they differ in their treatment of people who do not embrace the faith they call humanity to follow.
How does Muhammad interact with non-believers?
Bill Muehlenberg in Culture Watch writes, “The barbaric practice of beheading infidels is not just something we see happening today by Islamic terrorists. It was enjoined in the Koran and practiced by Muhammad and his followers: “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads” (sura 47:4). The very next verse assures those who have died while fighting for Allah that they will be taken into paradise (the only guarantee of salvation in Islam).
Here is the one guarantee of salvation in Islam: those who die killing the enemy (Jews and Christians) will be granted entrance to paradise.
Muehlenberg goes on to write, “Muhammad himself participated in warfare and killing. According to the earliest biography of Muhammad, the Sira, the Prophet was involved in some 84 battles and raids in the last decade of his life. He was present for 27 of these, and he personally fought in nine of them. So quite unlike Jesus, Muhammad was certainly a man of war.
“And revenge, not forgiveness, was the order of the day for the Apostle. As but one example, in the Sira we read of Muhammad declaring his murderous intent: ‘If God gives me victory in Quraysh [Muhammad’s own tribe in Mecca] in the future, I will mutilate 30 of their men.’ Many other such examples can be cited. This clearly has nothing to do with turning the other cheek as Jesus emphasized.”
Muehlenberg summarizes Muhammed’s personality by saying that “it is overwhelmingly clear from the three main Islamic sources that Muhammad was a man of bloodshed, one who sanctioned massacres, approved of assassinations, and engaged in numerous armed conflicts and bloody episodes of retaliation.”
Diametrically–night and day–different than Islam’s prophet, we have Jesus. Most famously and clearly he spoke these words about those who oppose Christians: “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” ~ Luke 6:27-36.
So, there you have it—the personalities of the two prophets. Muhammad was (he is in his tomb) a man of violence and Jesus is (He has risen from the dead as the Son of God) the Prince of Peace.
Who do you wish to follow?
I apologize that this post is simply a “flyover” of how Christianity is healthier than Islam or all other religions. There is so much more that could be said about how the love of God portrayed in Jesus’ death is amazingly healthy for humans—spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. For today, let me close with a few examples of how Christianity and Jesus are the healthiest for men and women of all races and nationalities. I might add a few others we did not discuss above.
If you onboard Jesus into your soul, you are promised—guaranteed–the following:
- Open access to God through faith (Romans 5:1ff) as well as peace with God. He is present with you and promises to never leave you because Jesus has torn open the curtain of separation.
- The confidence that you are saved and will be with God forever. What joy floods the human soul when you know that you are going to heaven and will be with your divine friend and Savior for an eternity. And this confidence does not rest whatsoever on our efforts but solely on God’s grace, promise, and faithfulness.
- A friendship with Jesus. You are not simply a servant; He calls you “friend”. How exciting and amazing to be a friend of the God who made the universe! How relationally and emotionally healthy that truth is for men and women who experience so much aloneness and loneliness in this world.
- A loving Father who sent His only son to die for you so that all obstacles that stand between you and Him might be removed. Jesus calls this Father, Abba, which is a very intimate term that means “daddy.” In some Muslim circles, you would be killed for takfir for calling God a dad or daddy or father. Jesus, however, taught us to pray, “Our father who is in heaven . . .”
- God in Jesus forgives us and demands that we forgive others as He has forgiven us. If we move toward others and work on forgiveness (it may take a while), anger, the rehearsing of wrongs, and bitterness will slowly dissipate, blood pressure will probably be lowered, and you will attract more people than you will repel. Mark Twain was the one who said, “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” Jesus drains that acid from our hearts, possibly lengthening our lives on this planet.
- The power to love enemies who have harmed you or continue to threaten you. Jesus says to love, pray for, forgive, give to our enemies. How radical is that!
- God in the person of the Holy Spirit will live in your heart, comforting you, teaching you, convicting you when you sin and directing you to confess your sins and know total forgiveness and cleansing.
In conclusion, Christianity and faith in Jesus is physically, relationally, and spiritually healthiest for you—and for others. After all, as Muehlenberg wrote, “Muhammad preached ‘Death to the infidels!’ while Jesus prayed ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’. The disciples of Muhammad killed for the faith while the disciples of Jesus were killed for their faith. The two could not be any more different.”
If you already know Jesus, you have been given a wonderful opportunity to daily become healthier in every way, possibly even physically. If you don’t know Jesus, come to Him and He will give you increasing spiritual, relational, and psychological health on this planet and will also prepare you for eternal relationships in heaven!
Jesus visited this planet to reconcile. He died so we could have intimate relationships. Motivated by love, He came for us so that we might be forgiven and approach the Father. Life on this planet is all about relationships because they mirror Jesus’ desire for intimacy.
There are no better options!
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18
“Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the LORD” ~ Jeremiah 31:20
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