Islam, Christianity Compared

A recent opinion piece on Feb. 2 calls for additional commentary. The main and all-important difference between Islam and Christianity is JESUS! There is a common misconception that Muslims worship the same god that we Christians do, and nothing could be further than the truth. As pointed out before, Allah is the moon god, and is in no way related to Yahweh or Jehovah, the one true God. The Qur'an repeatedly states that "Allah has no son."

The Feb. 2 piece refers to the Christian "formula" for being saved, that "you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ" and is again correct in that trust is the necessary element of that belief. That trust is in the finished work of Jesus on the cross (which Islam denies) that allows for believers to receive the righteousness of Christ Himself in return for our sin. What a deal! We do nothing to be saved, and we do nothing to "earn" righteousness. Jesus did it all. (All of us were enemies of God because of Adam's sin and we needed a Savior.)

Unfortunately, Muslims have no savior. Their "hope," based on the teachings of the Qur'an, is that belief in Allah and "doing good" will ensure their entrance to bliss. (The only "bullet-proof" guarantee of going to heaven for them is to die in jihad.) Contrast this with I John 5:13 which tells us that we can be certain that we have eternal life if we "believe on the Son of God" (foreign to Islam).

Let's compare some other features of Islam vs. Christianity. The desire of Christians, mirroring that of God Himself, is that all Muslims be saved. Christians pray for Muslims out of love and concern for them, and send missionaries at great risk to preach the Good News of a Savior who died for them just as much as for anyone else. They can know true peace by knowing the Prince of Peace. Islam, on the other hand, is a religion of conquest as demonstrated by its founder Mohammed. The name "Islam," as correctly stated, means "submit." We must not forget, though, the wider meaning of that submission -- all "infidels" must be killed if they don't submit to Islam. That is what is taught in the Qur'an, and a worldwide caliphate is Islam's goal.

The writer states, "There is a danger when we assume that our religion is better than that of another person or group..." Is a religion that teaches of a loving Savior who gave himself up for us so that we may have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control not better than one that promotes violent overthrow, killing, and hatred? I'll take Christianity.

Our founding fathers did desire freedom for Americans to worship as they see fit, but not for a system of beliefs that intends to replace our laws and form of government with sharia law. To allow unfettered influx of Muslims is national suicide. Islam is incompatible with American society and government. Intolerant? Well, just what are we going to tolerate? Mass beheadings when Islam is the dominant population here? Trashing of our Constitution (even beyond that by our current president) and institution of sharia law? Wake up, America!