Expert: Brian Thompson - 11/5/2008

Question
in our Alpha group people are making statements about different faiths and we are not to correct them only if i make a bad statement like Abrham's god was allah  and arabic word for God is Allah so thus if you are a moslem  who believes allah was Abraham's God  and he is the father of mankind  and in that context it is one and the same but with buts later one . Also if you talk about the arabic language  the word Allah  means God . My Pastor says this is not true that Allah is a moon god. Does this not confuse a new Christian  as to Moslems Catholic[ which  is a cult] which some believe in our church. I know the only way to God is through Jesus . You can be a believer but without walking the walk is not going to assure you going to heaven. The two go hand in hand You have walk with him not just believe Please answer these very important questions for me

                Yours in Christ Elizabeth

Answer
Hi Elizabeth

It is very clear from examination of Scripture that the God of the Muslims and the God of the Christian/Judaism is not the same person.

The Muslims say God is unknowable and we Christians know this not to be true, so it is proper to correct inaccurate statements but it is often counter-productive to debate them without a sound knowledge of the issues.

Your Pastor is correct in saying that the deity called Allah by Muslims was in fact a lesser deity, a moon god in the arab culture. It is clear Mohammed was confused about many aspects of Christianity, just as many outsiders are today, and in his reaction to what he considered false beliefs he threw out many scriptural truths and relegated Jesus to the role of a prophet.

The Muslims, the LDS and the JW all subscribe to the same error; that Jesus Christ is not God. The Catholics are not of the same opinion.
The Scripture says unless you are born again of water and the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of God and unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God, so it follows from this that it is not difficult for people to be led into error. You should not be concerned about others and whether they are cults since the Scripture is not so proscriptive but understand that the central overriding requirement is belief and commitment to Jesus. We are all offered the same path to Jesus and even a Muslim can find it by reading the Scriptures.

As a new Christian just concentrate on understanding the essential truths of Christianity and avoid using your new found knowledge to correct others as this is a mistake new Christians often make. The time will come when you will be weaned from the milk and can take solid food. Christianity is an unfolding revelation both in regard to Scripture and in regard to the individual's walk with Jesus. Becoming born again provides us with salvation we then must be brought to maturity by progressively dealing with aspects of our nature and experience and coming to know Jesus in a deeper way.