"SDAs should worship Allah"

[Woody]

This is what Dwight Nelson is saying in his sermon on the Hope Channel right now.

Do you agree?

[phkrause]

Interesting, but I believe he means in the context of what he's presenting. I know a very close friend who was born in Pakistan when his parents were missionaries there. He is now the head of adra in India I believe. He and his wife lived with us for about 3 years, and we would discuss this very subject. He did lots of work with Muslims and small seminars for how to work for Muslims. He believed pretty much the same.

[shelly]

It is my understandng theologically Muslims, Christians, and Jews already worship the same God (the God of Abraham). So in a since, we already do.

[Woody]

Dwight said he has gotten in trouble with some of the zealous fundamentalist SDAs for this belief of his. He said that some reported him to the conference office. And his superior contacted the zealot stating it was Biblical.

[phkrause]

Dwight said he has gotten in trouble with some of the zealous fundamentalist SDAs for this belief of his. He said that some reported him to the conference office. And his superior contacted the zealot stating it was Biblical.

I wouldn't doubt it, he stands up for what he believes, and also I agree with Shelly's post.

[Ellen]

Some christians don't believe in the right "God" even though they give him the same name we do - "God"

[fccool]

Jews, Muslims and Christians have fairly different ideas on who God is. I'm sure Dwight would be pleasantly surprised that Jews and Muslims reject trinitarian view of God. Neither do they accept incarnation. All three religions have fairly different ideas of who God is and what He is about.

Both Christianity and Islam are sects of Judaism as far as they relate to OT. All three religions have a fairly different views of God.

[John317]

I'm pretty sure that Dwight Nelson accepts the Trinity, although the Qur'an rejects it. It teaches that Allah is a single being, not three persons.

You are right that Islam and Christianity view God very differently. The word "Allah" does mean God, and according to the Qur'an, it was Allah who created the world, but according to the Bible, the God who created the world was a Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Qur'an plainly denies this. It also denies that Christ was anything but an apostle of Allah, and says the Jews did not kill Christ.

In all due respect to Dwight Nelson, I wonder if he has really read the Koran, and if he is getting his ideas from someone else rather than directly out of the Qur'an. The Qur'an teaches many things that contradict the Bible, and it contains other things that Christians don't believe, such as that Christ predicted the coming of the Messenger, i.e., Mohammed. Muslims generally believe that the "Comforter" that Jesus spoke of in John 14 & 16 is their prophet.

[Stan]

I Killed Jesus. He died in my stead

[John317]

It is my understandng theologically Muslims, Christians, and Jews already worship the same God (the God of Abraham). So in a since, we already do.

The problem for me with this viewpoint is that while the name is the same-- i.e., God-- the characteristics and the character of this God are very different, so to that extent, we really worship a different God. It would be like 3 letters being written all by someone with the same name, but you can tell from what's said that they weren't written by the same person. That is the way I view the Bible and Qur'an. Allah may mean God, but if it is the same God as the God of the Bible, then that God is very changeable and contradictory.

[Tom Wetmore]

"Allah" is the standard word for God used in the Arabic translation (as well as other related languages) of the Bible. (And even Jews in Arabic speaking countries use the word "Allah".) As I have posted several times before, when I lived in Indonesia I noticed the same word, "Allah" was used in SDA churches, the Indonesian Bible and in the Indonesian translation of the SDA hymnal.

I suspect that the point being made was that if we are to reach the Muslims we should respect their language and culture and use terminology they understand. If we start off by insisiting that they cease worshiping Allah and come worship our God, we will get rejected and ignored, if not worse.

[Woody]

Just to make it clear. Dwight said to worship Allah . He did not say anything about the Quran. There IS a difference.

[John317]

I suspect that the point being made was that if we are to reach the Muslims we should respect their language and culture and use terminology they understand. If we start off by insisiting that they cease worshiping Allah and come worship our God, we will get rejected and ignored, if not worse.

I can agree with this.

The problem comes, though, when we say that the Qur'an is inspired by the same God that is portrayed in the Bible and that they are both true. At some point along the way, a person has to decide whether they are baptized into Christ and base their beliefs on the Bible or whether they remain a Muslim and base their beliefs on the Qur'an.

I'm exchanging messages with a Muslim in Bahrain who is dealing with that decision right now. He says he believes in Christ and the Bible as well as Ellen White, yet at the same time he says he can't believe anything that is not in the Qur'an, so he rejects the Trinity. He says that he would reject the Bible and Ellen White if they teach the Trinity.

So he has to decide what his standard of truth is, whether the Bible or the Qur'an.

Muslims believe the Qur'an gives the very words of Allah-- that it was dictated to Muhammad and that he memorized each word exactly as given by the angel Gabriel. These were then written down by Muhammad's disciples, as the Prophet recited them. It is therefore a book with no doubt, a perfect book that clearly teaches the truth, unlike the Bible, which for the Muslim has been corrupted by Jews and Christians.

[John317]

I Killed Jesus. He died in my stead

.The Women

1.[4.157] And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.

[4.171] O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector.

Repentance

[9.30] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!

[9.31] They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allah, and (also) the Messiah son of Marium and they were enjoined that they should serve one God only, there is no god but He; far from His glory be what they set up (with Him).

The Dinner Table

[5.75] The Messiah, son of Marium is but an apostle; apostles before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman; they both used to eat food. See how We make the communications clear to them, then behold, how they are turned away.

[5.73] Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve.

[doug yowell]

Originally Posted By: Stan Jensen

I Killed Jesus. He died in my stead

.The Women

1.[4.157] And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.

The Dinner Table

[5.75] The Messiah, son of Marium is but an apostle; apostles before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman; they both used to eat food. See how We make the communications clear to them, then behold, how they are turned away.

Yes,this seems almost insurmountable.Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way to the Father. He claimed to be Divine. The gospel centers around His resurrection from the dead which presupposes His death.Jesus validates the entire OT which differs drastically from the Koran. Somewhere each Muslim will have to make a decision on what is true and what is not. Christians are already supposed to have made that decision.

[antcreations]

The Noble Qur'an is just as inspired as the Judeo-Christian Bible is.

GOD (Allah) meets people where they are.

[John317]

GOD (Allah) meets people where they are.

I agree that the true God meets people where they are, but does that mean telling them that Jesus the Messiah is not the son of God and that he was merely an apostle of God like many other apostles before him, and that God makes no distinction between any of those apostles, including Jesus?

Which is the truth if the Bible and the Qur'an are both inspired-- is Christ God, the creator of heaven and earth, as the Bible claims, or is Christ a mere man who did not exist before being born on this earth?

The Bible says that Isaac was the son of promise whom God commanded Abraham to sacrifice. On the other hand, the Qur'an teaches that Ishmael was the son whom God commanded Abraham to sacrifice. Did the true God inspire both statements?

Both claims cannot be true-- one is a lie. And the Bible teaches that God cannot lie.

Question: who benefits from people believing Jesus Christ was not the son of God and did not shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin on the cross? Who benefits from the belief that Ishmael was the son of promise and not Issac?

[SivartM]

The problem for me with this viewpoint is that while the name is the same-- i.e., God-- the characteristics and the character of this God are very different, so to that extent, we really worship a different God. It would be like 3 letters being written all by someone with the same name, but you can tell from what's said that they weren't written by the same person. That is the way I view the Bible and Qur'an. Allah may mean God, but if it is the same God as the God of the Bible, then that God is very changeable and contradictory.

[antcreations]

Right on SivartM. GOD meets people where they are!

The GOD of the Old Testament is a combination of a good deity and a desert demon.

[LifeHiscost]

I Killed Jesus. He died in my stead

And since it was the second death that the unrepentant sinner will face at the judgement that Jesus suffered, that means that Jesus actually was willing to trade His place in heaven, rather than see us lose our place prepared for us there. In the second death one cannot see hope beyond the grave, which is where Jesus was when He cried out, "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?"

If the Word did not say it, it is so awesome it would be impossible for me to believe.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."Ephesians 3:20 NLT

God blesses!

[LifeHiscost]

Rather than answer your letter, I would suggest getting acquainted with Jesus would answer your confusion, unless of course you believe Jesus to be a liar as opposed to your understanding of the Word possibly being deficient.

"I and my Father are one."John 10:30 KJV

"But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."1 John 4:8 NLT

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."Hebrews 13:7 NLT

"“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed." Malachi 3:6 NLT

God blesses!

[jen516]

I saw part of this sermon and had to turn it off. I couldn't believe my ears. I think that his point could have been made without having to say what he said. The Bible says to pray to the Father through the Son. And we speak the English language in this country, for the most part, and "Allah" is not anywhere in my Bible. Why try to confuse people by telling them to "Worship Allah" in such a time as the world is in now?

[Gordon1]

God sent His Son into the world to save it.

The Son of God died and was resurrected by the Father.

The Son is the mediator between God and men, standing at the Father's right hand.

The Son is coming again.

[Guest]

I saw part of this sermon and had to turn it off. I couldn't believe my ears. I think that his point could have been made without having to say what he said. The Bible says to pray to the Father through the Son. And we speak the English language in this country, for the most part, and "Allah" is not anywhere in my Bible. Why try to confuse people by telling them to "Worship Allah" in such a time as the world is in now?

Amen!

You too Gordon...

[antcreations]

Quote:

"I and my Father are one."John 10:30 KJV

"But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."1 John 4:8 NLT

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."Hebrews 13:7 NLT

"“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed." Malachi 3:6 NLT

God blesses!

The Old Testament GOD is a GOD who commanded that His enemies be massacred. And even at Sinai – this Old Testament GOD even killed dumb animals if they got too close to the mountain!

This violent Old Testament GOD struck Uzzah dead --- when he was trying to be helpful when the stumbling oxen endangered the ark of the covenant!

And, was it really necessary to send 2 angry bears to kill 42 – I’ll state that again in words -- FORTY TWO “innocent” children who were disrespectful to their elders?

And if you are so bold as to complain about the way GOD is doing things – then GOD will send serpents to bite you! If that is not enough, how about open the earth up to swallow you --- ALIVE?!!! Really? That extreme?

And this just plainly disturbing: this violent GOD in the Old Testament is one who commanded His people to massacre their enemies “kill their men, WOMEN, CHILDREN and even their BABIES and animals (1 Samuel 15:3)

Now contrast that Old Testament GOD with the Judeo-Christian New Testament GOD in Yeshua --- who never killed anyone, who never struck anyone. Even when Yeshua cleansed the temple, he attacked furniture – not people.

The Judeo-Christian Gospels record only two violent miracles performed by Yeshua --- neither of them involving people directly --- sending the pigs into the sea and cursing the fig tree.

The GOD in our Judeo-Christian Bible is just as un-predictable as the Allah in the Noble Qur'an. Why? Because GOD (Allah) meets people where they are.

To say and assume that there can ONLY be one inspired Holy Book is like saying, "i will only pick and choose the verses that corresponds to MY worldview. The rest are demonic."