Ed Ward

Islam and Christianity Contrasted Ed Ward

My first exposure to Muslims was in 2005 in Morocco. I enjoyed my visit and was surprised by the Berbers' hospitality. I was fascinated by the eagerness of Muslims to discuss God. While sharing personal stories was important, our conversations always concluded with talking about God. Discussions about our faiths was the foremost topic of my conversations with Muslims. Over the years, I have compared the teachings of Islam with the Christian Scriptures. I have found the narratives differing in detail and concepts conflicting in perspective. These theological differences confirm that Islam and Christianity do not worship the same God. For example, the Quran teaches that Allah commanded angels to bow down to Adam at creation. Satan refused, and Allah banished him to the earth (Qu.7:11-13). According to the Bible, Yhwh would never command angels to bow down to man, for only Yhwh is worthy of worship. For an angel to bow down to man is idolatry. I have observed many debates between Muslims and Christians. Muslim debaters seldom stay on the agreed topic. Instead, they divert from the subject to ridicule and debase Christianity as foolishness. I have found that while Muslims ask difficult questions of Christianity, they never ask the same questions of Islam. Islam and Christianity Contrasted will seek answers to those questions from the early Islamic sources and compare them with the teachings of the Bible. The Quran, early hadiths, Islamic history, and four established translations of the Bible will be consulted. I hope that through Islam and Christianity Contrasted, both Muslims and Christians will have a deeper understanding of one another's faith.