A Goody From Woody

September 11, 2010 is coming. It has been nine years since the attack on America by Islamic terrorists called al-Qaeda. Four commercial jet airlines hijacked and crashed into the Twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Arlington VA, and a field near Shanksville PA.

When 9-11-10 comes this week I’ll be reflecting on the difference between Islam and Christianity. Consider some of our differences.

Islam claims that Jesus and Mohammad were both prophets sent by Allah.

If Allah sent both Jesus and Mohammad then they would never contradict each other. But they do in major ways.

Consider Mohammad first. He was born in 570 AD. When he was forty years old he had a “revelation” in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. That was recorded in what we now know as the Koran (Qur’an). In 622 he fled opposition; this was the beginning of Islam. When Jesus and Christians rejected his teachings he returned to Mecca. He denounced the idols that surrounded the famous black stone or Kaaba Stone, and declared that it represented the one true god, Allah (formerly the moon god).

When Mohammad was 25 years old, he worked tending a caravan. The woman he worked for was a widow who was 15 years older than he was. She fell in love with him and asked him to marry her. She was wealthy. They married and had two sons (who died young) and four daughters. After the children came along Mohammad’s life was more of leisure and his duties were limited to running the family produce stand in the market.

At age 40, he had his first “vision.” He interpreted this as his call to be a prophet from Allah. At this time in Arabian religions there was no concept of either a “prophet” or “apostle.”

The term “prophet” was used in the hope that the Jews would accept Mohammad as the next prophet, while the term “apostle” was likewise used in the hope that the Christian would acknowledge him as the next apostle.

Mohammad’s appeal worked for pagans (polytheists) who followed his leadership, but both Jews and Christians rejected him and his teachings.

The concept of “revelation” in Islamic thought is very different than it is for Christians and our Bible.

The word “revelation” in Arabic literally means “handed down.” It means that the Quran did not come “through” or “by” any man, in this case, Mohammad.

There are therefore no human authors of the Quran. Allah speaks through Gabriel to man, and man is the receiver and not the originator of the Quran.

This is in contrast to the biblical authors who even identified themselves as the ones who wrote their particular books. Christians have no difficulty in saying Jeremiah wrote the book of Jeremiah or Luke wrote the book of Luke. They do not feel that this lessens or limits the inspiration of the Bible in any way.

But with the Quran there is the denial of any human or earthly sources for the material that was handed down from heaven by Allah through Gabriel.

While Mohammad was rising to power, and under pressure from family and friends, who were polytheists, he decided to allow and admitted it was OK to pray and worship the three daughters of Allah: Al-Zat, al-Uzza, and Manat (which is polytheism).

This led to the famous “Satanic verses” in which Mohammad, in a moment of weakness and supposedly under the inspiration of Satan (according to early Muslim authorities), succumbed to the temptation to appease the pagan mobs in Mecca. (Sura 53:19).

The story of Mohammad’s temporary appeasement of the pagans by allowing them their polytheism cannot be ignored or denied. It is a fact of history.

Many Muslim scholars say that Mohammad was sinless. But this refutes that completely.

While at Medina, he decided to go back to Mecca and force everyone, the polytheists, the Jews and Christians, to follow Allah—whether they wanted to or not. So riding on a camel with a vast array he rode into Mecca with a sword in his mouth to conquer by force.

Consider now Jesus. According to the Old Testament, Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection were foretold. (See Micah 5:2 to see where he would be born. Isaiah 40 and Micah 4 tell us his coming would be broadcast by John the Baptist.)

No soothsayer or prophet announced Mohammad’s coming.

The birth of Jesus was miraculous—a virgin born Savior. Not so Mohammad.

According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ lived a perfect and sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21).

Even in Jesus’ trial before Pilate, no charge could be found. They had to lie to come up with a reason for his arrest.

But Mohammad was not so. He was a natural human being who had all our sins and afflictions and therefore needed a Savior just as we do.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with palm branches waving to the cry “Hosanna.” He did not come as a conquering warrior. He came as deliverer from the bondage of sin and death.

During Jesus’ life on earth, He performed many miracles. He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and stilled storms and the seas.

According to the Quran in dozens of places such as Sura 17:91-95, Mohammad never performed a single miracle.

According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ was unique in that He was divine as well as human. This is why Jesus is called “God” in John 1, 8, 18; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9;5; Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8, 10; 2 Peter 1:1, etc.

When we turn to Mohammad, we find that he was only a man.

According to the New Testament, Jesus preached the love of God and was the greatest example of that love: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

In contrast, we have no record in the Quran of Mohammad preaching on the love of God.

Jesus never instructed His followers by way of example, command, or precept to kill in His name, to rob in His name, or to subdue enemies in His name.

But Mohammad did. Mohammad even took his adopted son’s (Zaid) wife. And then he had a “revelation” that Allah said it was OK for the prophet to take a daughter-in-law for a wife. He had 15 wives.

Lastly, Jesus was crucified, and resurrected from the dead. He conquered sin, death and the grave. He physically rose again on the third day in the same body that had hung on the old rugged cross. He died for our sins in order to justify us. Romans 4:25

But when Mohammad died, he remained in the grave. He did not rise again. Mohammad is dead but Jesus our Savior is alive forever.

Forgive the long blog, but these are just the fragments of differences between Mohammad and Jesus.

Pray for the followers of Islam and Mohammad. Love not hate is the secret. Use what you’ve discovered here to talk about our differences as a tool to witness.

God Bless,
Woody