Islam Help

[NewWorldOrder]

Who's our resident expert on Islam here? I thought there was a member here who had lot's of information on Islam.

[Sing4Him]

The Gospel According to Islam
by
John MacArthur

Copyright 2002 Grace Community Church.
All rights reserved.


Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the already ecumenical climate in America has reached new heights. In an effort to distinguish between the extremist Muslim terrorists and the mainstream Muslim population, the media has called for an even higher level of tolerance and acceptance of the religion of Islam than usual.

In a recent issue of Newsweek, for instance, religion editor Kenneth Woodward asserts that “mere tolerance of other religions is not enough” and that “even the acceptance of other religions as valid paths to God is insufficient” (“How Should We Think About Islam?” Newsweek, December 31, 2001 / January 7, 2002, p. 104). According to Woodward, “the most important theological agenda of the new millennium” is for committed Christians, Jews, and Muslims to “find within their own traditions sound theological reasons for valuing other faiths without compromising their own” (ibid., pp. 104-05).

Sadly, the influence of this sentiment can be seen even in the church. In fact, in a recent Christianity Today article, Wheaton College professor James Lewis recommends that Christians “seek Muslim prayer partners and together beseech the true, one and only God to have mercy on us” (“Does God Hear Muslims’ Prayers?” Christianity Today, February 4, 2002, p. 31).

When evangelicals capitulate and attempt to soften the offense of the gospel in this way, they blur the lines between the god of Islam and the God of the Bible. But now is not the time for blurring lines. Now is the time to draw lines—lines between truth and error, and between the one path to heaven and the many paths to hell.

In an address last November to Thomas Nelson Publishing, John MacArthur had the opportunity to draw such lines. “‘Allah’ is not another name for God,” John began his address, “It is another name for Satan.” This is a message that both the world and the church need to hear—the religion of Islam is satanic in origin and is utterly incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:19-20).

Islam rejects the Trinity and the God of the Bible, insisting instead that Allah alone is the one true deity. It denies that Jesus is God, that He died on the cross, and that He was raised from the dead. Instead, say Muslims, Jesus was but one of thousands of prophets sent by Allah, the greatest of them being Mohammed. In other words, Jesus was merely a man.

Islam rejects the salvation of forgiveness through Christ, teaching that only Muslims can be saved. According to the Koran, if a person follows Islam and does enough good deeds to outweigh the bad, Allah may allow him to enter paradise, but even then he can’t be certain. The only sure pathway to heaven is killing and being killed in jihad, a holy war.

Islam gives lip service to the Bible as a holy book, but it undermines and denies every fundamental doctrine about sin and salvation taught in the Bible. In fact, Islam today is the most powerful system on earth for the destruction of biblical truth and Christianity—thousands of Christians are dying under Islamic persecution, especially in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia.

Clearly, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive. Both claim to be the only true way to God, but both cannot be right. There is no atonement in Islam, no forgiveness, no savior, and no assurance of eternal life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope; Islam is a religion of hopelessness.

Making these kinds of distinctions may not be politically correct, but it is critical if the purity of the gospel is to be protected. Put simply, there is no salvation outside of Christ. When this truth is compromised, the gospel is abandoned—and so is the only hope that we can offer to those who are not our enemies, but rather our mission field.

For books that address Islam from a biblical perspective, see “The Pastor’s Bookshelf” below.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Islam Revisited

In addition to setting forth the incompatibility of Islam and Christianity (See “Off The Top” above), John’s new book, Terrorism, Jihad, and the Bible, addresses four questions that are weighing heavily on the minds of many: (1) Who was behind the terrorist attack, and why?; (2) Why did God allow such a horrific thing to happen?; (3) What does the Bible teach about war?; and (4) Is there hope in this world? The book is ideal for Christians and Muslims alike.

Other helpful works on the religion of Islam include the following:


Phil Parshall, Inside the Community: Understanding Muslims through Their Traditions (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994).


Phil Parshall, Beyond the Mosque: Christians within Muslim Community (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985).


Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not a Muslim (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1995).


Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993).


Robert A. Morey, The Islamic Invasion: Confronting the World’s Fastest Growing Religion (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 1992).

http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/islamgospel.htm

[Sing4Him]

With all that is going on today, can you help me gain a basic understanding of Islam? How does it differ from biblical Christianity?

Answer

Islam is actually a word that means “surrender” or “submission.” Islam claims to be fully surrendered to the will of Allah. And the will of Allah, they believe, was revealed through his prophet Mohammed. The revelation is written down in the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

There are six basic articles of faith in Islam and five duties. A simple Islamic doctrinal statement would look something like this:

Muslims believe that Allah alone is the one true deity.
He has neither mother nor father; similarly, he has no sons or daughters. He is not a Trinity; he is not the God of the Old Testament; and he is not the God of Christianity. Allah, according to Islam, is the god of all humanity.
Muslims believe in all the “Messengers and Prophets of Allah.”
According to Islamic literature, Allah sent thousands of prophets (Jesus being one), but Mohammed is the greatest of them all.
Muslims believe in “the Revelations and the Koran.”
They believe the Koran is the most holy book. Islam also recognizes other sacred writings, including the original manuscripts of the Bible. But Muslims claim that all other holy writings have been corrupted and tainted by translation and copyist errors. Only the Koran is pure, and every word of the Koran is the word of Allah, as given directly to Mohammed.
Muslims believe in the angels of Allah.
They believe angels are created beings that have no material or physical needs. Angels require neither food nor drink. The angels are inferior to Allah but superior to humans, and they may be either good or evil.
Muslims believe in a day of judgment.
Muslims believe all the dead will be raised to stand trial before Allah, and they will be judged according to their works. It is hoped by most Muslims that if a person follows Islam and does enough good deeds to outweigh the bad, Allah may allow such a person to enter paradise rather than sending that person to hell. But there are no guarantees of this. One’s ultimate destiny is subject solely to the will of Allah. In Islam, there is no atonement for sin or promise of forgiveness, and no assurance of any kind–except for those who die in jihad. Those people, martyrs, are guaranteed eternal life in paradise.
Muslims believe in “Qadaa and Qadar”
These Arabic words signify Allah’s timeless knowledge and power to execute his plans. Islamic determinism goes far beyond the biblical doctrine that God is ultimately sovereign over all, working all things together for good. Instead, Islamic predestinarianism amounts to a kind of fatalistic determinism, where everything that occurs–both good and evil–is thought to come directly from the hand of Allah.
Muslims also have five duties, known as the pillars of Islam. Islam itself is said to be built on these five “pillars”:

The first duty is the recitation of the Islamic declaration of faith, known as the Shahadah.
The second duty is prayer five times a day.
A third duty is charity (known as Zakat).
A fourth duty is the annual fast–actually a month of fasting–called Ramadan.
A fifth duty, required of every Muslim at least once in his life (unless it is utterly impossible by some restraint), is a pilgrimage to Mecca, called the hajj.
Islam is fundamentally and irreconcilably opposed to biblical Christianity. Islam teaches that Jesus Christ was a mere man–a prophet, and not God incarnate. Islam also denies that Jesus died on a cross. Obviously, if Christ did not die on the cross, He did not have to rise from the dead; so Islam denies the resurrection, too.

Islam further teaches that no one can have salvation but a Muslim. Even though a Muslim can never know whether he has salvation, only Muslims can have it in the end.

Much more could be said, but clearly, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive. Both claim to be the only true way to God. Both cannot be right
http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/macqa8.htm

[Sing4Him]

[YOU TUBE VIDEO]5qMSjPuZzlg[/YOU TUBE VIDEO]

[Sing4Him]

I'm NO expert on this whatsoever. I'm not sure whom you are referring to but hopefully they will see this. In the meantime I hope what was posted is helpful. :wave

[NewWorldOrder]

Yes, it's helpful. Thank you.

I'm asking because we just started studying Islam in my SS class, but there's some things that they haven't touched on, that I think are important. It was said in my class that Muslims worship Allah, which is what they call God, and that they still worship the same God but they call him Allah, and have a really misconstrued idea of God. I don't argue that except that Allah is actually the Babylonian Moon God, by a similar name, but I can't remember the name, and that's where Muhommed acctually got the name Allah, but I was struck down when I tried to bring it up.

Wasn't the whole premise of Islam originally from the Moon God, and that's where they get their crescent moon? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I was a little disappointed in my class today.

[BHW33]

1 John 2:22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Islam speciifically states the that God has no son and Jesus was only a prophet.

[antitox]

Yes, it's helpful. Thank you.

I'm asking because we just started studying Islam in my SS class, but there's some things that they haven't touched on, that I think are important. It was said in my class that Muslims worship Allah, which is what they call God, and that they still worship the same God but they call him Allah, and have a really misconstrued idea of God. I don't argue that except that Allah is actually the Babylonian Moon God, by a similar name, but I can't remember the name, and that's where Muhommed acctually got the name Allah, but I was struck down when I tried to bring it up.

Wasn't the whole premise of Islam originally from the Moon God, and that's where they get their crescent moon? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I was a little disappointed in my class today.

I've said this many times, but I believe more than ever that Allah is the "Prince of Persia" that Michael the archangel fought when Gabriel had to get God's reply to Daniel.

[ATYCLB]

The Koran makes it very clear that Allah and the Christian God are not the same:

"The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah.
That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of
old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!"
(Qurâ'an 9:30)

"Say: Praise be to Allah, Who begets no son, Who has no partner in [His] dominion
and Who [needs] none to protect Him from humiliation;' And Magnify Him with all
magnificence."
(al-Isra' 17/111)

"Allah did not beget a son; Nor is there any god along with Him; Otherwise each god
would have taken away what he had created and some of them would have lorded over
others. May Allah, Be Glorified above all that they allege. He knows what is hidden and
what is exposed. May He Be Exalted over all that they ascribe as partners [to Him]."
(al-Mu'minun 23/91-92)

The Koran:

"Praise be to Allah, Who begets no son"

Scripture:

"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17

The Koran clearly states that Allah has no son and that Jesus was nothing more
than a prophet.

2 Corinthians 11:4 tells us:

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye
receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him."

Islam preaches another Jesus.

Muslims reject the true Jesus and what the Gospels teach us.

They embrace "another Jesus" and "another gospel".

[Paula]

NewWorldOrder, Be very careful to continue speaking the truth to those in your class. I have been to several churches who are trying to familiarize the people with Islam, and making it seem just a variation. It is not Jehovah. What kind of church do you attend?

I went to a woman's prayer for muslim women, and when I got there, they were trying to use Bible verses to pray in the islamic prescribed method. Needless to say, I was outraged, and spoke my heart with force. The pamphlet they had was from the International Mission Board of the SBC.

We are told to come into our Lord's presence with singing. It is forbidden to sing to Allah in islam.
I stepped on toes, but they listened. Hallelujah.