Famed Methodist Theologian Discusses Islam and Christianity

Distinguished United Methodist theologian William Abraham presented an unpublished paper exploring the question, “‘God’ in Christianity and Islam: Are They the Same ‘God?’” at Baylor University on April 23, 2012. Abraham, a professor at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and an advisor for the Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church, argued, “Christians and Muslims believe in the same God, [but] they do not worship the same God.”

The complex question “revolves around the issue of the sameness of identity,” Abraham explained. “Christians and Muslims can both identify their God as the one and only creator of the world who is all good, all powerful, and worthy of worship and obedience.” But “Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God at all,” according to Abraham. Though this deeply philosophical and theological issue may appear irrelevant to most people, he said, “The issue of Christian and Muslim identity, in my judgment, is not at all mere hair splitting,” and has “very important ramifications.”

“Wrestling with the issue of identity of God as it now confronts us in our living encounter with Islam in the West signals an important shift in the context in which we have to carry out our work as Christian theologians and teachers,” Abraham said. In addition to the ongoing challenges of atheism and secularism, Abraham explained the challenge of Islam “adds whole new dimensions to the epistemological and political issues that currently ought to preoccupy us as Christian theologians.”

The issue is so important, Abraham said, that, “We will have to revisit the whole issue of the birth of Western democracies … we’re going to have to sort through and deal with theologically motivated terrorism … we will have to revisit the nature and limits of religious freedom.” He also warned: “Further, we will have to overhaul our current obsession with inclusiveness, political correctness, and diversity. These, when absolutized, cannot begin to do justice to the deep incompatible commitments that arise when you have real diversity and radical pluralism.”

Theologically, Abraham said the debate about the identity of God is a “welcome catalyst to awaken us from our dogmatic slumbers … it calls for a fresh engagement with the canonical faith of the Church.” This new context of living in close proximity with Muslims “requires a deep reengagement with the Christian conception and doctrine of God in all its fullness and complexity,” he explained. “And I think the encounter with Islam makes manifest how unique and rich our vision of God truly is.”

Politically speaking, Abraham argued the distinction between the God one believes in and the God one worships “is helpful, if not vital, if Muslims are to find a place in the civil and political life of North America.” He pointed out that the “United States represents a unique political experiment that is theological through and through.” And he explained: “The God of American public theology … is not quite the same God that either Christians or Muslims worship. But it is the same God that Muslims and Christians believe exists.”

Abraham theorized that because the God of American civil religion gradually expanded from that of a narrow group of Protestants, to include Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish immigrants, it could further enlarge to include Muslims. “If I’m right that Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe in but do not worship the same God,” he said, “Then the issue is an open one for the future, and the ultimate test is whether a Muslim could be President of the United States.” Before this could happen though, Islam itself will have to make some “changes in its political theology, both in principle and in practice … with respect to marriage, banking, [and] women,” to fully engage in American public life, the professor stated.

After the lecture, panelists offered critiques of Professor Abraham’s arguments. One panelist, Christian van Gorder, a professor of religious studies at Baylor University specializing in Islam and Christianity, disagreed with Abraham’s thesis. Comparing the identity of God between Christianity and Islam is impossible he argued, because in Islam, “There is nothing that can be said about God’s nature other than that ‘God is’ … everything that we can know about God is not about his nature, but his attributes.” Further, he explained: “Worship and belief are not two distinct realms that merit an artificial divorce of context.” Van Gorder pointed out that “Christians and Muslims have never made that artificial distinction,” and creating “such an artificial wedge between worship and belief … is problematic.”

Ultimately, Abraham and the dissenting panelists agreed that dialogue between Christians and Muslims is necessary and ongoing. In conclusion, Abraham explored the missiological implications of this discussion. It is essential to “ensure that our depiction of the triune God connects naturally with the good news of the gospel,” he said. “The doctrine of the trinity is not an addendum,” Abraham explained. “It is right at the very core, ultimately, of what we believe.”

Abraham concluded: “Coming to terms with the nature of God is not philosophical nitpicking.” After all, “Expounding the identity of the triune God calls for joyous sharing and celebration of the gospel with the Muslim world, however difficult that may be.”