As the son of Reverend Billy Graham, perhaps the most influential Christian evangelist in the twentieth century, as the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse, and as a very influential spokesman for conservative American Christianity, the views that the Reverend Franklin Graham holds about Islam are both reflective of and a significant influence in those of a broad swath of American public opinion. It is therefore important that what he says on the topic be examined carefully. In the present post and in the one to follow, I will be looking at what he had to say in an article, “My View of Islam,” originally published in the Wall Street Journal and reprinted in The Covenant News, at: http://www.covenantnews.com/graham.htm.
In the present post I briefly draw attention to his understanding of the “god” of Islam. In the next post, shifting from theology to ethics, I plan to take a look at his understanding of the “Islamic teaching” which he sees in “My View of Islam” as having as its “result” the commission of the “terrible deeds” associated with terrorism, the treatment of women, and the treatment of religious minorities.
Graham begins “My View of Islam” by telling us that some of his “recent statements” on Islam have been “greatly misunderstood.”
Some of my recent statements, interpreted as critical of Islam, have been widely reported. I believe I’ve been greatly misunderstood, and I’d like to paint a more complete picture.
He begins with a forthright confession of the basis of his Christian faith.
I should start by saying that I am an evangelist and chief executive of two large Christian organizations. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. I believe in Jesus’ statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Christians accept this as the only way to God.
He continues:
And so while I respect the rights of all people to adopt their own beliefs, I would respectfully disagree with any religion that teaches people to put their faith in other gods. As a Christian minister, my calling is to proclaim the God of the Christian faith, whose son Jesus Christ died for the sins of all mankind.
He has therein given quiet statement to the view that, as I’ll put it, “the god of Islam is not the God of Christianity.” That is, Graham, we must assume, believes both that there is one and only one God and that “the God of the Christian faith” is that one God; he certainly does not believe that “the God of the Christian faith” is but one God among many. From this, given also his assumption that the “god” of Islam is not identical with “the God of the Christian faith,” it follows first that the “god” of Islam is not identical with the one God and next that the “god” of Islam is no God at all.
It should then be small wonder that “[s]ome of [his] recent statements” have been “interpreted as critical of Islam.”
Is Graham or any orthodox Christian in any position to deny that Islam and Christianity have the same God in common? After all, both have in mind a reality, however else variously understood, that is the creator of everything else and that is perfect in knowledge, in love and will, and in power.
Perhaps the best that one can offer as a reason for a Christian to deny the identity of the Christian and the Islamic God is that the Christian, recognizing God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as three divine persons, believes that the one God is also a triune God. This Islam denies.
If this, however, is a sufficient reason for a Christian to deny that Islam and Christianity have the same God in common, then it is also a sufficient reason for a Christian to deny that Judaism and Christianity have the same God in common. Judaism, like Islam, denies that the one God is also a triune God. But no orthodox Christian has ever denied that Judaism and Christianity have the same God in common (though some non-orthodox Christians have).
Graham, I am sure, is prepared to see that the pertinent difference between Judaism and Christianity is not that the “god” of Judaism is no God at all, but rather that Judaism has an understanding of at least some aspects of the God worshipped by Jews and Christians alike that differs from the Christian understanding. Should he not then also be prepared to see that the pertinent difference between Islam and Christianity is not that the “god” of Islam is no God at all, but rather that Islam has an understanding of at least some aspects of the God worshipped by Muslims and Christians alike that differs from the Christian understanding.
Although I agree with Reverend Graham, I would like to raise a point not raised in this blog. If the god of the Muslim faith were identical to the God of the Judeo-Christian faith, why are there two books? Both sects acknowledge their bible (in the general term) to be the infallible and perfect word from their god. There are similarities between the two holy books, but there are great discrepancies and different major beliefs. If they are, in fact, one in the same, one bible would have to be wrong.
Having reread your comment, I’d like to ask you how you’d reply to the question analogous to your question about the two books. That is: If the God of the Jewish faith were identical to the God of the Christian faith, why are there two, not books, but testaments, the Old Testament and the New Testament?
Reverend Franklin Graham obviously has the right to make his comments on Islam and I think that in doing so, critics or skeptics of Graham’s views have the same right to question his “god”. Also, in response to the previous post, whether or not the God of Christianity and Islam are the same or not, I think that if they are, the two different holy books are two different ways of interpreting the message of God. Even people of the same religion who use the same holy book have different ways of interpreting it.
Are all interpretations equal? Or can one be right and others wrong?
In response to this i would say that the Muslim and Christian sense not agreeing that they are referring to the same god i think it is just two of the worlds major religions fighting over very small details. They are trying to prove that the two religions are not a like and should not be associated with each other. Even though Muslims and Christians do believe in similar thing such as the existence of Jesus. Granted they believe he played different roles in the religions. I think the Judeo-Christian God and Muslim God are one in the same with just different variations of how God is portrayed and represented in that religious culture. These two religions both have holy books the Holy Bible and Qur’an, they both say that it is the word of God in a sense, if this is so who is really right? Well we do not know they both could be right and have the word of God and if it is the same God then should they have almost identical messages, teachings, beliefs, and traditions. The reasons that these beliefs could be different are the prophets interpreting them or just a difference in time periods, which relates to what is going on in those cultures at a specific time. So the messages and teachings would have to be different. But in the grand scheme of the Muslim Allah and the Christian God could very well be one in the same just adjusting or tweaking his teaching for his audience if you will.
Doesn’t it seem to you that the fact that the central doctrine of Christianity, that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of god, but God the Son, is considered profoundly false is more than a small detail?
I believe that Graham sounds a little stuck up or almost ignorant to other religions and what they believe. People have a right to put their faith into whatever God they follow and for him to say, “I would respectfully disagree with any religion that teaches people to put their faith in other gods” is a little rude. Even though he says “I respectfully disagree…” its still a really off putting statement for people who do not believe in Jesus Christ or Christian ways. I also agree with the comment above mine, that these two religions should not be associated with each other. I believe that all religions should not be constantly compared and contrasted. They should be talked about and explained but never should be fought over and debating on which is true. Every one is taught growing up that every one is different and every one will have their different beliefs and put their faith into a religion that could be different from another person.
But wouldn’t you agree that the statement that, say, “Jesus Christ is both human and divine,” is either true or false, even if, say, you or I didn’t know which?
Graham does sound rather ignorant to other religions. If he is the founder of two major christian organizations why is he worrying about other religions? He is being very critical of Islam and in a way not making much sense. His statement, “I would respectfully disagree with any religion that teaches people to put their faith in other gods” doesn’t sound like he should be proclaiming this. If he says that he acknowledges that there are other religions, then he should understand that different religions have different Gods. I feel that many Gods have the same message to their followers and that Graham should understand that. It seems that the Islamic God and the Christian God have alot of the same similarities for their followers.
Sorry to take so long to reply to your comment, but:
Do you want to say that the different religions have different Gods and that there are many Gods, albeit having similar message?. Or do you want to say that the different religions have different beliefs about God or gods, though there is at most one God?
i agree that different religions have a God and that everyone in the religion looks upon God in almost the same ways. If you have a positive outlook on your own God, then you probably have similar opinions with other people in other religions.
You never answered the question. So I will ask you directly. Is the God of the Jews the same God of Islam? Who did Jacob put on the altar as directed by God?
Also, is the God of Islam the Moon God? Would you explain what this idea of a Moon God is? Does such a god have any basis in either Jewish or Christian theology?
Would you please be more direct and explicit
You’ve asked me, not one question, but three. And that first one requires some thought. Let me think a bit before replying.
1. Replying first to the first of your three questions, I think it important to include the God of Judaism in the discussion for reasons I think are made clear in the post. In their classical orthodox versions, then, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all affirm that there is one and only one creator of everything other than that creator, to which one can refer by use of the name, “God.” Any orthodox representative of any one of the three, including the Christian Franklin Graham, should then recognize that he or she is in full agreement with all orthodox representatives of the other two religions on that point.
Now that does not rule out significantly different views on the nature of that creator or God. There is the obvious difference that the classical orthodox version of Christianity believes that the one and only one God is triune in nature, while Judaism and Islam do not. Then there are the differences within and among the three religions on how to understand the nature of God as the ultimate in knowledge, love and will, and power. Some representatives of Judaism, some representatives of Christianity, and some representatives of Islam, to take but one example, place the priority on the creator’s love, while others place it on the creator’s will. But in principle people can have differences concerning the nature of God and yet, assuming among other things that there is such a creator or God, be thinking or speaking of the same God.
That assumption, that there is such a creator or God is critical, for if there is not one, then the question of whether the “god” of Islam is identical with it cannot really even arise. I do not myself know whether or not that assumption is true, though I hope that it is even as I fear that it is not.
2. I cannot directly answer the second of your questions, asking whom “Jacob put on the altar as directed by God, because it is a perfect example of a “complex question.” That is, it assumes an affirmative answer to the logically prior question, “Did Jacob put someone on the altar as directed by God?” This in turn assumes that God gives directions and thus that there is a God. I, however, do not know whether or not there is a God or a creator of everything else, though I would like there to be one. The best I can come up with is that I doubt very seriously that God, at least the God I hope is existent, would have issued such a directive.
3. As for your question, or questions, concerning the moon god, I will first admit I know little about the historical issue. I can observe that it is at least logically possible that the belief in Allah evolved out of a belief in a moon god, though I would have thought a sun god a more likely candidate. Sura 41 of the Quran may be read so as to suggest a concern to separate the worship of Allah from that of the sun or the moon, saying as it does:
But it is clear that Islam, insofar as it accepts the doctrines set forth in the Quran, does not allow the adoration of the sun or the moon and, on the other hand, commands the adoration of Allah, their creator, and so draws a sharp distinction between Allah and the sun or the moon.
I regard then the historical issue as of historical importance, but only of historical importance. If you are interested in the history, you may perhaps wish to peruse the online article dealing with the question, “Reply To Robert Morey’s Moon-God Allah Myth: A Look At The Archaeological Evidence,” at http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Sources/Allah/moongod.html. It looks, from my rather cursory perusal, as if it is a relatively serious review of the issue.
As I said, however, the historical issue is only of historical importance. The more important question is that of what Islam, once constituted, has believed in. It is not a moon god.