Genre: Political Theology
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: February 2012 (Paperback ed)
Reviewed by Josh Olds
QUICK HIT – Volf’s premise that Christians and Muslims worship the same God is profound and controversial, yet important to understand in the context of Muslim/Christian relations. How we answer Volf’s primary question is one of the most important questions of modern times.
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
At the beginning of Allah: A Christian Response, I was inclined to answer this provocative question with a firm “No.” My reasoning of course being that Jesus professed to be the only way to God: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Having read Miroslav Volf’s arguments, and taken the time to weigh them, I would now answer that with a firm “Yes”—as long as we allow for clarification.
My previous perception was primary soteriological—I was confusing worshipping the correct God with worshipping God correctly. It’s not a poor perception to take, ultimately, but in the sense that Volf makes his argument it is incomplete. That is, Volf’s perception is not that Muslims are saved or that Christianity and Islam are soteriologically equal, but rather that Muslims acknowledge the true God but know him incompletely.
Volf begins his argument by explaining his perspective and framing the importance of answering this question. Coming from the perspective of political theology, Volf does not want to discuss soteriology—at least not primarily—but rather how Christians and Muslims can live out their convictions about God and God’s commands while living peaceably and constructively together.
He begins by giving the topic some historical background, taking a chapter to focus on the recent past and two chapters to discuss the distant past when it comes to this debate. In the first chapter, he brings up some rather inflammatory comments from Christian figures from Pat Robertson to Pope Benedict XVI to John Piper and carefully rebuts their divisive rhetoric. In the two chapters that follow, Volf gives an extensively researched and cited account of the same conflict as it occurred in the time of Nicolas of Cusa (15th century) and Martin Luther (16th century). These chapters are very interesting as both Nicolas and Luther affirm that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, even if Luther seems to do so only begrudgingly. These chapters serve to show that Volf’s perspective is not a part of the ecumenical “spirit of the age” but rather a serious theological issue that has been discussed throughout the history of these two religions.
Part two of the book dives into specific discussions, questions, and issues. Volf makes the argument that for it to be accurate to say Christians and Muslims worship the same God, their perception of God must be sufficiently similar in relevant ways. From here, Volf identifies four core beliefs that both Muslims and Christians would agree on:
1. There is only one God, the one and only divine being (Mark 12:29; Muhammad, 47:19).
2. God created everything that is not God (Genesis 1:1; Al Shura, 42:11)
3. God is different from everything that is not God (1 Timothy 6:6; Al An’am, 6:103)
4. God is good (1 John 4:16; Al Buruj, 85:14)
Volf also puts forth that both Muslims and Christians believe in adherence to what Jesus called the two greatest commandments: Love God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Al Zimar, 39:45) and love others (Matthew 7:12; Hadith). Having given a foundation for commonality, Volf continues to build his case throughout the book. He points out the similar moral framework possessed by normative Christianity and normative Islam, pointing out that both religions that believe correctly or name the faith but do not follow it. If we as Christians can point to the Crusaders and say “they are not true Christians” then why do we often balk when normative Islams say the same about radical Islam.
Allah: A Christian Response is truly boundary breaking, for it is able to separate both the Christian and the Muslim from the “us vs. them” mentality that is so pervasive in this post-9/11 culture and call both sides to work on affirming their commonalities for the political good while peaceably debating on spiritual matters for the religious good. In terms of Christian evangelism, Volf’s arguments build bridges that will hopefully help even more Muslims come to know Christ. Just as first century Jews were concerned that becoming Christian meant abandoning the God of their fathers (see Romans 9-11) so too Muslims are rightfully hesitant to abandon Allah. But if by knowing Jesus, they can understand and worship Allah in the way He intended worship, then acknowledging Jesus and addressing the soteriological issue will make a relationship with Allah (which is only Arabic for God) more intimate and not destroy it. Volf also engages the readers in a delightful discussion of the Trinity, which finds relevance to this discussion in the Muslim (and even Christian) misunderstanding of what the Trinity implies.
Overall, Allah: A Christian Response is a weighty book. It took me some time to read through this, to appreciate the arguments, to think through the issue myself. But I think it’s an issue that Christians need to be discussing and thinking about. Christians often have an unfair perception of Muslims—people we are called to love just as Jesus loved. By focusing on our commonalities without underplaying or denying our differences, Volf makes an argument for political religious pluralism without giving in to soteriological religious pluralism. In the end, for me, it was paradigm changing and I’d like to thank Mr. Volf for helping me think through this important contemporary issue.
What do you think? Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?
