Answers, not quite, increasingly superficial
A couple of days ago Brian McLaren was asked the following question on his blog, "... third, that you believe (based on some of your latest comments) that the god worshipped by Muslims is the same God that Christians worship. Are these assumptions true?" In typical fashion, McLaren has provided non-answers in the form of further questions. Those questions and the point they are trying to get across, however, are extremely superficial, especially considering the position McLaren is in (at least as I understand what McLaren is saying).
On your question about the God worshipped by Christians and Muslims, here's what I would say:
1. Do all Christians hold exactly the same concept of God when they worship? For example, does the concept of God held by Prosperity Gospel Pentecostals differ greatly from that held by double-predestinarian Calvinists? Does the concept of God held by a pacifist Mennonite differ greatly from the concept held by a pro-war believer in Manifest Destiny? Did Mother Teresa's concept of God differ from Jerry Falwell's? Of course, there are significant differences, so significant that some Christians deny that other Christians are truly Christians.
The answer is, I believe, no, Christians don't differ greatly where God is considered. Of course, this requires creating a distinction between first-tier beliefs (necessary beliefs) and second-tier beliefs (non-necessary beliefs). When considering first-tier beliefs, it doesn't matter if one is Protestant (or the different denominations of Protestantism), Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, the same first-tier beliefs are held: belief in the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, sin and the fallen nature of man, the necessary work of Jesus on the cross, salvation, the exclusivity of Jesus and the inspired nature of Scripture. Second-tier beliefs would entail the working out of those above beliefs, the 'prosperity Gospel,' pre-destination or double-destination, beliefs which dispose one to pacifist or pro-war inclination, etc. What we have is different views regarding agreed upon concepts of God. What we don't have is different views regarding different conceptions of God. To return to McLaren's question, "did Mother Teresa's concept of God differ from Jerry Falwell's?' the answer is no. They both believed in the person of Jesus, in the sinful and fallen nature of mankind and in the necessity of Jesus Christs work, both professing Him as Lord and Savior. These are the core beliefs which all Christians accept and on which Christians don't differ.
From this the rest of McLaren's answer more or less falls apart.
2. If Christians differ so greatly from one another in their concepts of God, then of course Muslims and Christians have significant differences too. Yes, both groups have important concepts in common - for example, both believe God is omnipotent, all-merciful, and without any imperfection. Both claim to believe in the same God that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets believed and followed. But Christians believe that God is revealed most fully and gloriously in a crucified person, and Muslims believe God is revealed most fully and gloriously in an inspired book. (Actually I've met a few Christians who seem to have a concept closer to Islam's, substituting the Bible for the Quran.) So there are real and significant differences.
3. This raises a fascinating question: how merciful is God in hearing the prayers and receiving the worship of people whose concepts are less than fully accurate? If God requires 100% accuracy, we're all hopeless since we all fall short in our understanding of God. In fact, I agree with C. S. Lewis in this beautiful poem ...
+++++
He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshiping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to thyself divert
Our arrows aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolaters, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if thou take them at their word.Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great,
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.
Regarding what McLaren has said in his second point, both groups don't hold to the same 'important concepts' (emphasis on important). The Christian definition of omnipotence is quite different from the Islamic definition of Omnipotence, as is their ideas of 'all-merciful,' respectively. Mind you I do agree that in both Islam and Christianity we see a view of a perfect God. However, these are not important common concepts. If Christians and Muslims affirmed exactly the same ideas of omnipotence, perfection and mercy, this would not mean that Christians and Muslims worshipped the same God. The same can be said regarding the claim that both say they following the God of 'Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets'. What McLaren says in passing which is actually the significant thing, is the difference in views concerning the person of Jesus. Christians believe God became incarnate in Jesus while Muslims do not. It's this belief in who Jesus is that determines whether or not you're worshiping the same God. It's not a matter of 'same concept, different expression'. It's a matter of different concept, different expression, as some of the Muslim commentators noted in a previous post. I think what McLaren has neglected to do is read and study his Old Testament. It's not simply a matter of claiming, 'We worship the same God!' and claiming that as a sort of exemption, 'Oh, well, we weren't completely accurate in worshiping you!' The reality is that God has revealed Himself to us and to deny that revelation is a serious offense. We cannot claim we were 'less than accurate' where God has revealed Himself. If we reject that, then we reject God.
As for Lewis' Footnote to All Prayers, Lewis was either very naive in writing, or McLaren is very much taken it out of context. All in all, another question to McLaren with no answer. Nothing surprising.
Related posts:
- The Search for Answers and Meaning
- Gentle, Reverent Answers
- Hosea 4:6 — Lack of knowledge is an understatement.
