The Barrier

July 22

One of the profound differences the religion of Islam has with Christianity (the two are often compared because Moslems purport that they worship the same God as do Christians and Jews) is their differing doctrine of sin and forgiveness . There are many things that are considered to be sin in the Islamic worldview that are not esteemed so in Christianity.

One of the most obvious is the necessity of women to be veiled in many Moslem countries. The offense of being uncovered will be harshly punished where this tenet of the faith is emphasized. Yet, when it comes to understanding the way to forgiveness of sin, it is perhaps here that Moslem thought departs most from that of that of faith in Jesus.

In Christianity, it is not until the sin is confessed and Jesus’ atonement has been accepted that the penitent may be forgiven. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice presented to God in order to gain forgiveness. In Islam, it is believed that the sin that is uncovered weighs more heavily upon the sinner than the sin that remains concealed.

This is at variance with what David said in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and You will forgive the guilt of my sin.'” Christians believe this promise. They know they must lay their sins upon the altar and receive the cleansing of Christ’s shed blood if they are to be made clean. This one thing—the perception of sin and how it is washed away—stands forever as a barrier to any true melding of the minds of these two faiths.