January 23
There are innumerable ways in which the Moslem perception of Allah differs from the Christian perception of the One we consider to be, “…Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6. Perhaps the most distinct point of departure between these two monotheistic faiths from their interpretation of His nature lies in the Christian perception of His Fatherhood.
Because to the Moslem mind, the idea of the Fatherhood of God is entirely human and biological, they reject it (and rightly so) as blasphemy. For some reason, they cannot grasp the spiritual nature of the Christian perception of the Fatherhood of God. Yet it is a vital point of doctrine to the Christian who knows that the God of Creation has chosen this tender, human term to make the believer understand how precious he is to the Holy One.
Related to the contrast of the Moslem perspective of Allah as an all-knowing, all-powerful entity who will ultimately judge mankind and the Christian perception of Him as a loving Father who has made provision through the Second Person of the Trinity for believers’ sins to be washed away is the nature of the expectation Allah has of man vs. the expectation Jehovah God has of man. There is a great gulf between the following two generalizations of the perceptions espousers of these two religions have of the Supreme Being regarding them.
A Moslem will always program an error into anything he does because ‘only Allah is perfect.’ A Christian will always strive for perfection in all he does because the Word says in II Corinthians 13:11, “Aim for perfection…and the God of love and peace will be with you.” It also conveys this thought in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:38, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Like a good earthly father, Christians believe that our amazing Father God desires that we walk in His footsteps so we never need to stand before Him as our Judge.
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