A Common Word

A Common Word is an attempt by a group of Muslim scholars to find common ground between Islam and Christianity. The basis for this common ground is the mutually agreed "first law", "Love God with all your heart." Islam agrees. Judaism agrees. Christianity agrees. Voilà! We're all in agreement! Oh, and since Jesus said, "He who is not against us is on our side" (Luke 9:50), well, hey, the Muslims aren't against us, so they're on our side! It's all good. Can't we all just get along?

It is a nice attempt to avoid conflict with Christians. It is, in fact, in their view, a vital attempt:

... we say that our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony.

What they are trying to avoid is "hatred and strife." The fact that someone feels the need to try to avoid "hatred and strife" on the part of Christians is indeed distressing. We have lots of room for standing for the truth, defending the faith, exhorting, reproving, and other such things, but "hatred and strife" shouldn't be in that list. I'm in favor of avoiding hatred and strife with Jews, Muslims, atheists ... anyone you care to mention. And, bottom line, it is absolutely true that Christians ought to be concerned about exactly what this document calls for -- loving God and loving our neighbor. Absolutely!

So am I endorsing the document? No, I really cannot. Here's the problem. When they say, "Love God with all your heart," they mean something quite different than Christianity does. That's because "God" has a different definition to them than He does to us. You'll find the first hint of it where they say:

Muslims recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, not in the same way Christians do (but Christians themselves anyway have never all agreed with each other on Jesus Christ’s nature), but in the following way: the Messiah Jesus son of Mary is a Messenger of God and His Word which he cast unto Mary and a Spirit from Him.... (Al-Nisa’, 4:171).

This Jesus they call "Messiah" is not the Jesus of the New Testament. He is a messenger -- a prophet. He is a messenger of a lesser type than Mohammed. And Jesus did not die or rise again. Absolutely, Jesus is not God. Islam doesn't leave that up for question. Islam specifically denies it. In the document itself they reiterated the phrase "He hath no associate" as part of the basic teaching of Islam. There is one God. "He begetteth not, nor is He begotten" is a statement straight from the Qur'an (Surah Al-Ikhlas (112)). Islam at its core denies the doctrine of the Trinity and the Deity of Christ. Since Christianity absolutely affirms that Jesus is God Incarnate, for us the command to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" is a command to love Jesus with all our hearts as well since He is God. In Islam, that would be blasphemy. It's really difficult to call one thing "obedience" or "blasphemy" and say, "We see things basically the same."

I find the website thoroughly depressing for multiple reasons. Part of the argument for peace between Christians and Muslims is "Christians themselves anyway have never all agreed with each other on Jesus Christ’s nature." We gave them that ammunition. The early church put the question to rest and it was over, but today we're much more tolerant. "If you want to call yourself a Christian and deny the fundamental nature of God consisting in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who am I to suggest you're not a Christian?" Today we're much nicer than they were in days gone by. In the past, heretics were burned at the stake. Today we define "Christian" as "anyone who chooses to define themselves as such." I don't wish to go back to the burnings, but we've clearly come too far away from "contend for the faith." That's sad.

It's sad to see the list of folks that have endorsed the document. I'm not at all surprised to see the applause from the Yale Divinity School or its 300 other signatories. I'm not the least bit taken aback to see that the World Council of Churches or the Disciples of Christ (whose main premise seems to be "Can't we all just get along?") have endorsed it. I am deeply saddened to see hearty approval from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Saddest for me, then, is that those who would call themselves Christians and affirm this document and its intent -- that we need to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors -- would do so at the peril of the Muslims and Jews it calls on for unity. If we deny who God is -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- in the name of peace, we nullify the first premise that we are to love God with all our hearts. If we surrender in the name of peace the only means by which peace with God can be obtained -- faith in His Son -- we deny the second premise of loving our neighbor. I'm against hatred and strife. I love my fellow humans too much, however, to lay down their only hope for salvation in an effort to be at peace with them. That, indeed, would be a violation of both of the top two commandments. In my deep desire for their peace, it is mandatory that I continue to share the truth with them in love. They are afraid that their very eternal souls are at stake if they fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace. I am sure that their very eternal souls are at stake if we give up these fundamental truths in the name of peace.