In particular, the concept of god in islam and christianity is so different that both religions cannot be right. Christianity is best by keith whitehead may 11, 2016 if the proverbial visitor from mars came to earth looking for god, who might have a personal interest in him, he would have an extremely wide range of choice, taking account of all the various religions there are in the world. The christian concept of holy war moved a culture formally dedicated to fulfilling the. God interpreted the events in history as purposeful acts of god. They do not agree with the chance perception of those whose worldview is materialistic nor do they agree with the bigbangtheory of the universe. Shopona the lord of the earth and orisha oko goddess of farm. Because of this, islam considers associating any deity or personality with god as a deadly sin which god will never forgive, despite the fact he may forgive all. Concept of god in christianity my religious basics. With characteristic clarity and forthrightness, dr.
The fact that god is at once the name of the god of christianity and of the general. How can we combine justice and reconciliation toward a wrongdoer. God is further held to have the properties of holiness, justice, omnibenevolence and omnipresence. Compared to god, however, all of mans efforts are not good, and no one does good. The concept of god in the traditional religion of the akan. Christianity christianity characteristic features of the christian concept of god. Yours is an age old question, which stems from a basic misunderstanding. Some are from privileged backgrounds but the majority started out as ordinary people just like you. The student will develop two 2 concise conversational apologetic audio recordings 38 minutes demonstrating the use of.
Feb 28, 2014 yes, logos has many different meanings. The igbo, apart from their belief in the great god conceived as. The attributes of god are in detail in chapter six according to their beliefs and later that of foreigners. Judaism, christianity and hinduism have in their scriptures some description of a who will come to lead them to acquire desired will of god. Conflicts between african traditional religion and christianity in.
For the elimination of the supernatural in christianityso tremendously common todayreally makes christianity merely natural. Sometimes, to avoid conflict, many families now combine the tenets of the. Most of the gods have evolved from a core group of deities. Christianity and other religions documents christianitys relationship with other world religions. Jesus christ pbuh never claimed divinity one may ask, if both muslims and christians love and respect jesus pbuh, where exactly is the parting of ways. Christianity characteristic features of the christian. The story of the church is a story of people moved by god to achieve things for his glory. Ultimately, god is the standard of what is good since it is his nature.
Islam and christianity have different doctrines or teachings concerning what god is like. They challenge theism the god of judaism, christianity and islam with radically new kinds of gods. Christianity and islam, as viewed through the texts of the hebrew. Philosophers explore novel ideas of what god may be like. God is the origin of life christian assemblies international. Christianity is an abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of jesus of nazareth. The abrahamic god in this sense is the conception of god that remains a common attribute of all three traditions. And this, among otherthings, means that god cannot, strictly speaking, intervene in his created order. Since we have insisted on beginning with who god is, we are obliged to commence by considering some of the attributes of gods being. While western philosophy has interfaced most obviously with christianity. One may ask, if both muslims and christians love and respect jesus pbuh, where exactly is the parting of ways. In the 2nd century irenaeus addressed the issue and expounded on some attributes, e.
When the primitive man had not developed the skill of spoken or written words, god was recognized by the unvocal, the undefined and the unscripted silence, even creation of universe emanated from the womb of silence, as there was no speech or writing, to hear th. The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of god have been discussed since the earliest days of christianity. The student will develop two 2 concise conversational apologetic audio recordings 38 minutes demonstrating the use of aspects of the doctrine of god in muslim witness. A comparative survey of churches and religions ad 30 to 2200, there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large faith groups, and many. The concept of god in christianity is deficient unveiling. The biblical god most certainly hates both sin and sinner and according to craigs yardstick, he becomes unworthy of recognition by believing men and women. The essential role of chi concept is seen in the igbo proverb, which. Having salvation means you will go to heaven and have eternal life and live with god forever. Zulfiqar ali shahs anthropomorphic depictions of god. Buthe is everywhere as causing the existence of all places. Through craigs illinformed attack of the islamic concept of god, he has inadvertently disqualified his own deity. After our calling, we must seek god and his way, for our conduct is motivated by our concept of god. God, western concepts of internet encyclopedia of philosophy.
When jesus says, i and the father are one in john, he is claiming that he is god. Through the history of mankind, in every culture, whether in ignorance or knowledge, man has appealed to someone or something outside of himself for guidance and protection. Concept of god in christianity by dr naik islam 101. For the worlds religions conceive of god or gods in so many different contradictory ways that they cannot all be true. We shall begin with some of the most difficult statements of who god is, and consider five 5 of these statements at this point in the study god is one god is being god is person god is spirit god is love. Muslims agree with all these attributes or properties of god.
The concept of worship to god man is a worshipful being. Fundamental concepts of christianity salvation is the saving of your spiritual life. For these christians, the new testament extended gods original covenant to cover nonjews. Part 1 is god, if there is a god, a personal, conscious, allpowerful supreme being. According to david barrett et al, editors of the world christian encyclopedia. Some natural theologians argue that it is best to combine the various arguments in. The concept of god in judaic, christian, and islamic traditions. We have one god in three persons, but that is confusing unless we also understand that god is a spirit. Hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between christianity and. His ideas were inspired by the individualist thought of aristotle and leibniz, the idea of vita nuova, or spiritual regeneration, from rosmini and dante, as well as the social activism of the protofabians. Is the concept of god in christianity the trinity three gods or one. They argue that before a debate about the existence of god can begin, one needs to understand what properties such a god would have to possess.
It is a consistent best seller in christian bookshops and has found markets all around the world. Doctrine of god in christianity and islam theo6332phil6332. The second form of divine violence is seen in the punishments god wreaks. An immediate question was how to combine the essential focus on jesus with the. Muslims deny the christian doctrine of the trinity and divinity of jesus. Eternal life in the christian sense is thus not identical with immortality of the soul. Even those like hume and nietzsche, who criticized the concept of god, dealt with. And then we can make the necessary changes to enhance their life for the better. Word of god reveals who we are and are not christian. The historically correct definition of the trinity is that god is three persons in one. The majority of organized christianity has a similar view of god. This objective union of christs identification union or vicarious union with mankind is often referred to as the vital union of christ with man in an objectified positional union.
Its adherents, known as christians, believe that jesus is the christ, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the hebrew bible, called the old testament in christianity, and chronicled in the new testament. Gods relationship with material creation as impacted by the nature of god in the bible and the quran. In the late 19th century, philosopher thomas davidson developed apeirotheism, or the theory of gods infinite in number. If we allow the power of gods word to intervene in our life, we eventually come to know who we are and what we are not. Some offer radically different concepts of god, exploring novel ideas of what god may be like. Our answers to this question determine our decisions about how we live and from where we draw our values and our sense of meaning and purpose in life. Murungu god is allpowerful mwene inya all present, and has entire attributes of god, as we will later. The concept of god according to traditional judeochristianislamic theism minimally includes the following theses. The unique usage of allah as a personal name of god is a reflection of islams emphasis on the purity of the belief in god which is the essence of the message of all gods messengers. The major difference between islam and christianity is the christians insistence on the supposed divinity of christ pbuh.
May 11, 2000 70 great christians has become a publishing phenomenon. Lewis points out in several of his writings, there are only two basic philosophies in mans understanding of god, and they are best represented in christianity and hinduism. Christianity christianity concepts of life after death. Yahweh, the primary god of the ancient hebrews, spawned the christian, islamic, and judaic supreme beings. To explain that we must also understand the difference between the spiritual realm and the. His ideas were inspired by the individualist thought of aristotle and leibniz, the idea of vita nuova, or spiritual regeneration, from rosmini and dante, as well as the social activism of the protofabians davidson believed there was a primary or. The concept of god is an excellent treatment of an increasingly critical issue in philosophical theology. A graduate of the university of pittsburgh, he has worked as an healthcare advocate for the department of veteran affairs, director of psychological health for the air force, in patient counselor for inpatient adolescents, child and family therapist. The unique usage of allah as a personal name of god is a reflection of islams emphasis on the purity of the belief in god which is the essence of the message of all god s messengers. The meaning of marriage m arriage is a unique relationship different from all others. The word of god judges the heart and soul of a person.
A christian understanding of god christ in you ministries. Conceptions of god in monotheist, pantheist, and panentheist religions or of the supreme. The concept of god in islam and christianity reasonable faith. Within the christian perception and experience of god, characteristic features stand out. Historically, god the father, jesus god the son, and the holy spirit are all considered the three persons of the trinity. The concept of god in islam and christianity reasonable.
Islam and christianity have different doctrines or teachings about god that make them irreconcilable. However, the mormon concept of god has expanded since the faiths. The question of origins is the question of where we came from. All of chapter three in the gospel of john states the. In christianity, god is the eternal being who created and preserves all things. No muslim is a muslim if he does not believe in jesus pbuh. All of them begin with the concept of god and conclude that god must exist. So lets look first at the christian concept of god and ask why muslims find it rationally objectionable.
Epicureanism, stoicismhad merged into a common worldview that was. With the thomistic contingency argument, named after the medieval christian. Christianity concepts of life after death britannica. You need to accept jesus as your lord and savior to go to heaven.
Although the theology of the trinity is accepted in most christian churches, there. In john, denotes the essential word of god, jesus christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with god, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the worlds life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of mans salvation put on human nature in the. Tension between unity and diversity asserted itself in the fall, demonstrating mans desire to be like god, not different from him. In one sense, goodness is relative in that it is good to return a wallet, good to be honest. Ken and john begin this episode by establishing the motivation for a show dedicated to the concept of god. Characteristic features of the christian concept of god. For example, christians believe that god is tripersonal, that there are in the one god three persons whom we call the father, son, and holy. Messianic jewswho generally seek to combine a jewish identity with the recognition of.
An essential characteristic of marriage is the biological fact that a man and a woman can join together as male and female in a union that is orientated to the generation of new life. They challenge classical theism, the personal creator of judaism, christianity, and islam. Nash judiciously evaluates competing conceptions of deity, and in the end recommends an understanding of god that is both theologically sound and philosophically acceptable. It is true to say that the full development of the biblical under standing of god is due to the prophetic realization that he is the lord of history, the controller of the rise and fall of nations and empires. Let us begin determining what the concept of god is, by examining anthropomorphism. Pagan idolatry is an example of that ignorant worship. Richard encourages ken and john to think about the old testament and the powerful and sometimes mean qualities attributed to god as metaphoric. Islams most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called taw. Philosophy of religion internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Godaboveculture 5 of them god is above culture and unconcerned about human beings deism, african religions ignore god while holding tightly to some of jesus teachings christians follow requirements of both christ and culture, but each in its own place thomas aquinas. The major difference between islam and christianity is the christians insistence on the supposed divinity of. For the elimination of the supernatural in christianity so tremendously common todayreally makes christianity merely natural.
Christian teachings of the immanence and involvement of god and his love for humanity exclude the belief that god is of the same substance as the created universe but. Accordingto classical theism, god is always everywhere, always present to creatures. Both roman catholic and protestant theologians proceed to explain the objective union of christians. His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things. God is a multidimensional personality, a whole being whose wonderful, perfect attributes work togetherand whose traits we are to come to know and reflect. John questions him as to how a philosopher can make sense of a person who is also allpowerful and all. But as such it is something entirely different from the old christianity that was based upon a direct revelation from god. God actually became one of us in every respect except sin 2 corinthians 5. Many religions of the world, particularly eastern sects, do not view their divine entities as the image of a man, but rather, as an ethereal force albeit with human qualities. Christianity becomes a human product, a mere part of human culture.
Christians believe that god is an allpowerful, allknowing, allholy, eternal, spiritual being who created the universe. Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of. Such an understanding would make intelligible what it means to be god. Joshua joshua hudson is a license clinical social worker with post graduate certificates in mental health.
In its essence, however, it is life according to god s kind of eternityi. These names were adopted by christians when translating the name of god into african languages. God is conceived of as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and as the creator of the universe. These seeming opposites, unity and diversity, also complement each other in the first social institutionand they shall be one flesh gen 2. Reading and studying gods word gives us the choice to judge ourselves.
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