Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Yes, they do

Vitor Grando

This short answer can make you think that this is a easy question. It is not. Whatever the answer you give, this is certainly not an easy question. But this is a question that has come to the fore since last month when Larycia Hawkins, faculty member of Wheaton College, said that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, which has put her in conflict with the College's Statement of Faith.

Many philosophers, theologians and laymen have expressed their views throughout the internet and the media, but it seems to me that all of them fail to see that this question may be twofolded. It is certainly true that the Prophet Muhammad considered himself the "seal of the prophets" and a genuine prophet from the lineage of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Therefore, the progressive revelation that has been given to each of the judeo-christian prophets would have been consumated in Muhammad. In this sense, muslims and christians indeed do worship the same God.

Nevertheless, it does not follow from this that they both have the same conceptions about this God nor that both conceptions are equally legitimate. For instance, I may have a given conception of a person X and you may have a totally opposite conception of this same person. The object of our conception is the same, though one of us has a completely wrong conception of that person. I may affirm myself as a legitimate prophet from the lineage of Adam, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad. Could we say that the God I say I follow is the same God of christians and muslims? I think so, after all we both afirm the same object of worship, nevertheless it does not mean that I am a true prophet nor that my conceptions of God is right. I would certainly be deluded.

Having said that, I think that this question is a bit irrelevant. The real issue that must be discussed is the theological question: Is Muhammad really the Seal of the Prophets? Let's focus on the real issue. 

Título e Texto: Vitor Grando, 17-1-2017