Do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God?

[Madwand1]

Don't judge all religious people by the examples of those such as the one creating this thread. It is the intolerance of those limited and insular views which you see, and that does not represent the spectrum of religious and spiritual views in totality. Some of those views are indeed quite different, and also consequently opposed by those holding limited insular views.

 

[EagleKeeper]

One group of people worship the "one true god".

Another group of people worship the "one true god".

A third group of people worship the "one true god".

Repeat this about 1500 times and you have the current religious climate on Earth.

Expand a person's viewpoint into realizing the earth is less than a spec of dust in terms of the galaxy as a whole, and picture that all of these "one true god"s designed this humongous space just for you. All of this space that you can't get to, can't survive in, and can barely even understand.

Then expand the view further - now picture hundreds of billions of galaxies, all full of hundreds of billions of planets, a bunch of which have beings on them that all worship their own version of their "one true god". Get the picture yet?

When you have 500 quintillion religions all focused on their "one true god", then suddenly that "one true god" that solely created the entire universe for them seems a little... far fetched.

The home of the super-species is being destroyed.
The super-species is imploding.
All the other areas where this super-species could expand to are out of the realm technology.

This "god" is willing to allow his "super-species" to go under rather than use all the other space. And the tolerance of his "super-species" is so delicate that the majority of the area that is accessible to it becomes unusable.

Some/all god(s) apparently screwed up their omniscient plans.

 

[ThinClient]

Don't judge all religious people by the examples of those such as the one creating this thread. It is the intolerance of those limited and insular views which you see, and that does not represent the spectrum of religious and spiritual views in totality. Some of those views are indeed quite different, and also consequently opposed by those holding limited insular views.

Tolerance is condescending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpNRw7snmGM

 

[Madwand1]

Tolerance is condescending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpNRw7snmGM

Jillette ends up contradicting himself when he says that. He made the point that an unverifiable belief is also an indisputable belief; that that is a barrier to communication, and then he said that he, being an objectivist (of some sort), loves it when his claims are disputed by people who have a substantial counter-point. Then he makes the claim, without any real substantiation, that liberal theists are condescending as if to a child when they say that salvation is available to anyone, and then closes with the kicker -- that he feels a great affinity to fundamentalists, because he can "look them in the eye and tell them that they are wrong", and get the same back.

Tolerance in itself is not condescending. What may be condescending to one such as Jillette is the attitude that his atheism is not important to some theists, and that theists can hold a faith without being able to prove to him that the faith is valid. To leap from that to saying that tolerance itself is condescending and undesirable is idiotic.

 

[IronWing]

Every person creates his/her own god(s). The is no "our" god(s). Many choose to model their personal gods on somebody else's but they are never the same. Most choose to create god(s) that more or less agree with their own world view.

 

[Juddog]

Every person creates his/her own god(s). The is no "our" god(s). Many choose to model their personal gods on somebody else's but they are never the same. Most choose to create god(s) that more or less agree with their own world view.

This falls into the same line as what Moonie was saying, which is to say that the God that they worship is really nothing other than their higher self, or themselves reinvented as a perfect being.

That idea is distinctly different than the ones represented by the desert abrahamic religions though, in which the terms of God are dictated to the reader.

 

[Onceler]

CNN

No, we do not worship the same God.

Christian believes that Jesus is God incarnate, as stated by the doctrine of the Trinity.

Muslims and Jews definitely don't believe in the same God as Christians do. Just ask them about who and what Jesus is.

The Muslim god, Allah was the moon god that was worshiped with other gods in a pantheon of gods. Muhammad picked him because he was the deity worshiped by Muhammad's birth village. Muhammad tried to give his god status by falsely claiming that Allah is the same as YHWH.

You are correct, they are not the same God. YHVH is the ultimate God the letters each stand for the four elements which issued forth from the Akasha.

 

[Onceler]

Gotta love people who take the actions of a relative few and apply it to all other members of the group.

There is nothing radical about radical islam, it is the norm. The true radicals of islam are the ones who think that they can get along with everyone else.

 

[v-600]

I disagree with you for the following reason. of all the Muslims I have known, none tried to kill me.

 

[Paul98]

There is nothing radical about radical islam, it is the norm. The true radicals of islam are the ones who thing that they can get along with everyone else.

Could you please backup this statement, it just sounds like you have no clue and are just making ignorant comments with only your stupid biases to back it up.

 

[Onceler]

islam is a convert or die religion, always has been.

 

[jmarti445]

Its the same God. El = Jehovah = Allah = Yahweh

Jesus is the Son of God according to the bible, thus he is not God.

Now Bible Thumpers, your Holy bible has lied to you, it is a mistranslation from Latin to English, which in turn was heavily edited from scripture passed down in Hebrew, it is said that Satan is the Deceiver, the prince of Lies, so if that is the truth and the bible has so many mistranslations and so many misinterpretations as well as so many views in it that are false, misognistic, and ultimately cruel...then who are you really worshipping, God? Or the Ultimate Deceiver and Prince of Lies, Satan?

Reflect on that a bit? Know that Jesus Decended into Hell at one point in the bible's history, and that was then omitted. Who are you worshipping, God? Or Satan? I ask this cause I've noticed a trend that has occurred for the last 2000 years or so, of thou shall not kill unless your religion tells you to do so. I view religion as the great "Satan" and some Christians may refer to me as a Satanist even though what I've said is the truth, that religion has led to more deaths than Anti-Religion(I'm not referring to belief systems such as Atheism, those are faith based or lack of). Show me one Anti-religion that has killed more people than an Organized Religion? Raze the temples and worship thy self and thy fellow man and know that compassion is a much more wonderful act then condemning someone else for their beliefs.

Who is "Satan"...a book that says the Universe is Static and not the Dynamic perfect system that we find ourselves in(has the Universe failed us? No). The word of God is spoken through the mouths of men and we are not infaliable thus we cannot say if the Holy Bible is the truth or a book of lies.

 

[v-600]

islam is a convert or die religion, always has been.

Good one, I had a long day at work and needed a joke like this when I got home. Did you hear the one about the fire at the circus...it was in tents.

I am afraid though that you are mistaken. I lived in Cairo for a year and still not dead. Many Muslims I spoke to enjoy discussing religion and were often were interested in hearing my explanations of why I think of myself as an atheist.

Some young Egyptians say they are so that they can drink alcohol when it suits them.

I'll agree that apostasy is viewed much more severely by Muslims than by many others though, especially if you have converted to it in full knowledge of your actions.

Certainly not a convert or die religion, sorry.

 

[zinfamous]

same god, different prophets.

 

[zinfamous]

islam is a convert or die religion, always has been.

lol. no it wasn't. not ever.

Muhammed actually allowed Jews and Christians to live freely in his Kingdom. They were never forced to convert, but they were taxed higher.

They were certainly allowed to convert to Islam, and it was only in deciding to convert back to Judaism/Christianity/whatever that they would be punished by death.

 

[zinfamous]

Its the same God. El = Jehovah = Allah = Yahweh

Jesus is the Son of God according to the bible, thus he is not God.

Now Bible Thumpers, your Holy bible has lied to you, it is a mistranslation from Latin to English, which in turn was heavily edited from scripture passed down in Hebrew, it is said that Satan is the Deceiver, the prince of Lies, so if that is the truth and the bible has so many mistranslations and so many misinterpretations as well as so many views in it that are false, misognistic, and ultimately cruel...then who are you really worshipping, God? Or the Ultimate Deceiver and Prince of Lies, Satan?

Reflect on that a bit? Know that Jesus Decended into Hell at one point in the bible's history, and that was then omitted. Who are you worshipping, God? Or Satan? I ask this cause I've noticed a trend that has occurred for the last 2000 years or so, of thou shall not kill unless your religion tells you to do so. I view religion as the great "Satan" and some Christians may refer to me as a Satanist even though what I've said is the truth, that religion has led to more deaths than Anti-Religion(I'm not referring to belief systems such as Atheism, those are faith based or lack of). Show me one Anti-religion that has killed more people than an Organized Religion? Raze the temples and worship thy self and thy fellow man and know that compassion is a much more wonderful act then condemning someone else for their beliefs.

Who is "Satan"...a book that says the Universe is Static and not the Dynamic perfect system that we find ourselves in(has the Universe failed us? No). The word of God is spoken through the mouths of men and we are not infaliable thus we cannot say if the Holy Bible is the truth or a book of lies.

First of all, the Bible was written in Greek, not Latin.

Second of all, the central tenet of Christian theology is that Jesus is God--he is god made flesh--the son of god/god as born of man on earth. They are all the same.

The Old Testament, in Christian Theology, prefigures Christ.

 

[piasabird]

Many of the early church leaders that were disciples of Christ and his followers were Jews. Christ was a Jew also. To understand this it is helpful if you read the Bible. Abraham was their common ancestor. In our day many more have been converted to different faiths. Even islam has split into different factions.

The Bible is a colletion of books written by many people in different times.

How come the dead sea scrolls are not in Greek???

 

[piasabird]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

Dead sea scrolls are interesting.

 

[TheThirdMan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

Dead sea scrolls are interesting.

Dead sea scrolls are fascinating. I think early "Christianity" is very interesting. The first few hundred years after christ are particularly interesting because there was no agreement on anything. There were the Gnostics who views are entirely separate from contemporary christians. The views on christ were also varied. His divine status was only decided centuries after his death.

Early christianity on wikipedia.

There's actually a lot of periods of doctrinal change and conflict in christianity, like the Palagian controversy.

 

[TheThirdMan]

you mean there are more than one god? I don't think so.

The abrahamic religions all believe in one god and either they believe they worship the same one or they believe only theirs exists. So either way there's only one.

 

[EagleKeeper]

According to the bible, there is to be but one god.
And that god does not tolerate competition.

Such would indicate that all deities that are revered from ALL religions must be the same.
Bible history has shown that when different deities are worshipped; the others get destroyed. And within a short tine span.

Yet we have different religions out there for millenniums that are thriving.
If they are not the same god in different disguises; then a basic tenant of the Jewish/Christian religion is flawed.

 

[redhotiron2004]

The root problem of all the conflict is believing in only one god. And muslims try to bring christians in there frame of beleif. And christians do so vice-versa.

And thus your god of beliefs makes you intolerant towards others people god. Even if you claim that they are the same one.
The other problem here is that the teachings of these religions is very different from one another and cannot be attributed to the same god or entity. That's why people have difficulty in believing the same god from different religion.

Hinduism is the oldest living civilization on earth that have not only gave birth to different religions (jainism, buddism, sikhism etc)but also showed it's ability to intermingle with different religions wherever it came into contact with them. It's one of the most peaceful religions. And the main reason for that is the belief in multiple gods. And the acceptance to multiple ways of living. Just the core concept of non violence, love & concept of multiple gods remains the same wherever a new religion comes out of hinduism. Also, with time hindus have evolved to understand which practices to leave and which one to adapt. It have evolved with the modern thought process while having it's essence intact.

Just like any 2 persons can not be the same. Similarly, a single way of living, single god etc cannot satisfy human needs and aspirations.

There is no concrete evidence that there is only one single god only. And there is nothing to gain from such a skewed/narrow belief system.

Everybody will select his own way of living. With his own particular idols and goals. I may like a particular entity but it doesn't mean other person would also like the same thing. It's impossible.

It's perhaps time that people from all other religions sit together and think what's actually wrong with there understanding. And adapt a universal way of belief rather than a skewed way.

 

[Lil Frier]

Christian believes that Jesus is God incarnate, as stated by the doctrine of the Trinity.

How do you interpret "God incarnate?" I would consider that phrase to mean the physical manifestation of God Himself, meaning Jesus IS God. Matthew 24:36 would indicate otherwise though, no?

As I don't expect you to have a word-for-word memorization of the Bible, the verse is about the Second Coming. It's the verse verse relating to WHEN the Second Coming is to occur, and it reads:

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Does that statement not indicate a separation between the minds of God and Jesus? If they are of separate minds, then the "Son of God" becomes more literal, does it no? If God knows when Jesus is to return, yet Jesus does not, the idea of a three-in-one Trinity is broken down, isn't it?

 

[Lil Frier]

So you admit there is more than one god.

I'd say the question of which god you worship isn't as important as how you treat other people.

The first sentence is not a reasonable interpretation of the OP's statement. He does not call all interpretations of God correct. He does not say that all exist. he does not say that they are all real, so he does not AT ALL say (or even imply) that he believes that there are multiple true gods, though common knowledge states that there are multiple gods who are followed (starting, but certainly not ending with, the list you mentioned).

As for this second sentence, no. At least, not from a Christian perspective (as I am not a Catholic or a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu, O cannot speak to their interpretations). The Bible, Jesus Himself, in fact, is pretty uncompromising in this statement (John 14:6):

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

HOWEVER, this does not mean what I expect you (or most anti-Christian people) to interpret it to mean. It does not excuse poor treatment of others (a statement open to a WIDE range of interpretations I won't touch) by simply washing away bad deeds by going "I love Jesus."

What the statement DOES convey is that Jesus is the way to salvation, and He is the way to heaven. However, what that salvation would mean is a conversion to Christianity. That means being a Christian, which interprets itself to mean "Christ-like." Of course, the "like" part is there because we are all recognized as imperfect, and while we would ideally all be literally Christ-like in our moral perfection, it's a way of reminding us that slip-ups in our faith or actions does not mean giving up because we can no longer achieve eternity in heaven.

To kind of wrap this up before 4 AM (and to hopefully avoid the perception I am trying to dance around ridiculously to confuse anyone), I'll finish with this basic concept: The idea behind Christianity is to be Christ-like. That would mean an overall desire to live a life similar to that of Christ, in an attempt to positively reflect His ideals upon others. So, when you use the guise of Christianity to excuse poor treatment of others, your actions do not mesh with the ideals of Christianity, and the validity of your conversion and faith comes into question.

 

[festa_freak]

We need to look at the characterisitics of the God's in question.

The christian and jewish Gods are the same, to an extent. Jews believe in the old testament God. They don't believe Jesus was the promised messiah. So christians live under the new 'law,' the law that states that salvation is given and not earned.

Allah's characteristics are similar to the Jewish/christian God but there are differences that make a huge impact.

God is three, allah is one.
allah may allow sinners into heaven or prevent 'good' people from entering at his will while God will allow all who repent and believe in him.
Allah causes people to sin while God offers freedom from it (Allah says he gives each man a bit of adultery he must commit).

Allah is very different, or at least the descriptions of what each book says about them. I have read the bible and have yet to read the whole quran, but it's on my list of things to do.