Brian Houston: "Do you know – take it all the way back into the Old Testament and the Muslim and you, we actually serve the same God. Allah to a Muslim, to us Abba Father God."
THE BIBLE:
Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2/22-23)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3/16)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3/18)
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4/9)
Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5/10-12)
THE KORAN:
Sura 4.171 O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector.
See also:
Sura 6.101 Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort, and He (Himself) created everything, and He is the Knower of all things.
Sura 9.30 And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!
Sura 10.68 They say: Allah has taken a son (to Himself)! Glory be to Him: He is the Self-sufficient: His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; you have no authority for this; do you say against Allah what you do not know?
Sura 17.111 And say: (All) praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a son and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace; and proclaim His greatness magnifying (Him).
Sura 18.4 And warn those who say: Allah has taken a son.
Sura 19.35 It beseems not Allah that He should take to Himself a son, glory to be Him; when He has decreed a matter He only says to it "Be," and it is.
Sura 19.88 And they say: The Beneficent God has taken (to Himself) a son. (91) That they ascribe a son to the Beneficent God. (92) And it is not worthy of the Beneficent God that He should take (to Himself) a son.
Sura 21.26 And they say: The Beneficent God has taken to Himself a son. Glory be to Him. Nay! they are honored servants.
Sura 23.91 Never did Allah take to Himself a son, and never was there with him any (other) god-- in that case would each god have certainly taken away what he created, and some of them would certainly have overpowered others; glory be to Allah above what they describe!
Sura 25.2 He, Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and Who did not take to Himself a son, and Who has no associate in the kingdom, and Who created everything, then ordained for it a measure.
The early Islamic believers actually believed they were worshiping the same God as Abraham. Brian Houston's point seems valid when it's used to compare where the Muslims took that revelation of God vs. what ultimately led through Jesus to the Christian church today.
ReplyDeleteBrian Houston looks like he was speaking to a large crowd of Christians. I doubt they would have been as confused by this comparison as you were.
A more recent way of making the same point is if I pointed out that many groups say they follow Jesus. However this doesn't mean I'm saying that every church that mentions some revelation of Jesus is all the same. It is baffling what a leap that would be.
I appreciated the thought of the vulture vs. the hummingbird. Some use the gifts God has given them to attack other churches that are spreading the gospel. They misrepresent what the preachers say, take comments out of context, and ignore clarifications (or call them retractions).
Other people learn from Mark 9:39-40 and thank God for the good these churches are doing and the people they're reaching.
God is not the author of confusion Anonymous (1 Corinthians 14/33). We need to be absolutely clear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these perilous times. ".....if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Corinthians 14/8) The question is still "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16/15) Jesus Christ is definitely NOT 'Isa the prophet of Islam. Brian Houston is not spreading the gospel - he is spreading confusion. God bless t
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