Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Open Letter: The Love of God
Dear Naliakbar, I'm a Catholic (I do not hold certain views of Islam which the Protestants have) and I hope we can have an open discussion on the matters of religion; my only intention is to know and understand more. There are so many similariteies which we share as "people of the book". We believe in monoaestic faith, God is a transcendent creator, sovereign, ominpotent, spoke (and continues to speak) to humanity through prophets, angels, written word, knows our intimate thoughts, the wicked will be judged.
Having said all this, my issue with Islam is the concept of the love of God/Allah.
Having said all this, my issue with Islam is the concept of the love of God/Allah.
In Chrisitanity, God, the Father, provided a sinless savior- Jesus Christ- who took our sins upon himself & bore God's wrath in our place.(Mt20:28,26:28,Lk22:37,Jhn3:16,10:9-11,2Cor5:21,Gal3:13,1The5:9-10) whereas in Islam, Allah provided a messenger- Muhd (P.B.U.H.)- who warned of Allah's impending judgement(Surah2:119,5:19,7:184,188,15:89-90). Through the death & ressurection of Christ, there is no condemnation; hence the love of God is shown and perpetuated. Thus, there isn't a need to weigh good deeds against bad deeds (Surah 7:8-9, 21:47).
Also, on love, Catholics- as many other Christians- believe that God does not take any pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze 18:23) & is "not wanting anyone to perish but come back to repentance" (2Pet3:9), however in the Koran (Surah 5:49,Ali;Surah4:168-169,7:179,9:2,40:10), we see that Allah desires to afflict man for some of their sins. Perhaps you could explain this part as Catholics do have some understanding regarding this matter where souls are sent to purgatory. Does "afflict them for their sins" imply purgatory or damnation?
Still on love, Allah "loves not the prodigals" (Surah3:140) & neither does he love "him who is treacherous or sinful" (Surah4:107;Ali). This is entirely different from the Christian doctrine where god demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were sinners, Christ died for us- our sins (Rom5:8), also looking at the Parable in the Gospel of the prodigal son who returned to the father was warmly welcomed.
Now, there seems to be some contridiction since the Koran says that the God of Islam is the God of the Christians and Jews (Surah 29:46). How can this be when Allah is impersonal and unitarian (Surah4:48) whereas the Christian scriptures reveal God as personal (1Pet5:6-7) and Trinitarian (2Cor13:14)? Also, how can God/Allah be changeble or capricious (Surah 2:284)? Finally, how can the God of the Muslims be the God of the Christians when no where is Allah ever presented as the God of love; not being a loving God is contrary to the very essence and nature of God (1Jhn4:7-16).
Thank you for you time, please correct me if I've wrongly quoted the Koran or if I've misinterpretated it. Otherwise, I hope you can provide your view(s). Anywhere where a harsh or rude tone of language is sensed is not intended.
Before, I go, what are your opinions on this: The Catechism of the Catholic Church 841 regarding the Catholic Church's relationship with the Muslims: "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
Hope to hear from you soon.
In the God of Abraham,
Paul M.
Labels: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic Belief, Discussions, Muslims, Open Letter, Reply
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