Comparing the faiths

Comparing the two faiths

Christianity and Islam share much: one God, the prophets, the virgin birth of Jesus, the Day of Judgement. They differ on who Jesus is, how sin is forgiven and what God’s law asks. This page sets the big ideas side by side.

1The question

Where do Christianity and Islam agree, and where do they truly differ, on God, sin, salvation and law?

2What Christians believe

Christians believe that all people have sinned and cannot save themselves (Romans 3:23). God, out of love, sent his Son, who died for sinners and rose again. Salvation is a free gift received by faith, not earned by works (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Christians see the Law of Moses as fulfilled in Christ. Believers live by the Spirit and by love, which is the heart of the Law, rather than under the Law’s rules. The relationship with God is that of children with a loving Father.

3What the texts say

One God

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mark 12:29 · KJVRead in context →

Each person answers for their own sin

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Ezekiel 18:20 · KJVRead in context →

God forgives the one who turns back

But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:21 · KJVRead in context →
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6 · KJVRead in context →

The Law

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 5:17 · KJVRead in context →
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Matthew 19:17 · KJVRead in context →

Faith

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:28 · KJVRead in context →

4What scholars say

In 2007, 138 Muslim scholars sent an open letter to Christian leaders, A Common Word Between Us and You, built on the two commandments Jesus named: love of God and love of neighbour. It took its title from Qur’an 3:64. Miroslav Volf (Allah: A Christian Response, 2011) responded from the Christian side, arguing that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, though they understand him differently.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr (The Heart of Islam, 2002) explains Islamic teaching for Western readers, and Hans Küng (Islam: Past, Present and Future, 2007) compares the two faiths from a Catholic perspective.

Scholars agree that the deepest differences are over the divinity of Jesus, the crucifixion, and whether forgiveness needs a sacrifice.

5The Islamic perspective

Islam teaches that God is one, that every soul carries only its own burden, and that God forgives any sin for those who turn to him. The Qur’an invites Jews and Christians to agree on the worship of one God:

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).
Qur’an 3:64 · PickthallRead in context →
Say: Shall I seek another than Allah for Lord, when He is Lord of all things? Each soul earneth only on its own account, nor doth any laden bear another's load. Then unto your Lord is your return and He will tell you that wherein ye differed.
Qur’an 6:164 · PickthallRead in context →
Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Qur’an 39:53 · PickthallRead in context →

Muslims see their teaching in the words of the prophets and of Jesus: one God (Mark 12:29), each person responsible for their own sin (Ezekiel 18:20), forgiveness for the one who repents (Ezekiel 18:21), mercy rather than sacrifice (Hosea 6:6), and keeping the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

6Objections and responses

“Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God.”

Response: Arab Christians have always called God “Allah”, the Arabic word for God. The Qur’an tells Muslims to say to the People of the Book that their God and ours is one (29:46). The disagreement is about what God has revealed about himself, not about which God is being worshipped.

“Without the cross there is no forgiveness. Sin must be paid for.”

Response: Ezekiel says that if the wicked turn from their sins, “all his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him” (Ezekiel 18:22), with no sacrifice named. Islam teaches the same mercy: God “forgiveth all sins” for those who turn to him (39:53).

7Conclusion

Both faiths agree on one God, the prophets, the Day of Judgement and the need for God’s mercy. Christians hold that God’s mercy comes through the death and resurrection of his Son. Muslims hold that God forgives directly those who believe, repent and do good, as the prophets taught.

Read Ezekiel 18:20–32 and Qur’an 39:53–54, then Romans 3:21–28, and compare how each describes forgiveness.

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