{"id":15207,"date":"2011-03-29T00:09:18","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T05:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/?p=15207"},"modified":"2011-03-29T06:28:53","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T11:28:53","slug":"the-same-god-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/","title":{"rendered":"The Same God 9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Miroslav Volf,<\/strong><\/a> Professor at Yale, on the dedication page of his new book \u2014 Allah: A Christian Response<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, says this:<\/p>\n

To my father, a Pentecostal<\/a> minister who admired Muslims, and taught me as a boy that they worship the same God as we do.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Volf\u2019s quest is to build a theological basis for peaceful co-existence and peaceful cooperation among Muslims and Christians, and his quest is to contend that the God of the Christians and the God of the Muslims is the \u201csame\u201d God. What he means by \u201csame\u201d is not \u201cidentical\u201d but \u201csufficient similarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In chp 9 Volf explores this question: \u201cThe Same God, the Same Religion?\u201d and he seems to make some moves here that make me feel uncomfortable, but let\u2019s get to what he says first.<\/p>\n

First, he reiterates his argument: that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are the \u201csame\u201d God (note how I nuanced this above). [I don\u2019t agree with this contention of his because I think monotheism is one thing but worship and belief in the \u201csame\u201d God is significantly different because then content is spelled out \u2014 and the particularism of one\u2019s God is all that matters when it comes to defining \u201cGod.\u201d Hence, Incarnation, Trinity, and Cross are central for the Christian view of God while they are not for Islam\u2019s.]<\/p>\n

Second, he explores whether one\u2019s view of God marks off one\u2019s community, so that community and God are tied together.\u00a0 True, both Christianity and Islam believe in a God who transcends tribe and nation. \u201cThat\u2019s why,\u201d Volf says, \u201ctwo communities can have a common God\u201d (192).<\/p>\n

Which raises a major question: If these have the same God, do they have the same religion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He says Progressives want this to be true; Conservatives don\u2019t want this to be true. Where is Volf? Is each faith a variant of the same thing? \u201cIt does not,\u201d he says, and then says this: \u201cIt is possible to believe in the same God as another person and yet belong to another religion\u201d (195).<\/p>\n

He then touches on one of the more volatile issues in our day: Can a person be a Muslim and a Christian at the same time? Or, are these two confessions mutually exclusive?<\/strong> I say Yes, it appears to me that Volf says No. His case, besides the many Muslims who are secret converts, is Ann Redding, who I would look at differently than the secret converts. So looks at \u201cRules for Blending Religions\u201d:<\/p>\n

1. One has the \u201cright\u201d to combine two faiths (he speaks here at the level of basic human laws, not theology).
\n2. One can adopt various cultural forms \u2014 dress, food, language \u2014 associated with another faith.
\n3. One can absorb religious practices and spiritual insights from other religions. Thus, he says Christians could absorb Islam\u2019s emphasis on \u201csubmission to God.\u201d
\n4. One can acquire a new religious identity and discard an old one. Here he speaks of living one\u2019s faith as more vital than the label one uses.<\/p>\n

What matters is \u201cpeople\u2019s allegiance, practices and beliefs, all three taken together\u201d (200). So, in the case of Redding, while she sees the issue in the same God, Volf says this: \u201cChristian faith in its normative expression is about the right worship of God through Christ\u201d (200). In blending, though, Volf says the Christian must ask these three questions:<\/p>\n

1. Baptized in the name of the Trinity?
\n2. Confess Jesus Christ, in whom God dwelled in human flesh, is Lord?
\n3. Have you received the divine gift of new life given freely through Christ?<\/p>\n

If you say Yes to these you are 100% Christian.<\/p>\n

If you also fasted on Ramadan, prayed five times per day by saying Al Fatihah, and believe in Muhammad was a<\/strong><\/em> prophet, you could still be 100% Christian.<\/p>\n

I believe the symbolic value of these practices cuts across the integrity of one\u2019s confession of the above. What about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volf sees hybrid religiosity as a good problem to have. \u201cThe most pressing problem among religions today is not the blurring of boundaries and mixing and matching; it\u2019s the propensity to engage others with disrespect, hostility, and violence\u201d (202). Next chp is on proselytism.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miroslav Volf, Professor at Yale, on the dedication page of his new book \u2014 Allah: A Christian Response, says this: To my father, a Pentecostal minister who admired Muslims, and taught me as a boy that they worship the same God as we do. Volf\u2019s quest is to build a theological basis for peaceful co-existence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religions"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Same God 9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Miroslav Volf, Professor at Yale, on the dedication page of his new book -- Allah: A Christian Response, says this: To my father, a Pentecostal minister\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Same God 9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Miroslav Volf, Professor at Yale, on the dedication page of his new book -- Allah: A Christian Response, says this: To my father, a Pentecostal minister\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-03-29T05:09:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-03-29T11:28:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/files\/2011\/02\/Volf-197x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/\",\"name\":\"The Same God 9\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-29T05:09:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-03-29T11:28:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Miroslav Volf, Professor at Yale, on the dedication page of his new book -- Allah: A Christian Response, says this: To my father, a Pentecostal minister\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2011\/03\/29\/the-same-god-9\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Same God 9\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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