Islamic Worldview - Part 4

References:

(1) 5 Pillars of Islam, the fundamental practices and duties of all Muslims.

(2) Jihad, or holy war which some radical groups have exalted to the level of a pillar of Islam.

(3) Apparently more moderate Muslims think of jihad as being a sacred struggle with the word rather than with the sword.

(4) In Islam salvation, then, is ultimately dependent on works, contrary to the Christian declaration that salvation is a “gift of God.”

(5) In Islam sin is not a state, a nature inherited from Adam, but an action, a deed instigated by the individual. There is no inherited sin, only personal responsibility. Humans are born free of sin; everyone is born in a state of purity.

(6) Islam explains sin in terms of people’s ignorance, weakness, or misjudgment. Yet Allah remains unaffected by sinners actions and the deprivations of forgiveness because he is far above his human creatures.

(7) Christian scholars have long recognized that a weak view of sin leads to a weak view of salvation.

(8) The book of Romans in the NT points out that every human being suffers from a malady caused by both sin and sins. Sin is the root cause and sins are the fruit produced by the root.

(9) In Christianity, our Heavenly Father is not only displeased when we sin, He is also grieved and personally affected.

(10) In Christianity, the biblical diagnosis goes deeper than ignorance, weakness, and misjudgment — it goes to the human heart which suggests a nature that needs changing.

(11) Salvation is a divine exchange: our filthy rags of self-effort in exchange for God’s righteousness.

This is episode 137.