Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
United Under One God, Christians Should Work For Peace And Justice With Muslims, Jews, And All Others Of Goodwill

United Under One God, Christians Should Work For Peace And Justice With Muslims, Jews, And All Others Of Goodwill

Last updated on: March 8, 2017 at 6:57 am by Henry Karlson

United Under One God, Christians Should Work For Peace And Justice With Muslims, Jews, And All Others Of Goodwill 2017-03-08T06:57:20-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Black Muslim I knew in High School gave me the Koran which I still possess to this day (the one translated and commented upon by Yusuf Ali). This was because we would discuss religion and theology and he wanted me to have a better understanding of Islam. A couple years later, during my first year at college, my dormitory was used, in part, for foreign exchange students, most of which were Muslims. I got to know, and talk with from time to time, and form a casual friendship with them. They were more comfortable with their fellow exchange students, but they respected me and I them, and I would help them if they asked for it, and they would at times ask me questions and show interest in my own religious beliefs.

As a part of my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, I also took several classes which either in whole or in part, dealt with Islam (and I would take several more, years later, in my graduate studies). I got a sense of the diversity of thought in Islam, and found in the Sufis a tradition which intrigued me but it would only be later, after I understood Christian mysticism, that I would truly understand the significance of Sufism.

In all my early encounters with Muslims, I knew we had theological differences, but there was a lot of mutual appreciation between myself and them, an interest in inter-religious dialogue, and even an acceptance that we held much in common, including our belief in the one true God.

Even as a Baptist, I recognized Muslims believed in the same God as Christians. It was more than a little obvious to me. They believed in Abraham and the God of Abraham, and their religious tradition showed they held a common heritage with the Jews. Many of their practices, many of their moral positions, could be seen as fitting the general paradigm established by Abraham.

When I became a Catholic, I had no reason to doubt this. Indeed, I had every reason to hold to this understanding even more firmly. When Christian apologists like Justin or Lactantius could see righteous pagans seeking after, and following the one God to the best of their natural ability, or when Augustine pointed to the Platonists as seeking after the one God and were to be commended for it, they did so with a general belief that monotheistic reasoning, however imperfect it was followed out, at least pointed to and brought people together in worship of the one God. If pagans could be seen as holding to the one true God, however imperfectly their faith and understanding of God, it is not difficult to see how Muslims, coming from a tradition which specifically joins itself with the God of Abraham, must follow and believe in the one true God.

This is not a question of Muslim understanding of God, that is, of the greater theological revelation about God through Jesus Christ, revelation which transcends human comprehension, but of the object of their adoration. They worship the true God, and indeed understand many qualities and attributes about God correctly. This is why their own theological reflection, kalam, could and did influence the schoolmen as they read Arab philosophers commenting about Plato and Aristotle. Certainly scholastic theologians would adapt what they read, add to it Christian notions, but often the general outline of theological argument would follow what Muslim philosophers said before them, showing not only the importance of Islamic thought for the development of Christian theology, but also the recognition that Muslims and Christians were talking about the one God together, reasoning out what they could and would know about God through natural theology and revelation.

Today, the sad fact is that many Catholics, following political rhetoric, have ended up denouncing the whole of Islam and trying to declare Muslims and Christians worship different gods. Their argument demonstrates a fundamental disassociation of the Catholic theological heritage (it would destroy the arguments of the earliest apologists, if their reasoning was correct), as well as a rejection of official Catholic teaching. Islamophobia tries to find all kinds of excuses to denigrate Islam, to mistreat Muslims, and in the end, to turn the Christians speaking out with Islamophobia into what they fear from the Muslims, a group trying to exterminate the other. They project their own inner demon on the Muslims, and in doing so, create the conditions by which Muslims, facing such hostility and belligerence, might act in defense. That defense will then be misread and used to suggest that Muslims are violent and in such Islamophobia will be said to be justified. Muslims will become more violent as they grow afraid of retaliation, and in their violence they will inspire more Islamophobia and violence against them. The never-ending cycle of violence will continue as each side projects their own inner demons on the other and use that as just cause to destroy the other.

DAVOS-KLOSTERS/SWITZERLAND, 30JAN09 – Lord Carey of Clifton(VLTR), Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002), United Kingdomduring, Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, United Kingdom, Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer, Sojournes, USA, , captured at the press conference ‘Religious leaders call for the peace in the middle east’ at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 30, 2009.
Copyright by World Economic Forum
swiss-image.ch/Photo by Andy Mettler By Copyright by World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The solution, the way to put a stop to it, is to recognize the unity which Christians can have with the Muslims, a unity which should be founded upon our general belief in God and mutual respect for the moral and ethical values we hold in common.

Catholics should take note of this. Our own official teaching, such as found in Nosta Aetate, affirms that we can find common accord and peace with Muslims. Indeed, we are told Muslims are to be esteemed, not denigrated, because they worship the same God as we do:

The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.[1]

Moreover, we are told that in the long history of conflicts between Christians and Muslims, it is true there have been violence committed by both sides. Christians and Muslims both have often written terrible polemical literature which have fueled contentions between members of both religious faith. But, we are told, this must not continue. We must find ways to overturn the bitterness of the past and to find ways in which Christians and Muslims can work together for justice:

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.[2]

Even if Muslim did not show forth a spirit of cooperation, this would not remove the Christian responsibility to try. We are called to love our neighbor and our enemies, to do good to others, even if they would not do good with us. We cannot justify disrespect and belligerence towards Muslims because we think they will be hostile towards us. Nonetheless, what we need to recognize is that some Christians are violent and act in hostility against various Muslims, and some Muslims are violent and take their hostility out against Christians. Neither represent the best of their traditions when they act against the other in violence. Just as we would not like Christians to be judged by the worst of our believers, our extremists, so we should not judge Muslims due to their extremists. We can and should work together. We hold God in common. We hold principles of peace and justice in common.

Previous Post

March 7, 2017

Hiding Behind a False Morality Brings Short Term Glory But No Virtue

Next Post

March 9, 2017 Reflection For The Second Sunday of Lent (St Gregory Palamas Sunday)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz