Islam on the Trinity? Trinity 3<\\/h2>\\n \"\" Islam on the Trinity? Against Shahada?<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Islam on the Trinity? Are you kidding? The Muslim believer defends the oneness of God like a mother bear defends her cubs. From the Muslim\\u2019s point of view, the trinitarian Christian commits shirk<\\/em>, a form of blasphemy.\[1]\\n<\\/p> Recall the Shahada,<\\/em><\\/a> the Muslim profession of faith. \\u201cThere is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.<\\/a>\\u201d In championing God\\u2019s unity, Islam also champions God\\u2019s transcendent essence, an essence that lies beyond all attributes and even beyond what has been revealed to us about God. Islamic piety bows in humble reverence and total submission before Allah, the most sublime, the most majestic, the most awesome. God\\u2019s existence comes prior to our own existence; and it is the source of our existence. God is more real than we are. To deny God\\u2019s existence would be blasphemous.<\\/p>\\n God is One and only One!<\\/h3>\\n*** *\* The same applies to the oneness of God. If a Muslim were inclined to join a theological club, it would be monotheism. Divine oneness is decisive. This means every polytheism or even sympathy with polytheism would be eschewed. \\u201cChoose not two gods. There is only One God. So of Me, Me only, be in awe\\u201d (Qur\\u2019an 16:51). To even entertain suggestions that any being could receive even a share of our worship would be to commit shirk<\\/em>. God has no partners \\u00a0(Peters, God\\u2013The World\\u2019s Future<\\/em>, 219-228).<\\/p>\\n *\* A monotheist would like belonging to a club where Plato (427-328 BCE) is a member. According to philosopher Plato, God is simple. God is \\u201cperfectly simple and true both in word and deed; he changes not; he receives not\\u201d (Plato,\\u00a0Republic<\\/em> II:382). For a simple God, go to Plato. Not the Bible. In the Bible, the God of Israel is complex, dynamic, and interactive. From a Muslim perspective, biblical Christians appear to commit shirk.\\u00a0<\\/em><\\/p>\\n *\* ***The opposite of shirk <\\/em>is Tawhid. <\\/em>\\u00a0Tawhid <\\/em>is the activity of asserting or affirming the unity of God, of Allah. The very activity of asserting God\\u2019s oneness disposes the Muslim to live in proper relationship to God.<\\/p>\\n Islam on the Trinity<\\/a><\\/h2>\\n \"\" Islam on the Trinity?<\\/a><\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n***** *\* *****How might this apply to trinitarian Christians? From the point of view of the Muslim, the Christian looks like a tri-theist, a polytheist, a denier of Tawhid.<\\/em><\\/p>\\n \\u00a0<\\/em>The Qur\\u2019an objects to the family symbolism in Christian language, because it suggests plurality within the divine. \\u201cThe triune God is analogous to a loving human family,\\u201d says Kenneth Samples at Reasons to Believe<\\/a>. But this is a no-no if you\\u2019re a Muslim. The idea of anything like human family relations within the divine life must be staved off. \\u201cSay: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him\\u201d (Qur\\u2019an 112).<\\/p>\\n Badru D. Kateregga comments\\u2026<\\/p>\\n \\u201cIslam makes clear that God has no son, no father, brother, sister, wife, or daughters. The pre-Islamic idea of calling goddesses daughters of Allah was condemned by the Prophet\\u201d\\u00a0(Kateregga and Shenk 1997, 22).<\\/p>\\n Here is the definitive passage, wherein the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is denounced.<\\/p>\\n \\u201cThe Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So have faith in God and His messengers, and do not say \\u2018Three\\u2019. Refrain, better it is for you. God is only One God\\u201d (Qur\\u2019an 4:171).<\\/p>\\n What could this mean?<\\/h3>\\n \"\" Islam on the Trinity?<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n******* *\* *******Just what might the Qur\\u2019an be saying here? What Trinity is being rejected here? Is it the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Not exactly. The Qur\\u2019an seems to assume that the Christian Trinity consists of God, Jesus, and Mary. \\u201cAnd when God said, \\u2018O Jesus son of Mary, didst thou say unto men, \\u2018Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God\\u2019?\\u2019 He said, \\u2018To Thee be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to\\u2019\\u201d (Qur\\u2019an 5:116).\\u00a0What is being rejected here is a Trinity of God, Mary, and Jesus. Not the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How could such a colossal misunderstanding of Christian teaching arise?<\\/p>\\n How might such a colossal boo boo have arisen in Christian-Muslim relations? Let me speculate. Given that the Qur\\u2019an appeared in the late seventh century in the part of the world where Eastern Christianity was widely known, perhaps the new religion was reacting against Mary understood as theotokos<\\/em> <\\/a>or \\u201cMother of God.\\u201d Could it have been Mariology that prompted this anti-trinitarianism?\[2\]\[3\]\\n \"\" Al-Ghazali (d.1111). Islam on the Trinity?<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n<\\/p>******* *\* *******If so, then the Qur\\u2019an misunderstands Christian theology, even though popular Christian piety may have been understandingly perceived as depicting the Trinity as Father, Son, and Mary. Be that as it may, this is my historical speculation. The theological agenda regarding divine oneness and the Trinity remains.<\\/p>\\n \"\" Islam on the Trinity? Professor Mark Swanson<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Let\\u2019s ask an expert on Muslim-Christian relations, Mark Swanson.<\\/a> Swanson observes that \\u201cthis misunderstanding mattered little. Later Muslim thinkers were equally mystified and offended by more technically correct expositions of the Christian Trinity\\u201d\\u00a0(Swanson 2005, 257). At best, Muslims find Christian trinitarian theology confusing. At worst, tri-theism. \\u201cThe Christians have followed a procedure which has obliged them to proclaim the existence, conceptually and objectively, of three Gods,\\u201d writes al-Ghazali\\u00a0(Al-Ghazali 1990, 187). By violating divine oneness when imputing threeness, Christians are guilty of shirk (<\\/em>Peters, God\\u2013The World\\u2019s Future, <\\/em>219-228).<\\/p>\\n Two Muslim videos treat Islam on the Trinity<\\/h4>\\n Abdul A. Abdul<\\/a> at Bayero University Kano in Nigeria takes glee in thinking that Christians themselves want to throw the Trinity out of the Bible.<\\/p>\\n Nabeel Qureshi<\\/a> at the Summit Lecture Series presents, \\u201cA Muslim Makes Sense of the Trinity.\\u201d Listen to for the word, \\u201ccomplex.\\u201d<\\/p>\\n Conclusion<\\/h2>\\n Would mutli-religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims be hopeless? Certainly not. Trinitarian Christians affirm the oneness of God just as Muslims do.\\u00a0\\u201cThe Oneness of God must govern all other Christian doctrinal teaching,\\u201d declares Episcopal theologian Katherine Sonderegger<\\/a> (Sonderegger 2020, 2:423).\\u00a0The difference in divine unicity is that for Islam God is simply one, whereas for Christianity God\\u2019s unity is complex. The one God is a living God with an eternal internal perichoresis.<\\/p>\\n Roman Catholics<\\/a> at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) could say they hold Muslims \\u201cwith esteem. They adore one God, living and enduring, merciful and all-powerful, Maker of heaven and earth\\u201d (Vatican, Nostra Aetate 1965, \\u00a73). Catholics and Muslims can both find internal to their respective theological visions an apprehension of the single sublime mystery. Theologians within Christianity and Islam can speak with one another directly, once they realize they both frame our understanding with the oneness of God.<\\/p>\\n Patheos ST 2019 Islam on the Trinity? Trinity 3<\\/span><\\/h4>\\n ST 2017 What is the Trinity? Part 1<\\/a><\\/p>\\n ST 2018 What is Rahner\\u2019s Rule? Part 2<\\/a><\\/p>\\n ST 2019 Islam on the Trinity? Part 3<\\/a><\\/p>\\n \\u2593<\\/p>\\n \"\"<\\/a> God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives. Click here for more on the book.<\\/a><\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n For Patheos<\\/em>, Ted Peters posts articles and notices in the field of Public Theology<\\/a>. He\\u00a0is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union<\\/a>. He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science<\\/em><\\/a>, <\\/em>with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences<\\/a>, in Berkeley, California, USA. His single volume systematic theology, God\\u2014The World\\u2019s Future<\\/em><\\/a>, <\\/em>is now in the 3rd<\\/sup> edition. He has also authored God as Trinity<\\/em><\\/a> plus Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society<\\/em><\\/a> as well as Sin Boldly<\\/em><\\/a>: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. <\\/em>Along with Muzaffar Iqbal and Syed Nomanul Haq, he edited God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives<\\/a>. <\\/em>See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com<\\/a>.<\\/p>\\n \\u2593<\\/p>\\n Notes<\\/h4>\\n\[1\] \\u201cBoth Jewish and Muslim critics emphasize that the New Testament continues the Old Testament emphasis on the oneness of God, and they sometimes criticize trinitarianism as simple tritheism.\\u201d Thus speaketh the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\\/a>.\\n \\u00a0<\\/p>\\n\[2\] The blasphemous idea of Christians<\\/a>\\u00a0worshipping three gods comes from a wrong understanding of the Trinity. In the fifth century AD there was a Christian cult called Maryanya which spread the false belief that\\u00a0Jesus<\\/a>\\u00a0and his mother Mary would be two separate gods besides God. The\\u00a0Quran<\\/a> was right to speak out against such impiety. This according to Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry<\\/a>.\\n \\u00a0<\\/p>\\n\[3\] Orthodoxy. Community. Hierarchy. Family. Here is Nonna Verna Harrison. \\u201cA Trinitarian model for human community, rightly understood, provides a strong foundation for a feminist vision of the ideal human society. God the Father, who shares all he is with the Son and the Spirit and receives their gifts in return, who uses hierarchy to establish equality, provides a good model for human parenthood and all human leadership\\u201d (Harrison 2011, 528). Shirk<\\/em> or Tawhid<\\/em>?\\n References<\\/h4>\\n*************** *\* Al-Ghazali. 1990. \\u201cThe Elegant Refutation.\\u201d In Judaism, christianity, and Islam: The Classical Texts and Their Interpretation<\\/em>, by ed. F.E. Peters, 1080-1090. Princeton: Princeton University Press.<\\/p>\\n *\* Harrison, Nonna Verna, 2011. \\u201cThe Trinity and Feminism.\\u201d\\u00a0The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity.\\u00a0<\\/em>Eds. Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 519-530.<\\/p>\\n *\* Kateregga, Badru, and and David Shenk. 1997. A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue.<\\/em> Scottdale PA: Herald Press.<\\/p>\\n *\* Kolb, Robert and Timothy Wengert, eds. 2000. The Book of Concord.<\\/em> Minneapolis MN: Fortress.<\\/p>\\n *\* LaCugna, Catherina Mowry. 1991. God For Us.<\\/em> New York: Harper.<\\/p>\\n *\* Largen, Kristin. 2021. \\u201cPlurality and Salvation: Possibilities in Pannenberg\\u2019s Soteriology for Comparative Theology.\\u201d In The Enduring Promise of Wolfhart Pannenberg<\\/em>, by ed Andrew Hollingsworth, 183-200. Lanham MA: Lexington.<\\/p>\\n *\* Moltmann, J\\u0171rgen. 1974. The Crucified God.<\\/em> New York: Harper.<\\/p>\\n *\* Pannenberg, Wolfhart. 1991. An Introduction to Systematic Theology.<\\/em> Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.<\\/p>\\n *\* \\u2014. 1991-1998. Systematic Theology, 3 Volumes.<\\/em> Grand Rapids MI: Wm B Eerdmans.<\\/p>\\n *\* Peters, Ted. 1993. God as Trinity.<\\/em> Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox.<\\/p>\\n *\* ***************\\u2014. 2015. God\\u2013The World\\u2019s Future: Systematic Theology for a New Era.<\\/em> 3rd. Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press.<\\/p>\\n Peters, Ted; Muzaffar Iqbal; and Syed Nomenul Haq, eds., 2005. God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives<\\/a>.\\u00a0<\\/em>London: Routledge (Ashgate).<\\/p>\\n Plato, 375 BC.\\u00a0Republic.<\\/em><\\/p>\\n Rahner, Karl. 1978. Foundations of the Christian Faith.<\\/em> New York: Seabury Crossroad.<\\/p>\\n \\u2014. 1997. The Trinity.<\\/em> New York: Herder.<\\/p>\\n Sonderegger, Katherine, 2015, 2020. Systematic Theology.\\u00a0<\\/em>Two Volumes: Minneapolis MN: Fortress.<\\/p>\\n Swanson, Mark. 2005. \\u201cThe Trinity in Christian-Muslim Conversation\\u201d.\\u201d Dialog 44:3<\\/em> 250-260.<\\/p>\\n Vatican. 2003. \\u201cCatechism of the Catholic Church.\\u201d https:\\/\\/www.vatican.va\\/archive\\/ENG0015\\/\_\_PX.HTM.<\\/a><\\/p>\\n Vatican. 1965. \\u201cNostra Aetate.\\u201d https:\\/\\/www.vatican.va\\/archive\\/hist\_councils\\/ii\_vatican\_council\\/documents\\/vat-ii\_decl\_19651028\_nostra-aetate\_en.html.<\\/a><\\/p>\\n \\u00a0<\\/p>\\n<\\/body><\\/html>\\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Muslims fear that the Christian understanding of God as Trinity denies Allah’s oneness. Christians commit shirk. 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Trinity 3"}\]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/publictheology\\/#website","url":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/publictheology\\/","name":"Public Theology","description":"Public Theology is conceived in the church, critically tested in the academy, and meshed with the wider culture for the sake of the wider culture.","potentialAction":\[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/publictheology\\/?s={search\_term\_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search\_term\_string"}\],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/publictheology\\/#\\/schema\\/person\\/05733dcb47bd04e4c8cebb870a65c698","name":"Ted Peters","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/publictheology\\/#\\/schema\\/person\\/image\\/","url":"https:\\/\\/secure.gravatar.com\\/avatar\\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\\/\\/secure.gravatar.com\\/avatar\\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Ted Peters"},"description":"Ted Peters is a pastor, professor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. 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{"id":51563,"date":"2024-05-23T08:07:35","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T15:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/?p=51563"},"modified":"2024-05-23T09:04:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:04:04","slug":"islam-on-the-trinity-trinity-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/islam-on-the-trinity-trinity-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Islam on the Trinity? Trinity 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Islam on the Trinity? Trinity 3<\/h2>\n Islam on the Trinity? Against Shahada?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Islam on the Trinity? Are you kidding? The Muslim believer defends the oneness of God like a mother bear defends her cubs. From the Muslim\u2019s point of view, the trinitarian Christian commits shirk<\/em>, a form of blasphemy.[1]\n<\/p> Recall the Shahada,<\/em><\/a> the Muslim profession of faith. \u201cThere is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.<\/a>\u201d In championing God\u2019s unity, Islam also champions God\u2019s transcendent essence, an essence that lies beyond all attributes and even beyond what has been revealed to us about God. Islamic piety bows in humble reverence and total submission before Allah, the most sublime, the most majestic, the most awesome. God\u2019s existence comes prior to our own existence; and it is the source of our existence. God is more real than we are. To deny God\u2019s existence would be blasphemous.<\/p>\n God is One and only One!<\/h3>\n* The same applies to the oneness of God. If a Muslim were inclined to join a theological club, it would be monotheism. Divine oneness is decisive. This means every polytheism or even sympathy with polytheism would be eschewed. \u201cChoose not two gods. There is only One God. So of Me, Me only, be in awe\u201d (Qur\u2019an 16:51). To even entertain suggestions that any being could receive even a share of our worship would be to commit shirk<\/em>. God has no partners \u00a0(Peters, God\u2013The World\u2019s Future<\/em>, 219-228).<\/p>\n A monotheist would like belonging to a club where Plato (427-328 BCE) is a member. According to philosopher Plato, God is simple. God is \u201cperfectly simple and true both in word and deed; he changes not; he receives not\u201d (Plato,\u00a0Republic<\/em> II:382). For a simple God, go to Plato. Not the Bible. In the Bible, the God of Israel is complex, dynamic, and interactive. From a Muslim perspective, biblical Christians appear to commit shirk.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The opposite of shirk <\/em>is Tawhid. <\/em>\u00a0Tawhid <\/em>is the activity of asserting or affirming the unity of God, of Allah. The very activity of asserting God\u2019s oneness disposes the Muslim to live in proper relationship to God.<\/p>\n Islam on the Trinity<\/a><\/h2>\n Islam on the Trinity?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n How might this apply to trinitarian Christians? From the point of view of the Muslim, the Christian looks like a tri-theist, a polytheist, a denier of Tawhid.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>The Qur\u2019an objects to the family symbolism in Christian language, because it suggests plurality within the divine. \u201cThe triune God is analogous to a loving human family,\u201d says Kenneth Samples at Reasons to Believe<\/a>. But this is a no-no if you\u2019re a Muslim. The idea of anything like human family relations within the divine life must be staved off. \u201cSay: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him\u201d (Qur\u2019an 112).<\/p>\n Badru D. Kateregga comments\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIslam makes clear that God has no son, no father, brother, sister, wife, or daughters. The pre-Islamic idea of calling goddesses daughters of Allah was condemned by the Prophet\u201d\u00a0(Kateregga and Shenk 1997, 22).<\/p>\n Here is the definitive passage, wherein the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is denounced.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So have faith in God and His messengers, and do not say \u2018Three\u2019. Refrain, better it is for you. God is only One God\u201d (Qur\u2019an 4:171).<\/p>\n What could this mean?<\/h3>\n Islam on the Trinity?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ***Just what might the Qur\u2019an be saying here? What Trinity is being rejected here? Is it the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Not exactly. The Qur\u2019an seems to assume that the Christian Trinity consists of God, Jesus, and Mary. \u201cAnd when God said, \u2018O Jesus son of Mary, didst thou say unto men, \u2018Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God\u2019?\u2019 He said, \u2018To Thee be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to\u2019\u201d (Qur\u2019an 5:116).\u00a0What is being rejected here is a Trinity of God, Mary, and Jesus. Not the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How could such a colossal misunderstanding of Christian teaching arise?<\/p>\n How might such a colossal boo boo have arisen in Christian-Muslim relations? Let me speculate. Given that the Qur\u2019an appeared in the late seventh century in the part of the world where Eastern Christianity was widely known, perhaps the new religion was reacting against Mary understood as theotokos<\/em> <\/a>or \u201cMother of God.\u201d Could it have been Mariology that prompted this anti-trinitarianism?[2][3]\n Al-Ghazali (d.1111). Islam on the Trinity?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>* If so, then the Qur\u2019an misunderstands Christian theology, even though popular Christian piety may have been understandingly perceived as depicting the Trinity as Father, Son, and Mary. Be that as it may, this is my historical speculation. The theological agenda regarding divine oneness and the Trinity remains.<\/p>\n Islam on the Trinity? Professor Mark Swanson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Let\u2019s ask an expert on Muslim-Christian relations, Mark Swanson.<\/a> Swanson observes that \u201cthis misunderstanding mattered little. Later Muslim thinkers were equally mystified and offended by more technically correct expositions of the Christian Trinity\u201d\u00a0(Swanson 2005, 257). At best, Muslims find Christian trinitarian theology confusing. At worst, tri-theism. \u201cThe Christians have followed a procedure which has obliged them to proclaim the existence, conceptually and objectively, of three Gods,\u201d writes al-Ghazali\u00a0(Al-Ghazali 1990, 187). By violating divine oneness when imputing threeness, Christians are guilty of shirk (<\/em>Peters, God\u2013The World\u2019s Future, <\/em>219-228).<\/p>\n Two Muslim videos treat Islam on the Trinity<\/h4>\n Abdul A. Abdul<\/a> at Bayero University Kano in Nigeria takes glee in thinking that Christians themselves want to throw the Trinity out of the Bible.<\/p>\n Nabeel Qureshi<\/a> at the Summit Lecture Series presents, \u201cA Muslim Makes Sense of the Trinity.\u201d Listen to for the word, \u201ccomplex.\u201d<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/h2>\n Would mutli-religious dialogue between Christians and Muslims be hopeless? Certainly not. Trinitarian Christians affirm the oneness of God just as Muslims do.\u00a0\u201cThe Oneness of God must govern all other Christian doctrinal teaching,\u201d declares Episcopal theologian Katherine Sonderegger<\/a> (Sonderegger 2020, 2:423).\u00a0The difference in divine unicity is that for Islam God is simply one, whereas for Christianity God\u2019s unity is complex. The one God is a living God with an eternal internal perichoresis.<\/p>\n Roman Catholics<\/a> at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) could say they hold Muslims \u201cwith esteem. They adore one God, living and enduring, merciful and all-powerful, Maker of heaven and earth\u201d (Vatican, Nostra Aetate 1965, \u00a73). Catholics and Muslims can both find internal to their respective theological visions an apprehension of the single sublime mystery. Theologians within Christianity and Islam can speak with one another directly, once they realize they both frame our understanding with the oneness of God.<\/p>\n Patheos ST 2019 Islam on the Trinity? Trinity 3<\/span><\/h4>\n ST 2017 What is the Trinity? Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n ST 2018 What is Rahner\u2019s Rule? Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n ST 2019 Islam on the Trinity? Part 3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2593<\/p>\n <\/a> God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives. Click here for more on the book.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n For Patheos<\/em>, Ted Peters posts articles and notices in the field of Public Theology<\/a>. He\u00a0is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union<\/a>. He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences<\/a>, in Berkeley, California, USA. His single volume systematic theology, God\u2014The World\u2019s Future<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>is now in the 3rd<\/sup> edition. He has also authored God as Trinity<\/em><\/a> plus Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society<\/em><\/a> as well as Sin Boldly<\/em><\/a>: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. <\/em>Along with Muzaffar Iqbal and Syed Nomanul Haq, he edited God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives<\/a>. <\/em>See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2593<\/p>\n Notes<\/h4>\n[1] \u201cBoth Jewish and Muslim critics emphasize that the New Testament continues the Old Testament emphasis on the oneness of God, and they sometimes criticize trinitarianism as simple tritheism.\u201d Thus speaketh the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/a>.\n \u00a0<\/p>\n[2] The blasphemous idea of Christians<\/a>\u00a0worshipping three gods comes from a wrong understanding of the Trinity. In the fifth century AD there was a Christian cult called Maryanya which spread the false belief that\u00a0Jesus<\/a>\u00a0and his mother Mary would be two separate gods besides God. The\u00a0Quran<\/a> was right to speak out against such impiety. This according to Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry<\/a>.\n \u00a0<\/p>\n[3] Orthodoxy. Community. Hierarchy. Family. Here is Nonna Verna Harrison. \u201cA Trinitarian model for human community, rightly understood, provides a strong foundation for a feminist vision of the ideal human society. God the Father, who shares all he is with the Son and the Spirit and receives their gifts in return, who uses hierarchy to establish equality, provides a good model for human parenthood and all human leadership\u201d (Harrison 2011, 528). Shirk<\/em> or Tawhid<\/em>?\n References<\/h4>\n Al-Ghazali. 1990. \u201cThe Elegant Refutation.\u201d In Judaism, christianity, and Islam: The Classical Texts and Their Interpretation<\/em>, by ed. F.E. Peters, 1080-1090. Princeton: Princeton University Press.<\/p>\n Harrison, Nonna Verna, 2011. \u201cThe Trinity and Feminism.\u201d\u00a0The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity.\u00a0<\/em>Eds. Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 519-530.<\/p>\n Kateregga, Badru, and and David Shenk. 1997. A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue.<\/em> Scottdale PA: Herald Press.<\/p>\n Kolb, Robert and Timothy Wengert, eds. 2000. The Book of Concord.<\/em> Minneapolis MN: Fortress.<\/p>\n LaCugna, Catherina Mowry. 1991. God For Us.<\/em> New York: Harper.<\/p>\n Largen, Kristin. 2021. \u201cPlurality and Salvation: Possibilities in Pannenberg\u2019s Soteriology for Comparative Theology.\u201d In The Enduring Promise of Wolfhart Pannenberg<\/em>, by ed Andrew Hollingsworth, 183-200. Lanham MA: Lexington.<\/p>\n Moltmann, J\u0171rgen. 1974. The Crucified God.<\/em> New York: Harper.<\/p>\n Pannenberg, Wolfhart. 1991. An Introduction to Systematic Theology.<\/em> Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.<\/p>\n \u2014. 1991-1998. Systematic Theology, 3 Volumes.<\/em> Grand Rapids MI: Wm B Eerdmans.<\/p>\n Peters, Ted. 1993. God as Trinity.<\/em> Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox.<\/p>\n *****\u2014. 2015. God\u2013The World\u2019s Future: Systematic Theology for a New Era.<\/em> 3rd. Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press.<\/p>\n Peters, Ted; Muzaffar Iqbal; and Syed Nomenul Haq, eds., 2005. God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>London: Routledge (Ashgate).<\/p>\n Plato, 375 BC.\u00a0Republic.<\/em><\/p>\n Rahner, Karl. 1978. Foundations of the Christian Faith.<\/em> New York: Seabury Crossroad.<\/p>\n \u2014. 1997. The Trinity.<\/em> New York: Herder.<\/p>\n Sonderegger, Katherine, 2015, 2020. Systematic Theology.\u00a0<\/em>Two Volumes: Minneapolis MN: Fortress.<\/p>\n Swanson, Mark. 2005. \u201cThe Trinity in Christian-Muslim Conversation\u201d.\u201d Dialog 44:3<\/em> 250-260.<\/p>\n Vatican. 2003. \u201cCatechism of the Catholic Church.\u201d https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ENG0015\/__PX.HTM.<\/a><\/p>\n Vatican. 1965. \u201cNostra Aetate.\u201d https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Muslims fear that the Christian understanding of God as Trinity denies Allah’s oneness. Christians commit shirk. But Christians affirm God’s unicity, even if it is a dynamic interactive unicity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4597,"featured_media":51710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,146,150,237,434,1309,2095,20,19,10],"tags":[4118,1870,1822,4121,3704],"class_list":["post-51563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catholic","category-evangelical","category-general-christian","category-islam","category-lutheran","category-methodism","category-orthodox","category-public-theology","category-systematic-theology","category-religious-exemption","tag-allah","tag-god","tag-islam","tag-shirk","tag-trinity"],"yoast_head":"\nIslam on the Trinity? Trinity 3 Islam on the Trinity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Muslims fear that the Christian understanding of God as Trinity denies Allah's oneness. Christians commit shirk. 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