Do Christians Admit that Muslims are Correct?

[Brendan_64]

Nostra Aetate is written in the context of re-approaching relations with muslims after a 1,300 year history of bloody conflict between our two peoples. It was written with an intent to counter balance a history of falling into error #1 above. For that purpose, it is entirely correct and authoritative (“no buts” as you noted). It was never intended to be used for syncretistic arguments that erroneously grant too much legitimacy to Islam as a religious belief in comparison to Christianity.

Yet it forms part of the current Catechism of our Church. It **is **to be taken at face value. What is written in Nostra Aetate is Truth, and is part of the authoritative and bind teachings of our Church. It **has **to be accepted as it is written. It is not just authoritative as a means to counter balance poor historical relations with Muslims, it is authoritative in itself, completely and exactly as it is written.

I have never said on this thread (or elsewhere) that Islam is a religious belief that is without error or with the same status as Christianity, but Muslims do worship the same God as Christians do. Some Catholics need to stop skirting around the issue and accept that fact (uncomfortable as it might feel to them) because that is the teaching of our Church and we are bound by it.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

The devil tells many lies by quoting Scripture, no? One way he does that is to polarize people into opposing errors on either side of the truth. On this topic those errors are:

1. Islam is utterly evil with no redeeming content in it.
2. Islam preaches about the same God as Catholicism and is to be applauded for it (with no caveats or warnings about problems innate to Islam).

Nostra Aetate is written in the context of re-approaching relations with muslims after a 1,300 year history of bloody conflict between our two peoples. It was written with an intent to counter balance a history of falling into error #1 above. For that purpose, it is entirely correct and authoritative (“no buts” as you noted). It was never intended to be used for syncretistic arguments that erroneously grant too much legitimacy to Islam as a religious belief in comparison to Christianity.

Back to the original question of the thread (which is why I’m being stubborn):
No. Christians do NOT agree that muslim beliefs are entirely correct. We hold some beliefs in common. But Islamic beliefs are flat out wrong in many areas.

Actually the Devil could quote Scripture if he intended to misdirect people.

The error you seem to be accusing me of is #2 - “Islam preaches about the same God as Catholicism and is to be applauded for it (with no caveats or warnings about problems innate to Islam).” You are taking me out of context here. My claim is that they believe in the same God, but I’m not necessarily applauding them for that, as they are believing incorrectly about the same God.

You also seem to be implying that I am giving
legitimacy to Islam, which is also incorrect.

And let my get to your last statement:

No. Christians do NOT agree that muslim beliefs are entirely correct. We hold some beliefs in common. But Islamic beliefs are flat out wrong in many areas.

But when the Muslim says “Jesus is not the Son of God”, unless you believe they are talking about the same God and Jesus, you’re unalterable default answer is to be “Yes you are correct, Jesus is not the Son of God.”
Yet at the same time you say “We hold some beliefs in common,” but what beliefs are those? I have seen nothing but rejection of any correctness in Islam.

Another important bit: I am not proposing that Islam is entirely correct, but to say that it is completely wrong IS IN FACT to legitimize it’s beliefs, to let it go on without correction.

Acknowledge that Muslims worship the Same God so that from there we can rightly say to them that Jesus IS the Son of God and that God IS a Triune Being and that the Holy Spirit is NOT the angel Gabriel, etc, because we can then get to talking about the same subject.