Do Muslims pray to the same God as Catholics or not?

[LilyM]

Having an incorrect understanding of God can actually mean that someone is worshipping a different God from Christians. Muslims don’t believe that Christ is God. They literally deny the divinity of Christ. Since they aren’t worshipping Christ, they don’t worship the God that Christians worship.

Yes it can, but church teaching, from sources way more authoritative than the contrary individuals on this thread, holds that in case of Islam it doesn’t. So there’s that …

 

[Magnanimity]

Having an incorrect understanding of God can actually mean that someone is worshipping a different God from Christians. Muslims don’t believe that Christ is God. They literally deny the divinity of Christ. Since they aren’t worshipping Christ, they don’t worship the God that Christians worship.

See here: https://thestateoftheology.com/

There are 2020 survey results at the site, and you can filter for Catholics in the US. The results are not promising.

Some examples from the survey:

“God is a perfect being and cannot make a mistake” - 49% of Catholics strongly agree.

“There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit” - 60% of Catholics strongly agree

“Biblical accounts of the physical (bodily) resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate. This event actually occurred.” - 44% of Catholics strongly agree

“Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” - 42% of Catholics strongly agree

“Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” - 30% of Catholics strongly agree

We Catholics obviously do not even have the same understanding of God, from one Catholic to the next one standing beside him! And yet we want to say that there’s some sort of litmus test for worshipping the one true God? Almost no Catholics have the depth of understanding about God that St Thomas Aquinas had. But is that cause for saying we worship a different God than he did?

Our individual understandings of God do not have to be the same in order for the Referent (the One to whom we direct our worship) to be the same.

 

[srobi]

muslims do not believe in the Holy Trinity, or that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One with our Father. mohammed is their prophet and unlike Christ he said if someone hits you can strike back. also a man can have as many wives as he wants at the same time under the same roof. there are other things that primarily appeal to pride and greed and selfishness.

 

[ReaderT]

The difference between one God and one deity is very big. Satanic cults that worship Satan, say, are worshipping a spiritual being that is one of many demons.
But classical monotheists worship the One True God to whom we can reason. But Islam, say, has false revelation concerning the One True God.

I don’t think there is a difference. There is a somewhat well-known satanic cult in Britain (whose name I will not mention here) that believes the devil is a deity worthy of praise. To them he is not just a demon among demons, but he is (as in every other monotheistic religion) the only deity that exists.

So if we’re going to say Muslims and Jews actually pray to our (Christian) god because they’re monotheists, by that logic the satanists would be too.

Bottom line for me: We worship Christ.
Ask a Muslim, “When you pray, do you worship Christ?” and he’ll say “No, I do not worship Christ; Christ is not worthy of my worship.”
Ergo he’s not praying to our God.
God doesn’t force anyone to worship Him who doesn’t want to.

 

[meltzerboy2]

But what does the CCC say about this? Does it not say that Muslims and Jews also worship the One True Gd (even if they, according to Catholic belief, do not pray to Christ)? Did the Catechism of the Catholic Church get this wrong?

 

[Kei]

To them he is not just a demon among demons, but he is (as in every other monotheistic religion) the only deity that exists.

This deity cannot be the devil if he is at all like classical monotheism. The concept of the devil doesn’t even make sense without knowing about God (what is he rebelling against? What’s goin’ on here??).

But, you see, if you were to ask a Jew 3 years before the birth of Christ if they worshipped Christ as God, I doubt they would agree. They didn’t believe in what God had not yet revealed. But they still worshipped God.

Like I said, I think in a sense it’s false that they worship the same God, but that it is still possible to say it is true that they adore the one God…kind of in a diplomatic/political way.

 

[ReaderT]

This deity cannot be the devil if he is at all like classical monotheism. The concept of the devil doesn’t even make sense without knowing about God (what is he rebelling against? What’s goin’ on here??).

They essentially believe that satan (as described in the OT) was the real deity because he encourages “individuality and freedom of thought, righteous rebellion, and the quest to raise one’s self up.” They believe Elohim was the oppressor, and if you’re truly “enlightened” you would realize that.

So are they worshipping the same deity as us, being monotheists as they are?

 

[ReaderT]

But what does the CCC say about this? Does it not say that Muslims and Jews also worship the One True Gd (even if they, according to Catholic belief, do not pray to Christ)? Did the Catechism of the Catholic Church get this wrong?

The Catechism says they “together with [Catholics] they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”

Regarding the question “Did the Catechism get this wrong?” in my personal opinion yes, yes they did. And I will stop there before I get myself into any more trouble.

 

[Kei]

They essentially believe that satan (as described in the OT) was the real deity because he encourages individuality and freedom of thought, righteous rebellion, and the quest to raise one’s self up. They believe Elohim was the oppressor, and if you’re truly “enlightened” you would realize that.

So are they worshipping the same deity as us, being monotheists as they are?

I fail to see how this is monotheism, as who is Elohim if not (at least a) God?
But, I am not saying monotheism, I am saying classical monotheism, which they definitely don’t seem to follow.

But I have a question:
Are they really worshipping satan? I’d say yes, even though they are way off base about him (if this is a real satanic group and not just mocking religion type satanists).

 

[AlNg]

“Biblical accounts of the physical (bodily) resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate. This event actually occurred.” - 44% of Catholics strongly agree

“Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” - 42% of Catholics strongly agree

“Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” - 30% of Catholics strongly agree

It is incredible that a large percentage of Catholics do not believe the elementary teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

 

[Magnanimity]

It is incredible that a large percentage of Catholics do not believe the elementary teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

Incredible and quite a bit tragic. If you filter for “Evangelicals” the results aren’t much better…

 

[Rozellelily]

I’m sorry, it should have said Instagram not LinkedIn!

 

[Margaret_Ann]

It is incredible that a large percentage of Catholics do not believe the elementary teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Sadly, catechetical formation has deteriorated in the past 50+ years. Pope Pius IX in his encyclical Divini Illus Magistri (On the Christian Education of Youth) says that parents are the first educators of children. Since many parents never had a sound Catholic catechetical formation, the children won’t either in many cases.

I’ve been saying for the past 6+ years that there needs to be sound adult Catholic catechesis. If a prospective bride and groom are 25 years of age, they probably haven’t had any catechetical formation since at least their Confirmation (mid-teens for RCs) and possibly since First Solemn Communion for ECs. So there’s at least a 5-15+ year gap that simply can’t be remedied by pre-Cana classes in one weekend. As I’ve posted previously, the prospective bride and groom ideally should spend at least one hour a week with the priest learning what the Church teaches on marriage and the family. At an absolute minimum, the priest should meet with the prospective bride and groom at least once a month so that they’re properly prepared for the Mystery of Crowning/Matrimony.

God With Us Online had this recently:

Crowned with Glory - God With Us

Fr. Stephen Freeman is an Orthodox priest but occasionally does presentations for God With Us Online (an Eastern Catholic catechetical group). This is a drop in the bucket (so to speak) to assuage the lack of formation re the Mystery of Crowning.

Most of all, many Catholics (Eastern and Western) don’t realize that Matrimony is a Sacrament of the Living (i.e. one must be in the state of sanctifying grace - the Divine Life of God) in order to worthily receive this Sacrament, just like one has to be in the state of sanctifying grace to receive the Holy Eucharist. C.f. Schudlo, Rev. M., compiler, My Divine Friend.

 

[WanderingPilgrim]

No, Jews and Muslims do not worship the same God as Catholics, despite the CCC stating otherwise. We believe God to be Triune in nature. We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God, three divine personages. Jews and Muslims both deny Jesus Christ’s Divinity and deny the Holy Spirit altogether. Therefore, they do not worship the same God as us.

 

[Eric_Hyom]

No, Jews and Muslims do not worship the same God as Catholics, despite the CCC stating otherwise. We believe God to be Triune in nature. We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God, three divine personages. Jews and Muslims both deny Jesus Christ’s Divinity and deny the Holy Spirit altogether. Therefore, they do not worship the same God as us.

Would God agree with you?

 

[BornInMarch]

Here are some key differences between the Christian and Muslim conceptions of God.

In most forms of Christianity the one God is triune. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at once. This also necessitates Him becoming a human being with a human body and a human soul, and therefore being able to die for the sins of humanity.

In Islam, meanwhile, God is only one person and is wholly incorporeal - a common phase in Islam is that God “was neither begotten nor begets”. They believe Jesus is a Prophet, a man who was holy but ultimately not divine. As for God having a human body, Muslims consider that a theological error called it anthropomorphism.

The second difference is in actions. In Christianity it is accepted that God’s revelation ended with Christ because there was nothing left to reveal. If God speaks to humans after Christ, whether directly or indirectly, then it is to reaffirm what was already revealed; Joan of Arc is not a Prophetess because the angels she spoke to did not bring new revelation to her.

In Islam, God’s revelation is held to have ended with the Prophet Muhammad. This would mean that Christ’s revelation was not the end, and that there was more to be revealed after Christ.

Both religions are Abrahamic; they both believe there is only one deity named God and that God made a covenant with the Prophet Abraham as part of a plan to rescue humanity from our sins, but the perception of who God is varies greatly between the two religions.

 

[Niblo]

here is one problem I’ve seen (more educated folks than me discovered it) regarding God as presented in the Quran. Muslims say that Jesus is the Word of God and Spirit. It says this in the Quran regarding Jesus.

Kalima tullah - "The Word of Allah (God)
Ruhun min Allah - “A spirit from Allah (God).”

If so, and to all evidence the Quran does seem to claim this about Jesus, and since they believe that Jesus isn’t God, then they have a serious problem. If Christ isn’t God, then they believe that God is without Word or Spirit.

Really?

Allāh (subḥānahu ūta’āla) says this: ‘People of the Book, do not go to excess in your religion, and do not say anything about Allāh except the truth: the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was nothing more than a messenger of Allāh, His word (‘wakalimatuhu’), directed to Mary, a spirit (‘warūḥun’) from Him. So believe in Allāh and His messengers and do not speak of three – stop (this), that is better for you – Allāh is only one God, He is far above having a son, everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him and He is the best one to trust.’ (Al-Nisa: 171).

The word ‘wakalimatuhu’ is derived from the root ‘kāf lām mīm’; and refers – not to the Logos (the Second Person of the Trinity, as understood by Trinitarians – but to speech; to a spoken word – to any spoken word.

The word ‘warūḥun’ is derived from the root ‘rā wāw ḥā’; and comes from the form ‘rūḥ’; meaning ‘soul’; ‘spirit’; and ‘inspiration’. When applied to Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām) it refers to his spirit soul. We all possess such a soul.

Consider this:

‘The angels said, ‘Mary, Allāh gives you news of a word (‘bikalimatin’) from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be held in honour in this world and the next, who will be one of those brought near to Allāh. He will speak to people in his infancy and in his adulthood. He will be one of the righteous.’ (Al‘Imran: 45-46)

‘Bikalimatin’ is derived from the same root (‘kāf lām mīm’) as ‘wakalimatuhu’ and, as you might expect, also refers to a spoken word.

The sūrah continues: ‘She said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a son when no man has touched me?’ (The angel) said, ‘This is how Allāh creates what He will: when He has ordained something, He says only, “Be” (‘kun’), and it is.’ (Verse 47).

Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām) is indeed a word from Allāh (subḥānahu ūta’āla); and that word is ‘Be’; the command that brought him – and everything else – into being.

This ‘Be’ has nothing to do with a notion of ‘incarnation’. Yeshua is both prophet and Messiah; but nowhere in the Qur’an is he referred to as God.

 

[Niblo]

The Catechism says Muslims “profess” to worship the same God…

This from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (my emphasis):

PROFESSION OF FAITH

'I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.’ And so on.

For a Muslim, the ‘Profession of Faith’ begins: ‘I bear witness that there is no god but God’.

By the way, I’ve just been watching a BBC report showing Muslims distributing food to the homeless of Manhattan. Each Muslim is wearing a red tabard, on the back of which is written (in white capitals):

ONE CREATOR

ONE WORLD

ONE FAMILY

Take note: ONE CREATOR

Does the Church teach that there are more than one?

 

[Eric_Hyom]

Islam is demonic .

We shall be judged in the same way that we judge others.

 

[3335]

In India Muslims had ruled for so many years and when the invaders came Indians opened there arms for them . But what they got in return only hatred and tax their beliefs , torture humanity.
On 15 August 1947 when British India was divided in 3 Countries (India , West Pakistan , East Pakistan). People were moving peacefully but the Muslim mob started to attack Hindu and Sikh Women and Children. It is said that 200,000 to 2 million were dead.
Islam always a very cunning religion .
Stay Safe and Stay Away from Islam .
Peace.