Bezant,
You kill me (LOL)! You made my mind churn just as I was going to bed! In two parts.
PART I
To your question “If the three faiths agree that the God of Abraham is the true god, then isn’t it enough to establish because they agree on his identity, they all worship the same God?, I must humbly reply by saying no! I say humbly because I am well aware that your point, as with JRKH’s, is based on the seemingly clear statements of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which in turn relies on the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate:
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 841 The Churches relationship with the Muslims states: The plan of salvation also included those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims, these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.
• Nostra Aetate, in paragraph 3, states: 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. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
I said clear, but then again, maybe not! Or maybe clear in what they DID NOT SAY! Please note the ambiguous language regarding Islam and Abraham in both. Neither the Catechism nor Nostra Aetate comes out and says that Islam IS an Abrahamic religion but rather only that Islam SAYS it is an Abrahamic religion. This is important because I don’t think this sloppiness reflects error. The Catechism reflects Nostra Aetate and Nostra Aetate was written in the Vatican II era when there was real optimism regarding resolving 1400 years of enmity. The olive branch offered as much as could be given. Hence, “professes to hold” and “takes the pleasure in linking itself” was the language to initiate dialogue. As an invitation to dialogue, there is no problem. But there was a contingency in these comments – that the outreach is as good as the reality of the Abrahamic relationship that is consistent with Biblical understandings of the same.
But it is an entirely different matter to say, based on Nostra Aetate, that the Church would subordinate Church reason to Islamic authority – subordinate what Islam is to what Islam holds itself out to be –, especially where core issues of faith are involved. We are not living in the confident 1960’s.
No also because, when appropriateing Jewish and Christian traditions, Prophets and Jesus, Islam also rebrands them into something they were not in the Old or New Testament. Hence, to agree uncritically that Muslims view Jesus as just a prophet is to point out that they denied His divinity. Muslims are NOT the Jews where St., Paul (Romans) granted them the Covenant promise. In noting Jesus’ prophet status, it must be born in mind that it is NOT based on what He did in the New Testament but rather – AND ONLY – based on what He did as revealed in the Qur’an and Hadith. The Jesus of the Qur’an IS NOT the Jesus of the New Testament. The Jesus of the Islam returns at the end of days to throw all Christians to Hell for refusing to convert to Islam. REALLY! As a Catholic, I don’t have to believe any of this and believe there to be at least some basis to wonder how other Christians can do so knowingly.
Returning to Abraham, just look at how young Muslims in America are taught about Abraham. From the Tarbiyah Guide, Stage 1, a guide is used to train Muslims at the 14/15 year level put out by the Muslim Brotherhood front groups Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society (ICNA/MAS) (this volume was used for training in Chicago), the Islamic nature of Abraham entails denial of Abrahams status as a Jew that later allows Islam do deny the Jewish people their Covenant status as God’s chosen people. From the Tarbiyah Guide:
• The Arabs were also convinced that they were the followers of the religion of Abraham and that they were better guided than the People of the Scriptures (i.e. Jews and Christians) inhabiting the Arabian peninsula at the time: the Jews and the Christians preached respectively that Ezra and Jesus were the sons of Allah whereas they, the Arabs, worshipped angels and jinn - the true offspring of Allah according to them. Their belief, they maintained, was more logical and more conceivable than that of the Christians and the Jews. Nonetheless, all was polytheism.
• From the previously mentioned verses, it is clear that the Kuffaar (disbelievers) knew of Allah’s sovereignty, dominion and power. In fact, they used to faithfully devote various types of worship to Him like Hajj, charity, animal sacrifices, vows and even prayers in times of dire necessity and calamity. They even used to claim that they were following the religion of Abraham. Because of that claim, Allah revealed the verse:
o “Abraham was not a Jew nor was he a Christian, but (he) was a true Muslim and not among those who joined partners with Allah.”
The verse quoted above turns out to be Qur’an Verse 3:67 which reads as follows –
• Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to Allah’s (Which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah. (Qur’an 3:67)
- indicating that the Tarbiyah Guide is not only correct, but, from an Islamic POV, irrebuttably so given that it was directly revealed by Allah.
