Allah: A Christian Response

by Miroslav Volf

From Miroslav Volf, one of the world's foremost Christian theologians—and co-teacher, along with Tony Blair, of a groundbreaking Yale University course on faith and globalization—comes Allah , a timely and provocative argument for a new pluralism between Muslims and Christians. In a penetrating exploration of every side of the issue, from New York Times headlines on terrorism to passages in the Koran and excerpts from the Gospels, Volf makes an unprecedented argument for effecting a unified understanding between Islam and Christianity. In the tradition of Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Islam in the Modern World , Volf’s Allah is essential reading for students of the evolving political science of the twenty-first century.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Islam, Christianity, Nonfiction, Christian, Philosophy

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2011

About the author

Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. “One of the most celebrated theologians of our time,” (Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury), Volf is a leading expert on religion and conflict. His recent books include Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities, and Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation—winner of the 2002 Grawmeyer Award in Religion.

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Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A number of years ago a student asked me, "do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?" That is a question that has lingered with me over the years and so I turned with interest to this book in which Miroslav Volf explores the same question and the implications of how we answer it.

An important thing to understand about this book is that it is not written in the vein of the "all religions are pointing to the same truth" or that Christianity and Islam are different paths leading to salvation. What Volf, who would answer the question by saying "yes, with different understandings of the God we worship" is interested in are the implications of our answer to this question for Muslim-Christian relations in this world. Volf points to the fact that figures as diverse as Nicolas of Cusa, Martin Luther, and Pope John Paul II have all taken this position. He points to our common belief that God is One, Creator, Sovereign, a God of love and justice, to whom we owe our absolute allegiance, that he commands love of neighbor, and that given that all of us will face a reckoning, we ought live in the fear of the Lord. He also observes that the objections to the idea of the Trinity in Muslim teaching are in fact things Christians themselves would disavow concerning the Trinity--these are not three gods, Jesus is not God's associate, etc.

It is evident, and Volf notes this, that he writes from a Christian perspective and for Christians. He does believe, and has encountered, many thoughtful Muslims who would recognize much of this as common ground. And that is his point. He contends that if we in fact believe we worship different Gods, then one is an infidel or idolater and must be opposed. But if we recognize common ground, including the command to love and the standards of God's justice, it moves us to recognize the interests of our neighbor, Christian or Muslim and provides common ground for seeking common good.

I know of friends who will point to radical Islam as an enemy of the west and of Christians and believe this characterizes all of Islam. Volf recognizes these elements and yet believes that by refraining from inflammatory rhetoric or worse on the Christian side, we avoid turning those who we might engage and work with into enemies. He recognizes in the clerics who published "A Common Word Between Us and You" that there are some with whom we may engage.

Whether we agree or not with Volf's answer to the main question of this book, one of the challenges this poses to me as a follower of Christ is, will I love not only my neighbor but even one who may act as my enemy? As I've dialogued with friends concerned with the dangers of "radical Islam", I don't deny the possibility of these, but as a minister of the gospel, I come back to the reality that Jesus included in the Twelve a "radical" who ultimately betrayed him and who he loved to the end. It is very possible that the risk of loving the neighbor, seeking peace, the common good, and under God's grace to witness to Christ could lead to betrayal at that person's hands. To win my neighbor or enemy could mean losing my life, but it seems that this is just what following Jesus is about.

[Andy Stager · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to read some Miroslav Volf. He’s one of those theologians that Tim Keller and Kevin Vanhoozer frequently cite. The the theological boyfriend of my theological boyfriends. And he teaches at Yale. So, yeah. I thought I’d start with Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. But the school library didn’t have anything by Volf except Allah: A Christian Response.

I figured that since I’m now teaching philosophy, religion, and worldview to more than a handful of Muslims, and since we’ve had the whole hijab dustup at Wheaton, and its attendant question about whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God or not, this was as good a book as any to read on vacation in Thailand—once I finished Marylinne Robinson’s Gilead.

I did, and I’m about halfway through Volf’s argument. I can see why people love him. Great prose, winsome approach, and a readiness to dive right into a very controversial subject. I like him. And I like this book. I’m glad I’m reading it. I knew from the get-go that he believes Christians and Muslims worship the same God, a position I have found awkward and unsettling for as long as I have been aware of the question itself. But I like to make it a practice to charitably read people that I’m inclined to disagree with, and it’s easier still to do when the it’s someone whose work has some sexy cachet in my tribe.

So, what do I think of the first half of Allah: A Christian Response?

Volf quotes Al Mohler, and negatively evaluates the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president’s insistence that Islam began as a conscientious denial of the Trinity and of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Now, I am temperamentally much more predisposed to the posture, reasoning, and prestige of Miroslav Volf then I am to that of Al Mohler and John Piper (whose position Volf also quotes and takes issue with). And lately, I have been reading so many Roman Catholics as part of my PhD research that I am probably more predisposed to listen carefully to people like Pope John Paul II (one of Volf’s heroes in terms of affirming the “same God” doctrine), than I am to champion the views of strident Calvinist Baptists. To me, the former are fresh, new, and surprising, while the latter seem grumpy and perpetually threatened, insecure in their evangelical identities (or something like that).

But here, anyway, I’m somewhat surprised to report that Piper and Mohler’s position is more compelling to me than Volf’s.

Volf notes in passing that Christian scripture does not give a stance on whether Christians worship the same God as Muslims precisely because the canon of Christian scripture was closed five centuries before the birth of Islam. But where the issue of the identity of the Christian and Muslim God is concerned, I think this is more than a historical factoid. I believe that the author is overlooking a major set of historical religious contingencies, very central to Christianity, and very much at the center of the birth of Islam as well. He overlooks the fact that Christian Scripture says that Jesus came in the fullness of time; that God had once spoken by the prophets, but that in these last days, he had spoken finally by his Son.

What is particularly surprising (and disappointing) to me is that Volf takes an analytical, diachronic approach to the question of identity and otherness in Christian and Muslim doctrines of God. He gathers together a list of 6 things Christians and Muslims both say about God: that he’s one, that he’s the creator, that he’s transcendent, etc. And from that list, he says, in effect, “See? They’re saying the same things about their gods, so their gods must actually be the same God.”

But if one took a synchronic approach that takes seriously the history of revelation, which is so central to Christian doctrine and identity, and particularly to its eventual distinction from Judaism, things look a bit different. The reason that Christianity rejects ongoing rabbinical tradition as authoritative, and the reason it rejects a priori Mohammed as a true prophet, is that Christianity confesses that Jesus Christ is the supreme and final prophetic (as well as priestly and royal) revelation of God, who has come in the fullness of time, and after whom no further word need be spoken.

I think a focus on the history of redemption is an interpretive perspective that the New Testament itself champions. As such, it holds forth Christ as the culmination and even the eclipse of the prophetic tradition. It’s the final word. He’s the word the prophets themselves struggled to understand and anticipate. This fact alone makes it difficult to go very far with Volf’s strategy of amassing a ‘sufficient similarity’ between Muslim and Christian doctrines of God in order to assert their identity.

In fact, running this question along a redemptive-historical arc makes me cozy up even more to John Piper’s position, which Volf quotes early in his book:

I got a great help from a good friend of mine who said this: Suppose two people are arguing about their classmates from college 30 years ago, and they’re starting to wonder if they’re talking about the same person. “She did this and she did that.” “Oh, I don’t think she did that.” “And she looked like this.” “Oh, I don’t think she looked like that.” “Oh yes, she did.” And they’re arguing. They think they’re talking about the same person, and somebody comes up and says, “Well, why don’t you just open the yearbook?” So they get out the yearbook from 1968, and they open it up, and they say, “There she is.” And the other guy says, “Oh, no no no no, that’s not who I was talking about.” And it’s all clear now. We’re not talking about the same person.

And my friend said to me, “Jesus Christ, as He is revealed in the New Testament, is the yearbook. You open the yearbook, and you look at His picture and you say, “Is that your God?” and the Muslims are going to say, “No, that’s not our God.” And then you say, “Well, we’re not talking about the same God then.”

Furthermore, Volf glosses over, at least in the first 120 pages of the book, the fact that the central Muslim creed is not only that there is no God but Allah, but also that Mohammed is his prophet. And Muslims don’t just have this creed tucked away somewhere. They say it every day.

I learned a lot about Trinitarian theology from Volf, especially in his retrieval of Nicholas of Cusa in his fascinating fifteenth-century appeals to Muslim rulers about the similarities in their beliefs about God. Volf probably is right when he concludes that Muslim refutations of Christian Trinitarian theology rest on misunderstandings of tri-personality within divine unity, and that most Muslims have never heard Christians properly respond to those objections, coming as they do from a radical monotheist perspective.

But the fact of the matter is that there is a religion called Islam, and that it cane along 500 years after the fullness of time, in many ways specifically to refute the Christ event as the great revelation of God. Volf makes much about the notion that if Christians and Muslims were able to point out which God they worship, they’d both point to the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to identify their God. Still, the fact remains that when Muslims are asked to identify their God, the first thing they do is say that Mohammed is his Prophet. Every day. Multiple times per day. Right away, Islam says something in identifying their god that Christians reject: namely, that Mohammad is his authoritative, even final, prophet. And, right away Islam began denying things about the Christian God that Christians had struggled to understand and articulate, held tedious but important councils to clarify, came to hold dear, and even died for in its first five centuries before Islam came along, namely the divinity of Christ and the nature of God as Triune.

Finally, the author notes that the reason his book is needed is because we are living in a post-9/11 world, and for the first time the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God has become existentially relevant to everyone. We feel it in our guts that this is an important question. He says that Muslim–Christian engagement on the scholarly level has had the resources to tackle this question with rigor for centuries, but that it was simply not a question that people were asking; it just was not relevant.

Now, however, it is perhaps the question. At least to Volf, the question is of such critical importance that if we get it wrong, we are liable to hate and bomb each other, and neither of us is likely to win. He believes that the question is central, and that he knows the answer, namely that Christians and Muslims do in fact worship the same God. With all the charity I can muster–and it is not difficult to muster charity for this author, who is, after all, revered as pretty sexy by evangelicals of my ilk–I am neither persuaded that it is the central question, nor that it should be answered in the way he does it.

For a long while now, I have been tempted to get a ‘coexist’ bumper sticker. That temptation is no longer active because I no longer have a car, being the cooler-than-you public-transit-using urbanite that I now am. Being the punchy person I can be at times, and knowing how much my fellow evangelicals dislike that bumper sticker, and how much they deplore the contemporary discourse surrounding tolerance, I have long thought it would be a wonderful provocation toward an important discussion among my fellow evangelicals if I slapped this sticker on my car. What is my point?

Well, this: Who would not want to coexist? What is the alternative to coexisting? Bombing each other? Demanding that only one religion is allowed on planet earth? Assuming that conversion or death are your only options? Yes, let’s coexist! I don’t want to die, and I’m too nice to kill you.

The author mistakenly thinks that saying we worship the same God is the key to loving and tolerating one another. But then, what are we supposed to do with atheists? With Hindus? With polytheists? (Granted, the radical fundamentalist fringes of those worldviews are not bombing us, I don’t think, and we are not tempted, I don’t think, to bomb them.)

As Volf points out, Muslims also bomb other Muslims, and Christians bomb other Christians. Apparently believing in the same God, but understanding that same God differently, is not the key to peace.

In my view, the problem here is that, according to standard sociology, it is the ‘proximate other’ who is often the most feared, the most threatening to us. That means that the similarities between Islam and Christianity are precisely what make us feel like there is a possible threat. And there is a threat, at least religiously. If you’re a monotheist, and you believe God is the sovereign creator, that he is benevolent, that he is transcendent and incomprehensible in his divine otherness from his creatures, well then, as a Christian, I am going to think that I’ve got a lot less work to do in persuading you to embrace Jesus Christ than if you were a doctrinaire atheist. And perhaps it goes the other way, too.

But there’s a motivation for me to love Muslims who aren’t converting to Christianity at all. And that is that they are made in the image of God. I’m going to go beyond the very practical but insufficient goal of coexisting with them. I’m going to love them. My faith tells me I must. Part of that love will be affirming the similarities in our doctrines of God. Part of it will be pointing out the radical dissimilarities with respect to the person of Jesus Christ. And another part still will be my seeking to persuade you how much better my religion is than theirs, simply because of the fact that God, who is love, became flesh and died for his enemies in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

But mostly, my love will be more mundane and less dramatic than that, just like it is with my atheist neighbors, and just like it is with people who go to weird Christian (?) churches that don’t seem to talk about Jesus nearly enough. It’ll involve sharing a dinner table and swapping recipes, if I am lucky enough. It’ll mean I’m a charitable and respectful Christian teacher of Muslim students. It’ll manifest when I rejoice with Muslim neighbors whenever He who shines in all that’s fair bestows some temporal blessing upon them. And, who knows, maybe it even means housing a family of refugees someday. I don’t know.

But the point is, Volf is wrong about the question’s critical importance, even more than he is wrong about the answer to the question. We are called to love lots of people who worship different gods than us, as well as those who believe in no god.

Coexist. Better, love. And, in loving, have loving, tolerant dialogue about your differences, and don’t assume that worshipping different gods means the only option left is violence.

[Ty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's true that in the past I have invented jokes about receiving text messages from God, but it's also true that on my first night in Casablanca, when I was laying in bed reading Miroslav Volf and considering the semantics and semiotics of trying to name or describe God, my phone rattled and I looked at it and it said "I AM welcomes you to Morocco!"

A little repetitive, but really good. How strange that out of all the kinds of nerds, I seem to have become a comparative theology nerd.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volf argues that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. He argues that because Allah and YHWH are "sufficiently similar" this view is correct. Allah and YHWH are similar, argues Volf, in that they are the One true God--the good and beneficent creator--who commands us to love him and our neighbors. The reason Volf is making this argument is that he thinks a pervasive belief that Muslims and Christians worship the same God would create peace and a way to work together for the common good. In the last chapter, he talks about utilizing his argument to cure the world of extremism.

The biggest weaknesses in this book are found in Volf's attempt to show that YHWH and Allah are "sufficiently similar" as it pertains to love. YHWH is love. And since YHWH is love, love is eternally existent within the intertrinitarian relations of the Godhead. Allah is not love. Volf, however, tries to prove that he is by appealing to Sufi teaching on Allah's self-love. The Quran nor the Hadith teach that Allah is love. Nor is this the "normative" view of Islam, to which Volf had been scrupulously attentive. Further, when Volf tries to prove that Muslims are to love God, the reference he uses merely states, "There is no God but Allah." He has to do some gymnastics to turn this into an exhortation to love him supremely. And when Volf tries to show that Muslims are commanded to love their neighbors he has to go to a single reference in the Hadith, not the Quran. Volf does acknowledge, however, that unlike Christians, Muslims are not required to love their enemies.

Volf unsuccessfully seeks to fit Allah into a YHWH box but, in my view, fails to show "sufficient similarity" even though he picks the lines on which the comparison is drawn. In Volf's book he is forthright about his perspective being Christian, and yet his approach is notably non-Biblical. How does the New Testament determine if one is worshipping the True God? 1 John 2:23. “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” If the Pharisees did not have the Father because they rejected Christ, neither do our Muslim friends who reject Christ (John 8:19).

Despite Volf not proving his main thesis, in my view, he does provide some great insights. He does a good job of showing how Christians do not divide God in affirming the Trinity. He gives good guidelines on "witnessing" and "da'wa" (witness only if you are prepared for others to witness to you. witness to others like you'd like to be witnessed to. do not coerce or seduce others to accept your faith. do not compare the best practices of your group with the worst of theirs). Volf's comments on the utility of monotheism are great. This is a tremendous commonality between Muslims and Christians (and though not sure enough ground for the argument of "sufficient similarity" great ground to be standing on together in contrast to polytheism and atheism alike). Volf's critique of apostasy laws and advocacy for freedom of religion were noble.

My least favorite part of the book is his section on freedom of speech. He lays some of the blame on Westergaard (the person who published the Danish cartoon mocking Muhammad) for the violence that ensued afterward in the Muslim world. Though I certainly would not publish such a cartoon myself, I think it is immoral to even imply that Westergaard was responsible in any way for the actions of those who acted violently by his depiction. Not only is this insulting to Westergaard but also dehumanizes the perpetrators of the violence to amoral beings unable to choose alternative moral actions. I am curious what others think about this section in the book!

[Ramón · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miroslav Volf is one of my favorite theologians and a compelling writer to boot. This book focuses on a topic that is very close to my heart - the relationship between Christians and Muslims. I am glad that he published this book because it helps people get some of the historical and methodological perspective to get beyond the rhetoric which keeps both sides from having meaningful dialogue. Volf is unapologetic that the book is written from a Christian perspective but he is also rigorous about writing in conversation with a number of Muslim scholars, historical and contemporary, in order to achieve as high a degree of accuracy as possible.

I think this book is important as a resource for introducing the uninformed reader to the tremendous overlap in these two traditions and their conceptions of God and goodness. Volf communicates a high degree of respect for Islamic thought without shying away from the difficulties created by the distinctions between that thought and Christian orthodoxy. He is able to do this because the book starts by laying a foundation of understanding through stories that help put conflicts between Muslims and Christians within a historical and anecdotal context that refuses to demonize nor pardon either side. He then proceeds to very methodically lay out a case for defusing future conflicts by focusing on common ground. I think he presents his case well enough to provoke thought in any honest reader. In the end he gives the reader a sorely needed resource by positing ground rules for engaging in respectful dialogue about these issues.

That being said, the book dragged a bit for me. It's possible that my prior research in this area made it a boring read for me, but I also think that Volf is at times detailed to a fault. Nonetheless, I also know from my research that such exactitude is important in avoiding miscommunication and in avoiding making sweeping statements that cannot be substantiated. In this regard, Volf is the consummate scholar, and this work will be very appealing to those whose concerns regarding Islamic-Christian relations are more philosophical or academic. For those who engage more through narrative and stories, this book might feel a little flat, and I would be more inclined to recommend Muslims, Christians, and Jesus by Carl Medearis.

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though well written, the author's conclusions are completely outside of reality, and he completely runs roughshod over the history and actual opinions of theologians like Martin Luther. Only read this book if you feel like placing on the shelf next to your unicorn and fairy books when you're done.

[Josiah Hatfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid theological arguments throughout. Glad to have a deep thinking Christian like Volf.

(The 3 star review only because it reads like a lecture, my subjective way of documenting that that’s not what I’m usually looking for in a read.)

[Shaun Chiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped to confirm what I already suspected to be true about the great monotheistic faiths. Wonderfully written and clearly argued. I also emailed the author and got a response! He connected me with a colleague whose nonprofit I had the privilege of interning at.

[Doug Magnuson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books (and answered many questions) related to the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. This is the best book I have read on the subject, and it is particularly helpful and interesting because Volf addresses the broader context, including ways in which God and religion serve as identity markers and contribute to conflict between groups. His discussion of the views of some key historical figures (including Martin Luther) on the question is very helpful. And a significant part of the book is the discussion of whether Christians and Muslims can find a way to work together for the "common good" (rather than trying to destroy each other).

I highly recommend this book, for Christians and Muslims alike. But to benefit, you have to approach it with an open mind...

[Bryan Neuschwander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful response to Huntington's "clash of civilizations" approach. Volf wants to cultivate an environment that discourages extremism by
1. Respectful debate about truth.
2. Acknowledgement of a common God.
3. Belief that God is loving and just.
4. Adherence to the command to love one's neighbors.
5. A health sense of the fear of God.
6. A stand against injustice.
7. A stand against prejudice.
8. A stand against compulsion in religion.
9. A stand against disrespect.
10. A stand against political exclusivism. (259-262)
I affirm Volf's compassionate and reasoned peacemaking as a step in the right direction. I further affirm the ultimate source of human flourishing in the person of Jesus and his way of life.

[Nadeen Alsulaimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب سهل اللغة يشرح ببساطة كيف أن النصارى والمسلمين يعبدون الإله نفسه! الكاتب بنى مناقشته على السياسة وكيف أن الدين يلعب دورًا في تصرفات الناس السياسية وحتى اليومية! الكتاب موجه للنصارى والطرح يعتبر جديد في عالم الأديان.
يجدر بالذكر أن الكتاب يناقش أيضا الوثيقة الإسلامية المسماة "كلمة سواء"..

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wellll, maybe half read. Couldn't do it all the way. Was easy enough reading and topic was definitely interesting and important. But the book reminded me why I don't like philosophy......

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Demands a show and thoughtful reading though.

[Señor Chiqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tackles the big question of our time: are Christians and Muslims as far apart as they think?

I only wish it were longer.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A theology that demonstrates that Christians and Muslims worship the same God is a pragmatic choice that promotes peace.

Muslim belief and practice have much in common with Christianity is the positive message about Islam that Miroslav Volf wants every Christian to hear. Very emotional counter arguments exist. Powerful messages interpreted from Islamic sacred writings position Islam against the core values and precepts of the Christian faith. Contemporary events which demonstrate extreme actions and violence in the name of Allah present a powerful argument that Islam is a religion of violence, a “religion of the sword.” But Volf explicitly rejects claims that “violence is at the heart of Islam.” Instead people on the edge with violent proclivities use Islam to erroneously justify violence (Volf, Kindle Locations 3251-3253).

Only a small fraction of the 1.6 billion Muslims approves the terrorist agenda and only a minuscule fraction of Muslims are terrorists (Volf, Kindle Location 1806). Volf’s goal is to interject knowledge of the other to bridge the chasm between these faith traditions and ease animosity and conflict (Volf, Kindle Location 60).

Volf’s argument and embrace “is about normative Islam and normative Christianity—about what Muslims and Christians are taught to believe about God in their holy books and by their great teachers. It is not an argument about what all Muslims and all Christians, in fact, believe” (Volf, Kindle Location 1821). In this context we can establish a common ground and pursue a common good. Volf exhorts Christians to include Muslims in the community of faith in the same way that Christians include Jews.

Volf falls short of a pluralist view. He does not say there are many equal ways to God. Instead he flips the focus to say that God has many ways to manifest himself to man. And we should affirm that manifestation wherever we find it.

Volf’s first challenge is to establish that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Next he asserts that Muslims and Christians also share common beliefs about the nature of God and the relationship of God's mercy and love to God's justice. “They agree, roughly, on six central claims about God—that (1) God is one, (2) God is the creator, (3) God is different from the world, (4) God is good, (5) God commands love of God, and (6) God commands love of neighbor” (Volf, Kindle Location 1818).

Having a “common and similarly understood” God provides Christians and Muslims motivation to care for others and to engage in a vigorous and sustained debate about what constitutes the common good in the one world we share.” It has the hope of removing religious motivation for violence between them. The common God as understood by the normative Christian and normative Muslim traditions becomes the foundation for shared values.

Some of the practices that would allow these faith traditions to coexist peacefully in the world include: discourse about truth, acknowledgement of a common God, and the belief that God is loving and just. (Volf, Kindle Locations 4148-4192).

According to Volf the ability to live peacefully together requires us to come to the understanding that we worship the same God and not different Gods. “The claim that Muslims and Christians worship radically different deities is good for fighting, but not for living together peacefully” (Volf, Kindle Location 167). Volf’s primary audience is Christian and his primary intent is to overcome Christian objections that place the Muslim God in the other category.

The first argument involves the constancy of the object of worship set against the conflicting goals and beliefs of warring parties. Can people in deep conflict worship the same God? And does those worshiping need to have correct understanding in order for it to be the same God. Volf uses a quote from Abraham Lincoln referencing the Civil War, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask the just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us not judge, that we not be judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes” (Volf, Kindle Location 187). The armies were both Christian and appealing to God for comfort and victory. The implication is that God is not a respecter of persons.

Muslims and Christians have much greater differences with respect their understanding of God. For the Christian it’s all about Jesus. Volf quotes the exchange between Jesus and Philip. “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’ (14:7–9)” (Volf, Kindle Location 1490).

Volf is careful to explain that he is not addressing questions about salvation and eternity. He simply trying to establish that God is the same for Christians and Muslims even if the understanding is different.

Can you reject Jesus and still worship the same God? The strongest argument Volf returns is that Christians affirm that Jews worship the same God even though they rejected Jesus. In the gospel narrative “the issue was not whether Jews worshipped the God revealed by Jesus. John’s Gospel assumes they did. When it came to the question of God, in John’s Gospel Jesus’s approach was that the commonalities were more important than the differences” (Volf, Kindle Location 1502).

If differences were more important than similarities, then both Muslims and Jews would be excluded. Granted the Muslim difference is much greater. Christianity was birthed in the Jewish context. But Jesus demonstrates remarkable inclusiveness to those outside his faith tradition. Volf restates Luther’s exposition of Jesus exchange with the Samaritan woman. “You [Samaritans] worship what you do not know,” Jesus responds. He then adds, “We [Jews] worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). If similarities are more important than differences are similarities between Muslim and Christian understandings of God “sufficient?”

Volf believes there is “sufficient similarity” to declare that Muslims and Christians worship the same God even though Muslim and Christians worship in different ways. But would Muslims agree? Neither Jews or Muslims believe Christians to be true monotheists. Muslims at best see Christians as worshiping one God and two lesser gods. (Volf, Kindle Location 2061-2077, 2324).

Volf’s perspective is that Muslims misunderstand and misrepresent what Christians mean by the Trinity. Confronting this false image becomes important in dialogue with Muslims. Volf response to the Muslims challenge is to declare that “the Lord our God is One.” The Trinity is the foundation of the Christian faith because Jesus is God’s self-revelation to the world. It need not be a stumbling block in conversation between the Christian and Muslim faith traditions.

Volf passionately wants the conversation between Christians and Muslims to continue in the context of neighborly love for another. It is unclear if Volf effectively demonstrates that the Trinity does not violate Muslim scholars understanding of the One God. The Trinity remains a complex mystery.

Volf does offer much to overcome the perception that Muslims and Christians worship different Gods, but he concedes that in many contexts the same God is not worshiped by Christians and Muslims alike. Actions speak louder than words in these contexts. But living a theology that demonstrates that Christians and Muslims worship the same God is a pragmatic choice that promotes peace and understanding. I see no negative consequence.

Volf’s theology of inclusion provides support for a centered set that allows Muslims to become followers of Jesus without abandoning their Muslim context. But the call to mission for both Christians and Muslims make it very difficult to understand how long Volf’s Christian response to Allah can avoid the truth claims of each faith tradition. Salvation and eternal life invariably will need to be part of the conversation as Christians demonstrate love for their neighbors.

[Haije Bergstra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volf brengt een goede discussie op gang maar faalt in zijn argumentatie, terwijl dat juist als positief element op de achterflap staat. Kern van zijn argument: Christenen en Moslims aanbidden dezelfde God, net zoals Joden en Christen dat doen. Beide aanbidden één God (monotheïsme) en het karakter van God in beide godsdiensten heeft overeenkomsten. Een paar reacties:

Ten opzichte van de Islam:
1. Hij spreekt tegen christenen, terwijl hij veel van zijn argumenten explicieter op moslims moet richten.
2. Hij gaat voorbij aan de (soms bloedige) ontstaansgeschiedenis van de Islam.
3. Hij gaat voorbij aan de beperkte vrijheid van Christenen in moslimlanden. Zijn doel is dat beiden in vrede samenleven, dan mag dit niet ontbreken.

Ten opzichte van het christendom:
1. Hij gaat voorbij aan de rol van de Heilige Geest. Begrijpelijk, want de andere Personen in de Triniteit komen wel in de Islam voor, de Heilige Geest niet (Ef.1:13-14).
2. Hij te snel voorbij aan de unieke Persoon van Jezus.
3. Wanneer Joden en Moslims gelijkgeschakeld worden in de relatie tot het christendom, is de verlossing voor beide eerste genoemde groepen nog steeds nodig (zie Romeinen brief).

Wat is er positief:
1. Hij is eerlijk over de soms beschamende rol van christenen in de geschiedenis. Hij houdt de lezer een spiegel voor.
2. Christenen en Moslims moeten samen kunnen leven in de realiteit van vandaag de dag. Beide godsdiensten mogen hun geloof vrijelijk uitleven en ook delen met andere mensen. Dat is wat Volf beoogd en dat is een lovend streven. Het is dan maar zo dat hij dat doet op basis van argumenten die ik niet deel. Hopelijk gebeurt dat dan zowel in het Midden Oosten (Saudi Arabië, maar ook Pakistan) als in Europa.
3. Hoewel hij zich richt op christenen, spreekt hij (helaas) indirect ook Moslims aan. Hopelijk heeft het effect.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely somewhere between 3 and 4.

I am writing a dissertation for my program at Cambridge this year on how Christians and Muslims interact. I will save most of my thoughts for that paper.

In summary, I am not sold on Volf's idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, or at least that the sameness is entirely relevant to his point. I believe most of what he claims can be achieved without boiling down both religions until they no longer look different. We have important differences, which Volf points out, but we can more come together on what we do have in common. It's striking to me how much I learned about Islam that I did not know in a book written for Christians, and I look forward to continuing wresting with the ideas Volf presents.

That said, just because Volf doesn't think some things are important doesn't mean that others will agree. This doesn't halt the conversation though. To be honest I remain confused why Volf wants to push the narrative of "same object of worship" when Christians who take their faith seriously can see many of his points as legitimate.

If anything were to grab me to his view it would be this point made by Volf: It is hard to say that Jesus and the Pharisees were discussing "separate Gods" in the NT, and getting to Islam isn't a far stretch from that argument. If Jews and Christians worship the "same God," it makes sense to posit the same about Islam. I found the majority of his other arguments unconvincing.

In my view, a solid and thought provoking read sprinkled with a tad of odd argumentation. Definitely worth the read.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his concept of normative Islam and normative Christianity. There are versions that aren't. He argues for the same God but Muslims can query this over the Trinity and seeing Jesus as just a prophet and Mohammad as the final one. It is fine to prefer your own religion and think it is best, but you realize that people of other faiths and none feel the same way and you respect that. God is love and love your neighbour as yourself can be found in both religions but as Christians we have love your enemies as perhaps a more central part of the faith, but it can be found in Islam. What people actually practice can be another matter. I very much like how he views living in a multifaith and secular society like Britain and the role you play or don't play in politics. This makes the Love sermon at Meghan and Harry's wedding seem very central, although at the time I would have liked it to have been a little shorter perhaps. An altogether very helpful book.

[Paul, · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Croatian-born theologian Miroslav Volf always has some solid ideas. You don't get hired to teach at Fuller Theological Seminary (formerly) or Yale Divinity School (currently), if you are an intellectual slouch. He also generally takes those ideas too far, but that's okay, too. All theologians are incorrect on some points, especially amateur ones like myself. I think this book is a bit dry and a bit overdone at times, but worth reading for all Christians because of the importance of Muslim / Christian relations. Remember, Volf's personal experience of Muslim / Christian interaction is the genocide in Serbo-Croatia-Bosnia! I know I learned a lot about Muslim faith and practice from this book.

The central idea of this book is that the God that Muslims, Jews, and Christians worship is the same deity. We understand Him in different ways, but the similarities are far greater than the differences. This is less surprising than most Christians tend to think. Remember how different the Samaritan and Jewish conceptions of God were. And yet, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 3, it is clear that Jesus himself believed that Samaritans and Jews worshiped the same God. If that is true, then surely the same understanding should be extended to Muslims. These religions are all based on a Creator God who made everything that is, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and who has revealed Himself to humanity.

As Volf concludes after search Al'Quran and the Bible for answers,

"Let’s sum up the conclusions reached about God and love in this chapter and the previous one. If sacred books and great teachers of both traditions are our guide, we can say that Christians and Muslims (roughly) agree that:
1. God loves creatures in a compassionate, gift-giving sort of way.
2. God is just.
3. God’s justice is an aspect of God’s love for—or mercy toward—creatures.
4. Human beings are called to love all neighbors as they love themselves.
These agreements, though incomplete, are significant. True, they do not nullify the sense of many Muslims and Christians that the moral character of the God they worship is also different."

That is no small amount of common ground. Note, that Volf is not saying that Christians and Muslims believe the same things or in the same path to salvation! No. He is arguing a far more simple point: Christians and Muslims follow the same God, with roughly the same values (in particular, loving one's neighbor), therefore Christians and Muslims should be acting in ways that are different from the ways they currently act.

Volf also points us to http://www.acommonword.com/ and http://www.yale.edu/faith/acw/acw.htm Yale Seminary's response, a landmark document trying to build upon the similarities in the two religions instead of trying to magnify the flaws and disagreements. If mainstream Islam believes (and I think they do) in loving one's neighbor, helping the poor, etc. , then there are a LOT of things that Christians and Muslims can do together to make this world a better place. These are very important documents! Volf also does a good job of showing that some of the key Muslim objections to Christianity are also opposed to orthodox Christian theology. For example, God did not have sex with Mary. There are not two gods, etc. Anathema to Muslims, anathema to Christians.

I really enjoyed the way that Volf talks about religious disagreements, quoting Nicholas, especially

"Second, for Nicholas, conversation is not about hammering out some mutually acceptable compromise. The issue is not simply clashing interests, but competing truth claims. And we deal with competing truth claims not by “striking deals,” but by arguing respectfully. Third, in the battle of ideas, we are interested in truth being embraced by all, not in portraying our opponents as being in the wrong and ourselves as being in the right. That’s why it is not only possible but also wise to give “charitable interpretations” of others’ views—as a way of teasing out the truth contained in their positions. Fourth, when it comes to truth about God, we have to affirm that God is beyond the comprehension of any human being. Even our true statements about God—for instance, that God is good or that God is one—manifest as much ignorance as they do knowledge." I'd like to re-iterate that. We deal with competing truth claims, not by "striking deals' (and NOT by killing, demonizing, or silencing alternative viewpoints) but by arguing respectfully. You can be respectful and compassionate without conceding the point!

Equally important is Volf's insistence that both religions avoid the use of coercion or manipulation in religious matters.

Where Volf goes wrong is when he pushes his ideas too far. For example,
"If it is true that the dual command of love is the common ground of the two faiths, the consequences are momentous. We no longer have to say, “The deeper your faith, the more you will be at odds with others!” To the contrary, we must say, “The deeper your faith, the more you will live in harmony with others!” A deep faith no longer leads to clashes; it fosters peaceful coexistence." That sounds awesome. Now the only problem is to explain the book of Acts. Why are those blasted Pharisees trying to kill Paul all the time? Because the Jewish faith definitely hangs on love.

Another example is when Volf talks about math and the Trinity. Maybe that's way over my head, but I think it just doesn't make sense. "oneness as applied to God is utterly different from oneness applied to anything else" ... what does that even mean?

But overlook those things, and focus on the good stuff in this book. You will be rewarded for the time you spent trying to "understand your neighbor" as you understand yourself, which, one might argue, is a prerequisite of love.

[April Bumgardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miroslav Volf’s writing and message is winsome and thoughtful. This is the fifth or sixth book I have read by him. Allah: a Christian Response encourages us to think openly and hospitably about the people who claim the religion of Islam. His question is do Muslims and Christians worship the same God. His answer in brief is yes, they do. While genuinely giving an ear to Muslim devotion, Volf remains strong in his Christian convictions. He does not delve into matters of salvation, but simply addresses to whom we address our prayers and worship. Volf also discusses the possibility and the preferability of maintaining religious exclusivism while living with political pluralism, something he heartily does in his other book Flourishing.

[Bridgette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense book but helpful in thinking through healthy relationships between Muslims and Christians.

[Matthijs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aanbidden moslims en christenen dezelfde God? Dat is de vraag die centraal staat in dit boek van Miroslav Volf en waar hij een overtuigend 'ja' op antwoordt. Vervolgens is de vraag: wat betekent dat dan voor het samenleven van die twee groepen gelovigen?

Het doel van de schrijver is dan ook niet alleen om te bewijzen dat christenen en moslims dezelfde God aanbidden, maar ook om aan te tonen dat die vraag bij kan dragen aan politieke en sociale toenadering tussen christenen en moslims. Het boek is dan ook een uitgesproken politiek boek. Volf gaat nadrukkelijk niet in op theologische vragen naar wie er dan op de juiste manier God dient of wie er 'in de hemel komt'. Hij stelt zelfs dat ondanks de theologisch-inhoudelijke verschillen, het feit dat we dezelfde God dienen een stimulans is om vreedzaam samen te leven. Althans wat betreft van de kant van de christenen, het boek is niet specifiek op moslims gericht. Zij moeten zelf hun visie hierop ontwikkelen.

Voor sommigen zal het idee dat christenen en moslims dezelfde God dienen niet zo controversieel zijn. Vanuit mijn achtergrond was het echter wel een eye-opener om zo grondig beargumenteerd te zien waarom beide 'Goden' dezelfde zijn, ondanks de verschillen in hoe ze gediend worden.
Volf heeft een sterke argumentatie, hoewel hij soms in zijn aannames over de 'gezaghebbende hoofdstroom' van de islam (in tegenstelling tot extremisten) wat naïef lijkt te zijn. Daarbij moet natuurlijk wel vermeld worden dat hij hoogleraar theologie aan Yale is, en ik niet...

Het meest interessant wordt het boek in het vierde deel, waar Volf ingaat op zijn tweede vraag: wat betekent het idee dat we dezelfde God dienen voor het praktisch samenleven? Daar staan immers grote barrières als zendingsdrang of shariadrang tussen de twee geloven in. Bijzonder inspirerend is de epiloog waarin Volf uitlegt waarom acceptatie van het idee van dezelfde God door christenen, extremisme onder moslims kan helpen indammen. Quote van de dag, wat dat betreft: “De bestrijding van uiterst negatieve – en wat nog belangrijker is, onjuiste en bevooroordeelde- christelijke ideeën over moslims, is dus een wezenlijke bijdrage aan de strijd tegen islamitisch extremisme.”

Dit boek zal niet voor iedere christen of moslim overtuigend zijn. Misschien betekent dat vooral dat je niet tot de gezaghebbende hoofdstroom van het christendom of de islam behoort. Toch is het voor iedereen goed om te lezen. Al is het alleen vanwege die bestrijding van negatieve, onjuiste en bevooroordeelde ideeën of moslims.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for hearing the author speak at a local university. Volf is a brilliant Protestant theologian who lived in Croatia during the Balkan Wars and now teaches at Yale University. The basic premise of the book is that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and that we can build on what we share. I wavered on whether to give this three or four stars because it is a very challenging read, and sometimes it seemed a bit repetitive. Maybe 3.5? In person, Volf is gentle and engaging . . . and brilliant. I think having had the experience of hearing him speak made the book more appealing to me. I have heard that his book Exclusion and Embrace is even better, so I've put that on my list.

[Bob Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liking a book and agreeing with a book are two different things. Such is the case with Allah: a Christian Response.

Miroslav Volf has done an excellent job at laying the question on the line: Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? This is an important question to ask in the post 9-11 world with some religious tensions high.

Volf is not very shy about his answer to the question: "Yes" in fact, Christians and Muslims do worship the same God, but in very different ways. He views this as the beginning of an understanding of peace between the two religions and hope for the future. He is very careful to say that although they worship the same God, this does not mean they are the same religion. Volf also does not consider the question of final states (i.e. Do Christians or Muslims go to heaven).

Among the highlights of the book is Volf's discussion of the Trinity and the correct Christian understanding of the Trinity. He traces the history of the doctrine very succinctly and very clearly while highlighting what Christians do NOT believe about the Trinity.

Volf is very clear in his writing and the book is very accessible even if the reader has a very limited theological background. And it should be noted that Volf is a Christian writing for a Christian audience. He does not want to speak for Muslims.

I can appreciate Volf's concern and his candor and his approach to such a complicated question. I am not sure that I can follow his reasoning. One of the big areas that Volf fails to adequately discuss is the place of Jesus in each respective religion. In the Muslim religion, although they respect and revere Jesus, he does not figure into Godhead. While Volf was careful to discuss the Christian Trinitarian understanding of God, he overlooked the explicit Christology of the New Testament and skirts around the issue of who Jesus is to Christians.

The result is that Christians and Muslims can agree that they worship the same God and are concerned with largely the same things (love of neighbor, justice and ending inequality).

I'd recommend this book to Christians and Muslims who are interested in dialogue between the two faiths.

Grade: B

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? That is a question that has long been asked, with differing answers on both sides. Christian theologian Miroslav Volf says the answer is yes and this book is his exposition on how that is so.

Volf is a great Christian theologian. His book Exclusion and Embrace is one of my all time favorites. Some may assume that for a Christian to give a "yes" answer to the question, he has to reject some of the primary traditions of Christian theology such as the Trinity or the incarnation. Volf does neither. So in affirming that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, Volf does not reject the core tenets of Christian faith.

Perhaps the best way to look at it is to compare it to how Christians view Judaism. Most Christians believe that the God we believe in is the God of the Jews. Volf's argument, especially in light of the similarity of Islam and Judaism's similar critiques of Christianity, is to view Islam in the same way: the same God but with different understandings of who that God is. Volf does not pretend there are no differences. True religious dialogue can occur when we recognize similarities and differences, as Volf does here.

I think this is the sort of book more Christians need to read. You won't find it in Barnes and Noble next to the sort of books that paint Islam as an evil force in some end-times scenario. That in itself is sad. If more Christians read thoughtful, careful theologians like Volf and put down works by crazy, wannabe prophets and televangelists the Christian church in America would benefit greatly. One can hope.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic and pertinent book. It helps Christians understand their own faith more clearly through the witness of Islam, while also promoting a profound Christian respect for Islam. Volf incorporates a broad engagement of Christian-Muslim relations by looking to historical, scriptural, philosophical, political, and sociological factors. This should be required reading for any Christian who wants to love more radically and think more deeply about his or her Muslim neighbors. I short my rating of this book by a star for two reasons: 1) In his otherwise fantastic discussion on the Trinity, Volf omits any extended discourse on pneumatology. In other words, he only tells two-thirds of the Christian story as it relates to this fundamental gap in Christian-Muslim relations. 2) I worry that he takes the language of "rights" for granted (although one should expect that from a Catholic theologian). Christians know more of grace than rights, and I feel the understanding of grace over rights enriches our encounters with "others". All in all, I suspect that this book will be a standard in Christian-Muslim dialogue (on the Christian side at least) for decades to come.

[Nick Richtsmeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere behind the knee-jerk drama around a pastor/celebrity's recent advertisement for Christian Universalism, is a book much more worth the read and much more worth broad consideration. Miroslav Volf is a brilliant theologian, a deep lover of God, and interested in something more in-depth that poking his finger in the eye of popular Christian notions.

A thoughtful read of this by a broad audience would actual create a conversation worthy of its furor. Skip Love Wins. Read Allah: A Christian Response and be engaged by questions of Christian belief that are actually answered by scholarship, tradition and Scripture and would actually make a difference in the future of human experience. This book is a call for American Christianity to return to the life of the mind and with thoughtfulness have something productive to say about the way things of the future should go. This book is not primarily about Islam, it uses Islam as a springboard for appropriately reframing Christian doctrine with a dignified thoroughness that begets true devotion to the living God.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The question of whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God is a matter of long-standing debate, and this book gives a clear, careful, nuanced, and emphatic answer: yes. Volf is a refreshingly invigorating thinker (and writer), able to communicate clearly. He covers every possible angle and nuance and objection, and the book landed him praise from not just Christians but from respected Muslim scholars as well.

His argument is fairly simple, which is that there is no criticism of Christian theology in the Qur'an that Christians themselves cannot agree with. We can agree with the criticisms of the Qur'an because there is nothing the Qur'an rejects that is not itself a distortion of Christian theology. Take the Trinity, for example. The Qur'an rejects the Trinity because they view it as polytheistic; three gods. But Christian theology *also* rejects the notion of three Gods. From there he builds common ground and advocates for religious tolerance between our two religions. Quite spectacular.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Miroslav Volf is a theology professor at Yale University who grew up in former Yugoslavia and thus knows something about conflict between Christians and Muslims. He offers a suggestion how Christians and Muslims can live together in this world, focusing on common beliefs while not shying away from the areas of significant disagreement that still exist between the two faiths. Along the way he makes a strong case that Christianity - founded on the belief in a God whose nature is to love and who commands his followers to love their neighbor - requires a commitment to one's freedom to choose their religion, to the dignity of all people regardless of their religious choices, and to the freedom to share our faith with others. Highly recommended for anyone interested in how Christians and Muslims can coexist peacefully in this world while remaining true to their respective religious beliefs.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating examination of the similarities and differences between Christians and Muslims. From an acknowledged Christian perspective, the author examines the issues that bear on whether Christians and Muslims can live together peacefully in modern society. The argument is founded on the idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God (the one and only God of the three Abrahamic faiths, the creator of the cosmos). The author compares the ways God is described in both religions, the commands to adherents of both faiths, and behavioral expectations from believers in both faiths. The author also acknowledges that this is a complicated problem because religion is such a personal thing and because there are spectra of beliefs, interpretations, and behaviors within each of the faiths in question. A fascinating and thought-provoking read, important and relevant to religious life in modern society.