Our God is One and the Same

(Part I)

Do not argue with the people of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) except in the nicest possible manner—unless they transgress—and say, “We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitters.” (29:46)

About a year ago I was thumbing through the New Testament when I decided to read the book of JAMES in its entirety. I do not recall ever reading it in quite this manner, but rather, in bits and pieces while referencing passages on a particular topic back when I was engaged in Bible study during my school days many years ago.

Since those days, I have gone through many spiritual changes. Born into a Christian family and raised as a Lutheran, Missouri Synod, I often wondered why there were so many religions, so many factions, so many

sects, each claiming to be the true religion, and each one claiming God somewhere in the fine print. In my heart I recognized many truths in the religion of my upbringing, but remained confounded by the array of choices for anyone seeking to find God. Because I wanted to know which way was the best way, because I did not believe that a Merciful God would put us here on this earth without a road map, I asked God to show me the way to Him, the best way. The answer was not swift or immediate. It has been an ongoing process for over thirty years. All my youth I had been taught to accept a Trinity. Changing my mind about that was not a matter I could undertake casually or lightly. Since most Christians believe that their salvation hinges on belief in a Triune God, despite the belief that God is One, this was a very heavy decision for me to make. This was a decision that I believed would affect my position in the Hereafter and

had to be made with all due consideration. Ironically, it was made with the use of the same Bible that I had used throughout my Christian upbringing. I was better versed in scripture than many teenagers at the time as I had attended Christian schools exclusively through graduation from high school, and completion of religious courses was part of the requirements for a high school diploma.

I became a Muslim as a young adult, having been introduced to Islam through Muslim friends who were able to provide me with literature. There was no translation of the Quran in English for me to access, although there were probably some copies at large elsewhere. With so many similarities between Christianity and Islam, the issue of a Trinity was the one major obstacle I had to overcome.

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