Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

Christianity Today 251

Firstly, it implies that believing Christians are not responsible
for their actions in this world and that they will not he held to
account for them after their deaths - for whatever they do in this
world, they believe that they will nevertheless be redeemed by
'Christ's sacrifice' - while all those who are not believing Chris­
tians will he automatically doomed to etemal damnation in HeU,
no matter how good the lives they have led. However, this does
not mean a life of joy on earth for all believing Christians. Their
belief in the doctrine of Original Sin, which states that because of
the faIl of Adam, aIl men are born sinful, means that while they are
alive it follows that their condition is one of unworthiness and in­
completeness. This tragic view of life is reflected in the following
statementof J. G. Vos,a Christian, in whichhe comparesIslam and
Christianity:

There is nothing in Islam to lead a man to say, 'Oh

wretched man that 1am, who shall deliver me from the

bodyof this death?'or, '1knowthatin me;thatis, in my

flesh, dweUeth no good thing.' A religion with reason­

able attainable objectives ... does not give the sinner the

anguish of a guilty conscience nor the frustration of try­

ing without success to attain in practicalliving the re­

quirements ofan absolute moral standard. In brief, Is­

lam makes a man feel good, while Christianity neces­

sarily first, and often thereafter, makes a man feel bad.

The religion of the broken heart is Christianity, not Is­

lam.^1

Secondly, belief in the doctrine of the Atonement and Redemption
of Sins only leads to confusion when believing Christians attempt
to reconcile the other teachings God has revealed to man with their
own belief. The doctrine clearly implies that 'Christ's sacrifice' and
'message' are unique and final, and that therefore believing Chris­
tians cannot accept the teachings of other Prophets. At the same
time, they cannot deny the truth which they inevitably find within
them. Thus, for example, believing Christians are obliged to reject
[udaism, and yet accept the Old Testament, which as we have seen
is at least partially derived from the teachings which Moses brought
to the Jews. Thus believing Christians find themselves in the im­
possible position of having to accept two contradictory beliefs ­
simultaneously - as this passage shows: