The Politically Incorrect Truth About Islam
Lesson Overview
The Politically Incorrect Truth About Islam with Kerby Anderson
This standalone message is given by Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, host of the radio program Point of View. Speaking a few years after September 11, 2001, he works through a series of common statements about Islam and offers a Christian response to each, comparing the teachings of Islam and Christianity on God, Jesus, salvation, and Scripture, and closing with the Christian tradition of just-war thinking. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.
Muhammad and Jesus
Anderson begins with the claim that “Muhammad was just like any other religious leader.” He answers that Muhammad was distinctive, citing the Princeton scholar Bernard Lewis, who noted that Muhammad was not only a prophet and teacher but also a head of state, a ruler, and a soldier. He sketches Muhammad’s life (born about AD 570, beginning to receive what he understood as revelations around 610, the flight from Mecca to Medina in 622 that marks the start of the Muslim calendar, and his return to Mecca at the head of an army).
He then draws a contrast with Jesus. In Islam, Muhammad is the “seal of the prophets,” understood to be a man who, in certain passages, is told to seek forgiveness. In Christianity, Anderson argues, Jesus claimed to be God (citing John 8:58) and His followers testified that He lived a sinless life. This contrast is his central reason for saying the two founders are not alike.
Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?
Anderson takes up the statement that “Christians and Muslims worship the same God.” He acknowledges why it seems reasonable, since Islam traces its lineage to Abraham, but argues the two conceptions of God differ significantly.
He describes Islam’s doctrine of strict unitarian monotheism (Allah as one, with the rejection of that oneness being the sin of shirk), against the Christian teaching of one God in three persons. He characterizes the Muslim view of God as transcendent and distant, known through his prophet and his revelation rather than personally, and contrasts it with the Christian emphasis on knowing God personally (John 17:3) and on God’s love (John 3:16). He frames the difference as a master-and-servant relationship in Islam versus a father-and-child relationship in Christianity.
Anderson supports this pastorally rather than polemically at points, citing a survey of former Muslims who became Christians who said they were drawn by the love of God, the possibility of intimacy with God as Father, and the assurance of salvation, in contrast to a system where one hopes good deeds will outweigh bad. His application for Christian teachers is to be able to explain the Trinity and to emphasize the love of God when speaking with Muslim friends. These are his characterizations of Islamic theology; Muslim scholars would frame Islam’s understanding of God, including God’s mercy and nearness, differently.
Is Islam a Religion of Peace? Jihad and Interpretation
On the statement “Islam is a religion of peace,” Anderson says he has met many peace-loving Muslims, but argues the question turns on how one interprets the sources. He reviews the rapid military expansion of Islam after Muhammad’s death and centers the discussion on the word jihad, which he says means “striving,” and which can be understood either as inner or intellectual striving (in which case, he says, a Muslim neighbor poses no threat) or as military struggle.
His interpretive argument has two parts. First, he distinguishes the earlier Meccan surahs, which emphasize peace, from the later Medinan surahs, which contain the language of jihad. Second, he invokes the Islamic doctrine of abrogation, the principle that a later revelation can supersede an earlier one, to argue that the later “verses of the sword” take precedence over the earlier verses of peace. This is a contested interpretation. Many Muslim scholars understand jihad primarily as spiritual struggle, dispute how abrogation applies, and reject the reading that the violent verses are normative for today; Anderson is presenting one polemical interpretation, and students should know it is not how most Muslims read their own scripture.
Anderson anticipates the response that the Bible also contains violence. He compares the command against the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15, which he argues was a specific, one-time command tied to a particular people in the Old Testament theocracy, with what he characterizes as universal and ongoing commands in the Quran. His conclusion is that a more literal reading of the New Testament (love your enemies, turn the other cheek) tends toward peace, while a more literal reading of the Quran’s later passages tends toward militancy. This comparison is itself debated by scholars on both sides.
Are the Quran and the Bible Basically the Same?
Anderson rejects the idea that “the Quran and the Bible are basically the same,” arguing that the similarities (both are books claiming revelation and careful preservation) are outweighed by the differences. He lists several:
The Quran, he says, portrays the Christian Trinity inaccurately (as Father, Mary, and Jesus), whereas Christianity holds one God in three persons. The Quran presents Abraham preparing to sacrifice Ishmael, while the Bible names Isaac. Islam teaches that Jesus was not crucified but taken up, and will return in a role described in Islamic tradition, whereas Christianity teaches that Jesus was crucified, rose, and is at the Father’s right hand. Islam teaches salvation by works and human goodness by nature; Christianity teaches salvation by grace and humanity as fallen. He uses the law of non-contradiction to argue these accounts cannot all be true at once, and that the differences, not the similarities, are what matter.
The Political and Security Section (Summarized)
In the second half of the talk, Anderson shifts, in his own words, away from comparative religion and into political commentary about terrorism and national security as of 2007. He argues that the phrase “war on terror” names a tactic rather than an enemy, and he raises concerns about terror financing, mosque funding, immigration and border security, and the security of former-Soviet nuclear material.
A Christian View of War: Just-War Thinking
Anderson closes with the statement “Christian teaching rejects warfare,” and answers it with the historic Christian just-war tradition rather than with current politics. He notes that Christian theologians have reflected for two millennia on when the use of force can be justified, points to Romans 13:1-7 on the God-given role of governing authorities, and lists the classic principles: for going to war, a just cause, a just intention, last resort, formal declaration, and limited objectives; and in waging it, proportionate means and immunity for non-combatants. He acknowledges Christians may disagree about specific conflicts, but argues these biblical principles at least give a framework for the discussion. This just-war material is a standard, durable topic in Christian ethics.
Key Terms
Seal of the prophets: the Islamic teaching that Muhammad is the final and culminating prophet.
Shirk: in Islam, the sin of associating partners with the one God, or denying God’s absolute oneness.
Unitarian versus Trinitarian monotheism: Anderson’s contrast between Islam’s one-person God and Christianity’s one God in three persons.
Jihad: an Arabic term meaning striving, understood variously as inner or spiritual struggle or as military struggle.
Abrogation: the Islamic principle that a later revelation can supersede an earlier one, which Anderson applies controversially to the peace and jihad passages.
Just-war tradition: the historic Christian framework of principles for when and how the use of force can be justified.
Verses to Know
John 8:58, Jesus’ claim “before Abraham was, I am.” John 17:3, eternal life is to know God. John 3:16, God’s love in sending His Son. Genesis 22, the binding of Isaac. 1 Samuel 15, the command concerning the Amalekites. Romans 13:1-7, the governing authorities and the sword.
Takeaway
Anderson argues that Islam and Christianity, despite surface similarities, hold fundamentally different views of God, of Jesus, of salvation, and of Scripture, and that Christians should understand those differences clearly and speak of them honestly, while (as he himself grants) recognizing that many Muslims are peaceful and treating them with respect.