A Case for the Old Testament: Abraham and Isaac – Christianity or Islam?

As we continue our study of the Old Testament, and the “Patriarchs” of the faith, we move into the story of Abraham’s two sons who are the roots of three different faiths today. Since Christianity is historically rooted in Judaism we can claim an alliance when discussing the historicity of the Genesis account and the giving of the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac, Abraham’s son with his wife Sarah, and then to Isaac’s son Jacob (the father of the Nation of Israel). The Arab Nation today, and specifically the religion of Islam, trace their roots back to Ismael, Abraham’s son with his Egyptian concubine Hagar. Islam will claim that it is Ismael, not Isaac, that was the promised heir to Abraham and the Covenant but historical documentation does not bear that out.

These facts naturally bring up divisive discussions and as Christians we need to be grounded in our knowledge. Christianity is based on the fulfillment of the Covenant Promise given by God to Abraham, then to Isaac, and then Jacob (Israel). The Covenant Promise will continue to unfold throughout the Old Testament in the Mosaic and Davidic Covenants, culminating in the New Covenant fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Simply speaking, Judaism differs only in that they are still waiting for that fulfillment to come, whereas Christians profess Jesus as that fulfillment. This profession of Christianity is based on hundreds of Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfilled; His sinless life and ministry with evidential miracles attested to by multiple witnesses; His sacrificial atoning death on our behalf, on Passover; His Resurrection in defeat of death and Satan as promised in Genesis 3:15; and His guarantee of an eternal home for all of us who believe upon Him (John 14).

In our secular culture today there is a popular belief that all religions lead to the same god, and all religions are basically good, so all we need to do is co-exist. But is that true? Statistics show that the majority of people worldwide are either Christian or Muslim. When we look at these two religions how do they answer those secular claims?

Nabeel Qureshi, Christian Apologist, former Muslim and author of the book: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, gives valuable insight to both faiths and the ultimate search for truth. Watch this 12 minute interview and then watch a more in-depth presentation at the end of this post:

A summarization of some major differences between these two faiths (information gathered from Christian Apologetics’ courses at Biola University)

Based on historical records and narratives of the Genesis era we can make some of the following comparisons:

Islam does shares some early beliefs with Judaism and Christianity such as the Creation, Cain and Abel, Abraham and the Covenant, but they split sharply at the births of Ismael and Isaac. Islam claims Ishmael, not Isaac, as the promised son and the near sacrifice. However, there is no evidential support that God gave Ismael the promise of the Covenant, but there is for Him giving it to Isaac, and then to Isaac’s son Jacob (Israel). Islam also reveres Moses as a great prophet, but they cannot connect Moses to the lineage of Ishmael. We know that Moses can be historically traced to the tribe of Levi who was a son of Jacob (Israel), a son of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

The religion of Islam began with the life of Mohammad (AD 570-632) 600+ years after the time of Jesus. It is said that Mohammad was mysteriously given the sayings of the Qur’an in a vision with the angel Gabriel. It is reported that Mohammad received his first revelation from the angel around AD 610. Mohammad tried to be a prophet to both Jews and Christians, but both groups rejected him. This most likely lead to his fierce rejection of Jews and Christians as “infidels.” In AD 622 Muhammad established a political order and central authority, and was the military leader of some 27 battles. He also planned 55 others that included mass killings, rapes and forceful conversions to Islam.

Christianity continues the historical narrative that began in the Old Testament and is based on the fulfillment of God’s Covenant Promise, and the hundreds of prophecies contained within these Scriptures, by Jesus. Christianity’s massive following took off immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus witnessed by more than 500 people, and spread rapidly over the next several centuries. Even through severe persecution and death of many of its followers Christianity grew and became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century.

Today, Classical Christianity follows Jesus (the promised Messiah) and the teachings of the early Church who knew Him. Christians follow the Bible that includes the Old Testament history and prophecy pointing to Jesus, and the New Testament teachings after His fulfillment of those things. Unlike Islam, there is no promotion of violence in Christianity. Believers are mandated to love others, defending and sharing the teachings of their faith when asked about the hope that they have in Christ Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20 and 1 Peter 3:15), and this includes loving and sharing with those of the Islamic faith.

Christianity is about God’s hesed love for us (evidenced through His unmerited grace and mercy while we were still sinners), and our responsibility to love all people into the Kingdom of God.
Islam does not share this view of God’s love and relationship, and in some sects of Islam death is the penalty for the “infidels” who do not follow their rules or convert.

Who is Allah vs. God?

Islam

Allah is portrayed in the Qur’an as a god who is unapproachable and who makes no attempt to communicate with His creation in a personal way.
Allah demands blind faith and complete obedience to his rules and regulations; he has only given revelations through his prophets and angels, with Muhammad being the greatest.
Allah guides or leads astray whomever he pleases and man is, and always will be, bond-slaves of Allah.
Allah is one-dimensional and neither desires nor is able to have a relationship with his creation.
Muslims have 99 names for Allah’s character, not one of those names shows him to be a god of love.
Muslims believe that Allah might care for those who do his will, and he will hate those who do not.
Allah may will or not will someone into paradise as it is his prerogative, the only guarantee is being martyred through an act of jihad (murder of infidels).
A follower of Allah must contemplate the scales of his life and hope that the weight of the good side outweighs the bad side so that he may be considered for paradise by Allah; women are never mentioned and there is no guarantee of Paradise for them.
Prayer is a requirement, not a relationship.
Allah has many prophets, Jesus was one of the great prophets, but Mohammad was the greatest and last, and it is a great sin to say Allah had a son.
Muslims do not believe in the concept of the Trinity, they wrongly view Christians as believing in three gods, the punishment for believing in the Trinity is death.
Muslims do not believe that Jesus died and was resurrected, instead they believe Allah replaced Jesus with Judas, and some promote the view that Jesus only swooned on the cross and did not die.

Christianity

God is the great “I AM” (YAWH). He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present; He is the Creator of all things and He loved the things He created, thus the plan of redemption to bring His creation back to a relationship with Him.
The God of the Bible is real and knowable; We see this in His fingerprints throughout human history and through His actions in our lives and the lives of those who have gone before.
God’s relationship with humans began in the Garden of Eden where God walked and talked with Adam and Eve until they became deceived by Satan and committed the great sin that caused our separation from God.
In the Old Testament the only way to God was through the Law, which no one could keep, thus pointing to the need for a Savior; God sent His Son to redeem us from the Law and penalty of death.
Our God reveals Himself through His creation seen in nature, through His Word—the Bible, through the example of His Son Jesus, and He continues to reveal Himself to us through His Holy Spirit.
Our God is relational. He desires to have a personal and intimate relationship with us; He is near to us and is intimately involved in every detail of our lives.
Our God is just and forgiving, but as a holy and righteous God He must punish sin; yet God provides a forgiving way back to Him through the sacrifice of His Only Son, and for all who will respond he offers mercy and grace.
Our God listens to our prayers and prayer is a means of relationship with Him.
Our God condescended Himself through the Son Jesus to be a sacrifice on our behalf so that we could be with Him in His house (Heaven) for eternity.
Our God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide and transform us back into the image that was lost in the Fall; He does this by changing our hearts, minds and spirits (born again).
Our God is unconditional and complete love: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 and that is why Jesus is the only way to heaven, John 14:6: “I am the way, truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.”
Jesus was fully God and fully man. He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. The concept of the Trinity does not take away the sovereignty of God. The Trinity means that God is three persons in one being—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is not three gods, nor is He one God acting in three different ways. The Bible tells us that God is three distinct persons and that they are one in the being of God. The Trinity shows us why God is a God of relationship and love. Christians see this as one of the mysteries of God, but this mystery is explained in numerous verses of the Bible, both Old and New Testament.

Nabeel Qureshi, Christian Apologist, former Muslim and author of the book: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, gives insight to both faiths and the ultimate search for truth. Please take some time and watch this in-depth presentation for the times we live in today:

Five reasons why a former Muslim became a Christian, and why Christianity is like no other faith:

This is a great tool to memorize and use when you share your faith with others

Only Christianity offers intimacy and promises a relationship with God as Father.

Every other religion has a god/gods that are distant, uninterested or nonexistent.

Only Christianity offers a Savior—Jesus.

All other religions have guides, gurus, prophets, leaders etc.…

Only Christianity has grace.

In every other religion you can find mercy if you do something for it, but not grace. (Mercy=not getting the penalty I do deserve; grace=getting something I don’t deserve after receiving mercy for the crime).

Only Christianity accepts you as you are.

All other religions say you have to do something to be accepted.

Only in Christianity does God die for man.

In all other religions man has to die for his god without the promise of eternal salvation.

Many Muslims say that the Bible is corrupted and the Qur’an is not, but it is just the opposite:

This is an easy way to share the Bible’s historicity and authenticity using the acronym MAPS-S

M=Manuscripts. 25,000 (plus) early New Testament manuscripts with over 5800 and climbing (due to new archeological finds) in the original Greek language and the scholarly field of textual criticism finding 99.5% agreement within them indicating an exact match to the autograph. Bibles today, like NASB, NIV or KJV, have only been translated once from the original language
A=Archeology. 25,000 (plus) archeological finds that have confirmed Biblical accounts. None have been found that disprove any historical, geographical, or physical accounts in the Bible.
P=Prophecy. 300 (plus) specific, incidental, and repeated prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the life and times of Jesus Christ. None of the Old Testament prophecies have been disproven and many are still to come.
S=Science. The Bible has amazing scientific authenticity and makes no claims that are considered scientific absurdities.
S=Saved Lives. Millions of saved lives are seen through the centuries evidenced by changed lives confessed by the saving work of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Read Genesis Chapter 21

Study Points:

Major Historical Players: Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ismael

This chapter gives us the long awaited promise of Isaac’s birth (his name means laughter), Abrahams is 100, Sarah 90 (this is a miracle birth foreshadowing the Virgin birth); Sarah makes the request to have Hagar and Ismael sent away, Abraham does not want to, but God tells him to listen to Sarah because Isaac was to be the heir; Abraham does know that God promised to make Ismael a great nation too, so Abraham trusts that they would not die in the desert.
This chapter also gives us Hagar’s second encounter with the “Angel of the LORD” and this time He speaks to her (last time He appeared to her) reinforcing the promise He made to her some 13 years earlier; God miraculously preserves her and the boy by opening her eyes to a well of water before them and they live in the desert; Ismael becomes a skilled archer/hunter and Hagar takes a wife for him from Egypt; Arabs still take pride in this Nomadic lifestyle today.
At the end of this chapter we get a glimpse of future problems Israel would have with the Phillistines in this land (especially during David’s time), Abraham makes a treaty with Abimelech, builds a well, and plants a Tamarisk tree, and the text says that he stayed there for a long time—this is the first time that part the land was now in ownership by Abraham (the place is called Beersheba) and later he would purchase land here for burial. Note: This was prior to any claim on the land by the “sons of Ismael” and there is no “Nation of Canaanites” to lay claim to the land today.

Bible Study:

Summarize what happened between Ismael and Isaac; and then Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar (21:8-14). What did God promise Abraham in 21:13? How does all this relate to the Covenant Promise?
Cross-reference by reading Galatians 4:21-31 on the topic of Hagar and Ismael vs. Sarah and Isaac and what they represent. What do we learn about the Promise vs. slavery? How does this apply to us today under the New Covenant of Jesus which is a fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant? Which child are you?
Who are the Phillistines (21:32-34)? Where else in the Old Testament do we hear about these people?

Join us next week as we continue our “Case for the Old Testament!”

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15