Islamic Psychology and Jesus

QUESTION: Islamic Psychology – Rejection of Jesus as Savior

ANSWER:

In further contrast to the Christian worldview, Muslims deny that Jesus is God incarnate, that He died on a cross as an atoning sacrifice for sin, and that He was resurrected on the third day. While the following passage contains some ambiguities (e.g., whether it denies that the Jews were those who killed Jesus or whether Jesus did not die on the cross), most Muslims interpret it to say that Jesus was not crucified at all.

That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”—but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not—nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself. (Qur’an 4:157–158; cf. 3:54)

Islamic Psychology – Rejection of Christ’s Death on a Cross
The ramifications of this denial are devastating to any claim that Islam is a continuation of the Christian faith. Not only does Islam deny Christ’s death on a cross, but also His atoning work. If Jesus never died, then there would have been no resurrection from the dead. Anyone familiar with the Christian faith recognizes that if Jesus were not resurrected from the dead, then there is no hope and the Christian faith is nothing but a fraud. The apostle Paul declared, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14–17).

Notes:

Rendered with permission from the book,Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews(Rev. 2^nd ed), David Noebel, Summit Press, 2006. Compliments of John Stonestreet, David Noebel, and the Christian Worldview Ministry at Summit Ministries. All rights reserved in the original.