Compatibility of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Abstract

(April 22, 2015 version)

Relationships among religions can play important roles in political systems, international relations, world peace, multiculturalism, conflicts, and terrorism. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are three major monotheistic religions. Research has been carried out on particular aspects of them but not the root relationship among them. In this paper, I will examine some key concepts of these religions: prophet, Messiah, covenant. I also note importance of development timeline of these religions. If God is one, He has to be consistent throughout the ages. It should be clear that Judaism and Christianity are from the same God and they can be compatible with each other. Two religions are compatible if they have no fundamental inconsistencies. Adherents of these religions could coexist peacefully. On the other hand, Islam is not compatible with either Judaism or Christianity. Muslims might coexist peacefully with Jews or Christians only after major theological works. This work may have implications in various fields, including international relations, world peace, Islamic extremism, political transformations in Muslim countries, and multiculturalism,

1. Introduction

Although Samuel Huntington anticipated “Clash of Civilizations” (Huntington 1998), perhaps he would not have foreseen such clash would be so strong and sometimes so violent. Geologically, the world consists of drifting plates (or continents). Culturally, the world may be viewed as drifting civilizations. Throughout history there had been contacts, trades, exchanges, conflicts among civilizations, however they have never been so intense due to great improvement of communications, so fast pace due to inexpensive travel, and so close due to significant immigrations. Just a few centuries ago, Muslim jurists discussed whether to allow Muslims to live in non-Muslim countries. If an infidel in the land of infidel was converted to Muslim, Muslim jurists decided that it would be good if he would leave the infidel country to move to a Muslim country (Lewis 2003, 36). “Muslims in general had little desire or incentive to venture into Christian Europe, and indeed the doctors of the Holy Law for the most part prohibited such journeys, except for a specific and limited purposes” (Lewis 2003, 37). Now the situation is completely different, or reversed. Muslims migrate to Western (or post-Christian) countries in droves. Some are refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq, Libya. Some flee from persecutions, such as Kurds. Others are seeking career opportunities or simply better life. Clash of civilizations has been going on for some time but had not received as much attention as it perhaps should because of the Cold War. Clash of civilizations can bring benefits but also may cause conflicts, turmoil and terrorism. After the demise of communism and especially after 9/11 terrorist attack, conflicts due to clash of civilizations come into focus. It is important for us to understand clash of civilizations in depth in order to increase its benefits while minimizing its destructions. In order to do that, we must have a deep understanding of major religions. In this article, I will consider three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and their role in clash of civilizations. This resembles studying the dynamics of drifting civilizations rather than superficial movements.

Until about three centuries ago, religions played important roles in politics everywhere in the world. A polity needs some religion to unite its people while legitimacy of a government is usually based on a religion. A good survey on religions and politics in major civilizations can be found in (Fukuyama 2011). I here quote from this book: “Some people today argue that religion is primarily a source of violence, conflict, and social discord. Historically, however, religion has played the opposite role: it is a source of social cohesion that permits human beings to cooperate far more widely and securely than they would if they were the simple rational and self-interested agents posited by the economists.” (Fukuyama 2011, 37) After the Enlightenment however, religions gradually recede from the center of politics in the West. Religions are less influential in some civilizations such as Chinese. On the other hand, Islam is still very important to modern politics in Muslim countries. There are two important reasons for us to study relationships between religions and politics. First, whether we are consciously aware or not, many political issues, such as Rule of Law or equality, are deeply rooted in religions. The type of a modern polity depends on its history, religion, and culture. Second, religions may impact international relations.

This article first considers the most fundamental question: did Judaism and Christianity come from the same God? I will consider key concepts of these two religions: prophet, Messiah, and covenants. I conclude that they are from the same God, as a result Judaism and Christianity can be compatible. In other words, a coherent approach may be developed so that adherents of these two religions may coexist peacefully. Although such compatibility does not necessarily translate into political reality, it will still be a good starting point. If two religions are not compatible, then we have to go deeper. Such knowledge should help us to pinpoint the causes of misunderstandings, frictions, conflicts or terrorism so that we may deal with them more effectively. It will be shown that Islam is not compatible with either Judaism or Christianity. An approach is considered on what can be done to let followers of these religions to coexist peacefully.

2. Prophets and Messiah in Judaism and Christianity

A quick glance finds many similarities as well as differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Often many articles and books mire into lengthy debate on details, which are numerous. It is helpful to study these religions in their chronological order, for this will clarify much confusion. Judaism was originated around 1200 B.C., Christianity began in the first century, while Islam started about 620 A.D. (Smart 1998). Therefore, we first consider whether or not Judaism and Christianity are from the same God. I will focus on three key concepts of these two religions: prophetship, Messiah, and covenants. If God is one, religions sanctified by God must be consistent and compatible. If two religions have obvious contradictions, then they are not from the same God and are likely not compatible.

It is well known that the first five books, known as Torah or Pentateuch, of the Bible were the earliest written among all the books of the Bible. Torah was written by Moses sometime between 1400 B.C. and 1000 B.C. (Smart 1998), although they likely had been edited later. A few scholars claim that the Old Testament as a whole were written in the 8th or even 7th century B.C. (Coogan 2001). However even if such a claim is true it still does not invalidate our argument; only the relative dates of religions are significant to our discussion. The key to us here is that these five books are the foundations to both Judaism and Christianity. Similar to many other religions in Judaism priests perform regular religious duties. However, God (who is a living God according to the Old Testament) choses to communicate with Israelites directly through prophets. The concept of prophet is critical to all three monotheistic religions considered. Prophetship is well defined in Torah. Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.1 This passage contains several important points: he must be a Jew, he must speak in the name of God, and he can perform miracles (something only God can do); these will be useful later. A book of prophet in the Old Testament explains why he was regarded as a prophet, what he did, and what he said. Books of prophets are an integral and important part of the Bible. Note what a prophet said is considered directly from God, thus must be true.

For centuries, many Jewish leaders and scholars predicted that God would send a Messiah to Israelis. The key difference between Judaism and Christianity is whether Jesus of Nazareth is this Messiah. Christians claim that Jesus of Nazareth is while Jews are still waiting for Messiah to come. In fact, self-claimed Messiah, or Messiah bestowed by others, appeared several times after Jesus although they largely had been discredited later (Smart 1998). Israelites lost their independence for several hundred years in the time of Jesus and many thought that this Messiah would be someone like King David to lead them to regain statehood. In other words, they were expecting a political/military leader.

Is Jesus a prophet according to Deuteronomy 18:18-20? He satisfied the requirements of prophetship: he was a Jew; he came in the name of God, and performed many miracles as recorded in the New Testament. Below are some examples. Matthew 11:2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” In his reply, Jesus pointed out the miracles he did. It is interesting to note that Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, acknowledged that Jesus came from God (John 3:2). He said: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Therefore, Jesus is a prophet from God.

Now the question to many Jews was whether or not Jesus is Messiah. That was why Nicodemus came to see Jesus but the conversation between him and Jesus was baffling to Nicodemus (John 3:1-21). The significance of this passage was understood only years later. Although not stated explicitly, Jesus implied that he is Son of God. Jesus confirmed that he is Messiah many times. Here are two examples. Gospel John 4:5-26, especially: 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Also in Matthew 11:9 and Luke 7:26 Jesus implied that he is more than a prophet since Baptist John is more than a prophet and the mission of Baptist John was to prepare the way for Jesus.

Jews thought that God would send a Messiah in the mould of King David to deliver them from oppression. However,

Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts …..”

So God sometimes does things unexpected by humans. Consider the parable of tenants. Mark. 12:1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

11 the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

In this parable, the owner of the vineyard is God, the servants are prophets, the last sent by God is Son of God. Jesus implied that he is Son of God (also see Mark 1:1, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 26:63-65, Luke 22:66-71, John 1:1-2, 1:14). This was unthinkable to many Jews since they knew from Torah that there is only one God and God is spirit. For example, Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” …… 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” This was a huge problem for Jews at that time. They expected a Messiah but got Son of God instead! Many Jews considered the claim Son of God blasphemy, which lead to the plot by Jewish leaders and Pharisees to kill Jesus.

Since we have shown that Jesus is a prophet according to Torah, what a prophet said must come from God and must be true. Some might still have doubts, as I did long time ago. My doubts were chipped away gradually until I come to Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Who can be Mighty God, Everlasting Father? Once I came to this verse, I was completely convinced that Jesus is Messiah and Son of God.

As an example of how Jews view Jesus, we consider Albert Einstein. George Sylvester Viereck interviewed Einstein in 1929 (Jammer 1999, 22):

“To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?”

“As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.”

“Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?”

“Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot!”

“You accept the historical existence of Jesus?”

“Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”

Albert Einstein had high respect of Jesus. However, he did NOT regard Jesus a prophet. If he acknowledged Jesus a prophet, then what Jesus said must be true and Jesus must be Messiah and Son of God, which follows that he would become a Christian. So the key is whether to acknowledge that Jesus is a prophet. If a Jew acknowledges that Jesus is a prophet, then it would cause a chain reaction that leads eventually to acknowledge Jesus is Messiah and Son of God.

3. Covenants

God has had two covenants with men. The word covenant appears a number of times in Torah. Some would say that God made a covenant with Abraham. Some would say that the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) was the first covenant. I will regard the whole Torah as the first covenant by God, which has more details and is consistent within itself. A covenant involves two sides and both sides have obligations. If Israelis obeyed God’s commands, God would bless Israelis. The fact that Israel was chosen by God is both a blessing and a curse to Israelis. Deuteronomy 11:26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. Anyone familiar with relevant history knows that ancient Israelis failed the covenant, thus their country was destroyed and they were scattered around the world and suffered.

Later in the 7th century B.C., prophet Jeremiah prophesied that God would establish a new covenant: Jeremiah 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husband to them, ”

declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people. …….. (to 31:34)

Hebrew 8:8-12 repeats Jeremiah 31:31-34. So a new covenant from God was prophesied centuries ago before Jesus and the New Testament indicates that the new covenant is between God and Christians through Jesus Christ. Thus, God has made two covenants, the old one with Israelis and the new one with Christians. Does this mean that God has revoked the old covenant and abandoned Jews completely? Not so if you read the Bible carefully. There are many places in the Old Testament to indicate that this will never happen. If the Bible is properly understood, then both Judaism and Christianity are from the same God and they should be compatible. It is possible for Jews and Christians to live peacefully together. We will discuss more on this later.

4. What about Islam?

Now we turn our attention to Islam. Let me state these in front: Muhammad is NOT a prophet from God and Islam is NOT a religion sanctified by God. Muhammad claimed to be the prophet of Islam. But he does not qualify to be a prophet in the biblical sense. First, according to tradition (no reason to suspect the tradition untrue) Muhammad is a descendant from Abraham via Ishmael. Chapter 16 of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, has detailed story of Ishmael. Abraham was very old but still had no child. His wife Sarah told him to sleep with her maidservant Hagar so that he might have a child. Hagar was pregnant and gave a son named Ishmael. Later Sarah was conceived and gave birth to a son named Isaac. What does the Bible say? “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (Genesis 21:12; Romans 9:7). Later Isaac married Rebekah. Rebekah conceived a twin: Jacob and Esau. God chose Jacob over Esau: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Malachi 1:2,3; Romans 9:13). Israelis are descendants of Jacob. The prophetship in Deuteronomy 18:18-20 clearly stated that prophets are from Israelis. In addition Muhammad did not perform miracles to prove that he was a prophet from God as required by Deuteronomy 18:18-20 . All prophets in the Old Testament satisfied the criteria of prophetship but Muhammad did not satisfy the criteria.

Some might say maybe Muhammad was a prophet to descendants of Ishmael. The basic doctrine of all the three monotheistic religions is that there is only one God. Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, …… Also Daniel 2:47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries …….”; Isaiah 37:16 “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 and so on. It is inconceivable that God would choose a different group of prophets who would contradict with the prophets we know from the Bible. The Bible also stressed continuity. At the critical times in the Bible, God is known as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6; 3:15-6; 4:5; Matthew 22:32-33; Acts 7:32). There is no doubt that God wants to show Himself through Israelis. To start a religion other than Judaism and Christianity, God should have indicated this numerous times in either the Old Testament, the New Testament or both. Before Jesus, he was prophesied countless times in books of prophets, psalms, etc. There are more than 50 places in Book of Isaiah alone pointing to Jesus. Chapter 53 of Isaiah depicts the life of Jesus on earth, which matches very well with his real life. On the other hand, Bible has no prophecies about Muhammad. Some Muslims try to relate a few verses in Isaiah with Muhammad. However, Book of Isaiah was proclaimed to Judah (1:1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz ……). Muhammad is not even a Jew, how can he be related to Judah?

Some may point out that there are prophets in the New Testaments who might not be Jews. That is correct. However, all prophets (except for a few before the start of Jesus’s mission) in the New Testament must be Christians first. They must acknowledge that Jesus is the savior, Messiah, and Son of God. Indeed, this shows the power of Son of God. If Jesus is just an ordinary prophet, his disciples usually will not qualify to be prophets. Because Jesus is Son of God, Christians could be prophets. In fact, according to Paul, prophets are important to building Churches (see 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11). So there are many prophets in Christian churches. Muhammad did not accept Jesus as Son of God. In fact, he and his followers strongly denied that Jesus is Son of God. For example, Quran 5.75 The Messiah ['Iesa (Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary), was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. …… 9:30 And the Jews say: 'Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouths. They imitate the saying of the disbelievers of old. Allah's Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth!2

An angle prophesied to Hagar, Ishmael’s mother, in Genesis 16:12,

He will be a wild donkey of a man;

his hand will be against everyone

and everyone’s hand against him,

and he will live in hostility

toward all his brothers.”

This occurred in Abraham’s time which should be between 1900 B.C. and 1700 B.C. (Smart 1998). In view of the conflicts between Muslims with Israel and other countries, this verse of Bible is startlingly accurate.

In addition to the above, there are further evidences that Islam is not a religion from God. If Muslims want to show that Quran is indeed from God, they should combine it together with the Bible, at least with the Old Testament, to show that they are consistent. If God is one, the Holy Books from God must be consistent. Theoretically, one may have a new monotheistic religion from God but independent from Judaism and/or Christianity. However, such a religion must be self contained and give a reasonable account of Judaism and Christianity since they appeared earlier. Quran adapted some from Bible, Joseph’s story being an example, but is inconsistent with Bible. Another example, the Book of Isaiah begins with: The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Now in Genesis 49 Jacob prophesied regarding his 12 sons. Verses 8-12 concerned Judah

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you. … …

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

Especially verse 10 matches Jesus well. Moreover, after David said a moving prayer to God in 2 Samuel, God made the following promise. 2 Samuel 7: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ….. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever. Genealogies in Matthew Chapter 1 and Luke Chapter 3 show that Jesus satisfies this promise of God. The Book of Isaiah was addressed to Judah. This in conjunction with verses 7:14 (virgin birth), 9:6 (the Trinity), and Chapter 53 fit the description of Jesus very well. Isaiah lived about 700 years before Jesus and all these showed the power of God’s word. How can Muslims explain these? Since Isaiah specifically spoke to Judah, Muhammad certainly could not fulfill Isaiah’s prophecies. Then, what would Islamic scholars say about Isaiah’s prophecies?

Islam lists a number of prophets. Some of them appeared as prophets or positive figures in Bible while others are not. It counts Jesus as one of the prophets. On the other hand, it denies that Jesus is Son of God. These two assertions cannot be both true. Either you follow Christians to acknowledge that Jesus is a prophet, Messiah, and Son of God or you follow Jews to refuse Jesus a prophet, as we discussed earlier. If Jesus is a prophet, what he said must be true and it follows that he is Son of God. You cannot have both ways. In addition, Quran claims the last and the greatest prophet. Quran 33:40 Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of God and the last (end) of the Prophets. And God is Ever All-Aware of everything. Based on this, Muslims claim that Muhammad is greater than Jesus. Claiming any person greater than God is really blasphemy.

5. Can Jews and Christians coexist peacefully?

It is well known that killings, violence, and conflicts occurred in the Old Testament. The book of Joshua has recorded some of these battles. Let us first consider under what conditions violence occurred in the Old Testament. This may indicate whether they might occur in the future. The key is to understand the context of these killings. Israel conquered many countries through bloody battles. Some archaeological evidences (Coogan 2001) suggest that such bloody battles might not have occurred. However, we still proceed to clarify under what circumstances the Old Testament sanctifies violence. To understand why God instructed such violence, we need to read the following passage carefully. Deuteronomy 18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. It is clear that these nations who occupied the land were evil and God asked Israel to drive them out. Israel was also instructed not to harass descendants of Essau Deuteronomy 2:4-6; Moabites 2:9; and Ammonites 2:19. Israel did destroy some other cities: Sihon Deuteronomy 2:30,34; Og 3:2,3,6. Note these are in Torah and set the stage for Joshua and other books in the Bible. So Judaism did sanction killings but never was nondiscriminatory. Note that God gave specific commands as who to kill and who not to touch. This is unlikely to repeat in modern time. For this to happen, you need a prophet to tell Israelis who to kill and who not to touch. God has not sent a prophet to Israelis for millenniums.

The Old Testament not only instructed Israelis to kill Gentiles but also fellow Israelis. Exodus 32:27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” There is another passage on killing, Leviticus 24:10-24, whose key is verse 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death. In a broad sense, some might use these to kill those considered idolatry such as Christians because they think Christians are worshipping man not God. It is widely recognized that Christianity and Judaism are two different religions now. So this is not likely to happen.

The New Testament is very different from the Old Testament, especially the New Testament does not condone violence at all. Therefore, which one should Christians follow? The key is to interpret Bible correctly. Colossians 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Hebrews 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. … … The Old Testament is shadow while the New Testament is the reality. In any event, the New Testament does not condone violence whatsoever. Here are wo prominent examples. When Jesus was about to be crucified, Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”...... Another example is St. Paul. In Paul’s epistles, from time to time Paul mentioned those who persecuted him or who were not true believers. However, Paul only criticized them but never used violence or instructed others to do so. What about in the case of self-defence? I will consider this in the future. It should be clear now that the New Covenant is different from the Old Covenant and the New Testament does not condone violence.

Christianity was a persecuted religion for more than three hundred years. Later Roman Emperor Constantine established Christianity as the state religion. From that time Christians have to decide how to treat people of other faiths. In Medieval Europe, the Catholic Church persecuted non-Christians, heretics, or some Christian sects. Now most agree that was wrong. But what does the Bible say? Should church be separated from the state? Many say that Matthew 22:21 is the theological base for separation church and state: …… Then he (Jesus) said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” However, I think that governance is broader than taxation. The above verse only identifies two types of authorities: God and emperor (king, president, prime minister, etc.) and not necessarily separating them. Let us consider parable of the weeds. Matthew 13: 24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Jesus used weeds for enemy of God, i.e., from Satan. Pay attention that Jesus taught that do not take out the weeds, even if they are from Satan. Therefore, Christians need to find ways to coexist with peoples of other faiths, atheists, or agnostics. Of course, there should be criminal codes and civil codes, which may be developed according to Torah together with historical and cultural background. The killings such as in Exodus 32:27-29 should no longer be applicable. If some violate the basic principles of Christianity, they should be excommunicated not to be put into prison or killed. Inquisition and other persecutions by Medieval Catholic Church were based on misinterpretation of the Bible and applied the Old Testament incorrectly.

Now consider how Christians should treat Jews specifically. Saint Paul was a person who had the authority to address this issue. He said in Philippians 3:4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; In Galatians 1:14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, …… Paul was set aside by God to preach gospel to Gentiles. Acts recorded this. Acts 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. …… 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. So Paul is highly qualified and an ideal person to address the relationship between Jews and Christians who were converted from Gentiles.

In Romans 9:30-33, Paul addressed Israel’s unbelief. Later Paul said Romans 11:1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. …… 11:11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. Romans 11:13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ...… 17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Clearly, Paul teaches Christians not to be superior, arrogant toward Jews. Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;

he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 And this is my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

…… 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Paul said that all Israel will be saved. So the Bible teaching is clear: Christians should treat Jews well.

How should Israelis and Christians treat other non-believers? In the Old Testament, Israelis were instructed to treat foreigners well. In Exodus immediately after the Ten Commandments, many laws were given to Israelis. Exodus 22:21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 23: 9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. So it is clear that God instructs his people to love foreigners.

It is widely recognized that equality is one essence of Christianity. Several passages of the New Testament teach equality. Colossians 3:11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 12: 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. So equality among all in Christianity has roots in the Bible. Equality leads to emancipation of slavery, equality of women, and other social advancement. Equality also paves the way to democracy. If all citizens regardless of family background, gender, race or age have a say on governance, democracy would be a natural choice.

6. Muslims and Peoples of Other Faiths

In contrast to the previous section, it is much more complicated to find ways for Muslims to coexist peacefully with Jews, Christians, or peoples of other faiths. First of all, does Quran instruct Muslims to live peacefully with other faiths? Although Islam is said to be a peaceful religion, some passages from Quran indicate otherwise. Quran 2:191. And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And fight not with them at Al-Masjid-al-Haram (the sanctuary at Makkah), unless they (first) fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers. Here Quran asks Muslims to kill all infidels. Quran 9:29 Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. This verse is well known. It basically says that if Jews or Christians accept status of second class citizens and pay extra tax, then they may keep their religious practice. I do not think that this would be acceptable in today’s world. These are just some examples. The key is to find interpretations of Quran which advocate peace not violence.

Let us consider key aspects of interpretations of Quran. First, a fundamental tenet among Muslims is that Quran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable. As we saw earlier, this cannot be true. Second, this tenet creates difficulties to interpret Quran. In Judaism and Christianity, books of Bible were written through time. Theologians may use various methods to analyze the texts then derive interpretations. It is much less flexible to interpret Quran because Quran was one single book and released at once. Third, difficult theological debates have been going on almost continuously among Christians since its inception (Cairns 1996). In comparison, Islamic scholarship has had little serious debates except in its first 100 years. The Sunni-Shiite debate is largely on leadership successions. Fourth, in the Islamic world institutions for interpretations are not as well established as in Christianity. The Catholic Church has a centralized system headed by Pope while most Protestant denominations accept well defined doctrines. Fifth, even if Islamic scholars have determined some interpretations that instruct Muslims to coexist peacefully with peoples of other faiths, will peoples of other faiths accept the terms? Will radical Muslims abide by them?

It may be helpful if Islamic scholars can determine some core beliefs, or fundamentals, of Islam. Such fundamentals might help to develop consensus among Muslims and to communicate with non-Muslims. Fundamentalism often is a misused word. Islamic fundamentalism at present is a misnomer (Lewis 2003; Lewis 2004; Spenser 2003). Fundamentalism was coined first in Protestant theology. About one hundred years ago, a group of conservative Protestant theologians proposed fundamentals in response to a new interpretation method known as historical criticism. They proposed fundamentals they regarded as the core beliefs of Christianity. They were against historical criticism, evolution, etc. and believe the earth’s life to be some 6000 years. (Their viewpoints on evolution and the earth’s life become a lightening rod for atheists to attack Christianity.) Their fundamentals also include the Trinity doctrine, the Apostle Creed, which have been held by Christian theologians for millenniums. Now consider Islamic fundamentalism. Robert Spenser is a Catholic clergy involved in interfaith dialog for 20 years. So he is in a good position to comment. “In Christian parlance, a fundamentalist is someone who adheres to the core beliefs --- fundamentals --- of the faith.” Only something similar to Muslims is Five Pillars: “the confession of faith, daily prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. In this sense, virtually all Muslims are fundamentalists.” This is absurd if you equate fundamentalists with terrorists (Spenser 2003, p.22). Without core beliefs (fundamentals), dialog between Muslims and non-Muslims can be difficult.

Another big obstacle to develop peaceful interpretations of Quran is Islamic laws on apostasy, which usually is a capital crime. Further explanations and studies of apostasy among Muslims can be found in (Spenser 2003). If someone proposes a new interpretation of some Quran passages, he might be considered an apostate and sentenced to death. An eyewitness, chilling account by a Western journalist of such an execution may be found in (Miller 1997). The condemned was a devout Muslim but his thinking was different from mainstream Islam, thus he was considered an apostate and was executed.

It is helpful to review history of Islam. For about one thousand years, Islamic world was in the “forefront of human civilization and achievement” (Lewis 2003, 3). However, now the Islamic world, Middle Eastern countries in particular, falls far behind, not only behind Western democracies but even behind East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korean. Chapter 7 in (Lewis 2004) compares Muslim states with the rest of the world. It is shocking. It is not that Muslim countries have not tried to modernize. Middle East countries started modernization early because of their contacts and proximity to Europe. They have tried many different approaches: military, economic, political but “the results, to say the least are disappointing” (Lewis 2003, p.64; p.151). In fact, some Middle East countries even experimented with democracy (Lewis 2003, pp.54-57, pp.60-62). So far, none has worked. A Religious Study professor Brian Catlos wrote a news article on Washington Post (Catlos 2015). According to Catlos, nationalism is gaining momentum in the Middle East. However, nationalism had been tried in the Middle East before, most prominently by Gamal Nasser in Egypt. My viewpoint is that unless the key problem of Islam is solved, we may see oscillating trends in the Middle East again and again without much progress. When facing challenges a people may ask certain questions. For example, “who did this to us?” which implies the outside’s fault. They attribute their backward to something foreign, such as colonialism, minorities in their country, etc. Turks may blame “dead weight” of Arabs’ past. Persians could blame the loss of their ancient glories on Arabs, Turks, and Mongols (Lewis 2003, p.153). One might also ask “what did we do wrong?” A correct question may lead to a more productive approach. Some groups of Muslims argue that they deviate from the genuine Islam. This leads to so called Islamic Fundamentalism.

Let consider a simple example of wrong interpretation of Quran. Two converted British Muslims Michael Adebolajo, age 29, and Michael Adebowale, age 22 on May 23, 2013 brutally murdered British Army Drummer Lee Rigby. As the two extremists committed their murder, they shouted “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”. These are rooted in Torah: Deuteronomy 19:21; Exodus 21:23-25; Leviticus 24:20. However, its meaning in Torah is clear. It is retribution to those who have committed a crime. For example, Leviticus 24: 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. These two Islamists blamed British Army for some Afghan civilian casualties. During war, it is difficult to blame certain death on a specific army unit. Even if these deaths were British Army’s fault, Lee Rigby should not be blamed because of his service type. So the Bible teaches punishing criminals. But the Islamists interpreted it to be sectarian blood feud. The logic of the Boston Bombing criminals is similar. These occur quite often among Islamists.

In view of our above study, for Muslim societies to coexist peacefully with other faiths several important works are needed. First, Islamic scholars should explain clearly how their Holy books will fit with the Bible. Second, Muslims need to work out mechanism and/or institutions to interpret their Holy books coherently, including sanitizing passages of violence. Third, they need to find ways to teach all Muslims to accept and obey the interpretations. In my view, most such works must be done by Muslims. Non-Muslims can only provide suggestions.

7. Conclusion and Further Research

We have studied compatibility of three main monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It should be clear that Judaism and Christianity are from the same God and are compatible. Even though in history persecutions did occur, they were the result of misinterpretations of the Bible. On the other hand, Islam is not compatible with either Judaism or Christianity. In order to enable Muslims to coexist peacefully with peoples of other faiths, institutions for interpretations of Quran and other Holy books need to be developed. Some core beliefs, or fundamentals, might be crystallized to make it easier to spread within the Muslim communities and to communicate with peoples of other faiths.

Furthermore, current interpretations of Islamic Holy books are not coherent. Due to the past failure and present pressure of modernization, some Muslims become radical Islamists. Some even become Islamic terrorists. Islamic terrorism is against traditional Islamic teaching (Lewis 2004). However, unless Islamic scholars and Muslim community at large resolve the issue of interpretations of their Holy book and their relationship with other faiths, some radical Islamists may use Islamic Holy books for their purpose.

Further research is needed. Fukuyama considers three dimensions of a modern state: strong government, Rule of Law, accountability (Fukuyama 2011). Both Rule of Law and accountability need more research. For example, study of Rule of Law so far does not take into account of Law in the Bible. As Fukuyama mentioned, there are many different accounts of Rule of Law (Fukuyama 2011). Fukuyama give accounts of how Rule of Law was developed in the Muslim world and how it disappeared. Will Rule of Law developed in the Muslim world be compatible with the Rule of Law developed in the West? Witte studied how Reformation and Calvinism impacted the formation of Rule of Law (Witte 2008). Accountability used by Fukuyama usually means democracy. How should the Muslim world build an accountable government? Should it be democratic? Another research topic is Pluralism and Multiculturalism. There has been much research in these areas, for example, (Hardy 2007; Galson 2007; Crowder 2014). However, previous research assumes that all monotheistic religions are equal. Since the major monotheistic religions are not equal, further research is needed to take this into consideration.

NOTES

1. When quote Bible verses, I will use New International Version, known as NIV.
2. All English versions of Quran are from http://www.noblequran.com/translation/

References:

Cairns, Earle E. 1996. Christianity Through the Centuries. Zondervan; 3 Rev Sub edition.

Catlos, Brian. 2015. “Religious nationalism finds a footing in the Middle East,” Washington Post Opinion Page, Jan. 2015.

Coogan, Michael D. ed. 2001. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press.

Crowder, George. 2014. “Value Pluralism and Monotheism.” Politics and Religions Volume 7, Issue 4 pp 818-840.

Fukuyama, Francis. 2011. The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Galson, W. 2007. “Must Value Pluralism and Religious Belief Collide?” In The One and Many: Reading Isaiah Berlin, ed. Crowder, G., and Hardy, H. Amherst, MA: Prometheus.

Hardy, H. 2007. “Taking Pluralism Seriously.” In The One and Many: Reading Isaiah Berlin, ed. Crowder, G., and Hardy, H. Amherst, MA: Prometheus.

Huntington, Samuel P. 1998. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Simon & Schusterm.

Jammer, Max. 1999. Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton University Press.

Lewis, Bernard. 2003. What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East. Harper Perennial.

Lewis, Bernard. 2004. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Miller, Judith. 1997. God Has Ninety-Nine Names. Simon & Schuster.

Smart, N. 1998. The World's Religions. 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press.

Spencer, Robert. 2003. Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest-Growing Faith. Encounter Books.

Witte, John. 2008. The Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism. Cambridge University Press. .