Jesus Christ – Son or Prophet?

Starting from a few verses in the Qur’an that come astonishingly close to the Christian creed, this study examines how the disagreement about the person of Jesus came about, what differences and what possibilities of understanding exist between the two religions, and what basic spiritual attitudes lie behind each point of view. The text shows that the discussion about the dogmatic foundations of faith is above all about the question of how it is possible at all for the eternal, infinite God to reveal himself to human beings in their limitedness.

The preface below sets out the intention of the text in a little more detail. The whole study can be downloaded here as a PDF file. The text is free of charge and meant to be passed on. You will find some notes on the copyright of my texts here.

Preface

This study began with a great sense of wonder. In the book “Und Jesus ist sein Prophet – Der Koran und die Christen” (And Jesus Is His Prophet – The Qur’an and the Christians) by Mehdi Bazargan, which brings together all the verses of the Qur’an that refer to Christianity, I found the verse: “The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, is the Messenger of God and His Word, which He placed in Mary, and a Spirit from Him” (Sura 4:171). I found no contradiction between this verse and what I, as a Christian, associate with the term “Son of God”: Jesus is the Messiah, he is the divine Word that took flesh through Mary, and he is the mediator of the Spirit of God. So if Christianity and Islam are so similar in their view of Jesus, why is understanding between the two religions so difficult?

The subject interested me so much that I began to look into it further. I realised that the question of the status of Jesus, and of the status of the Qur’an in relation to God, touches the foundations of both religions: the understanding of how divine revelation can happen for human beings at all.

In the course of my search I found that this question touches on quite different themes of theology and the history of religion, such as the development of Christian dogma, the origins of Islam, the debate within Islam about the status of the Qur’an, and finally the theological and political conflicts between the two religions. It also turned out that these themes are, in various ways, subjects of theological research, and that on the decisive points my own thoughts agreed with the majority of academic opinion.

At first that was reassuring: I was not barking up the wrong tree, and my intuitive understanding of the texts was in line with the current state of research – often so much so that it surprised me. I also found that the cause that matters so much to me, understanding between the two religions, is being pursued in many places and by many competent people.

On the other hand, this discovery was in a way also a disappointment. If these concerns and ideas are already present in the academic world, are they not in much better hands with the experts than in a study written by me? What value can a text written by an interested and theologically educated lay person have in this context at all? In the end, though, I came to the view that this study can be useful to its readers, for several reasons.

First, the particular value of this study lies in its structure and its scope. All the threads connected with the subject are taken up and woven into an overall picture that carefully presents both the problems and the possible solutions of the theological opposition between Christianity and Islam, and relates them to each other. The academic texts I found, on the other hand, only ever dealt with individual aspects of the subject. Anyone who reads this study will therefore gain a well-founded insight into the whole subject, which can then be deepened further with the help of the bibliography in the appendix.

Second, the very fact that I am not an academically trained theologian or Islamic scholar offers an opportunity. I have built up all the descriptions and arguments from the ground up, and I have taken care to write clearly. Reading this study therefore requires neither prior knowledge nor familiarity with theological jargon. This makes it of interest to people in my own situation: lay people interested in theology and in questions of worldview who want to learn about the foundations of the opposition between Christianity and Islam and about the possibilities of interreligious dialogue. The study reflects my conviction that beliefs shape people’s lives in so many ways that real understanding can only come about if each side accepts the other’s faith at the level of fundamental theology as well. But such acceptance is only possible if one understands the basic concerns of the other religion.

Finally, and not least, this study also gives occasion to put one’s own faith to the test once more. The theological developments it describes are an exciting testimony to humanity’s struggle with the questions of God, of the world and of the human being itself. This text can and should encourage readers once again to embark on the adventure of discovering God – or better: of letting themselves be discovered by God. In this spirit I wish my readers, for all the seriousness of the subject, joy and inspiration on a journey through God’s never-ending story with humankind.

Two people helped me decisively in completing this study: my daughter Katharina, who, in her tried and tested reliable and elegant way, took on the editing and layout, and Dr Werner Höbsch, retired adviser on interreligious questions to the Archdiocese of Cologne, who went through the text in detail with me after its first completion and gave valuable advice and suggestions. My warmest thanks to them both.