ACROSS BELIEFS / JESUS · GOD · THE CROSS

Christianity & Islam

Who is God? Who is Jesus? How are we forgiven? Explore twelve questions about the Christian truth and Islamic perspective, with Scripture and the relevant Qur’anic passages beside each answer.

01 / UNDERSTAND THE TRADITION

Understanding Islam.

Beliefs, texts, worship and history. Begin with the sources and make room for the differences within a living tradition.

02 / CARRY THE CONVERSATION

Ministering to Muslim friends.

Listen well, explain Christian faith clearly, and read together. Follow the questions with conviction, patience and care.

01 / BEGIN WITH THE CLAIMS

Shared questions. Distinct answers.

Choose a question. Compare the claims, then examine the texts that support them.

God & identity 3

Jesus & the cross 2

Sin & salvation 3

Revelation & authority 4

Who is Jesus?

CHRISTIAN TRUTH

Jesus is the eternal Son who became truly human: one person, fully God and fully man. John identifies the Word as God before speaking of the Word becoming flesh.

Christ’s humanity does not replace his deity. The Christian confession concerns the identity of the person who came to save us, not simply his place among religious teachers.

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

Qur’an 4:171 calls Jesus Messiah and messenger, a word communicated to Mary and a spirit from God. The same passage rejects divine sonship and tells its hearers not to say three.

These titles must be read within that rejection. They should not be turned into an admission that the Qur’an teaches the Christian incarnation.

AN ATLAS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE MUSLIM WORLD

A world of people. Learn the place.

A neighbour’s faith has a context. Explore 53 Muslim-majority countries and territories, meet some of their people groups, and understand where a gospel witness is present.

Opening the atlas…

Pakistan

SOUTHERN ASIA

Population

235M

Pew · 2020 estimates

All recorded groups, including non-Muslim groups. IMB: 2026-10-09.

02 / READ IN CONTEXT

The texts behind the conversation.

These readings serve a Christian conversation about trusting Jesus: understand God’s identity, examine Jesus’ identity, consider forgiveness through his death and resurrection, then assess the claims of revelation. Read each Qur’anic passage on its own terms beside the Christian counterpart. Ask what your neighbour believes and why; the sequence guides discussion rather than guaranteeing conversion.

STAGE 01 / READING AIM

Establish what each person means by one God before discussing Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Primary text

Question to examine

Christian counterpart

PASSAGE 01 / QUR’AN 112:1–4

One God: the shared starting point

  • Deuteronomy 6:4
  • Matthew 28:19

Passage in context

Read the complete four-verse chapter. It confesses God’s oneness, rejects begetting and being begotten, and denies any equal to him.

Why this passage is here

Understand why divine sonship can sound like a denial of God’s uniqueness to a Muslim neighbour.

What to examine

Read all four verses together. Distinguish the rejection of begetting from the Christian meaning of the eternal Son; ask what your neighbour thinks Christians mean.

How this advances the conversation

Begin with the objection the person actually holds. Shared monotheistic language opens the discussion but does not settle the disagreement about God.

THE BIBLICAL COUNTERPART

Read the Christian claim

  • Deuteronomy 6:4
  • Matthew 28:19

Christian Scripture also confesses one God. Jesus commands baptism in the singular name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the comparison concerns how this confession fits together, rather than whether Christians worship three gods.

03 / CARRY THE CONVERSATION

Make the comparison a study.

Do Christians and Muslims mean the same thing by Jesus?

Shared names do not remove the decisive question of his identity.

How can Christians defend the Trinity to a Muslim neighbour?

Confess one God clearly and explain the real disagreement.

What separates Christian and Islamic accounts of the cross?

Christ's death and resurrection are essential to the gospel.

Has the Bible been changed beyond recognition?

Trust God's preservation and examine the actual manuscript witnesses.

If salvation is a gift, why do good works matter?

Justified by faith alone; renewed for a life of obedience.

How do we defend the faith without becoming combative?

Christ is Lord; our witness should be truthful, gentle and clear.

What does it mean to say the Bible is trustworthy?

God's written Word is our final authority for faith and life.

LISTEN BEFORE YOU ANSWER

What would you want to ask next?

Start with the selected question: Who is Jesus? Ask how your neighbour understands it before offering your answer.

Conviction with an open Bible. Scripture first. Reformed convictions. Sources you can examine.

Rooted in Scripture. Open for discovery.

A place to read slowly, ask deeply, and follow the connections. Scripture, study and the voices of Christian history, brought together for a lifetime of learning.

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

  • Open the reader
  • Books & reading progress
  • Compare Scripture editions
  • Find a passage

FOLLOW YOUR QUESTIONS

  • Study collections
  • People & places
  • Faith & apologetics
  • Stories of faith

A library with a paper trail.

Meet the authors. Explore the collection. Trace each work to its source.

Download the code.

Open source on GitHub.