"You Become Like What You Worship"- Christianity and Islam

In Douglas Wilson's lectures entitled Sexual by Design, Douglas Wilson makes an excellent point when contrasting Islam from Christianity. He is hitting on the point that a person becomes like what they worship. This can be explicitly seen in Psalm 115 (verses 4-8).

Douglas then begins with the fact that in Islam, Allah is an ultimate hermit god. That is, that Allah before creation was completely alone. In contrast to Christianity where the three persons of the Trinity have eternally existed in complete harmony and love with one another. God is love- is central to the very idea of the Christian God. The Christian God does not simply love within the Trinity, but loves a people, to the very extent of giving Himself for that people- that concept in Islam is foreign. Allah does not give himself in Islam. Allah has a will, he reveals that will to creation, and the Muslim is he who submits to that will. No questions asked. Just obey. There is a "power relation", as Douglas puts it, in Islam. Then, does it surprise anyone that this is the reality in which Muslims operate, namely, the Muslim man? He reveals his will to his wife, and she obeys. No questions asked (The Islamic state reflects the same idea under Sharia law).


 In Christianity, The Christian man gives himself for his wife, as Christ gave his life for the church (Ephesians 5:25). The Christian man is he who sacrifices himself, in love, for his family, as Christ sacrificed himself, for the people of God. You become like what you worship. 


- awretchsaved




Note: You can see Douglas Wilson hit upon this point in the eleventh minute of the first lecture.