Are We Really Talking about the Same God?
Examining the doctrine of God in Judaism and Christianity
March Madness is officially over. Not that I really care, but many people do. I didn’t find the basketball interesting at all (I enjoy the game but more on the NBA side—Thunder up!). But one thing I did find interesting were post-game comments made by Auburn University player Dylan Cardwell.
Cardwell was asked a thoughtful question by a reporter. “After you fouled out in the Alabama game, you went straight to the bench and prayed. Coach Pearl has been vocal about his Jewish faith. I’d love to know what role does faith play even when practiced differently into the success of this Auburn team?”
His answer was truly fantastic apart from one tiny aspect. “Though Christianity and Judaism might have our ‘differences’, we believe in the same God.” There was much more to that quote, but that statement right there is why I am writing this blog.
That certainly raises the question: Does Judaism and Christianity believe in the same God? The answer to that is an emphatic No, and I think even the reporter understands that by pointing out that there are differences. I don’t believe we’re really talking about the same God—let’s explore why that is.
To be sure, I understand why people say we worship the same God. It’s the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob. But stopping the conversation there misses something—or, rather, someone!—crucial to the discussion.
One can claim that Jews and Christians believe in the same God all day long, but when you bring the Trinity into the conversation, everything falls apart. Judaism does not believe in the Trinity; they do not believe Jesus is the Messiah (let alone the fact that the Holy Spirit is also God). Therefore, it’s not the same God. When you reject Jesus, you reject the true God.
The big issue is Judaism’s explicit rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. Scripture is clear that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6). He is the way, the truth, and the life. When you reject Jesus Christ as Messiah, as God, as divine, you have yourself a different god altogether. Further, “no one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 Jn. 2:23).
To be honest, I am surprised this is still a question. People claim we worship the same God with minor differences and can simply sing kumbaya together. That’s simply not true. The difference between believing in the god of Judaism and believing in the God of Christianity—the one true God—is an eternal difference, not minor. If you reject the Son, you reject the gospel that saves you from your sin.
The point here is not to bash the basketball player who said this. I don’t know his faith. But I do know that claiming Jews and Christian believe in the same God is unbiblical and is a dangerous way of viewing the matter. We must stand firm on the fact that Jesus saves, and that “there is salvation in no one else, for their is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).