CHRISTIANITY through the lens of CHRISTIAN & MUSLIM SCHOLARS Part One

6.3 “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30, NLT)

Christians believe that the above passage of John is a proof that Jesus and the Father is equal and thus one and the same person.[1] However according to a leading Muslim theologian Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 C.E)[2] in his “ar Radd al-Jamil”, Jesus himself showed what he meant by his being one with the Father. In John 17:21-23, he prayed to God that his disciples:

“My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one Father – that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.” (NLT)

Again, in John 14:20 Jesus said:

“When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.”(NLT)

Al Ghazali argues that, if we accept John word by word without trying to interpret it, then all of Jesus disciples are God’s also because the unity which he claimed with God he claimed it for his disciples too. In reality, the “Oneness” here means nothing more than one’s obedient to God's Law and doing righteous things. In these purpose all of us are united with Jesus and with God. This interpretation is in fact confirmed by John, the disciple. St. John in his 1 Epistles 1:5-7 says:

“This is the message that he has given to us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go own living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other…”(NLT)

Further in 3:24, he says:

“Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with Him and he with them…”(NLT)

Regarding the verse “The Father and I are One”, John Calvin, a leader of the Protestant movement, who himself was a Trinitarian, in his “Commentary on the Gospel of John” states:

“The ancients made a wrong use of this passage to prove that Christ is … of the same essence with the Father. For Christ does not argue about the unity of substance but about the agreement which he has with the Father.”[3]

[1] John 10:30, is often cited to support the doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation, even though no third person (the Holy Spirit is mentioned there.

[2] Born in Tous and was educated there and at Naysabur, especially under Imam al-Haramain al-Juwaini (1028-1085 C.E). Among his famous published works are Ihya’ Ulun ad-Deen, al Munqidh min al-Dolal al-Iqtisod fi al-I’tiqod, Iljam al-Awam ‘an ‘Ilm al-Kalam and Tahafut al-Falasifah.

[3] Should You Believe In the Trinity?, 24