Rick Warren faces the latest controversy over Islam

Mattingly: Rick Warren faces the latest controversy over Islam, and the meaning of one God

Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
 
At the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, centuries of Islamic doctrine have literally been carved into the shrine's walls.

Two quotations on the northwest wall will be of special interest to anyone interested in the latest whirlwind of controversy linked to evangelical superstar Rick Warren and his giant Saddleback Church.

The outer-face inscription states, in part: "Praise be to God who has not taken a son and who does not have any partner in dominion. ..." On the inside, after a reference to Jesus, is written: "Peace be upon the day he was born, the day he dies and the day he is raised up alive. That is Jesus, son of Mary. ... It is not for God to take a son."

In other words, Islam proclaims a strict monotheism, while rejecting the Christian belief that God is One, yet has been revealed as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Thus, it matters that fundamentalist critics are circulating excerpts from a recent Orange County (Calif.) Register report claiming that Warren and his megachurch have joined with nearby mosques to promote a "set of theological principles" — called the King's Way — proclaiming that "Christians and Muslims worship the same God."