Journal: Christian Apologetics Journal
Volume: CAJ 10:2 (Fall 2012)
Article: The Image Of God Reflected In Marriage In Christianity And Islam
Author: Cynthia R. Suffern

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CAJ 10:2 Fall 2012) p. 103

The Image Of God Reflected In Marriage In Christianity And Islam

Cynthia R. Suffern

What one believes about the nature of God is a foundational element in one’s worldview. One’s views about the existence of God and His nature affect his view of the nature of men and women and the nature of marriage. The current struggle in America over how to define marriage is fundamentally a disagreement between competing worldviews, specifically, a normative biblical or a relativistic definition of marriage. Beneath these views of marriage are assumptions influenced by differing views of God, His character, His attributes, and His revelation. This paper will examine how a Christian Trinitarian view of God and the Islamic view of God are reflected in these faiths’ respective designs of marriage and marital roles of men and women. The contrast between Christian and Islamic views of God and their views about men and women can be used as a bridge for dialogue with others about God, gender, and marriage.

CAJ 10:2 Fall 2012) p. 104

Trinitarian View Of God

In orthodox Christian doctrine God is one in nature and three in persons. The Old Testament confession of faith, the Shema, begins by making clear that God is one in nature: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4 NASB). Isaiah confirms the unity of God’s nature: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5–6). According to the Bible, only one God is to be worshipped. However, Scripture also refers to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forming what Christians call the Trinity. The term ‘Trinity’ is not used in the Bible, but the concept is strongly implied. For example, the Trinity is implied in the creation account. In Genesis, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” which indicates a plurality in the persons of God Himself (Gen. 1:26; cf. 3:22, 11:7). Other OT passages imply the concept of the Trinity, or more than one person in the Godhead (see Psa. 110:1; Isa. 6:8, 48:16, 63:10). In the NT all three persons of the Trinity were represented at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove and Father God spoke from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16–17; cf. Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19...

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