Law #3 Post

It is true that there is much debate occurring today about the Shari'a law which Muslims hold to. In fact, the ways in which Christians and Muslims view the idea of law and approach law are very different. From a Christian standpoint, law is from God, our Creator, and this law shares the very nature of Him. We are accountable not only to God but to those laws as well, and we must follow His laws even when society chooses to go down another path. As Christians, we believe in what is called "natural law" in which God reveals His law and will through revelation. In turn, we can know God's will through our conscience, or our inherent sense of right and wrong.

Shari'a law, or the law that Muslim's hold to, is quite different from Biblical law. It governs every aspect of society from marriage to business to religion. While Christianity affirms that God reveals His will and Himself through the law, Shari'a law says that God has not revealed himself or his nature through law. Because of this, law becomes nothing more than a strict set of rules that must be followed without fail. This causes us to ponder the following question: why follow someone who not only are you not able to see, but you aren't even able to know their nature? Furthermore, while Christianity holds to God's law resolutely, Muslims believe that some passages in their Qur'an can overrule others--therefore, law becomes open to their own interpretation from situation to situation, removing any consistency. Despite the inconsistencies, Shari'a law is not only strict, but most certainly threatening at times. While Christianity finds great freedom within the Christian religion, Muslims cannot find that same individual freedom within their religion. In fact, the idea of freedom of expression is not a part of the Muslim legal tradition. Women and non Muslims especially feel none of the freedom in the Muslim religion that women can in Christianity. Furthermore, this is where Christianity is different: God sets boundaries through law so that we may bear His image respectfully, yet He allows us freedom at the same time. The Biblical worldview provides a law that respects at the same time the greatness and depravity of man, something that the Shari'a law cannot even try to accomplish!