One of my fears in doing daily radio broadcasts is that I will slip and say something that is contrary to Scripture. Most of the time Shawn and I do these shows with no rehearsal and in one take. Our editor, Danny, does cut out any times in which we have to redo a sentence. Typically, we record about 14 minutes which Danny cuts down to about 13:30 (leaving room for Lucas, our announcer).

Well, here is an email wondering if I slipped up:

I am a recent listener to your podcast and really enjoying it. While listening to Thursday’s podcast, about 9:30 into it, I noticed that Bob referred to Abraham as a father to Islam. A father to Jews, yes, and father to Christianity, yes (actually, a father to Christians, Galatians 3). But a father to Islam? No! A father to Arabs through Ishmael, yes. Islam is a false religion.

I appreciate the clarity given in these podcasts, but I do believe Bob made a slight slip.

I plead guilty. But I do have a slight defense.

It is true that Abraham did not invent Islam. In no way was he responsible for the work of Mohammed in the seventh century. Nor is he responsible for modern Islam.

I think what I meant is that Muslims consider Abraham to be their father. They view him as a central figure in their religion.

In John 8 the legalistic Jews who were opposing Jesus claimed Abraham as their father (John 8:39a). But the Lord Jesus rejected their claim (John 8:39b-59).

So, when I said that Abraham is the father of Judaism, that too is not quite right. Works-salvation Jews claim Abraham as their father. But he is not. Paul said that the true Jew is the one who believes in the Messiah (Rom 2:29).

Abraham is the spiritual father of all, whether Jew or Gentile, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for everlasting life. That includes Muslims who come to faith in Christ. But he is not the spiritual father of unbelieving Jews or Muslims.

Good job, new listener. I appreciate the gracious response.