The question becomes thornier in relation to Muslims, who are adamant that God is one, while Christians are adamant that God is one in three-to note just one remarkable difference between the two faiths. But are these differences as stark as they seem at first blush? Some theologians think they are even starker, and have argued such in Christianity Today's pages.

But Miroslav Volf, professor of theology at Yale Divinity School, is not one of them. Volf, formerly of Fuller Theological Seminary, is the author of many moving and thoughtful books, including Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Abingdon Press) and Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities (Eerdmans). He tackles what he believes is one of the most important questions facing Christians and Muslims in Allah: A Christian Response (HarperOne). Mark Galli, senior managing editor of CT, spoke with Volf about the book.

You argue that Muslims and Christians worship the same god. Why is it important to determine whether they do?

They make up two of the largest religious groups worldwide, comprising more than half of humanity. They are at each other's throats, if not literally, then in their imaginations. And we need to find ways we can believe peacefully together.

Both groups are monotheists. They believe in one God, one God who is a sovereign Lord and to whom they are to be obedient. For both faiths, God embodies what's ultimately important and valuable. If our understandings of God clash, it will be hard for us to live in peace-not impossible, but hard. So exploring to what extent Christians and Muslims have similar conceptions of God is foundational to exploring whether we inhabit a common moral universe, within which there are some profound differences that can be negotiated, discussed, and adjudicated.

The paradigm for Christians is God's action in Jesus Christ: God, who is infinite and holy, reaches out to the finite and sinful. There could be no greater difference than that. So from the Christian viewpoint, is it even necessary to have commonalities with others in order to love them?

I agree with the thrust of your question. I don't think we need to agree with anyone in order to love the person. The command for Christians to love the other person, to be benevolent and beneficent toward them, is independent of what the other believes. But will we be able to forge common bonds of social life in some ways? Will we be able to inhabit common space? That is a question distinct from whether I'm able to love somebody.

The American Civil War, one of the bloodiest wars ever, was one in which people actually did believe in the same God and the same Scriptures. This did not encourage peacemaking. Yet you still think it's important to affirm that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Why?

That's true. Some of the worst violence in the world today between estranged religious and ethnic groups happens not on the battlefields. It happens smack in the middle of living rooms and between people who share a lot, who have a lot in common. So my argument is not that having common values will prevent all violence. My argument is that having common values will make it possible to negotiate differences. In the absence of those common values, we either have to live sequestered in our own spaces (which I think is impossible in the modern world) or resort to violence in order to settle disputes.

Okay, then-do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?

First, all Christians don't worship the same God, and all Muslims don't worship the same God.

Fair enough.

But I think that Muslims and Christians who embrace the normative traditions of their faith refer to the same object, to the same Being, when they pray, when they worship, when they talk about God. The referent is the same.

The description of God is partly different. There are significant differences that are the subject of strenuous debates. Some differences really are foundational to the faith, like the doctrine of the Trinity. At the same time, there's this amazing overlap and similarity. We need to build on what is similar rather than simply bemoan what's different.

What are the most striking similarities between the way Muslims talk about Allah and the way Christians talk about God?

One that shouldn't be forgotten is that God is one in both traditions. That's very important. Two, God is merciful. Also, God is just. God's oneness, God's mercy, and God's justice are significant commonalities. We have different understandings of each of these, but the overlaps are really impressive.

Some theologians argue that when Christians and Muslims say "God is one," they mean fundamentally different things, since for the Christian, God is a Trinity.

I would respond by asking, "Do Christians and Jews worship different gods?" And I would hope the response would be, "No. Jews and Christians worship the same God. They just understand God in a different way-Christians in a Trinitarian way, and Jews not."

Some Jews and Muslims accuse Christians of being idolatrous for believing in the Trinity. My response to both groups is that they fundamentally misunderstand the Christian understanding of the Trinity. It's not that we worship three distinct entities who sit on three thrones next to each other; we worship one undivided, divine being who comes to us in three persons.

I would also argue that the denials of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Qur'an are denials of an inappropriately understood version of the Trinity. My claim is simply that much of what Muslims deny of the Trinity (e.g., that we worship three gods) ought to be denied by every right-believing Christian. We've come up with this idea that Muslims are our enemy, and that Muslim terrorism and extremism are the most important enemies we should be combating. I think this is bogus.

To read the full article click here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/april/muslimschristianssamegod.html