Podcast Summary: "The Fatherhood of God"

Podcast: Renewing Your Mind
Host: Ligonier Ministries
Guests: Dr. R.C. Sproul, Abdul Saleeb
Date: September 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the Christian doctrine of the Fatherhood of God, examining both its biblical roots and the profound contrast with Islamic theology. Dr. R.C. Sproul and former Muslim Abdul Saleeb discuss why the concept of God as "Father" is deeply comforting for Christians but can sound blasphemous to Muslims. The conversation clarifies mutual misunderstandings, highlights key scriptural differences, and delves into how intimacy with God defines the Christian faith.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Privilege of Calling God “Father”

• Christians find privilege and comfort in referring to God as Father, believing that faith in Christ leads to adoption into God's family.
  • Abdul Saleeb: "We Christians feel the privilege to be able to talk to God in such intimate terms. And we believe that through faith in Christ, we can become adopted children of God." (00:00)
• To Muslims, this terminology is not only foreign but offensive, even blasphemous.
  • Abdul Saleeb: "To Muslim ears, that sounds horrible news. That sounds blasphemous to think of God as our Father and us as children of God." (00:31)

2. Islamic Objections to the Fatherhood of God

• The Qur’an strongly rejects any suggestion that God “begets” or has offspring.
  • Saleeb reads several Qur’anic passages, emphasizing Islam’s absolute rejection of God as “Father” in any literal or relational sense.
  • Surah 112: “He begetteth not, nor is he begotten, and there is none like unto him.” (03:10)
• Muslim perception: attributing “Fatherhood” to God implies a crass, physical, or animalistic association, which is seen as deeply degrading to the divine.
  • Qur’anic commentator Yusuf Ali: “Begetting a son is a physical act depending on the needs of man's animal nature. God most High is independent of all needs... It is merely a relic of pagan and anthropomorphic materialist superstitions.” (05:08)

3. The Different Paradigms of Divine Relationship

• Christianity: Images of God as Father, Shepherd, Husband, etc., highlight intimacy and relational closeness.
• Islam: Dominant image is God as “Master” and humans as “servants.” Intimacy, in the Christian sense, is absent.
  • Saleeb: “Islam does not allow for any intimacy between humanity and God and for us to call God our heavenly father.” (07:37)
• Christians should “be informed about the Muslim mindset … when they hear phrases like heavenly Father or Son of God.” (08:20)

4. Christian Response and Clarification

• Dr. Sproul: Christianity agrees with Islam’s rejection of literal, physical divine propagation (e.g., mythological gods fathering children). Christianity sees “Son of God” as referring to a relational or positional reality, not biological.
  • “Orthodox Christianity would agree...with every one of those texts in terms of a complete repudiation of any kind of crass idea of divine physical propagation.” (08:22)
• Sproul traces the uniqueness of Jesus addressing God as “Father,” which was a radical departure from Jewish tradition and remains a stumbling block for both Muslims and orthodox Jews.
  • "In every recorded prayer of Jesus of Nazareth in the pages of the New Testament, with one exception, Jesus routinely addressed God as Father." (12:55)

5. Theological and Historical Foundation in Scripture

• Dr. Sproul discusses how, outside the New Testament, God is rarely or never directly addressed as “Father” in Jewish or other monotheistic faiths.
• Significance of the Lord’s Prayer: Jesus taught disciples to begin prayer with “Our Father,” a radical act in first-century context.
• Sonship and Obedience: In the Bible, being a “son” is tied to obedience and relationship, not physical descent.
  • "Sonship was defined not in biological terms, but in ethical terms. The New Testament speaks of the unique relationship that Christ has as the one who is perfectly obedient to the Father." (16:33)

6. Adoption as the Heart of Christian Redemption

• Christians are children of God by “adoption” through Christ’s atoning work—not by nature.
  • "We are not his children by nature, we are his children by adoption. By virtue of our relationship to Christ, we are now included in the family of God." (19:45)
• Moving biblical example: The story of Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9), invited to David’s table, illustrates the grace of being welcomed into God’s family.
• Sproul: “This is one of the ways in which the Muslim religion is so profoundly impoverished: it doesn’t have an avenue to be restored to that filial relationship, to that relationship of intimacy for which we were created in the first place.” (22:27)

7. The Role of Love and Intimacy in Christian Conversion

• Saleeb highlights research showing former Muslims are often drawn to Christianity through the idea of God’s love and relational intimacy.
  • "Fuller Seminary recently did a survey of 600 former Muslims...one of the factors that was involved in the conversions...was the emphasis on the love of God and the intimacy that believers can have with God as their heaven." (23:48)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Abdul Saleeb:

  • “To a Muslim ear, it sounds like horrible news. It sounds like blasphemy to call God with such intimacy as our heavenly Father.” (07:10)
  • “Islam does not allow for any intimacy between humanity and God and for us to call God our heavenly father.” (07:37)
  • “We are not attributing a sexual act to God when we talk about the fatherhood of God or that we are sons of God. But that's not how a Muslim understands.” (05:50)

• R.C. Sproul:

  • “Orthodox Christianity would agree...with every one of those texts in terms of a complete repudiation of any kind of crass idea of divine physical propagation...” (08:22)
  • “The fact that this differs from Islam is true. I think this is one of the ways in which the Muslim religion is so profoundly impoverished...” (22:27)
  • "Sonship was defined not in biological terms, but in ethical terms." (16:33)
  • “Behold. What manner of love is this apostolic astonishment that we should be called the children of God, so that even the apostles in the first century were overwhelmed with amazement that that status of a filial relationship to God would be accorded to us because of the work of Christ.” (21:50)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – 02:25: Opening remarks on Christian intimacy with God vs. Muslim discomfort with the fatherhood concept
• 03:00 – 07:37: Saleeb reads and explains key Qur’anic passages rejecting God’s fatherhood
• 08:22 – 14:40: Sproul clarifies Christian doctrine and its sharp distinction from both Islamic and some liberal Christian interpretations
• 14:41 – 21:50: Historical and scriptural exploration of “fatherhood”—uniqueness of Jesus and NT teaching, ethical vs. biological sonship
• 21:50 – 23:48: The doctrine of adoption, intimacy with God, and illustration using Mephibosheth’s story
• 23:48 – 24:29: Research on why Muslims are drawn to the Christian God’s love and intimacy
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Tone and Takeaways

This episode is marked by respectful candor, deep theological insight, and a considerate exploration of differences. Dr. Sproul and Abdul Saleeb ask Christians to understand Muslim sensitivities and clarify misunderstandings while robustly affirming the uniqueness and beauty of intimacy with God in Christ. The Fatherhood of God, far from being a trivial or universal doctrine, stands as a foundational joy and distinguishing mark of the Christian faith.