A remarkable statistic is quietly reshaping conversations at the intersection of faith, theology, and purpose: according to a major “State of Theology” survey, more than 52% of U.S. adults do not believe that Jesus is God. For much of the Christian world, and particularly among evangelical clergy, this represents a theological emergency — Stephen Nichols, a leading Reformed theologian, described it as evidence that “professing evangelicals are sadly drifting away from God’s absolute standards in Scripture.” But for Muslims, this finding is neither a crisis nor a surprise. It aligns perfectly with what Islam has affirmed for over fourteen centuries: that Jesus, the son of Mary (peace be upon him), was one of the mightiest messengers ever sent by Allah — a prophet who never once claimed divinity, and whose true legacy is complete submission and worship of the One God alone.
The Islamic View of Jesus: Far Greater Than “Just a Prophet”
When host Eddie and scholar Dr. Marwan Muhammad discussed this statistic on The Deen Show, they addressed a widespread misconception head-on: that calling Jesus a prophet somehow diminishes him. In today’s cultural landscape, the word “prophet” has been cheapened — loosely applied to self-styled television preachers living in luxury, flying in private jets. But in Islam, prophethood is the highest station any human being can attain. Jesus (peace be upon him) is counted among the ulul-‘azm — the five greatest messengers chosen by Allah — alongside Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all). He performed miracles, bore the title of the Messiah, called humanity to worship the One God alone, and submitted his will entirely to the Creator. The very word “Islam” means that submission. To call him a prophet is not to minimise him; it is to honour him precisely as he honoured himself — and as the Quran honours him to this day.
- 52% of U.S. adults do not believe Jesus is God — a finding that mirrors core Islamic theology on the nature of prophethood and divine unity
- 30% of self-identified evangelicals share this view, representing a seismic theological shift within Christianity itself
- In Islam, Jesus (peace be upon him) is revered as the Messiah, born of a virgin, a worker of miracles, and one of the five greatest prophets ever sent to humanity
- Muslims say “peace be upon him” at every mention of his name and hold the Virgin Mary in the highest honour — hardly the position of those who are “anti-Christ”
- Islam teaches that Allah has placed the fitrah — a natural disposition toward pure monotheism — in every human soul, and this survey may be evidence of that innate guidance asserting itself
- The Quran preserves a tamper-free divine revelation; by contrast, even mainstream biblical scholarship acknowledges the Gospels were written anonymously, in Greek, by authors unknown, decades after Jesus
“If you are a true Christian — a true follower of Christ at that time — you would be doing what Muslims do today: pure monotheism, directing all your worship to God Almighty alone, the One God.” — Eddie, The Deen Show
What Scripture Actually Says — And What Was Added Later
One of the most compelling threads of the conversation was a careful examination of the biblical text itself. Numbers 23:19 states plainly: “God is not a human that He should lie, nor a human being that He should change His mind.” In Mark 12:29, Jesus himself declares: “The Lord our God is One.” In John 20:17, he says: “I ascended to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” — clearly acknowledging a God above himself. These are unambiguous verses. The doctrine of the Trinity, by contrast, rests primarily on passages whose meaning is disputed even among Christian scholars and seminary academics. Dr. Muhammad explained that in Islam the foundational principle of theology is to build clear doctrine on clear texts — never to use ambiguous verses to override explicit ones. This is not a polemic against Christian neighbours; it is the same logic applied in law, in accounting, in any domain where evidence must be weighed honestly and sincerely.
“God Almighty has installed what we call the natural instinct in a human being — the fitrah. For someone to arrive at the truth that Jesus is not God naturally, without any foreign intervention, I find that absolutely amazing. Subhanallah.” — Dr. Marwan Muhammad, The Deen Show
What makes this moment in history so significant is that these questions are arising organically, from within Western culture itself — not through da’wah campaigns or external pressure. Islam invites every sincere seeker to approach these questions with the same reason and common sense they apply to any other domain of life, trusting that Allah guides those who seek Him honestly. The path from genuine inquiry to clarity has always been lit by the same light: the recognition that there is nothing worthy of worship except the One Creator, and that His messengers — from Noah to Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them all) — were sent out of divine mercy to guide humanity back to that truth. Islam does not ask anyone to abandon Jesus; it asks them to honour him as he honoured himself — as a mighty servant of Allah, a healer, a teacher, a messenger, and a living model of complete submission to the One who created the heavens and the earth. For those with open hearts and a sincere desire for spiritual guidance, that invitation remains as clear and as compelling today as it has ever been.
