FAQ: Does The United Methodist Church believe that Allah and God are the same?

The United Methodist Church has affirmed that "the God who has acted in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the whole world is also the Creator of all humankind, the One who is 'above all and through all and in all' (Ephesians 4:6)" (2008 Book of Discipline). To be obedient to our own call and witness is to be loving and neighborly to persons of other faith communities. The General Conference of the UMC encourages interfaith encounters because: "We seek to learn how the Holy Spirit works among all people of the world, especially among those in other religious traditions." (2008 Book of Resolutions, "Called to be Neighbors and Witnesses: Guidelines for Interreligious Relationship")
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FAQ: If God created everything, then may I assume that God also created evil?

Anything opposed to the creative will of God and God's intention to redeem all of creation. Doing the will of God is good. Opposing the will of God is evil. What is good creates. What is evil destroys. For the Christian the most important question then becomes, "Why would a good God permit evil to exist at all?" This has come to be known in theological circles as "the problem of evil" (or theodicy) and forms the core of any spiritual response to God's intentions for creation.
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FAQ: How are we to treat or think about those who are truly evil?

Yes, we should pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. You ask the important question -- how do we treat them? First, we need to recognize that with God, all things are possible. So, the worst sinner can receive the gift of redemption -- of knowing about and acting out of God's love through Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean that they are immediately out of prison. But it does mean that we need to allow for God's activity when all our best efforts lead to failure.
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Plan to Eliminate Terrorism

Biblical visions of a new heaven and a new earth speak of a time when there will be no more death and suffering (Revelation 21) and of a time when swords shall be turned into plowshares and none shall be afraid (Micah 4:3-5). Toward this end, all biblically based codes of ethics, beginning with the Ten Commandments, prohibit the killing of others.
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