IslamDraft · awaiting advisor review
Doesn’t “Son of God” mean God had a child?
In short
No. Christians agree with Muslims that God has no wife and did not father a child physically. “Son of God” describes an eternal relationship and a shared nature, not biology. The Bible uses “son of” in this way elsewhere, and Jesus’ hearers understood his claim to be Son as a claim to equality with God.
The Objection
The Qur’an asks how God could have a son when he has no companion (Qur’an 6:101), and says it is unworthy of God to take a son (Qur’an 19:88–92). Calling Jesus God’s Son makes God like a human father and compromises his oneness.
Put as its strongest advocates would put it.
The Christian Case
- Scripture
The Bible often uses “son of” to describe nature or character, not parentage: James and John are “sons of thunder”, and a person of peace is a “son of peace”.
- Scripture
John calls Jesus the Word who was with God and was God, and the “only” or “unique” Son who makes the Father known. His sonship has no beginning; it isn’t the result of a birth in time.
- Scripture
When Jesus called God his own Father, his opponents understood him to be “making himself equal with God”. The title was about who Jesus is, not about a physical birth.
- Historical evidence
Christians have rejected the idea of a physical son from the start; the creeds speak of the Son “begotten, not made”, meaning he shares the Father’s being eternally. Muslims also believe Jesus was born of a virgin (Qur’an 19:16–22), without a human father.
Where the Evidence Is Weaker
The doctrine of the eternal Son is a mystery that can’t be fully pictured, and words like “begotten” are easily misheard. Some of what the Qur’an rejects, such as a God with a consort or Mary as a goddess (Qur’an 5:116), Christians reject too, so the real disagreement is narrower than it first seems.
Arguments to Avoid
- Defending a view Christians don’t hold, such as God having a wife or Mary being divine.
- Using “Son of God” without explaining what it means to someone who hears it biologically.
Read for Yourself
John 1:1–18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Hebrews 1:1–4
1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Further Reading
- Jesus the Son of God · D. A. Carson (2012)
- No God but One: Allah or Jesus? · Nabeel Qureshi (2016)
Drafted with Opened AI and awaiting review by Opened’s apologetics advisors. Labels show the kind of support each point has: Scripture is what the Bible says; historical evidence and philosophical arguments can be checked by anyone; “Christians differ” marks questions on which faithful Christians disagree.
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