Topic
The Quran’s charge that some of the People of the Book made a god of Jesus (5:72–73), and the Christian reply that this is not what the Church teaches.
What it means
The Quran says that “those who say that God is the Messiah, son of Mary, have disbelieved” (5:72), and has Jesus say: “Worship God, my Lord and your Lord” (5:72). Christians answer that they do not say Jesus is a creature made into God, but that God became man. Muslims reply that, whatever the doctrine’s wording, they cannot accept that the Creator took on human nature.
What the sources say
The Quran calls Jesus “a messenger” and “His servant” (4:171–172) and has him deny, on the Day of Judgement, that he told people to take him and his mother as gods (5:116). The two sides agree on God’s mercy and on Jesus’ place in it, and differ on what Jesus is.