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July 08, 2007
Evangelicals and Moslems Together?
It would be good if a relationship would flourish between evangelical Christians and moderate Arabs, something that would seem unlikely in the current atmosphere. A remarkable meeting occurred at the Egyptian embassy in Washington last month, with a number of evangelical leaders and the ambassadors from several Arab nations.
Jonathan Falwell wrote in WorldNetDaily:
On Monday, July 2, I attended what I can only pray may become a historic meeting. Several weeks ago, I received a call about attending a meeting at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C. I was told this meeting would be hosted by the ambassador from Egypt and might be attended by representatives of other Arab nations, as well as by 10-15 pastors, evangelists and Christian media representatives. My interest stirred, I agreed to attend the meeting even though I was not quite sure of its purpose. I asked Dr. Ron Godwin, Liberty University's executive vice president, to attend with me. When we arrived at the Embassy, we were greeted by Evangelist Benny Hinn and introduced to several other pastors, evangelists, Christian TV producers and representatives of Christian organizations. Among them were Gordon Robertson of the 700 Club, Paul Crouch Jr. of Trinity Broadcasting Network, Christian lobbyist Ralph Reed, Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, Vernon Brewer of WorldHelp and several others.Within a period of no more than 10 minutes, the ambassadors from Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and the ambassador from the Arab League of Nations all arrived. I now realized that this meeting was far more than a social gathering. Soon thereafter, we sat down at a large table – evangelicals all on one side and Arab representatives on the other, about 24 of us – for lunch.
And I received this in personal correspondence from Richard Cizik at NAE:
The most interesting person there? None other than Hinn, who I found to be extremely gracious. He was born in Egypt, and is part Jordanian, etc., and helped organize the event. He wanted to know if we'd help him organize successive events. No harm, as I see it, and could do a lot of good, that is, if they could get general agreement by certain leaders who have exclaimed, for example, "50 million Muslims want to kill us," that this language endangers evangelical missionaries and relief workers around the world. It also fosters the impression that evangelical Christians want to provoke a religious war with Muslims, something everyone at the luncheon disputed.It was a positive event, with real potential for good. I spoke of the need to make sure Samuel Huntington's "Conflict of Civilizations" doesn't occur, and that the NAE had issued a call to "respect" and "dialogue" a number of years ago, followed up by our "Islam Initiative" calling for humanitarian missions in the name of Jesus, as well as dialogue here and abroad. I lauded our friendship with Amb. Aziz Mekouar and the Moroccans, and said that we all need some "moral imagination" to see our way through the current difficulties, saying it "could well be the most important thing we set our minds to at this time in history."
Posted by Jim at July 8, 2007 02:14 PM
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Most would agree that "It would be good if a relationship would flourish between evangelical Christians and moderate Arabs,". T'would be better than good, it would be remarkable, given, as Falwell notes, the bone of contention, Israel. While evangelicals and Muslims are both believers that their way is the only way, another difficulty is prosytelization by Christians in Muslim areas; action which has been intensely resisted for centuries. While I applaud the effort, I suspect it will founder and sink in the swamp of mutually exclusive fundamentalism.
Posted by: BB-Idaho at July 8, 2007 05:33 PM
These verses from the Koran aren't from some sort of radical-Islam-only version. They are from the same Koran used by "moderate" Muslims.
O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Those of you who make them his friends is one of them. God does not guide an unjust people. - 5:54
This verse seems kinda relevant to the Christian/Muslim friendship question. I imagine plenty has been said about this , as it's not exactly a secret.
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"Can't we all just...get along"? Uh...yeah. Again, please keep in mind that these are not some sort of fringe teachings, they are from the same Koran revered by "moderate" Muslims.
Allah is an enemy to unbelievers. - Sura 2:98
On unbelievers is the curse of Allah. - Sura 2:161
Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. - 2:191
Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme. - Sura 2:193 and 8:39
Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil. - 4:76
But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever you find them. - 4:89
O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there are 20 steadfast men among you, they shall vanquish 200; and if there are a hundred, they shall rout a thousand unbelievers, for they are devoid of understanding. - 8:65
It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land. - 8:67
When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. - 9:5
Fight those who believe neither in God nor the Last Day, nor what has been forbidden by God and his messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, even if they are People of the Book (side note - "people of the book" = Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah (tribute/tax) and feel themselves subdued. - 9:29
O Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites. Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end. - 9:73
Fight unbelievers who are near to you. 9:123
When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds, then set them free, either by grace or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens. - 47:4
Muhammad is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. Through them, Allah seeks to enrage the unbelievers. - 48:29
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An article from late 2001 that seems particularly relevant to the ideas in this post. Ask yourself; How have the things talked about in this article gone in the time since it was written?
Have we shamed the face of Jesus? Muslims in our Pulpits
http://WWW.bridwellheightspca.org/VOM.HTM
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That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.
- Koran 4:157
However, the Bible says:
"But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."—1 Corinthians 1:23-24.
"Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of The Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgatha. Here they crucified Him, and with Him two others - one on each side and Jesus in the middle." (John 19:16-18)
Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me
Can't be a Ressurection of Jesus (which is absolutely central and essential in Christianity) if He never died, eh? The Koran and the Bible cannot both be right on this. Additionally, it would seem unlikely that Christianity and islam worship the same God, as the Bible and the koran say opposite things about Jesus, and therefoe would seem to be unlikely to have come from the same divine being.
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An interesting little article:
Judas Iscariot is not the Saviour of Christians!
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-judas.htm
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read the parts about islam -
http://deltackett.com/
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Isa, the Muslim Jesus
http://www.answering-islam.org.uk/Intro/islamic_jesus.html
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Isa al Masih - A Place For Muslims
http://isaalmasih.net/
Posted by: plodon at July 9, 2007 07:19 AM
Hmm. Guess you won't be invited to the next meeting, plodon.
Posted by: Jim at July 9, 2007 09:08 AM