How Selective Tolerance Leads To More Violence

The tug-of-war with Christians who are committed to making lists of all the ways that Islam is wrong and Christianity is right continues.

After my previous posts about how Christians are too "right" for their own good, I received even more comments about - you guessed it - how wrong Islam is and how right Christianity is.

[sigh]

And on and on it goes.

Are Christians really unable to set aside their religious differences to embrace someone of another faith?

Not exactly.

For example, most Christians I know fully embrace Judaism. They love the Jewish faith. They use Jewish terms for Jesus and Messiah ["Yeshua", "Mashiac", etc.]. They wear the Star of David proudly. They observe the Jewish Passover meal. They even pray for the peace of Israel.

But why?

The Jewish faith denies that Christ is the Messiah. They refuse to accept that Jesus is born of a virgin. They do not believe that Jesus performed miracles. They do not believe that Jesus ascended into Heaven. They do not believe that Jesus is alive today or that Jesus is returning to judge the world.

But none of that matters to most Evangelical Christians today.

They are totally capable of enthusiastically overlooking all of that for the sake of what we have in common with Judaism - which is namely the Old Testament scriptures.

Now, just imagine that the Jews DID believe all of these things. Could you imagine American Christians rejecting the Jewish people?

But they DO reject Muslims who happen to affirm all of these things about Jesus!

Islam teaches that:

- Jesus is the “Word of God”
- Jesus is the “Spirit of God”
- Jesus is “the Messiah"
- Jesus creates life
- Jesus cured a man born blind, and a man with leprosy.
- Jesus gives life to dead people.
- Jesus went to heaven.
- Jesus is still alive today.
- Jesus will come again to judge the entire world.

[See chapter 3, verses 45-55, the Qu’ran]

Can you imagine rejecting someone who believed all of these things about Jesus?

Can you imagine refusing to engage in a dialog with someone who already had such an amazing foundation of faith in Jesus?

Yet, somehow, Christians feel totally ok embracing one faith which denies all of these things about Jesus while rejecting another faith which affirms all of the same things about Him.

Does this make any sense?

Not to me it doesn't.

You have a choice. You can either:

A) Keep making lists of all the ways you are right and Muslims are wrong

OR

B) Look for how much you have in common with them about Jesus and enter into a fruitful dialog with a Muslim about Him.

One path will result in more division and violence.

The other path will result in an amazing conversation of Jesus with a Muslim and the opportunity for understanding and peace.

So...what are you most interested in here?

As long as you are only interested in seeking a path for opposition and division, you will keep on making those lists of how "wrong" they are.

But, if you are ready to start seeking a path for peace, and for reconciliation, you will take full advantage of an amazing opportunity to talk with a Muslim about Jesus.

What would a religion of peace really teach you to do here?

If you really belong to a peaceful religion, then take the path of peace: Engage in an open dialog with a Muslim about all you have in common about Jesus.

I dare you.

Shalom,
-kg

ARE WE CHRISTIANS TOO RIGHT FOR OUR OWN GOOD?

The other day I shared something on social media about the common ground we have with Muslims. Essentially, it's a very long list of things that both Christians and Muslims agree about when it comes to Jesus.

You can read the post where this common ground is outlined here>

But the response to this post was what really bothered me.

Instead of Christians affirming this common ground, or celebrating what we have in common - which is Jesus - mostly what I heard instead was a long list of what we disagree with Muslims about.

"But, they don't have the same Jesus."

"They don't believe Jesus was crucified."

"They don't believe Jesus was the Son of God."

And on and on the comments went.

Yes, I am well aware [I think we all are] that Christians and Muslims disagree on many things.

But the point is this: If we want to find a way to share with them about the Jesus we know, we have a very natural place to start that conversation.

However: If all we want to do is to prove that we are right and they are wrong, then we will continue to remain in an "Us vs Them" posture.

The irony of this is that Christians who refuse to accept what we have in common with Muslims are the ones who are also refusing to take any steps towards peace and reconciliation.

And while they are in the process of refusing to move towards peace and reconciliation, they are at the very same time arguing that is is the Muslims who are violent and uninterested in peace.

If we are truly committed to peace-making and ready to embrace the ministry of reconciliation, then we cannot continue to refuse to seek common ground for dialog about Jesus.

Please remember: Our ministry is not to prove that we are right and they are wrong.

Our mission is to love others as Christ has loved us.

As long as we make this about who is right or wrong, we will always have division.

But, if we can be mature enough to set that argument aside long enough to engage in a conversation about what we all agree on, there is hope for peace and understanding. 

Especially if what we agree on involves a conversation about Jesus.

In other words: 

If you want to see all that divides us, then that is what you will find.

If you are looking for what brings unity, then you will find plenty of that, as well.

So, what are you looking for? 

Are you looking for a fight? Then you will only think in terms of who is right and who is wrong.

Are you looking for peace? Then you will only think in terms of what you have in common and build a bridge from there.

Choose wisely.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." - Jesus [Matthew 5:9]

"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation..." [2 Cor. 5:18]

-kg

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READ THE NEXT ARTICLE IN THIS SERIES: How Selective Tolerance Leads To More Violence

FURTHER READING: 

"A Religion of Peace?"

VIDEO: Watch Former Imam Share How The Quran Led Him To Christ

This amazing testimony blows me away.

Christians have more in common with Muslims than with almost any other world religion. Muslims and Christians both believe in Jesus. They both believe different things about who He was and what He did, but what we have in common with Muslims is greater than most realize.

For example:

Mohammed is mentioned 4 times in the Qu’ran. Jesus is mentioned 25 times.

The Qu’ran teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin who gave birth to Jesus. [ch.3:34] 

In chapter 3, verses 45 to 55, the Qu’ran makes these 9 points about Jesus [whom they call "Isa"]:

·         Jesus is the “Word of God”

·         Jesus is the “Spirit of God”

·         Jesus is “the Christ” [Messiah]

·         Jesus creates life

·         Jesus cured a man born blind, and a man with leprosy.

·         Jesus gives life to dead people.

·         Jesus went to heaven.

·         Jesus is still alive today.

·         Jesus will come again.

In contrast, the Qu’ran says none of these things about Mohammed. According to their own book, Mohammed did no miracles, is not alive today and is not coming back. 

The Qu’ran teaches that God created the Universe through the Word of God.

The Qu’ran also says in ch. 10 verse 94: “If you have any doubt in this Qu’ran which I give to you, go and read the Bible, or ask the people who read the Bible. The Truth has already come to you from your Lord, so do not be a doubter.”

Finally, Mohammed himself personally wrote a letter to his followers and commanded them to provide protection and favor to those who follow Christ. It was written in 626 AD and was called the “Oath of Ashtiname” and you can read about that here.

In this Oath of Ashtiname that Mohammed wrote, he says:

“Their churches must be honored and they must not be withheld from building churches or repairing convents…They must not be forced to carry arms or stones; but the Islams must protect them and defend them against others. It is positively incumbent upon every one of the Islam nation not to contradict or disobey this oath until the Day of Resurrection and the end of the world.”

So, here we have a beautiful place to start building bridges with people of the Muslim faith. We can begin the ministry of reconciliation that Jesus has given to us by reaching out to Muslims, inviting them into our homes, sharing the blessings we have been given, and meeting together with them to talk more about Jesus.

Our house church family has hosted several Muslim people in our worship gatherings over the last ten years. We’ve prayed with them, eaten with them, laughed with them, and encouraged them by acknowledging that they are – like us – people who love God and honor Jesus.

We don't believe exactly the same things, but we have a wonderful common ground to start learning to love one another from. 

We cannot afford to respond to violence and terrorism the way everyone else does. We are ambassadors of a different Kingdom. We are partakers of the Divine nature. We have been given a new heart. We have been – and are now being – transformed by the agape love of Jesus into a people who look and act and love like Jesus.

Let’s repent of returning to our old nature when faced with evil in all its forms. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” [Romans 12:21]

-kg

ABRAHAM, MOHAMMED AND JESUS

One of the great things about our little house church family is that we’ve had numerous opportunities to host Muslim students in our gatherings together.

It all began a few years ago when one of our members – who was an ESL [English-as-a-Second Language] teacher at UCI – started inviting a few of his Muslim students to join us on Sunday mornings. Eventually a few others in our house church – who also taught ESL at another local school – began to invite students, too. Pretty soon it became a fairly common thing for our house church to welcome Muslim students from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries. We’ve also had Chinese students join us who were part of a Healing Light cult, and occasionally a few Buddhists here and there.

Traditionally, our idea of church isn’t about outreach. Primarily we tend to see the gathering as something that committed followers of Jesus do to see and experience Him in their midst. But as we started to welcome students who were Muslim into our fellowship we started realizing that we didn’t need to change very much about what we do. We still sing about Jesus and focus on Jesus and share scriptures and testimonies about what Jesus is doing in our lives. All of that is exactly the same.

What we do change in the event that we have Muslim guests that morning is to not serve pork, and we avoid placing our Bibles on the floor, and we try to respect their sensitivities whenever possible. Of course we know that they don’t believe that Jesus was crucified, but we do. So, we don’t abandon talk about the cross, but we might shift our emphasis more on the resurrection life of Jesus we’re enjoying, or focus more on the teachings of Jesus that are all about forgiveness and mercy and compassion for everyone.

This past Sunday morning we were very blessed to have Abraham [Ebrihim] and Mohammed join us, both from Saudi Arabia.

They sat quietly during worship, and even recorded a few of our worship songs on their iPhones. They listened as we each took turns sharing what the Lord Jesus had been showing us during the week, and they observed us as we shared scriptures for one another and how we prayed over one another for specific things. Then they allowed us to pray for them. Mohammed had recently injured his shins in an accident. We asked if we could lay hands on him and pray and he agreed, so we did.

The best part, honestly, was when we shifted to the meal time. That’s when we sat down on the floor together – “Saudi-style” – around the coffee table and shared the meal. We listened to them share stories about their homeland. We talked about where to find a good Saudi restaurant in Orange County. We laughed together, shared videos with one another, and then we listened as they played drums for us in their traditional style.

It was a simple, yet beautiful testimony of shared life together. No one tried to argue theology. No one compared religions. No one attempted to say that their version of God or of Jesus was the right one. We just enjoyed being together and we shared a sweet time of human connection where Jesus was honored, and welcomed, in our conversation and fellowship.

Hopefully we’ll see them again soon. But if not, we are still blessed to have been given the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus in a very tangible way. We let them know they were loved and accepted and welcomed – not because they agreed with us on theology – but because they were beautiful people who were dearly loved of God.

If they do return, we might have to carefully navigate a discussion about Jesus. If so, my hope is to begin by asking them to share with us what they know of Jesus from their scriptures and to take the time to listen and affirm those things we have in common about Him [which is way more than most of us realize].

We might need to meet one-on-one with them, or in smaller groups, where we can have a more thoughtful dialog together, but again, agreement on theology is not our requirement for fellowship or love. Our main goal is to take hold of Jesus with others who are seeking to know Jesus more fully.

Our hope is that we can keep our eyes on Jesus and continue to place our hope in Him to introduce Himself as we remain obedient to Him.

I’ll keep you posted!

-kg

A Christian Response To Terrorism

With every new terrorist attack, Christians in America struggle to respond as Jesus would. Like everyone else, we condemn the terrorists. Like everyone else, we pray for the victims. Like everyone else, we cry out for retribution and we paint every Muslim on earth as an evil person who should be hated and opposed.

But we’re not called to be like everyone else. We’re called to be like Jesus.

So, instead of responding like everyone else does, maybe we should take a step back and try to look at the problem the way Jesus does.

He doesn’t see us as Americans, or Europeans, or Asians. He sees us all as His beloved children who are made in His image.

He doesn’t see us as Baptists, or Buddhists, or Muslims or Atheists. He sees us as a people He would rather die for than to live without.

Ultimately, God doesn’t look at the outward appearance, or the superficial labels we all wear. God looks at the heart.

This means He takes each person one at a time and evaluates them based on who they are on the inside, not what they are on the outside.

Muslims, specifically, are not the problem. They are human beings; members of the human race; and they have the same dreams and hopes and fears and aspirations as we all do.

They love their children. They are concerned for their families. They care about those who suffer. They worry about the direction their nation is going. They want to be happy and they want to make the world a better place. Just like you and I do.

Christians have more in common with Muslims than with almost any other world religion. Muslims and Christians both believe in Jesus. They both believe different things about who He was and what He did, but what we have in common with Muslims is greater than most realize.

For example:

Mohammed is mentioned 4 times in the Qu’ran. Jesus is mentioned 25 times.

The Qu’ran teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin who gave birth to Jesus. [ch.3:34] 

In chapter 3, verses 45 to 55, the Qu’ran makes these 9 points about Jesus [whom they call "Isa"]:

·         Jesus is the “Word of God”

·         Jesus is the “Spirit of God”

·         Jesus is “the Christ” [Messiah]

·         Jesus creates life

·         Jesus cured a man born blind, and a man with leprosy.

·         Jesus gives life to dead people.

·         Jesus went to heaven.

·         Jesus is still alive today.

·         Jesus will come again.

In contrast, the Qu’ran says none of these things about Mohammed. According to their own book, Mohammed did no miracles, is not alive today and is not coming back. 

The Qu’ran teaches that God created the Universe through the Word of God.

The Qu’ran also says in ch. 10 verse 94: “If you have any doubt in this Qu’ran which I give to you, go and read the Bible, or ask the people who read the Bible. The Truth has already come to you from your Lord, so do not be a doubter.”

Finally, Mohammed himself personally wrote a letter to his followers and commanded them to provide protection and favor to those who follow Christ. It was written in 626 AD and was called the “Oath of Ashtiname” and you can read about that here.

In this Oath of Ashtiname that Mohammed wrote, he says:

“Their churches must be honored and they must not be withheld from building churches or repairing convents…They must not be forced to carry arms or stones; but the Islams must protect them and defend them against others. It is positively incumbent upon every one of the Islam nation not to contradict or disobey this oath until the Day of Resurrection and the end of the world.”

So, here we have a beautiful place to start building bridges with people of the Muslim faith. We can begin the ministry of reconciliation that Jesus has given to us by reaching out to Muslims, inviting them into our homes, sharing the blessings we have been given, and meeting together with them to talk more about Jesus.

Our house church family has hosted several Muslim people in our worship gatherings over the last ten years. We’ve prayed with them, eaten with them, laughed with them, and encouraged them by acknowledging that they are – like us – people who love God and honor Jesus.

We don't believe exactly the same things, but we have a wonderful common ground to start learning to love one another from. 

We cannot afford to respond to violence and terrorism the way everyone else does. We are ambassadors of a different Kingdom. We are partakers of the Divine nature. We have been given a new heart. We have been – and are now being – transformed by the agape love of Jesus into a people who look and act and love like Jesus.

Let’s repent of returning to our old nature when faced with evil in all its forms. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” [Romans 12:21]

-kg

Related links:

Join The Christian Anti-Terrorism Task Force

How To Fight Like A Christian

Incarnation of Love: Mary Emily Duba  

The Family That Love Built 

A Force More Powerful

Love,Hate and the Kingdom of God

Subversive

For Further Reading:

"Muslims, Christians and Jesus" by Carl Medearis

"The Jihad of Jesus" by Dave Andrews

Review: The Jihad of Jesus by Dave Andrews

In many ways, this book would make a great follow-up for those who have already read “Muslims, Christians and Jesus” by Carl Medearis, which I highly recommend.

Medearis’ book is a great place to start, especially for Christians who need to have their illusions shattered about who Muslims are and what they think of Jesus [or “Isa” as they know him best].

This book, by Dave Andrews, is a great book to read after you’ve read “Christians, Muslims and Jesus” because it takes a more academic approach – where Medearis takes a more personal and anecdotal approach to the topic.

Another reason I would recommend this order of reading the two books is that Dave Andrews’ book doesn’t take the time to demonstrate what we have in common with Muslims – other than to point out that both Christians and Muslims have been guilty of bloody, war-mongering and various atrocities in the name of God.

So, for me, Andrews takes a more negative approach, whereas Medearis takes a more positive one.

This isn’t to say that I didn’t find Andrews’ book enjoyable. Far from it. I underlined and highlighted nearly half of the book which typically indicates that I was being challenged by something he said, or that I was marking areas that I wanted to come back to later and reconsider more in depth.

The book is broken up into two parts. The second part of the book is really what I found the most fascinating and insightful. He kicks this section off [in Chapter 4] with “Reframing Jihad as a Method of Nonviolent Struggle”. This chapter unpacks an excellent overview of another book called “On Killing” by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman about how men are not really “natural born killers”. On the contrary, it is the pervasive tendency for men to avoid killing others that motivates the military to systematically re-train [read “brainwash”] their soldiers to overcome.

I covered that in a previous blog [Un-Status Your Quo], but for the sake of this review I’ll re-state this section again:

How Soldiers Are Conditioned To Kill:

Frame killing as protecting or saving lives - The only way to save lives of those you love is to kill others.

Portray the enemy as sub-human - It’s easier to kill people if you don’t identify with them or if you think of them as “evil” or as animals.

Demand obedience to leaders - Men will do almost anything if they are under strong social pressure to comply.

Develop the capacity for collective violence - Accentuate their fear of letting their squad down. Diffuse responsibility across the group.

Increase the distance between the trigger and the target - It’s easier to kill from a distance with drones, missiles, bombs, etc. Talk about firing at targets, not people. Speak of sinking ships, not of drowning sailors. Frame the violence so it is an object being destroyed, not another human being.*

The book goes on to point out how these same methods are being employed by our media to socialize us towards the redemptive qualities of violence.

Violence is an almost inescapable part of our culture today. So, it’s no wonder that most of us view violence as a means to solve problems or to achieve a better world.

Andrews hopes to awaken us to this deception of the age, and I am in complete solidarity with him on this point.

Later on, in this same chapter, Andrews goes on to say:

“Separating religion from politics does not mean we do not bring our faith and the ethics derived from our faith to bear on our politics in terms of our discussions about politics. To the contrary, all real believers cannot help but bring their faith and ethics derived from their faith to bear on their politics…But separating religion from politics means not using our particular religion for party political purposes as a means of manipulation or exploitation to gain or retain power. For our faith to be “non-political” means for it to be “non-partisan” and “not-imposed”.”

I couldn’t agree more!

His conclusion is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Having built a strong foundation for us in the previous chapters which provided details about how both Islam and Christianity have been polluted by those who seek to manipulate the faithful and circumvent the peaceful aspects of their founder’s teachings in order to reframe faith and nationalism as a singular idealogy, Andrews ends with a look at the Sermon on the Mount. He suggests that Christians should return to the manifesto of Jesus if they truly seek to accomplish the will of God and to become peacemakers who follow the example of Jesus.

It was a personal thrill for me to see that Andrews even quoted Erica Chenoweth’s excellent study “Why Civil Resistance Works” to validate the effectiveness of nonviolence as a means to disarm oppressors and end conflict. [Fans of the “Pacifist Fight Club” take note].

Overall, the book was a refreshing and much-needed exploration of Islam and Christianity, without all the over-emotional nonsense that typically permeates most discussions these days.

If you’re willing to lay aside your prejudices about Muslims and enter into a thoughtful study of how followers of Jesus might actually reach out and bring peace to our world today, I think “The Jihad of Jesus” is an excellent place to begin.

-kg

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

UNFAIR COMPARISONS

A RELIGION OF PEACE?

I hear a lot of discussion about whether Islam is a religion of peace or not, and many Christian commenters and bloggers mock the “Religion of Peace” rhetoric from those within the Muslim faith with links to news articles where we read about horrors of violence done in the name of Allah.

I get it. There is an obvious inconsistency within the Muslim faith when it comes to the idea of Islam as a Religion of Peace. Some point to the millions of peace-loving followers of Mohammed around the globe as evidence of their nonviolent practice of faith, while at the same time the news media counters with story after story of Islamic extremist shouting “Jihad” against American citizens and beheading Western journalists almost nightly on our television screens.

It must be very frustrating for someone who peacefully follows Mohammed to represent their faith to those on the outside looking in, especially when there are so many examples of violence being done in the name of Islam around the world.

Lately, there doesn’t seem to be very much evidence to support the idea that Islam is a peaceful religion, in spite of the fact that one of the names for Allah is “Peace” and their Founder, Mohammed, granted protection and privileges to Christian monks at Saint Catherine’s Monastery. [See the Ashtiname of Muhammad]

Sure, you could point to several verses in the Koran where Muslims are told that Allah hates violence, and then someone else would point to suicide bombers in Iraq or even the terrorists on 9/11.

It’s almost exactly like what many Christians have to deal with, isn’t it?

We can point to numerous verses where Jesus commands his disciples to return love to those who hate them, and then someone might point to American soldiers at Abu Garib who beat and humiliated Muslim prisoners there. Or the drone strikes against innocents in Yemen, or the thousands of civilians who died in Iraq.

Sure, we can appeal to the Sermon on the Mount given to us by Jesus, and then someone else might say, “But look at when Jesus turned over those tables in the Temple!” and then we’re right back where we started.

Lately there’s not very much evidence to support the idea that Christianity is a peaceful religion, in spite of the fact that our founder, and Lord, is known as the Prince of Peace, and commanded us to turn our cheek rather than to strike back in retaliation.

Honestly, it’s almost impossible for Christians – or Muslims – to make a case for being a “Religion of Peace”, especially when so many of those who proclaim their faith the loudest happen to be holding a machine gun, waving their nation’s flag and cheering on the violence of war.

Is Islam truly a religion of peace? I honestly don’t know. But what bothers me more is the question: “Is Christianity a religion of peace?”

I can say, along with the Muslim, that my Founder and Lord commanded us to be peaceful and loving, but the actions and the words of so many of my brothers and sisters seems to deny all of that.

After all, what matters most is how people actually behave, isn't it? It's the actions of those who follow Christ, or Mohammed, that tell us the most about what those people actually believe, not their books or their spokesmen.

I suppose I can only say that Christianity is SUPPOSED to be a religion of peace. If only more of us believed it.

-kg