Misunderstandings about the Muslim tradition are extreme within the US. Thus, in an attempt to build a bridge between Christianity and Islam, the Anew UCC will be beginning a series of six DVD’s “Discover Islam.” If interested in learning more, please give me (Kristi) a call 605-999-9361.
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The Bible (and in fact Jesus himself) predicted or prophesied that there would come a day such as we are seeing right now. When many would chose a lie over the truth.
Why, if someone was interested in learning the truth about a false religion, would they study the propaganda produced by that religion (and possibly designed to conceal or minimize much of the truth?) As a consumer, if I am interested in trying some product, why would I think watching that company’s commercial is going to give me an accurate picture of whether it works?)
Why in fact would any Christian want to build a bridge to a religion diametrically opposed to their own? People are one thing and they all deserve our grace, but systems of “religion” which stand in opposition to God’s Word do not. Might as well build bridges between Christianity and Wicca, Hindu, or Voodoo. Why would a pastor of a Christian (UCC = united church of CHRIST) even waste time with a project designed to create more harmony and understanding of a religion that denies the truth of Jesus as God? That’s the first difference and it’s a big one. Need we delve any further?
Jesus never attempted to build bridges with the demonic. The “spirit of the antichrist” is alive and well in this world and has found a home at Anew UCC.
This is a point in which we will disagree as will many within the United Church of Christ.
huh? By “this” do you mean to say those. At least try and make sense. Might as well practice explaining yourself now because someday you’ll stand before God and it will be too late.
You are being rather rude…is this how you show the love of Jesus? if you would like to dialogue with me in a fashion that is respectful, I will do so; however, if you are unable to emulate a God of grace, please do not reply on my blog.
Yeah maybe I was a little rude. Still, I was hoping for a thoughtful response and all I got was “This is a point….”, and I made about sixteen points. Was the illusive point regarding Jesus’ deity? If so, that explains most of your recent blogs which I follow closely. If not, then which point is the one you say is a bone of contention even among your own denomination? I’d really like to know. You see, I’m trying to figure out where you get your doctrine.
As for my “rude” response, I guess it’s much softer actually than Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s (religious leaders in his day) when he called them “hypocrites” “a den of vipers” and children of Satan.
I’m sure you know from scripture that there is coming a great “falling away” in the church. 1 Timothy 4:1 says “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will FALL AWAY from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” Any doctrine which denies Jesus as God is a “doctrine of demons”. I only bring it up because you are interested in building a bridge between Christians and Muslims, presumably by convincing Christians that Islam isn’t so bad after all.
You question my ability to show the love of Jesus, but I can do that with individuals. A good friend of mine in Kuwait whom I have kept in contact with the past 30 years is a staunch Muslim. When we were room mates at DWU he was a big fan of Yassar Arafat, had all the books and newsletters from the PLO laying around the house. He knew where I stood and I knew where he stood. Still we are friends to this day. But in order to be his friend and vice versa, we don’t need to spin our belief systems to make them more palatable to each other. We didn’t need to BUILD A BRIDGE between our religious convictions. Individuals can get along peaceably without compromising core belief systems. What would be the purpose of showing what basically amounts to a COMMERCIAL for Islam, to a group of bible believing Christians (I have seen the “Discover Islam” series). Convince me of the possible benefit and I will gladly come. What I can’t do is show the “love of Christ” to a system designed to belittle, or even deny His Lordship.
I’m sure as a Pastor you know there is a great apostasy coming. A great deception. We are admonished to “test the spirits” stand fast, hold firm. We are also warned against being, “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive…”.
Why then place a potential stumbling block in the path of those attempting to “hold fast” to what they believe. What is the goal Ms. Kristi? What is the underlying agenda? You are in a position of leadership and held accountable for those under your charge. Jesus said regarding little children (very easily defined as anyone seeking Christ and His truth) “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” Seems a little harsh but these are words from our (as you say) “God of grace”.
You misunderstood me. The United Church of Christ, in general, would disagree with your statements about Islam as well as about Jesus and building bridges. The video series that we will be viewing was recommended by our National office in Cleveland, Ohio in an attempt to bring peace and understanding between two faiths that trace their “faith tradition” to Abraham…Muslims, Christians, and Jews all trace their tradition to Abraham. Due to our National office holding people of great education, insight, faith and wisdom I feel quite comfortable sharing these videos with the congregation I serve as well as those who might be interested.
I am not a biblical literalist as you appear to be. I am seminary educated and well read, but place myself in the liberal progressive movement within Christianity. I have a low Christology and a strong faith in the God of all people, places, cultures and religious traditions including no tradition. Marcus Borg, john Shelby Spong, Walter Brueggemann, John Dominc Crossan, and some of the early twentieth century theologians such as Karl Barth and Paul Tillich are some of the scholars I enjoy. I additionally read many jewish scholars and love Amy Jill Levine, an orthodox Jew who teaches Christian history and theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
The value of learning about the Muslim faith is an attempt to stop the violence that happens when Christian imperialism overtakes people who believe that anyone who does not believe in “his/her” Jesus are condemned or despised by God and they feel the need to act upon those beliefs. Religious persecution and religious wars are as old as humanity itself. We can continue to pit one religion as being better than the other or we can hold tight to our own tradition while seeking to understanding the other traditions…this is not an attempt to synthesize the religions, but rather an attempt to stop the hatred and misunderstanding that is being encouraged by people who are arrogant enough to think that their brand of religion is the only brand accepted by God while all others are condemned.
No, i do not believe in the rapture or apostasy, as you say. That interpretation of the scriptures has been disputed by many Christian scholars…however, since you appear to be a biblical literalist you will have trouble believing that.
Moreover, the congregation I serve is not one of biblical literalism. They have a strong faith and know themselves to be a group of Jesus followers; thus, us engaging in an educational series about another faith tradition is not placing a “stumbling block” in front of them. They are intelligent, intuitive people filled with the love and grace of God.
Furthermore, they are adults who have a choice and they chose to have these videos be a part of our adult forums.
Once again, I am not a biblical literalist, which means I do not take your attempts at “God” threatening me seriously. I am quite secure in the knowledge and faith of God’s love for me and for all of humanity and creation…including people who do not have the same belief about Jesus as I do.
I do encourage you to engage with people who may not believe as you do, but engage in a sense of fellowship rather than superiority. You might find some common experiences within our diversity. And my hunch is this would be a good thing.
Red Handy: I’d appreciate it if you would lay off a little bit. Kristi was simply giving people an option to come and learn about Muslim tradition. The people that decide to attend will take what they want from the experience. You, nor Kristi, will be able to ultimately decide a person’s opinion about the topic. Do not belittle someone for trying to educate, regardless of the result. I understand that you feel threatened by someone who is trying to teach the people in your community about things you do not agree with, but the disrespect needs to stop.
Hey, Red.
You may have seen “Discover Islam” and, obviously, have a strong opinion about it. I haven’t. But I plan to. You see, I’m one of those Christians – and a member of the United Church of Christ – you seem to think Ms. McLaughlin is leading astray.
I’ve got news for you. There are different ways of looking at Christianity and there are different routes to reach the divine. Some of us don’t claim to have a monopoly on truth. Some of us don’t check our brains at the door when we go to church. Some of us realize that there are both unreasonable Christians as well as unreasonable followers of Islam.
The only way we are going to be able to co-exist is to understand each other. Apparently you understood your Kuwaiti friend and, in your words, didn’t have to “compromise your core belief system.” What makes you think any of the rest of us are going to compromise our core belief systems? This is education. Nothing more, nothing less.
Lighten up.
Red – I’m pastor of a UCC church. Many churches in the UCC denomination do not regard the Bible as foundational for faith and practice. If you want to know which churches don’t, simply look at their statement of beliefs. If you see something like: “We take the Bible seriously but not literally,” bingo, you’ve found one. Having a Bible-based discussion with someone who does not regard the Bible as foundational will by nature be an exercise in futility.