And while Muslims acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, they view some basic facts very differently than Christians do. ''Islam is the only religion that says that Jesus did not die on the cross,'' explains Braswell. ''Not only do they not buy the meaning, they don't believe it's history.''
This is misleading. The Islamic view of Jesus is identical to that of Christianity for its first 347 years. The present doctorine won based on mere mortal debates and the councile and political muscle flexing.
Islam fosters genuinely strong communities that prize an ethic of mutual aid.
This is a point that is lost to many. What most Christian missionaries establish in other places is built into Islam from the start. Muslims are obligated to give 10% of their net income to the poor. You will be hard pressed to find a Muslim community which does not provide interest free loans to the poor.
What's more, Islam is itself a proselytizing religion. Says Jonathan Bonk, the executive director of the Overseas Missions Studies Center, ''My impression is that Muslims love to talk about religion. They have no problem engaging with someone who is trying to proselytize to them. They proselytize right back.''
I wonder what are the statistics on Christians who converted to Islam versus the Muslims who converted to Christianity.
Ironically, the IMB spokesman Mark Kelly describes the Muslim critique of Western values as a positive point of contact for Christian evangelicals. ''Muslims have moral concerns about the Western world, and they find out that these are misgivings that evangelicals have as well. They think all Americans are Christians, including a lot of celebrities. Evangelicals say that if that were what Christianity were about, we wouldn't want anything to do with it, either.''
So this begs the question of why the hell is anyone going out for missionary work. If saving a soul is the goal, then saving an American soul right here should be as good as saving another soul anywhere. Logic suggests it is much more productive concentrate on where you already have a good footing than waste your energy where you are not wanted.
But to Scott Moreau, this soft approach raises questions. ''If Christianity is just an ethical system, there is no need to speak. If it is something more, if it is about a relationship with God and not just good deeds, then if you stop at good deeds you are shortchanging who you claim to be.''
As a wise man once said, "Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, 'I am not the kind of person I want to be.' It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied." I wonder about the people like Mr. Moreau.
In some cases, conversion has taken place very quietly indeed. According to missiologists who specialize in Islam, there are actually communities of converted Muslims that retain many Muslim practices, such as styles of dress and manners of prayer, while accepting Jesus as their savior. A mosque serving these communities, says Braswell, is known as an Isa Majid, or a Jesus Mosque. Some converts attend regular Muslim mosques, and their communities are none the wiser.
This kind of hybrid practice has become a topic of hot debate in some Christian quarters. ''Some say Christ called for a public pronouncement,'' says Moreau. ''Others say, give them time.''
This is one reason why I think when all is said and done, Buddhism will be the only religion standing; it allows for dual "citizenship".
Sun Tzu |
