THE RETHINKING EMERGING AMONG SOME CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKERS
Mission Frontiers, is the Bulletin published by the 
U.S.CENTER for WORLD MISSION . In the recent July-August issue focused on this subject, there is exciting evidence of a fresh wind blowing for those that work for world peace.
First of all for Christ followers everywhere, there is much that we do not know about the Muslim Peoples; much mis-information and misunderstanding. This issue alone gives us all much to seriously think about for some time, especially if what is presented by many different authors has any validity at all. I invite my Muslim friends will read this issue carefully and let me know if it represents honestly the reality among their Muslim cultures.
From the Bulletin:
A Few Interesting Questions:
- Why did Muhammad reject the concept of the Trinity held by Christians he knew?
- Why did he come up with the idea that Jesus did not die on the cross?
- What person in the Qur’an has attributes of Divinity?
- Why do 30 million Christians in the world today pray to “Allah” and read that same word God in their Bibles?
Some Biblical Themes that appeal to Muslims
- God’s goodness, love, reliability, and care for his servants.
- God’s guidance of history towards good ends as he works through events to oppose evil, to train his servants in righteousness and truth, and to fulfill his good purposes for his people.
- The portrait of Jesus himself: his kindness, devotion, wisdom, power, self-sacrifice and ongoing reign as Savior-King.
If this is not enough to motivate you to take the time to read some of these articles, then consider what is actually taking place: Muslims who believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible who remain in their heritage as Muslims. Before you say catagorically that that isn’t possible, there are those “on the ground” in these cultures that assure us that it is happening among “open-minded Muslims” that are coming to know the Christ of the gospels. As you can imagine, this is not without controversy among the traditional Christian Communities in some of the same places. This only confirms some of the issues I have raised on my blog and if nothing else, I hope your curiosity will lead you to want to read more.
July 24, 2008 at 10:04 pm
It is interesting to find the similarities and preserved qualities of God’s love and message of redemption in other spiritual beliefs and cultures. Humanity has a horrible habit of not giving our fellow man the credit he deserves, I believe that exposing ourselves to other spiritual beliefs and cultures, combined with acknowledging common ground is as a good a place as any to turn the tide against our history of ignorance and unjustified judgment.
July 26, 2008 at 10:56 am
“A comecar em mim, quebra coracoes….para que sejamos Todos UM…como Tu es em nos. Onde ha frieza, que haja luz…Onde ha odio o perdao….Para que Seu Corpo cresca, sim, rumo a perfeicao!”
July 26, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Thank you Alex and Diana for your comments. It is amazing what you can see in a fresh way- even after years of thinking you pretty much had other groups and cultured figured out, when you begin from the basic concept that we are all related by blood, and it is the same Creator that has been at work in his creation all along. In fact, if we accept the Biblical record, it was He who separated the human race into distinct language groups in the first place following the race’s second attempt to self-destruct. You might look at it as one of the oldest military tactics known to mankind- divide and conquer.
Now, however with the coming of His anointed King who will “gather in one all things”, the great message of the Gospel of the Kingdom is going forth to all these same distinct families of the earth, declaring that God has made peace having broken the walls of separation at the cross of Jesus Christ.
July 26, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Take a look at what I’ve found- CHINESE BIBLES for OLYMPIC ATHLETES
http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=28878&sec=56&con=17
September 6, 2008 at 1:52 pm
John,
Interesting post. Did you know that Iran’s former president Khatami worked too much toward the unity of all religions and mankind in general?
By the way, a short reply to your questions about why Prophet Mohammad came up with such ideas about Jesus and Christianity is that Quran is the word of God (Allah) and not Mohammad. These days they make propaganda about Mohammad as well as Jesus. There has been many lies and words against prophets and in Quran God rejects the lies about Jesus and condemns those who say lies about him and his mother.
Quran defends Jesus and Marium (Mariam) by saying:
“And mention Marium in the Book when she drew aside from her family to an eastern place.
So she took a veil (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our spirit, and there appeared to her a well-made man.
She said: Surely I fly for refuge from you to the Beneficient God, if you are one guarding (against evil).
He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord: That I will give you a pure boy.
.
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And that We may make him (Jesus) a sign to men and a mercy from us. . .”
Quran Sura 19 (Maryam) verses16-21
September 7, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Cyrus-
Welcome back -I’ve missed your comments. Hope everything is ok, I noticed you haven’t been blogging as often. Your point was well taken about the source of Quran according to your faith. What the author was saying that the historical context of when Mohammed received the revelations was in the midst of bitter attacks against the Christian faith, including from within by heretical christians. The statements in the Quran including in defense of Mary and of whether Jesus actually died or not so it is reported, were directed against the claim that God had intercorse with Mary-which is not Orthodox Christian teaching at all. The other attack was by Jewish enemies of the Gospel who argued that Jesus wasn’t who he said he was because they were able to kill him and one defense of that was to say he didn’t die. But of course that is not the Orthodox Christian faith which says it was necessary and indeed the will of Allah that he died to redeeem humanity, and because Allah was then pleased, Jesus was resurrected and exalted to a position of authority at the right hand of the throne of Allah.
The more we learn of another’s faith, we clear up some of the mis-understanding that we have all learned as fact. I think there is progress being made among Jews and Muslims and Christians, but it is still very slow and far to few who are involved. We must keep in touch and build relationships with those who work for peace.
Your friend, John Paul Todd