Last October 4, 2009, we had Mosab Hassan Yousef speak at our church. You may listen to his message by clicking here, signing up for access to our televised archives, and go to the October 4 service broadcast. It's worth the effort. We found Mosab to be engaging, genuine and bold in his testimony for Christ. If you would prefer, I would encourage you to read this excellent Wall Street story on Mosab. Mosab's new book, The Son of Hamas was released this week. Mosab's nationwide profile is much higher today than it was a week ago.In my conversations with Mosab I was struck with the love that he had for his father. Mosab shared with us that his life would be in great danger if his father ever officially "disowned" him. Hamas would, in essence, see that decision by their leader as an invitation to take Mosab's life. But even though Mosab had been public about his conversion to Christ when he spoke at our church last October, there had been no public disavowal of Mosab by his father. However, The Wall Street Journal article quotes Mosab's father (Sheikh Yousef) as saying this past Monday "I and my family have completely disowned the man who was our oldest son and who is called Mosab."
My prayers are with Mosab. He is truly a former Muslim turned Christian--and in personal danger. I would encourage you to both pray for him and purchase his book. I received mine Friday and have already read it. It is gripping in every sense of the word.
43 comments:
This is truly frightening. My prayers will remain for this brother.
People like these make so much around the SBC seem so petty. May the Lord keep this young man safe.
grace
darrell
A great and fascinating story.
I personally think Mosab Hassan Yousef's life is in danger mainly due to him being an agent of Israelis and not due to his conversion to Christianity or even claiming that the God of Islam is a terrorist God.
Interesting quotes ...
-----------------------------------
What matters is not whether my father is a fanatic or not, he's doing the will of a fanatic God. It doesn't matter if he's a terrorist or a traditional Muslim. At the end of the day a traditional Muslim is doing the will of a fanatic, fundamentalist, terrorist God.
...
"The problem is not in Muslims," he continues. "The problem is with their God. They need to be liberated from their God. He is their biggest enemy. It has been 1,400 years they have been lied to."
...
"Every day, there was screaming; every night, torture. Hamas was torturing its own people!" he writes. The Muslims he met in jail "bore no resemblance to my father" and "were mean and petty . . . bigots and hypocrites".
-----------------------------------
What is interesting is at times, we can substitute Christians in the above quotes and we end up looking mean, petty and bigoted. Almost like looking in a mirror.
The only good thing we have is Our Lord Jesus Christ. But our nature is not good, unless it is replaced by divine nature from above.
Google News Search on "Mosab Hassan Yousef".
Google Blog Search on "Mosab Hassan Yousef".
"I personally think Mosab Hassan Yousef's life is in danger mainly due to him being an agent of Israelis and not due to his conversion to Christianity or even claiming that the God of Islam is a terrorist God."
What makes you think there is much difference from the viewpoint of Hamas?
"What is interesting is at times, we can substitute Christians in the above quotes and we end up looking mean, petty and bigoted. Almost like looking in a mirror."
It is not bigoted to tell the truth about what Islam teaches and practices.
Lydia, I did not mean about what Islam teaches. I was referring to how sometimes Christians treat each other. It was more in reference to comments in the series of posts here.
Hi LYDIA,
Not all Christians share your perspective about those of the Islamic faith. I have followed your comments concerning the Islamic faith and its followers closely. And I have tried to understand.
Here is one perspective that is very different
. I will follow the quote with my own comment:
""in 1991, choosing to write directly to Muslims, John Paul II gave a fuller reference to this text:
“I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors, Pope Gregory VII who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim Ruler of Bijaya, present day Algeria:
‘Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved and none lost, approves nothing in so much as that after loving Him one should love his fellow man, and that one should not do to others, what one does not want done to oneself.
You and we owe this charity to ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world.’
“These words, written almost a thousand years ago, express my feelings to you today as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. May the Most High God fill us with all His merciful love and peace.”
John Paul II
COMMENT:
In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, commanding us to 'love one another', begins to burn too brightly in our spirits to be extinguished.
And just for a while, we are made strong enough and fear-less enough to reach out.
Sometimes we do.
Caritas Christi,
L's
Christiane,
I am disappointed you have so little compassion for the women under Sharia law.
"In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, "
Why do you always assume disagreement with your view means one hates others? I simply do not understand that thinking. It is anti-intellectual and seems to want to shut down any dissent and does not promote factual, intelligent conversation. It is also insulting to those who simply disagree. And not very nice, either.
Or is that simply one of those general vague statements you make that is not pointed at anyone in particular but made to "suggest" there is hate where there isn't?
If you are suggesting I am fearful and hateful because of my comment above then simply say so and stop hiding behind vague platitudes. It is not Christian.
Hi THY PEACE,
You quoted Mosab Hassan Yousef here: " The Muslims he met in jail "bore no resemblance to my father" and "were mean and petty . . . bigots and hypocrites"."
And you commented here:
"What is interesting is at times, we can substitute Christians in the above quotes and we end up looking mean, petty and bigoted. Almost like looking in a mirror.
The only good thing we have is Our Lord Jesus Christ. But our nature is not good, unless it is replaced by divine nature from above."
I can agree that I have seen the extemist-fundamentalist sides of both Islam and Christianity to be destructive ('mean, petty, and bigoted').
And I agree that only the Lord Christ can change our natures so that we may be seen by Islamic peoples as different from their own destructive fundamentalist-extremists. Those that follow 'The Good Shepherd' in the fullness of grace and truth, will never be led fearfully into the dark ways of extremist-fundamentalism. Christian people must try to show forth the goodness of Christ, or how will the people of Islam ever come to know of Him from our witness?
Remain in Christ's Peace.
Love, L's
Dear THY PEACE,
The comments of 'Aussie John' on Paul Burleson's current post mirror some of your thoughts, I think.
Here is the site:
http://vtmbottomline.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-ten-signs-of-ignorant-christians_04.html
I first pray for my brother in Christ, Mosab Hassan Yousef that he be kept safe.
I am certain Mosab Hassan Yousef first realized and measured the effects of his revealing the nature of collaboration with Israelis. In the past couple of days, the news stories have grown exponentially about his book.
I sincerely pray for his safety and his continual maturity in Christ.
My comments earlier were not meant to attack anyone. It is my observation that when I look at my nature, I notice it's proclivity to sin and rebel against God. I know this from experience. I also know unless the divine nature is not given from above, my sin nature expresses itself continually.
I was there for both services that night and I highly recommend watching both services. They are about 45 minutes or more apiece, but it is well worth the time it takes to watch them.
Hi LYDIA,
Not all Christians share your perspective about those of the Islamic faith. I have followed your comments concerning the Islamic faith and its followers closely. And I have tried to understand.
Here is one perspective that is very different
. I will follow the quote with my own comment:
""in 1991, choosing to write directly to Muslims, John Paul II gave a fuller reference to this text:
“I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors, Pope Gregory VII who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim Ruler of Bijaya, present day Algeria:
‘Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved and none lost, approves nothing in so much as that after loving Him one should love his fellow man, and that one should not do to others, what one does not want done to oneself.
You and we owe this charity to ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world.’
“These words, written almost a thousand years ago, express my feelings to you today as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. May the Most High God fill us with all His merciful love and peace.”
John Paul II
COMMENT:
In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, commanding us to 'love one another', begins to burn too brightly in our spirits to be extinguished.
And just for a while, we are made strong enough and fear-less enough to reach out.
Sometimes we do.
Caritas Christi,
L's
Sat Mar 06, 03:20:00 PM 2010
Wade,
Basically Christiane has accused me, based on some comments somewhere, that I am a hater and fear monger when it comes to Islam. I have NO idea who she claims are the followers in the first paragraph.
Do you think that, too?
I am really curious why you never defend your long time commenters from her veiled insults.
Lydia: I know you asked Pastor Wade your question. From my perspective, you are not a hater or fear monger of anything. I read your comments carefully for they contain wisdom. I read your comments carefully even when they do not agree with my thinking. God bless you Lydia, sister in Christ.
L's: Lydia is a special person. She is one of the few people who will go in to the "Lion's Den" to confront or question. The strength of her questioning comes mainly from the hidden strength of biblical wisdom she possesses. I do not always agree with her. I do learn much from her. I am not ashamed to say I do not even possess 1/1000th of her courage.
Thy Peace, Thanks brother.
Here is an example that we should consider during this exchange. This is a clip of Jay Smith, an Islamic Scholar in London, who has worked with Muslims for 25 years. He debates Muslims at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park every Sunday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niIMuVW0_Rs
Click on his Pfander films to see more of his clips.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PfanderFilms
There are also many clips on youtube of his informal debates in Hyde Park.
Here he is debating the famous Shabir Ally about Islam, Christianity and Peace at a Toronto debate. This one is interesting but I cannot find debate 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmYHnkMCUN4
My point is that we do not have to revert to insults of hate and fear mongering when it comes to disagreements about Islam. That is anti-intellectualism. Jay is friends with Muslims as I am with my eyes wide open. We do not have to hide truths about Islam to be nice and Christian.
(I cannot go without my fresh baked pita from Mo the Muslim baker)
I consider Christiane's tactics to be similar to the ones used by the SBCToday crowd except she uses whipped creme to wrap her insults in. There is ad hominem (hateful, fear mongering) and red herrings to shut down disagreement. She sets up a false dictonomy of anything in disagreement is hateful. Agree with her.. then you are loving.
It is a false dictonomy. (I probably spelled that wrong...it is one of my "challenge" words :o)
Bible Or Quran Which Promotes Peace-Shabir Vs Jay Part 2/3.
Thy Peace said...
What is interesting is at times, we can substitute Christians in the above quotes and we end up looking mean, petty and bigoted. Almost like looking in a mirror.
Well, a mirror does reflect things backwards, so, in that sense, you are right. To illustrate, I'll do as you suggested and substitute Christian for Muslim in the quotes you provided and we'll see ...
-----------------------------------
What matters is not whether my father is a fanatic or not, he's doing the will of a fanatic God. It doesn't matter if he's a terrorist or a traditional Christian. At the end of the day a traditional Christian is doing the will of a fanatic, fundamentalist, terrorist God.
...
"The problem is not in Christians," he continues. "The problem is with their God. They need to be liberated from their God. He is their biggest enemy. It has been 1,400 years they have been lied to."
...
"Every day, there was screaming; every night, torture. Hamas was torturing its own people!" he writes. The Christians he met in jail "bore no resemblance to my father" and "were mean and petty . . . bigots and hypocrites".
-----------------------------------
So, when substituted, we basically have statements that the problem with Christians isn't the Christians themselves, it is their God. As I said, a mirror reflect backwards, so while I believe those statements are true when spoken of Muslims, the opposite is true when spoken of Christians. That is, the problem with Christians isn't with our God, it is with us.
-----
Tom
Lydia, I read your condemnation of what I wrote, but in the spirit of 1 Cor. 13. I take no offense and make no defense against your comments.
In the COMMENT I made following my quote, I perhaps wrongly presumed that you knew of Church history, and you knew that during the Crusades, the knights, wearing the emblem of the Cross, attacked and killed thousands of innocent civilians, men, women, children, and babies who were Muslim and who were dwelling in the Holy Land. It is said that, during these Crusades, the blood of innocent Islamic people ran freely ankle-deep, even in the very streets where once Our Lord walked when He was among us.
I told you that following the 'quote' there would be my own COMMENT. The comment I wrote states this:
"COMMENT:
In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, commanding us to 'love one another', begins to burn too brightly in our spirits to be extinguished.
And just for a while, we are made strong enough and fear-less enough to reach out.
Sometimes we do."
A thousand years ago, in the year of Our Lord 1076, just for a moment, my Church reached out to those who were Islamic.
And John Paul II had reached out, a thousand years later.
I pray that my Church will continue to reach out to those of the Islamic faith. with respect, so that another thousand years does not pass without them knowing that they are kept in our hearts, in the Name of Christ. I think my COMMENT' reflects this.
If I presumed of your knowledge of Church history, for that I am sorry.
I will not presume again.
I pray you remain always in the Peace of Our Lord,
Love, L's
Christiane said...
In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, commanding us to 'love one another', begins to burn too brightly in our spirits to be extinguished.
And just for a while, we are made strong enough and fear-less enough to reach out.
Sometimes we do.
Christiane,
Not sure who the "we" are in this, but I am confident it doesn't include Lydia, contrary to what your statement seems to imply (since you began with a statement that not all Christians share her views on Islam). There is nothing hateful in her (totally accurate) statement that "It is not bigoted to tell the truth about what Islam teaches and practices."
As to what Popes John Paul II and Gregory VII said about Islam, I hope that they were not speaking ex cathedra, as that would pose a serious theological problem for Catholics, since they were clearly wrong. To say that Christians and Muslims "believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world" is a grave theological error. The God of the Bible is nothing at all like the false God of the Muslims. Ask any Muslim to affirm the most elemental teachings of Christianity about God -- that He is a Trinity, that He became a man, that He took on Himself the sins of the world -- and, if the Muslim is at all faithful to his religion, he will tell you that he would consider such statements pure blasphemy and could never affirm them. It is not simply that they do not understand what God is like -- they worship a false god who bears little if any resemblance to the actual Creator and Ruler of the world. It is just plain silliness for Christians (even popes) to claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
-----
Tom
Lydia,
Hang in there -- your words are truth.
-----
Tom
Tom Kelly: Logically you are correct.
If Our Lord Jesus Christ never came to earth and paid the penalty for my sins, and if I was Jewish, I would never be able to live by the laws. I would always fail. I know that so well. Sometimes I wonder when some Christians attempt to yoke us to laws that have been "repealed" in the new covenant, that we are setting ourselves for failure.
It almost feels like cause and effect are reversed. In the New Covenant, we are already forgiven for our sins, and our debts are already paid. Through this freedom of bondage to sin, we are freed. And it is Grace that transforms from sinning more to sinning less.
This to me is the Good News.
Wade,
I don't expect you to censor Christiane any more than you do anyone else, but I think Lydia's points have merit. It isn't the first time that Christiane has implied that those who disagree with her are hateful, and that sort of name calling would likely garner a rebuke from you if it were coming from someone you considered a "Fundamentalist".
-----
Tom
Tom,
I think if you go back and look, I have allowed Joe Blackmon to comment hundreds of times without nary a rebuke.
:)
Smiling.
Wade
"In the COMMENT I made following my quote, I perhaps wrongly presumed that you knew of Church history, and you knew that during the Crusades, the knights, wearing the emblem of the Cross, attacked and killed thousands of innocent civilians, men, women, children, and babies who were Muslim and who were dwelling in the Holy Land. It is said that, during these Crusades, the blood of innocent Islamic people ran freely ankle-deep, even in the very streets where once Our Lord walked when He was among us."
The Crusades were a sinful response to the Conquests. And one of the big problems with a state church mentality. The Koran does not allow for seperation of state and religion.
From 2006. The Pope and Islam. Interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PfanderFilms#p/c/900CC8F51B717979/6/JMzc9NOqbFE
Hi TOM KELLEY,
Perhaps you did not notice that the 'we' in my COMMENT follows two quotes I gave that were from two Catholic leaders, made a thousand years apart.
I can say that the 'we' refers to my own Church, which conducted 'Crusades' so destructive to innocent human life, that the Islamic people will forever remember the inhumanity of the Crusaders who wore the emblem of the Cross of Christ.
I hope my own Church will someday be able replace the memory of the Crusader's inhumanity. with continued efforts to reach out to the Islamic people, with the respect due to the dignity of all human persons, in the Name of Our Lord. 'We' (my own Church) hurt them terribly, long ago, but now 'we' can reach out to them: this time, in a way that truly honors Lord Christ.
Love, L's
My point is that we do not have to revert to insults of hate and fear mongering when it comes to disagreements about Islam. That is anti-intellectualism. Jay is friends with Muslims as I am with my eyes wide open. We do not have to hide truths about Islam to be nice and Christian.
I agree. Sorry I was thinking so fast I meant I agree with ThyPeace based on our debates together. Sheesh, I need to go on vacation.
Dear THY PEACE,
Thank you for writing to me about LYDIA.
The problem is that what I posted here was copied directly from a comment I made on this old post of Wade's from October of 2009:
"Mossab Hassan Yousef, The Son of Hamas, Who Himself Has Become a Follower of Jesus Christ"
94 Comments:
Blogger Christiane said...
In reading all the comments, and knowing that Christianity has a history of ill-will towards Islam, it occured to me to investigate if my Church had ever tried to reach out positively to the Islamic peoples.
I came across a rather hopeful message from John Paul II
"in 1991, choosing to write directly to Muslims, John Paul II gave a fuller reference to this text:
“I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors, Pope Gregory VII who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim Ruler of Bijaya, present day Algeria:
‘Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved and none lost, approves nothing in so much as that after loving Him one should love his fellow man, and that one should not do to others, what one does not want done to oneself.
You and we owe this charity to ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world.’
“These words, written almost a thousand years ago, express my feelings to you today as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. May the Most High God fill us with all His merciful love and peace.”
In the midst of all the weakness of our hatred and our fear-filled contempt,
there are times when the Word of the Lord, commanding us to 'love one another', begins to burn too brightly in our spirits to be extinguished.
And just for a while, we are made strong enough to reach out.
Sometimes we do. Love, L's
Tue Oct 06, 10:51:00 PM 2009"
So, THY PEACE, I have a history of reading and attempting to understand other viewpoints. I also sometimes like to share my own point of view, which I did on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. And I shared that same point of view today.
I guess my mistake was sharing with Lydia that I had read her comments previous and had tried to understand them.
So when I followed up with the old comment from Oct of 2009, she took it personally. It wasn't directed AT HER then, or today.
It's just another perspective, and I wanted it to be included in the present discussion.
As to Lydia the Lioness, heaven's yes, she is an unparalleled advocate for the dignity of women in the Church. So is Paula, and Debbie, and Suzanne McCarthy, and Christa Brown, and on, and on.
And I thank God for all of their work on behalf of women.
Thanks again for trying to help, but please know that I DO appreciate Lydia, and for all the RIGHT reasons. Be peaceful,
Love, L's
If you don't have a place like this to spend time with God then something must be missing in your life.
Commercial Appeal???
Place to meet with God: $14,756.38
Bed in the back: $10.995.00
Dinning Room Table (not pictured): Priceless...no wait, see BBC sermon archives for the price tag.
Kevin,
You made me laugh:)
even tho the content of the article, the fantasy Christian bubble life presented,and the reason I laughed are all "tacky".(not sure that word is used anymore)
Can't believe you saw that article from Memphis :)
Going to go pray for a new dining table and for my weeds to disappear now.
" To say that Christians and Muslims "believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world" is a grave theological error."
Is Allah, God?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy_YrhJRYjA
If God spoke to Abram, a desert sheik, and changed his name to Abraham,
then the 'family of Abraham', founded by this great Patriarch, is considered to include in it the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as all three faiths acknowledge that the Creator spoke to Abraham.
The question is this: does fundamentalist Christianity consider itself to be a member of this 'family of Abraham'?
If so, how is fundamentalist Christianity connected to this 'family of Abraham' ?
If fundamentalist Christianity does not consider itself a part of the 'family of Abraham', does it have any connection at all to the faiths of Judaism, the greater Christian community, or Islam?
Gosh, this would make a good thesis study for a seminarian. :)
Sunday thoughts.
This whole question has me a bit puzzled. Demanding there be a clear distinction between Yahweh (God) and Allah (God) seems a bit self defeating. It amounts to little more than the demanding of a legalistic understanding of God. The point of the Gospel is Jesus Christ, not simply the historic Jesus, but the God Jesus (The Son of God) and what His atonement signifies for me and for you and for the world. To start by arguing over semantics or who is listed in the "Who's Who in the Pantheon" is a total waste of time.
As Jerry Vines once said: "Preach Jesus! Preach Jesus! Preach Jesus!"
God knows who He is and that is what matters. ;)
"If fundamentalist Christianity does not consider itself a part of the 'family of Abraham', does it have any connection at all to the faiths of Judaism, the greater Christian community, or Islam?"
You can't get far asking wrong questions and starting with a wrong premise. The question is where does Islam fit into the 'family of Abraham'. A good way to understand this is to read about Mohammad and how his beliefs were formed.
Islam came AFTER Christianity.
Kevin, The whole point is that Jesus Christ IS God. God is God and the Holy Spirit is God.
Which one of these is Allah?
Amanpour interview of Mosab Hasan Yousef
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob8jLT_om0s
Christiane said...
If God spoke to Abram, a desert sheik, and changed his name to Abraham,
then the 'family of Abraham', founded by this great Patriarch, is considered to include in it the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as all three faiths acknowledge that the Creator spoke to Abraham.
God indeed spoke to Abraham, and from Abraham came the men later associated as heads of those three religions. But that does not make all those religions equally true or valid. They simply cannot all be correct, as they teach contradictory things. Each of these religions and their various branches is only correct in so far as what they teach about God is in accord with the full revelation of God in Christ and His Word.
Just as Jesus condemned the wrong understandings of God held by the Jews of His day, so He would of Islam and Judaism of today, or of any religion that calls itself Christian that rejects the truths about God which He has revealed of Himself. Christ would expect no less of His followers than that they agree with His teachings about who He is and what God is like. If we cannot stand up and say that the views of God held by Jews, Muslims, and unorthodox "Christians" are not true, we have no business claiming the name of Christ, who is Truth personified.
The question is this: does fundamentalist Christianity consider itself to be a member of this 'family of Abraham'?
As Lydia pointed out, that is not the question at all. "fundamentalist" Christianity is fully orthodox in its views of God. Islam is not. It is Islam that does not follow the God of Abraham. That they claim to trace their heritage to Abraham does not mean that they worship his God.
Simply put, Allah is not the God of the Bible -- whoever he is, he is a false god. Muslims deserve respect as people, and they have a right to their own beliefs, but what they believe is a lie. They would say the same about Christians out of loyalty to their false god; we should not be hesitant to stand firm with Jesus in loyalty to our Father, the true and living God.
-----
Tom
Kevin M. Crowder said...
This whole question has me a bit puzzled. Demanding there be a clear distinction between Yahweh (God) and Allah (God) seems a bit self defeating.
Your statement has me more than a bit puzzled. I don't see anyone demanding anything -- but I have been asserting that Allah is not Yahweh. This is basic Christianity 101. Surely you are not saying that the Muslim teachings and concepts of their god are the same as what the Bible teaches about ours. Would you say that Mormons, or Jehovah's Witnesses, or Christian Scientists, or Moonies, worship the same God as we do? What about Hindus? Or Wiccans? The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Idolatry is far from a matter of semantics.
Reflections on The New Commandment
‘Love one another as I have loved you.’
Love your enemies.
Love those who hate and persecute you.
Love those who have become outcast
and those who are excluded from the group
because they are ‘useless’, non‑productive:
the blind, the lame, the sick,
the poor and the lepers.
Love not just those of your own tribe,
your own class, family or people,
but those who are different,
those who are strangers,
who are strange to your ways,
who come from different cultural and religious traditions,
who seem odd,
those you do not understand.
Love as the Samaritan loved the man he found
beaten up by robbers,
somewhere on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho."
J. Vanier
Christiane,
Good words about love. I encourage you, as you have opportunity, to put love into practice toward Muslims by telling them, with all gentleness and respect, that Allah is not God and they need to repent and trust Jesus.
-----
Tom
Hi TOM KELLEY,
Thank you for your words of encouragement.
I was just looking at the facebook photo album of my niece Linds who spent a year as a Navy nurse in Iraq.
In one picture, she is holding an Iraqui child, a little girl, one of her 'civilian' patients.
When I read what you wrote above about the name of 'God', I remembered something I had studied earlier this Lenten season.
I will quote from it for you:
". . we discover the new Name of God,
the Name revealed by Jesus, of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit:
'the Father will send a Paraclete'.
It is a beautiful name,
meaning literally
‘the One Who answers the cry or the call’,
like a mother
who takes in her arms her weeping child.
She is a paraclete.
The Name of God is
‘the One who answers the cry’.
Mercy and misery embrace."
TOM, my niece is a Christian woman, with great compassion for children who are suffering. Perhaps the weeping Islamic child she was holding will remember the kindness of the blond Navy nurse who wore a small golden Cross on a chain, with her scrubs?
Small steps, TOM.
Repairing 'the breach' of centuries of brutal discord between Christians and Muslims will take many small acts of respect and loving-kindness.
I believe Christ's light will someday be seen by the people of Islam, and it will be shown to them by those whose lives are lived in witness to 'the One Who answers the cry'.
Love, L's
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