June 2008
A Talk given at the World Bank during
“A Christian and Muslim Dialogue on Creation Care”
Sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals
and the Embassy of Morocco in Washington, D.C.
June 18-20, 2008
June 2008
Christian-Muslim relations comprise one of the momentous challenges of the 21st
century. 1 The relationship between Christians and Muslims is supercharged by the “war
on terror,” and exacerbated by the fact that western countries are perceived as “Christian”
by many Muslims. On top of this, both Christianity and Islam are missionary religions,
committed to sharing their faith with all peoples.
How then can followers of Christ be agents of peace and respectfully bear witness to their
faith in a polarized and globalized world?
We live in a world of unimaginable horrors: nuclear weaponry, religious prejudice, and
ideological hatred. With such horrors comes a sense of urgency and a moral imperative
for us to raise the question, what is the purpose of religious language? Because religious
statements are considered truthful by a people; they allow their lives to be shaped by
them and project a world they would like to inhabit. At times societies employ religious
language to gain moral sanction for the acts of violence. However the Church in its
transformational mission is duty bound to encourage and employ the biblical metaphors
of reconciliation and blessing.
Religious language is meant to do something. This brings us to the question of power,
which undeniably shapes our individual and social behaviour. The purpose of religious
language is to use all available intellectual and intuitional means to interpret the nature of
ultimate reality and to invite the human race to share in the privileges of a personal
relationship with God. But religious language has also been used to justify violence.
The most contradictory social movements imaginable are touching off deadly tensions in the land of Turkey. We see the European oriented, “enlightened” elite, often educated in government schools, in which women enjoy the freedom to make decisions and set the direction of their lives; we also see the vast numbers of followers of traditional Islam with its conservative separation of men and women into prescribed roles; and we see a combination of radical nationalism with religious extremism which repeatedly responds to a perceived threat from the “Christian” West with violence. This last group perceives in the mere existence of Christians on Turkish soil an immediate assault which threatens to undermine the unity and character of the Turkish nation, and this threat becomes unbearable when Christians proclaim their faith.
A Jewish rabbi in Los Angeles has thrown down the gauntlet to wayward Westernized Jews. He claims that his own Orthodoxy is the only genuine form of the Jewish faith. He feels Conservative and Reformed Jewish congregations have gone the way of “Christianity”! The idea is that the true faith can only be contained in a certain, specific true culture, the original culture.
2011
Steve Bell speaks about the relationship between Christians and Muslims and how to engage Muslims. Steve Bell is a Christian and expert on Islam. He is the national director of Interserve, as well as the author of Friendship First and Grace for Muslims.
2011
Steve Bell speaks about the relationship between Christians and Muslims and how to engage Muslims. Steve Bell is a Christian and expert on Islam. He is the national director of Interserve, as well as the author of Friendship First and Grace for Muslims.
2011
In the age of globalization, people of different nations, cultures and religions are living closer together than ever before. Muslims in the West are a substantial minority claiming equal political rights. In other parts of the world, Islam has got foothold by establishing student organizations, granting scholarships or building large mosques alerting a wider public to our multireligious reality. Christine Schirrmacher’s short introduction presents a well-written outline of the basic teachings of Islam, its sources, its culture and political aims.
2008
This book from a renowned scholar of Islamic studies deals with the Islamic view on Christian teachings of Jesus Christ, such as sin, faith, and forgiveness, in a very detailed fashion, and is particularly suitable for missionaries who are actively involved in the Islamic world.
2008
This book from a renowned scholar of Islamic studies deals with the Islamic view on Christian teachings of Jesus Christ, such as sin, faith, and forgiveness, in a very detailed fashion, and is particularly suitable for missionaries who are actively involved in the Islamic world.