I often wonder why God guides a person down the path he wants them to travel. When I became a Christian I can assure you that studying apologetics was not at the top of my list. At the time I didn't believe I had any perceivable gifts to speak of, and that may still be true! I have never had any desire to get embroiled in controversies, but I do seem to get involved in one from time to time. I would not consider myself to have any particularly intuitive or insightful perspectives on issues or beliefs, just more guts than brains. Frankly, I'm a 'nobody.' I'm sure I'm no more 'holy' than any one else. But here I am, wanting to contribute something of value in a cacophony of noise generated every day by so many that are so much smarter, more philosophical, and much more eloquent than I.
After 4 or 5 blogs on Islam, I'm sure that some of you may be like me, left a little disturbed and dejected, hoping that some one, anyone will have some encouraging words, or can give some guidance on the next steps. Armed with all of this information, what are we to do with it? Well, let me offer some suggestions. From a national perspective, Robert Spencer recommends the following:
As a society, we like to think that we've 'evolved', but Scripture tells us that is simply not true. As a matter of fact, according to Scripture, man has 'devolved.' For all of our higher education, great thinkers, and constant reinforcement to the contrary, we are no better people today than our forefathers were a 100 or 1000 years ago. Its as it was in the days of Noah:
So, as Christians, what should we be doing? I know what my 'flesh' says, but what my flesh wants is irrelevant. The question is: what does Jesus want me to do? When I ended my last blog, I really had no idea how to sum all of this up. But then two great resources fell into my lap. Quite by chance, I picked up a book that's been in my bookcase for a couple of years called, Nothing But the Truth, by John MacAurthur. He can be a bit controversial at times because he can be quite dogmatic about Scripture. But then, he's usually right for being so. The second is a resource that I've gotten every month or so for the last 10 years. Christian History and Biography is one of those resources that, to me, is indispensable. The philosopher and poet George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The latest issues is called, “Building the City of God in a Crumbling World”, and documents some of what the church has done throughout history when faced with persecution. So, with these two resources in mind, I will attempt to suggest some things that we, as Christians, could be doing.
First and foremost, one must have a true and authentic faith in Christ, otherwise none of this will make any sense at all. Jesus must be Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
Secondly, we must know the fundamentals of the faith. For some reason, the word fundamental conjures up a big fat white guy with a crew cut and an 800 lb Bible screaming at people to repent. There probably was one guy who fit that description 70 yrs ago, but he's dead now, so let's leave him buried. (yes, I know, I've seen his grandson too) To start with, “fundamental” is a good word. Historically the word comes from a series of letters that were collected into a series of books for the purpose of refuting the modernists of the late 19th century who rejected the miracles in the Bible like the virgin birth of Christ. Pastors and theologians joined together to refute the corruption of Christian doctrine and to promote the fundamentals of the faith. So, let me ask you a couple of questions: How many of you invite Jehovah's Witnesses into your home and witness to them? Or are you one of the ones that they can twist into a pretzel in about 15 seconds? Can you explain the Trinity? Do you know why that's the foundation of the Christian faith? If these questions scare you, then you don't know the fundamentals, and you need to. Go back to the beginning of my blogs and start reading. It doesn't contain everything, but once I'm done with Islam, I'll be getting back to the fundamentals of the faith. Get a good basic theology book, like Moody's Handbook of Theology and start reading.
Next, we need to be praying for each other and the lost. Do you do that? Do you pray at all? Do you believe your prayers matter? That, incidentally is why many believers don't pray, but your prayers do matter to God. There are believers all over this planet, and many of them are under constant persecution. They need our support, our love, our caring, and our prayers. Do we care? Do you know there are believers in Africa that pray specifically for America, pretty much 24 hrs a day? They are being imprisoned, tortured and killed, and they are praying specifically for us. That completely humbles and embarrasses me. We need to be a praying people, for each other and for the lost.
Do you have a testimony? Do you know when and why you received Christ? Can you share that with some one, or are you afraid that your testimony is not “powerful” enough? Do you know what God saved you from? And more importantly, do you also know that what God saved you for, is far greater than what He saved you from? Do you know that you were “called” by God? Do you know that before the foundations of the world were laid, God knew that you would lay down your life and pick up His? Rev 12:11 says, “And they overcame him [the devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” Is that you?
Do we preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world? Do you share your faith, or are you a JFK – your faith is personal. Our faith is personal, but it is also what the world needs to here, and we are commanded to preach it. Jesus said there is one single way to the Father. That way is not through “allah”, or Buddha, or Confucius, or the Mormons, or the JW's, or the atheists, or the deists; its through Jesus. If you don't believe that then maybe your not a Christian. And if not, I'd like to share with you the greatest gift God has even gave to mankind ...
This last one is not mentioned by MacAurthur, but I think it should be. If there is one thing that the church lacks more than anything else, its unity. We allow almost anything to divide us. If the color of the light bulbs is not to our liking, we're ready to start a revolt. Fire the pastor! Depose the elders! I know this sound ridiculous, but it is closer to the truth than you would ever think. Have you ever looked at the number of churches there are in any one town? The number of denominations in existence? I am sure these figures grieves the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm not talking about church's that have PCUSA feminist pastors preaching sermons on the earth goddess, Gia. (I know you think I'm kidding, don't you?) I'm not talking about the areas where we should make distinctions between what and who is a believer and what and who isn't. And I'm not talking about judging the heart of anyone, but the early church had to do this very thing, that's why we have “creeds”. Not everyone that calls themselves a Christian is one. You cannot be a Christian and reject the belief that Jesus Christ is God – that is a fundamental truth that must be upheld.
No, what I'm talking about is the unnatural separations that Christians make from each other. I'm a Baptist! I'm a Catholic! I'm an AME! I'm non-denominational! If you're a PCA Presbyterian can you fellowship with a Charismatic or a Pentecostal? I used to be Charismatic but I have some real theological issues with some of what they teach, but that doesn't mean I can't fellowship with someone from that kind of a church. As a matter of fact, I'm going through a book, The Gift of Prophecy, with a Charismatic friend because he's having trouble with some of the teachings of his current church in this area. I don't agree with everything that Wayne Grudem writes, but he brings up some important issues and makes some very good points. So, I guess my question is: could you do something like this? Or is what separates you from others more important than what joins us all together as believers? Is our Christian love for one another just lip service, or is it something that we need to reevaluate.
Please understand that I'm not talking about ecumenicalism; boiling all of our beliefs down to the lowest common denominator. I radically disagree with some Catholic doctrines concerning Mary, as well as most of the 'Word of Faith' teachings, but I could still fellowship and even worship with a Catholic and a 'Word of Faith' believer. But one cannot have true fellowship and worship with an unbeliever. So there are legitimate distinctions that have to be made from time to time. That being said, there is simply no reason for all of our separation and segregation.
One of our worse offenses in this area is race relations in the church. Two many white Christians and too many black Christians are racists. Yes, that's right, I've said it. I'm not talking about the Aryan Nation or the Nation of Islam sympathizers I'm talking about all of the normal people in the middle. All of us need to get over our perceived hurts as well as our preconceived ideas about each other. Just because I'm an white engineer does not make me superior to some one that's a black brick layer, or vis-versa. The level of melatonin in my skin does not make me superior or inferior to anyone else. James 2:9 says that it is a sin to show preferential treatment to one believer over another (Jas 3:9-17). Jesus died on a cross to deliver us from all of this crap, not for us to get mired down in it. Didn't God say that we were all created equal? Its all about a nasty three letter word called SIN, and sin is sinful. It is something that we are all infected by:
So unity is the church is something that we all need to strive to achieve at least at some level. I could write a book on this topic, especially after reading an article on the secular philosophical under pinnings of multiculturalism, but I'll have to leave that topic alone for now. My point here is that we really have no hope for any unity if we cannot forgive one another, and love one another. No sin is unforgivable, and that extends to racism, homosexuality, and any other sin you consider unforgivable.
So, what else can we do? Well, if we've started with the ones I've already mentioned above, that will keep us more than busy for the remainder of our lifetimes. But historically, there were methodologies that were followed in the past that we could learn from and some we could emulate. That's where the Christian History and Biography magazine comes in.
But before starting let me cation us all. Methodologies are fine, but only if the heart of the Gospel of Christ guides us via the Holy Spirit. The very second that the methodology or the work being performed becomes the slightest bit more important than the Gospel of Jesus, then it ceases to be guided by the Spirit. It simply becomes a “good work”, even if it is the most noble of pursuits. Social do-gooder-ism (if that's a word) is not what the Christian is to be about. God's desire is that mankind comes into a saving relationship with the God of the universe that created him. Paul's focus was never feeding the poor, but preaching the Gospel. In Acts, they started with helping fellow churches and specific believers, not looking for unbelievers to feed and cloth. We are not called to go into the world and help the homeless, but to make disciples. (Matt 28:19)
Some ideas gleaned from the magazine are: In the 5th century, Augustine wrote a book called The City of God, which most Christians have probably heard of, but few have read. Augustine lived during and partially through the fall of the Roman Empire. During his lifetime, Rome was attacked by the Visigoths, and the once proud Roman Christians were left stunned and with little hope. His momentous work was a response to that hopelessness. The point of his book was that this earth is not our home. We live in time, but belong to eternity. This earthy life is only temporary, and we should be focused on the larger picture which is what we should be doing to please God in this lifetime, and not be about pleasing ourselves. My daughter recently read a book called Requiem for a Dream. Its a very disturbing book, but with what I believe is an unintended Christian principle being taught. When we get the fulfillment of our dreams (outside of what God desires for us), they are not what we expected and don't fulfill us like we thought they would. One of the highest suicide rates is among the affluent, making that very point. The Gospel is not about me getting a BMW or a million dollar estate or winning the lottery, its about being an obedient bond servant of Christ Jesus, my Lord.
The second lesson comes from John Chrysostom, another 5th century bishop, but from Constantinople. During an affluent time of the church, he chastised it for being too self-seeking, much like our “me” generation, which seems to have prevailed pretty much since the 80's. Like Augustine he rebuked the church for not preaching the Word to the lost and not constructively helping the needy as a demonstration of true Christian love.
The next lesson we can learn is from the examples of both Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Albert Lutuli of South Africa. Everyone has heard of Bonhoeffer and his courageous stand against Nazism and Hitler, but most have probably never heard of Albert Lutuli and his courageous and non-violent stand against apartheid. Both teach us that conformity with evil should be abhorred. Both men believed that their faith demanded that they stand against the clear evil that was being condoned by the church. In Bonhoeffer's case this was the vast majority of Lutheran and Catholic leaders of his day signing onto Nazism, and in Lutuli's case, it was the white Christians of South Africa implementing Apartheid.
Next we have the examples of three men interacting with the Muslim community. John of Damascus, the Assyrian Church Patriarch Timothy I and Samuel Zwemer. John did so in the middle of the 7th century, but not very charitably. He spent much of his life writing against heretical beliefs, Islam included, but his writing style was a product of his times, and somewhat harsh. Still, he created a clear distinction between Christianity and Islam. Timothy lived during during the middle of the 8th century, and like John lived under the rule of the Muslim crusaders spreading their faith by the sword. But it was Timothy that was able to actually interact directly with the 3rd Caliph, al-Mahdi. Each man seemed to have great respect for the other, but it was Timothy that was under the rule of the Caliph, and his conciliatory language demonstrated that. Timothy used analogies to help explain Christian beliefs, like the Trinity, and draw clear differences between the two faiths. The last, Zwemer, spent most of his adult life (62 yrs) ministering and witnessing to Muslims in Arabia in the early 1900's. Like Timothy, his message was a more relevant and respectful one to the Muslims he lived amongst. But he engaged them on a daily basis, believing he was called to this particular missionary field.
My last example is Bishop Festo Kinengere of Uganda. Bishop Festo had been called the Billy Graham of Africa, and is a survivor of the butcher of Uganda, Idi Amin. He is noteworthy because of a book he wrote, which sums up what a Christian's attitude should be towards the world around him. His book title was I Love Idi Amin. Festo saw many of his friends and fellow servants of God murdered by Idi Amin, and he himself had to flee Uganda to survive his reign of power. So, why did he say the equivalent of 'I love Osama bin Laden?' Because as he put it, “The Holy Spirit showed me that I was getting hard in my spirit, and that my hardness and bitterness towards those who were persecuting us could only bring spiritual loss ... So I had to ask for forgiveness from the Lord, and for grace to love President Amin more.”
I feel thoroughly convicted by the example of Bishop Festo, as well as from Bonhoeffer and Lutuli, because I admit that I am a bit hard in my heart towards Islam because of its ruthless persecution of the church, its constant and never ending desire to force others to convert or die, and because the secular American culture continues to perpetuate the myth that Christianity is and has always been much worse than Islam could ever think of being. The self righteous justice of shadman thinks that it knows better than God does, and I know that that is not true.
I admit that I really do not want to be charitable towards Islam because too many of its followers have no desire to be charitable towards Christians. Their only desire seems to be to kill in the name of “allah.” But that is not what Jesus would do. He loved the very ones that hated Him, and that should be our example as well ... in every sphere of our life.
It is a forgone conclusion that the world will fail us, but it is also inevitable that our brothers and sisters n Christ will fail us too. So when they do, be ready and willing to forgive them. That may be the hardest thing you will ever have to do, but keep your eye on the prize. Nothing happens to us by accident, God is never surprised by our disobedience and sin, yet He still loves us and forgives us.
Come Lord Jesus, come ....
After 4 or 5 blogs on Islam, I'm sure that some of you may be like me, left a little disturbed and dejected, hoping that some one, anyone will have some encouraging words, or can give some guidance on the next steps. Armed with all of this information, what are we to do with it? Well, let me offer some suggestions. From a national perspective, Robert Spencer recommends the following:
- Tie foreign aid to how Muslim nations treatment their non-Muslim minorities. Since Muslims and Muslim nations are killing and subjugating non-Muslims in their countries on a continual basis; should we really be giving these people any money at all? What do we get in return? Do we care what happens to Christians, Jews, Hindus and the rest? Do we care about human rights? Or are we going to continue to listen to the buffoons at Amnesty International, and let them set our policies. They think we're the worst human rights abusers! Oh please!
- Reconfigure our global alliances based on how Muslim nations treat non-Muslims. That would be radical, wouldn't it. We should repent to the Russians for trying to twist their arm on Chechnya for the last umpteen years – why? Chechnya is filled with Jihadists; let the Russians do whatever they want! OK, OK, that's a little strong, but they're fighting a war on terrorism too. By the way, do you remember the school full of Russian children that was taken hostage by Muslim terrorists several years ago? Chechnyan Jihadists!
- My personal favorite is that we should start a full scale Manhattan Project to find a new energy source – something not dependent on oil at all. I have said for years, we have been using the internal combustion engine far too long. I'm not a conspiratorialist, so I don't buy into the idea that “big oil” and the car companies are in collusion and have been hiding inventions from us. As a technology guy, I understand the difficulties in the invention process. Its not nearly as easy as the movies make it out to be. Besides, the Japanese would not be hiding an invention like that, they'd be marketing it! That being said, we don't spend enough money to benefit this country in this particular area – we give it all away in foreign aid to undeserving countries. I would also like to add that constitutionally, our government has both the right and the responsibility for the protection of its citizenry, and this it should do. I don't know if that extends to rebuilding a nation, but it is the Christian thing to do. Well, I guess you have to decide if its right to destroy a country whose main purpose was promoting world wide terrorism against the West and then just leave it in that state. I would say no. The North rebuilt the South, America rebuilt both Japan and Germany. Truthfully, its in our blood to help others; its part of that Christian legacy the ACLU wants to rip out of the American conscience. Some would say we shouldn't have gone after Osama bin Laden; but I would disagree. As I just said, constitutionally, our government has a responsibility to protect its citizenry, and he's the one that declared war on us back in 1993.
As a society, we like to think that we've 'evolved', but Scripture tells us that is simply not true. As a matter of fact, according to Scripture, man has 'devolved.' For all of our higher education, great thinkers, and constant reinforcement to the contrary, we are no better people today than our forefathers were a 100 or 1000 years ago. Its as it was in the days of Noah:
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5)This is the real state of mankind. He has evil in his heart all of the time. He cannot do good, no matter how hard he tries. I know that that will offend some, ,but that's what the Bible says, and we either believe it, or we need to be asking ourselves why we think we're Christians. As hard as this is to believe most Americans are really no better than Osama bin Laden. His evil is extended towards all that are not Islamic, totally dedicated to his cultic faith. Our evil is self directed, and self destructive.
The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jer 17:9)
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man. (Mark 7:21-23)
So, as Christians, what should we be doing? I know what my 'flesh' says, but what my flesh wants is irrelevant. The question is: what does Jesus want me to do? When I ended my last blog, I really had no idea how to sum all of this up. But then two great resources fell into my lap. Quite by chance, I picked up a book that's been in my bookcase for a couple of years called, Nothing But the Truth, by John MacAurthur. He can be a bit controversial at times because he can be quite dogmatic about Scripture. But then, he's usually right for being so. The second is a resource that I've gotten every month or so for the last 10 years. Christian History and Biography is one of those resources that, to me, is indispensable. The philosopher and poet George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The latest issues is called, “Building the City of God in a Crumbling World”, and documents some of what the church has done throughout history when faced with persecution. So, with these two resources in mind, I will attempt to suggest some things that we, as Christians, could be doing.
First and foremost, one must have a true and authentic faith in Christ, otherwise none of this will make any sense at all. Jesus must be Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
Secondly, we must know the fundamentals of the faith. For some reason, the word fundamental conjures up a big fat white guy with a crew cut and an 800 lb Bible screaming at people to repent. There probably was one guy who fit that description 70 yrs ago, but he's dead now, so let's leave him buried. (yes, I know, I've seen his grandson too) To start with, “fundamental” is a good word. Historically the word comes from a series of letters that were collected into a series of books for the purpose of refuting the modernists of the late 19th century who rejected the miracles in the Bible like the virgin birth of Christ. Pastors and theologians joined together to refute the corruption of Christian doctrine and to promote the fundamentals of the faith. So, let me ask you a couple of questions: How many of you invite Jehovah's Witnesses into your home and witness to them? Or are you one of the ones that they can twist into a pretzel in about 15 seconds? Can you explain the Trinity? Do you know why that's the foundation of the Christian faith? If these questions scare you, then you don't know the fundamentals, and you need to. Go back to the beginning of my blogs and start reading. It doesn't contain everything, but once I'm done with Islam, I'll be getting back to the fundamentals of the faith. Get a good basic theology book, like Moody's Handbook of Theology and start reading.
Next, we need to be praying for each other and the lost. Do you do that? Do you pray at all? Do you believe your prayers matter? That, incidentally is why many believers don't pray, but your prayers do matter to God. There are believers all over this planet, and many of them are under constant persecution. They need our support, our love, our caring, and our prayers. Do we care? Do you know there are believers in Africa that pray specifically for America, pretty much 24 hrs a day? They are being imprisoned, tortured and killed, and they are praying specifically for us. That completely humbles and embarrasses me. We need to be a praying people, for each other and for the lost.
Do you have a testimony? Do you know when and why you received Christ? Can you share that with some one, or are you afraid that your testimony is not “powerful” enough? Do you know what God saved you from? And more importantly, do you also know that what God saved you for, is far greater than what He saved you from? Do you know that you were “called” by God? Do you know that before the foundations of the world were laid, God knew that you would lay down your life and pick up His? Rev 12:11 says, “And they overcame him [the devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” Is that you?
Do we preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world? Do you share your faith, or are you a JFK – your faith is personal. Our faith is personal, but it is also what the world needs to here, and we are commanded to preach it. Jesus said there is one single way to the Father. That way is not through “allah”, or Buddha, or Confucius, or the Mormons, or the JW's, or the atheists, or the deists; its through Jesus. If you don't believe that then maybe your not a Christian. And if not, I'd like to share with you the greatest gift God has even gave to mankind ...
This last one is not mentioned by MacAurthur, but I think it should be. If there is one thing that the church lacks more than anything else, its unity. We allow almost anything to divide us. If the color of the light bulbs is not to our liking, we're ready to start a revolt. Fire the pastor! Depose the elders! I know this sound ridiculous, but it is closer to the truth than you would ever think. Have you ever looked at the number of churches there are in any one town? The number of denominations in existence? I am sure these figures grieves the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm not talking about church's that have PCUSA feminist pastors preaching sermons on the earth goddess, Gia. (I know you think I'm kidding, don't you?) I'm not talking about the areas where we should make distinctions between what and who is a believer and what and who isn't. And I'm not talking about judging the heart of anyone, but the early church had to do this very thing, that's why we have “creeds”. Not everyone that calls themselves a Christian is one. You cannot be a Christian and reject the belief that Jesus Christ is God – that is a fundamental truth that must be upheld.
No, what I'm talking about is the unnatural separations that Christians make from each other. I'm a Baptist! I'm a Catholic! I'm an AME! I'm non-denominational! If you're a PCA Presbyterian can you fellowship with a Charismatic or a Pentecostal? I used to be Charismatic but I have some real theological issues with some of what they teach, but that doesn't mean I can't fellowship with someone from that kind of a church. As a matter of fact, I'm going through a book, The Gift of Prophecy, with a Charismatic friend because he's having trouble with some of the teachings of his current church in this area. I don't agree with everything that Wayne Grudem writes, but he brings up some important issues and makes some very good points. So, I guess my question is: could you do something like this? Or is what separates you from others more important than what joins us all together as believers? Is our Christian love for one another just lip service, or is it something that we need to reevaluate.
Please understand that I'm not talking about ecumenicalism; boiling all of our beliefs down to the lowest common denominator. I radically disagree with some Catholic doctrines concerning Mary, as well as most of the 'Word of Faith' teachings, but I could still fellowship and even worship with a Catholic and a 'Word of Faith' believer. But one cannot have true fellowship and worship with an unbeliever. So there are legitimate distinctions that have to be made from time to time. That being said, there is simply no reason for all of our separation and segregation.
One of our worse offenses in this area is race relations in the church. Two many white Christians and too many black Christians are racists. Yes, that's right, I've said it. I'm not talking about the Aryan Nation or the Nation of Islam sympathizers I'm talking about all of the normal people in the middle. All of us need to get over our perceived hurts as well as our preconceived ideas about each other. Just because I'm an white engineer does not make me superior to some one that's a black brick layer, or vis-versa. The level of melatonin in my skin does not make me superior or inferior to anyone else. James 2:9 says that it is a sin to show preferential treatment to one believer over another (Jas 3:9-17). Jesus died on a cross to deliver us from all of this crap, not for us to get mired down in it. Didn't God say that we were all created equal? Its all about a nasty three letter word called SIN, and sin is sinful. It is something that we are all infected by:
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Roman 7:15-25)What makes us do the bad things that we do is sin. Sin is the disease, and Jesus is the cure! And we don't help our brothers and sisters in Christ by keeping silent when they sin, whether against us or not. As a believer, I am my brother's keeper. I should confront a brother or sister in the Lord who is in open sin – regardless what that sin is. But to do this I have to already be doing two other things as well. First, I have to love that person, and loving them is really hard at times. And second, I have to have already forgiven them because Jesus has. If a believer sins against me, it is my Christian duty and responsibility to forgive them. I'm not going to like what they did to me or towards me, but I'm still required to forgive, no matter the sin. I'm also required to love my Christian brothers and sisters. Making that dependent on something as trivial as skin color is absurd. Now I don't particularly like some Christian people who seem to always be giving Christianity a black eye. IMHO, they are first class jerks, like those “lovely” people that protest at the funerals of servicemen who've died in combat or the idiots in the “godhatesfags.com” group. There is nothing Christian in what they are doing, unless of course, doing the opposite of what Jesus would do is “christian” to you. But I'm not called to like what they do, I am called to love them.
So unity is the church is something that we all need to strive to achieve at least at some level. I could write a book on this topic, especially after reading an article on the secular philosophical under pinnings of multiculturalism, but I'll have to leave that topic alone for now. My point here is that we really have no hope for any unity if we cannot forgive one another, and love one another. No sin is unforgivable, and that extends to racism, homosexuality, and any other sin you consider unforgivable.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:7-10)All of this separation and unforgiveness that we do 'in the name of Christ' doesn't honor Him very much, or very often. As a faith, we need to be striving to find ways to become one in Christ, not further dividing. Why? Because we are commanded to do so in Scripture.
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:4)
Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (Matt 18:21-22)
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23)I apologize now because I have to admit that I really don't know how to help anyone implement this on a corporate scale. But maybe it has to be from the ground up; each believer helping another to see their sin against God so that they can change and do the same for another. But it is something that we need to pray for and strive towards.
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:1-6)
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Col 3:12-15)
So, what else can we do? Well, if we've started with the ones I've already mentioned above, that will keep us more than busy for the remainder of our lifetimes. But historically, there were methodologies that were followed in the past that we could learn from and some we could emulate. That's where the Christian History and Biography magazine comes in.
But before starting let me cation us all. Methodologies are fine, but only if the heart of the Gospel of Christ guides us via the Holy Spirit. The very second that the methodology or the work being performed becomes the slightest bit more important than the Gospel of Jesus, then it ceases to be guided by the Spirit. It simply becomes a “good work”, even if it is the most noble of pursuits. Social do-gooder-ism (if that's a word) is not what the Christian is to be about. God's desire is that mankind comes into a saving relationship with the God of the universe that created him. Paul's focus was never feeding the poor, but preaching the Gospel. In Acts, they started with helping fellow churches and specific believers, not looking for unbelievers to feed and cloth. We are not called to go into the world and help the homeless, but to make disciples. (Matt 28:19)
Some ideas gleaned from the magazine are: In the 5th century, Augustine wrote a book called The City of God, which most Christians have probably heard of, but few have read. Augustine lived during and partially through the fall of the Roman Empire. During his lifetime, Rome was attacked by the Visigoths, and the once proud Roman Christians were left stunned and with little hope. His momentous work was a response to that hopelessness. The point of his book was that this earth is not our home. We live in time, but belong to eternity. This earthy life is only temporary, and we should be focused on the larger picture which is what we should be doing to please God in this lifetime, and not be about pleasing ourselves. My daughter recently read a book called Requiem for a Dream. Its a very disturbing book, but with what I believe is an unintended Christian principle being taught. When we get the fulfillment of our dreams (outside of what God desires for us), they are not what we expected and don't fulfill us like we thought they would. One of the highest suicide rates is among the affluent, making that very point. The Gospel is not about me getting a BMW or a million dollar estate or winning the lottery, its about being an obedient bond servant of Christ Jesus, my Lord.
The second lesson comes from John Chrysostom, another 5th century bishop, but from Constantinople. During an affluent time of the church, he chastised it for being too self-seeking, much like our “me” generation, which seems to have prevailed pretty much since the 80's. Like Augustine he rebuked the church for not preaching the Word to the lost and not constructively helping the needy as a demonstration of true Christian love.
The next lesson we can learn is from the examples of both Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Albert Lutuli of South Africa. Everyone has heard of Bonhoeffer and his courageous stand against Nazism and Hitler, but most have probably never heard of Albert Lutuli and his courageous and non-violent stand against apartheid. Both teach us that conformity with evil should be abhorred. Both men believed that their faith demanded that they stand against the clear evil that was being condoned by the church. In Bonhoeffer's case this was the vast majority of Lutheran and Catholic leaders of his day signing onto Nazism, and in Lutuli's case, it was the white Christians of South Africa implementing Apartheid.
Next we have the examples of three men interacting with the Muslim community. John of Damascus, the Assyrian Church Patriarch Timothy I and Samuel Zwemer. John did so in the middle of the 7th century, but not very charitably. He spent much of his life writing against heretical beliefs, Islam included, but his writing style was a product of his times, and somewhat harsh. Still, he created a clear distinction between Christianity and Islam. Timothy lived during during the middle of the 8th century, and like John lived under the rule of the Muslim crusaders spreading their faith by the sword. But it was Timothy that was able to actually interact directly with the 3rd Caliph, al-Mahdi. Each man seemed to have great respect for the other, but it was Timothy that was under the rule of the Caliph, and his conciliatory language demonstrated that. Timothy used analogies to help explain Christian beliefs, like the Trinity, and draw clear differences between the two faiths. The last, Zwemer, spent most of his adult life (62 yrs) ministering and witnessing to Muslims in Arabia in the early 1900's. Like Timothy, his message was a more relevant and respectful one to the Muslims he lived amongst. But he engaged them on a daily basis, believing he was called to this particular missionary field.
My last example is Bishop Festo Kinengere of Uganda. Bishop Festo had been called the Billy Graham of Africa, and is a survivor of the butcher of Uganda, Idi Amin. He is noteworthy because of a book he wrote, which sums up what a Christian's attitude should be towards the world around him. His book title was I Love Idi Amin. Festo saw many of his friends and fellow servants of God murdered by Idi Amin, and he himself had to flee Uganda to survive his reign of power. So, why did he say the equivalent of 'I love Osama bin Laden?' Because as he put it, “The Holy Spirit showed me that I was getting hard in my spirit, and that my hardness and bitterness towards those who were persecuting us could only bring spiritual loss ... So I had to ask for forgiveness from the Lord, and for grace to love President Amin more.”
I feel thoroughly convicted by the example of Bishop Festo, as well as from Bonhoeffer and Lutuli, because I admit that I am a bit hard in my heart towards Islam because of its ruthless persecution of the church, its constant and never ending desire to force others to convert or die, and because the secular American culture continues to perpetuate the myth that Christianity is and has always been much worse than Islam could ever think of being. The self righteous justice of shadman thinks that it knows better than God does, and I know that that is not true.
I admit that I really do not want to be charitable towards Islam because too many of its followers have no desire to be charitable towards Christians. Their only desire seems to be to kill in the name of “allah.” But that is not what Jesus would do. He loved the very ones that hated Him, and that should be our example as well ... in every sphere of our life.
It is a forgone conclusion that the world will fail us, but it is also inevitable that our brothers and sisters n Christ will fail us too. So when they do, be ready and willing to forgive them. That may be the hardest thing you will ever have to do, but keep your eye on the prize. Nothing happens to us by accident, God is never surprised by our disobedience and sin, yet He still loves us and forgives us.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet 4:7-11)Oh, yes, and I almost forgot, in the month of May there were 276 Jihad attacks, and 2084 dead bodies as a result of the religion of peace demonstrating its superior ways of peace and religious enlightenment.
Come Lord Jesus, come ....
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