Christianity vs. Islam Part 2

I already regret my title for this mini-series comparing Christianity and Islam. It is the "versus" that I regret because I don't want to perpetuate the belief that we are (as my dream in the previous post probably did suggest) at war with Muslims.

As a country, the United States is at war with those Jihadist factions who threaten lives of innocent people. Okay, fine. But this is different than waging a holy war against another religion, something I'm pretty sure Christ didn't call us to do. Perhaps we are called to campaign for truth; I like that idea. But too often we criticize, complain, slander, and malign ideas of other groups with the claim that we are exposing falsehood. And even when these intentions are good, the result (I believe) would be more desirable if we shared the truth without launching attacks on the beliefs of others.

I'm not saying we should promote or even tolerate (I hate the way this word has been stripped it of it's true meaning, the way too many people now believe intolerance is always wrong) differing beliefs. I'm saying, as Christians, our focus shouldn't be on maligning other beliefs, but instead we should extol the virtues and truths of the Christian faith.

And that is why I regret the "versus" in this title. But with that error already made, I couldn't have a Part 1 without an encore. In this encore, my goal is not to enhance any tensions existing between Christianity and Islam; Rather, I want to compare the two mammoth faith systems, focusing specifically on what Christianity could learn from Islam.

And I believe Christianity has a lot to learn from Islam.

In his "Great Commission," Jesus says, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

I especially want to emphasize the part that says, "Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." Because as Christians, even when we are doing our best to "make disciples of the nations" or at least of those in our nation or our neighborhood, how often do we stress these things?

Instead, in many American churches, a visitor will hear the same happy message: "All you have to do is ask for forgiveness, invite Jesus to live in your heart, and you'll go to heaven."

Heaven, apparently, is the ultimate goal. And to gain admittance, potential Christians hear that they must sacrifice nothing. Instead, as the music plays, all they have to do is come forward and pray. No sacrifice necessary. But an eternal reward. Guaranteed.

And then we wonder why people don't believe.

I was raised in a church, but if I hadn't been, I wouldn't believe that crap. Say a prayer, sacrifice nothing, and live forever in heaven? C'mon, where's the small print?

Some of you might be saying "There is no small print! That's all there is to it!"

I love Jesus, okay. Dedicating my life to serving him is the best decision I'll ever make. But I'm telling you, there is small print. And it's only small because we (as Christians, and as churches) have made it small. We emphasize an eternal reward, peace, happiness, sometimes even financial success (which is another matter entirely), and we put on a big, happy face. Often a big, happy, fake face.

Jesus' approach was just a little different.

In the sixth chapter of John, a massive crowd is following Jesus because of the miracles he has performed. (He had just finished feeding 5,000 men, and who knows how many women and children, with two fish and five loaves of bread.) To increase the numbers of his "congregation," all Jesus has to do is keep doing what he's doing: miracles, free food, and all sorts of other happy stuff.

Instead, he tells them the truth: "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life" (47). Sounds like the same message we hear in churches today, right? If we believe, we get. No strings attached and no sacrifice needed. But Jesus isn't done;
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you" (53).

Hmmm. Sounds like our part of the deal doesn't end with "belief."

At the end of this lesson, (John 6:66), the Bible says, "At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him."

He wasn't trying to grow his numbers. He was simply sharing the whole message. Sort of like he does in Mark 8:34-35, when he says, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it."

Again, he's demanding his followers do more than just believe.

Maybe you're thinking, "But the followers deserted him? Is that what we want to do in our churches? Drive people away?" Yes, if they are driven away by the Truth. These followers who turned away were following Jesus for a magic show and free food, and when he got serious about what it means to be a Christ-follower, they decided they weren't interested. Show's over, time to go home.

And I suspect that the followers who stayed with Jesus, because of his message, became more devoted, more committed. As they heard Jesus say that following him would be more than a magic show, they decided, "Yeah, we want that."

Jesus told the truth and forced people to make a decision, to commit. He didn't try to lure potential followers into his fold by promising only happy things; he didn't neglect to mention the the commitment he desires for us.

But how does any of this relate to Islam? I'll tell you in the next post.

--Thanks for Reading