Christianity vs. Islam Part 3

This is my third (and final) post on this subject, but I want to let the reader know that I'm still trying to figure this out. So if my words don't sound very definitive, it's because I'm still searching for understanding.

This is where my deliberation has brought me so far:

I think most people want to sacrifice something. They want to contribute. Christianity, as it is often presented, doesn't ask for anything other than belief. (The requests for money come later.) But when people choose to commit to something, I think they want the result to be something tangible.

And this finally leads me to Islam.

Here are some basic requirements of the Islamic faith:

Muslims must:

1) Pray 5 times a day facing Mecca.

2) Observe the "Zakat," which is essentially mandatory tithing.

3) Fast from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan.

4) Go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once before they die.


At first glance, Islam clearly demands more than just belief from its followers. And I think these requirements might appeal to people who feel like their life is missing something.

Now, I don't think this argument applies to those who have felt called by the Holy Spirit, by those who have felt God's presence. Because I think these people understand the realness of the Christian God. And their commitment (I think) will stem from this understanding.

But as for that person who feels their life is missing something... Let's pretend this person goes to a Christian church and hears a message about "all you have to do is believe." And they think about it for a moment and decide they don't believe yet. Furthermore, they had been looking for something to tangibly fill their time, to fully establish their new commitment. And "just believe" doesn't do it. But Islam on the other hand demands five prayers facing Mecca every day. That's tangible. This person can convert to Islam, and they can do their best to fill a void in their life by doing all the things required by Islam.

And they can be proud of their commitment, proud of their devotion, proud to have something tangible to prove their new faith.

I'm not sure this is how it works, but I think it's possible.

*****

In the May issue of Christianity Today, Mark Galli examined the expanding religious freedoms in Vietnam ("A New Day In Vietnam"). While his article emphasized the hope that exists now that the Vietnamese government has eased away from its history of religious persecution, I found my attention drawn to one sentence in his article:

"Dac Lak, a center of persecution just a few years ago, is now the center of church growth."

Galli was just showing how much has changed, and how positive the change is. But I think this sentence is also evidence of something bigger. I think it suggests that people want to commit to something that demands sacrifice, something that goes beyond belief.

A persecuted church can't preach a "just believe and everything will be great" message. If they do, it will still sound like this: "Just believe in Jesus, and you'll get to heaven...but be prepared to endure hell on earth first."

And there's no doubting the commitment necessary to exhibit faith in the face of adversity.

So what am I saying Christian churches should do? Institute mandatory prayer times and a journey to Bethlehem? No. Am I saying that we would be better off if all Christian churches suffered persecution? No.

I just think we need to quit putting a smile on every message from the pulpit. Some of Jesus' messages were pretty intense, and they weren't just about how great everything would be if we believe in him. As I wrote before, when we preach "just believe and be saved" messages, I think we sound like we're hiding something. And this might turn people away. I think this same message might also deter those who come to church looking for a tangible commitment to fill a void in their life. And they might turn away before they actually experience the realness of a relationship with Jesus.

I think we can learn something from Islam, a religion that demands commitment, a religion that doesn't try to plaster a happy face on every message.

Instead of the fake, "nothing but daisies and roses" messages, I think Christians should proclaim this message ad infinitum: "If you believe, you will be saved...but that's just the first step. It's a long journey after that. It won't always be easy; It won't always be happy. But the Church is designed to help us travel this narrow path together. For better or worse, it will be an adventure. And it will be worth it."

--Thanks for Reading

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

Well, Jesus didn't return. Now what?

Last summer I was driving in rural, southwestern Ohio when I stopped to get gas . This was not unusual. I tend to do this when my gauge nears that ominous "E." But when I swiped my credit card at the pump, I thought I was only buying gas. Little did I know, I was also paying for a lesson in (professed) Bible prophecy.

(Enter Greg Gault.)

A man in a red truck pulled up beside me and made eye contact. I had never met this man before, but his eye contact was so intentional that I felt I needed to smile or nod or somehow show that I know how to interact with human beings.

"How are ya?" he asked as soon as he got out to pump his own gas.

"Not too bad. You?"

"Oh, I'm doing well." Then, with absolutely no transition, "Do you know our Lord, Jesus Christ?"

I nodded, not quite willing to share a full smile with him, and said, "Yeah, I do."

I think I expected him to say something simple, something like, "Good." But no, not Greg Gault. Instead, he said, "He's coming back soon, you know?"

Very hesitantly I said, "yeahhh," agreeing and leery at the same time.

"I think it will be in 7 months."

Oh, well of course. I didn't say anything. I was no longer making eye contact. I was just thinking, "How does one address this?"

He must have discerned my doubt. "What do you think about that?" he wanted to know.

"Well, I think the Bible says we can't know the time or the place." (I mentally kicked myself for not being able to quote exactly, or even refer to the right book.)

This man went on to tell me that God does want us to try and figure it out. God wants us to know. I never agreed with his interpretation of the Bible, and I didn't show much interest in talking to him any more (If I remember correctly, it was nearly time for the kickoff of an OSU football game.) But my lack of interest didn't stop this man from giving me his business card.

It said:

Greg Gault
Teacher of Bible Prophecy

A church was mentioned on the card, but I won't risk discrediting the church by associating it with a man who, from the look of things, printed his own business cards to distribute while proselytizing at gas stations.

We said our goodbyes, maybe a "God bless you" or a "nice to meet you," the former I would have meant and the latter would have just been a formality. Then I got in my car and drove away to watch my Buckeyes.

But I kept that business card. For a long time.

***

That conversation with Greg Gault took place in August. It's now April. It's been 8 months and still no glorious reappearing of Christ.

In short, Greg Gault was wrong.

***

I probably held on to that business card for two months, rubbing my forefinger against it in the left front pocket of my favorite jeans, using it as a bookmark, putting it in a pile of things I wanted to get to...but, at least in this case, never did.

You see, I wanted to talk to Greg Gault again. I wanted to say the things I didn't think to say when I was surprised at the gas pump on Saturday morning.

And there was one element of our talk that I specifically wanted to discuss. And this related to the one thing he said that I really appreciated, the one aspect I truly admired about Greg Gault, gas station missionary.

I had told him that I didn't think we needed to know exactly when Christ returned, because we should just know that He will and live our lives as if it might be today. His response was, "Ah, but knowing when does one thing: It turns people into evangelists."

He went on to say that was the reason he brought the conversation up with me, because he knows there isn't much time left.

And I respect that attitude, to an extent. Evangelizing, sharing the Truth with people, is crucial. But what happens when our version of the Truth is based upon an event that doesn't come true?

That's what I wanted to ask Greg Gault. I wanted to say, "But what if you're wrong? If you're basing your belief on the fear of judgment, because you know he's coming back in March of 2007, what happens if you're wrong? Why not challenge people, evangelizing your heart out without trying to enlighten them with information the Bible says no one will possess?"

To me, it seemed a little pompous. A "look what I figured out" attitude. One that might scare a few people into a life change, and one that will most likely lead them back to their old ways when they realize the message was fraudulent, or at least misguided.

Why not evangelize without prophecies (or ungrounded predictions, if you prefer), sharing only the Truth?

That's what I wanted to ask Greg Gault, Teacher of Bible Prophecy.

And I think my desire was devoid of malice and pretension. I wasn't anxious to tell him he was wrong. I love that he cares about people enough to ask difficult questions at a gas pump on Saturday morning, to strike up friendly conversations with strangers. I admire that.

But it's April now. March was a month ago. The fear factor is probably gone.

And I still remember Y2K: the hype, the fear, the preparations. People thought the computers were going to crash and prompt the Apocalypse. Groceries were bought in bulk, newly constructed storm/bomb/Apocalypse shelters were constructed and filled with enough food and water to last years. And what happened? Basically nothing. A month later, how do you think those people felt when they thought about their Apocalypse shelter filled with food items? I don't know, but I'll bet they felt foolish.

What about anyone who came to Christ because they knew, thanks to the words (and business cards) of Teacher of Bible Prophecy, Greg Gault, that Jesus was returning in March?

I don't know, but I'll be they feel foolish, too.

And they'll probably abandon their new "faith" like those unneeded Apocalypse shelters, sheepishly hoping no one will remember that they had lived anticipating the end.

And it's tragic, because Christ is returning...sometime. And it's tragic because a relationship with Him can be more real than anything we'll ever experience, but only if it's founded on Truth. Only if we turn to Him with a desire to know Him and serve Him, and not because we're afraid his return is imminent and we don't think we can risk putting it off longer.

Because when the rain doesn't come, people abandon their umbrellas. It's just how it works.

And I wonder what Greg Gault thinks now. Does he think he miscalculated? Is he still prophesying, still distributing cards, foretelling Jesus's return in May or September?

Who knows?

I hope he hasn't lost his faith (if his faith is in fact real, and not an "Emergency Exit" plan), and I hope he continues to evangelize. I just hope he revamps his strategy, realizing that he doesn't need to know when Jesus plans to return.

Instead, he should spend more time telling people why.

And, come to think of it, so should I.

--Thanks for reading.