My Experience With Moderate Muslims

"You shall do good to your parents, and to the near of kin and to the orphans and the needy, and you shall speak to men good words and keep up prayer and give unto the poor."--The Qu'ran

"Repel evil with good; as for those, they shall have the happy issue of the abode." --The Qu'ran.

For those of you who do not know, I am from New Jersey. I could see the smoke rising from the twin towers on Sept 11 from the high school in my town . My aunt was trapped in NYC during the terrorists attacks and several people from my church worked in the towers. The planes that crashed into the towers were hijacked from Newark airport, the only airport I had ever flown out of at the time. It seemed like everyone we knew was somehow affected by Sept. 11. It was a very real and personal tragedy. Within hours of the attacks, terms like "Muslim fundamentalists," "radical extremists," and "religious terrorists" dominated the news. Inevitably, fear, stereotypes, and skepticism about the Muslim community spread across the country like wild fire.

Just a few months after 9/11, my friends and I were driving around looking for something fun to do. My one friend mentioned that her friend from college owned a coffee bar a few towns over. So we went. We walked into a crowded coffee shop, replete with card playing and funky music. However, we quickly noticed that the entire place was packed wall to wall with college-aged Muslim guys and girls. My friends and I are as WHITE and "non-Muslim" looking as they come. It was one of those moments when the music skidded to a halt, cards fell to the floor, and everyone turned to stare at us...at least that's what it felt like. The girl we were meeting rushed over and invited us to sit down. Apparently, this was a coffee/hookah bar for the Muslim youth groups and recreation centers in the area.

We sat down, ordered coffee, smoked the hookah pipe (relax, it's flavored tobacco) and played cards. Once we felt a little more comfortable, we mingled with other people. They taught us new card games and we had long conversations about the Qu'ran, Christianity, current events, and the differences, as well as similarities, between our religions. The coffee shop only played middle-eastern music and some of the Muslim girls got up and danced. The boys came over and offered to teach us! By the end of the night, we were dancing, laughing, singing, and connecting with these beautiful people, learning about their culture, their beliefs, and the diversity within their religion. A few of the guys told stories about how they had been pulled over, yanked out of their cars, and searched, but that they understood this was a fearful time full of uncertainty. Others told stories of the words "towel head," "rag heads," and "sand monkeys" spray painted on their cars, lockers, and homes. Others had their homes egged. And others shared their beliefs about Jesus, and I was SHOCKED how much respect they have for Him.

And while there are obviously distinct and fundamental differences between Christians and Muslims, plenty of common ground exists as a foundation for a meaningful and respectful conversation. These people value community, family, friends, purity, respecting elders, modesty, and truly love each other. We were on their "turf" and they showed us nothing but kindness, good will, and friendship during a time and place where both "sides" had reasons to be wary of each other.

This night will remain carved into my heart for the rest of my life. Those of you who have been to my house know that I bought a hookah pipe to serve as a reminder of the night I hung out with Muslim youth at a hookah bar. This experience kept me from branding all Muslims as extremists, radicals, or sinister enemies, as many have sadly done. It is so vital for Christians to extend a hand of friendship, hope, and healing to the Muslim community that feels alienated, misunderstood, and afraid. It's important to clarify the parts of our religion that confuse them; many Muslims are under the impression that Christians believe in three gods. We should keep in mind that there are MANY sects within Islam and HUNDREDS of interpretations of the Qu'ran, just like there are with Christianity and the Bible. We should realize that it is JUST as easy to take a bible verse out of context to justify HORRIRBLE atrocities in the name our religion as it is with the Qu'ran. We should understand that ALL religions, including Christianity, have been perverted and distorted by corrupt people, extremists, regimes, and governments to gain power and control over people and lands throughout history. We should recognize that although we disagree with the foundation of Islam, there are sincere peace-loving muslims who are trying to serve God, their families, and their communities the best way they know how. We should try to understand the viewpoint of the other to better communicate, to better love, to better reach out and to better live in peace with all people (Romans 12:18).

I came across this video and found it compelling. Watch and discuss.

Another Reason To Coexist...Part 3

See previous posts for the entire story: Another Reason To Coexist...Part 1 and Another Reason to Coexist Part 2.

Brian Mclaren finishes his rebuttle to Focus On The Family's criticism of the NAE agreement to meet with muslim scholars....

Another Reason To Coexist...Part 2

"Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it. "--Thomas Jefferson

Read the previous post to read the first part of this article.

Brian Mclaren continues his response to criticisms made by Focus on Family about christians agreeing to meet with muslims to better understand each other.

Two men, whose families have suffered greatly at the hands of religion-motivated violence, healing wounds by coming together....forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

Another Reason To Coexist....

"The only alternative to coexistence is codestruction."
--Jawaharlal Nehru

I am always amazed when Christians get their panties in knot when other Christians seek to be peacemakers and bridge builders to people from whom we differ. Isolating ourselves from all those with whom we differ breeds arrogance, misconceptions, insensitivity, the tendency to villify, animosity, and frankly, ignorance. Coexistence is the foreground to effective communication between conflicting views and communication is necessary for true conversion. For a refresher on my views on coexistence, see "Blessed Are The Peacemakers For They Shall be Called...Liberal Hippies?"

Even though I should see these things coming, it still shocks me.

Read Brian McLaren's response to Focus on The Family's criticism of Christians finding common ground with Muslims to better reach out to them.

Shouldn't we find points of common ground with those of different faiths and work from there?

Wisdom in Odd Places

European Jesus Vs. African Jesus

Recently, a painting portraying Jesus as black caused a bit of an uproar among traditional Christians on the grounds of accuracy. Jesus wasn't African or the product of a race that is black, therefore any portrayal of Jesus as black is inaccurate. Some claim even "dangerous," hence the attempt to get the paintings of black Jesus banned.

While I don't believe Jesus was black (based on his ethnicity and heritage), I do believe we Westerners need to hold the accuracy mirror up to our own faces. We can cry "inaccuracy!" all day long at the paintings of black Jesus, but what have we said about European Jesus? You know, fair-haired, light eyes, white-skinned Jesus? Isn't that the predominate picture of Jesus that hangs on the walls and minds of most Christians emmersed in Western Civilization? Where's the movement to ban Him? Jesus may not have been African, but He surely wasn't European either (and don't even get me started on American Jesus...OY). He probably had dark hair and eyes with dark olive-colored skin. You know, kind of like a 1st century Middle-Eastern Jew? Fancy that!

Now, why is our false western portrayal of Jesus' physical attributes any better than the false African version? Why is it acceptable to make Jesus white when He wasn't, but unacceptable to make Him black when He wasn't? It's a bit hypocritical. I don't like to play the race card, but such hostility aimed toward "Black Jesus" suggests a form of latent racism.

Racism aside, there is an even more significant issue that runs deep beneath a controversy as superficial as the skin color of Jesus. The deeper issue is the distortion of Jesus. There's an old saying that goes:

"God created man in His own image, and ever since, man has been trying to return the favor."

Whether it's manipulating Jesus' physical attributes to mirror our own or slanting His teachings to fit our politics and ideologies, mankind continues to try and control Jesus by making Him more like us, instead of submitting ourselves to making mankind more like Jesus.

Blessed are the Peacemakers, For They Shall Be Called... Liberal Hippies?

"You're a liberal hippie that endorses the anti-christ"--yelled at me by some random college student enraged by the very sight of my shirt with the logo seen below.

I've received several comments about this logo, implying that it's blasphemous, anti-christian, and endorses a one world order. So, I just wanted to set the record straight concerning this logo: what it really means and why coexistence is something Christians shouldn't fear, but should actively work towards.

Let's start with the definition of the word "Coexist"

"To exist together, at the same time, or in the same place.
To live in peace with another or others despite differences" (Webster Dictionary).

Here's what COEXIST does NOT mean: to merge beliefs and ideas, to compromise or sacrifice one's own beliefs to achieve peace, to abandon dialogue about accountability, challenges, hypocrisies, persuasion, or conversion, and it definitely does NOT mean for all people to embrace a unified belief system to establish a ONE WORLD ORDER. In fact, coexist means the opposite of a one world order, because a one world order would contain no diversity at all. People would all live under the same form of government, religion, and culture. There would be no diversity or differences to coexist with! Coexistence implies existing amongst inherent differences that firmly remain.

Usually the word "coexist" is a far cry from the harmonious unification of all mankind singing Peace on Earth while sharing a Coca-Cola. For example, if a spouse describes their marriage as "coexisting with each other," that implies that they are not intimately intertwined or unified. It means their just not at war with each other at the moment. However, the current relationship between certain countries, religions, and political affiliations are so dire, that coexistence would be a step up.

The idea behind this logo is one that most Christians already know and do. The acknowledgement of God's gift of life to all human beings and the right to preserve that life until God deems otherwise is endorsing coexistence. Conceding that people possessing different religions, political beliefs, and social orders have the right to exist on the same planet until God deems otherwise is coexistence. Functioning in the same society with nonbelievers is practicing coexistence. To renounce coexistence would be to endorse the oppression, coercion, and execution of anyone who refuses to convert to Christianity (which is a horrifying "Hitleresque" notion). So, it is not such a radical notion for a Christian. Romans 12:18 commands us to live in peace with all men when it is possible. What does that mean? Just people that believe, think, and look like us? No, it means what it says, ALL men. That includes Muslims, Hindus, Jews, atheists, gays, etc. etc.

It's apparent that many Christians get freaked out when they hear people talking about living in peace because they assume that living in peace will automatically result in a one world order. That is only true if rejecting God and sacrificing our individual freedom to BE DIFFERENT from each other is the condition of peace. Allowing differences and living in peace DESPITE the differences actually prolongs a one world order. Once the world gets so irreversibly out of control with wars, violence, and atrocities because of conflicting religious and political beliefs, that will be when a leader will rise to power to stamp out all such differences in the name of restoring peace.

Forget even END TIMES stuff for the moment. Coexistence is the foreground for effective communication, which can lead to conversion. Isolation from and mud-slinging against those who differ from us Christians only widens the gap of true communication and the accurate depiction of the gospel. People's hearts will only be has hard as the stones we throw at them. Showing people the same respect that we want: to hold and practice our beliefs freely is coexistence and a vital part of demonstrating our faith. Coexisting works in conjunction with loving our neighbor as ourselves and doing unto others as we would have them do to us. It's striving to live in peace with all men as Paul instructs.

So, next time you see me with my "controversial" shirt, know that I wear it because I believed Jesus when he said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," no matter what they end up being called.