I have little time (and sometimes desire) to write these days as the semester is winding up before it winds down. While I could use my study breaks to process my passing thoughts, writing rarely feels like much of a break. Today is not one of those days. I have an online quiz, an online midterm, and some reading waiting for me, but my apologetics class resonated too much in my mind to pass it off.
We had a guest lecturer who serves as a missionary to Muslim countries. He came in to give us a better idea of how apologetics can be used to reach Muslims with the gospel. Honestly, I enjoy when anyone with knowledge and experience of other religions talks about the need for the gospel to reach these people. Even without any resounding tidbits, I was going to be engaged. He ended giving a plethora of insight into Muslim history and beliefs as well as person stories of how God used him to bring the gospel through a variety of means. But what stood out was when he started talking about the reasons why many Muslims have such a strong dislike for us, mainly Christians.
Without addressing the history of the relations between the two (not overly pretty) and clearly opposed doctrinal beliefs, here are the four bullet points he presented with the addition of one he addressed at the end.
We had a guest lecturer who serves as a missionary to Muslim countries. He came in to give us a better idea of how apologetics can be used to reach Muslims with the gospel. Honestly, I enjoy when anyone with knowledge and experience of other religions talks about the need for the gospel to reach these people. Even without any resounding tidbits, I was going to be engaged. He ended giving a plethora of insight into Muslim history and beliefs as well as person stories of how God used him to bring the gospel through a variety of means. But what stood out was when he started talking about the reasons why many Muslims have such a strong dislike for us, mainly Christians.
Without addressing the history of the relations between the two (not overly pretty) and clearly opposed doctrinal beliefs, here are the four bullet points he presented with the addition of one he addressed at the end.
- Disrespectful
- Secular/humanistic
- Promiscuous
- Chaotic & dysfunctional
- Individualistic
Why do Muslims categorize Christians as such? Unfortunately, it's because they view western culture as the fruit of Christianity. America's claim as a Christian nation (which I would argue against even at its origins) coupled with the growing negative trends demonstrate to them the inability of the gospel to do anything significant in this life. Sadder still is the fact that these points do not just categorize western culture. Christians are just as guilty of them as well.
How do Christians, particularly younger Christians, respect the older and wiser ones among us? How do we make our faith more than a private, personal matter? How do Christians handle sex and modesty differently? How functional are our institutions? How much value do we place in community?
The main point of the lecture was not to show how Christians are terrible people. Everyone is flawed. Instead, it was to demonstrate the need for us to live out the gospel for the sake of those from different faiths. Our lives should look vastly different from the lives of those in our cultures. Why? Because the gospel enables us to live as such.
And on top of that, we need to be praying continually for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach the ears and hearts of all people to the glory of God.
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