A Holy Conversation: Should Christians Seek to Bless Their Muslim Neighbors?
Describing evangelicals' witness among Muslims, Rick Love, president of Peace Catalyst International, urges that "love for God and love for neighbor shape the expression of our witness to the nations." So, for instance, in our series on personhood and marriage, Ephesians—containing the central Christian inspiration for self-giving marital love: the cross of Jesus—could not be avoided. The text itself placed the gospel conversation on the table. But respect and freedom also demanded that we navigate the conversation in a manner consistent with the very subject at hand.
Back in the sheikh's house in that far-away city, it was not lost on me: I had encountered this Muslim and his faith in a fruitful, engaging way because a space for such encounters had been created. On that Arabian night, the sheikh generously blessed me.
With VCU so integral to the life of Richmond, we believe our Holy Books Conversation serves as one reply to a pressing question with an emphatic twist: Does our Christian vision for flourishing cities include the well-being of all the families of the earth, and, in this case, a family so dear to Abraham's heart?
Nathan F. Elmore is working toward a M.A. in Islamic Studies & Christian-Muslim Relations through Hartford Seminary. He serves the Virginia Baptists as collegiate minister at Virginia Commonwealth University and recently joined Peace Catalyst International as a program coordinator and consultant. He writes at nathanfelmore.com.
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John W. Morehead
Great to connect via Qideas.org and Facebook. I hope we might be able to connect you to our work with the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy and the Evangelical Chapter, as well as our Loving Our Religious Neighbors educational material at the university.
Mark Cannon
Nathan, Great article that captures your heart for Muslims. I appreciate your balance between reconciliation and friendship.
Steve
Should Christians Seek to Bless Their Muslim Neighbors? Yes, of course! We desperately need to learn to love our Muslim neighbors as ourselves.
A Christian in Arabia (con't)
The goal is simply to help each party to more fully understand the position of the other from the other’s perspective. For a Christian, dialogue with another faith is as much about explaining one’s own faith in Christ as the very revelation of God who is alive today, shows us God’s will and accomplishes salvation for sin, as it is about listening to and learning from our Muslim brothers and sisters about what Islam means for them. As a Christian our motivation to dialogue comes from scripture. In Romans 12:16-18 we read, Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud…Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:16-18 NIV
A Christian in Arabia (con't)
...To build a bridge of understanding does not mean creating the illusion of a unified faith between Islam and Christianity, or glossing over our differences. While our two faiths share some things in common, we are also quite distinct in our understanding of Christ and the differences are important. Dialogue leading to a bridge of understanding also should not mean compromising even slightly one’s own faith convictions. The purpose of dialogue is simply to gain more accurate understanding of the other and to share one’s own view to correct his/her misunderstanding. Dialogue should also not be confused with debate. If you are entering a dialogue with the intention of winning an argument or convincing the other of the truth of your position, what you are engaging in is not dialogue but persuasive argument or apologetics. Of course there is a place for apologetics when presenting the Gospel. Dialogue however has a different goal...
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