Worldly Holiness

Beauty Contest, originally uploaded by papalars.

I’ve been invited by Covenant pastor, Chris Brueninger, to join him with a regional religious leaders group to pursue inter-religious dialogue. More opportunities like this are increasingly coming into my orbit. In a way, this is what I engage in each time I step into a mosque. I grin sometimes when I know I’m being “evangelized.” Fair game. It is fun and I’m trying to figure out the protocol and how best to do the exchange.

It takes time to get beyond the stage of what I like to call the “divine beauty contest.” My goal clearly is to move beyond putting our best foot forward and getting to issues of substance. An important criteria all along this path, however, is to be a trustworthy conversation partner. I’m not going to set up straw men in the other religions only to tear them down. I’m not going to denigrate the other religious practice in order to win points. I am going to make every effort to sustain a friendship as far as is possible. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” [Heb. 12:14].

A point of clarity might help at this point. I’m not trying to change a Muslims’ religion [aka: culture] anymore than I tried to make good Protestants out of Catholics in our Bible studies in Mexico. I do seek to bear a clear witness to Jesus. It is important to get the words of the Gospel correct but I must be careful that they are heard and understood in the Muslim context, not just articulated from my western evangelical perspective. Also, my grasp of the Kingdom of God, my understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ is not perfect. Out of a learning posture among Muslims, I gain new insight as I read scripture with the eyes of Muslims. I see stuff that I did not see before. God is sovereign, not me, nor my understanding of God and the message of the Gospel.

Every time I engage Muslims I come away with a deeper sense of how much we share, how easy it is to talk about spiritual things, and also I experience a fresh clarity concerning the Gospel. The encounter whittles away at my own warped versions of the Good News, helps peel away my own cultural accretions that have attached themselves to the simple message of Jesus. This is important work, not just because I am called to do it, but because the mission of the church is what keeps the Gospel alive, fresh, and unencumbered. So our work involves listening and hearing as much as in telling. It is discerning where God is already present and active among Muslims, helping shape their experience of God. Ditto back in the church when I share with them the story of God’s active work among Muslims. In some way it is making important distinctions between the Gospel and our respective cultures. On both sides. Feels similar to the dynamics I read about in chapter 15 of Acts when the Jerusalem Council was deliberating on these kinds of issues. I have the wild privilege of being at that intersection.

muslim-prayer, originally uploaded by papalars.

I was talking with my pastor, Eugene Cho, recently and he asked me what I thought about joining Muslims for prayer, especially during Ramadan. Apparently, Brian McLaren was getting some intense fire on the Blogosphere for joining Muslims during Ramadan for prayer. [Two helpful links to give more context: "Driscoll: McLaren's Ramadan Fasting Observance is "Insane at Best" and "Muslims Find new Ramadan fast Partners: Christians"]. Maybe those voices didn’t know I was doing the same thing. I didn’t blog about it either. Maybe I’m a coward. Clearly, I must not have the same profile [tongue deeply inserted in my cheek...oops, I'm leaking] as Brian McLaren. LOL.

Anyway, the point for me on whether to pray with Muslims or only for them is this–If I retain my identity as a Christ follower, why not join Muslims for prayer during Ramadan? The criticism from some is that by doing so we send the wrong message. We are compromising the Gospel they say. I don’t get it. Did Jesus compromise his identity or his message by hanging out with the tax gatherers and sinners? Who is my model when I go to the mosque, Jesus or these contrary voices? What is the wrong message being sent by being with those we seek to serve and share the Gospel with?

My objective when I go to the mosque is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. I’m clear that I follow him. I seek to share the Gospel in appropriate ways. I engage Muslims on their terms, seek to deal with their issues, concerns and questions, not mine. As evangelicals we are too often guilty of getting our words straight, our doctrine correct and we want to deliver our message without engaging life.

During my last visit to the mosque, I gave a gift to my Imam friend and stayed late to participate in their prayers. It was a profound time. I was impacted by the deep pathos with which my friends were seeking God’s mercy and favor, and their corresponding sense of unworthiness. There supplications sounded very much like the Pslams of lament. As I was leaving the mosque, the Imam took me aside to ask for advise. He was a little troubled by some aggressive Christians who came to his mosque the week before to do some “evangelism.” Some of his people were traumatized by the experience. I’m sure these people had a “praise report” back in their church, but the flavor they left in the mosque was anything but sweet. I’ve come to learn that for Muslims, the Mosque has a distinctive spiritual function. It is the place which rekindles the Muslim’s spirituality, and which provides a sense of sanctity, calmness, and inner peace. That is something we should respect as we join them and learn from them.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Cor. 2:14.