- Steve Richards
- Dec 31, 2015
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? I found this article, posted by Nabeel Qureshi recently, to be be quite helpful.
On December 15, 2015, Wheaton College, a flagship of evangelical educational institutions, placed one of its professors on administrative leave for “theological statements that seemed inconsistent with [their] doctrinal convictions.” Five days prior, donning a hijab and staking her position on a variety of controversial matters, Larycia Hawkins had stated on Facebook, “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.”
Wheaton’s decision to give Dr. Hawkins “more time to explore theological implications of her recent public statements” ignited a firestorm of controversy. One strong voice in the fray was that of the Chicago Tribune, which described Wheaton’s actions as “bigotry… disguised as theology.” This assessment was partially based on the input of Yale Professor Miroslav Volf, a theologian greatly respected for his contributions to Christian-Muslim dialogue, who said, “There isn’t any theological justification for Hawkins’s forced administrative leave. Her suspension is not about theology and orthodoxy. It is about enmity toward Muslims.” Such dialogue-stifling judgmentalism is shocking from a highly acclaimed Ivy League scholar, but it serves to illustrate the enormous tensions in Christian-Muslim relations during this time when the nation is pulled between the poles of Muslim refugees pouring into Staten Island and Muslim terrorists massacring innocents in San Bernardino.
Please continue reading using the original posting: http://rzim.org/global-blog/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god
- Dec 2, 2015
So where was God during the recent acts of terrorism? Hasty responses to that question will only produce simplistic answers such as: God doesn’t exist; God isn’t loving enough; God isn’t powerful enough; God gave people free will and now he’s stuck with the consequences; God was punishing individual people or God is not the Sovereign God (i.e. all-powerful God) that Christians claim him to be. Based on my understanding of the Bible and my experience as a Christian for more than three decades, I reject such notions.
Rather than being tempted to doubt either the goodness or the power of God, I suggest that we consider how we each respond to God when bad things happen. We are all subject to both good and bad things. Good things may turn us to God in thanksgiving but can also turn us away if our blessings cause us to become complacent and self-reliant. Equally, bad things may turn us to God as we recognise our mortality or, conversely, they may harden our hearts towards him.
One does not need to be a prophet to say that there will be, without doubt, further terrorist attacks, more wars and natural disasters, besides many a personal sadness to come. May I urge you not to allow bad and evil to cause you to demean the power or the goodness of God. Better by far to trust that God is with us at such times. And that is what the Christmas message offers. It offers us Jesus who is Emmanuel, which means God with us; not baby Jesus in a manger but Jesus as he is now, saviour and the Lord of all things.
Basic to the Christian faith is the promise that ‘All things (good and bad) work together for (the ultimate) good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.’ Are you able to perceive that call? Jesus speaks as God when he says, ‘come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you …. and you will find rest for your souls.’ Now, that is a Christmas gift worth having.
- Nov 5, 2015
The new James Bond film, Spectre, is set to draw in the crowds. What caught my attention is the theme tune for the film, sung by Sam Smith and entitled ‘Writing’s On The Wall’. The expression ‘the writing is on the wall’ originates from the Bible. It is found in the Book of Daniel. The story goes like this…
The all-powerful King of Babylon had thrown a great banquet. He and his guests were luxuriating, revelling in their power and wealth while drinking choice wine from gold and silver goblets. As they congratulated themselves on their good fortune, they worshipped the gods of gold, silver and material things. Suddenly, a human-hand appeared and fingers wrote words onto the plastered wall.
The King was frightened out of his wits. The words had no meaning to those present. Experts were summoned; wise men, philosophers, astrologers etc, in order that they could interpret the meaning of the words. They couldn’t. Enter Daniel – God’s own interpreter. The writing had come from God and Daniel’s explanation had a sobering effect.
The message announced to the King was, ‘Your days are numbered’ and ‘You have been weighed in the scales and found wanting’. He was devastated. What could his dumb idols of gold and silver do to save him? Nothing.
Is God speaking to us through that writing on the wall today, or was it just for the King of Babylon? I believe that the words are for us also. We each know that the number of our days is finite and that we do not know how near our final one is. However, we probably feel more affronted by the second part of the message. Does God really put us in the scales of his justice and declare that we are giving him short measures?
At this point, I look to Jesus to confirm the relevance of Daniel’s message. Jesus does confirm it, not only in words but in loving action. He does not soft pedal about the way the scales have rightly tilted against me but voluntarily gets on the scales in my place. This is another way of looking at what Jesus was doing when he died on a cross, paying the due penalty on behalf of people like me and you who have contravened God’s good law.
Today, God welcomes all people who will come to him by first going to Jesus who has weighed in on their behalf. Maybe you’ll think of this next time you hear Sam Smith’s song, ‘Writing’s on the Wall’.