Before I retired I had to take a business trip to Morocco. I did
not speak any of the local languages, so I arranged for an English-speaking
guide. We traveled together to several cities ---- Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and
Marrakech. He was the driver, but he also knew much about current events in
Morocco and its history, so we had many interesting conversations. I was glad I
had some time to become well-acquainted with him and with that country.
On one of our long drives between cities, we found ourselves talking about
religion. He said he was a Muslim, an adherent of Islam. I told him I was a
Christian, and we started to compare notes.
It turned out that we had a number of things in common. Both faiths value
prayer, worship (humbling ourselves before God) and fasting. Both faiths shun
the worship of idols. We both honor and remember Adam, Noah and Moses. We both
believe we are descendants of Abraham, the patriarch of both our faiths, as well
as of the Jewish faith ---- for the Jewish people it is through the line of
Isaac, and for Muslims through the line of Ishmel.
In fact, my Moroccan guide said, Christians and Jews are recognized within
the Qur'an (Koran), the Muslim holy book, as "people of the Book." Muslims even
honor Jesus Christ as a great prophet, he continued, and we also believe that
Jesus will return to earth.
I was surprised and pleased that there were so many commonalities between
the Muslim and Christian faiths. But now the conversation became a little more
difficult. Remembering my guide's reference to the Qur'an, I asked him what he
believed about the Bible.
He paused a moment, and then said that for Muslims, God's revelation came
in their holy book, the Qur'an, a code of laws, rules and regulations
given by Allah to govern life and society. I responded that Christians also
submit ourselves to a holy book. We believe that the Old and New Testaments are
the word of God with the power to change lives. However, I emphasized,
Christians believe that God's full revelation came in Jesus Christ. I said the
Bible's purpose is to lead us into an intimate relationship with God.
Throughout the Bible, the God of the universe is portrayed as seeking
relationship with us and longing for us to cultivate peace in our relationship
with one another.
My Muslim friend wanted to respond with the Muslim view of man's
relationship with God. The Qur'an, he said, describes our relationship with God
in terms of master and slave. But, while Allah is distant in his relationship
with mankind, the Qur'an also describes Allah as merciful and compassionate to
mankind. This latter point pleased me, because Christians also affirm this view
of God ---- our Scriptures describe God as a merciful and compassionate,
although more intimate, master.
Even though Jesus holds a high place in Islam as a great prophet,
surprisingly, the Qur'an teaches that Jesus was never killed. God is sovereign,
the Qur'an teaches, and therefore God could not allow Jesus, the great prophet,
to die such a violent death. 'Because Muslims don't share the Christian belief
in original sin," said my Muslim friend, "Muslims wonder why Christians even
need the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross." I told him that from the
Christian point of view, Jesus' pain and death on the cross provide us with the
greatest gift in the world. Jesus' humanity and suffering demonstrate the
extraordinary lengths to which our Creator goes to lavish great love and
forgiveness on us, in spite of our sinful ways.
"Well," my friend asked, "why don't you obey the teachings of our great
prophet Muhammad?" I had to be careful here. I said Christians believe that
Muhammad's teachings contain some truth, but they are not part of our Biblical
tradition. "Don't be offended," my friend said, "but Muslims believe that in
his teachings Muhammad corrected corrupt texts in the Bible."
The prevailing view in Islam apparently is that everything Muhammad said
and did was inspired by Allah (God), even though unlike Jesus, Mohammad was
wholly human. The Qur'an claims that Muhammad has God's seal of prophethood,
Muhammad being the last and final messenger to humanity. "But while Muslims
venerate and imitate the prophet," my guide continued, "they stop short of
worshiping him or regarding him as divine."
My Moroccan friend had one more great question: "If salvation is a gift of
God's grace (the Christian view) why do we need to do good works?" Muslims and
Christians share a linear view of history, a belief that our destiny in heaven
or hell depends on how we live our lives on earth. We both believe in individual
death, judgment and the resurrection of the body. My friend continued: "In
Islam, those whose good deeds to others outweigh their bad deeds, will attain
salvation. Those whose bad deeds to others outweigh their good deeds will abide
in hell."
Apparently, it is love for Allah and a desire to please him that motivates
the faithful Muslim to keep striving for good. Paramount among the good
behaviors to which Muslims aspire are the Five Pillars of Islam: confession of
faith, prayer, tithing (giving to the poor and helping in other ways people who
are in need), fasting and (for some Muslims) pilgrimage to Mecca.
While Islam calls men and women to submit to God's law, Christianity
understands that Jesus has already fulfilled God's law on behalf of the world.
Muslims submit to God's law with the passionate belief that their actions are
working to bring in the reign of God. Christians believe that God's kingdom has
already come. Christ already accomplished the ultimate reign of God, and
therefore we strive as hopeful heirs of the promised kingdom.
"The Christian emphasis on God's grace could be seen as an easy pretext for
personal and societal lawlessness," continued my Moroccan friend. He certainly
had a good point. History provides many examples of people who claimed to
follow Jesus and yet were perpetrators of evil. On the other hand, the Islamic
emphasis on absolute submission to God's law could be interpreted as unforgiving
legalism, from a Christian's perspective.
These conversations left me with some hope for reconciliation between our
two faiths, or at least some mutual tolerance. Perhaps what it would take would
be the movement of our Muslim friends toward grace and some forgiveness,
and greater obedience shown by Christians.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development
Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this fall
at CPC.
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