Islam and Muslims - How Should We Approach Them?

Western Christians look at Islam through "Western glasses". In the US we tend to assume that "separation of church and state" is the normal state of things. Islam is more than just a "religion". Islam encompasses the religious, social, economic, governmental, military, and cultural aspects of the lives of Muslims in countries where Islam is the dominant religion. Shariah law is the practical application of the Koran (Allah's revelation to Muhammad) and the hadiths (Muhammad's sayings) to the daily lives of Muslims as interpreted by Muslim leaders, and it is neither compatible with the Bible nor with the US Constitution. Christians and adherents of other religions are second-class citizens under Shariah law. Islam is not only oppressive to non-Muslims, but it is oppressive to Muslims - and especially Muslim women and children - as well.

As Jesus' disciples in the US, we should oppose the imposition of elements of Shariah law in our country. We should oppose the introduction of Islamic principles into our culture. At the same time our hearts should be broken for the Muslims who live under such an oppressive system. Muslims are human beings for whom our Saviour, Jesus Christ, sacrificed His life. Islam does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God nor that He died to pay the price for our sins and redeem us. The freedom that we have in Christ must be shared with the Muslims.

Too many Christians either ignore the clear and present danger that is Islam or they allow their understanding of the oppression and danger of Islam to result in failing to love Muslims. We must seek to be guilty of neither position. We must face the advance of Islam around the world and in the United States with a clear-eyed understanding of the dangers it presents and an iron-willed determination to oppose the spread of Islam. At the same time we must love Muslims with the same love that Christ exhibited when He went to the cross to offer His life for their redemption.

Honesty

It seems to me that many politicians do not always have a close association with the truth. Our current Speaker of the House is calling the CIA and the Bush administration liars about "enhanced interrogation techniques" when she has told four different stories about what she knew and when she knew it within the last two months. Republicans have told us for years that they are the party of limited government and fiscal restraint, and yet when they were in power they showed no evidence of adhering to either principle.

We should pay attention to the honesty or lack thereof in our political leaders. God has permitted us in this country to speak out when we disagree with what our leaders are doing. We can do this using our voices, letters, emails, etc. and our votes. We should do it respectfully and without anger or vitriol seeking to correct improper behavior in all humility. However, as disciples of Christ we must first "take the log out of [our] own eye" (Matthew 7:5).

Do we as believers sometimes "spin" the truth of the Gospel to make it a little more palatable for potential converts? Do we fail to discuss the whole truth of the Gospel leaving out some of the more uncomfortable parts such as "the lake of fire" so that we won't be accused of being right wing fundamentalist nut jobs? Do we soften what God says about certain activities (sins) so that we can be a little more politically correct and less likely to be accused of bigotry and "hate crimes"? We most definitely must proclaim the truth in love and humility, but we must proclaim the truth and not a "watered down" version that would be unrecognizable to Jesus.

Misplaced Focus

Too many Christians have focused their main efforts to bring righteousness in the United States on the political process. We think if we pass the right legislation, execute the correct policies, and adjudicate properly from the bench that we will usher in a new era of Christ-centered living in this country. We neglect the most important command we have been given by our Lord - "make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19).

Don't misunderstand me. It is not that Christians should avoid the political process. We should exercise the privileges that we have been given to vote and to speak out on important issues. Those who are called to elective and/or appointive office should execute their duties to the glory of God. But we must not think that these things will bring about the change we seek. In 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 we read: "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Now we must be careful applying specific promises made to Israel in a general way to us, but I think the principle is applicable. Sponsoring legislation, electing good candidates, and nominating good judges can be important, but they won't bring about the kind of change described in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. We must humble ourselves, pray, repent and seek God's face. We must "make disciples" in obedience to Christ's call in Matthew 28:19 including the whole process from evangelization and training to maturity and service. We have misplaced our priorities if we think the political process will return our nation to God's favor.

Future of the Church in America

Over the next 20-30 years evangelical Christianity will become increasingly opposed and ultimately persecuted by our culture in the United States. Many who are "on the fence" will leave. Many of the ministries and churches who are depending on human strength and ideas will wither and die. Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are seeing "converts" from evangelical churches that have become too self-focused and therapeutic.

We must work to strengthen the bonds between us so that we won't be shaken when the rejection and persecution becomes more profound. We must strengthen our families and especially our men. We must be trained and prepared to hold one another up spiritually and in practical economic ways. House churches will become more and more important. We have looked at Paul's epistles in the past as being for each of us individually, but they are aimed at equipping and strengthening the Body of Christ as a whole, not so much at individuals.

The economic dislocations that inevitably are coming may accelerate this rejection of evangelical Christianity. But I am not discouraged. Even as I see all of the impending problems, I also see a remnant being raised up. I see a small but growing group of young men and women more committed to Christ and to one another than I ever saw as a teenager or young adult. The Body of Christ in the US will be smaller in numbers, but I believe that the resurrection power will be much more in evidence in the pruned church that is coming than it currently is in many of the self-indulgent churches of today.