Here is a great video to help people put Muslims in a broader context than normally done. I’ve told my Imam friend that part of my job when I speak in churches is to tell the truth about Islam and to help correct negative stereotypes that often prevail. I also said that the other part of my job is to help Muslims understand my faith in Christ and who Jesus is, how he shows us the straight path to God. That is part of the work of a bridge builder and peacemaker and follower of Christ. I think I need to add “truth teller” to that list. So my answer to the question posed by this little video is obviously NO.
Most of my Muslim friends so far are peace loving, kind, spiritually oriented to follow God as they understand him, concerned about raising their kids with a good foundation and a moral compass that takes its bearing from God, not the world. We actually share many things. I did meet a young gentleman in another part of the world that at one point in his life wanted to seek revenge for the suffering his people had experienced. But we talked at length about that too in a larger group of friends and about Jesus in Qur’an and how to deal with bitterness. We also talked about American presidential politics and that was fascinating in its own way. We also broke for prayers in the middle of a 2 hour conversation.
I try to live by Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” The brother of Jesus also had some important things to say about this activity in James 3:18: “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
Would love to know your thoughts or hear your comments.
