Posted on 11/30/2006 2:05:10 AM PST by Dallas59
To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith gathering at the university.
"We are not going to get very far in our relationship with Jews or Muslims if we do not let go of this idea," Lipscomb professor Lee Camp said at Tuesday's conference.
The unusual gathering of several dozen clergy and lay people was devoted to resolving religious conflict in Nashville and around the world.
"We need to forsake the Christendom model," Camp said. "The most basic Christian commitment … is that we say we believe in the Lordship of Jesus. But, if we claim that, how can a Muslim or Jew trust us, if we say Jesus is the Lord of all Lords?"
Co-sponsored by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, the daylong conference was prompted by a desire to begin a dialogue about global religious conflict.
After five years of rising gas prices, disturbing privacy issues that followed the Sept. 11 attacks and the fear of terrorism, it became apparent that everyday life in Nashville is directly affected by religious conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, conference organizers said.
"We felt like the larger community is calling for this," said Larry Bridgesmith, executive director of Lipscomb's newly established Institute for Conflict Management.
Panelists representing different faiths presented their own views on how to begin to bridge the religious divide.
For Kahled Sakalla, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Nashville, some of the answers lie in better education about Islam in the non-Muslim world.
Allah, the God Muslims worship, is the same God Christians and Jews worship, and the Quran recounts the same biblical stories of Mary and Jesus, he said.
"Yes, we have differences, but it's important to focus on commonalities," said Sakalla, one of four panelists representing different faiths who addressed the Lipscomb conference.
Mark Schiftan, rabbi of the Temple in Belle Meade, said he also believes people of faith must begin to look for common ground.
"If all of us believe we were created in God's image, then we have to believe that everyone else is also created in God's image," Schiftan said.
Charles McGowan, president of the Christian group Operation Andrew said: "It's important to us in Nashville that we be proactive. Religious leaders must engage one another if we are going to experience in this city the peace and calm we all desire."
But the issues that have divided the world's religions for millennia are so deep and fundamental — ranging from the question of whether the land of Israel rightfully belongs to the Jews and whether there is one way to salvation — that tackling them will require both dialogue with other faiths and a more introspective look at one's own beliefs, panelists said.
Some liberal theologians have suggested that different faiths are all variations on one another and that beliefs are all basically the same, a position with which Camp deeply disagrees.
Instead, he believes, Christians must not back away from their beliefs but further examine them and their own history.
First, Christians must examine their "sins of omission," he said — such as not taking the time to learn about other religions. Then they must look at their "sins of commission."
"We have such short historical (memory) spans as white Christians," he said. "There is a history of anti-Semitism, the violence and bloodshed of the crusades and cultural imperialism. We have to deal with the reality of what Christians have done, which in some cases has been to kill people."
Camp described himself as a conservative Christian but conceded his opinions may be viewed as "radical" by other evangelical Christians.
Christians must shed the idea that they need to promulgate a worldwide Christianity, he said.
"If I hold to a model of Jesus … what I've committed to in my baptism is loving my enemy," Lee said. "I'm committed to not killing you, but to serving and honoring you. It's an exclusive commitment to the way of Christ, not to the exclusive authority of Christ."
Sakalla said there may never be reconciliation on the fundamental theological divisions.
"Every religion has different teachings," he said. "For Muslims, it's: Do you believe in one God and that Muhammad" is his prophet? "I don't think we can teach individuals that the way you go to heaven in other religions is OK. You have to teach differences." •
How come not many see Islam as the religion of the colonialists? For half millenia, Islam conquered 'Christian' lands and converted the population, including those of the second Rome, Constatinople. If we used the argument of 'they colonized us', what Christians did, although they were not nice, could be seen as a reaction of what happenned to their brothers & sisters in the 'Holy Land' which was colonized by the Muslims. They were living in fear for several centuries that their lands, too, would be taken by Muslims. After all, Muslims was close to Vienna already.
Who cares??? Screw em if they can't take the truth!
___
"how can a Muslim or Jew trust us"
--However it is too bad that the headline used (Jesus Not Son Of God), did not appear in the article, nor any synonymous paraphrase of it.--
Apparently, then, that was added by the poster. If it is incorrect, it should be removed.
--
So do Christians: in view of their history, they have good reasons for not trusting Muslims.
Islam teaches they can lie for the sake of their faith. Christianity has never taught any such thing. Obviously we can't trust them. However, historically the crusades have taught them they can't trust Christians.
That is also to assume, they are reasonable people. Genesis 16 declares their great......great granddaddy Ishmael was a madman and his children would be also. Apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.
Allah, the God Muslims worship, is the same God Christians and Jews worship, and the Quran recounts the same biblical stories of Mary and Jesus, he said.
Jesus is God..He denies the divinity of Christ, which is of the anti-christ.
"Islam is a rip-off of Christianity"
It's a rip-off of Jewish history (Genesis) up to Ismaehl, then Mohomed's fantasy from there.
Guess we'll never know -- but the good professor needs to be sure where he stands with the Savior. ---
Who would you trust more? A Christian seminary professor or a MSM journalist?
Never. Not in Amerika.
Putin for Prez. /sarcasm off
Pardon my butting in here, but yours is the latest in a number of complaints. As I read the headline given, the part added (a very COMMON PRACTICE IN FR) is the part in parentheses. Perhaps square brackets should have been used. I suppose that could be done.
HOWEVER, the rest of the headline is EXACTLY what is in the article cited.
Now, if you carpers would kindly go to links provided and read both the article by Ms. Wandhwani (want to guess her religious affiliation?) and the reply by the University, then I think much of the internal controversy here would go away.
To me, the reply is so vehement that the implication that the reporter willfully and maliciously misquoted the professor, to the point of supplying detail where none was offered, particularly upon the point of 'sins of omission' gets considerable credence in my very skeptical mind. The world of modern theology is littered with creative thinkers who do not proceed from the core understanding that whatever is derived must concord with the fundamental data, which are the Holy Scriptures. They are, after all, the written Word of God for a professing Christian. I have not before heard of this professor but given the heat with which he rebuts the reporter and the instancy with which the reply appeared, I suggest he was, as he says, misquoted.
Of course, many can still continue to post having read a line or two of the article and ignoring the University's response, but if that is the case, then I'll move on to threads where adults are posting.
Sounds like the makings of the abomination.
O.K., I'll do it, but only when the Muslims let go of Allah first.
How would you title the president of the So. Baptist Convention?
Seems Camp is willing to give up his own Salvation to get along with Jews/Muslims, & he is asking all Christians to do the same. I'd say denial of Christ as the Son of God makes him an ex-Christian & a sure candidate for Hell.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
It's as simple as that!
Christianity is the only religion in the world that tolerates other religions unconditionally. In that way, it is the true word of God and is superior to the rest.
The author is pretty much a fool. Christianity has NEVER sought to "violently impose "Jesus is Lord" on anyone. That's the MUSLIM philosophy. --
Christianity has certainly tried to violently impose Jesus as Lord in the past. This is one of the reasons Jews are very leery of Christians. This is one of the author's main points. American Christians have about a 50 year historical mindset. Muslims have a 1000 year historical mindset.
Have you ever read anything about the crusades?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade
Please read Post 28; it changes the thrust of this story significantly.
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