A plea for the Truth and Christianity’s inherent humility…
Below is a letter that I wrote to my uncle in March of 2008 after he visited for a few short days and returned to his home in Stockholm Sweden. My uncle was the first family member I told after I became a Christian. He comes from a Muslim background, as I do, and has strong post-modern views rooted in the familiar mantra of relativism and humanist views focused on being “good” while on earth. We had several intense conversations related to absolute truth and Christ being the only path to salvation. He had clear views on all religions being equal yet different paths and Christianity’s exclusive claim to salvation having a tone of arrogance. I thought I would share this letter with all of you and perhaps it may help in your evangelistic dialogues with others…
Dearest ,
I write this email just after you have left our house and hopefully successfully made it onto your plane for Ottawa. The reason I write this email now is to express my gratitude and love for you and your cause.
Without question, I understand and value and appreciate the efforts you made this weekend and the intention that was seeded in you across the ocean to come to help my family - your family and your sister. This IS love and it is ALWAYS felt - love is a unique characteristic because it can never be overcome with darkness.. Love never fails. Below is a famous passage from the Bible that describes love (you can check it to ensure it matches your…
Islam and Christianity - Estranged siblings or polarized worldviews?
Key verse(s)/quote(s):
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” - Jude 1:3
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis
Key takeaway(s):
- Although some similarities exist (as some Muslims would like us to focus upon) between these two monotheistic faiths - Christianity and Islam are indeed polarized
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Today’s Religions: There is no neutral ground.
Key verse(s)/quote(s):
“There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan” - C.S. Lewis
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:9-10
Key takeaway(s):
- With such an array of beliefs how can all religions lead to the same point?
- Objective analysis of a religion is key and sincerity alone has never been and should never be a mark of authenticity
- All religions & cults seem to do one or more of the following…
- Strip the deity of Christ
- Bring God down to our level
- Lift us up to God’s level
- Focus on self and not God
- Negate God’s existence altogether
- Dismiss our sinful nature
Overview:
This topic requires a holistic evaluation of several fundamental questions. The 4 main areas that serve as a starting point for an introductory discussion on comparative world religions begins with:
- Why are there so many religions?
- Don’t all religions point to God?
- What makes Christianity unique from other religions?
- What does all this mean to you?
In order to objectively compare religions and understand what worldviews they present, one must read from their own texts. Each of the facts presented in this presentation will…
