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Keynote · 08-03-2009

You know, it’s funny. As I watched the video, I was also moved that the people in question were not consistently acting out of love for the Muslims or concern for their souls. It started out as an honest attempt at dialogue, but that ended very quickly, and the issue became more about their ‘rights’ as Americans (or whatever) than truth-seeking,

I do appreciate Mary Jo’s admonition that reproof needs to be in line with scripture. And technically, no, they did not break any specific scriptural admonitions. Well, except those bothersome ones about loving your enemies, blessing those who persecute you, and treating others as you would be treated. But that’s not what was going on. The documentarians cried ‘foul’ at every possible occasion and made it clear that the violation of their ‘rights’ as Americans was of greater concern than any honest attempt at conversations about truth.

Anyway, here’s a (hopefully) helpful aside:

As I was doing some research before going on tour sharing the Gospel in Egypt last year, I had a number of conversations with people who had many decades of experience ministering the Gospel in the Arab world.

One of the guys I spoke with had been in Jordan when the U.S. bombed Libya during Khaddafi’s reign in the early 80s. He got into a taxi in Amman, and the cabbie asked him “Why have the Christians bombed Libya?” What must be understood is that in the Arab/Muslim world, they do not compartmentalize politics, religion and culture like we do. In their world, it is much more mingled together.

To them, everything they see coming out of our political system and culture is a product of Christianity. That would include the violence and lasciviousness of our entertainment media and the actions of our military, the behavior of our politicians, etc. Their culture places a high value on modesty, family, and fidelity, etc., and everything they see from the West is an affront to those values.

Truthfully, when I look at the same elements of our culture, I can’t say I blame them for their biases against us. So, of course they think we are infidels. But because they do not have the mind or heart of Christ, their desire is not to convert – it’s to conquer. But we must be above that - we have been called to reach people with the truth, not assert or defend our ‘rights’. We have been called to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. We have been called to share the Gospel, and that requires compassion, not confrontation.

I didn’t see any compassion in the video. I saw no attempt to understand the culture they were trying to influence. What I saw was someone poke a stick in a hornet’s nest and threaten to sue the swarm.

I’m am sure we’re going to get anywhere that way.

08-03-2009	#10 (permalink)
Keynote Musician Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 2	What Were They Thinking? You know, it’s funny. As I watched the video, I was also moved that the people in question were not consistently acting out of love for the Muslims or concern for their souls. It started out as an honest attempt at dialogue, but that ended very quickly, and the issue became more about their ‘rights’ as Americans (or whatever) than truth-seeking, I do appreciate Mary Jo’s admonition that reproof needs to be in line with scripture. And technically, no, they did not break any specific scriptural admonitions. Well, except those bothersome ones about loving your enemies, blessing those who persecute you, and treating others as you would be treated. But that’s not what was going on. The documentarians cried ‘foul’ at every possible occasion and made it clear that the violation of their ‘rights’ as Americans was of greater concern than any honest attempt at conversations about truth. Anyway, here’s a (hopefully) helpful aside: As I was doing some research before going on tour sharing the Gospel in Egypt last year, I had a number of conversations with people who had many decades of experience ministering the Gospel in the Arab world. One of the guys I spoke with had been in Jordan when the U.S. bombed Libya during Khaddafi’s reign in the early 80s. He got into a taxi in Amman, and the cabbie asked him “Why have the Christians bombed Libya?” What must be understood is that in the Arab/Muslim world, they do not compartmentalize politics, religion and culture like we do. In their world, it is much more mingled together. To them, everything they see coming out of our political system and culture is a product of Christianity. That would include the violence and lasciviousness of our entertainment media and the actions of our military, the behavior of our politicians, etc. Their culture places a high value on modesty, family, and fidelity, etc., and everything they see from the West is an affront to those values. Truthfully, when I look at the same elements of our culture, I can’t say I blame them for their biases against us. So, of course they think we are infidels. But because they do not have the mind or heart of Christ, their desire is not to convert – it’s to conquer. But we must be above that - we have been called to reach people with the truth, not assert or defend our ‘rights’. We have been called to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. We have been called to share the Gospel, and that requires compassion, not confrontation. I didn’t see any compassion in the video. I saw no attempt to understand the culture they were trying to influence. What I saw was someone poke a stick in a hornet’s nest and threaten to sue the swarm. I’m am sure we’re going to get anywhere that way.