All living persons, good or bad, are world citizens in the mind of God. They have a place in the world where they may savor life, and reflect on the miracle of self-consciousness and meaning. Some citizens are Christians, some are Muslims, and some are of other faiths, faiths that are precious to them, including civic religion which is a human context without god involvement. Each of these admits some elements of exclusivity. For the faithful at every level there is nothing that matches his or her faith. That exclusivity is not cause for conflict, attack, revenge, arrogance, but is identified as difference in a vital matter in which only one is more effective (in truth and rightness) than the other. Conflict arises when the differences are misunderstood and misapplied, so to permit conflict. The believer respecting freedom in application believes differences are managed in investigation of claims, in resolving belief conflicts through learning the facts of faith, and then resorting to prayer. Application’s success is left with God to evaluate.
Why would I not choose the Islamic or Hindu religion, or some other? Islam is the closest competition to Christianity in the World – a World in which both the Muslim believer and the Christian believer are equal citizens. The Muslim believer would be a stranger in the small town in which I live, but I hope he or she would be welcome – if law abiding. Any citizen of the town in which I live who would not treat the visitor as a fellow human being, qualifying for friendship unless trust is broken, would embarrass me. Were this Muslim visitor to enter into discussion with me about the differing merits of our faiths, I would welcome the conversation. It might turn into a debate. From my point of view, anyone might listen in, with the hope that all persons would recognize that we are in this life context together, so we are respectful of the safety, rights, and ideas of others – if exchanged in peace among persons of good will. We can be friends in common grace, even if we feel deeply, even to the point of our deaths, that we serve God, and that the spiritual differences are so great that one of us may be missing God, and the other may be finding him. There is another position, and that is that we both may be wrong, and there is some third position that has eluded us. The point here is that we can’t both be right about some truth about God. We both believe there is one God, and he will not accept an interloper god. Only God has right related to our life-legacy.
What is a Fatwa? Essentially it is a contract by a Muslim Ayatollah on someone’s life, a contract justified, as the Muslim believes, because the person to be executed has done something that is interpreted as violating the faith, as illustrated in the contract on Salman Rushdie’s life in the late 20th century for his writings, appearing to be critical of the Muslim faith. As a Christian, I can’t accept fatwa as of God, even though I would not justify the life style of Rushdie. The fatwa is contrary to God’s nature. God is quite able to take care of himself, although he calls his followers to share, in love, the message of reconciliation with God. There is a human sense in which Jesus was crucified for a type of fatwa reason, but God used it for redemption. We need God. God’s relationship to us is in love, not necessity – in grace, not in law.
What is a Jihad ? Essentially it is the open cause of generated hostility (perhaps warfare) to protect and advance the faith of Allah. Again, God is quite able to advance his own purpose without bloody or hateful conflict. He is a God of peace, of reconciliation, of redemption, to be understood that those who reject his proffered redemption and reconciliation are to be left alone for final evaluation, a judgment that only he can give in justice and truth. So it is that with level head and compassion for fellow mankind, and with righteous worship of God, I can make my evaluation and form my faith and life to meet God of the Christian – in love, peace and hope – accepting his grace, forgiveness and identity. Persons disinterested in religion are not likely going to study the choices. Those satisfied with their religion are not likely to be interested in any other, and are loathe to any consideration of another. It may be easier to win a humanist to faith than to dissuade anyone of sincerity to consider alternative to his or her present belief. It requires effort for a person to fix faith that is comforting – whether human or divine. Such a person is most likely touched by a model of faith in a life seen as consistent to proof of God’s love and holiness. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020