Unapologetic Apologetics
9 Dec 2006
Recently, the Florida Baptist Witness ran my article Apples & Oranges under the title: "Islam and Christianity? There is no comparison." Shortly thereafter, I received the following email. I’m sharing this email with you along with my response because I feel it addresses some important issues confronting today’s church, in particularly how today’s church is to go about fulfilling the Great Commission in these perilous times.
EMAIL
Mr. Walton,
I appreciate your recent article "Islam and Christianity? There is no comparison." You brought up several good points of differentiation between the two religions.
I'm not what you would call a "regular" reader of the Florida Baptist Witness, but I do pick it up from time to time. I was particularly frustrated by your take on the "Islam vs. Christianity" compared to another well respected, Biblicaly sound communicator I was listening to recently.
From what I understand of Islam, only a small number of followers are focused on being "militant." While you are correct in sharing what Christ taught (Golden Rule etc...), we must be reminded of where we were (Christians) when we were around 1400 years old. We were in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition. I wouldn't call that a highlight of Christianity, and it's certainly not what Jesus taught, but "in the name of God" men took many lives through many bloody battles. And now Islam sits at 1400 years old. We can agree that what they've done is wrong, but in all honesty we've been there too.
And while you suggest "there is no comparison" I must add this... the three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) tie back to the same man - Abraham. So we can find at least one area of common ground.
My reason for pointing this out is simple: While your article may "prove your point" to Christians - that's about all it does. I would go as far as saying it would alienate an Islamic person. I realize the audience of this magazine is Christians, but it's unfortunate to see Baptist leaders continuing to model the "I've got a point to prove" method. While Christ was on earth he had the opportunity to go around and tell everybody how wrong they were, but he didn't come here to prove a point. I mean he was God, if anyone could say "You're wrong, you're wrong, you're really wrong," it was Jesus, but instead he decided to build a bridge. That's the model. It's not about "proving it a point" it's about winning a heart. How do we craft and communicate our message, The Message, so it doesn’t alienate, but rather catches the hearts of the people with which we are trying to share it. It breaks my heart to see leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention so focused on proving "how right they are" that they alienate the very people that they are trying to reach.
I shared with you the common ground - if you want to build a bridge with followers of Islam start there, talk about Abraham. If not you're just jumping into the middle of the story (Muhammad vs. Jesus) with no context for how we got to that point. You'll get to your point in the end and I think you'll still have more than just the Christians reading.
I would encourage you to pick up a copy of Andy Stanley's (Charles Stanley's son) series "The Star, The Cross, and The Crescent" available at www.northpoint.org. He communicates the same end message you were trying to communicate, but in a way that I believe opens, rather than closes the door to those who may currently be followers of Islam. Just for the record, I'm just about as doctrinally Southern Baptist as they come (inerrancy, etc...), but I also know we have to start rethinking our communication methods if we are going to reach the generation that we've been so good at losing.
I hope and pray this message will be taken in love and understanding. And if you feel I'm incorrect in my statements, feel free to let me know as well.
Name withheld
Lakeland, FL
MY RESPONSE
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on my recent article in the Florida Baptist Witness. Many of the responses I receive from folks like you prove to be very constructive. Therefore, I’m always glad to read what others have to say.
As I’m sure you are aware, no writer can thoroughly cover any topic in a brief article. While many of the issues you raise would make good topics for additional articles, all of them cannot possibly be dealt with in a single piece. While some of your points were well made and well taken, I do take exception with others.
First, you make a common mistake when you attribute to Christianity the crimes of Roman Catholicism; namely, the “Spanish Inquisition.” Far from being synonymous with Christianity, Roman Catholicism is the second largest false religion in the world, Islam being the largest. While you may argue that many professed Roman Catholics are born again Christians, you cannot argue that the baptized paganism of Roman Catholicism is compatible with Scripture. The Catholic Church is a false church preaching a false gospel of salvation by works (sacraments).
Although history is filled with atrocities perpetrated by the Roman Catholic Church, you should not confuse the Church of Rome with the Church of Christ. For instance, the Crusades were not called for by Christ and fought by the church of the living God, but called for by Pope Urban II and fought by Catholic mercenaries who in the end committed the same atrocities against pagans, Muslims and Jews, that Muslim armies committed against pagans, Christians and Jews.
Just like you, most Muslims argue that Islam should no more be condemned for atrocities committed in the name of Allah than Christianity should be condemned for atrocities committed in the name of Christ. Such an argument, however, is easily refuted. Consider the following: (1) While the Founder of our faith—Jesus Christ—never practiced such atrocities, the founder of Islam—Mohammed—definitely did. (2) While the Bible prohibits Christians from committing such atrocities, the Koran commands Muslims to do so. (3) Anytime an atrocity is committed in the name of Christ, Christians are the first to denounce it, but anytime an atrocity is committed in the name of Allah, Muslims, for the most part, are eerily silent.
Your comparison of Islam at 1400-years-old and Christianity at 1400-years-old is most disturbing to me. Are you insinuating that Islam—a satanically inspired false religion—should not be judged before its time, but given another 600 years or so to develop before any final conclusions are reached? I sincerely hope not; for if you are, you couldn’t be more wrong!!
Like so many today, you’re missing the point. You fail to see the real evil of Islam. You limit its evil to the “small number of [Muslims who] are focused on being ‘militant.’” Yet, Jesus taught, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Islam’s greatest evil is not Muslim terrorists who imperil people’s mortal bodies, but Muslim teachings that imperil people’s immortal souls. If you could remove all terrorism from Islam, you would still have the world’s largest and fastest growing false religion, a religion, I might add, that is being masterfully used by the god of this world to deceive the masses and lead untold millions into Christless graves and Christless eternities.
The Apostle Paul, unlike most Christians today, fought vehemently for the purity of the Gospel and against all Gospel opponents. He did so, undoubtedly, because he knew what was at stake—the eternal souls of men. This explains his politically incorrect statement in Galatians 1:8-9: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed [eternally damned]. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed [eternally damned].”
I suppose you would have considered Paul a bridge burner rather than a bridge builder. Perhaps, you would have suggested to him that he not castigate the Judaizers but seek some common ground with them. This is, after all, the same kind of advice the disciples gave the Lord Jesus (Matthew 15:12). If He had only listened, he may have avoided the cross and ended up starting Jerusalem’s first mega-church. But, as we both know, the Lord Jesus was a real stickler for the truth. I guess that’s why He ended up being crucified shortly after losing a public election to a common criminal by a landslide (Matthew 27:15-26).
The truth is no more popular today than it was in Jesus’ day. Indeed, it will never be popular in this truth-hating world. This, I believe, explains why Jesus warned His disciples to expect the same kind of treatment from this world that He received (John 15:18-27). Contrary to popular opinion, there is no way around the “offense of the cross” (Galatians 5:11). I know that many, like you, believe that we can blunt the “two-edged sword” of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16; 2:12) and make the Gospel palatable to those at enmity with Christ. I, on the other hand, see absolutely no credence in such an untenable notion.
Jesus did come to build a bridge, but not as you suggest, a bridge between those who reject Him (Muslims) and those who receive Him (Christians). Jesus came to build a bridge between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). While all men may be united in Christ (Galatians 3:26-28), all who come to Christ will find themselves henceforth in an irreconcilable difference with this Christ-rejecting world. This explains why Jesus declared: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36).
The truth inevitably divides those who receive it and defend it from those who reject it and denounce it. As much as we may hate this fact, it is an unavoidable fact of life in this fallen world. I know that you may dismiss all that I am saying as a mere modeling of “the ‘I’ve got a point to prove’ method.” I can assure you, however, that I’m not interested it making points, but disciples, or in winning arguments, but souls. Still, neither of these objectives is attainable unless I’m willing to declare the unvarnished truth and bravely defend it against all lies. While you may frown on Christian attempts to prove “how right [we] are” and feel “that they alienate the very people that [we] are trying to reach,” I believe that our attempts to prove and defend the faith (apologetics) are not only commanded by Scripture (1 Peter 3:15), but the only hope we have of reaching people for Christ who are already alienated from both us and God.
Whereas you are heartbroken over “leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention focused on proving ‘how right they are,’” I’m heartbroken over how wrong this lost and dying world is. No amount of pats on the back and soft-soap will ever convince lost humanity of its dire and desperate spiritual straits. The only hope of blind eyes being opened and the glory of God being seen in the face of Christ is the uncompromised preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by faithful and fearless witnesses in these last days.
Isn’t it interesting how people were “astonished” at the “authority” of Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 7:28-29) and “marveled” at the boldness of the apostles’ preaching (Acts 4:13) in the New Testament; that is, during the time of the infant church’s miraculous growth? Likewise, isn’t it intriguing how the fastest growing religion in the world today is militant Islam, which is obviously unconcerned about its in-your-face-image? At the same time, however, Christianity is losing ground while Christians worry about feelings getting hurt instead of souls being saved.
As you graciously ended your email, I too would like to end mine. I really do hope that this message will be taken in love and understanding. I do not wish to offend you, but realize that sometimes offenses come (Matthew 18:7). I am in no way questioning your commitment to Christ or sincere desire to spread the Gospel, I’m just suspicious that you’ve fallen into a trap common within Christendom today; namely, that the way to win a world at enmity with God is with flattery and camaraderie rather than with the simple and offensive message of “Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24; 2:2).
God Bless,
Don Walton
Don Walton
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