UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES: 2005/02
Print Version
E-mail This Article
Leave CommentUNDERSTANDING THE TIMES
The Newsletter of Contend for the Faith, Inc
1 Chronicles 12:32
FEBRUARY 2002
Doors Opening for Equipping the Saints
PRAISE AND THANKS
The projector we were able to purchase last month has been such a blessing. We have gotten so many positive comments from people in the classes we have been teaching on how the visuals add so much to the under-standing of the topic.
THANK YOU so much again to all who donated towards this and to all who prayed for the Lord to provide. Praise God!
UPCOMING EVENTS
I am continuing to teach a class at Calvary on Christian Apologetics on Wednesday nights from 7:00 – 8:15 pm each week. The class started in January and will continue through March 20, 2002. It is not too late to attend this class!! The class is open to everyone and there are notes available from earlier weeks so no one has to feel left behind. It is held in room 231.
On February 27 the class will not meet due to Calvary Church’s annual Missions Conference.
On March 6 the class will be on the greatest miracle concerning Jesus – the resurrection. We will give the biblical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead in the same physical body that hung on the cross (contrary to what some cults teach).
On March 13 we will discuss faith and reason, examining how they interact. The final class on March 20 will cover how we can follow the directive of Jude to earnestly contend for the faith.
I have been invited to speak on the cults at Peace Moravian Church in Charlotte on Wednesday February 27. My topic will be “Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses: Are They Christian?”
In this class we will define what a cult is, look at some characteristics that almost all cults hold in common, and examine what these two major cults teach on the nature of God, who is Jesus and what is the gospel. Their views will be compared to the teaching of orthodox Christianity.
The church is located at 6301 Park South Drive in the Southpark area. The class begins at 6:45 pm and will last one hour. Everyone is welcome to attend.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for the Missions Conference at Calvary Church coming up on February 24 through March 3, 2002. Please pray for the success of the conference and the safety of the missionaries traveling from around the world to Charlotte. Deborah and I are now part of the missions family at Calvary.
Please pray for a young man and his wife who have gotten involved with the Hare Krishnas, a cultic offshoot of Hinduism. The man’s mother contacted us seeking information on the group and how to reach her son for Christ. Please pray for strength and wisdom for her as she tries to help her son and his wife.
Please pray for a man who has been deceived by material he has been reading so that he believes all mainline churches are heretical because they do not call God by His proper name. His beliefs have led to much strife in his family. We will be meeting with this man in the near future.
Please continue to pray that this ministry will reach a level of support so that I can devote my efforts to it on a full time basis. If we can raise just $600 more in monthly support, I can quit my tent-making job and devote all of my attention to equipping the saints to contend for the faith.
Thank you all who have given sacrificially to this ministry and who continue to pray for us.
INFORMATION REQUESTS
If you need information to answer specific questions someone has posed to you concerning the faith, just call or send us an e-mail and we will do our best to help you answer those questions. Good questions deserve solid answers. You too can be a Contender!
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
UNDERSTANDING ISLAM: PART ONE
EMBRACING ISLAM
In the weeks and months since the terrorist attacks of September 11, two interesting things have taken place:
There has been an explosion of information concerning the teachings and practice of Islam (some accurate, some inaccurate) in the media and on the internet There has been a significant rise in the number of people converting to Islam during the same period.
There have been advocates of Islam vigorously condemning the attacks as being inconsistent with the true teachings of the Qur’an, the Muslim book regarded as scripture. We will examine this claim in depth in a later newsletter.
The number of Muslims in America is now over six million and it is probably the fastest growing religion in the U.S. Why has there been such a surge of new converts to a faith that was the source of inspiration for attacks causing the greatest one-day loss of life in American history?
According to an article in the Canadian newspaper National Post, "Americans have bought more flags since 9/11, but they've also bought more Korans," says Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who runs the al-Taqwah mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y. "I've had more converts since 9/11 and I've spoken in so many different forums and inter-faith meetings.”
Some people who said they were raised in Christian homes have become Muslims for various reasons. According to the New York Times, one convert named Shannon Staloch said “You know how the world changed when that happened [9/11] and everyone was shaky?” Ms. Staloch said. “I wanted something steady.”
Karen Courtenay, a 61-year-old woman in Boston, said she was attracted to Islam’s “clear theology and rules.” She said,
“Many Christians express dismay about the Trinity, about the tri-partite God. With Islam, there are no miracles and things you can't understand. Also, the congregational prayer, where everyone prays in a certain way in Arabic and in ritual positions is very powerful. Then there's the social aspect: If you come from a cold, WASP New England culture, the hugging and hospitality you get from Arab sisters is just wonderful.”
Laura, another Bostonian who was raised as a “secular Christian,” says of her choice of Islam,
“The Koran really touched my heart and I liked the inner logic of the religion. It can be seen as un-American, but it is one of the great religions of the world and applies to all places and times.”
SIMILARITY & DIFFERENCE
While some are converting to Islam because they believe it makes more sense to them than Christianity, others are doing all they can to promote the idea that Islam should be recognized and respected as a great world religion, on a par with Judaism and Christianity. The teachings of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, are at least as good if not superior to the teachings of the Bible. But is this true?
There are some similarities between Christianity and Islam. Both faiths assert there is only one true and living God, and both say that to worship anyone else is blasphemy. Both religions hold to doctrines of creation of the world, angels, heaven and hell, and the resurrection of all people. Concerning Jesus Christ, both affirm He was born of a virgin, was a prophet of God, was sinless, performed miracles, physically ascended into heaven, and will one day return to this earth. Both call Jesus Messiah.
But there are major differences between these faiths as well. Muslims deny the central teaching of Christianity that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world and physically arose from the grave three days later. Islam denies that Jesus was God in human flesh. In fact, the greatest sin that can be committed in Islam is to assign partners to God.
The Bible, according to most Muslims, contains some of the Word of God but it has been corrupted. Only the Qur’an is the pure Word of God, and it is the only rule for faith and practice of Islam.
Salvation for the Muslim is not by grace through faith in a Savior but through submission to the teachings of Islam. Muslims try to merit salvation by striving to please Allah (God) by doing good works.
Because this issue is so prominent and so important, we will examine the beliefs and practice of Islam over the next several months. Christians must learn to contend for the faith in a world that is embracing Islam.
Jude 3,
Dave
