UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES
The Newsletter of Contend for the Faith, Inc

1 Chronicles 12:32

AUGUST 2002

Abundant Work, Abundant Blessings

OBSERVER ARTICLE DRAWS LARGE RESPONSE

After my article on the controversy surrounding Anne Graham Lotz was published in the Charlotte Observer (see enclosed article), I was very surprised at the email responses.

Due to the nature of the topic (the biblical teaching on homosexuality) I expected to be deluged with letters from activists who advocate homosexuality as a normal and moral lifestyle criticizing me for the article. But, much to my surprise, I received about 50 positive responses to 5 negative.

One of the notes of disagreement was particularly sad. It was from a woman who claims to be a Christian who wrote that I am blind to the fact that many good people are born gay, that God made them that way, and I and others like me are wrong to condemn it. “How foolish of you, in this enlightened age, to think of this congenital condition as a ‘sin,’” she wrote. She also informed me that scholars know there are many errors in the Bible (presumably this includes the teaching against homosexuality), yet “this does not make it any less the Word of God.” How sad that someone who calls herself a believer could be so confused, misinformed, and untrained in the truth of the Bible.

On the other side, I received one note that was to me like “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Prov. 25:11). A Christian woman wrote to tell me of the strife caused in her family because her Jewish husband had become a Christian a few years ago. His Jewish relatives have “practically disowned him,” and the relationship with his family is very strained.

She said the day before my article was printed she and her husband had a terrible argument with his sister, who is very intolerant of Christianity. The wife who has so desired to have unity with her husband’s family said she “felt as if I failed miserably.”

Then she read my column and felt as if it were written to help her specifically. She wrote:

"Your words “it is better to be divided by truth than united in error” were like a window opening to me. Our faith has been shared with her and I must leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. I cannot let her intolerance force me to have Unity in Error."

I praise God for the encouragement from all of the other Christians who thanked me for what I wrote.

PRAYER AND PRAISES

July was a wonderful month for this ministry! I just finished teaching the High School youth group at Hickory Grove Baptist Church for five weeks, and I want to thank all who prayed for these classes and these students. From all accounts it was a great success. Please pray that the students will use the information to help them reach lost classmates for Christ.

Our website is up! We received an anonymous donation paying for 10 hours of professional expertise in designing the site, so we say Praise God and thank you to the one who gave so generously!

Also, many thanks to all who donated toward a new computer for the ministry. We took advantage of the tax-free weekend and bought a much more powerful desktop of which we have been sorely in need.

Please pray for Kevin, whom we have been helping to answer the questions his unbelieving step-father has been asking him. Pray also for this man who is at present so hostile to the faith.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Sept. 20-21 Young Defenders Boot Camp, Denver, CO

Nov. 8-9 National Conference on Apologetics and Other Religions, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, NC

www.ContendfortheFaith.org

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

UNDERSTANDING THE UNC CONTROVERSY OVER ISLAM

Every year the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill requires all of its 3500 incoming freshmen to read a book and participate in a two-hour discussion of it. What is unique about this year is the assignment has landed UNC in federal court.

The college is being sued by a conservative Christian organiza-tion over the required book, “Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations” by Michael Sells. The Family Policy Network, based in Virginia, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Greensboro on July 22 on behalf of three unnamed freshmen, claiming the assignment violates the First Amendment.

While I applaud Christians standing up for principles of morality in the public square, I think the plaintiffs in this case are wrong for two key reasons.

The first is the legal argument being used. The American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, representing the plaintiffs, “asserts the program violates both the Establishment and the Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.”

There is little doubt that had the UNC chosen a book favorable to Christianity the ACLU would have filed a lawsuit alleging a violation of the mythical “separation of church and state” doctrine. Christians would justifiably be upset that a liberal group was trying to prohibit a positive portrayal of Christianity in a public institution.

However, now that the tables are turned, Christians should NOT use the same misguided tactic to squelch the discussion of a different religion. Stephen M. Crampton, Chief Counsel of the CLP, says the assigned book “is a transparent endorsement of a particular religion by a state university. This promotion of a particular religion the constitution squarely prohibits.”

Mr. Crampton is wrong. The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Simply put, the federal government is prohibited from establishing a national church like the Church of England. Activist courts have twisted this to mean that any institution which receives tax money is prohibited from advocating or endorsing any particular religious viewpoint. But this is not what the amendment says and not what it means. UNC is neither establishing Islam nor prohibiting Christians and Jews from practicing their faith.

Think of it this way. Even if “Approaching the Qur’an” were a text clearly proselytizing for Islam (which it is not), would the result be that Islam had become the official religion of America? Of North Carolina? Of UNC?

While it may be argued that it is unwise for UNC to require this book, it is not unconstitutional.

The second reason the plaintiffs are wrong is they seem to think a university should not require students to read material with which they have a religious or philosophical disagreement. But the logical outworking of that reasoning would mean there would be few if any textbooks a college could use because someone would always have an objection. There are things being taught everyday in biology, philosophy and even economics classes at UNC to which these same organizations would object.

I believe the freshmen at UNC who are Christians should look at this assignment not as a problem but as an opportunity to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3). This book, a basic if inadequate introduction to Muslim beliefs, can be used as a catalyst to discuss the truth and superiority of the Christian faith. To be well prepared, students should read a thorough evaluation of Islam by a Christian scholar, such as “Answering Islam” by well-known apologist (and Charlotte resident) Dr. Norman Geisler.

Believers need not fear challenges to the faith from other religions, the cults, or atheists. Christianity is a faith built on history, evidence, and reason and it can withstand any scrutiny.

Christians should point out the stark differences between the two faiths. In Islam, man has no savior, can have no personal relationship with Allah, and has no assurance of eternity in paradise (except through dying in Jihad). In Christianity, Jesus is our risen Savior, being God the Son, and all people who trust in Him as the sacrifice for their sins will have the assurance of an eternal, loving relationship with the true and living God.

Students should be taught to think critically about their beliefs. In a world where many say one’s faith determines truth, we all must realize that truth should determine one’s faith. Evidentially and existentially, Christianity satisfies both the questions of the mind and the desires of the heart.

As one who teaches believers to better understand and contend for the Christian faith, I have no fear of reading books that either attack the Gospel or defend another religion. Christianity can withstand any scrutiny.

Islam claims to be a religion of peace, but it is the peace of a conquered slave submitting to his master. Christianity offers the peace of a reconciled relationship between a Father and His son: “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Jude 3,

Dave

All Americans need to have a basic understanding of Islam.
To be uninformed about this religion is to be ignorant of the worldview of over 1.2 billion people.