A row has eurrupted in the Church of England over the campaign of a trainee-priest, Paul Eddy, "for the Church of England to work explicitly to convert Muslims to Christianity"(BBC News). The motion will be debated at the upcoming General Synod in York and has provoked angry reactions not only from Muslims but from within the Anglican church itself.
Unless I'm reading incorrectly the verse says "the way" not "a way" and "No one" rather than "Everyone". Lowe's talk of "one another's paths to God" is heresy. The Bible clearly teaches there is only one way for sinful man to be reconcilled to God, through Christ's death on the cross. Not through Islam and not through our own efforts to get right with God.
Matthew 28:19
Matthew 10:34-36
Doesn't sound like Jesus was asking us to focus on building "good inter-faith relations" instead we've been given a life saving message to spread. Our message is offensive as it tells people they are sinners and need a Saviour and Jesus has warned us that this will bring division and hostility. However ultamitely living in harmony with God and our fellow man is only possible through the Gospel which and nothing can be more beneficial for a community than the conversion of sinners.
It's really sad when professing Christians send out such mixed messages to the world. We have a responsibility and a priviledge to share the Gospel with the world and we should be making special efforts to tell the Good News to those under the delusion of Islam and not being afraid of offending people. In the past missionaries went out from Britain across the world, now the world is coming to Britain and we have a mutli-racial mission field on our doorsteps. Maybe it would help to think of it this way, if you saw someone drowning you wouldn't hold back a life ring incase of embarrassing and angering a non-swimmer, would you?
Bishop of Urban Life and Faith Stephen Lowe has said that the motion shows "no sensitivity to the need for good inter-faith relations. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs are learning to respect one another's paths to God and to live in harmony. This demand for the evangelisation of people of other faiths contributes nothing to our communities."(Telegraph)
Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, the former Bishop of Hulme and the newly appointed Bishop of Urban Life and Faith
Lowe's Bible (if he owns such an wildly insensitive book!) must be missing a few verses.
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"
Unless I'm reading incorrectly the verse says "the way" not "a way" and "No one" rather than "Everyone". Lowe's talk of "one another's paths to God" is heresy. The Bible clearly teaches there is only one way for sinful man to be reconcilled to God, through Christ's death on the cross. Not through Islam and not through our own efforts to get right with God.
Matthew 28:19
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
Matthew 10:34-36
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'"
Doesn't sound like Jesus was asking us to focus on building "good inter-faith relations" instead we've been given a life saving message to spread. Our message is offensive as it tells people they are sinners and need a Saviour and Jesus has warned us that this will bring division and hostility. However ultamitely living in harmony with God and our fellow man is only possible through the Gospel which and nothing can be more beneficial for a community than the conversion of sinners.
It's really sad when professing Christians send out such mixed messages to the world. We have a responsibility and a priviledge to share the Gospel with the world and we should be making special efforts to tell the Good News to those under the delusion of Islam and not being afraid of offending people. In the past missionaries went out from Britain across the world, now the world is coming to Britain and we have a mutli-racial mission field on our doorsteps. Maybe it would help to think of it this way, if you saw someone drowning you wouldn't hold back a life ring incase of embarrassing and angering a non-swimmer, would you?
7 comments:
Good post.
Off-topic; please inform Steelo that Stuart Olyott is preaching in Great Victoria Street Baptist next Lord's Day 11 am and 7 pm, and Monday and Tuesday night at 8 pm.
Thanks Daniel.
Albert Mohler has also written an article on these events on his blog.
(Note that DMFWS had an article online a day before!)
He writes "If Bishop Lowe's theology wins the day, as evidence suggests is already happening, the Church of England will forfeit any claim to the Gospel."
The full article is very worthwhile reading and can be found at:
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1158
But... yeah... it's about giving the message of the gospel, but surely our message of forgiveness and the one way isn't so offensive that we target a particular group, get all up in their face and work at converting them one by one like some kind of hitlist?! (Yeah, i'm completely overexagerating to make a point...) In targeting 'explicitly' muslims, we're completely ignoring everybody else, who also need Jesus as much as muslims do. That's not the role of the church, that's not the role that we have as Christians... Yes we spread good news... But I'm not entirely sure that guy has the best way of going about it... Although I do like that he has a follow through plan, supporting converted Muslims.
I took the term "explicitly" to refer to spreading the gospel in an explicit way ie you need to be saved. However I might have taken this the wrong way. I understand your concern about singling out a group and getting "up in their face" but I don't think there's anything wrong with selecting a particular group for some people to focus on as different groups have different attitutdes and questions towards the gospel. Would you not agree?
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