Ethics Daily ran my latest article today, which is entitled "Baptists and Muslims Must Know Each Other, Panelists Say." It is the third piece about the first national Muslim-Baptist dialogue that was held over the weekend in Boston (you can read the first two here and here). This piece focuses on one of the main arguments made by speakers--that Baptists and Muslims must educate those within their own faith tradition about the other faith.
Bruce Prescott has posted the audio of two more speakers. You can listen to remarks by Rob Sellers here and Charles Kimball here. Additionally, the Islamic Society of North America posted my first Ethics Daily article about this event.
Bruce Prescott has posted the audio of two more speakers. You can listen to remarks by Rob Sellers here and Charles Kimball here. Additionally, the Islamic Society of North America posted my first Ethics Daily article about this event.
In response to this post's title: No, Muslims must come to know Jesus, not Baptists. No one was ever saved from an eternity without God by knowing a Baptist--only by knowing Jesus as Savior.
ReplyDeleteCharles Kimball, the self-described pluralist, wouldn't agree with me, but then, I'm sure he's delighted with this dialog event.
If you want to discredit this interfaith dialog as nothing unique from a Christian perspective, just keep referring to Kimball.
CD: Thanks for the comment. But, we do also need to know each other. What you are calling for only covers the first greatest commandment; but the second is also important. As Kimball explained, it is difficult to live out the call to love one's neighbor if we do not know them because we will likely bear false witness in our ignorance. And just because you disagree with someone on an issue does not mean they are wrong on all issues. We do not have to agree with everything that all Baptists say--let alone Muslims--in order to sit down together as neighbors and dialogue. Go to Bruce Prescott's blog and listen to Kimball's address and then let me know what you think (and be sure to look for areas of agreement, not just disagreement).
ReplyDeleteAs I said, in its watered-down state, the dialog is nothing unique from a Christian perspective.
ReplyDeleteI will get to know Muslims neighbors as individuals. That is how I will love them--one at a time.
A big-blown, pluralistic dialog between liberal Baptists like Kimball (who must have just made the move from Wake Forest to OU) and Muslim higher-ups is fine, but nothing distinct or unique for me or other Baptists who believe in the exclusivity of Jesus to save and love all our neighbors, regardless of who they currently worship.
CD: If you read the articles, you may notice that one theme that was made was how having more local and personal gatherings--such as you suggest--is much more important. One goal of this gathering was to help spark more local efforts. You seem to think that Kimball was the only Baptist there (either that or you just ignore facts that do not fit your bias). Other Baptist presenters included someone who was a missionary in a Muslim nation for nearly 25 years, and there were many Baptist ministers involved in the weekend. Again, I challenge you to actually listen to Kimball's address and realize that just because you disagree on one issue does not mean you must disagree on all.
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