But we’ll address one that may not immediately pop into your mind.
This article appeared on the BCC web site last week concerning the Church of England. The issues involving the “Church” of England are legion and we won’t beat that dead horse here.
The first level at which it is “wrong” is this – why are they even HAVING that discussion? Of course, when you throw out the authority of the Scriptures and make cooperation between all faiths take precedence over that pesky ol’ Bible, well, then, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised after all.
The second level, and the one we are to focus on here, is something that appears as little more than an aside in the article. There is a mention of a man who converted from the Church of England to Islam and underneath his photo appears this caption:
Steven Longden says he became a Muslim partly because of Islam’s emphasis on monotheism.
Wait a minute.
The last time I checked, Christianity is monotheistic.
Could this be possible – that perhaps Mr. Longden did not know Christianity is monotheistic because no one ever taught him so?
Doctrine, schmoctrine, many say. Was Mr. Longden ever taught that Christianity worships ONE GOD? Or did he receive an endless series of lectures on how to improve himself through community service and how to love your neighbor “unconditionally” and “not to judge?”
Did he ever receive teaching in some form of class or from the pulpit that Scripture (ESV – emphasis mine) says:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
““You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” Isaiah 43:10
“Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.“ Isaiah 45:21-22
““Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it. Isaiah 46:8-11
“But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10, to cite a few passages.
WAIT! I Forgot! Those verses are awfully exclusive. They don’t allow for a lot of wiggle room and they may offend someone from another faith.
So what.
Are we worried more about offending those from another faith or are we concerned at all about offending the living God, whom we have declared our allegiance to? An allegiance that is to be exclusive?
Is your church teaching these truths? Do your people know there is ONE God (a triune God, yes, but ONE God. Sound teaching on the doctrine of the Trinity wouldn’t hurt, either) and that Christianity teaches that throughout the entirety of Scripture?
Sure, Islam plays upon its distortions of Scripture. (e.g., speaking of Christians in Surah 5:73; “They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the third of three; when there is no God save the One God. If they desist not from so saying a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve,” and Surah 5:116: “And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I had ever said it, then Thou wouldst have known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden?“) Christians do NOT worship three gods. Did Mr. Longden know that? If the Christian is firmly grounded in the foundational truths of the faith, then he will be able to withstand such as the Islamic presentation. If he never heard them, though, he may fall prey to such deception and forfeit his soul for eternity.
Are we willing to do that in the name of inclusivism and “cooperation”? Assist fallen men in their slide to damnation? Woe to any of us who are party to that.
Learn the Christian faith. It’s hard work. We are commanded to do so, though. Look at all the New Testament passages on “teaching” and those who “teach” and the importance that Paul, especially, puts on sound doctrine being taught and by logical following, learned. Oh, that we were all good Bereans. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, bust open that Bible. (People who challenged an apostle were commended for doing so. If one dares to question an “apostle” and his or her(!) teachings (even though the office ceased with the death of the apostles in the NT) in our times, one is chastised because “thou shalt not touch God’s anointed.” Sheesh.)
