From what I am told, I have a predicament. I have a friend who is Muslim. Someone recently told me that this is not possible because I cannot be a patriotic Christian and be friends with Muslims. I guess he believes, despite the New Testament, that we are not supposed to love our enemies, real or perceived. Only my Muslim friend is not my enemy; he is my friend. Granted, I do not understand much about his beliefs, nor he mine, but we are working on it. Still, I think I also understand where my more disapproving friend is coming from. We are naturally suspicious of what we do not understand. And unresolved suspicion usually produces fear or, worse, hatred. According to Carl Medearis in his book, "Muslims, Christians, and Jesus," 9/11 changed everything in an otherwise religiously tolerant USA.
Medearis, who has spent three decades as a Christian living in the Middle East, recounts how once in one of several trips to post-9/11 Iraq, he found himself and several others dragged from a car at gunpoint, "escorted out into the sand, then lined up on our knees, hearts pounding and palms sweating. Let me tell you, when an AK-47 stares at you, you find an incredible capacity for introspection, along with a unique closeness to God." While kneeling in the sand, out of nowhere, the thought came to him, "If I had to do it all over again, would I spend my life in the Middle East, living among Arabs, trying to be the visible expression of Jesus to them?" The answer was an immediate yes. He loved these people, even those who might kill him at any moment. He knew this kind of love was beyond him; it was a supernatural, divine thing. Thankfully, Medearis and his companions were released unharmed, but the epiphany remained. Now, he wants non-Muslims to love Muslims, too, despite all the latent anger from 9/11. And love begins, he feels, with understanding.
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Muslims, Christians, and Jesus by Carl Medearis. (Bethany House, 192pgs, $14p)
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Medearis' love for Islamic people has compelled him to share what he feels is the "Christlike perspective" in forging relationships with people unlike ourselves, people of a religion many American Christians have broad-brushed as being a religion of evil jihadists. Medearis wants us to love Muslim people, as he does, and lays out an historical examination of Muhammad, the Five Pillars of Islam and the Quar'an. From that basis he points out the common ground our otherwise dissimilar beliefs share, commonalities that could build bridges, not barriers, between us. He also provides knowledgeable answers to the questions about Christianity that often baffle Muslims, questions like: What do Christians think about Muhammad? Why have Christians "changed" their Bible? How can God have a son? How could Jesus be God's son and be killed by human hands? As Medearis shows us, the typical pat answers may not be all that convincing to those outside our faith. Something else is needed — like love rather than stereotypes.
Possibly the most helpful sections of the book for me were the anecdotal "stories of faith" interspersed throughout the chapters that help us understand how wide the gap often is between Christians and Muslims yet how much alike people of all races and religions really are.
Reviewed by Jim Miller, Vineyard Church Nacogdoches.
