Many Christians would like to interact with better love and understanding toward Muslims.  But Islam and Christianity have had a contentious history, and North Americans today have little training in the Muslim faith.  Most of what we know is a reaction against terrorism.   Unfortunately, this painful history, our fear, and our ignorance makes our attempts to share the gospel largely ineffective, especially against the strong decrees about apostasy that are part of Islam.

Nabeel Jabbour’s book The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross is a short, readable book that seeks to narrow this breach and improve our relationships with Muslims.  Jabbour is an Arab Christian who has lived and worked for many years with Muslims, and he has a doctorate in Muslim fundamentalism.  In this book, he presents the Muslim worldview towards Christians, from the point of view of a fictional Egyptian student visiting America.  “Ahmad” and his “family” represent a composite of many of the Muslims that Jabbour has interacted with over the years.  This literary device allows Jabbour to present a series of 15 problems that Muslims have with Christianity and Christians, which he can then discuss in turn.

The 15 points are:  

1. The Arab Bible and Christians who speak Arabic use a vocabulary that doesn’t match the Muslim vocabulary
2. Western Christians see the gospel through the lens of guilt and righteousness. But the Muslim worldview is based on shame vs. honor, unclean vs. clean, power vs. fear. 
3. Christians don’t understand the Qur’an or Muhammad, and falsely assume that the Qur’an is to Muslims as the Bible is to Christians, or that Muhammad is equivalent to Jesus.
4. Why should Muslims give up the Qur’an, which was dictated by God, for the Bible which was written by men?
5. The Christian history of crusade has been exacerbated by current American Middle East policies, which is fueling fanaticism rather than reducing it.
6. The West has a history of colonizing Muslim countries, and current occupations feed fears of neocolonialism.
7. American support of Israel and other policies hurt and offend all Muslims, not just the Muslims directly affected by the policies.
8. America wants moderate Muslims more than fundamentalist Muslims, but do not see how the unwavering American support of Israel over Palestine drives Muslims toward fundamentalism.
9. Since 9/11, the main American strategy against terrorism is to blow it up. This does not promote moderation either.
10.   Muslims feel their theology is closer to Christianity, since they accept Jesus as a prophet. They do not understand why we don’t feel theologically more sympathetic to them compared to Jews.
11. Christians should not see all Muslims as fanatics.
12. Christians seem to package Jesus with American politics, economics and culture.  American culture of immorality and sex is highly offensive to Muslims.
13. A Muslim who converts to Christianity shames his entire family
14. A Muslim who converts to Christianity loses his entire support system: jobs, literature, family, culture.
15. Many Muslims are told to change their name to a Western name when they convert, which is interpreted as treason.

This is my first book on Islam, so I am not in a position to judge whether these are really the 15 problems that most represent the Muslim problem with Christianity.  I also have no objective comparison to the responses that Jabbour gives. 

But what I like about this book is that it is humble in spirit. I respect authors who admit wrongs and suggest love and a listening heart as good solutions.  It helps, of course, that I already think the US has missed several opportunities to improve relations with Muslims by choosing invasion over nonviolent support (Three Cups of Tea, anyone?).  But I was especially intrigued by the ideas of using the stories of fear/power and dirty/clean to better describe the Gospel. Jabbour also describes the difference between converting a young student and thus forever isolating him from his old life, versus reaching out to the family of the young student and earning the right to discuss Jesus through honoring the Muslim parents.

My least favorite part of the book is the “construct” of Ahmad.  Jabbour made it very clear that Ahmad and his family were fictional composites, but I found this device to be distracting.  It seems like a simple listing of these 15 problems and examples of Muslim responses would have worked just as well. 

Jabbour also does not make an effort to defend some of these “problems.”  In the first problem of the Arab Bible using a different name for Jesus than the Qur’an, I was curious and looked this up for myself.  The explanation I found was that Mohammed’s description of Issa is not related to either the Hebrew/Aramaic or Greek names of Jesus, and is associated with a theology that denies Jesus’ divinity. So Arab Christians use the more Arabic equivalent of Jesus’ name, Yasou,’ to avoid both the incorrect nomenclature and associated incorrect theology.

There is no way, of course, that Jabbour could fit all of the complexities of Christianity and Islam into one small book.  And this book does fulfill its goal – I do have a more sympathetic understanding of Islam, and I do feel like I could love and listen and share in a way that would better reach the Muslim mind.  Jabbour encourages additional research, and provides more to interested readers if they ask by email.

This book is recommended to those who are willing to separate Jesus from American culture, and approach interactions with those who are different with a humble spirit.  An excellent start to improving interactions with Muslims.

See Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the series

Thanks for sticking with me through this slightly incoherent journey through gay-Christian interactions.  It’s time to wrap up my end of the conversation, and I would like to do that by sharing what has struck me the most as I have …well, contemplated.

• The gay person has a heavy burden to carry.  The decision to identify as gay always means life will be difficult.  Andrew Marin has given me a heart for their pain, even though I cannot fully understand it.
• The Christian community sometimes chooses to show fear or condemnation toward the GLBT community.  But in my life, the community has most often chosen to show… nothing.
  If my experience is at all common, many Christians have never been thoughtfully guided in how to pastorally love a gay friend.
• Marin has spoken eloquently that the best way to love ALL gays in ALL our interactions with them (see Part 4) is to sacrificially love them.  In most of the interactions, I am totally on board with him.  For those instances where church policy or church discipline might come into play, I would like to see any arguments for more strict interactions to have as their FIRST PARAGRAPH a clear statement of our humility and brokenness along with our GLBT brothers and sisters.  Stones and logs, people.
• The two major misconceptions that Christians have about gays are that gays can choose to change… and, ironically, that God doesn’t have enough power to enable them to change.  How we can keep both of these aloft at once is my newest life’s mystery.  The truth? 

• Reducing same-sex attraction is VERY VERY HARD. 

• And God is STRONG ENOUGH to be allowed to be the ONLY ONE IN CHARGE OF THE CHANGE.

That’s all I’ve got, folks.

Thank you to Chris Giammona for providing a copy of Love is an Orientation for me to review.  Others have written reviews more articulate than mine – I encourage you to learn more from the following bloggers:

• Michael Spencer
• Andrew Goddard

Additional resources I’ve found helpful during this pondering:

• A 2007 article in Christianity Today on ex-gay ministries.
• Resources available by Exodus International for churches to minister to the gay community.
• The goals and activities of the Marin Foundation.
• A response by Wheaton’s Stanton Jones to the SoulFource claims about the Bible and homosexuality.
• Jeffrey Satinover’s Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. An exploration of the actions by some gay activists to make the gay orientation “normal” in the field of psychology, and the neurobiology and psychology of same-sex attraction. Wikipedia calls this book “one of the main modern sources supporting the view that homosexuality is a changeable, non-innate condition, though not a matter of choice.”
• Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for all Its Worth, as an excellent introduction to Biblical hermeneutics, and how to approach difficult topics in scripture.

Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the series.

The interesting thing about gay-Christian interactions (as if there were only one interesting thing…) is that, for the Christian, there are many different types of interactions.  Why explore this idea?  After reading Love is an Orientation, I found myself saying, “well, Marin explored how to respond in this interaction, but what is the best way to be like Jesus in this other interaction?” And then I started wondering what are the interactions under discussion?  Has evangelical Christianity been better at addressing some of these, and worse at others?  Do interactions in the church require a different attitude than interactions outside the church?  I’m going to list what I think are the six main types of interactions between Christians and gays.  I’ll comment on what I think the Church has taught me in each.  At the end, I’ll try to describe how Marin says we should behave in each.

In diagram form, the interactions might be shown as these options. In all of the “cartoons” below, circles represent people who self-identify as gay or lesbian. The squares represent people who self-identify as straight / heterosexual. The shaded figures represent people who have committed their lives to Christ and are actively seeking spiritual maturity.

1. The Gay Activist Organization

The first case is of a Christian interacting with an organization. This might be an organization of GLBT individuals and their straight associates who support a gay agenda politically or socially.  Examples might be a “No on Prop 8” group in California, or a more general GLBT activism group. How should a Christian person interact with such a group? Join an opposing group? Privately vote their conscience, but refrain from direct attacks on the group or publicly supporting the opposing group?

This is one of the more threatening examples of “gay interaction” for the Christian. There are fears about threats to our own beliefs and fears about how political change will affect our civic life and family life.   I have seen churches preach a sermon on why we should vote to support traditional marriage.  I have seen churches refuse to take a public stand on political issues.  I have never had a church tell me to go to gay-marriage rallies and offer water and prayer, OR go to gay-marriage rallies and hold a sign with “God hates you” written on it.

2. The Gay Individual

The second interaction is with a neighbor, co-worker or friend.

While there can be an added complexity if the person brings his or her partner into our friend relationship, this interaction is less intimidating for Christians than interaction with gay activists.  But I also feel like I have been given little training in how to love this individual in a way that leads them to God.  In fact… I don’t remember any advice from church leadership to seek friendships with gays, what to say to our kids who have gay friends, how to respond to “do you think gays are going to hell?” questions from co-workers.  I have also never been told to point out to gay co-workers that they should repent and change so they won’t go to hell.  Silence is the message I’ve heard.

3. The Gay Seeker

The third interaction is with a gay or lesbian person who is interested in learning more about Jesus. They are willing to visit a church or small group, and are willing to talk about what a relationship with God looks like in the Bible.  My little diagram shows a tentative gay or lesbian entering a church with traditional theology regarding homosexuality.

Here, again, I feel like my education as a Christian has been incomplete. How many churches have I been in that say “Be friends with gay people! Invite them to church! Invite them to Bible studies! Start spiritual conversations with them while allowing them to still be gay!”  Um.. none.  While I believe the Bible says that the Christian community should not push Christian behavior on non-Christians, it would be wise to have that clearly articulated in the church community.  We should have ways for non-Christians to see and learn about Jesus without requiring that they act like Christians first.

4. The Christian struggling with Same-sex Attraction

Person #4, below, is a gay individual who has committed their life to Christ. He or she is open to the Holy Spirit working in their lives, and they are open to how that will affect their sexual orientation. They are willing to pursue celibacy while dealing with their same-sex attraction.  They accept a traditional hermeneutic that homosexuality is not God’s design for people.

Again, as a Christian, I desperately want to provide an environment where those who are seeking to follow Jesus can receive love and support as they grow, and receive forgiveness in times of failure. I want those struggling with same-sex attraction to be able to share openly about their struggles and have me and other church members respond as if we are also redeemed sinners.  My training in this arena has been limited to some vague reading that indicates gays can change orientation if they choose to, and that they should seek help from organizations like Exodus International.  No direction given to the church as a community to support them.

5. The Gay Christian

What if the gay seeker accepts Jesus as their Lord and leader, but does not feel God is calling them to abandon their gay orientation? What if they feel like God may work on that in the future, but right now they have other spiritual issues that need work first (perhaps dealing with old pains in the past, or healing damaged and selfish relationships with family and friends).

Can I accept this? Can I accept that they may choose to stay in a same-sex partnership as they are studying the Bible and praying and learning to seek God? What if they bring their unsaved partner to church with them? Can I treat that partner as a seeker in a way that is loving? What if this person is interested in helping with communion, or singing in worship, or running the sound board? What if they want to help with the youth group? This becomes really difficult for the conservative Christian.  I have only come across one church’s philosophy on this (not one I have attended), and they felt a person with same-sex attraction issues should be celibate if in a position of leadership.

6. The Gay Christian in a Gay Church

Lastly, person #6 represents an individual, perhaps a friend or family member, perhaps a former member of my church.  He or she truly loves God and trusts Jesus, has carefully studied the Bible and has decided that the Bible allows committed same-sex partnerships. This person is part of a church that also supports this hermeneutic.

How should I be with this person? Some say that scripture says we need to break fellowship with them (1 Cor. 5). Is this scripture appropriate in this situation? Is this choice helpful to the one who is in this church? How does speaking truth in love work in this situation? Are there legal or ecclesial actions or organizations we should join to protest pro-gay theology? Should denominations split over this?  I have seen sadness expressed at the splits that this has caused at the denomination level.  I have not had any personal or church training on how to interact with people or churches that demonstrate pro-gay theology.

Boy, all these posts sure turn into novels. But I introduce these six interactions to give me (and you) a framework for discussing the response of the Christian to the gay person.  As you may have noticed, the amount of training I have received is not negative so much as nonexistent. And now that I’ve processed all these interactions, I think it would be easy to say what Andrew Marin would tell the conservative Christian to do in all of them.  Go.  Be with the GLBT person.  Listen to them, accept them.  Share their pain. Encourage them to seek more of God, more of the Bible. Pray their prayers with them. Be patient. Let the Holy Spirit do the changing and convicting.  Turn closed-ended questions into open-ended discussion.  Bring everything back to Jesus. Trust God. Yes, even with gay activist groups. Yes, even in pro-gay churches.

Go. Be with the GLBT person. Share their pain. Accept them. Love them.

Trust God.

Do you agree?

Part 5 is here.

Previous posts in the series can be found here:
Part 1
Part 2

I’ve found as I’ve pondered the book Love is an Orientation that a loving Christian response to homosexuality is a pretty complex topic.  Below, I’ve given what I think are the main strengths and weaknesses of the book from a book-reviewer standpoint.  But I have (so far) two additional posts that I’d like to share after this simple “book review” that have been triggered by the thinking about and writing about this book review.

But without further ado, the basic strengths and weaknesses:

The main strength of this book, and it’s a much bigger strength than any of the weaknesses, is Andrew Marin’s love for his GLBT friends. It is rare that I am presented with examples of how a person feels when they deeply love both Jesus and the gay community. If there are other books out there with this same heart, I’d like to know about them. Marin has a wonderful ability to share the stories of the gay community with me in a way that makes me understand and empathize with their pain and longing and desire for God. I finished the book feeling like many gay people really want to know more about Jesus, but have no way of learning about him without their sexuality being paraded or feared.

The weaknesses are several.

• The first (and most minor point) is that this book was not copy edited. I found odd spellings and phrases that Marin probably used while writing the book but should have been fixed before publication (“alright” is not a real word, people).
• The second is a structural editing concern. I have a hard time following books that don’t have a really logical flow and coherence. I did not come out of each chapter feeling like a particular point had been made. It is as if Marin has a series of truly important things to say, but nobody who writes books sat down with him to discuss how to organize these things into book form.
• My last concern is about the scale of Marin’s directions. I would guess the average reader of this book would be someone like me. I’m a straight Christian woman who has occasional interactions with gay people, and would like to be able to have relationships with them in a way that is loving and draws them towards Jesus. But Marin’s scale is more about how to start an organizational outreach towards the GLBT community. It’s got great large-scale stuff, but less helpful on the small-scale stuff.

Read Part 4

Well, that’s appropriate.  If you’d like to learn more about Andrew Marin, you can watch a talk he gave at Newsong Church in Irvine, CA on August 16, 2009.  The talk is 37 minutes long, and he discusses his ministry in relation to Proverbs 16:1-7

Proverbs 16

¹ To human beings belong the plans of the heart,
       but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue.

² People may think all their ways are pure,
       but motives are weighed by the LORD.

³ Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
       and he will establish your plans.

⁴ The LORD works out everything to its proper end—
       even the wicked for a day of disaster.

⁵ The LORD detests all the proud of heart.
       Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
       through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

⁷ When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
       he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

This is the second post in a series on how Christians may love individuals in the gay community.  The first post is here.

Andrew Marin’s goal in his book Love is an Orientation is “building a bridge between the GLBT and conservative religious community while still acknowledging the social and theological differences between the two.” (p 187).

Marin speaks from a very interesting perspective. He is a conservative evangelical Christian who felt the Holy Spirit call him to a life of living among, loving and ministering to the GLBT community. This gives him a platform beyond that of many authors. Not only does Marin love Christians and want them to be closer to God, he also deeply loves gays and lesbians, and has earned their trust and love in return.  His Marin Foundation offers workshops, research, and educational resources for both Christian groups and the gay community.

The organization of the chapters and his logic is as follows. Each chapter contains a truth that Marin wants to share with Christians, and this is surrounded with many testimonies of and comments made by the gay people he works with. The chapters also explain what Marin teaches in the many workshops he gives in churches around the country.

1. Things Christians do not understand about the GLBT community:

• We as Christians do not understand how the gay person feels. Marin argues that the gay person did not consciously choose to feel same-sex attraction, but Christians do not understand this or feel sympathy or concern for them.
• The sexual behavior of the GLBT person is their main source of identity. When we as Christians try to love the gay or lesbian person while ignoring or hating their sexual identity, they interpret this as hating them.
• In order to understand and love a gay or lesbian person, it is important to understand the historical and cultural pressures of stigma and shame on them and their GLBT community.

2. Christians don’t have to agree with Gay theology, but they should understand it.

• Marin argues that gay Christians are honestly trying to follow God and give the Bible authority in their lives. Even if we as conservative Christians don’t agree with the resulting pro-gay theology, it is important to understand it and see the God of love that undergirds it. (Note – Marin presents the basics of gay theology but not the counter-arguments of conservative Christian theology.  But he does NOT argue that gay theology is correct, only that Christians should know what it is).

3. God is the only force of change in a person’s life – gay or straight.

• Nobody, aside from God, can tell a person that they are moving in the right direction as they seek a better relationship with God. We as straight Christians can’t, gay pastors can’t, the GLBT community can’t.
• Authentic Christian love is accepting a gay or lesbian person as a true child of God exactly as they are, and letting God through the Holy Spirit be in charge of change.
• The “big 5” texts in the Bible regarding homosexual behavior (Gen 19, Lev 18 and 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 and I Timothy 1) can be read in a more elevated manner that describes how God wants our relationship with him to be the deepest and most committed relationship in our lives.

4. Christian bridge-building towards the GLBT community is a difficult, scary, but amazingly beautiful journey.

• When preparing to build a bridge to the GLBT community, lay a foundation of commitment, boldness, and a determination to persevere.
• The best tools for building the bridge are to be inquisitive, be transparent about your own failings, and be comfortable being yourself.
• The best rules while crossing the bridge are to avoid painful language (terms “homosexual,” and ”lifestyle”), be optimistic, trust God’s timetable, trust God’s strength, and be willing to be seen in the GLBT community.
• Lastly, always counter closed questions with open questions that promote dialogue.

A Summary

This book does not try to convince the reader that homosexual behavior is right or wrong, and this makes it different than the majority of books on faith and sexuality on the market.  If it has five main points, they are these:

1. God LOVES the gay person, even while he or she is still gay.
2. As a gay person sees the love of Jesus acted out by the Christian community, he or she will respond by seeking a greater relationship with Jesus themselves.
3. Helping a gay person have a relationship with Jesus is more important than any other interaction we might have with a gay person.
4. Here are the tools the Christian community needs to look like Jesus in the GLBT community

In the next post in the series, I’ll share the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, organization and message of the book. In the post after that, I’ll share my personal response.

Read Part 3

  I’ve been looking into apologetics a bit more, lately, hence my reading of Greg Boyd’s Letters from a Skeptic.  It’s not the type of Christian literature I normally gravitate towards, but that’s no reason to not explore the topic.  And I enjoyed Boyd’s Myth of a Christian Nation.  

The structure of the book is a series of letters between Boyd and his 70-year-old skeptic father.  Each letter from Ed Boyd asks a standard “problem” about Christianity, and Greg Boyd writes back to explain and clarify. 

I like that this format brings a bit of humanity and… humility… that some books on apologetics seem to miss.  It does seem rather straightforward, however.   It seems unlikely that most skeptics would be willing to move on to the next topic after one essay of explanation.   Most blog readers will probably want to know that Boyd doesn’t hold to an inerrant but not literal interpretation of the Bible before choosing whether to spend money on the book. I happen to be fine with this.

What I found most interesting was some of Boyd’s explanations.

The first was about God’s foreknowledge, and why God would create some people who would go on to do great evil.  Boyd’s explanation is God cannot know what people of true free will are going to do in the future, so God chooses to limit his knowledge.  This seemed a bit startling to me – I don’t remember hearing this theology before.  I would have explained God’s foreknowledge in a way that has been shaped by my readings of science fiction, I guess.  That God knows the infinite possible futures, and when we make a choice, the infinitely possible futures collapse down into the one that actually happened.  So God knows all, and is just allowing us to chose which future occurs.

The second was about God’s grace.  I’ve read a bit recently about grace versus law, and the easy overemphasis on law and earning one’s salvation.  Boyd has a rather good discussion of how God’s saving grace can create an utterly new “new self” that is still in conflict with our still-present but no longer eternally meaningful “old self.”  What I didn’t like was his glossing over sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit.  He also talked about how the Sermon on the Mount is merely there to show us we can never earn salvation, and isn’t really Jesus’ instruction on how to live.  As this pretty much directly contradicts Boyd’s Myth of a Christian Nation, I’m guessing he feels that’s a subject for after conversion, or has changed his opinion on the matter.

I recommend this book, although I feel like I need to round out my apologetic knowledge still before I can comfortably have this discussion with someone else.  But this makes a positive contribution to apologetics for non-fundamentalist evangelical Christians.

Read Part 1 here

The second book I read in my week of Post-modern evangelism came about because I was standing and chatting with the regional director of AlphaUSA here in Southern California.  She was promoting Alpha groups at a worship conference I attended, and she had lots of interesting things to say about evangelism in America.  I had asked her how Alpha addresses the idea that America is now post-Christian in culture, and she told me that Alpha was developed in England, and Europe has been post-Christian for years.  They understand the mindset of being missionaries in their own culture.  The book she recommended was this one:

I Once Was Lost, by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp.  

Both Everts and Schaupp work in InterVarsity student ministry, one in LA and one in Colorado.  The book is based on interviews with two thousand converted college students.  The authors express that they found a remarkably concrete path to Jesus that almost all students follow.  The book is dedicated to exploring this path, and giving practical advice for how Christ-followers can help seekers travel it.  The main “aha” moments for me were the following:

1. Becoming a Christian is not the binary state of first you aren’t a Christian, then you are.  The authors argue convincingly that there are several thresholds that non-believers cross.  First they must trust a non-Christian, then they must be curious, then open to change, then actively seeking, and then willing to commit their lives to Christ.
2. Traditional evangelism of asking people to “accept Jesus” will not do much if they haven’t even crossed the first threshold.  And many people in this post-modern world don’t even trust Christians.  Solution?  Turns out I actually have to be friends with non-Christians.  Who knew?
3. The best way to tell people about Jesus is to study the gospels with them.  Let Jesus tell them about Jesus.  A walk through the book of Mark will have a much bigger impact than sharing stacks of individual Bible verses.
4. This is the first book on evangelism that I’ve read that demands new-believer care.  If you make someone a Christian, you’ve gotta mentor them for 6-8 weeks.  New believers need help navigating the change in their life and learning new skills.
5. God is sovereign and conversion is mysterious.  We are not responsible for or in charge of conversion.  But we are responsible for coming alongside people and helping guide them over these thresholds as God is moving in them.

Overall, this book makes me hopeful and encouraged.  Past exhortations towards evangelism seemed either weak and lazy (“Just invite your friends to our church barbecue! ) or manipulative (“Ask the person, “are you sure you’re going to heaven?”) or guilt-inducing (“if you really loved your friend, you wouldn’t let them go to hell.”)  But this book makes it all sensible again.  Evangelism is about relationship and care and spending time with Jesus.