Crosswalk: Islam - the 'Elephant' in Europe's 'Living Room'?
From Crosswalk.com:
An author and producer of a documentary on Islam says the long-term future of Europe will be quite bleak if it doesn't recognize the "elephant" that has invaded its living room, AgapePress reports. Gregory Davis' new book is called Religion of Peace? Islam's War Against the World. He also produced the documentary entitled Islam: What the West Needs to Know. Davis says Europe needs to do something about the influx and influence of Islam while it still can. "The West now, including Europe, certainly has the upper hand in just about every respect," he observes. "If there was the will among Europeans to stop this Islamization ... of their continent, they could do it -- but there doesn't seem to be any will. There doesn't seem to be any real recognition of the problem." Davis says if things do not change, he is afraid the long-term scenario will be real warfare on the European continent.I don't think it is a stretch to say the United States will not be far behind. People of the West have come to love and embrace pluralism at all costs too much to see or care about the dangers involved or the consequences to follow.
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Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 12/01/2006 07:35:00 AM
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3 Comments:
LT's friend mab here....
As a believer in Jesus who lives among Muslim friends in a 99% Muslim country, I'm not sure how to read this quote. Yes, the increase of Islam's power is something to look at and consider, but any language that creates an "us vs. them" dichotomy will only bring more divide and misunderstanding. The real solution for those who follow Christ: Live daily in a way that shows active love to everyone, regardless of their religious affiliation. This isn't to "change them" or "defuse the threat," but to be obedient to our call in Christ.
I think you make a great point and I appreciate you making it. You are right that that we don't need an us vs. them mentality in ministry. We need to be careful, though, in regards to pluralism. For anyone who is following the developments in Britain, for example, there seems to be an acceptance not only of the people who are Muslim, but also the ideas of those people as equal. At that point, there is a danger that in the name of tolerance, the truth of Christianity becomes diluted in a melting pot of ideas.
I completely affirm tolerance in its purest form: literally tolerating/living side by side, peacefully, with ideas that I disagree with. However, tolerance, as it is used today, implies an embracing of all ideas as equally true and helpful, which can be deadly. The problem with this particular worldview is that once Islam is embraced, it opens the door to a very intolerant religion.
The solution is complicated, in my opinion. We must walk the line of caring for all peoples, most certainly including those who embrace Islam, while not willingly allowing those values to become the heartbeat of society. To state otherwise, I believe, is to misunderstand the heart of Islam and the implications of such a development.
One last thing, mab. I want to make sure that last line isn't misinterpreted. Certainly, if you are living in a country that is 99% Muslim, you have a level of understanding that I do not...I cannot...have. As a U.S. citizen living in a country that is embracing the philosophy of pluralism, perhaps someday I will have no choice. But it is always different when we have a lot of personal friends of any particular persuasion or belief-system. We see the real humanity behind the philosophy, religious belief, and worldview. That is important for us all to remember.
I admit that I am not speaking from the same perspective, which is why it is so important for someone like you, who is in that setting (wherever you are) to make sure there is balance. I think that sometimes it is important to have an objective and subjective perspective on an issue. Islam can be a very dangerous worldview and we must not gloss over that fact, but how we deal with it must be done with love and compassion...that is a tricky line to walk but one we absolutely must.
I confess that I am not very "tolerant" with worldviews/philosophical structures that are heavily flawed, but I don't want to be found guilty of showing that same intolerance for people who hold to them. I want to show the same level of intolerance towards wrong ideas that Christ showed, but deal with the same level of compassion that He lived out towards those who held to them.
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