Reaching Out to Muslims

Albert Mohler gives some helpful perspective in his recent column, "The Challenge of Islam -- A Christian Perspective." While some will instantly jump to "he's just criticizing the President's comments", I recommend you consider his points on:

* the different approaches of the US Constitution towards religion and the Muslim mosque-and-state fusion (even in "moderate" Turkey)

* the reality that Islam is politically/economically an opposition force against most of our Western civilization values

* the primary challenge being a spiritual challenge for souls

It's important also to recognize the different ethical spheres of operation at work here. What we as Christians (individuals, but connected in the Spirit as the Body of Christ, His Bride, the Church) do is different than how nations/states operate. I do not think it's inconsistent for the US government to act in the best interests of citizens and position in the world, if that's different than how a church would act. For example, choosing to turn the other cheek is rarely good diplomacy between nations. My grandfather used to remind me that the Marshall Plan for Europe came after we crushed the Nazi war machine.

If you'd like to learn more about reaching out to Muslims, www.4truth.net has many excellent articles and resources. Here, for example, is a list of the references to Jesus (Isa) in the Koran.