Would you have attended this Christian / Muslim picnic?

Personally, having grown up in Chicago, and my grandmother having married a muslim, and him having moved most his very large brood of kids here after their marriage when he became a citizen because he married an american, I can say I have spent time around muslims. LOL, and this is laughable at best, ignorant and foolish at worse.

 

Yes, I would have loved to go..
And I am surprised at the amount of prejudiced people on here.

Christ died for Muslims as well as good ole boys from America.

I have had the privilege of ministering to Muslims before, and I love doing it.

I think it was a wonderful Idea.. and if we had a Muslim community here, I would suggest our church do the same.

 

Very poor analogy. Did they go to the Subway under the banner of "Christians and Muslims Eating Lunch Together"?

Me, personally, I learned this lesson a few years ago: Should we ever deny an opportunity to preach the Gospel?

 

Okay, fair point - but the trend of some of the thoughts here seems to be, 'Don't spend any time with these dirty Muslims who might try to kill you." From all appearances this was a wonderful opportunity to meet lost people and share the Saviour with them. There was no 'yoking' at this picnic.

I spend very little time in the States, but from what I can garner Christians have simply written off the lost Muslims and chosen to hate their enemy instead of loving them as Christ instructed us.

The last I heard Jesus died for Muslims too.

 

Free food? I'm there...

In XC
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Is this picnic due to the fact that Christians and Muslims "worship the same God"??? Or was this a chance to preach the "Gospel according to Rick Warren" to them? To me it's a clear case of the blind leading the blind. Or maybe they're testing the waters to see how everyone will get along in the Left Behind Empire. As much as I like food, I think I've just lost my appetite...

 

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You are right Roger...

Not only has some Christians written off Muslims, they also have a deep seated hatred toward anything that Saddleback does.

I don't get it...
I don't get 2 things...


1) For God so love the world (except on BB, the Muslims are excluded) that he gave his only begotten son (but not for the Muslims) that whosoever believed (exception, those that follow Islam) should not perish but have everlasting life...

2) How can you love God whom you haven't seen if you can't love your brother (Rick Warren and the church at Saddleback) whom you have seen.

 

Reading these responses reminds me of a song entitled Witch Hunt by a band named Rush.

Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand​

The Islamic faith isn’t going away. Here in the land of the free, we now work, live and play among people of different faiths. My son plays soccer with kids that practice Islam. I don’t avoid their parents b/c I’m afraid they want to KILL me.

It’s important that we learn how to COEXISIT among one another, it’s not about whose right and whose wrong, whose going to Hell and who isn’t…thankfully, its not my job to determine such, but only to LOVE my neighbor as Christ commanded.

In XC
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Since this was not a worship event or anything like it, but just a picnic in a park, I see nothing wrong with it. It's not yoking with unbelievers to eat with them and have a chance to share the gospel. I don't see how it's compromise.

I see it as an outreach event. I have been involved before in outreach events, though not a picnic type event. I think the most important thing would be that believers individually would not compromise on the message of the gospel of the opportunity arises.

 

This started our as a question about what "you would do" but has turned into is thing a right or wrong issue. I would say that some Christians are going and doing the wrong thing while others are going and will hear "well done, good and faithful servant".

Additionally, some who are not going are staying away for poor reasons and others may be staying away and will hear "well done, good and faithful servant".

This is not a race issue for anybody I know. People are all in different situations and thankfully God can deal with each one of us. I think I will let God be God.

 

Yes.

From the looks of things, this was an effort of simple goodwill.

 

One of the things that Jesus did in his earthly ministry was to challenge Israel to be the kind of people that they should have been all along but had not been. Jesus challenged Israel to turn from its "separation" mentality - the idea they needed to insulate themselves from the pagan nations that surrounded them - and to turn to an inclusivist way of "being Israel". Hence the dining with sinners, etc. Israel had come to believe that the way to be God's people was to do Torah and separate themselves from the pagans. Jesus' actions and teachings called them to a different way

I trust the relevance of this to the matter at issue is clear.

 

You see it as an oppurtunity to witness to Muslims? Dont you think that the Muslims also see it as an oppurtunity to witness to you? And even more so, to your children? Dont you think that the Muslims try to spread their faith just like we Christians do?

I choose to not expose my child to the oppurtunity to hear a false religion.

I see no point in trying to deny the differences in our faiths, and in being pompous enough to think that the Muslims cannot influence Christians into compromising their faith. Especially our youth who are easily led astray.

AJ

 

This kind of disengagement scares me. My children (almost all adult now) have spent most of their lives with lost people.

I will put my family's faith in Christ up against a Muslim's faith in Allah any day.

You call it pompous - I call it faith.

 

You are right, it is faith. I have a hard time understanding people who claim to be Christian but are afraid to meet people of other faiths. As I said in another post Christ said we are to go into the world, not hide in Christian ghettoes.

 

I strongly believe that seperation from false teachings is biblical, so not only would I not attend this Muslim picnic, neither would I expect my church to fellowship with a "Christian" faith that teaches salvation by baptism, church sacraments, or speaking in tongues. I would not allow my family to attend a picnic with folks that teach that Christ went to the cross so we could have physical healing and prosperity.

I believe this "ecumenical movement" is evil, and that it is paving the way for the coming of the Antichrist.

I strongly encourage witnessing to these groups, but social and religious interaction is compromising the true faith, and in fact those that do so are condoning the false doctrine by participating.

AJ

 

Was Jesus condoning prostitution when he dined with them? As Jesus to Israel, so the church to the world.

 

I dont see your comparison as valid. Jesus was witnessing to a lost person as an individual, He was not fellowshipping with a false religion. I doubt the prostitute was trying to convert Jesus into prostitution, whereas the muslims and the other "christian" religions will agressively try to convert you and me and our children to their faith. Thus, the influence of false doctrine is more dangerous than the influence of a harlot.

Jesus never sat down and ate with the Jewish leaders that taught false doctrine, nor do I believe He expects me to. In fact, there are many scriptures instructing me to flee from false doctrines.

AJ

 

Hold on here.

I saw nothing in the article about fellowshipping a false religion. I saw nothing in the article that suggests anyone was alleging that the other religion was equivalent.

Religions are things. People are people. We must make that distinction.

What I do see is having a social gathering of goodwill with people who hold a non-Christian religion. Let us not make more of that picnic than what was there.

From Luke 7

 

Purely a judgement call on your part. You have no idea of the motivation of these folks.

Having a picnic with the lost Muslims hardly condones their misplaced faith.