Last summer, I had the privilege of working with some LYNC correspondents to ask the general public on the street, “When was the last time you spoke to someone who held different religious beliefs than you?”
Some of the results were encouraging. Hopeful. There are people in the public square making efforts to dialogue. The rest—well, we interviewed 20 people, and most of them had no idea whether they had ever had a conversation with someone of a different faith.
So why is that? I can’t speak for all, but I can speak from the results and a little from my own humble experience as I navigate this new paradigm of discussion.
Sometimes, we’re afraid to engage those with different religious beliefs because we may not understand their motives.
Perhaps we’re afraid of their potential influence. Maybe we fear they may reject us or try to convert us. What if befriending them causes us to slip in our own faith?
In a previous blog, I shared about my unexpected acquaintanceship with a Muslim woman from Iran. I can tell you in complete confidence that I love her. Although I do not know her name, I still think of her often. And I still weep for her to believe what I believe.
We can respect that others may also have this interest in their heart.
And that’s okay.
Our curiosities, challenges, suffering, and joy in the simplest of moments unite us.
We are simply: human.
And humans are fearfully and wonderfully created in God’s image. So, yes—we can have delightful and genuine conversations. Because of the above, other perspectives should matter to us.
We can talk.
We can care.
In April, I entered a mosque for the first time as part of LYNC’s Training the Trainers program (in partnership with Multifaith Neighbors Network).
It is a big deal for a Christian to enter a mosque. I imagine that it is equally a big deal for the Muslim community to welcome Christians into their mosques.
Often, I feel the need to explain to my Christian friends why I would enter a mosque. I’m sure our Muslim friends who participated in the Training the Trainers program also may have felt the need to explain to their friends why they visited several churches.
And that, too, is all right. We can use this opportunity to tell others about our experience, which is a great way to squelch stereotypes. We can also continue to build relationships of mutual respect.
At the core of most faiths,
We want the other to understand what we believe.
Furthermore, we want them to believe what we believe.
This is often a demonstration of love, and it is okay.
Yes, I will gladly and respectfully cover my hair with a hijab and humbly enter the women’s area of a mosque. I will sit among the women and internally pray for them. I will imagine their family life, struggles, hopes, and joys. I will ask the Lord to prick my heart and endear them to me.
Is it not a precious gift for our soul to bleed for someone in prayer?
If we fear interacting with those of different beliefs due to rejection, concerns about their influence, or challenges to our own faith—perhaps we need to direct our attention to God’s word and ask the one who gives wisdom and liberally without reproach (James 1:5-8) to strengthen us. I am a small person, but in God’s strength I can make a big difference!
For the Christian, it is the love of Christ that compels us.
Christ died for us—can we live for Him?
If we focus on ourselves, on being right, and on winning arguments—
If we continue to allow our pride and our fears to dictate our distribution of love—
We have already lost.
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