Administrators from one of the most influential evangelical colleges in the country removed their names from a controversial letter addressed to Muslim leaders that some say compromises the Christian faith.
Wheaton College president Duane Litfin, provost Stanton Jones and chaplain Stephen Kellough decided to back away from the letter that they had originally endorsed along with nearly 300 Christian leaders in November in response to an October statement ("A Common Word Between Us and You") from 138 Muslim scholars and clerics who called for interfaith cooperation for world peace.
"I signed the statement because I am committed to the business of peace-making and neighbor-love,” Litfin stated on Friday in The Record, the student publication of Wheaton College. “I did not savor the document’s unnuanced apology section, but swallowed that in order to be a part of reaching out a hand to these Muslim leaders who had courageously taken the initiative. Though the statement was not written in the way I would have written it, it seemed to me that I could sign it without compromising any of my Christian convictions.”
The Christian-endorsed statement – which included such signatories as Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Billy Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, and Leith Anderson of the National Association of Evangelicals – urged for interfaith dialogue that would build relations and reshape the Christian and Islam communities. Christian leaders also asked for forgiveness of sins committed against Muslims in the Crusades and excesses of the war on terrors in the letter.
Titled "Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to a Common Word Between Us and You," the statement emphasized the "absolutely central" commonality between both religions: love of God and love of neighbor.
The response drew sharp criticism from highly respected theologians R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and John Piper, pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and other Christian leaders.
Piper called the Christian document a "profound disappointment" in the way it was worded and was surprised that even some of his friends lent their support to the letter.
"What's missing from this document is a clear statement about what Christianity really is and how we can come together to talk with Muslims from our unique, distinctive, biblical standpoint," Piper said in a public statement last month.
He rejected the letter's emphasis on the common ground of the love of God, arguing that the love of God for Christians is starkly different from that of Islam.
"The love of God is ... uniquely expressed through Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins because he died on the cross and rose again. All those things, Islam radically rejects," Piper stressed. "So they do not believe in the love of God we believe in."
The Rev. Canon Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, the director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity and a British Anglican, applauded the effort of the Muslim leaders in reaching out to Christian leaders to try to find common ground but he called the Christian response a "betrayal" and "sellout" of the Christian faith.
Following such criticism, Wheaton's Litfin realized he "moved too quickly" to sign the statement in his eagerness to support its strengths, including peace-making.
Recognizing that the statement could have been written differently to avoid vagueness of the Christian faith, Litfin said he could not support a statement that speaks as if Quran's Allah and the God of Christians are the same.
"I needed to back away," he said regarding his retraction.
At the same time, he said he does not criticize others "who do not share these qualms."
Noting that he was not pressured to withdraw his name from the statement, Litfin said, "It was simply a matter of conscience, combined with the fact that I had put the College on the line in a way I was no longer comfortable in defending.”
Other signers of the Christian letter showed no qualms about their endorsement.
"I still agree [with the statement]. I don’t have reservations," said Roy Oksnevad, director of Muslim Ministries at Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center, according to The Record.
Comments
khanson wrote: "Islam recognizes all the biblical prophets and Jesus Christ stands as one of them.
Jesus claimed to be God. So, either He is God, or He's not. If He's not then He can't very well be a prophet, because then He would be a false prophet.
Lev 24:16 - People who claim to be God were to be put to death
Jn 5:18, 19:7 - made himself equal to God
John 6:35, 41, 48, 51 -I AM the bread of life
John 8:12; 9:5 - I AM the light of the world...light of life
John 8:23 - I AM from above...I AM not of this world
Jn 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
John 1:1-4 was w/ God in beginning
John 10:7, 9 - I AM the door/gate
John 10:11, 14 - I AM the good shepard
John 10:36 - I am God's Son
John 11:25 - I AM the resurrection and the life
John 14:6 - I AM the way, the truth, and the life
John 14:10-12,20 - Jesus is IN the Father and the Father in Jesus
John 15:1, 5 - I AM the true vine.
Jn 10:30-33 - Jesus is one with the Father, He is God
Jn 16:30 - Jesus is omnicient
Jn 16:30 - Jesus sent by God
Jn 18:6 - Jesus said 'I AM' in the original Greek and the people fell down. (Ex3:14)
Mk 2:1-12 - Jesus forgives sins
Jn 10:30-33
30 "I and the Father are one."Â 31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" Â 33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Col 1:12-23 Jesus is the image of God, the first-born, By, Through, and for Christ all things were created. He holds all things together. Christ is the one who reconciled us to God.
khanson wrote, "Jesus Christ ... never used such wordings as you guys use against the religion of Almighty The-God: ISLAM."
Islam was not invented until 600 years after the death of Jesus.
Quecat
da6383ma
agentorange
Prophet
Firestarter
All of you could be good human but ignorance about Almighty The-God and His Almighty's only religion Islam (Peace/submission to The-God) keeps you away from the truth. Islam recognizes all the biblical prophets and Jesus Christ stands as one of them.
You guys use harsh words against Islam and The Last Messenger Prophet Muhammad, is this what your pastors teach you?
Jesus Christ (PBUH) never used such wordings as you guys use against the religion of Almighty The-God: ISLAM. Because Jesus Christ believed in the same message and worshipped the same God. "There is no deity but The-God and Jesus is The-Messenger of that God".
"Influential Evangelicals Withdraw from Christian-Muslim Statement"
I would consider this immaturity and indecisivenes on their part who cannot take a consistent and persistent stand for the sake of peace among the nations of the world.
It is saddening to note that people like Duane Litfin to whom I respected, even he is ignorant of the fact that Alloh in englisg means The-God and no matter who refers to God, there is only One-God in the universe who created Adam from soil.
Wheaton College president Duane Litfin, provost Stanton Jones and chaplain Stephen Kellough decided to back away from the letter only because they lacked thorough knowledge and understanding of Islam.
I can offer only regrets to them.
Chris,
How else is someone going to get their message across unless they censor all opposing views? It's just a glimpse of what is to come in the real world. God keep us.
The muslim faith is in a constant state of flux. What was wrong last week may not be wrong next week. Depending on the whims of their god. God's word is unchangable.
Praise God that someone has come to their senses!
You know what, I wish they had a marker which showed you who flagged posts, it is ridiculous the way people flag for know reason, other than they just cannot handle the comments. There is nothing inflamatory, nothing abusive, nothing bad, they just can't handle it, and cannot handle a conflict. I have debated with some of the most ridiculous claims by atheists and others, and I have not flagged them, even though by all reason it would make no difference if I did, but I gave them the respect not to flag them. We deserve at least the same. Also, if you cannot handle what someone says, because it is too difficult for you to debate, then change your view or get off this site, but don't cowardly flag.
"Mohammed died in 632AD and his writings were not standardized into what is now known as the Koran until the year 650. "
I know, how horrid considering jesus died and only after some 60+ years later were any of the gospels written about him. paul wrote of him sooner, but not by much.
Also as a side note,...I personally believe that "Intellectual footsy wootsy" is a not completly right aproach to this subject,...alot of these Middle Easterners are "Tribal" not saying they are`nt bright people or don`t follow politics like everyone else but their thought processes are alot different,..not say you are wrong by any means.... and where you may find quite a few very educated people in the woodpile,..there probably be quite a few more than that that just follow a couple thousand years of "religious belief"....Fun huh?........Not saying your wrong by any means,....
To Topekan,....I see your point and am not trying to cross you and your point of view, but what I was trying to get at was the fact that looking at it from alot of a Middle Easterners angle, with the rampant sexual deviancy , crime rate, and just general sinfulness attatching itself to "Christianity" maybe they see Christianity the same way,..follow me,....I work in an Industry were alot of these people work also so I hear some of this first hand,......thanks.......
2 Cor 6:14-16
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God..."
The Muslim religion was "invented' by Mohammed over the course of his life after being exposed to the Jewish and Christian religions. Mohammed died in 632AD and his writings were not standardized into what is now known as the Koran until the year 650.
da6383ma,
I thought the Muslim nation descended from Abraham through Ishmael. How then could they have been around since Cain and Abel? The earliest credible manuscript of the Quran is held by Muslim scholars to originate approximately 790 AD. Enough about that. Christianity hasn't evolved, like God, it's tenets are the same yesterday, today and forever. What has evolved is the way that putative believers pretend to practice it, by substituting doctrines straight from the pit of Hell.
Why is everyone flagging john 14-6? is what he is sayiing convicting some liberals on this board??????? maybe convicting some muslims??????????yeah, i think so.
To Chris333,.. maybe look at this from a different perspective,...the Muslim Ideology should be beside the point PRESENTLY but the fact is the Muslim Nation has been around since the story of "Cain and Able (msp I know) so let`s talk about general human sin, and alot of this seems to originate from the Western Hemispere, so when one looks at the the whole picture,..Alot of these people on the other side of the globe would rather have nothing to do with some of difficulties we deal with such as homosexuality, pornography, crime in general, So,...the way I look at it,...me personally....is of course, alot of sources are on the attack on Christianity and "mouth pieces" there of....so the way I look at it is not an attack of a one person,..its a disagreeance of how general Christianity has evolved to the present state of affairs...so I dont think its anything against john14-6,....its just the general Ideology,...Christianity made the US a great nation obviously,...but also obviously we became pretty polluted too......