Moving on this week, Id like to address how Christians should

approach other religious. The main one I will focus on will by Islam. But
I would be more than happy to say a word or two about other religions
if I know the answer.
Has anyone ever encountered someone at school who is of another
religion?
Lets review three things really quick:
1) Know Yourself
a. You do not know yourself as intimately as you would like to
believe
b. Next time someone criticizes you and says youre selfish,
lazy, stubborn, etc. just stop and ask yourself if you are!
c. But dont stop there, if someone says youre nice, kind,
funny, smart, etc. consider if you really are there too!
2) Everyone wants to feel loved and special
a. Last week, I talked about sexual orientation and how the
main issue is that everyone wants to feel loved and special
regardless of who they are
b. I will argue that the same goes for anyone in another
religious they want to feel like they have meaning in their
life and only something outside of this life can give us
meaning and make sense of morals (like love).
3) We share a common humanity that God has made and loves
a. John 3:16
b. Jesus loved everyone who has ever lived so much that he
was willing to die for each and every one of them each
and every one of us.
So why do people choose other religions?
1) They were born into that culture.
2) It was the first spiritual experience they had.
3) Everyone needs answers to the big questions in life:
a. Meaning
i. Who am I?
ii. Why am I here?
iii. Do I matter?
iv. Can I make a difference?
b. Morals
i. What is right?
ii. What is wrong?
iii. Why ought (or should) I be good?
(I feel like I need to prove to you that we all need answers to that list.
Now, as many of you may well know, those who do not believe in God

or gods are called atheists and those who are not sure are called
agnostics. I want to use their position really quick to show that we all
need answers to that last list of questions.
How does an atheist justify the questions of meaning?
Who am I? Well, I guess Im just a bunch of atoms lucky enough to
exist next to each other.
Why am I here? Because the universe started with a big bang, singed
off some star dust, created the earth in the right spot, life spawned,
evolved, and then one day when this lady met this fellow, out popped
me a year or so later. (Yes, but WHY are you here?? Not HOW did you
get here!)
Do I matter? Well, I can do great things in this life. I just have to focus
on the time I have and make the best of it. And what happens when
you die? Well, Ill be remembered for a generation or two and then
forgotten and then the next generation will be forgotten and then the
next. And then the whole universe will end up collapsing on itself.
Mankind will be forgotten and the universe may or may not start again.
(Charming and heartwarming)
Can I make a difference? Well, I can do something in my lifetime. But
that will probably fade to a meaningless nothingness like my atoms
drifting onto the next organism after my death. So, while I cant make a
difference in the long run, I sure can in the short one, if anyone
actually cares and I cant really make them. (Wow again)
And as for morals?
Well, anyone can tell that murder seems like a bad idea if you kill
someone, then someone else may kill you for it. No one had to tell us
that. Murder seems like a bad idea. The same for stealing, etc.
But WHY OUGHT I not murder? Well, I honestly have no answer to that.
It just feels wrong (or I believe its wrong). Theres really no way of
truly knowing.
And its these answers that make people want a religion.)
Islam has been in the news a lot here lately. ISIS, Islamic terrorists,
Syrian refugees, Trumps campaign rants, the religion of peace.
So what is Islam?

It was founded by Muhammad around 600 AD is what is now Saudi

Arabia. Muhammad claimed to have been visited by the angel Gabriel.
Over the course of the rest of Muhammads life, he claimed to receive
messages from Gabriel, which he would tell to his followers and they
would write them down. This came to called the Quran.
What do Muslims believe?
They have what are called the 5 Pillars that they must adhere to:
1) Recite the Shahadah There is no god but Allah (God) and
Muhammad is his messenger.
2) To pray (salat) seventeen prayers a day
3) To fast (sawm) the fast is held during Ramadan, no eating until
sunset and no eating after sunrise
4) To give alms (zakat) give 2.5% of income to provide for the
poor and needy
5) To make the hajj (Pilgrimage) once in a Muslims life they travel
to Mecca in Saudi Arabia (usually takes a week or so to
completely visit all of the sites)
Islam is a very works-based religion, although it is works done because
of faith. Allah simply chooses to forgive someone if he finds favor in
them, so in the end, regardless of what the Muslim does, Allah could
still reject them for any old reason.
What do Muslims believe about Jesus?
Jesus is known as Isa to Muslims. Its a matter or language translation
and I think its a close transliteration from the Greek (Iesus).
They believe that Jesus (Isa) was a prophet of God, but that Jesus
foretold of the coming of Muhammad. They also do not believe that
Jesus was crucified, but that Allah substituted another in his place.
c. This is based off of Surah 4:157: They (i.e. the Jews) said,
"We killed the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of
Allah." But they neither killed him nor crucified him but it
was made to appear so.
How should we treat Muslims?
Love
The same way as anyone else with love and a respect for our
common humanity. If a person is breathing in and breathing out, Jesus
loves them just the same and want them to be saved.
Surety

Know what the Bible says about the truth and about Jesus. If you
dont know, you arent reading it. If you dont have questions, you
arent asking any! You must be ready to give a defense for your faith (1
Peter 3:15).
Other Points
1) Not all Muslims are equally committed JUST like Christians
2) Dont look at a Muslim person and assume they are a terrorist.
They have husbands and wives they want to provide for, children
they want to hug, dreams they want to fulfill, etc.
3) They want answers to lifes big questions. You may need to show
them that Christianity has answers before you try to convince
them that Christianity is true.
If I have come to any conclusion of the last 15 years of studying the
Bible, philosophy, theology, science, etc. it is this: everything comes
down to an existential choice. YOU MUST FEEL IT. To reach the lost for
Christ, we have to be willing to show that Christianity is valid and
worth actually living out.