I think both religions would be more successful if they dumped most of the Medieval baggage of magic and superstition that they are lumbered with and concentrated on the core teachings.

People in 2006 don't want to hear about miracles, reward-and-punishment afterlife, creation legends, angels, apocalyptic beasts and the rest of that stuff. Or, only as material for fantasy novels.

They do want to know how to lead good lives and what is the best thing to do in difficult moral situations.

I don't know that either religion is lacking for "success." Every time I turn around, there is a brand-spankin' new, gigantic megalith of a church going up in the suburbs of my city. Not a bad showing for a religion in supposed decline.

Islam is obviously not having trouble recruiting, either, and reason (or lack thereof) doesn't seem to be any kind of deterrent. In fact, even western women seem to be becoming very attracted to Islam, for reasons that I cannot fathom.

Looks to me like magic, superstition, angels, punishment and reward, and abdication of personal responsibility to some "holy" set of rules is going strong.

Chester, Excellent commentary re the sermon. It reminded me immediately of Christ's words when he sent his disciples into "all the world." In Acts 1:8 He says "But you will received power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Note the "blueprint" which Christ lays down. His disciples face the tough task of witnessing first in Jerusalem, where they are well known -- in other words where they will have the most difficult time convincing those who know them that they have really changed their lives and "put on Christ." Then they are to witness in the "neighborhood" -- Judea and Samaria (As Jews they had been raised to hate Samaritans and vice versa; talk about a tough sell). Then, and only then, when the proof of their changed lives has been made manifest,were they to "convert" the world by example. Changed lives, changing lives. It is still the great challenge for those of us who profess to be Christians. Are we the proof in the pudding? Thanks for an important post, absolutely in context with what's going on in the world.

Very relevant topic, Chester. We can't spread Christianity by TELLING people how wonderful it is. We have to SHOW them through the example of our transformed lives in Christ. If our deeds do not match our words, it is our deeds that will bear witness to our faith, and our words will be condemned as lies. Christ sets the example for us, and following Him means becoming more like Him every day.

You have a wise minister Chester. it has been a while since I read your blog. I'm glad I came today.

In the sprit of 4GW, I wish Satan the best and confer my hope that he can come around to Christ's way of thinking.

Best regards,

lt

The Samaritans are very relevant. In my opinion, the heart of Jesus's teaching is in the parable of the good Samaritan.

It is completely relevant to the modern world.

It is also one of the more reliably attested quotations from Jesus.

Excellent thoughts.

As government becomes less able to operate, christians will be able to get a lot of gratitude with soup kitchens and rummage sales and such.

Individual christian MDs who spend one or two days a week providing basic medical care for free and witnessing could have a tremendous effect.

It’s funny how Christianity grows faster and healthier in hostile environments than it does in “friendly” environments. Perhaps that is because there are no C&E (Christmas & Easter) Christians, but dedicated Christians who stand out in a community that doesn’t notice “Christian” culture and influences. I’d point out two examples, China & New York City. Most of this is basically cut and paste, but you’ll get point:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/107/33.0.html
David Aikman is former senior correspondent and bureau chief in Eastern Europe and Beijing for Time Magazine. His latest book is Jesus in Beijing, which discusses the rise of Christianity in China and what a Christian China might mean for global Christianity and world politics
The Three Self Church claims about 15 to 20 million people…..So let's suppose you've got 15 million Protestant Christians attached to the Three Self. It's estimated that there may be as many as 45 million who attend House churches. So you were at about 50 million, and then maybe add on another 12 for the Catholics. So we're talking 70 to 80 million people here. It is amazing when you consider that in 1949 there were only 3 million Catholics and fewer than one million Protestants.

And many in China feel called to minister to all those between China and Israel. One of the basic premises is that the Middle East and South Asian areas are “hostile” to western influences and more receptive to Asian ones. It is still the message of the gospel, but it comes from the east rather than the west.

http://www.backtojerusalem.com/vision.htm
Back to Jerusalem is not some kind of end times theory. We have no plans to rush to Israel. Rather, BTJ refers to a call from God for the Chinese Church to preach the Gospel and establish fellowships of believers in all the countries, cities, towns, and ethnic groups between China and Jerusalem. This vision is no small task, for within those nations lay the three largest spiritual strongholds in the world today that have yet to be conquered by the Gospel: the giants of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

More than 90% of the unreached people groups in the world today are located within the 10/40 window – more than 5,100 tribes and ethno-linguistic groups with little or no Gospel witness.

And in New York City, you see churches grow exponentially, that even after 15 years have never had a permanent “church building,” although that is soon to change. It has been led by the intellectually and theologically impressive Dr. Tim Keller. He is one of the very best at his craft and deserves more attention than he gets, although he has weekly listeners across the globe, including at least 50 here in Hong Kong.

Short history here:
In February of 1989 the Kellers began meeting with a group of about 15 people interested in praying about planting a new church for professional New Yorkers in the heart of Manhattan..by Christmas attendance at the church was numbering approximately 250. [Today] Redeemer's average Sunday attendance has now grown to approximately 4200 (for the combined total of the 4 worship services), although it would be more accurate to say that there are probably around 6000 who attend on a regular basis.

And Videos of the “vision” and the “state of the church” located here:

http://www.redeemer2.com/about/values/index.cfm

http://www.redeemer2.com/visioncampaign/index.cfm?page=vision_video

http://www.redeemer2.com/visioncampaign/index.cfm?page=vision_sermons

The church does and is growing. But it grows best amongst the “blood of the martyrs.” It is always according to God’s plan and always in ways that shows his strength, not ours.

morning, Chester;

you ask, "...Second, if, as the pastor recommended, Christians can advocate their own religion by setting an example through the living of their very lives, how might Muslims be convinced to do the same? And not just Muslims in the US, or the West, but Muslims in the Middle East as well? Is this even possible? ..."

-- perhaps Muslims are living their example as they see fit... who is to say theirs must be a reformation such as we Christians experienced?

The old Roman saying, "by your silence you are complicit" applies to the Muslim world. The loudest and most persistent voice from the Mohammedans we hear calls for blood and innocents to be slaughtered; but there is no so-called "moderate" muslim voice that it is drowning out - these alleged 900 million or so "moderates" are silent, save only for the gratuitous and vague "we condone violence" intonings offered by CAIR, etc.; after yet another terrorist act.

This horror will not soon end, not until tragically many, many, many millions of lives are lost to the insatiable hunger of the Lord of Devils.

Interesting sermon . . and that different people here have gotten different messages from it. To me, the relevant part was how Christianity spread. Religion filling in where the government has failed. Its exactly what has happened in the Muslim world. All these governments are tyrannical thugocracies that rape and pillage their own people. And the worse the tyrant, the more corruption, the more extreme the people become.

The appeal of Islam is that a better world is waiting after the cesspool that their lives have become. The failure of the tyrants to improve the lot of the people is the problem. But these tyrants are smart enough to control the media and blame all the suffering on the US, the Jews, and western civilization as a whole.

The only way to fight it is democracy, a free press, and capitalism. It will be a long, slow process but improving the lot of the Muslim world is the best strategy.

I recommend this book to your pastor:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195168917/sr=8-1/qid=1139522847/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0900295-3226307?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Religion fills a void. All over history and all over geography, people have relied upon all sorts of things to "fill up" an empty hole they have but don't know how to fill themselves. You see this happening in its extreme form in the Islamic world, and you see it happenening right here in America. Americans for decades have been filling their holes with materialism, wealth, fame, and a host of other liquid and unsubstantial (and hence, unfulfilling) things. A lot have realized that this is not the way to go, and so now there is an evangelical upheaval going on. The interesting thing is that the farther away the culture is from any kind of spiritual satisfaction, the more extreme and overwhelming the return to religion. You see it in the size of the megachurches popping up on the interstates, and in the number of people who haul a Bible around with them everywhere they go.

The problem with this is that the more the secular world fights the religious world and vice-versa, the stronger the "enemy" becomes! This in turn fuels the polarization until people have lost the original intent and purpose of their value systems and become vicious and defensive of the other. This will never end until people, each on an individual level, learns to take responsibility for himself and his own happiness and doesn't bother with everyone else. "If" people would just worry about their own salvation instead of the salvation of others...!

An interesting thing to note is on the differences between missionary styles of Islam and Christianity. Push asside differences in interpretation of history, Christianity has made a point of actively searching out people to convert (and according to the joke)- with food in one hand and a Bible in the other. 'Take both, or leave both.' Islam has done the opposite- instead of actively searching out people to convert, it keeps quiet until the inquisitive ask, and then once a substantial minority is established, it takes over the politacal system and then imposes itself. It's hard to say sometimes which way is more insidious.

But by far, the attraction of a religion to its converts- be it Christianity or Islam- is not the promise of "it will get better in the future" but that "I will forever be safe". For those who are already born into each of the religions, the attitude is that "it will eventually get better". The shame is that sometimes that complacent attitude keeps people from doing what they need to do to improve their own lives- like they are sitting around waiting for either Jesus or the Mahdi to fix the world for them. And in the meantime, they feel they have to convert a whole slew of people to be just like them (or at least destroy those who won't join their ranks). If people would just TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for themselves, their pasts and presents, situations, choices and decisions, actions and inactions, and happiness, then the world would be a much better place.

The whole theme of "hypocrisy in church" is derived from J.J. Rousseau. He wrote that the bourgeois needed a reputation for respectablility and honesty in order to do business, but it was just that, the reputation, not the reality, that mattered. Thus Christians were hypocrites. This is one of those ideas whose principle evidence is in the theory, not in observable reality. The easiest to debunk is the most ridiculous one, the rendezvous with the mistress. Most Christian businessmen I know are far too busy for such foolishness, with their business, and with the organizatioons to which they belong.
The second assertion is as fallacious, but harder for socialists to wrap their heads around. I am not in business for myself, but, like the hypothetical businessman, I am all too well aware of the harm done by those governmental good works. Just one simple example, perhaps the reader can think of others: Higher taxes in cities usually mean property taxes. We lament the high cost of housing, but at least one third of the cost of housing is property taxes. Everyone pays them, either directly, or through their landlord. On a related note, my wife and I watched a program this morning on PBS about renovating condemned housing in D.C. We have done a good deal of that sort of work ourselves. We know, in our very bones, how city governments hamper such efforts at every turn. Here are a very few examples: If you acquire a condemned house, you have a time limit, usually no more than a year, to bring it up to code. Now, if you are doing the work yourself, in your spare time, it takes longer. So, in order get it done faster, you have to hire someone to do the work for you. That requires both paying for the contractor's profit, and interest on the money you have to borrow to hire it done. Then, there are the inspectors. Inspection can't keep the buildings from deteriorating. If the rent can't cover the cost of repairs AND the higher taxes, the buildings gradually run down. But, when the renovation is underway, inspectors are at the door every week, "enforcing" some abstruse code provision, while waiting for a bribe. I could go on all day with examples, but I'll abbreviate by saying that Citizen Quasar sounds very young and naive, or has lived a long life in a protected environment, academia, civil service, or inherited wealth. I would further venture a guess, just a guess, mind you, that he has not known very many conservative Christian businessmen.