Politics > Politics-USA > Online Worship Service At Internet Church Of Christ For Week Of Sunday, March 26, 2006 Featuring The Topic, "Peaceful And Brotherly Co-Existence For Christians And Muslims"
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26 Mar 2006 11:10:34 AM |
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Online Worship Service At Internet Church Of Christ For Week Of Sunday, March 26, 2006 Featuring The Topic, "Peaceful And Brotherly Co-Existence For Christians And Muslims" |
Online Worship Service At Internet Church Of Christ For Week Of Sunday,
March 26, 2006 Featuring The Topic, "Peaceful And Brotherly
Co-Existence For Christians And Muslims"
HTML page at http://www.loveallpeople.org/worship032606.html
Photo: "The Road to Jericho," from a mural by Frederick Ferdinand
Schafer.
http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/roadtojericho.jpg
Public Domain. For more information, please see
http://www.loveallpeople.org/jerichoroadphotonotes.html
NOTE: Today, the Road To Jericho still connects Jerusalem, to the
Palestinian city of Jericho, conquered by Joshua as described in the
book of Joshua. This dangerous, winding road perfectly symbolizes the
situation between Israel and its neighbors. The parable of the Good
Samaritan is set on this road. The Good Samitan was a Palestinian.
"If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all
men." - Romans 12:18
Bible verses are taken from the King James Clarified New Testament
(KJCNT), which is in the Public Domain, free for all people to use
without restriction.
Welcome
Welcome to the online worship service at Internet Church Of Christ.
Here is a good place to worship our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. You
are invited and are welcome at any time.
Hello Beloved,
If you have the Holy Spirit of Jesus abiding within you, then you are
able to endure all trials, blessed with the peace which surpasses all
understanding. If not, you remain deprived of the many blessings the
Lord has waiting for you. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your
personal Lord and Saviour, you have the opportunity to do that right
now by clicking => HERE! -
http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/jesusdirect.html
Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Opening Hymn
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
The Doxology
"Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow"
MIDI file at http://digitalhymnal.org/midi/dh694fv.mid
Words by Thomas Ken, 1695. Music by Music Louis Bourgeois, c. 1510 -
1561. Public Domain
PRAISE GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW - by Thomas Ken, 1695
Public Domain
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Please also see Christmusic.ws
Invocation
O Lord, we come together in Your name,
And as You promised, we know You are here.
AND SO WE WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS,
AND PRAY THAT YOU FIND PLEASURE HERE WITH US,
AS WE, YOUR LOVING CHILDREN WORSHIP YOU.
We now invite You to reveal Yourself,
And share with us Your presence, openly,
FOR YOU ARE EVERYTHING THAT WE DESIRE,
AND EVERYTHING WE HAVE, WE GIVE TO YOU.
In Jesus' holy name we pray, Amen.
Declaration Of Faith
The Apostles Creed
MP3 audio file at
http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/apostlescreed.mp3 - free, Public
Domain
This historic affirmation of faith comes to us from the early
centuries of the Christian church.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit;
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven
And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
The holy catholic church; *
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
* Note: "catholic church" here means the entire body of
believers in Christ, not just one particular church.
The Lord's Prayer
MP3 audio file at internetchurchofchrist.org/lordsprayer.mp3 - free,
Publ;ic Domain.
The Lord, Himself, taught us to pray like this . . .
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Source: Book Of Common Prayer, based on
Matthew 6:9-13
Scriptures And Teachings
Peaceful And Brotherly Co-Existence For Christians And Muslims
Freedom Of Religion Is The Key
Prosecution Of Christian Convert Abdul Rahman In Afghanistan Violates
The Qur'an, Islam's Highest Written Authority, Which Says There Must Be
"No Compulsion In Religion."
The best outcome, with benefit for all people, would be for a high
Islamic court to rule that the case should be dismissed because true
Islamic law permits freedom of religion.
Qur'an 2.256 plainly says, "There is no compulsion in religion; truly
the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore,
whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan (note: Satan) and believes in Allah
he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break
off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing."
Source: Qur'an (Koran) as shown at http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/
and elsewhere.
The theological basis for the prosecution of Rahman apparently comes
from a misreading of Qur'an 16.106, which says, "He who disbelieves in
Allah after his having believed, not he who is compelled while his
heart is at rest on account of faith, but he who opens (his) breast to
disbelief-- on these is the wrath of Allah, and they shall have a
grievous chastisement."
Immediately we can see two theological errors in prosecuting Rahman on
this basis: First, he is not "disbelieving in Allah." Allah is the
creator of the universe, and there is only one Allah. We Christians
call Him, "God," or "Heavenly Father." But we are talking about the
same One Creator, who has revealed Himself to different people in
slightly different ways, for His own good reasons. As a Christian,
Rahman still believes in Allah, as do I myself. And second, the
"grievous punishment" is supposed to come from Allah Himself, on
Judgment Day, not from fallible humans today. Furthermore, everyone
should keep in mind that all punishments specified in the Qur'an may be
moderated and reduced by applying the oft-stated principle that "Allah
is forgiving, merciful," as stated in Qur'an 2.173 and seventy-six
other places in the Qur'an. Allah knows your heart. In Islam, if you
have a really good reason, Allah will overlook or forgive almost
anything.
(Also note that this verse confirms the invalidity of compulsion in
religion, when it says, "not he who is compelled.")
So we see that the prosecution of Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan for
converting from Islam to Christianity, in supposed violation of
"Islamic law," is itself a violation of Islamic law, the highest
written authority in which is the Qur'an.
In Islam, there are some secondary written authorities called the
"hadith," or "sayings," attributed to the prophet Muhammad, some of
which were reportedly heard by his followers, then told to others who
then told them to others who then wrote them down. But the various
hadith differ widely among themselves, and many are believed by some
Muslims but not by others. But even the most authoritative hadith is
never strong enough to contradict the words of the Qur'an, all of which
were reportedly given by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad and immediately
written down under his direct supervision.
Most of the harshest, most troublesome parts of Islamic law are based
on the hadith, or on judicial misinterpretations of the Qur'an, not on
a correct understanding of the Qur'an itself.
So what is the best outcome of the current situation, in which our
shiny new Showcase of Democracy, Afghanistan, seems ready to convict
and execute a citizen simply because he converted from Islam to
Christianity? Are we happy that we worked so hard, with many deaths and
much expense, to establish such a "Democracy" as this? Will we perhaps
be so fortunate as to help establish another one just like it in Iraq?
Is that why we are in Iraq, to promote Democracies such as this?
The only good outcome is for the Islamic courts, themselves, to
consider all the evidence then come to the correct Islamic verdict,
which is: "Case dismissed," because the Qur'an itself does not prohibit
such conversions, but in fact permits them under the rule in Qur'an
2.256, as shown above.
If the government of Afghanistan merely yields to Western pressure in
this one case, that doesn't solve anything. The problem will come back
again in future cases. And if they make up some phony excuse for not
having the trial, like "mental incompetence," that is even worse. The
fact is that Abdul Rahman is perfectly competent to stand trial, but
the case against him is not justified under true Islamic law.
PROPOSAL FOR SOLUTION, WITH BENEFIT FOR ALL
I propose that a high-level team of Islamic scholars study this case,
and defend Rahman, and win the legal victory they deserve: "Case
dismissed." This would establish the Islamic legal precedent, on the
international level, that true Islam permits freedom of religion. This
might very well be as important a case for the entire world today as
Brown v Board of Education was for the United States in 1956. And it
could be the foundation of true Christian-Muslim understanding and
peaceful co-existence, as described below.
THE PROPER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS
The world is well aware that a fundamental tension has long existed
between Islam and Christianity, Muslims and Christians. The underlying
theological reason for this tension is best understood by comparing two
verses from Scripture: Sura (chapter) 112 from the Qur'an (Islam's
highest written authority) and John 3:16 from the Bible (Christianity's
highest written authority.) Sura 112 is considered by many Muslims to
be the most important single statement in Islam, and John 3:16 is
considered by many Christians to be the most important single statement
in Christianity.
The fundamental conflict is that the Qur'an says Allah (God) did not
father any children in any way, and that no one is like Him; but the
Bible says that Jesus is God's Son and that anyone who believes in
Jesus will have eternal life. Islam accepts Jesus, but only as one of
the many prophets who came before Muhammed, not as the only-begotten
Son of God.
[112.1] Say: He, Allah, is One.
[112.2] Allah is He on Whom all depend.
[112.3] He begets not, nor is He begotten.
[112.4] And none is like Him.
Qur'an 112:1-4
(Shakir Translation)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life.
Bible: John 3:16
(Revised Standard Version)
The Qur'an and Bible I am using here are the ones available online from
the University Of Michigan by following THIS LINK. The Revised Standard
translation of the Bible (RSV) and the M. H. Shakir translation of the
Qur'an are both widely available and widely accepted. If you want to
consult other translations, you can easily do so by searching for
"Bible online" and "Qur'an online" at Google.com.
To a Muslim, it is blasphemy to say that Jesus is the Son of God. To a
Christian, it is blasphemy to say that Jesus is not the Son of God.
This is the fundamental conflict between Islam and Christianity, and it
cannot be papered over with smiles and pleasant words.
Nevertheless, it is quite possible for both religions to live
side-by-side in peaceful, even brotherly, co-existence. In fact, the
Qur'an specifically instructs Muslims to accept and tolerate
Christians, and the Bible instructs Christians to live at peace with
all people, as we will show below.
The Way Christians Should Act Toward Muslims
The Bible instructs Christians to live at peace with all people, as
much as it is possible to do so. Further, Christians are instructed not
to seek revenge for personal offenses, but to leave vengeance to God.
If possible, so far as it depends upon you,
live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge
yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God;
for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord."
Bible: Romans 12:18-19
(Revised Standard Version)
The Way Muslims Should Act Toward Christians
The Qur'an instructs Muslims to give Christians nothing to fear and not
to cause Christians to grieve. Further, the Qur'an instructs Muslims
that there should be no compulsion in religion. Therefore Christians,
all of whom believe in Allah (God), believe in the Last day (Judgment
Day) and try to do good, should be allowed to live in peace, even if
they do not convert to Islam.
[2.62] Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the
Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day
and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there
is
no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.
[2.256] There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has
become
clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the
Shaitan
and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle,
which
shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.
Qur'an 2.62 and 2.256
(Shakir Translation)
Blessings to you. And may God bless us all.
Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director - LoveAllPeople.org
Prayer For You
For Patience
NOTE: When you read this prayer, try to imagine my voice as I
speak it to you. In this way, the prayer is reactivated,
and it is the same as if I were actually praying for you
at that moment.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU, THE READERS OF THIS PAGE
"For Patience"
Sometimes you feel that all is lost and gone;
You feel it is no use to carry on;
You cannot see the light that lies ahead.
I pray that you have patience at these times,
And know the Lord is working while you wait,
As after Jesus died upon the cross,
They didn't know that He would rise again.
by Rev. Bill McGinnis - Public Domain
Holy Communion
A ceremony for Holy Communion is available to you HERE! -
http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/pearl-holycommunion.html
If you are alone, you will needed to be both "Leader" and "Assembly,"
as described in the ceremony.
Closing Hymn
"Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind"
Words by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1872; music by Frederick C. Maker,
1887 (hymn tune REST). The MIDI sequence is Public Domain, by a person
unknown to me, obtained from DigitalHymnal.org
=> Play The Music!
MIDI music file at http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/rest.mid
Public Domain - Free To Use Without Restriction - more like this at
Christmusic.ws and DigitalHymnal.org
Please also see http://hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh358.sht
This is one of my very favorite hymns, truly an inspired work of
highest spiritual and artistic merit, in both lyrics and music. I love
it!
Hear the lyrics (MP3)at
http://www.text-to-speech.org/dearlordandfatherofmankind.mp3
DEAR LORD AND FATHER OF MANKIND
by John Greenleaf Whittier
Public Domain
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love !
With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of thy call,
As noiseless let thy blessing fall
As fell thy manna down.
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
<><
Words by John Greenleaf Whitter, from his poem "The Brewing Of Soma,"
as published in his book, THE PENNSYLVANIA PILGRIM, AND OTHER POEMS,
published by J. R. Osgood and Company, 1872.
You can see and read the book, THE PENNSYLVANIA PILGRIM, AND OTHER
POEMS, at the Questia online library, by clicking => HERE!
Please note that this poem appears, unmarked, as verses within the
larger poem, "The Brewing Of Soma," and that this page is absolutely
faithful to the original in its content and format. Various hymnals
have modified it for various reasons, but this is the authentic
original text, complete, as published.
Blessings to you! May you thrive and prosper in everything you do.
Benediction
_____________________________________________________________
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in
all ways. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16 RSV)
_____________________________________________________________
Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord!
This worship service is now completed. Go in peace.
Rev. Bill McGinnis
You can contact me at bmcgin@patriot.net.
Please visit our home page at InternetChurchOfChrist.org
INTERNET CHURCH OF CHRIST
http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org
.
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