Posted on 09/14/2002 9:45:39 PM PDT by Dog Gone
THE WOODLANDS -- Promoters of the largest 9/11 commemoration in The Woodlands last week had a clear answer when they were asked to change the format to make non-Christians feel more welcome.
No way.
Christian churches, once insulated by vast oceans from most other religions, are divided on how to relate to non-Christian groups that have grown rapidly because of immigration in recent decades, said Jay T. Rock, director of interfaith relations for the National Council of Churches.
"Islam is now outpacing Pentecostalism as the fastest-growing religion in the United States, and outpacing Judaism in terms of numbers," Rock said. "We have sizable Asian Buddhist communities, especially in Houston, and the Hindu community is growing."
The difficulty is apparent in The Woodlands, where the 31 evangelical churches sponsoring one 9/11 commemoration welcomed Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians -- as long as they accepted that the central theme was praise of Jesus Christ.
Interfaith of The Woodlands tried to negotiate a compromise in which all faiths would gather at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, the logical venue for any community event. But the organizers of "9/11: One voice, The Woodlands Remembers" refused to budge.
Interfaith instead conducted its own commemoration at a sports park.
Many Christian churches, as well as the non-Christian groups, thought that the evangelicals were implicitly stigmatizing The Woodlands' Muslim congregation and monopolizing the only local venue large enough for a communitywide ceremony
The Muslim and Jewish congregations stood together in criticizing their exclusion from what turned out to be the largest 9/11 commemoration in The Woodlands.
Rabbi James Brandt, of Congregation Beth Shalom in The Woodlands, defended the Muslim congregation, saying that the evangelicals were implicitly blaming them for last year's terrorist attacks by refusing to extend an invitation at a time when the community needed to stand together.
Interfaith Executive Director Chuck Ducharme failed to convince the evangelicals that the community needed a single 9/11 commemoration for all faiths.
Rock said it was not unusual for different faiths to hold separate 9/11 commemorations, but he was unaware of an instance in which a single faith monopolized the largest venue in the community.
The Rev. Greg Johnson, pastor of the WoodsEdge Community Church and one of the organizers of the evangelical commemoration at the pavilion, said that site was needed because of the large number of evangelicals in The Woodlands.
Between 7,000 and 10,000 gathered there, Johnson said, compared with 1,500 to 2,000 who Ducharme said attended the Interfaith event.
After the controversy became public, Interfaith and the evangelicals agreed to conduct a breakfast and a noon commemoration at the pavilion for all religions.
Representatives from the Muslim community were notably absent from both events.
"Only Christian communities were invited," said Joy Jamaluddin, spokeswoman for The Woodlands' Islamic congregation.
She also said that Faiths Together, an organization that includes non-Christian and Christian churches, was not allowed to co-sponsor the 9/11 breakfast.
The Rev. Paula Gable, interim minister at the Northwoods Unitarian-Universalist Church, said of the breakfast and noon event, "The events are at their best an attempt to smooth over something that can't be smoothed over easily.
"They are well-meaning in trying to heal the wounds," Gable said. "The point is that one breakfast isn't going to do it."
Brandt said it is a shame for the community that the groups were not able to come together.
"I do hope and pray that after this commemoration is over, the community will find a way to address some of the issues that are preventing us from having the feeling of unification," he said.
Evangelical churches put a positive spin on the breakfast.
The Rev. Ed Robb, minister at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, saw it as a successful effort to bring all faiths together.
"This is not a Band-Aid to fix it," Robb said. "You have a misunderstanding in a marriage and you can still have a strong marriage."
Rock, of the National Council of Churches, said Christian churches were divided into several camps in trying to relate to non-Christians. He said that, basically, there were those who focused on converting others to Christianity and those who were more accepting of other faiths because they believe God is in everyone .
Johnson agreed that the issue was complex.
"Jesus is really the sticking point," he said. "The most confusing thing is what constitutes a Christian."
In addition, the image of Islam poses a quandary. The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, holds that it is a destructive religion, Rock said.
Johnson said, however, that none of the churches that sponsored the 9/11 event at the pavilion shares Graham's views. They simply believed it was more important to adhere to their religious views than alter the commemoration to make it more inclusive, he said.
But the Rev. David Emery, pastor at The Woodlands Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), took the opposite view.
"We decided this was a day we needed to participate with people from many religious backgrounds," Emery said. "We felt it was important to recognize that this was not just for Christian people
People of true faith should have zero need to adjust their observances for the sake of communing with those of opposing faiths.
As my daddy use to say, "there are only two kinds of people in this world: 'saints' and 'aints'."
But it is the teaching of a particular God that offends. A revealed One. One who talks. One who is absolute. One who is here and has been involved with humankind throughout history. One who demands true love and obedience. One who has a personal Name.
A God who personally makes atonement for the sin of the world by taking on human flesh and suffering all that human flesh deserves by its sin. A God who chooses a people to be His very own and enjoins them to pray unceasingly. A God who demands the utmost devotion to Himself alone and no other God.
Now that is offensive! Especially when He reveals Himself specifically as such. Pure allegiance to a single, eternal, personal God. A God not of one's own opinion or making.
After all, who is any God to say to a man, "You shall have no other Gods before ME?" That's offensive. It certainly has no place in world that, by nature, disavows the existence of any particular "God."
Yeah, He always was a sticking point....that's why they nailed Him on the cross. He still is. Praise to all who held firm.
LOL I like your daddy! :o)
Oh, he's confused? I would think the tip off as to what constitutes a Christian is in the name, Christ ian. Without the sure knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and one with the Godhead, then one is not a Christian.
No one that attempts to strip Jesus of his divinity is a Christian. No one that puts idols and false gods before Him is a Christian. No one that accepts all religions as true and on a par with Christianity, is a Christian.
As far as the Muslims go, Islam highjacked the Torah and twisted it with lies and falsehoods. But this is normal for them. Why on earth, would anyone expect a Christian to worship with such as these? Why would anyone expect a Christian to give respect to a false religion based on twisted lies? Why would anyone expect a Christian to elevate a religion based on proven falsehoods to the level of legitimacy required to put it on a par with worshipping the God of Abraham and his Son, Jesus Christ?
The problem that the Jews and the Muslims had was not that they were not invited to come, they were, but when told that Jesus would be first and foremost at this event they abstained of their own volition now they can stop whining about it. Christianity is the main religion of the USofA and we will not ask Jesus to wait in the back room like our politicians do. Those that don't like that fact can stay away, but we will not ask Jesus to stay away so as not to offend those that hate his name.
If they are offended by Jesus they are free to go do their own thing, why would they need as large an area as the Christian celebration? Their numbers don't warrant it and they have no business attempting to hide themselves in the majority in the attempt to legitimize their beliefs when they hate with a vengence the majorities Saviour.
Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. What is complicated about that? Christians are the people who believe that.
What could possibly be the point of a religious observance that forces the people in attendance to deny the basis of their faith?
I doubt, if a Muslim were invited to speak, or pray, that he would be required to avoid all mention of Mohammed or the Koran. And I doubt any Muslim would agree to any such condition. And I doubt further that any Christian who invited him would require it.
It is insulting to expect Christians to avoid mention of Jesus Christ, and if they are real, and committed, it isn't going to happen.
I personally see nothing wrong with a religious observance that includes people of more than one religion. But I don't believe in generic prayer. You shouldn't imagine that the Christians are going to erase the center of their faith from their vocabulary in the interest of a false inclusiveness.
"Inclusiveness" is meaningless if it is not based on respect. "Inclusiveness" means the right to pray and worship in the vernacular you know, and in the tradition you know, and for a Christian there is no faith and no prayer separate from Christ.
If you are going to invite a Christian to speak, and to pray, don't imagine you are going to write the script for him.
Muslims were invited to be in attendance, and I have no doubt that any remarks made from the stand would have been completely respectful of any Muslims who were there. Christians are like that. Christians are inclusive in a way that Muslims have not yet shown themselves to be. But no Christian is going to mask his faith with a kind of de-natured religiosity in the name of inclusion.
But note; despite the efforts by the Interfaith people to be "inclusive" by avoiding mention of Christianity, no Muslims showed up for it anyway. Muslims are not by and large, inclusive. They are not particularly respectful of non-Muslims. And why ever would they want to commemorate 9/11 with non-Muslims?
Advised any and all listeners that "No one comes to the Father except through Me", of course (which is exactly what he did do).
That phrase means that Chirst decides who can get to the Father.
Are you privy to Chirst's decision process?
Does Christ have free will or is he bound by your rules?
Naw... I am just observing that Jesus specifically stated that...
...unless a man believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, that man will die UnSaved.
Shockingly enough, Mr. Rock, Texas Baptists are the largest single denomination in Texas Baptist Country.
If they need the biggest venue, news flash -- that is to be expected. I guess you could make them all go meet in a barn somewhere instead... but you'd need a pretty big barn.
So what is the big deal? We all die sooner or latter.
But not all die "in their sins". Many die... Saved.
You sure read a lot into that stuff. If I am hungry when I die, then I "die in hunger." Where do you get this "saved" stuff from?
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