Post by jadedsage on May 11, 2004 12:04:02 GMT -5
A belief that other faiths are not legitimate prompts some Christians to support blocking a Muslim speaker
The removal of Muslim speaker Shahriar Ahmed from the program of the Mayors' Prayer Breakfast of Washington County spurred a call from many in the county's religious community for religious tolerance.
But for a large group of conservative Christians, tolerance is simply intolerable if it means saying other religions are legitimate paths to God. For them, belief in Jesus as the son of God is the only way to heaven.
Clark Tanner, pastor at Beaverton Christian Church, and millions of other Christians say they believe Muslims and other non-Christians will go to hell after death -- not because they are bad people, but because they have not accepted Jesus as their savior.
"The only thing I can say is what the Bible says," Tanner says. " 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me.' "
Bruce Miller, one of the few breakfast committee members to support keeping Ahmed on the program, says organizers were concerned that the Muslim leader's inclusion might send the message that Islam is an acceptable path to God.
Ed Forsythe, pastor of Christian Praise Center, a Full Gospel church in Cornelius, says the Bible tells Christians to "teach against" other religions.
It has nothing to do with hate, says Tanner, whose passion is bringing nonbelievers to Christ: "I love those people as individuals. I'm concerned about them."
People can interpret holy texts many different ways, says Greg Allen, Jesuit High School's religion department chairman. He notes that Jesus also says people will enter heaven because they fed, clothed and cared for others in need -- a salvation connected to action and compassion, not a specific belief.
The respected Christian author C.S. Lewis suggests that nonbelievers will get into heaven if their actions are Christian in nature.
But in every religion, including Islam and Judaism, there will be conservatives saying, "Our way is the only way," Allen says.
Diane Dulin, pastor of First Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Hillsboro, agrees. Dulin says she knows many Christians who feel closer to liberal believers of other faiths than to conservative believers of their own faith.
Dulin, who says she believes all people will enter heaven, was exasperated and hurt by Ahmed's exclusion from the breakfast. It is the reason, Dulin says, she participated in a news conference last week calling for religious tolerance. It also is why Dulin feels the need for outreach and reconciliation with more conservative members of her faith.
"I hope we can somehow create a meeting time or forum or just a lunch table where we can actually come together with the people who were sponsoring this breakfast," she says. "My desire is to minimize that chasm."
Jill Smith: 503-294-5908; jillsmith@news.oregonian.com