Saturday, November 08, 2008

Kenneth Cragg on Apostasy (Rida, Irtidad) and Islam as a prison

A faith which you are not free to leave becomes a prison, and no self-respecting faith should be a prison for those within it.

Kenneth Cragg

(qtd. in Pikkert, Peter. 2008. Protestant Missionaries to the Middle East: Ambassadors of Christ or Culture? Hamilton, Ontario: WEC Canada. p. 134.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A follower of Islam asked a good question: What is the trinity and why would God need a son? This was a very good question. Let me explain it from the beginning of all creation...God created all things including man and woman in his image. When i say in his image, i mean that he created them different than anything else in his creation in that we have, 1)a consciousness of oneself, 2)an ability to reason between right and wrong, 3)a need for relationship directly with God. That is where this all begins. We had a direct relationship with God before Adam sinned and broke that direct relationship. Ever since then, there has always been a penalty or price for sin. The wages of sin is death and all men die. After the death is an eternity. Men would sacrifice money, cattle, birds, etc for their sins. They would sacrifice what was truly a sacrifice, their very best for God. It was tougher to part with...thus called a "sacrifice". It was something that we gladly give to God as he is responsible for creating and giving to us all that we have. Because of sin and the resulting sacrifices, man was to face an ultimate judgement or account for his life in the presence of God at the conclusion of his life on this earth. God had a son, as the old testament or Torah speaks of in Isaiah 53, who was God born as man...not separate but part of the whole known as God. God being the 1st part of the trinity, Jesus being the 2nd part. After Jesus was crucified as it was foretold that he would be, he was raised from the dead after 3 days seen by over 500 people before he accended to heaven. Many of these people wrote the Christian New Testament that is still read today. Please note that they wrote the new testament during the life of these 500 witnesses and taught about Jesus's death and resurrection so it was not debated because there were many who witnessed it. Before Jesus accended to be with his father (God) in Heaven, he promised to send a messenger, the 3rd part of the trinity, the holy spirit. The holy spirit is the 3rd part of the trinity of God. It is the spirit of God that comes to rest upon the heart of the believer in Jesus Christ. It is important to understand what "believe" means. "Believe" is not to just know or recognize. It is to cling to or hold fast to. So those who cling to the Gospel and truly believe in Jesus Christ are "saved". Jesus willingly gave his life so that he could redeem man from his fallen state of sinfulness of which he is born into as a decendant of Adam and Eve. The trinity is the 3 parts of God: 1)God the holy creator, 2)Jesus the redeemer, 3)The holy spirit, the ever present spirit of God that lives within those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To enter heaven, one only needs to confess their sins which Jesus has already paid the penalty for by the sacrifice of his life and ask Jesus to come into his heart thus accepting the Holy Spirit of God to live within him. Cleansed of his sins by grace and grace alone, man is now able to spend an eternity with God.

God bless you. If you have not yet prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, take time tonight to kneel by your bed and surrender your life to the loving creator who made you and has already paid the price of your sins. He wants you to be forever in heaven with him but it requires action from you. You only need to profess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart and you will be saved. You alone can make the decision to be with or without God for eternity. Please don't wait. Accept his love.

God Bless,
Steve Hunter / Youth Pastor

Abu Daoud said...

Hmm, three parts of God? Not really. I'm guessing you're not an intentional heretic, but speaking of three 'parts' is not an adequate formulation of the doctrine at all. No wonder Muslims think we are tri-theists.

Anonymous said...

His answer also sounds like he's saying God had a son only starting from the birth of Jesus. "Theology for Beginners" is a good book.

Hannah

Abu Daoud said...

Hi Hannah,

Good point. This means that he us espousing a variation of the heresy of Adoptionism.

Thanks. Let's wait and see if he even posts an answer.

Anonymous said...

Personally i would have asked the Muslim, who was Allah loving before he created man? Without the Trinity you have a God that needs man to become complete. But there is already unity and community in the Trinity. Coequal, Coeternal. He does seem to leave out the coeternal part, as well as the confusion amongst muslims to think that Trinity was God, Mary, and Jesus.

Abu Daoud said...

FOund the actual quote today in the book: Call of the Minaret 3rd Ed 2000 One World Press, p 307.