Injustice Visible Concert

     Injustice happens all over the world. We hear about it on the news; we see it around us.  And still, the injustice I see is small compared to elsewhere in the world.  I have been extraordinarily blessed to have grown up in Canada.  
     Last Friday I attended a fundraising concert for Christian Peacemaker Teams organized by CMU student Brad Langendoen.  This concert featured the bands Alanadale, The Natural, Anthony Sweet, and Del Barber.  Money was being raised to provide CPT with video cameras the team uses to document human rights abuses in places like Columbia, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine.  Through documentation comes greater accountability.  

     The concert was top notch.  It look place in CMU's Laudamus Auditorium, and was very well attended.  All of the bands and many other people behind the scenes volunteered their time to put on the concert, and when I talked with Brad later he told me that the concert had raised over $1200, which was enough to replace the CPT's stolen cameras.
     During the concert, while I was sitting in my pew watching this, I couldn't help being amazed what can happen with vision and determination.  Let this be a lesson to anyone who doubts that they can be a positive force in the world!
     For more information, you can visit Brad's website: www.injusticevisible.com.

The Unique Claims of Christ: Negotiating the Christian-Muslim Interface Part 2

Scroll down to see the first part of this series.


     In the second part of his series, Emmanuel Ali El-Shariff talked about his work in evangelizing to the Islamic people.  Emmanuel does this largely over the television and radio, having worked in several Arabic television programs.  He showed us some clips of the shows.  People are encouraged to phone in and have debates with the hosts of the show about the two religions.  The clips he showed got quite heated.  They also do phone-in conversions, allowing people to call in and talk to someone who will guide them in the necessary prayer.  Even when the show isn't running, people can phone in and convert over the phone.
     In one clip, a man called in and started vaguely attacking Christianity.  The hosts refuted his claims, bringing him back to the topic, which was comparing the Bible with the Koran.  I thought the hosts handled the situation very well -- even so, I could just feel the tension on the part of both parties.  Arguing religious beliefs goes after the very core of people.
     This is very different from how I would evangelize.  In the past, these methods would have made me cringe.  I'm now more comfortable with them, but they still strike me as mechanical.  Sure, you can convert hundreds of people (some of which would immediately be in danger of persecution if they shared their beliefs) but how can they grow their faith?  I'm leery of mass conversion because it seems impersonal (even though it's done one-on-one on the phone, it still feels like an assembly line setup).  
     Emmanuel talked about the Islamic people's great need to hear the saving Good News of Christ.  As more Islamic people become Christian through his efforts, I hope that they can show others through their lives what the "easy yoke" of Christ truly is.

The Unique Claims of Christ: Negotiating the Christian-Muslim Interface Part 1

     Earlier this week there was a two-part public lecture in the chapel by a former Muslim, Emmanuel Ali El-Shariff.  He converted to Christianity in 1995, is trilingual (Arabic, English, and French) and is now involved in evangelizing to the Islamic people.  Emmanuel talked about the differences between the Koran and the Bible.
     I found this very interesting because I don't have much knowledge of the Koran.  Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and I know very little about it.  What made this presentation even more interesting was Emmanuel's use of actual selections of each text.  He stressed first that the biggest issue Islamic people have with Christianity is its affirmation that Jesus is divine.  This goes directly against the Islamic belief that God never was human.  Still, Muslims see Jesus as a prophet.  
     Emmanuel talked about his experiences living on the conservative Islamic island where he grew up.  He talked about having doubts but being unable to share them because he knew he would get punished if he did.  With the help of Christian missionaries, he essentially reasoned himself out of Islam by looking at what he saw as inconsistencies in what the Koran said about Jesus.
     The main difference between Islam and Christianity according to Emmanuel is in the phrase "for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30).  Christianity doesn't hold our sins against us, but rather through the death of Christ allows us to remove the guilt and shame around our sin.  Islam holds people very accountable for their sins and the state upholds much of this tough law.  
     This helps me in understanding the differences between the two faiths, even as it may not be the complete picture and is certainly simplified.  Stay tuned for my next blog post, which will be about how Emmanuel works at evangelizing to Muslims and also my own reflections on sharing faith. 

Week of Solidarity

This past week, the Peace and Social Awareness Committee presented the Week of Solidarity.  I didn't know much about it, so I got a participant, Felicia Schmutz, to explain it to me.

Q: What is the Week of Solidarity?

A: It’s where we fast, and have lentels and rice for lunch and supper, in order to think about and pray about refugees around the world.  We get put into groups, and each group represents a different country.

Q: How long does it last?

A: It lasts for a week.  It started on Sunday night at midnight, and lasted until Friday at 5 pm.  We all got together to celebrate and watched a movie about refugees. 

Q: Why did you decide to get involved?

A: I wanted to get outside myself and pray for others, and to realize how fortunate we are and how grateful we should be for what we have.

Q: What was it like eating rice and lintels for 5 days?

A: At the beginning I didn’t like the taste, but after a while you get used to it.  I put honey on it, and it was better.

Q: Any dizzy spells at all?

A: Nope.  I got a headache at one point.  A few people were feeling a little weak.  Some people cheated a bit and ate some cafeteria food. 


The Week of Solidarity is one of the most intense events put on by student council.  Too intense, it seems, even for me. :-)  And yet, to get the change of perspective from our normal, affluent lifestyle might be a very worthwhile thing.