Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Home
About
My Book
Archives
More
- Theology
- Culture
- Politics
- Sermons
- Bible
- Devotions
- Daily Office
- Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian
Three Islamic concepts I wish Christians would adopt

Three Islamic concepts I wish Christians would adopt

Last updated on: December 14, 2015 at 12:29 pm by Morgan Guyton

Three Islamic concepts I wish Christians would adopt 2015-12-14T12:29:50-05:00 Morgan Guyton

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Antonio Melina/Agência Brasil [CC BY 3.0 br (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ross Douthat has been playing amateur theologian again in the New York Times. This time, he’s telling Muslims how they need to adapt their inherently “illiberal” faith to assimilate better into Western culture. There are definitely some ways in which Islam is inherently incompatible with our capitalist society, and I wish Christianity were too. I’m no Muslim scholar, but I did work briefly in a Muslim private school in Michigan and I’ve been around it enough to encounter three spiritually and politically powerful concepts that I wish Christians would embrace as part of how we live out our faith.

1) Jihad

Jihad is of course a controversial word due to the way that it has been abused by terrorists. What it means literally is “struggle” and it’s usually taken to mean a struggle against injustice. Many Muslim scholars consider jihad to be primarily about an internal struggle against your own idolatry. Jihad is opposed to everything that oppresses people and corrupts their ability to worship God. While it’s true that the word jihad has been used to talk about Islam’s global conquest, one could make an analogy here with the way that European colonialism was always described in European royal documents as a project of “evangelism.” I wrote a seminary term paper on the way that 16th century Spanish theologian Juan Gines de Sepulveda used the Great Commission as a Biblical proof-text for justifying colonial conquest. There was never a greedier, more bloodthirsty “evangelist” than Christopher Columbus, but you would never know it from the court documents which praised him for bearing Christ to the infidels.

In any case, what if Christian evangelism today were like jihad instead of being like an eternal fire insurance pyramid scheme? What if the way that the church added to its membership was through solidarity with marginalized people in their struggles against injustice? What if every congregation had to decide every year as part of their strategic planning what social injustice in our community would be their jihad for the year? Imagine if Christians were most known to be people who struggle against injustice rather than people who want special privileges for ourselves like tax exemption and the right to discriminate**.**

2) Ummah

Ummah is the word in Islam for the whole community. The society of Muhammed was very tribal and kinship-based. Ummah declared an end to tribalism and a commitment to the common good of everyone. Though the ummah would eventually become strictly Muslim, the first ummah formed in Medina included both Muslims and Jews. Whatever else is true about Muslim societies today, the concept of taking care of everyone in the ummah is very strong. When poor people languish in a community, it is a cause for the community’s shame rather than presumed to be the product of their individual moral shortcomings.

Christianity is supposed to be committed to the common good. Our word for it is the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “ If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” While some of our individual congregations may exhibit this kind of solidarity inside their walls, we have lost our concern for the common good at the level of our society. It’s hard not to smell underlying racism in the hatred of the federal government that rose up in the white middle-class backlash against the Civil Rights movement after the Sixties. At the very least, one consequence of living in a religiously pluralistic society is that Christians do not feel responsible for marginalized people who aren’t directly connected to us in our church community. In a Muslim country, every beggar on the street is part of the ummah for whom everyone is responsible.

3) Riba

Riba is the word in Islam for usury, which means to devout Muslims any loan that is given with interest. This means that devout Muslims do not keep their money in western banks or use mortgages in their real estate transactions. I read about this recently in a story about my childhood basketball idol Hakeem Olajuwon, who paid cash up front for a house because his religion wouldn’t allow him to take out a loan with interest. There are certainly loans that are made within the Islamic banking world, but they do not charge interest.

Obviously, this is a tremendous source of conflict between the Muslim world and capitalism, whose lifeblood and basis for existence is usury. As a matter of fact, the Christian Bible prohibits usury too, but most Christians ignore it. There are actually way more verses against usury in the Bible than verses that talk about homosexuality. Here are some examples:

If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious. [Exodus 22:25-27]

If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. [Leviticus 25:35-37]

If he has exacted usury or taken increase — Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him. [Ezekiel 18:13]

I’m not saying that we should completely divest from bank accounts and every aspect of the capitalist system, but should Christians be making money off of things like financial derivatives? Shouldn’t we be accountable for how our investments contribute to the global economy? Are we completely unconcerned about the morality of the market? What if instead of just being a reliable single-issue voting bloc for Wall Street’s favorite political party, Christians were unified enough in their commitment to financial integrity that Wall Street hedge fund managers actually had to factor the possible Christian backlash into account in their decision making?

Yes, it’s laughably ridiculous, because very few Christians allow Jesus to be Lord over their personal capitalism. All these megachurch pastors talk about “taking our country back for Christ.” I’ve never heard anyone say anything about taking Wall Street back for Christ. Perhaps they’re making too much money with the devil’s means.

Please like my blog’s facebook page!

Please consider becoming a patron of my campus ministry.

Previous Post

December 12, 2015

Will you be our patron?

Next Post

December 16, 2015 Do Christians worship the same God as Muslims?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Beauty Will Save the World Bible Big Picture: Ephesians Bloggers Book Christian salvation and the Beautitudes Culture Daily Office Danceable Homiletics Deadly Sins Deep Roots: Genesis Devotions Dominican Republic May 2011 El Principio Misericordia (The Mercy Principle) Five verses God tattooed on my heart Fundraising FutureGospel Good Biblical Words Henri Nouwen Interview Jennings' Christian Imagination Jesus inside the beltway Jesus Is My Candidate Jesus vs the Pharisees Jesus vs. Plato Journey to Eternity Looking Back on 2012 Love Actually Monday Merton Monday Merton Music Occupy the manger On Earth As It Is In Heaven Original Sin Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Psalm 119 Radical Jesus 101 Reviews Sermon on the Mount Sermons Spanish Bible study Special Series Spiritual but not religious Synchroblog Theology Things that made me think Thomas a Kempis Ugliness Into Beauty Uncategorized Viaje Dominicano 2013 Walking in the Valley (Lent) Welcome: It's More than a Mat Wild Goose 2013 Wrestling

Select a Month March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 April 2021 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Hebrew word 'Shekinah' mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God’s Glory Everlasting Light Holy Fire Divine Presence