POST OVERVIEW. A few years ago, a friend and I visited a mosque and had a cordial conversation with the imam there and a few adherents. Here are my impressions of that meeting (from my journal entry of that day).

We arrived at the mosque a little before the time for prayer ended and so were able to simply spectate for a few minutes. I had never been in a mosque and so was ignorant of how the “services” were conducted. It seemed to mostly consist of individual, silent prayer and reflection, which makes me hesitate to call it a worship service. Each person seemed to go through their prayers independent of others. At some point, the prayer time was concluded and the Muslims spread out a long tablecloth on the floor near the window, set plates on the tablecloth and ladled out generous portions of Middle Eastern food. Then they gestured to my friend and me to sit down on the carpeted floor so that we could join them in the meal.

My friend had been to the mosque before and had engaged the Muslims in dialog about Islam and Christianity. Although I was surprised at their willingness to dialog, it seemed that they expected our discussion to again be about matters of our respective religions. So, after some preliminary pleasantries, our discussion turned to various features of Islam and Christianity, picking up where the conversation had ended last time. And even though we came from very different points of view, our dialog never became heated or hostile. In fact, the Muslims seemed genuinely curious about the things that they heard from us.

In the course of our discussion, I was struck by the poverty of the theology in Islam. When we asked about forgiveness of sins, we received the reply, “Allah is merciful.” How does a Muslim get to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has been a good Muslim, can they be assured they will go to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has definitely not been a good Muslim, will Allah punish them? “Allah is merciful.” As I thought about that response, it occurred to me that Allah must be arbitrary and unpredictable if he gives the same response to the good and the bad alike.

In fact, based on this experience, Islam and the instructions of the Koran seemed shallow, inconsistent and illogical. The teaching was clumsy and scattered and would only be accepted by someone who was willingly self-deceived or by a person who had never read the Bible or heard any biblical preaching and so was ignorant of what truth was. There was no beauty, no elegance, no glory. There were no answers to the most basic of challenges. Ask a basic question about some aspect of Islam and your question will usually be met with a blank stare. To question or to think about any word from the imam or the Koran was not encouraged.

And thus it is with all man-made, Satan-designed religions. The beliefs and practices of these systems are crafted to ensnare the unsuspecting and the gullible and to trap them in a religion that requires them to constantly work and perform while promising them nothing. Their “holy books” are clumsy and, in many places, simply ridiculous. There is no cohesive doctrine. There is no definition of sin; in fact, in most religions there is rarely a mention of sin. There is no hero. There is no fall of man. There is no salvation. There is no warning to repent. There is no hell, so there is no salvation. There is no urgency, no eternal rest, no truth, no justice. There are no miracles; there is no resurrection; there is no worship. There is no forgiveness. There is no sacrifice. There is no conclusion, no hope, no peace, no grace. There is no Law. There is no righteousness. There is no glory. There is no point!

Ah, but in God’s holy Word and in the beauty and power of the Lord Jesus Christ there are all of these things and so many more. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Christ) they are yes” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Since we have all the glorious promises of God to proclaim (1 Peter 2:9) and since we have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), let’s be bold to tell those who are still in darkness of the joy and the forgiveness and the peace that is available to all those who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 12/23/2024                 #714