3 more books I've read

More books I've read:

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel; Author investigates 8 of the toughest objections to Christianity:

Since Evil and Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot
Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True
Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed
God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocent Children
It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God
A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell
Church History Is Littered with Oppression and Violence
I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian

I especially enjoyed learning some new things about evolutionists in the third chapter. The case for God not being worthy of worship (# 4) answered some questions I had concerning the Old Testament battles. I am glad to have some answers. I found the chapter on church history very good. The final case on still having doubts was wonderful as well. Although parts of this book were a bit over my head, mostly it was beneficial. I only had problems with the chapter on hell because the scholar interviewed didn't believe in a literal fire. It was just something I was unfamiliar with and since I'd just read 23 Minutes in Hell not long before, I was not on the same page as the scholar. Overall, very good book. Recommend.


Does My Head Look Too Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The author is a Muslim lady of Palestinian and Egyptian descent who lives in Australia. Her book was recommended in an e-mail I receive from The Crescent Project. I found it in the youth fiction section of the public library. This book is about a teenage Muslim who decides to start wearing the hijab. It shows how typical she is and basically shows her at school and home and with her friends. The e-mail said this book would help us gain some insight to Muslims. Here is a review:

"The details of Amal's family and social life are spot-on, and the book is wonderful at showing the diversity within Muslim communities and in explaining why so many women choose to wear the hijab."- School Library Journal




Meeting Islam: A Guide for Christians by George Dardess

This book was written by a Catholic deacon in Rochester, NY. He presented many aspects of Islam in a pleasant way by comparing and contrasting them with Biblical counterparts. For instance, he showed how the hijab and the veil of the temple were related and how they differed. He touched on Isa of the Qu'ran compared to Jesus of the Bible without getting into the major differences Muslims and Christians have here. I learned about salat, taqwa (compared to the ten virgins in the Bible -- watchfulness, readiness), abd and wali (compared to Mary and Martha), jihad and the Christian's "fighting the good fight of faith," takbir and "hallowed by Thy name."

While I sincerely admire the author for his genuine love for Muslims in his area and for the way he and the Muslims have formed alliances, I was left wondering about a few things in this book. Namely, the author seems to think the Qu'ran is from God. I got the impression from him that both the Bible and Qu'ran were from God so I was left confused how he came to this conclusion and kept his Christianity intact. This book gave me a real appreciation for the devotion of Muslims, but it raised a lot of questions which I would have loved for the author to address. The Bible says God is not the author of confusion, but having two "words of God" IS confusing when their messages concerning salvation are vastly different. Both may be wrong, but both cannot be right. Can they?

Books I Read in 2008

I checked just this morning. List started in January 1999. This means for ten years now I have kept a list of books I finished throughout the year! Most years I read 99.9% fiction -- usually of the historical, Christian or mystery varieties. But this year I only read 2 fiction books and 35 non-fiction ones! Quite the change! I wrote reviews for each book throughout the year. Some are just short things, others more extensive. Click on the titles below if you are interested. Hopefully I did the links correctly. :-)

List of Books Read in 2008

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese

The Destiny of Muslims in the End Times by Faisal Malick

To My Muslim Friends by Anise Behnam

The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross by Nabeel Jabbour

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

Does My Head Look Too Big in This by Randa Abdel Fattah

Meeting Islam: A Guide for Christians by George Dardess

The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun & Paul Hattaway

The New Answers Book by Ken Ham, general editor

The Shack by William P. Young

Being Arab by Samir Kassir

The Bible Exposition Commentary Vol. I by Warren Weirsbe

Scratch Beginnings: Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepherd

Victory for Us Is to See You Suffer by Philip Winslow

Too Christian Too Pagan by Dick Staub

The Faith by Charles Colson

The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford

Called to Die by Steve Estes

Mary Louise's Opus by Mary Louise Mason

Unshackled & Growing by Nabeel Jabbour

Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

Daring Chloe by Laura Jensen Walker

Muslims, Christians, Jesus by Carl Medearis

Standing with Israel by David Brog

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

Once an Arafat Man by Taysir Saada
& Dean Merrill

Epicenter by Joel Rosenberg

The Complete Guide to the Bible by Stephen Miller

Christianity Today study series on Islam

Children of Hope by Vernon Brewer & Noel Brewer Yeatts

Mission Al Jazeera by Josh Rushing

Rethinking Holy Land by Marlin Jeschke

Defining Moments by Vernon Brewer

The Book of Mormon Girl

So, I just finished reading The Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks last night. I'd seen it mentioned by a few Mormon bloggers, most recently by Sarah, so I checked my library and saw it was on the New Books shelf. I had to return a book for Andrew so I picked it up that afternoon, and read it within a day of finishing Rachel Held Evans' A Year of Biblical Womanhood.  I enjoyed learning about the typical Mormon childhood - or, at least, the cultural one for many of those growing up in the western United States.  I laughed at some of her memories. The bits about church camps, and Marie Osmond's make-up and fashion tips were especially good.  Here are other things that took my attention.


"No, no, we Mormons were taught that our works must carry us there, that our works would make us perfect enough for God to finally recognize us as worthy of His love."  (pg. 63)   This contrasts to my own faith where we stress the grace and mercy of God, and His reaching down to us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8).



One chapter is "mormons vs. born-agains" because where Joanna Brooks lived, there were apparently enough of both groups to have some conflict between them.  Maybe both groups were competing for the same souls.  (The born agains were the bad guys in case you were wondering.)  I know my own personal experience with Mormons growing up was meeting exactly one when we were pages for the NC House in Raleigh for four days when we were sixteen. Stephanie and I ate lunch together and I remember she had a houseful of siblings all with S names. We got along well.  Likely we gravitated to each other because we were not exactly like the other teens serving as pages that week. I can't recall. I just remember her name and what she looked like, and that we talked over lunch.  I'm not in a place where many Mormons live - we do have an LDS church or two around so I guess they exist. I've only ever seen the missionaries riding bikes or shopping the dairy section at Walmart.

Anyway, she writes about those California born agains -- "Had they disciplined their minds for the possibility that God would ask them to take a second wife into the family in order to get to heaven?" (pg. 80)

Uh, that would be a big fat NO. Again, we don't believe God requires us to do a whole lot to get into heaven. We believe Jesus did it for us. That's why HE is the Savior. Not us.  And we don't believe in heavenly marriages most especially not polygamous ones. I have enough trouble with Islamic heaven which doesn't sound like heaven to me AT ALL what with men having access to 70-some perpetual virgins according to some interpretations.  (I personally love the feminist interpretations that those houris are really raisins!  Haha...)

I didn't realize how important marriage is to Mormon beliefs. While I'm married, I can't help but feel sad for the many who are not. Are they doomed to lesser heavens simply because - like the apostle Paul or Jesus - they never married? 

Brooks didn't mention the need for children, but I'm guessing my choice of not having children isn't a popular one in Mormon circles.  (Truthfully, it's not exactly popular in evangelical circles either, but we aren't doomed for a lesser heaven for it that I'm aware of.)  Sorry, but the thought of "eternal pregnancy in the company of plural pregnant wives" in order to populate "the highest realms of heaven" with "spirit children" is not my idea of heaven. (pg. 97)  I really did understand more why gay marriage is such a threat to many Mormons.  You can't procreate naturally with two men or two women.

Something I wondered: can Mormon women remarry if they are widowed?  I see where Mormon men who lost a first wife can be sealed to a second wife for eternity as well. (pg. 87) She didn't mention women. Is heavenly polyandry OK in this case? This reminds me of the conversation Jesus had with the Sadducees about marriage at the resurrection. 

Never realized Mormons had to confess to a bishop when they did certain sins.

The Mormon preoccupation with the dead is interesting if not a bit creepy with all those files. I do think it's cool that they are interested in where they came from, and trying to save their ancestors by doing things for them now. Dedicated people.  For me, it's more interesting on the level that I sometimes wonder about those people who make up me. Really have you ever stopped to think how many thousands of people contributed to who you are today?


I am glad I married within my faith. I'm glad it works for Joanna Brooks and her husband, but it would be difficult for me, I think, to have a husband who is allergic to Jesus since Jesus is so central to my faith.  She said she doesn't even celebrate Christmas much any more.


I could never align myself with a church or any organization that keeps files on dissenters with the threat of excommunication and so forth. I like my freedom too much, and suppose I'm not real big on accountability.  God keeping a book about my life is one thing. A group of church leaders is quite another. I find God often is much more merciful than we humans are to one another.


Brooks talked about Mormon defensiveness. Probably because of posts like this. I really don't mean it in an evil born-again way.  I was just pointing out things that took my attention as one outside the faith.  Overall it was nice reading about growing up Mormon and how her path has differed from her more orthodox family and friends. 

One last thing...I had to smile at the couple of recipes shared in the book as they are two I'm very familiar with.  I like seeing what we have in common. Most Mormons I've met - which is online usually - seem like really, really wonderful people if not a bit cliquish. But I understand better why they are this way, and I'm thankful for the ones who let me butt in with my comments on their blogs and take the time to answer my questions. To you: thanks much!

September Books

Islam: The Religion and the People by Bernard Lewis and Buntzie Ellis Churchill - deals with such topics as the pillars of faith, how Islam differs from Judaism and Christianity, the scripture, tradition and law, diversity and tolerance, Islam as it relates to the economy, dress, women, language and writing, war and peace and other such topics.


The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner -- three women explore each other's faith; of interest the views of the crucifixion and why the Jewish woman felt threatened by that; after having never learned too much about Jesus how the Jewish woman read stories about Jesus and watched a movie about him and felt she finally met Jesus and had good thoughts about him...Jesus became a "good friend" to her and she told her teenage sons about him; the topic of anti-Semitism and how talking about the Jewish state of Israel brought emotions to a head

Priscilla (Jew) -- struggled with whether or not she even believed in God at times; thought of herself as a "M.O.T." -- member of tribe -- minority in this world; said the Holocaust was with her and with Jews every day; shared that Israel was important to Jews in case another Holocaust happened -- at least this one nation would accept them

Suzanne (Christian) -- raised as a Catholic in the Midwest, went to NYC and became Episcopalian (more liberal in re: to women priests, priests ability to marry, not hypocritical on areas such as birth control and abortion); found her faith challenged by new doubts after meeting these two ladies; became a bit more "Universalist" (her word) in her approach to who would make it to heaven

Rayna (Muslim) -- non-hijabi, wine-drinking Palestinian who never attended the local mosque because it was too conservative; raised in Dubai, but college educated at Georgetown; lived several years in the US and became US citizen; searching for a faith community where she would not be judged for being a non-traditional Muslim; interesting to read her views on Israel and also how she claims Muslims and Arabs have a "habit" of blaming all of their woes on America

Interesting to hear the Jewish views of the book of life as opposed to the Muslim one. Enjoyed the Yom Kippur service and how Jews prayed for another year of life. No promise of an afterlife in the Jewish faith so they pray for another year and seek to find beauty in each day of life on earth.


My Hope for Peace by Jehan Sadat -- quote from her on page 171, "I hope I will be remembered as a feminist, an Arab and a Muslim woman dedicated to the struggle for women's rights. I do not want to be remembered as a radical, because I am not. True, I have always expressed my opinions, but I have never been extreme in my views - except when it comes to passivity. I hate watching and waiting as if an injustice can correct itself or an ill of society can discover its own cure." In this book Mrs. Sadat discusses the importance of her faith, her husband's legacy, how pro-women Islam is, a brief overview of Middle Eastern (especially pertaining to Egypt) history since 1948 and her work in America after her husband's death and in recent years.


The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin -- a man tells his story in rural SC as he waits for his wife to awake from a coma. He learns to find God in the struggles of life; fiction

Maggie by Charles Martin -- the sequel to the above-mentioned book. Shares Dylan and Maggie's life after her coma and as they seek to have or adopt a child among other things.

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke -- the fiction story of Robert, a young abolitionist, and his journey to see his uncle in a Union prison and how he helps a wounded Confederate soldier make his way home in time for the Moravian Christmas Eve service and his quest to help the southern branch of his family and return his mother home

My favorite part was Robert's talk with a chaplain working at the Confederate field hospital. Chaplain Goforth said daily he'd hear soldiers from both sides asking God for help and then continued, "What I know is that the Creator of Eternity is not a marionette, thrown this way or that by our arguments or by our blood baths. The question is not whose side is God on, but whose side are we on? Do we stand for God or against Him? Do we stand and serve where we are called or where it is convenient?" (pg. 98-99)


How Did We Get the Bible? by Tracy Macon Sumner is a short version of how the Bible was transmitted, preserved, compiled, translated and how the printing press transformed Bible distribution.

Notes on Quran - Sura 47

This one came with a warning. :)


Sura 47 -- Muhammad

OK, I'll admit it: I sometimes don't know how to take these suras! Are the promises for Muslims now? Muslims back then? Or Muslims of the future? Or maybe all three since Islam is said by most Muslims to be timely for all generations. I ask because many verses in this sura made me wonder if these were time/event-specific for back then or something Muslims of today count on. I see quite a case for spreading Islam by sword in this chapter. Yet I know most Muslims today will declare Islam a religion of peace and that only extremists try to spread it by force. Indeed we wouldn't dare call Muhammad "extreme" as he was the ideal Muslim, the example for future generations yet this sura which bears his name conveys the spread-by-fighting method. Granted I'm simply reading the chapter and don't know all the background information, but if Islam is for all time and I were just the average nonMuslim off the street curious to see what Muslims believe I'd take sura 47 as one that is rather harsh on anyone who disbelieves.

I know many in the past have wrongly tried to spread "Christianity" by the sword. I say Christianity in quotes because how does one spread Christ's message by sword and it still remain Christ's message? While Jesus does make reference to not bringing peace, but a sword as I discussed here in this post on Jesus' Divisive Sword, most followers of Christ agree that his message was of loving and serving others, even our enemies. In fact this is what makes Jesus' message so different from Muhammad's. Most followers of Jesus will try to take to heart - or aspire to - Paul's words in his letter to the Romans.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

See there that quote about vengeance ... it is God's to repay. This is why we can relax as we trust in God to rectify situations and not seek to avenge ourselves.

This sura speaks of the importance of obeying God and Muhammad. The two go hand in hand as I suppose for Muslims one cannot obey God unless she also obeys the prophet of Islam. Sadly, his message differs quite a bit from Jesus' message. I've never seen justification in Jesus' message to spread his teachings by fighting others. This is why those who say they are fighting for Christ are so shameful and wrong! Uh, how exactly does one spread a message of "loving your enemies" by sword? I say people are free to choose whatever they want. God will settle things in His own time, like Judgment Day. We can share our faiths with others, but never try to force the message by threatening "you convert or else" as we brandish our swords.

And if these verses were just for one time, I still don't really like the idea of spreading a religion by sword. I don't like that about any group willing to kill others who won't convert to their faith.

Here are the verses I noted from this chapter.

4. So, when you clash with the unbelievers, smite their necks until you overpower them, then hold them in bondage. Then either free them graciously or after taking a ransom, until war shall have come to end. If God had pleased He could have punished them (Himself), but He wills to test some of you through some others. He will not allow the deeds of those who are killed in the cause of God to go waste.

5. He will show them the way, and better their state, 6. And will admit them into gardens with which he has acquainted them. 7. O you who believe, if you help (in the cause of) God He will surely come to your aid, and firmly plant your feet. 8. As for the unbelievers, they will suffer misfortunes, and their deeds will be rendered ineffective.

I see in verse 4 where God "wills to test some of you through some others." Does this also hold true to Muslim lands who are currently being "tested" by others such as the Palestinians who have suffered quite a lot under the oppressive Zionists? So is this merely something God has allowed as a test for the Palestinians? And the same for Iraqi Muslims who have been suffering for many years now. And when God tests us this way is it OK to fight the testing or do we endure it until His will is accomplished in our lives?

I see in the last part of verse 4 through verse 6 what I call the Martyrs' Creed. I have heard of families who seem overjoyed when their children are killed fighting so they will be considered martyrs. And why not when instant paradise with 72 virgins is promised! If I had a choice between instant heaven vs. waiting around for Judgment Day while lying in a grave to see if I MIGHT make it in, I'd want to be a martyr as well!

And verse 7 ... is this one for people now as well? Because in my opinion, it doesn't seem as if God has come to the aid of the Palestinians. Maybe this is a future promise for them? As they endure their testing from God (vs. 4) they will later be given aid from Him? Is this why most Muslims only given token aid to Gaza? They speak of it on blogs and such, but nothing much is actually done for them despite their numbers being bigger than most countries!

35. So do not become weak-kneed and sue for peace, for you will have the upper hand as God is with you and will not overlook your deeds.

Yeah, we all know peace is something only weak-kneed people can handle. Is this why the Muslim world is often a constant pot of turmoil?

Warning: sura 48 also struck a nerve! I'll post those notes tomorrow, Lord willing.

Experiencing God -- chapter 16

God's Invitation Leads to a Crisis of Belief

"Faith is confidence that what God promised or said will come to pass. Sight is an opposite of faith. If you can see clearly how something can be accomplished, more than likely faith is not required." (pg. 135)

When God lets you know what He wants to do through you, it will be something only God can do. What you believe about Him will determine what you do. If you have faith in the God who called you, you will obey Him; and He will bring to pass what He has purposed to do. If you lack faith, you will not do what He wants. This is disobedience.

Jesus questioned those around Him, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Jesus frequently rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith and unbelief. Their unbelief revealed that they really had not come to know who He was. Thus, they did not know what He could do. (pg. 136)

In the Bible you will see how God asked people to do something in faith. The task was always bigger than they were. HIS presence was required. When we are given a task by God, but then think "Oh, I can't do that. It's impossible," then we are limiting what GOD can do through us. When God speaks, He reveals what He wants to do through us. We aren't supposed to see if our talents and abilities match the assignment. He works in and through us to accomplish His purposes. Don't be self-centered. Be God-centered. "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God, all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).

Sometimes people say that God won't give them an assignment that they cannot do. The author points out that if he senses God is giving him an assignment that he probably can handle, then that assignment probably is not from God. In the Bible, God always gave God-sized assignments. "They are always beyond what people can do because He wants to demonstrate His nature, His strength, His provision, and His kindness to His people and a watching world." (pg. 138)

God wants people to know Him and when He works through us, He wants people to see Himself. If all people see is what I can do then they won't see God. This is why God often gives tasks that only He can do through us. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world. If the world sees us and sees only a dedicated group of people serving God, we are not attempting anything that only God can do.

True faith requires action!

The disciples were caught in the middle of a storm on the sea. Jesus rebuked them, not for their human tendency to fear, but for their failure to recognize His presence, protection and power (Matthew 8:23-27). In this case their actions revealed their unbelief rather than their faith. When the storms of life overtake us like this storm overtook the disciples, we often respond as if God does not exist or does not care.

When a centurion sought Jesus' help to heal his servant, he said, "Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed (Matt. 8:8). Jesus commended the centurion's faith in His authority and power, and He healed the servant because of the faith of his master (Matt. 8:5-13).

In each of these biblical examples, what the people did indicated to Jesus what kind of faith they had or did not have. What you do, rather than what you say you believe, reveals what you really believe about God. (pgs. 143,144).

Great chapter! Reminds me to chase those lions!

Matthew 8 -- Concluded

I'd like to wrap up Matthew 8 with this post. We've already discussed Jesus touching and healing the leper and his amazement at the Roman centurion's great faith. Instead of going in depth on each of the remaining stories, I wanted to point out several themes that took my attention. Bear with me as this might be all over the place (read disorganized!).

Contrast -- how Jesus touched the leper and Peter's mother in law and others brought to him

with

how he healed disease from afar in the case of the centurion's very sick servant.

Notice how Jesus was willing to become ceremonially unclean by touching a leper and also how he was willing to go against local tradition of "cleanliness" by visiting a Gentile household.

Notice how Jesus rewarded the faith of the leper and centurion. The first recognized Jesus' ability "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean," while the centurion recognized Jesus' authority -- "just say the word and my servant will be healed." Both recognized Jesus' power over sickness and disease.

Amazement -- Jesus was amazed by the non-Jewish centurion's great faith. In fact he told those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Jesus rewarded his faith and replied, "It will be done just as you believed it would."

Matthew tied all of Jesus' healing of diseases to the prophet Isaiah by quoting: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." (Isa. 53:4)

Cost of following Jesus
Expect hard times. It's not always easy. (vs. 20)
You must follow God over your culture's expectations and traditions (even good ones) (vs. 21)

Contrast
The Gentile, Roman centurion's great faith

with

Jesus' disciples' little faith

The disciples were so afraid of the storm.
Jesus ordered them to the other side of the lake. (vs. 18)
Jesus slept -- He trusted God to safely deliver him to the other side
The disciples thought they were going to drown
Jesus rebuked the wind and the storm ceased

Amazed again -- "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (vs. 27)

Last story -- Jesus freed two men from demon possession. These men were so rough that chains could not hold them and they prevented people from going past them. Also they lived among tombs. (Another occasion where Jesus went deliberately to an "unclean" place to minister to the helpless.)

The demons recognized Jesus and asked, "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

I read this and not only was struck with the obvious fact that the demons referred to Jesus as "Son of God," but what do they mean by "the appointed time"? Do they know something about their future that others didn't know? Did they know that in the future -- at "the appointed time" -- they'd have a reckoning with the "Son of God"? When I read this I immediately thought of a passage in James 2. I may go into more depth concerning this chapter later as it pertains to living faith and how works are important in proving your faith is alive. But this is the verse that came to mind when I read Matthew 8.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

It's not like our believing in God is something "special." Even demons believe that. I believe they know more than we do and this is why they recognized Jesus and referred to some "appointed time" in the future.

So Jesus heals these demon-possessed men and the evil spirits are sent into a herd of pigs which run down a cliff and drown in a lake! The pig owners were stunned, shocked and ran into town to tell everyone what Jesus did! The town people come out to see for themselves and instead of being happy for the men delivered of devils who were hurting them, "they pleaded with [Jesus] to leave their region."

Apparently they were more concerned about Jesus destroying their livelihoods than changing human lives. I don't know. What do you think? Anyway I think it's a good lesson for us to not be so caught up in money and material things that we care more for the temporal than the eternal. People last for eternity. Things don't. Be joyful when Jesus changes lives and restores people.

Thoughts?

Muslim Women in America

I'm reading a book I found at the library last week published in 2006. The Face Behind the Veil by Donna Gehrke-White is a collection of stories of fifty Muslim women in America. Some grew up in America as second-generation immigrants while others are converts who have ancestry here going way back. Others came seeking asylum from war-torn areas or even abusive husbands.  The book includes ten stories for each of the five groups:   The New Traditionalists, The Blenders, The Converts, The Persecuted and The Changers.

Most of the stories are quite inspiring, and so far I've especially enjoyed the Blenders' stories.  One lady in particular is fighting multiple sclerosis yet she has such a wonderful attitude. Plus she grew up in an area of Florida where her family was the only Muslim family so her best friends in the public school were evangelical Christians.  Like herself, they didn't drink, do drugs, dressed modestly and so forth.   She said she had a lot in common with them and the reason this resonated with me is because Samer and I came to these same conclusions early on into our friendship.  And, yes, I know not all evangelicals are like me nor are all Muslims like Samer. It was just a very broad generalization we made ages ago that I liked seeing reflected in a small way in this book by one of the ladies who grew up among more conservative Christians.

The Converts' stories were of great interest especially their reasons for converting to Islam. Granted these were only ten women out of many, many more, but I was struck that nearly every single one of them came from broken (divorced parents) or abusive families.  I think only one wasn't and her father died when she was young.  Maybe that was just a weird coincidence, but it did stick in my mind!  At least two of the women mentioned Catholicism, namely one saw her daughter sing to the Virgin Mary in a children's program and that struck her as idolatry. Another mentioned kneeling in front of a statue of Mary and idolatry came to mind again.  In the case of Cathy, she grew up in a nonreligious family, but wanted her children to have a faith.  Since some in her extended family were Catholics, she tried the Catholic church first, but the people at this particular church were not very welcoming or friendly and she was desiring more of a faith community which she found among the Muslims.  Also she was angered and turned off by the Catholic church's failure to address the sex abuse scandals and condemn them right away. She was the one whose daughter sang to the statue of Mary during a program.

Two of the women grew up in the Bible Belt South -- Louisiana and Mississippi. One was Japanese American and the other African American. They grew up in conservative churches. The black lady's father (divorced from her mother) was a Baptist preacher.  She didn't like the racism that she thought the churches supported back then and this made her disillusioned with Christianity.  She eventually joined the Nation of Islam which still later mellowed into her following a more orthodox version of Islam.  For the lady of Japanese ancestry, she was saddened by her church's new bus policy when they decided they would no longer pick up black children for church services.  A few ladies mentioned growing up in faiths where leaders or grandmothers said "just accept it by faith and don't ask questions." This was a turn off to those who wanted answers to their questions.

For these women and others mentioned, their reasons for accepting Islam included:

Islam promotes strong families
helped them during difficult lives
promotes education
makes more sense to them than the Holy Trinity
wanted a faith more accepting of all (important for those who thought Christianity was racist)
promotes women's rights
Islam was "more liberating to them"
"enriches their lives"
"gives answers about diversity and human rights"
they were able to "keep their birthright" meaning their maiden names when marrying



Not everything was good. Many did not like how some cultures made women inferior, but they insisted this was not Islam.  Also a couple had problems with "underground polygamy" in the US where "brothers" would take advantage of their newness to the faith, try to marry them only for them to later find out these brothers already had wives. Also one convert's daughter who grew up Muslim decided to marry early. She was just six days past 16 when she married an Egyptian professor twice her age. He later took her with him to Egypt where the marriage soured within a year or two.  She had to fight to keep her child with her, but the judge in South Dakota ruled in her husband's favor (since he was more educated and able to provide for the child) so her daughter was taken back to Egypt with him.  Other Muslim women reported abusive husbands and/or fiancés. One lady fled to the US to escape a first cousin whom she met later in life, agreed to marry and then realized he found nothing wrong with hitting her - repeatedly!

Overall though the stories are positive and I've enjoyed getting to better know a few of the Muslim women sharing the United States with me.

I've read 191 pages and have 102 pages to go, but I wanted to recall some of what I read...thus, this post.

Have any of you read this book? It seems maybe Amber did now that I think of it. Did you? Aha, yes, I found your post about it.  I knew this seemed familiar somehow!  Read Amber's post if you want a better description of the five "types" of Muslimah in this book. She did a good job of explaining that and sharing a few things from the book that stood out to her.


Thoughts?  Questions, comments?

Why I Like the Apostle Paul

Since meeting a Muslim for the first time in my life nearly 3 years ago I have learned many new things. First and foremost were details and teachings about this curious religion of Islam and some of the rituals, rules and cultural traditions associated with it. I've heard quranic recitations and learned bits and pieces of Islamic history. I've seen Muhammad revered and noted Palestine as "The Muslim Cause." (One Muslim lady from the US who spent over twenty years in Bahrain said Muslims she's known hold Muhammad, Palestine and Allah in highest esteem -- in that order.)

I learned that Jews and Christians corrupted their Scriptures and that Muslims are shocked at how fallible the prophets are according to our teachings. Apparently admitting people are sinful creatures is an insult to God's judgment in choosing people through whom to work. Who knew God could only use the almost-perfect crowd?

One thing I learned was how Muslims disliked the apostle Paul and how he was often blamed for corrupting Jesus' teachings. This was eye-opening to me in the beginning, but as I read more and talked more with Muslims I got a better understanding. Still, I have always enjoyed Paul's writings and wanted to make a short case for why I consider his teachings valid and worth reading. In fact as I was thinking of this question Sunday night before bed and jotting down a few notes, I couldn't help but be more convinced of Paul's message than Muhammad's. So if we are going to throw out someone's teachings as being opposite of Christ's, well, I'll be tossing out the latter.

Unlike Jesus whom I consider the only sinless example, Paul even as a follower of Jesus wasn't perfect. I've never seen anyone make a case for this so please don't misunderstand me and think I believe Paul isn't fallible. Like Abraham, David, John the Baptist and every other human who has ever walked on earth, I believe Paul was a sinner just like you and me. He never claimed to be perfect. In fact Paul knew all too well what a sinful man he was! I think this is why he appreciated God's grace more than most of us who don't think of ourselves as too bad as far as sin goes. None of the people in the Bible are made out to be sinless except Jesus.

We first meet Paul as Saul in the book of Acts. He was a religious Pharisee, a very type-A person - a go getter, a driven man. You can tell this by the fact that he set out to purify the religion. He didn't want any of these Jesus People to succeed in corrupting HIS religion so he even asked permission to venture to Damascus in order to round up these followers of The Way. He was known throughout this region as one zealous for his faith even to the extent of actively pursuing those who dared deviate from the Jewish way. In our terms today, I think we'd rightly consider Paul a religious terrorist. Anyone who persecutes others for the sake of their faith falls into this category and Paul was among them.

Imagine everyone's surprise when they heard of this terrorist Saul's behavior and shock of all shocks, he's now teaching about Jesus - the very one he hated so much that he went after Jesus' followers in order to stop "the Jesus movement"! Now my one Muslim friend told me that this was Paul's secret strategy to destroy Christianity from within. Paul was trying to infiltrate the Jesus movement, teach bad things so that the movement would be destroyed somehow. He was that dedicated to HIS religion that he would stoop to this. Yet when said Muslim friend read the New Testament with me several months later and read Paul's message and the life he lead fully sold out to the cause of Jesus Christ, he was forced to reconsider his stance on this. I don't think any man would undergo being beaten, stoned, thrown out of cities, brought before rulers, thrown into jail, being in shipwreck and so forth just for the sake of destroying the Jesus movement!

So what caused this great change in Saul? How could this man who persecuted followers of Jesus suddenly become so fully sold out to the cause of Christ that he simply wanted to tell everyone? Paul traveled much of the then-known world to share the good news of Jesus. Is this how someone who hates and wants to destroy Jesus acts? Also remember as a strict Jew, the oneness of God was ingrained in Paul as much as it is to any Jew or Muslim today who has a hard time associating Jesus as God. I do not think Paul could simply talk himself into something so far from his upbringing unless he was fully convinced. Indeed Paul says as much in Galatians 1 --

" ¹¹I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. ¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ."

Acts 9 recounts Paul's conversion. His going to Damascus on a mission to round up the followers of Christ when suddenly Jesus himself appears to question Paul. Visualize this if you want.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

⁵"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. ⁶"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything

Notice that even those with Paul heard the sound. I've never heard the testimony of those men, however, it's somewhat proof that Paul was hit by something life-changing. For sure his life changed!

Next we see Ananias ... By the way, it was a great joy for me to visit Old Damascus last year and see much about Paul and Ananias in two chapels. (See my post and pictures from Ananias chapel here. And Paul's here.)

¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.

¹¹The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

¹³"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

So not only did fellow travelers hear something when Paul was confronted by Christ, here the Lord appeared to Ananias with instructions about Paul. So Paul is already more verifiable than Muhammad and his vision since NO ONE that I've heard was there to verify the "Angel Gabriel" giving revelations to Muhammad.

Here is more of the story as told by Luke in the book of Acts.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" ²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

²³After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, ²⁴but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. ²⁵But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.

In the second book with his name, Peter warns about false prophets yet when he concludes his letter with a mentioning of Paul he doesn't warn that Paul's message is anti-Christ. Instead he writes:

¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

So Paul's changed life was enough to convince followers of the Way who had previously feared this man. It was enough to convince the disciples of Jesus once they learned that Paul was preaching fearlessly in the name of Jesus. And it was enough to convince the Jews who formerly had Paul on their side! You see Paul went from being persecutor of Christians to being one of those hated by the Jews so that they sought to kill him! I don't think any infiltrator would put up with that!

So we see Paul telling others about Jesus. Though during Jesus' life on earth Paul was NOT one of his disciples and, in fact, considered the Jesus people as heretics, Paul was contemporary with Jesus' close followers. In fact he met with them from time to time. It was known to them, it seems, that Paul was being called to take the message of Jesus to the Gentiles. Remember before Jesus went back to heaven, he instructed his followers to share the good news throughout the world. Paul took this to heart and obeyed Christ! Since I am not a Middle Easterner and my ancestors aren't Middle Eastern unless we go wayyyyyyy back, I, for one, am very very happy God sent people like Paul to share the good news of Christ with people like me!

Paul's writings have offered hope, inspiration, lessons on inner joy, peace with God, being content and I love how he loves Jesus! Paul is the ultimate in dying to self and living for Christ. He didn't get rid of Jesus' teachings, but taught them to the churches he founded. He didn't water down the message, but continued to promote feeding your hungry enemies, giving water to thirsting enemies and overcoming evil with good! None of this reverting back to the old natural self's desire to retaliate and keep the cycle of vengeance going for generation after generation. Paul instructed us that pure hearts and lives are the work of God in us...not something we can do ourselves. This goes back to my dirty mechanic illustration the other day. Paul knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we need a Savior because we cannot clean ourselves. And salvation was a gift freely given by a God who is merciful, compassionate and the epitome of love.

Will I believe that salvation is something I can earn by being good and believing in Muhammad? Or will I believe salvation is given to me by a merciful, grace-filled loving God who is the ONLY Savior?

I am no savior. God is.

And this is Paul's message to me.

NT Manuscript Variations and Inspiration

For those of you who have been to Sunday School classes or youth events where your questions were dismissed by your teachers because "you should just accept things by faith and not question God," I am glad to read that not everyone is this way. Thankfully many people have questioned and not simply accepted things blindly, but searched and studied.  I liked this little snippet.  Maybe because it's comforting to know scholarly people have studied and come out stronger in their trust of Jesus as he is presented in the New Testament.


In The Case for the Real Jesus author Lee Strobel recalls an interview he had with Bruce Metzger   "a scholar who's universally acknowledged as the greatest textual critic of his generation."  Bart Ehrman "even dedicates Misquoting Jesus to him, calling him 'Doctor-Father' and saying he 'taught me the field and continues to inspire me in my work.'"

Strobel was interviewing Metzger about the variations between New Testament manuscripts noting most of them "tend to be minor rather than substantive."

"Yes, yes, that's correct, " Metzger replied, adding: "The more significant variations do not overthrow any doctrine of the church."

Then I recall asking him how his many decades of intensely studying the New Testament's text had affected his personal faith.  "Oh," he said, sounding happy to discuss the topic, "it has increased the basis of my personal faith to see the firmness with which these materials have come down to us, with a multiplicity of copies, some of which are very ancient."

"So," I started to say, "scholarship has not diluted your faith ____"

He jumped in before I could finish my sentence.  "On the contrary," he stressed, "it has built it. I've asked questions all my life, I've dug into the text, I've studied this thoroughly, and today I know with confidence that my trust in Jesus has been well placed."

He paused while his eyes surveyed my face. Then he added, for emphasis, "Very well placed."   (pg. 99)

I just wanted to share this for those wondering what the Bible being inspired meant.


In an interview with Dan Wallace ...


"Seeking a crisp summary, I said, 'Complete this sentence: when Christians say the Bible is inspired, they mean that...'"

"'...that it's both the Word of God and the words of men.  Lewis Sperry Chafer put it well: "Without violating the authors' personalities, they wrote with their own feelings, literary abilities, and concerns. But in the end, God could say, That's exactly what I wanted to have written."'"  (pg. 74)

Good definition or would you say it differently?


Thoughts?

Notes on Quran - Sura 33

Sura 33 - al-Ahzab

I gather from reading this sura that it was revealed sometime after Muhammad became a religious celebrity in the community because it's quite a collection of rules for the people concerning Muhammad's wives and family and also instructions for Muhammad's wives in regard to their conduct, keeping themselves separated from the community at large and also a prohibition from ever remarrying. While remarriage is acceptable in Islam for those who have lost spouses, an exception was given for Muhammad's family. This is not the only exception facing this household as we all know unlike other Muslim men who were limited to only marrying four women, Muhammad was allowed to marry any woman willing to become his wife. And apparently his adopted son's wife desired to marry him. This created quite a stir in the community because they had a set of societal norms that a dad didn't marry his son's wife. Conveniently a revelation was given by God to free Muhammad from any perceived wrongdoing. God declared adoption illegal, therefore, in reality Muhammad's adoption was invalid rendering adopted son as no relative. Adopted son's wife was now merely friend's wife. Therefore, she was OK to marry. Personally I have huge ethical and moral problems with this whole scenario, but who am I to question how God wanted to treat this most-favored man who ever walked the earth?

I wanted to say a few things about adoption and also fathers.

4. God has not provided two hearts in the breast of a man, nor made your wives, whom you pronounce "mothers" (in order to divorce them), your real mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. This is only what your lips pronounce. God says what is just, and shows the right way.

5. Call them by the names of their fathers. This is the right course in the sight of God. If you do not know their fathers, they are then your brothers in religion and your friends. It will not be a sin if you make a mistake, unless you do so intentionally; for God is forgiving and kind.

First about fathers. I'd like to make the case that a "father" is not a mere man who impregnates a woman. Any fool can do this. A father is a man who loves, cares for, provides for, nurtures and guides a child. Ideally the same father who biologically-produced a child would do these wonderful things, however, this is not always the case. Men often enjoy the act of creating life, but don't love the act of caring and providing for that same life. Therefore a biological "father" isn't necessarily worthy for his "child" carrying on his name.

And about adoption which relates to the "father" thing somewhat. I have many friends who have adopted children, some from as far away as China, Vietnam, Korea and Guatemala whereas a few have adopted children domestically. I applaud them for opening their hearts and lives and making these non-blood related people their true children. It's not one of these situations where they feel these children are not their own simply because they don't share the same bloodline. One may accidentally become pregnant, but no one is accidentally adopted. Parents lovingly open their lives and hearts to children who need families. It's often a very costly, involved and time-consuming process. It's not something to lightly dismiss. I've heard a little saying about an adopted child asking her mom the difference between being adopted and being born into a family. The mother lovingly and wisely explained in little-child terms that you didn't grow in my tummy; you grew in my heart.

The Bible tells us to care for orphans and many people have taken this to heart by adopting children who have no "forever families" and caring for them as their own. Why is adoption so important to me? Besides the physical side as I've already discussed, the Bible teaches that we are adopted into God's family!


See this:

Romans 8

¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

John 1

¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Galatians 3

²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ⁵to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. ⁶Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

I remember a few years back when I was talking to a Muslim friend who insisted that being a "slave of Allah" was better than being a "child of God." Muslim friend said being a slave was more desirable and a better and closer position than being a son or daughter. To that I replied with bemusement, "What planet do you live on?!" All in good fun of course, but in what world does a slave have more rights and privileges and more relationship and love than a child? In what world does a slave, servant, maid or even the person next door have more love and rights bestowed on him than a parent gives his own child? It's an honor and privilege for God to choose us to be not a mere slave, but a child of His whom He can love, protect, provide for and guide. Yes, we should serve God with our lives, however, the relationship is that of Father and daughter or Father and son. Not merely a relationship of Master and slave.



41. O you who believe, remember God a great deal, 42. And sing His praises morning and evening. 43. It is He who sends His blessings on you, as (do) His angels, that He may lead you out of darkness into light, for He is benevolent to the believers.

Loved this! See again singing praises to God is good so Muslims who think singing is haram aren't reading their own Quran! :)

December Books

Last day of the year!  I hope you have a wonderful 2013!

I started the year reading a book about grace, and the last book I finished was about the prodigal son - a benefactor of his father's mercy and grace.  Good thoughts for this year!  Here are the books I finished this month.


Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong by Jean Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow  -- I got this from my Amazon Wishlist. It tells about the French mindset and covers history and the importance of the State to the French. I especially enjoyed the chapters on World War II and the war in Algeria and how both have shaped France today. I also liked the chapter on the language and French thoughts of what is private compared, say, to the average North American.   These are just a few things I copied and shared on Facebook while reading this book.



I'm reading a book about the French, and the authors said "The French love of grandeur and power unfortunately does translate into a tendency to hoard power.  As noble and well-intentioned as politicians may be, they tend to treat their elected positions like personal possessions. ... In France, a whopping 89 percent of députés and 60 percent of senators hold another office at the same time. Half of them hold three!"  For example former President Jacques Chirac: "while mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995 he was also the prime minister of France, from 1984 to 1986 he was député for his home region of Corrèze and député in the European Parliament."  (pg. 56)


"Language is a national complex in France.  Anglo-Americans consider language a tool, but the French regard it as an accomplishment, even a work of art.  They love and cherish their language in ways that are almost incomprehensible to English speakers. It's their national monument."  (pg. 162)


"The French are always surprised to hear that there are from five to ten times more accepted words in the English language than in French (they will typically talk about how much "richer" the French language is than English and assume by deduction that French has more words).  In French, the boundaries between what is acceptable and what is not are clearly defined and enforced by the Académie and the government.  In English, there is no body that rules out words."  (pg. 164)


"Because so many people speak English in so many different ways, 'getting the message through' is the spirit that dominates the use of English today.  Contrary to what many French believe, English is not a simple language.  As a French académicien once put it, English is a language that is relatively easy to speak poorly.  The real difference is that, unlike the French, English speakers tolerate poor use of their language." (pg. 169)


"France is the first country in Europe to define citizenship not by blood, language, or religion, but by residency in a territorial entity and adherence to its values....The principle shows a sharp contrast with Germany, where citizenship was still defined by blood for most of the twentieth century."  "Germany claims to have 7.3 million immigrants; France claims to have around 3.5 million. The number is high in Germany because the children of immigrants do not automatically become citizens at birth and usually remain immigrants all their lives. It's almost the opposite situation in France, where children of immigrants become citizens at eighteen as long as they grew up on French territory. Then, when they become citizens, they automatically vanish from statistics."  (pg. 301-302)



God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark -- an interesting perspective and one I've not heard. The author discusses Muslim takeover of formerly Christian lands and reasons for the Crusades. I especially enjoyed the talk of penitential warfare (pg. 107) and the Mamluks since one of my Syrian friends has this last name. It was interesting reading of his ancestors.  I've read a couple other of Stark's books and saw this one mentioned.  Got it from my Amazon Wishlist.



A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans  -- I got this from a sweet friend who sent it for Christmas. I greatly enjoyed this book as Rachel does a bit like A.J. Jacobs did when he lived the Bible for a year. Only she chooses themes for each month,and strives to focus on submission one month, modesty the next, purity, living justly, and so forth.  She told the tale in a humorous way, and had some rather good insight on interpreting Scripture. I really loved her conclusions while wearing modest garb...how she realized she judged people for what they wore (oppressed, sheltered, outdated, legalistic).  Sprinkled throughout the book were excerpts from her husband's journal as he shared how he felt while his wife was calling him "master" or standing by the "Welcome to Dayton" sign proclaiming that "Dan is awesome."

see previous post on "biblical womanhood"

These are just things I shared on Facebook:

I thought this was an interesting perspective.  Did you know in Jewish culture, the men memorize and sing Proverbs 31 to their wives at the Sabbath meal?  It's a praise to "women of valor" (eshet chayil). Yet due to the abundance of books (and Mother's Day sermons I might add) aspiring Christian women to be Proverbs 31 wives and mothers, the author of this book notes: "No longer presented as a song through which a man offers his wife praise, Proverbs 31 is presented as a task list through which a woman earns it."  (pg. 76)   Personally, are you made to feel it's a praise to women or is the Proverbs 31 lady someone you secretly dislike because you cannot measure up to her standard?  Or maybe you are somewhere in the middle?


This was one of my "any guesses" on Facebook....  According to this book I'm reading "To _______________ belongs the worthy distinction of being the only woman in the New Testament identified with the feminine form of the word 'disciple' - mathetria"  (pg. 223), and ___________ was the "first and only woman in Scripture to be explicitly identified as an apostle."  (pg. 247)


"When World Vision first began working in Colomi (Bolivia) just two years ago, aid workers began by asking the women there what they most wanted to change about their community. The answer surprised the workers. The women said that, more than anything, they wanted to learn how to care for children with special needs.  ... We heard stories of children who had been locked in rooms for weeks without being bathed and cared for, others who had been beaten nearly to death, and still more who had been abandoned because of fear and superstition.  Before World Vision came to Colomi, the mothers tried to organize. They formed a support group, where they exchanged stories and ideas, but they lacked basic information about how to care for their children with special needs and faced nearly constant ridicule from neighbors who said they were wasting their time."  (pg. 244)





The Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks  -- see previous post

"We inherit not only the glorious histories of our ancestors, but their human failings, too, their kindness, their tenderness, and their satisfaction with easy contradictions; their wisdom as well as their ignorance, arrogance, and presumption, as our own. We inherit all the ways in which our ancestors and parents and teachers were wrong, as well as the ways they were right: their sparkling differences, and their human failings.  There is no unmixing the two."  (pg. 28)



Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent -- I've heard of this book, but never desired to read it. HOWEVER, someone gave it to Andrew for me so I read it. It was an easy read so I didn't feel I invested a whole lot of my life in it.  Rather cute book, I guess.Not really sure how to take the fact that an almost four year old speaks of going to heaven, talking to Jesus,  the sister his mom miscarried prior to his birth, and his father's Pop who died at 61.  By the way, he recognized Pop from a photo when Pop was 29, not the last picture taken of an old Pop with glasses.  Here is the website if you are curious about it.



The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson -- Andrew got this for Christmas so I decided to read it as well. It's about the guys from Duck Dynasty - some things about their growing-up years and the family.



Awake: Doing a World of Good One Person at a Time by Noel Brewer Yeatts -- I received this in the mail earlier in the month, and it was a quick, but challenging read. The author tells of some experiences she's had traveling around the world with World Help.  I especially enjoyed the chapters on the importance of clean water and educating women.  She spoke of justice, and how God wants us to make things better for people in the world.  She challenged me on whether I want a safe or significant life.



Encounters with Jesus by Gary M. Burge  -- seeing a few of the encounters with Jesus through the eyes of the people living back then;  see previous post



The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson -- a book about praying, setting goals and praising God, but mostly about "praying through" -- this is a tough subject for me because I'm an instant kind of person not a pray for something way in the future person; yes, this is a flaw, and I should change....maybe I should pray about it.  :)

A few things I noted:

"The blessings of God won't just bless you; they will also complicate your life." (pg. 113)  -- I noted Samer with a smile on my paper

"The hardest thing about praying hard is enduring unanswered prayers. If you don't guard your heart, unresolved anger toward God can undermine faith."  (pg. 124) -- um, yeah

"One of the reasons we get frustrated in prayer is our ASAP approach.  When our prayers aren't answered as quickly or easily as we would like, we get tired of circling. Maybe we need to change our prayer approach from as soon as possible to as long as it takes."  (pg. 196)




Mukiwa by Peter Godwin -- This story by "a white boy in Africa" is about Peter's life in Rhodesia before black people took over the rule of this country. The first part is about life in Rhodesia from a child's perspective. His mother was a doctor so Peter told of going on sick calls with her. Of course black people had the worst diseases and died at any age. His mom also identified what people died from so Peter described watching his mom cut people open trying to figure out what happened.  He talked about leprosy, death by arsenic and even a lady who insisted on seeing his mother privately because she wanted contraceptives. At not even 23, she had six children and was tired of birthing babies every year of her marriage. This lady spread the word and soon many African women were visiting the clinic for ways to prevent more pregnancies.  Peter talked about his years in boarding school, adventures with his nanny and other servants the family employed. 

I noticed the term "kaffir" used throughout this book, and I'm much more used to it being used by Muslims for those who are nonMuslims so I was surprised to see it here.  I looked up "kaffir Rhodesia" on Google and found this Wiki article on "fanagalo" which gave this explanation.

"The word "Kaffir" is the Arabic word for an unbeliever, i.e. non-Muslim, and was used by Arab slavers to refer to the indigenous black people of Africa. It thence became a common word used by early European settlers to refer to the same people, and in the 19th century was a term for the Nguni languages, as well as an inclusive term to describe South African shares on the stock-market. Through time "Kaffir" tended, in Southern Africa, to be used as a derogatory term for black people."

Also it was interesting to hear the black people fighting for control referred to as "terrorists."  Granted many of their practices were atrocious.  The latter part of the book talked about Peter's days in the police force, as a lawyer and journalist visiting Zimbabwe.  (The new name for Rhodesia.)



The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 Through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants By Kenneth Bailey -- I read one of his books a couple years ago and loved it. This one was much shorter and dealt only with the story of Luke 15 - the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  I greatly enjoyed reading this with Middle Eastern eyes. The author made it clearer how the original hearers of this story would have heard it in their cultural context. 

Notes on Quran - Sura 17

Sura 17 -- Bani Isra'il


This sura started and ended with a bit about the Children of Israel. There was a little more about them in other places, too. As one familiar with the Bible, I was very interested in reading a quranic chapter on these people for whom a whole, rather large book was written (or compiled). The Jews are central to the Bible especially the Old Testament so I feel I know quite a lot about their history and the development of their faith as compared to, say, Indian Hindus.

I was eager to see how their story was related to Muhammad and the Arabs of his day.

In the first part of verse 7, God told the Israelites this:

 7. "If you do good, you will do so for your own good; if you do ill, you will do it for your own loss."

Although this isn't what the Quran is referring to, it did remind me of Jeremiah's letter to the Israelites when they had been exiled. He was a prophet God sent with a message for His people. Notice especially the last part about their conditions for prospering.

⁴ This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29)

Quite different from how most of us would treat being taken into captivity, huh? I think I'd be looking for every possible way to escape and wreak havoc on my captors! :) But God didn't want them to fight what He had allowed for them. Instead He encouraged them to work hard and prosper their captors so that they, too, would prosper in the land.

13. Round each man's neck We have hung his ledger of deeds, and on the Day of Resurrection will present it as a book spread out (and say): 14. "Read your ledger; this day you are sufficient to take your own account.

This compares rather well to Jesus' words in Matthew 12.

^35"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Kind of sobers you up from gossiping and throwing around curses, doesn't it?

How does this compare though to God's promises here? Were they only for Old Testament times?

"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." -- Jeremiah 31:34

"'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me." -- Jeremiah 33:8

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love." -- Micah 7:18

"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." -- Isaiah 43:25

Any thoughts?

15. "He who finds the right path does so for himself; and he who goes astray does so to his own loss; and no one who carries a burden bears another's load. We never punish till We have sent a messenger.  16. "And when We destroy a human habitation We send Our command to (warn) its people living a life of ease; and when they disobey, the sentence against them is justified, and We destroy them utterly.

Does this mean those who have never heard of Islam won't be held accountable?

19.  "But he who desires the Hereafter, and strives for it with a will, and is a believer, will be favoured for his endeavour. 20. "We bestow from the gifts of your Lord on these and on those, for the gifts of your Lord are not restricted.

In Christianity, the gift of God is eternal life that He freely gives through Jesus. We don't "strive" to do His will in our own power. The good works we do are not to earn favor or to earn a spot in heaven. They are natural fruit from a life with God. When you learn about God and submit to Him and live life closely with Him ("abide in Him" - John 15) then HE produces good works through you. That way all glory goes to Him and not what we have done. I think Paul summed it up the best here in his letter to the Ephesians.

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

God does the saving and He does the producing of good works. It's not about us. We cannot brag about how good we've been.

21.  "See, how We favour one over the other; and in life to come are higher ranks and favours greater still.

God favors and ranks people? I'm thinking Indian caste system here, but suppose I should think instead "God's chosen people" [Israel], Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau and then it makes better sense. I just never thought the life to come would be the same...interesting!

I really loved the verses about being good to our parents and also the wonderful advice in this passage about sharing wealth, dealing with relatives, morality, rights and even not walking around in a proud way.

43. Too glorious and high is He, too exalted for what they say! 44. The seven skies, the earth, and all that lies within them, sing hallelujas to Him. There is nothing that does not chant His praises, but you do not understand their hymns of praise. He is verily clement and forgiving.

A lovely praise to God!

53. Tell My creatures only to speak words that are good. Verily Satan sows dissensions: Satan is indeed the acknowledged enemy of mankind.

Excellent advice! I wonder why if we are to speak good words, there are so many hateful fatwas. It's true that Satan is the one who divides us.

I thought the dialog between God and Satan was interesting especially when God gave Satan permission to lead people astray.

64.  Mislead any of them you may with your voice, attack them with your cavalry and soldiers on foot, share their wealth and children with them, and make promises to them." -- But the promises of Satan are nothing but deceit.

At least we are assured in the following verse that none of those God protects will be lead astray.

65. "You will surely have no power over My devotees: Your Lord is sufficient as their protector."


One final passage ...

70. Indeed We have honoured the children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, provided them with good things for their sustenance, and exalted them over many of Our creatures. 71. The day We shall summon all men with their leaders, whosoever is given his record in his right hand will be able to read his account, and none will be wronged the breadth of a thread 72. But whoso has been blind in this world shall be blind in the world to come, even farther astray from the path. 73. They had almost led you away from what has been revealed to you, that you may invent things about Us besides those revealed, when they would have taken you as friend. 74. If We had not kept you constant you had almost leaned towards them. 75. In that case We would have made you taste a double anguish of life and a double anguish of death, and then you would not have been able to find a helper against Us for yourself. 76. They had nearly expelled you from the land and driven you away from it. But then, they too would have stayed but a little after you. 77. This has been Our way with the apostles whom We sent before you. You will not find any variation in Our line of action.

At first I couldn't follow this passage and was confused about the "you" almost lead astray in verse 73. Was "you" the Reader (me?) or what? Then I reread it a few times and finally gathered it must be the apostles (vs. 77) who'd been sent to each land. So the way I understood it, God sent apostles to each people group and some of them were almost lead astray by the unbelievers. Verse 74 says that God kept that from happening although it appears to have been a close call in some cases!

The remainder of the sura had great parts about praying regularly and lovely words to say. I read about people wanting Muhammad to do miracles in order to prove his claims of prophethood. However, God declared He was good enough to vouch for Muhammad's authenticity. No other witnesses required!

Many good things to consider from this sura!

'Cause they say confession is good for the soul

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  

(words from Jesus as recorded in Matthew 6***)



Happy New Year!  Can you believe a dozen years have past since the Y2K hype with folks stockpiling food and water in case something bad happened because the computerized world might not be ready for a 2 as the first digit in the date?  Really, I can't quite believe how fast the years fly by.  I always heard this when I was in school, but, man, back then Chemistry class seemed to drag on forever so I was like "yeah right" when I'd hear an adult say such a thing.  Fast forward all these years, and I'm that adult.  Grrrrreat!

So today I was reflecting and resolving a bit since it is a brand new year.  I decided to go for a walk and I had this brilliant post in mind yet as I sit here hours later, I cannot recall what I wanted to say.

I did want to confess to this bad habit that I have.  See, I often approach holidays with some anticipation of all my family being together.  I enjoy myself, but there is this niggling thought about "who won't be here next year when Easter (or Thanksgiving or Christmas or the new year) comes?" 

And I hate that. I really do.  It's like this little thought bent on destroying my peace and joy. It's worry and fear tormenting me!

I want to live each day enjoying the moments, not worrying about future possibilities or probabilities.  I truly want to rest in knowing God has the future laid out and I can trust Him and rest completely knowing that my life is in His hands.  Yet that side of me that simply won't rest, won't trust, won't just relax and leave it all to God ... *sigh* 

For those of you who don't struggle with this either because it's not your personality trait to worry or you have complete faith in God or for whatever other reason that future happenings trouble you not in the slightest, I both admire and envy you. 

I was resolving today that I would trust God more. That I would dwell on His goodness and faithfulness instead of worrying about what might happen.

I want the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart to be pleasing to God (Psalm 19:14). Last year I was angry and bitter way too much.  God has been speaking mercy and grace to me lately. Christmas morning my pastor spoke on mercy.  My brother gave me a book - not from my wishlist, but one I decided to start reading first from the pile I got for Christmas. It speaks of grace. And God is speaking to me through this book.  The subtitle is "No One is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God" and if you knew the details of my life you'd know how timely this message is for me.  Today I was reading the pages about the Prodigal Son and was reminded anew why I adore this parable from Jesus.

Books I got for Christmas

 

OK, enough from me. How was your New Year's Eve and first day of 2012?  I was with my family last night. We met at my brother's house and some watched movies while others of us played Apples to Apples and Scattergories.  We were laughing like crazy. Who says alcohol is required for fun?  We did just fine with our silly games!  :)

Do you have any resolutions for this year?  Any words of wisdom? Anything at all that you want to share? Feel free ... the floor is yours. 



*** Does it tell you anything about me that this passage was one I read often as a teen?