Churches Open Doors to Muslim Worship

[웃 910]

Churches Open Doors to Muslim WorshipBy Lauren GreenPublished February 18, 2011 | FoxNews.comThey see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of

fellowship where it was never intended to go.Two Protestant churches are taking some heat from critics for opening their church buildings to Muslims needing places to worship because their

own facilities were either too small, or under construction.Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., let members of the Memphis Islamic Center hold Ramadan prayers there last September. And

Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Va., allows the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built. Diane

Bechtol of Aldersgate says this is something Christians are called to do: Be neighborly and develop relationships - even those who don't share your beliefs."I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith,

and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger," said Bechtol. "We are a congregation that wants to be helpful to people and if we are asked to help a neighbor in need, that's what we do."But

Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian theologian and radio talk show host, charged these churches "have crossed the line from respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement."We as the

church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I

think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."Mohamed Elsanousi adamantly disagrees, saying it's good for the country to know churches like these are

extending a hand to Muslims.Elsanousi is National Community Outreach Director of the Islamic Society of North America. He says "allowing people the freedom of worship is respectful and

strengthens the relationship."Elsanousi says there are many churches and even synagogues in America where Muslims share space with Christians. "We feel good about it," he says.That trend

may continue as the Muslim population across the U.S. continues to grow.Mosque construction is at an all-time high. As of September, there were 1,897 mosques in the United States, a 57

percent increase since 2000.Several of those building projects have caused friction with local communities. According to the Pew Forum, there are 35 proposed Mosques and Islamic centers that

have encountered resistance. The most prominent, the Ground Zero mosque, is just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.Dr. Jason Hood, an Evangelical theologian, says there are other

ways Christians can share the love of Christ without building a bridge too far. "Caring for Muslim refugees is particularly important," he says, along with "sharing meals and recreational

opportunities."Heartsong's relationship with its Muslim neighbors has developed into an annual Thanksgiving meal between the two faiths, and the use of a joint 15-acre community park.Steve

Stone, Heartsong's senior pastor, wrote in Christianity Today that "No thought at all was given to the political ramifications … The decision was firmly based only on our understanding of the

mission and nature of the church." He also pointed out that "there was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that."But McFarland says it's

good to remember the "political ramifications" of Muslim-Christian interaction."What if we went to Muslims and said 'Hey, can we use your mosque for the worship of Jesus, the incarnate son of

God, the one that said 'no one comes to the Father but through him.' I doubt there would be a lot of reciprocity'."McFarland says the groups run the risk of creating something called "Chrislam" - a

combination of the two faiths that essentially ignores the big white elephant in the room: the exclusive claims of both Christianity and Islam. But

Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian theologian and radio talk host, charged these churches "have crossed the line from

respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement."We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque

and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."Mohamed Elsanousi adamantly disagrees, saying it's

good for the country to know churches like these are extending a hand to Muslims.Elsanousi is National Community Outreach Director of the Islamic Society of North America. He says "allowing

people the freedom of worship is respectful and strengthens the relationship."Elsanousi says there are many churches and even synagogues in America where Muslims share space with

Christians. "We feel good about it," he says.That trend may continue as the Muslim population across the U.S. continues to grow.Mosque construction is at an all-time high. As of September, there

were 1,897 mosques in the United States, a 57 percent increase since 2000.Several of those building projects have caused friction with local communities. According to the Pew Forum, there are

35 proposed Mosques and Islamic centers that have encountered resistance. The most prominent, the Ground Zero mosque, is just two blocks from the World

]Trade Center site.Dr. Jason Hood, an Evangelical

theologian, says there are other ways Christians can share the love of Christ without building a bridge too far. "Caring for Muslim refugees is particularly important," he says, along with "sharing

meals and recreational opportunities."Heartsong's relationship with its Muslim neighbors has developed into an annual Thanksgiving meal between the two faiths, and the use of a joint 15-acre

community park.Steve Stone, Heartsong's senior pastor, wrote in Christianity Today that "No thought at all was given to the political ramifications … The decision was firmly based only on our

understanding of the mission and nature of the church." He also pointed out that "there was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that."But

McFarland says it's good to remember the "political ramifications" of Muslim-Christian interaction."What if we went to Muslims and said 'Hey, can we use your mosque for the worship of Jesus,

the incarnate son of God, the one that said 'no one comes to the Father but through him.' I doubt there would be a lot of reciprocity'."McFarland says the groups run the risk of creating something

called "Chrislam" - a combination of the two faiths that essentially ignores the big white elephant in the room: the exclusive claims of both Christianity and Islam.

Edited February 18, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[^_^ 5,021]

LOL @ your formatting skills.

[웃 910]

LOL @ your formatting skills.

My copy and paste skills are great...But for some reason when I hit the 'post' button it comes out a complete disaster? There is no way around it, is there?

Was a pretty good article imo...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/18/churches-open-doors-muslim-worship/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_Churches_Open_Doors_to_Muslim_Worship

[Danno 1,228]

It might be that Muslims do this all the time for Christians in places around the world.....

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It might be that Muslims do this all the time for Christians in places around the world.....

If you look down on them, is it wise to want to be just like them?

[Ban Hammer 12,828]

LOL @ your formatting skills.

exactly.

[웃 910]

exactly.

You post the article, be my guest:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/18/churches-open-doors-muslim-worship/?test=latestnews

[^_^ 5,021]

They see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of fellowship where it was never intended to go.

Two Protestant churches are taking some heat from critics for opening their church buildings to Muslims needing places to worship because their own facilities were either too small, or under construction.

Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., let members of the Memphis Islamic Center hold Ramadan prayers there last September. And Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Va., allows the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built.

Diane Bechtol of Aldersgate says this is something Christians are called to do: Be neighborly and develop relationships - even those who don't share your beliefs.

"I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith, and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger,” said Bechtol. “We are a congregation that wants to be helpful to people and if we are asked to help a neighbor in need, that's what we do."

But Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian theologian and radio talk show host, charged these churches “have crossed the line from respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement.

"We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."

Mohamed Elsanousi adamantly disagrees, saying it’s good for the country to know churches like these are extending a hand to Muslims.

Elsanousi is National Community Outreach Director of the Islamic Society of North America. He says "allowing people the freedom of worship is respectful and strengthens the relationship."

Elsanousi says there are many churches and even synagogues in America where Muslims share space with Christians. “We feel good about it,” he says.

That trend may continue as the Muslim population across the U.S. continues to grow.

Mosque construction is at an all-time high. As of September, there were 1,897 mosques in the United States, a 57 percent increase since 2000.

Several of those building projects have caused friction with local communities. According to the Pew Forum, there are 35 proposed Mosques and Islamic centers that have encountered resistance. The most prominent, the Ground Zero mosque, is just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.

Dr. Jason Hood, an Evangelical theologian, says there are other ways Christians can share the love of Christ without building a bridge too far. "Caring for Muslim refugees is particularly important,” he says, along with "sharing meals and recreational opportunities."

Heartsong's relationship with its Muslim neighbors has developed into an annual Thanksgiving meal between the two faiths, and the use of a joint 15-acre community park.

Steve Stone, Heartsong's senior pastor, wrote in Christianity Today that "No thought at all was given to the political ramifications … The decision was firmly based only on our understanding of the mission and nature of the church." He also pointed out that "there was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that."

But McFarland says it's good to remember the "political ramifications" of Muslim-Christian interaction.

"What if we went to Muslims and said 'Hey, can we use your mosque for the worship of Jesus, the incarnate son of God, the one that said 'no one comes to the Father but through him.' I doubt there would be a lot of reciprocity’."

McFarland says the groups run the risk of creating something called “Chrislam” - a combination of the two faiths that essentially ignores the big white elephant in the room: the exclusive claims of both Christianity and Islam.

[Danno 1,228]

If you look down on them, is it wise to want to be just like them?

I don't look down on Muslims as a whole.

In fact I respect them in some ways.

[^_^ 5,021]

In fact I respect them in some ways.

I am afraid to ask.

[웃 910]

\

I am pretty sure this is an issue with either Windows 7 or a web browser or Linux....Not a formatting skill issue? Although I could be wrong....What exactly did you do when you copied and pasted the article? Did you seriously apply some computing skills to get it to post correctly?

I have had this issue while posting on Linux before...Never should a post come out as

[color/] HELLO [#100003/22##]

...the text shouldn't display like that if it wasn't displayed like that before hitting the post button.

___________

___________

So when I go to copy an article I always avoid copying in ads because that will destroy the text.....

Step 1: Copy text from article (in this case I sent the article to printer version to avoid getting unwanted ads in the highlight, I usually don't do this)

Step 2: Paste text into VJ (it appears insane...underlined, and as a super single spaced format)

Step 3: Hit post and see what happens (edit, YES I KNOW of the clear formatting button, it still came out with tons of [/font] [/color###!2133] BULLSH!T)

So, what exactly am I doing wrong? Here is what it usually looks like when I post an article (the formatting disaster only happens 1 out of 15 or so times):

[웃 910]

Testing:

They see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of fellowship where it was never intended to go.Two Protestant churches are taking some heat from critics for opening their church buildings to Muslims needing places to worship because their own facilities were either too small, or under construction.Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., let members of the Memphis Islamic Center hold Ramadan prayers there last September. And Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Va., allows the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built.Diane Bechtol of Aldersgate says this is something Christians are called to do: Be neighborly and develop relationships - even those who don't share your beliefs."I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith, and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger,” said Bechtol. “We are a congregation that wants to be helpful to people and if we are asked to help a neighbor in need, that's what we do."But Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian theologian and radio talk show host, charged these churches “have crossed the line from respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement."We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."Mohamed Elsanousi adamantly disagrees, saying it’s good for the country to know churches like these are extending a hand to Muslims.Elsanousi is National Community Outreach Director of the Islamic Society of North America. He says "allowing people the freedom of worship is respectful and strengthens the relationship."Elsanousi says there are many churches and even synagogues in America where Muslims share space with Christians. “We feel good about it,” he says.That trend may continue as the Muslim population across the U.S. continues to grow.Mosque construction is at an all-time high. As of September, there were 1,897 mosques in the United States, a 57 percent increase since 2000.Several of those building projects have caused friction with local communities. According to the Pew Forum, there are 35 proposed Mosques and Islamic centers that have encountered resistance. The most prominent, the Ground Zero mosque, is just two blocks from the World Trade Center site.Dr. Jason Hood, an Evangelical theologian, says there are other ways Christians can share the love of Christ without building a bridge too far. "Caring for Muslim refugees is particularly important,” he says, along with "sharing meals and recreational opportunities."Heartsong's relationship with its Muslim neighbors has developed into an annual Thanksgiving meal between the two faiths, and the use of a joint 15-acre community park.Steve Stone, Heartsong's senior pastor, wrote in Christianity Today that "No thought at all was given to the political ramifications … The decision was firmly based only on our understanding of the mission and nature of the church." He also pointed out that "there was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that."But McFarland says it's good to remember the "political ramifications" of Muslim-Christian interaction."What if we went to Muslims and said 'Hey, can we use your mosque for the worship of Jesus, the incarnate son of God, the one that said 'no one comes to the Father but through him.' I doubt there would be a lot of reciprocity’."McFarland says the groups run the risk of creating something called “Chrislam” - a combination of the two faiths that essentially ignores the big white elephant in the room: the exclusive claims of both Christianity and Islam.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/18/churches-open-doors-muslim-worship/#ixzz1ELl3FslY

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Try hitting preview before post.

[웃 910]

Try hitting preview before post.

Thank you for this wise gem.

I figured out the problem.

For one, I have posted countless articles and I rarely encounter these technical issues. It happens maybe 1 time out of 25 new topics created.

When I post topics I never hit the remove formatting.

In this case I posted the article and then tried to go into the edit mode and remove formatting after the fact. It didn't work.

But when I did my testing post I removed the formatting before posting and it came out fine. Only problem is it was a long paragraph that was single-spaced (which I hate seeing). So I believe I solved the problem except I still would manually hit the enter button after each line to make it double spacing (yes, I go will go the extra mile for your reading pleasure).

Thank you for your concern.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[Dan and Judy 614]

I don't look down on Muslims as a whole.

In fact I respect them in some ways.

Some of my best friends have Muslim curtains