Do the Gospels elevate praxis above cognos

I read with much sorrow the article by Rev. Bryan Berghoef in the December issue of the Banner in which he makes the following erroneous claim about the content of the Gospels.  Now although I object to much of the content of Rev. Berghoef's article I will limit my criticism to this one claim that he makes about the content of the Gospels.  The claim reads as follows:

"If you read the gospels, you’ll see that Jesus spends nearly all his time focusing on how we should live, not on details of doctrine or belief..."

which according to him is the erroneous sole focus of our long standing, Three Forms of Unity.

After reading his article I went back to the Gospels, particularly to the Gospel of Luke, to see whether his characterization of them as being primarily focused on "practise" was true or not.  In my search for the veracity of his statement I found the following verses which I believe contradict his claim and demonstrate that a concern for doctrine runs throughout the Gospel of Luke and by extension also the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John.  All Bible references are taken from the English Standard Version.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Luke 2: 46-47)

Further on in Luke after the completion of Jesus' temptation by Satan in the wilderness it says:

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (Luke 4: 14-15)

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place.  And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.  And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. (Luke 4: 42-44)

In Jesus' own comment on the purpose of his life he says the following:

"I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5: 32) 

This commentary by our Lord on his ministry definitely shows that "cognition" is of primary focus to the gospel message.

That there is no hierarchy of differentiation between how we should live as opposed to what we should believe is shown in this quote from our Lord which he uttered after he had been told that his mother and brothers wanted to see him:

"But he answered them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21)

Prior to this we read of John the Baptist that he preached to the people:

"So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people..." (Luke 3:18)

Notice in these passages the priority that is given to hearing the Word of God.  In a world that is bound by time the only way in which our doing can ever come into conformity with the expressed will of God is if we first 'hear' the word.  And the word we must hear is Jesus Christ crucified and risen.  We must first come know him through preaching (Rom. 10: 14) and after we have come to know him we must prove our knowledge by how we live.

The creeds and confessions all address this central and only question- "But who do you say that I am?" (Luke 9:20b).

This is further confirmed in the book of Luke when after the resurrection we see what it was that Jesus chose to instruct two of his disciples in as he walked with them on the road to Emmaus:

"And he said to them, 'O foolish ones, ans slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into 'his glory?'  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24: 25-26)

In the book of Luke Christ concludes his message to the disciples with this statement:

"'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'"  '"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  'You are witnesses of these things."'

In conclusion I believe that if Jesus took the time to pour over the Law, Prophets and Psalms with his disciples that he would also gladly spend time going over the Canons of Dort with us who are also his disciples.

Have We Misjudged Islam?

The November issue of the Banner made me ask myself, is it possible that for over 1000 years the church has been wrong about the Muslim religion? Since I do not want to be found guilty of giving false witness against people of the Muslim faith, I decided to do some research into their writings and see what there is to see. This essay is the fruit of that research. I will try to divide my findings into major categories of clear differentiation between the Muslim and Christian faiths.

Muslims are at war with the People of the Book

47. O ye People of the Book! believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was (already) with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition, and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers, for the decision of Allah Must be carried out.
 82. Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.
84. Then fight in Allahs cause - Thou art held responsible only for thyself - and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the Unbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment.
 88. Why should ye be divided into two parties about the Hypocrites? Allah hath upset them for their (evil) deeds. Would ye guide those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way? For those whom Allah hath thrown out of the Way, never shalt thou find the Way.
44. Hast thou not turned Thy vision to those who were given a portion of the Book? they traffic in error, and wish that ye should lose the right path.
 46. Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: "We hear and we disobey"; and "Hear what is not Heard"; and "Ra'ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: "What hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us"; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allah hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe.
 50. Behold! how they invent a lie against Allah. but that by itself is a manifest sin!
 51. Hast thou not turned Thy vision to those who were given a portion of the Book? they believe in sorcery and Evil, and say to the Unbelievers that they are better guided in the (right) way Than the believers!
 52. They are (men) whom Allah hath cursed: And those whom Allah Hath cursed, thou wilt find, have no one to help.
 54. Or do they envy mankind for what Allah hath given them of his bounty? but We had already given the people of Abraham the Book and Wisdom, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. Some of them believed, and some of them averted their faces from him: And enough is Hell for a burning fire.

56. Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. 61. When it is said to them: "Come to what Allah hath revealed, and to the Messenger.: Thou seest the Hypocrites avert their faces in disgust. 76. Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Faith Fight in the cause of Evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan. from thee. 89. They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks;-

101.When ye travel through the earth, there is no blame on you if ye shorten your prayers, for fear the Unbelievers May attack you: For the Unbelievers are unto you open enemies.

113. But for the Grace of Allah to thee and his Mercy, a party of them would certainly have plotted to lead thee astray. But (in fact) they will only Lead their own souls astray, and to thee they can do no harm in the least. For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou Knewest not (before): And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee.

116. Allah forgiveth not (The sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this: one who joins other gods with Allah, Hath strayed far, far away (from the right).

Islam is a religion of salvation through works

57. But those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, We shall soon admit to Gardens, with rivers flowing beneath,- their eternal home: Therein shall they have companions pure and holy: We shall admit them to shades, cool and ever deepening.
59. O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.
65. But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but accept them
74. Let those fight in the cause of Allah Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah,- whether he is slain or gets victory - Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value). with the fullest conviction.
 43. O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.
77. Hast thou not turned Thy vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (from fight) but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity? ...."Short is the enjoyment of this world: the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: Never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!
 79. Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah. but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul. and We have sent thee as an apostle to (instruct) mankind. And enough is Allah for a witness.
92. If he belonged to a people with whom ye have treaty of Mutual alliance, compensation should be paid to his family, and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their means, (is prescribed) a fast for two months running: by way of repentance to Allah. for Allah hath a...
103. When ye pass (Congregational) prayers, celebrate Allah.s praises, standing, sitting down, or lying down on your sides; but when ye are free from danger, set up Regular Prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.
125. Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to Allah, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For Allah did take Abraham for a friend.
160. For the iniquity of the Jews We made unlawful for them certain (foods) good and wholesome which had been lawful for them;- in that they hindered many from Allah.s Way;-
The Book of Light 24:31

1. [11.114] And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful.
2. [2.173] He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked; but whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
3. [4.31] If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter an honorable place of entering.
4. [5.3] Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion; but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
5. [40.14] Therefore call upon Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience, though the unbelievers are averse:

The fist of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion. (Hadith Qudsi 9)
Fasting is Mine and it I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake. Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy whin he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk. (Hadith Qudsi 10)

...My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him... (Hadith Qudsi 25)

The Prophet said, "Paradise has eight gates, and one of them is called Ar-Raiyan through which none will enter but those who observe fasting." The Prophet also said, "If a person spends two different kinds of something (for Allah's Cause), he will be called from the gates of Paradise." (Volume 4, Book 54, Number 479:)

Islam's teachings about Christ

157. That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
[32.4] Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods, and He mounted the throne (of authority); you have not besides Him any guardian or any intercessor, will you not then mind?
171. O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
 172. Christ disdaineth nor to serve and worship Allah, nor do the angels, those nearest (to Allah): those who disdain His worship and are arrogant,-He will gather them all together unto Himself to (answer).
The believers will gather together on the Day of Resurrection and will say: Should we not ask [someone] to intercede for us with our Lord? So they will come to Adam and will say: You are the Father of mankind; Allah created you with His hand He made His angels bow down to you and He taught you the names of everything, so intercede for us with you Lord so that He may give us relief from this place where we are. And he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his wrongdoing and will feel ashamed and will say: Go to Noah, for he is the first messenger that Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention his having requested something of his Lord about which he had no [proper] knowledge (Quran Chapter 11 Verses 45-46), and he will feel ashamed and will say: Go to the Friend of the Merciful (Abraham). So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Moses, a servant to whom Allah talked and to whom He gave the Torah. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that] - and he will mention the talking of a life other that for a life (Quran Chapter 28 Verses 15-16), and he will fell ashamed in the sight of his Lord and will say: Go to Jesus, Allah's servant and messenger, Allah's word and spirit. So they will come to him and he will say: I am not in a position [to do that]. Go to Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a servant to whom Allah has forgiven all his wrongdoing, past and future. So they will come to me and I shall set forth to ask permission to come to my Lord, and permission will be given, and when I shall see my Lord I shall prostrate myself. He will leave me thus for such time as it pleases Him, and then it will be said [to me]: Raise your head. Ask and it will be granted. Speak and it will be heard. Intercede and your intercession will be accepted. So I shall raise my head and praise Him with a form of praise that He will teach me. Then I shall intercede and HE will set me a limit [as to the number of people], so I shall admit them into Paradise. (Hadith Qudsi 36 )
[6.101] Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort, and He (Himself) created everything, and He is the Knower of all things.
[9.30] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!

Islam on Women

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments.... "
[2.282] and call in to witness from among your men two witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women from among those whom you choose to be witnesses, so that if one of the two errs, the second of the two may remind the other;

The Prophet said, "I looked at Paradise and found poor people forming the majority of its inhabitants; and I looked at Hell and saw that the majority of its inhabitants were women." (Volume 4, Book 54, Number 464: Narrated 'Imran bin Husain)

Allah's Apostle said, "The first batch (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like a full moon; and those who will enter next will be (glittering) like the brightest star. Their hearts will be as if the heart of a single man, for they will have no enmity amongst themselves, and everyone of them shall have two wives, each of whom will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the flesh. They will be glorifying Allah in the morning and evening, and will never fall ill, and they will neither blow their noses, nor spit... (Volume 4, Book 54, Number 469:)

In the latter passage it seems that Paradise is mostly about men and that the company of women are one of man's rewards.

Final Observations

I find that as one reads the Qur'an you come to see that there is a major difference in writing style between it and the Bible. A difference in style which is reflective of deeply profound differences surrounding the two faiths view of God. This difference is that in the Qur'an Allah does not ever speak in the first person. This is completely unlike the Bible's references to God where God persistently speaks in the first person, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Ex. 20:2); God said to Moses, "I am Who I am." And He said, say to the people of Israel, 'I' AM has sent me to you.'"Ultimately God revealed himself directly to men through the person of Jesus Christ. The very Christ whose deity is denied by the Muslims.

[6.102] That is Allah, your Lord, there is no god but He; the Creator of all things, therefore serve Him, and He has charge of all things.
Another major difference between the Qur'an and the Bible is that the Bible is written as a narrative whereas the Qur'an is a collection of disparate, nonsensical and sometimes contradictory sayings. The Quran could not be written as a narrative because Allah, for Muslims, is incomprehensible to man's mental faculties. For the Muslim since man is not made in the image of God there can be no human knowledge of God. This total disconnection between the creator and his creation is also the reason why Muslims deny the true nature of Jesus Christ. The fact that the Qur'an is not written as a narrative does away with any attempt by Muslims to deflect criticisms of the Qur'an by saying that such criticism is based on the error of pulling passages out of context. However there can be no context if the writings are not connected to each other. In the end each passage of the Qur'an stands on its own.
Next I would point to the fact that the Qur'an is heavily dependent on the Bible for much of its material eg. events and major characters. In other words Mohammed was a plagiarist. But not only does the Qur'an plagiarize the Bible it also distorts all of the Bible passages that it does incorporate. Here as an example is the Qur'an account of the creation of man from, The Adoration:
[32.7] Who made good everything that He has created, and He began the creation of man from dust.
[32.8] Then He made his progeny of an extract, of water held in light estimation
[32.9] Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit, and made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks.
Islam has other holy books in addition to the Qur'an:
[5.68] Say: O followers of the Book! you follow no good till you keep up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord; and surely that which has been revealed to you from your Lord shall make many of them increase in inordinacy and unbelief; grieve not therefore for the unbelieving people, (The Dinner Table)
This leads to the conclusion that Islam is actually a Christian heresy that is not at all of a separate revelatory origin as the Muslim's claim and that Islam therefore would in the end add to the Bible.
32.3] Or do they say: He has forged it? Nay! it is the truth from your Lord that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, that they may follow the right direction.
Lastly I will cite this saying from the Qur'an which I believe demonstrates that Islam is inimical to Western ideas of democracy:
[32.18] Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal.
It should also be mentioned that the Muslims claim that the Qur'an was written word for word by Mohammed as Allah instructed him. This means of authorship for their holy book is a vast divergence from the Christian teaching on the inspiration of the Bible. The Christian teaching on Biblical authorship holds that God did not override the personalities of the Biblical authors but that through the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit, God worked with their personalities to infallibly write the scriptures. This difference on the importance of personality is what explains why civil government structures of the two cultures has taken such divergent paths. This fact also portends the profound change in governmental structures that the West can anticipate as more adherents to the Islamic faith come to populate our societies.
In the end for us it is a question of whether or not we want to fashion and believe in a sanitized version of Islam for our own consumption and benefit or the real Islam that is to be found in history- past and present- and its writings.

Belhar; Confession or Political Polemic?

Is the Belhar Confession in fact a confession or is it a political polemic pretending promulgating itself under the guise of religion?  One way to take a stance on this is to look at the origin of the Belhar and contrast it to the issues which gave rise to the church's historical confessions. 

When looked at from this perspective it is clear that there is a vast difference between the factors which led to the Belhar's creation and the creation of the Church's other confessions.  The Belhar has arisen not out of concern for the gospel and the church but as a consequence of a specific societal reality, namely that of Apartheid, which is a policy that arose to deal with a specific society structure and not to address a church heresy or to defend the church from a hostile world.  This is rather interesting to note because if the historical creeds and confessions of the church have not dealt with societal issues then we need to ask ourselves why not.

The reason certainly cannot be because there were no societal inequities at the time of their writing.  If we look at the structure of the societies of their day we will see that societal inequity was pervasive in all of the countries where these documents were crafted. Rather the truth is that all of these confessions and creeds focused on some very central Biblical themes such as; the nature of God and man, the way of salvation, the Church, and the role of the magistrate or civil government.  All of this material is dealt with purely terms of how all these things relate back to God.  But is this the only reason why none of these church standards do not address societal injustices? 

I would offer one more reason as to why none of these confessions were written with an eye to social inequities and that is that they are following the example that is set for us in God's word itself, especially in the New Testament.  In the New Testament we encounter a Jesus who has no desire to overthrow the Roman rulers and who when confronted on the issue of Roman rule, replies to his inquisitors by saying, "render unto Ceaser what is Cesar's and unto God what is God's".  We find Paul telling a runaway slave that he must return to his master.  We hear Paul telling people who are married at the time of their conversion that they are to remain married to their unconverted spouses rather than dissolve their holy union.  When it comes to making change in this world the New Testament is consistently focused on making a change in people's hearts.  Whereas the Belhar has as its ultimate goal the reforming of secular society apart from the reform that must go on in human hearts. 

When one reads the Belhar you come away with this impression which is that this confession was not constructed to give Biblical instruction to the church of God or to give a defence of the church in response to persecution but rather to advance a political agenda.  This purpose comes out especially in the last part of the confession where the confession interchangeably talks of the meaning of the Cross for the church and then talks about its meaning for society as a whole.  Such a use of the cross is a hallmark of "liberation theology", and it is not denied by the supporters of the Belhar that the confession does espouse this teaching.

Now I believe that it would be ironic that the same church which would denounce Apartheid as being a heresy would embrace the heresy of "Liberation theology".  The way to counter one heresy is not by the adoption of another.  When it comes to theology I do not subscribe to the idea that "turn about is fair play."  The truths of the Gospel are much to important for us to treat them so disgracefully.

The only concern that the Bible wants the church to focus on is this one issue, "what must I do to be saved?"  If we look at the historical creeds and confessions we see that their concern is also with this sole issue and I believe that it is Belhar's divergence from this singular point that disqualifies it as being worthy of elevation to confessional status.