A Bridge Between Islam and Christianity
“I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100% both.” said Rev. Ann Holmes Redding.
Redding has been a priest for more than 20 years. Now she’s ready to tell people that, for the last 15 months, she’s also been a Muslim drawn to the faith after an introduction to Islamic prayers left her profoundly moved.
Redding is a 55 year old African American, she graduated from Brown University, earned a master’s degrees and received her Ph.D. in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She joined the priesthood and was ordained in 1984.
She doesn’t feel she has to resolve all the contradictions between Islam and Christianity. People within one religion can’t even agree on all the details, she said. “So why would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam?
“At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need.”
She says she felt an inexplicable call to become Muslim, and to surrender to God the meaning of the word “Islam.”
“It wasn’t about intellect,” she said. “All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be”she also said “when God gives you an invitation, you don’t turn it down.
Redding’s views, even before she embraced Islam, were more interpretive than literal.
She believes the Trinity is an idea about God and cannot be taken literally, she does not believe Jesus and God are the same, but rather that God is more than Jesus.
She believes Jesus is the son of God so as all humans are the children of God and that Jesus is divine, so all humans are divine because God dwells in all humans.
What makes Jesus unique, she believes, is that out of all humans, he most embodied being filled with God and identifying completely with God’s will.
She does believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, and acknowledges that these beliefs conflict with the teachings of the Quran. “That’s something I’ll find a challenge the rest of my life,” she said.
She considers Jesus her savior at times of despair, because she knows Jesus suffered and overcame suffering, “he has connected me with God,” she said.
That’s not to say she still has to develop as deep a relationship with Mohammed. “I’m still getting to know him,” she said.
She found the discipline of praying five times a day (one of the five pillars of Islam) gave her a deep sense of connection with God that she longed for.
It came from “knowing at all times I’m in between prayers.” She compares it to being in love, constantly looking forward to having “all these dates with God. … Living a life where you’re remembering God intentionally, consciously, just changes everything.” she said.
These days, Redding usually carries a head scarf with her wherever she goes so she can pray five times a day as a muslim.
On Fridays, she prays with about 20 others at the Al-Islam Center while on Sundays, she prays in church.
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good for her. the world could use more such tolerance. But what is not mentioned is that Islam, for all its beauty and rectitude, has been hijacked by violent factions. Islam must be an incredible religion for its adherents, a thing that transports them, and its history is amazing, too. It was only five or six hundred years ago that the Muslim world led the barbarians elsewhere into the cutting edge of culture, mathematics, and willingness to look beyond the parochial moment. Modern Islam, on the other hand, is about closing down doors, or so it seems to me. Why can’t the Muslim community do their own resurrecting, and bring back the golden age of Islamist thought and civilization?
I hate people like this, sorry to be pessimistic but America is full of them. They put such a low value on faith and the day of judgement that they honestly believe they can practice two completely different religions at the same time and find salvation.
For people like this religion is not a path, its a hobby. Religion is being hijacked in America, people craft relgion to suit their needs. I once met a girl who said she didnt believe in hell because she doesnt believe the creator would do that to her…how convenient right? I was shocked until I found out its a common belief. I hate that we applaud this kind of thinking as if its so refreshing and peaceful, I think if anyone has strong faith and thorough knowledge of either two religions they would find this lady detestable.
wow that’s honest. i’d hate to get on your bad side. a woman being detestable because she is finding her way? and what makes any one way better than another? why is a way that is exclusively left or right any better than one that splits the difference between them?
Shobrawy, what are the basics of Islam? alshahadatain (believe there is one God allah and acknowledge that Mohammed is his messenger) these two acknowledgements make a person muslim. Then we have the five pillars that Islam stands upon (Now does it say that you can’t believe in another religion to be muslim? )
I don’t think you should judge.. I don’t know if it’s right from wrong (even religious leaders were baffled by her statements and found it contraversial between accepting her as a Muslim or a Christian.. many accepted her with open arms in both religions!)
Religion is a personal choice.. in MY opinion.. You can take the best of all.
In the end it is the relationship you as an individual have with God.
It doesn’t matter if you pray in a church, a mosque, a temple, or a trash can. For a Christian and Muslim, at the end of the day your prayers would be directed towards the same God who will judge you mostly based on deeds.
I understand however why religious people would find this unacceptable. What she does goes against the very basic principles of Islam where no other human is associated with God. I don’t see how she can consider Jesus to be her savior while practicing the 5 pillars of Islam at the same time, it’s extremely contradictory.
As long as she doesn’t blow herself up, I find myself being accepting of her beliefs. Seconding what Rasha says, our relationship with God is personal. There are many people who don’t associate themselves with any particular God and merely pray for “whoever or whatever is out there.” I don’t really care as long as their beliefs aren’t based on violence, hatred or aggression. If they’re good people, like the lady above seems, then why bother or judge them? It’s their life and they can lead it however they want to as long as they don’t harm others.
Listen I know its politically correct to accept every ones personal decisions and even to find it pleasant and awe inspiring especially in matters of faith, its all very sweet and nice and makes me want to hug a stranger but to me its a bunch of hippie nonsense.
If this lady thoroughly understood both religions she would see how they are dogmatically different in many ways, if she believes she can practice both then she simply hasnt bothered to address many conflicts. The difference in Jesus being crucified or not is a fundamental difference, yes, but there are numerous other ones. Most stories of the prophets lives arent even the same, they vary greatly and from an Islamic standpoint how can you believe Christianity is right when Islam believes the Bible to be corrupted through translation and not the true message? From a Christianity standpoint how can you believe Islam is right when Christianity believes Jesus is God?
I do not personally judge the religion of others to say whether they will go to hell or not, that is God’s decision not mine. I do however think its silly to embrace anyone’s ideas no matter how fundamentally absurd they are. I believe its fundamentally absurd to think you can practice both religions and satisfy God. Maybe this lady believes she can get to paradise by practicing every religion, if she covers all her bases she can please every God.
Every person is entitled to believe in whatever religion they want that doesnt bother me, what bothers me is that this lady is the worst example you could have possibly picked. By her own admission she states that she doesnt feel the need to “spend her time” contemplating the differences in the religions as if to spend time on it would be a waste. I dont personally think religion and your relationship with God is a waste of time. Mark you said she is finding her way, how can you accept she is finding her way when she doesnt care to find anything, she is content being a member of multiple faiths without knowing anything about them, again by her own admission.
A lady who is a “Reverend” and a “Muslim” who doesnt feel it necessary to understand anything about either two faiths should be detestable to members of both faiths, she doesnt respect either religion enough to put her nose in the Book and read it.
At the beginning of this article I thought finally a christian came to the point that both religions are the same just bible and islamic rules has been changed.but wow :
she says:So why would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam?
then I see how idiot some one should be not to care about the differences.
at last I came to the point that she is Christian so why is she trying to call herself a Muslim.the only thing she does as a Muslim is 5 times prayer.
Dear Rasha you are right about Shahadatain (believe there is one God allah and acknowledge that Mohammed is his messenger).but does she believe in one God?so what did she do when she wanted to become a Muslim?she said that she believes in one God while she does not?she lied to herself
I am not defending her, but actually she does not believe that Jesus is God or the son of God as mentioned in the article (since she looks at all humans as children of God our creator)
She believes that God is Allah, that Christianity and Islam believe in the same God.
you may believe that there is a kind of black milk, that is the ultimate cure for every dare. as long as you are not going to blow up yourself for it (as Esra’a said), I would tolerate you.
but I feel that this is my very human responsiblity to tell that you are either an idiot or a stupid actor.
there are other examples of these people: Gays who claim to be muslim and think that their acts are accepted within the framework of Islam, etc.
what an absurd world we live in; full of those who believe in contradictories.
Then Rasha, she’s a faithful person, but is neither an actual Muslim or Christian in my opinion. We can’t just easily alter such basic principles and still claim to be followers of that religion. It’s like people who eat pork and drink alcohol and then claim that Islam allows that in this modern day and age, they change religion to fit their personal needs and end up lacking a clear understanding of what the religion is or what it truly stands for. I get her intentions and I agree with them, I just don’t like the approach so much.
Initially, the thoughts of this woman seemed very sane and sensible: she managed to look beyond the differences of both devine religions and come up with a ‘formula’ that suited her and made her feel at ease.
But then, giving it some thought, this doesnt sound right. I mean, its one thing to appreciate a religion for the principles and concepts it calls for, but its another to combine two similar, yet different religions and ‘ignoring’ the differences.
Then she said that she believes that ‘people within one religion can’t agree on all the details’ which is very true and would normally cause great confusion followed by thorough reading and studying of that religion that would lead to a better understanding and thus resolving the disagreements or the embracing of a more suitable convincing faith. However, it by no means the binding between two faiths, both with details that one might not agree with. Does that sound mentally healthy??
Again, I’m not here to judge her of course, she might even be a better Muslim than I am for all I know, and she MIGHT be capable of following the path of two faiths that are mainly deviated but intersect every now and then. Maybe, i dont know. But is it correct to? Again, im not sure….
I answer you Esra’a with a question, I consider myself a muslim but I don’t wear hijab for instance.. It is stated in Islam that a woman should, what am I considered?
I do not follow ALL Islam’s teachings, but I still consider myself a muslim.
So, you think that a person who drinks alcohol/eats pork yet believes, prays and follows most Islam principles is considered what exactly?
As far as I know Rasha the hijab is musta7ab… do you know where in the Koran it is specifically stated that a hijab means one for the hair? Where in the Koran does it state the word “hair”? Wherever you see “coverage,” it’s followed by bossoms… meaning we have to dress reasonably without exposing our body in an obviously tempting/slutty manner.
To answer the latter half – people are only defined by God, we have no right to say what his or her judgement with God is but we CAN state whether or not they are Muslims if they violate what Islam stands clearly against. If Islam says alcohol and pork are haram and are strictly forbidden – we have no choice but to accept and follow that. If we keep making gross exceptions… we inevitably alter the basic fundementals of Islam.
So.. in your answer Esra’a, you believe that it is all or none? obide all rules and teachigs of Islam or get kicked out? I think not..
Even in Saudi Arabia (very strict religious country) a person who violates Islam as you mentioned by drinking alcohol for instance will NOT be considered a none Muslim. (except ofcourse the crazy extremists here who think everything pleasurable in life is forbidden and Haram!)
God (Allah) states all the time throughout Quran how merciful and forgiving he is. (inna allaha ’3aforon ra7eem) knowing that humans make mistakes all the time and that is the great thing about Islam.. It is forgiving.
I am not trying to make excuses to violate Islam’s principles, I just believe that God is forgiving and welcoming in the end..
I’m glad to see you Esraá..
What a great article from Rasha(S.A.). Could you believe last five
years I am practising both Islam and Christian faith.
In the morning I become muslim with sahada, ” La illaha ila Allah,
wa Mahamood rasul Allah. Allah is the supreme ‘GOD’ and only
one god. All other gods including god of Bible ‘YAEHEW’ is fraud and false. Mahamood, the messanger of Allah, is the seniormost
prophet and all other prophets are subordinate to him including
Isa and Musa. Isa is the son of Marry. Allah never copulated any
women to beget a son.
In the evening I go in reverse mode, switch my allegience to Christianity. I take sahada, ‘ Oh lord Yaehew, you are the supreme and only god. All other gods are false including Allah.
Jesus is your son and you his father. Bible is your commandment
and Kuran is gobble-de-gook of Arab bedouin. Mahamood is fraud, a wolf in ship’s clothing. Jesus is the seniormost prophet
sealed by you. This is the way I please both heavy weight god
and reserve birth in paradise. I feel eternal peace in my mind by
worshipping this two eight hundred pound gorilla. Remember, both are very dangerous and their hellfire is not running short of
gasoline.
Hi, Rasha, Esra follow me.
Rasha & Esra’a:
one may violate some of Islamic rules, even those which are explicitly stated in Quran or Sunna, but as long as he/she accepts that his/her act is against Islam, he is not out of Islam.
when he/she tries to say: ‘No, Islam doesnt forbid this act’, now he/she is out of Islam and no longer believes in Islam. though still we may consider him/her as a believer, but he/she doesnt believe in Islam anymore, cuz he/she doesnt believe in some necessities of Islam.
Mohammad, what you wrote is exactly what I believe in
I am 100% with that statement.
I would change the words (against Islam) and have it as (acts not abiding to Islam)
Halim, I chose this article in the 1st place because it does bring controversy and I wanted to see different ideas about the subject. (I got you to comment!
) however hilarious and sarcastic you may be..
Hijab is pre-islamic pagan practise incorporated in islam through
christianity. Kuranic(Allah’s) mandate is complete veil/burkha/black tent. But if you use hijab/no hijab/no burkha,
now a days Allah don’t mind. May be you don’t know but I know
Allah liberalised himself a lot. In my neighborhood I see bikini-clad
young women are playing beach volleyball. Allah is watching and enjoying a lot but hardly interested to stone them.
Wow, the bulk of the comments about this article sure sound pessimistic. Rev. Redding’s tactics are decried, even labeled as idiocy, but what about her motives to heal rifts between those we’re told are headed for a religiously-oriented, civilizational clash? What does someone have to do to get an “A” for efforts to build bridges between disparate communities in a world where so many people are disconnected and out for themselves? Honestly people, how about nurturing what we find good in someone instead of focusing on what’s not good enough … for once? Her heart is in the right place, can we at least acknowledge that in the midst of the ridicule? G’d forbid we actually find her motives to be at least as relevant as her methods.
Can’t we freaking express our opinions without being labeled around here?! Jeez. I guess the only way to be accepted is to take everything at face value, without questioning or debating it!
Hmm … actually, there are plenty of ways she can make a positive contribution to society.
For example, she would probably make an excellent prison chaplain because they are often needed to host religious rites for various confessional groups inside the system due to lack of resources for spiritual staff. In many American prisons, there is a definite overlap of religious leadership out of necessity, in which leaders of one faith have to oversee prayers for members of other faiths. That’s just a logistical reality because many prisons are unable to fill all their needed clerical positions. So you see, maybe her views could be rather useful in such a setting (amongst numerous others, btw — this is one example) by maximizing her interfaith messages of peace to a variety of people who have lost their way. That’s not hippie nonsense, DB. That’s practical public safety because most people get out of prison one day and their experiences inside the system matter.
What I am trying to say is that there are plenty of opportunities for her views to result in positive outcomes that may not seem immediately available. I have no doubt there is a place for her in the world to elevate the human condition. It just takes a moment to look for it outside the normal box.
PeacefulVanguard:
everybody in this forum understands why this woman does all these contradictory things; being a little optimistic we may say that she is really trying to reconcile this and that, and make a way to avoid that ‘war of civilizations’ you mentioned.
ok, we admire her intentions, but this is not the way this job must be done.
Esra’a, I’m not sure what you mean by being labeled, or who your post is responding to. If you are talking to me, my problem is not with your views or how you express them, it’s with the posts that insulted, belittled, and disrespected this woman with no acknowledgement whatsoever that she seems to have decent motives. To some people on here, it’s not even, “thanks but no thanks,” it’s just a flat out stfu, dumbshit” as a way to intimidate people like the reverend not to think freely or express themselves openly. That’s totally uncool, and I’m gonna say something about it.
Thanks, Mohammed M., but as we can see on this blog and elsewhere, if something or someone doesn’t conform to status quo thinking, they often get slammed by certain people, being called idiot, crazy, worthy of being hated, etc.. That’s not justice or reasonable debate. That’s just intimidation.
Let’s not pretend that many of the comments here were constructive criticism. If they were, fine, let’s go at ‘em. But many were downright insulting because she has the nerve to think outside the box. That borders on mind control and I don’t like it, which is why I felt the need to speak out.
Examples of what I am talking about:
I’m fine with a robust and honest debate. Explain to me why her views don’t make sense without casting aspersions upon her character and I very well may agree with you. If you’re gonna be rude, reserve it for those whose corrupted notions of religion come with severely negative abuse against others, not her. She doesn’t deserve it.
Bottom line is that I’m not okay with referring to this woman as a mentally unstable idiot who deserves to be hated because all that type of language does is stifle dialogue, not open it up. If she’s wrong, tell me why. I’m open minded to evidence. But don’t just tell me to trust you that her views are not as worthy as yours merely because they fall outside of institutionalized thinking. Sorry, I don’t play that.
PeacefulVanguard:
the kind of play you suggest for this matter, is a proper one. now, we should find the answer of this question:
Q1- can someone be both Muslim and also Christian at the same time?
to answer the above, first we should answer the blow:
Q2- What is Islam? What is Christianity?
if we find that there is not a standard definition of either Islam or Christianity (or at least common practices believed by all of the followers of each faith), then we can conclude that there is no definite answer for Q1.
though I admit that there is a very wide spectrum of somehow different understanding(s) of Islam and not all of Muslims belive in the same ‘Thing’ as Islam, there are some certain ‘Facts’ in which all muslims believe. these Facts constitute the general meaning of Islam, and by definition, one who doesn’t believe in these Facts can’t be named a Muslim.
note: if I conclude finally that this woman is not a muslim, this doesnt mean that I (or any other person) see her beliefs as being worthless; no, she may be much closer to God than me, at least for the good deed/heart/mind she probably owns, but just she is not a muslim
now I’m going to ask that woman if she believes in these certain beliefs of Islam (these ideas are explicitly stated in Quran/Sunna):
1- Muhammad is the last prophet of God.
2- Quran is the exact message of God: not even on word of it has ever changed since it was descended by Gabriel.
3- Jesus was not crucified.
4_ Testaments are distorted messages of God.
and so on. Can she believe in these statments and still stay a Christian? or there is a need for further explanations?
Peaceful Vanguard, my favorite quote is yours…
Its fair to say that your interpretation of religion is different than many of us. I dont believe many of us view our faith as a “box” that you can think outside of. If thats how you see it thats perfectly fine but its wrong to dictate to others your expectation of how we view people who corrupt the origional rules of the faith. For me personally religion is a set of rules both physical and spiritual sent down from God, I accept the “box” that God has provided and I accept that going outside of it is wrong. This is my faith, I dont feel opressed by it or restrained, I have chosen to live by these rules. Because religion is a personal and highly regarded relationship with God it is of course offensive when people live faaaaaaaaaaar outside of that box with no shame and continue to call themselves Muslim or Christian or whatever.
Its also offensive for you to suggest that faith and strict adhearence to our faith is some sort of mind control. I’m not some brainwashed fool I’m a willing participant. So enough with your hippie crap. To be very honest with you I’m not liberal or wishy washy on my beliefs enough to accept any fruit cake who wants to invent a religion so you’re going to have to accept that I find this womans beliefs offensive. If she desires spirituality so bad then she can go worship the Sun or practice yoga but dont call yourself Muslim and Christian when you are clearly neither.
DB, you didn’t just disagree or critique her views. You flat-out said you hate people who do not view religion as their path — your exact words. To me, that’s beyond defending your faith and has moved squarely into the realm of attempted mind control. You have every right to defend your own way of life, but if you are going to hate people who believe that following G’d can come through a structure different than your own, even when their beliefs have no influence over your life, that’s not rejecting hippie b.s. That’s just wanting to institutionalize how others think in order to maximize power in the hands of those who have the most to gain from it. I mean, if this woman had a huge following that threatened to kick down the doors of Islam and Christianity, and really caused a threat to billions of people and long-standing cultures, I would understand your fear. But hating some innocuous woman who is following her own path in life and trying to forge some peace? Please.
Come clean, DB. You want others to practice religion the way you do so you can get something out of it, not so they can. You don’t want to minister to people to help ensure they preserve sacred traditions or because you feel it will improve their lives. You are clear that “religious deviants” should be hated because you don’t like it. That is mind control in the rawest sense. No thanks.
It seems to be that religion is never peaceful and deeply religious people seem to be difficult to make friends with.Mormons come round to my house to tell me they know they are right and nothing will change that,the jehovas witnesses are the same.Christians in usa can also be extreme and muslims in the uk want to have separate schools and so much more,and all of that is fine as long as nobody gets hurt but everyone just gets mad and I know someone will be mad at me but…Where I live I dont really know anyone who is reigious so thats why Im not I guess.but theres so much stress and not a lot of love.Who knows who is right,and its always interpreted every which way.
I am curious..
If such a woman visited you and wanted to pray in your mosque would you allow her or prevent her from doing so, since she is considered a non-Muslim in your eyes??
Anyone care to answer?
In the UK there was a tv programme showing women muslims trying to be allowed in the mosque to pray and the resistance and aninmosoty they received was terrible.It enrages me that they got funding to build it without fairness to both sexes.I for one wont accept integration which includes mysogeny,how dare any one make such a deal.Its caused a bit of a stir.These were muslim women.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.†John 14:6
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12
The Bible asks the question; What fellowship has darkness got with light. Jesus also said “no servant can serve two masters, because he will love the one and hate the other, you cannot serve God and mammon,â€
The invitation Redding’s received was from what the Bible calls “the god of this world’ Satan himself who is the author of Islam and all its lies.
This detestable ignorant woman calls Jesus a liar.
How dare she be called a Christian if she does not believe the basic tenement of Christianity?
Her prayers are certainly not to the God of the Bible.
What is the Gospel? (In a nutshell)
Firstly, we need to understand that the gospel is not a religion, a sect, church, organisation or institution. It is definitely not any dogma of any particular church whether it is Baptist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican or Assembly of God etc. In fact there are many churches that distort, deny or otherwise simply ignore the gospel.
So what is the Gospel?
The gospel is God’s way of salvation to redeem (save) a person from everlasting hell and damnation.
We need to understand what the Bible says about ourselves. The Bible clearly declares that we are all sinners.
“Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”? Proverbs 20:9
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,†Romans 3:23.
“For in Your (God’s) sight no man living is righteous.†Psalm 143:2
“As it is written, ‘THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;’†Romans 3:10
So we see that all, every single one of us, is a sinner. So what does that mean?
The consequence of SIN is death (to spend all eternity in hell ).
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—“ Romans 5:12
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.†Romans 6:23
Thus not a single person can claim to be good or righteous.
But the good news (gospel) is “that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world (you), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever (you) believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world (you) might be saved through Him .He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.†John 3:14-20
So what must our response be to be saved?
1. Repent:
After admitting that we are hopelessly lost sinners God calls us to repent. Repentance is to confess our sins to God and turn from our sinful ways.
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.†1 John 1:6-9
2. Believe:
Believe that Christ died for our sins; He shed His precious blood to pay the penalty for our sins; He died the death we should have died; He was our substitute on the cross. But death could not keep Him because He is the holy sinless Son of God and He rose triumphant over death and hell. By His death and resurrection we are justified (just as if we had never sinned).
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.†Ephesians 1:7
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.†2 Corinthians 5:21
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.†John 6:47
“God raised Him up on the third day … that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10: 40-43
3. Be Baptized:
We are not talking about baptism as taught by religion but believer’s baptism, which is by full immersion in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, publicly declaring unashamedly that we have become believers, having been born again by the Spirit of God.
Jesus answered… “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God… “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:3-7
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.†Acts 2:37-39
4. Obedience
Obedience to God’s Word the Bible is what follows being “born againâ€.
Jesus said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’†Matthew 22:37-39
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.†John 13:34
“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’†Galatians 5:14
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with himâ€. John 14:23
5. Consequences of not accepting the Gospel
“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.†Romans 2:5-8
“The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution (wrath) to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.†2 Thessalonians 1:7-8
‘” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
… and His name is called The Word of God and the armies which are in heaven… were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19
“The King will reply, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.†Matthew 25:40-41
Those who have chosen to reject Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD will tragically never know the glorious unimaginable wonders of living in heaven with God Himself.
“But just as it is written, ‘THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.’”
1 Corinthians 2:9
If you want to know more and are not sure where to start reading the Bible I suggest you read John’s Gospel and also the Psalms.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.†John 14:6
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12
These are just some of the main Scriptures. All quotes are from the New American Standard Bible.
Prepared by Ron Hume ronhume@xtra.co.nz
While on the surface Islam and Christianity may appear very different, this is an excellent example of how these differences can be reconciled. Rather than identifying each ideological inconsistency in Redding’s actions, her ability to remain faithful to herself and her God should be admired. As Redding points out, Islam and Christianity are interpreted many ways within each religion. She should be allowed the freedom to form her own interpretations, particularly after two decades of experience as a Reverend.
LC, there is only One who is Holy and Reverend and that is the LORD God Almighty, so anyone who claims to be Reverend is blaphemous
the best religion must be seen in the people practicing it. i have compared the life of the muslims with that of the Christians but what i obtain is an absolute truth.the quran cover every aspect of life. its a complete system.the muslim world, or rather, way of life is the same irrespective of location.the quran does not contain contradictory statements and the qualities of prophet muhammad does not bring doubt to his integrity. For these reasons,Islam is the best religion.
bagudu — you are very naive to just accept whatever the imams tell and unfortunately very lost.
Mohammed was a very evil man who wrote the satanic verses. By his very lifestyle he demonstrated that he was demon possessed, he was a murderer, thief, traitor, paedophile, liar, plagiariser, polygamist, and so much more. He has deceived so many by taking Allah one of the more than 360 pagan gods of his day and creating a monolithic religion called Islam which has and is leading many poor souls to hell.
If you want to really know the truth read my comments WHAT IS THE GOSPEL.
Ronald, it won’t surprise me the way you put your words in an insulting manner on the personality of a prophet considered by more than one billion people.This must have come from your religious background.The good thing is that the muslims will never insult Jesus without proof these way.I tend to like some Americans in thier rationality some times. I have my first degree in OPerations Rsearch and a PHD in comperative religion. I have stayed in Jerusalem for two years so i am familier with the life of these main christians.I believe in fact as research is my interest. You may be surprise if you see christians prayin in that land.Do you have a copy of the original Bibble? The two religion are all of same root.I like the simplicity in the Muslims life. They are morally sound as can quickly be seen from thier dresses. They share same tradition no matter where they come from.Their books maintain itself.They are more serious with their religion. They always like reading the bibble to comfirm what the Qur’an says.And thier Qur’an contains alot about Christianity and respect for Jesus and Marry. What beats my imagination is that couldn’t the bibble predict something about Islam and Muhammad even before he comes?Do you know that Muhammad rated first in the rating of the one hundred most influential men in history? Search for that to know that it was Christians that rated him.He therefore does not deserve being slandered if your religion teaches morality and truth.Had the BIbble said about Islam, then the Christians would have also known islam and then understanding achieved. The fact that i know your religion but you don’t know mine will always keep a barrier to understanding between us. MAY GOD GUIDE US.
Bagudu, — I’m sorry that you are offended by the truth about Mohammed, sad that you think you know so much when in fact it’s obvious that it’s the very opposite. I have had many Muslim friends, have attended some Muslim weddings and have over a period of thirty years look at their religion carefully, including some writings by Ahmed Deedat and come to the conclusion that Muslims as nice a people that they can be are blinded by Satan, they think they can earn their way to heaven with their five pillars of faith and deeds etc but the Bible (note correct spelling) is clear that no person can ever earn their salvation. Tragically you are right there are more than one billion Muslims that are sadly going to a lost eternity in hell because they refuse the truth of the gospel and believe the lies of Satan.
Please take the time to read what I have written above (the Gospel in a nutshell) and as you claim to be a learned scholar of religion perhaps you can scholarly refute what I have written; all based on the Word of God, the Bible.