Royal Holloway College, in the University of London, held its Christmas carol service in its own College Chapel, presided over jointly by the College's Chaplain – an Anglican vicar, the Rev'd Cate Irvine, and a Roman Catholic chaplain from the local church, Fr Vladimir Nikiforov.
And what did the assembled festive throng hear? The prophecy of of Isaiah? 'For unto us a child is born...'? The Gospel of Luke? 'There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus...'? A reading from Micah, perhaps? 'But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel'?
No, none of the above. Instead, they got the Qur'an:
Behold! the angels said "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus the son of Mary held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.Fantastic, eh?
"He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity and he shall be of the company of the righteous."
She said: "O my Lord! how shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth; when He hath decreed a plan He but saith to it 'Be' and it is!
"And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom the Law and the Gospel.
"And (appoint him) an Apostle to the Children of Israel with this message: I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I make for you out of clay as it were the figure of a bird and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave; and I heal those born blind and the lepers and I quicken the dead by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe.
"I have come to you to attest the Law which was before me and to make lawful to you part of what was before forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me.
"It is Allah who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a way that is straight." (Qur'an 3:45-51)
To which I say: With followers like these, Jesus surely does not need enemies....
4 comments:
"I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I make for you out of clay as it were the figure of a bird and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave:
Once again we have proof of the eclectic nature of Islam which borrowed from Jewish and Christian sources. This narrative appeared in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas,a pseudepigraphical gospel about the childhood of Jesus that dates to the 2nd and 3rd centuries, never part of the official canon of Scripture.
Followers like these are the worst enemies Jesus has. The overt ones are ay least honest about it. But these are the false teachers who have gone out from our midst, which Scripture noted and told us what to do about them.
Which was not "dialogue".
But hey, I'm sure they had great vestments and paraments and all the other accoutrement of dressing up and playing church -- which is not anti accoutrement, but to say its presence and usage per se means nothing.
Why are so many church denominations throughout the West so eager to appease Islam? I would like to see such pastors test Islamic tolerance by trying to bring a bible into an Islamic country. Where is the tolorance for other religions in the Middle East? Why are the liberal Christians silent regarding Muslim persecution of Christians? By the way, the doctrine of abrogation cancels out any "Christian-friendly" passages found in earlier passages of the Koran.
The Church's most insidious enemies always come from within.
Our nemesis is not the external pressure of Islam, but the injection of same into our masses, divine services, etc. by heretics who either never knew or have left the Faith.
And not just Islam, but Buddhism, Hinduism, and all the other 'isms' you can name.
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