Sorry, But I am Not Buying Into Chrislam

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/09/16/sorry-but-i-am-not-buying-into-chrislam/

[Culture Watch] 17 Sep 2009--Chrislam, as the name suggests, is a growing movement wherein some Christians are seeking to find common ground with Muslims. Indeed, it actually seeks to combine Christianity with Islam. It is a syncretistic movement that speaks about “spirituality without boundaries”. Whenever you hear that sort of talk, you should start heading for the hills.

Yet that is what we find in some leftist evangelical Christian circles today. Incredibly, it took place last year at the National Prayer Breakfast in Canberra. I wrote that episode up in several articles at the time:
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/10/islam-and-fifth-columns/
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/04/truth-and-tolerance-christianity-and-islam/

But a number of leading American religious leftists are also pushing this cause in varying degrees. For example, Tony Campolo has argued that “interfaith prayers and even mystical unions are critical for all true peacemakers”. And given that a leftist vision of “social justice” seems to be the most important agenda item for Campolo, it is not surprising that he can praise Islam in these terms: “When it comes to what is ultimately important, the Muslim community’s sense of commitment to the poor is exactly in tune with where Jesus is in the 25th chapter of Matthew.”

More recently emerging church movement leader Brian McLaren has written a five-part blog entry on why Christians should join with Muslims in celebrating Ramadan. In it he said, “We, as Christians, humbly seek to join Muslims in this observance of Ramadan as a God-honouring expression of peace, fellowship, and neighbourliness.”

Once again the emphasis is on getting along, harmony and unity. Fine – to a point. But both these faiths are ultimately evangelistic, exclusive, and mutually incompatible. The heart of the Christian truth claim is that Jesus is God’s son, and he has come to save us from our sins. Islam claims that it is blasphemous to say God has a son.