Fall Discipleship Series
Religions of the World, Part I
October 3, 2010
Religions of the World, Part I
October 3, 2010
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter NIV
IntroductIon:
1. Islam is the most talked about religion in the world right now. Around the world people are both curious and suspicious.
2. Our discussion of Islam should accomplish three things:
§ Give us basic knowledge of one of the most influential and misunderstood religions in the world.
§ Prepare us for informed dialogue and witness with Muslim neighbors.
§ To strengthen our own faith in Christ.
3. In its origin, Islam is a religion espousing allegiance to God as revealed through the prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came from a family of traders at
4. Islam was not a completely new faith but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom refined and restated the message of God.
Outline:
1. Holy Book: Koran
· For a Muslim, the Koran corroborates, updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.
· The Koran contains 114 chapters, written in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of Mohammed's death.
· The Koran contains many moral exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca
· General facts about the Koran or Quran…
o Quram is spelled as Qur’aan, Koran and commonly as Quran.
o Quran is the noble and Holy Book of the Islamic religion.
o Muslims believe in Quran as the word of God (Allah).
o Muslims believe that Quran has not changed since its revelation. Allah has taken guarantee in the Quran itself that Allah will protect such from happening.
o Muslims recite Quran in their prayers daily.
o Quran is recited the most in the month of Ramadan (the month of fasting).
o Quran is divided into many chapters with each chapter having verses.
2. Key Leader: Mohammed· Mohammed is said to have received his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel, who was relaying the word of God.
· General facts about Mohammed…
o Born in 570 in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib.
o He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25.
o Discontented with life in Mecca
o According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God.
· Mohammed gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia before he and his remaining followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam; and he united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.
3. Primary teachings· The main tenets central to Islam are the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.
· All people should become a single Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.
· The five pillars of the Islamic faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are:
o Shahada, the profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as his prophet.
o Salat, formal worship or prayer.
o Zakat, the giving of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets once a year.
o Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year.
o Sawm, fasting during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.
4. People groups
- The difference between Sunni and Shia sects of Islam do not exist to the dramatic degree many Western's assume. While there are slight variations in the way they view their religious leaders and attach meaning to the history of Muhammad's family, cultural and political differences hold the most divisive power. Both sects emphasize the Five Pillars of Islam, read the same Quran, and consider each other Muslims.
- The split between these two significant sects of Islam can be traced back to the 600s, soon after Muhammed's death in 632. Muhammed's son-in-law, Ali, gained support as the inheritor of the duty to spread Islam. Thus, "Shia" is an abbreviation of "Shiat Ali," or the people of Ali. Not all Muslims believed in Ali's place as a leader. The Shi'ites regarded him as the first in a series of Imam, or the direct descendents of Muhammad who act as messengers of God. There were 12 Imams before the bloodline died out in the 800s.
- The majority of Muslims are Sunni, the largest and more orthodox sect of Islam. Sunnis do not attach any special power to the Imam, but have a rather less structured hierarchy of religious leaders. Some have compared their system as similar in spirit to Protestantism, where ministers are important advisers and community leaders, but they are neither infallible nor chosen by God. These leaders, called Caliphs, teach Islam. They encourage following the laws and guidelines laid out in the Quran. Also, they do not rule the place of worship in the sense of excluding other kinds of Muslims. All mosques are nondenominational, and can receive prayers from any sect.
5. Radical groups:
- Only a very small percentage of Muslims support terrorism.
- Terrorists are frequently recruited from the political fringe, from impressionable youth, and from others discontented with the world, especially with those who are inclined to materialism, vanity, pornography, and promiscuity.
- One
US - Radical Muslim terrorist currently present one of the greatest threats to world peace and stability.
Conclusion:
1. While we as Christians do not endorse the tenets of Islam and we hold fast to the teachings of Christ, it is incumbent that we demonstrate the spirit of Christ in our relationships with all human beings.
2. The greatest opportunities for Christian witness in the world will come from a dialogue that begins with Christian hospitality, explores our common values, and extends into a conversation about “the reason for the hope that is within us.” And to do this with gentleness and respect.
