Not having my stunning, amazing, thoughtful, and did I mention gorgeous wife (I can hear her say, 'stop it' in my ears as I type this, but how can I not describe her as such since it fits her ~ webster's dictionary: gorgeous is defined as splendid or showily brilliant or magnificent; and Lee Cooper, I know I gotta cut it out!)
I went for a trail run yesterday in the FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaya) yesterday. As I was jogging I came upon an elderly Malay gentleman using a cane to climb the hill I was descending. As I passed him I politely called out, 'As Salam Ale Kum'. He quickly jerked his head around to face me, with a big smile and responded, "Wale-Kum-Asalam". I was glad to have recognized this man and brought him some joy (I think the moment before the hill he was attempting to scale had been robbing him of all his joy), but as I bounded down the trail my conscience, or maybe it was the Holy Spirit started to prick my conscience, made me rethink using these Arabic words to say hello. More importantly at the time I was jogging, I wasn't sure if I was saying, "peace be on you (Alah's peace) and in essence acquessing to or giving intellectual accension to his god, which is not my god nor the real true God of the universe. Paul wrote that he made himself nothing and tried to be like all men to win some, but not at the expense of the Gospel, the full Gospel as it was revealed by Jesus. In my attempt at being culturally relevant to this man was I greiving the Holy Spirit?
At the end of the day it was a great trail run. Enjoy the pictures... By-the-way, in the picture of me squatting next to the rock is a millipede the length of my out-stretched hand . He was huge!
10 comments:
My goodness, Case. You have GOT to get a grip on your existential angst! While the language is Arabic, the sentiment (peace be upon you) is universal. The greeting is used by all faiths. In the strictest sense, it is a prayer. And, as YOU were the one offering the prayer, isn't it YOUR sentiments that matter rather than the language in which it is spoken? Shalom! - Lee
Hey Lee, your my first Blog heckler! I appreciate your comments, expecially with your history in Iraq, language skills and erudition. By-the-way, you get extra points for using 'existential' and another point for its proper use in a sentance ;-). I'll want to meditate on the topic further, but I agree with you that I was offering the 'Peace be on you' and therefore I was refering to YHWH. Thanks for your thoughts, I deeply appreciate them.
LOL Hey, anytime you need a good hecklin', you know I'm good for it! Loved your description, though. Sounds like an outstanding run! - Lee
It was an outstanding run and I'm pining for another chance to pound my shoes against those mossy rocks. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to visit this winter and catch up with ya'll. -Case
Case, just a quick addendum. I think you'll find that virtually all Muslims would disagree with your assertion that "your" God and this elderly gentleman's God are not one and the same. Indeed, the certainty with which you express this sentiment is at odds with my understanding of most Christian scholarship as well. I would be very interested is exploring your interpretations at some future date. - Lee
I'd love to talk about this more Lee. But, I must confess I do not totally understand your meaning when you typed, "the certainty with which you express this sentiment is at odds with my understanding of most Christian scholarship as well." Are you saying that you think most Christian scholars would have the opinion that the God of the Christian/ Judean religion is the same of the Muslim's as expressed by the term, 'Allah'?
Lee, Christian orthodoxy, I believe, would state that God has revealed Himself in the Old and New Testament in three persons: Father (YHWH or Jehovah), son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. To a Muslim this is blasphamy. As I was refering to 'my' God I was refrencing Father, Son and Holy Spirit and making a distinction from what Muslims believe. In the sense that Muslims take different aspects of the Old and New Testament and synthesis them into the Koran I understand that a Muslim would say it is the same god, but that the Christian and Jewish scriptures have been corrupted and contain errors. From this standpoint you could say a Muslim would say they are the same god. But again, as a Christian I am referring to the Trinity verses Allah. One final difference, for me, the keystone of my faith is Jessus Christ, wholey God and wholey man, who was born of a virgin, lived and then was crucified, burried and on the third day rose from the dead. And because of this subsitutionary death my sins have been dealt with and no longer require the wrath from a righteous, holy God and that now I can be in His presence, not because of what I've done, but because of the removal of things contrary to God's nature. Muslims deny Christ's 'godness' and say he was just a man, just a prophet. This is a major difference and again the reason I used the term, 'my God'.
Howdy case. Of course there are difference in doctrine as well as conflicting arguments about the nature of God. Those arguments occur within Christianity as well. That isn't really the issue. That a Muslim and a Christian can disagree vehemently about the nature of God, and hurl charges of heresy at each other does not obviate the concept that they are both praying to the same God. They share a spiritual lineage. That is why Muslims historically attribute to Christians and Jews a status of kinship; that of being a people "of the Book".
Lee, sorry for the delay. Rachel and the kids came home and I've been enjoying them and not able to write back. To the point that you make, "the concept that they are both praying to the same God" was what I was trying to highlight in my previous comment. It is exactly that Christians and Muslims are not praying to the same god and why I was struggling in my thoughts after greeting the gentleman on the trail run. I think you can say that this was my 'existential angst.' There is a concept that Muslims and Christians are praying to the same god, but it is just that, a concept and not a doctrine Christianity has held for all of its existanse (prior to and post Islam coming into existance). I know there are 21st century Christian and other faith theologians that want to blur the lines of doctrine and faith to bring all faiths under one, all inclusive umbrella, but it goes against the current of historic Christianity.
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