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Lesson 49: What is Islam?

by Scott Noon on October 29, 2011 in Doctrine with No comments

Before starting a new online course, let me offer few words about Islam. Lately people have been asking if there something about it that fosters the violence of its radical fundamentalists. I often ask the same thing about Christianity that I regard as a loving peace movement.

It is easy to come up with scholarly answers, but my friend, Bruce Schein, used to caution against this. Before he died a couple decades ago Bruce was known as Lutheranism’s unofficial ambassador to Islam. He observed Islam is a lay religion without benefit of clergy, and so more about practice than doctrine. There are all sorts of Muslims and therefore many versions of Islam. Arguing that Islam means simply “submission”, Bruce defined a Muslim as anyone who submitted to God by observing the Five Pillars of the Faith. These create a rhythm giving God a place in our lives. Usually at this point Bruce would shrug his shoulders and claim he could be regarded as a Lutheran Muslim.

The First Pillar is Faith that confesses “None is worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” To make this confession is regarded as believing the only purpose of life is to serve and obey God. This is achieved through the teachings and practices of the Last Prophet.

The Second Pillar is Prayer that is to be performed five times during the day when the Call to Prayer is heard. “God is Great. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God. Come to prayer! Come to success! God is Great! There is none worthy of worship except God.” A Muslim stops wherever he is and remembers God. It is believed this rhythm keeps people in contact with God and his will.

The Third Pillar is Alms. Islam, like the other religions founded on Abraham, proclaims social justice that includes care of the needy. In many ways, ethics is epitomized by how Muslims use their finances. They believe everything belongs to God and is to be managed according to his will. I think every Muslim is supposed to give at least a fortieth of his capital to one of the many alms societies. It is expected they will give more voluntarily.

The Fourth Pillar is Fasting that takes place during the month of Ramadan. All abstain from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn to dusk. This self-purification and self-restraint is supposed to facilitate an awareness of the presence of God and his purposes in life.

The Fifth Pillar is Pilgrimage or the hajj. Each Muslim is expected, if physically and financially able, to make the journey to Mecca once in a life time. This provides witness to the international nature of the faith as well as to the ultimate equality of all before God. During the Hajj all dress alike without distinctions of class and culture.

Bruce was always reminding me all religions change due to historical circumstances. Islam as well as Judaism and Christianity enabled its people to break the cycle of violence that was destroying their society. During some periods it was more tolerant, scholarly, and just than Christianity. He blamed much of the current attitudes and actions on the effects of colonialism and the way the Christian world has treated the Islamic.

I am not sure Bruce offers the last word in understanding Islam. However, I am certain he offers a more reasonable beginning of our conversation than what we have been hearing from too many religious and political celebrity types.

Lesson 48: Electronic Conversations

by Scott Noon on October 29, 2011 in Doctrine with No comments

Let me first summarize the responses to how the church can foster conversation and then make a few observations about religious use of electronic communication. Conversations with Myron lead me to speak a few words about Islam next week. Then we’ll begin a new course on “Salvation” in October.

Anne welcomed a chance to discuss sermons after the service. I see it operating like the success I’ve had in comparing interpretations of biblical passages. The sermon and the passage serve as springboards for relating the faith to our everyday life. Many of my students say this is what they want- to hear what others think rather than an authorized position. Obviously, some of that comes with using electronic media rather than books.

Bob suggests this would entail developing methods that facilitate people’s sharing. Rita taught me long ago story-telling could be one of these. Stories are infectious, enabling others to tell theirs. Recently I ran across a testimonial-centered practice that used the old religious testimony in a creative manner. These seem natural for the Judaic-Christian traditions that are essentially narrative.

However, I am inclined to think success might have more to do with the moderator’s attitude and the group’s expectations than method. Anne agrees that ground rules encouraging the participation of all by promising “no put-downs” would go a long way.
They encourage comparisons rather than consensus. Perhaps it is time to admit our faith enables us to think and act in uncertain times, trusting God’s guidance and correction. Our religion is always embedded in history with all its messiness. Although Bob’s most recent comment about attempting purely religious understandings is fascinating, I wonder if it too is seeking an unattainable certainty. It might be fun to pursue, but the results might be irrelevant. Christian faith is always embedded in history, so perhaps it is necessary to speak of political positions and particularities.

Take a look at the “gift of reception” in the article Rita sent me from the National Catholic Reporter for some interesting insights in our topic.

Let me end with a few things about electronic communication. Wherever I go, I hear people express Lupe’s concern that the Church learn to use these wisely. My son, Franz, and I have studied religious use of the Internet for decades. Contrary to popular belief, it is very prevalent and appropriate. In 2003 almost a third of all the people who went online used the Internet for a religious purpose. That is more than those who used it to gamble, trade stocks, bank, date, or participate in an auction. Sixty per cent of those used it to research their own faith traditions. I imagine those figures have remained pretty much the same after 7 years.

Our studies encouraged church use of the Internet to facilitate, enhance, and extend her community, but never to replace it. This is especially important when sociologists report we have far more acquaintances and far less friends in this electronic age. The Internet is “narrow-band”, great for transmitting knowledge but very limited in teaching wisdom. My high school group contains experts in sharing information over the Internet. They are hungry, however, to work honestly with others in evaluating the worth of this information. That is hard to do that on the Internet. The binary nature of the tool influences how it is used. It communicates well what the writer is doing, thinking, and feeling, but has great difficulty maintaining a creative dialogue. It is very limited in communicating the nuances, complexity, and messiness of real life. Franz and I often observe that Christian community, like the Sacrament, demands the real presence of people as well as the real presence of Christ.

Relative to this, Anne reported that one of my sons-in-law recently asked the congregation to email their responses to a sermon on prayer life. Hopefully, he will share electronically the responses and encourage further conversation. My experience is my readers prefer to communicate through me rather than with each other. But I am still looking for the interaction Sarah gets with her online courses at Leslie.

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